general vibes: the playlist follows collins's arc throughout the show, from start to bitter end.

oak & ash and thorn - the longest johns a proper introduction, and a light nod to his father's connection to carpentry, as referenced in the show. also a hint at the demise ahead of him re: wine of coca. but whether a lad be sober or sad / or mellow with ale from the horn / he'll take no wrong when he lyeth along, / 'neath oak and ask and thorn...

the devil down below - gaelic storm a reference to the expedition as a whole, and the fate that awaits them all (and collins, down below). and we'd shout, shout, shout / shout at the devil down below...

scarborough fair / canticle - simon & garfunkle an easy connection to carnivale for me. are you going to scarborough fair? / parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme? / remember me to one who lives there / she once was a true love of mine...

cinder and smoke - iron & wine the horrors of carnivale. cinder and smoke / the snake in the basement found / the juniper shade / the farmhouse is burning down / give me your hand / and take what you will tonight / i'll give it as fast / and take what you will tonight...

army dreamers - kate bush something something, hamfisted reference to collins's troubles with sleep, something something, ptsd. what could he do? should have been a rock star (but he didn't have the money for a guitar) / what could he do? should have been a politician (but he never had a proper education) / what could he do? should have been a father (but he never even made it to his twenties) / what a waste! army dreamers...

o children - nick cave & the bad seeds playing with light themes of paranoia, slipping sanity, etc. with this one. poor old jim's white as a ghost / he's found the answer that we lost / we're all weeping now, weeping because / there ain't nothing we can do to protect you...

all along the watchtower - bob dylan not only a banger, but a hint towards collins seeing the insanity in himself, unable to find relief, as well as his connection to spyglasses and the crow's nest. "there must be a some way out of here," / said the joker to the thief / "there's too much confusion, / i can't get no relief..."

hold on - tom waits the scene between goodsir and collins at camp. oh, you got to hold on, hold on / mm, you gotta hold on / take my hand, i'm standing right here / you gotta hold on

into the mystic - van morrison bit of a palate cleanser before the playlist properly descends into wine of coca/death territory. this is what i imagine collins would yearn for looking back at how things felt at the start of the expedition, fresh to being second master. hark, now hear the sailors cry / smell the sea and feel the sky / let your soul and spirit fly / into the mystic...

bottom of a bottle - julien baker, TORRES drowning in wine of coca. i lost my nerve / so i searched the corner bar / i lost my faith / so i went wishin' on a lone star... [...] next thing i knew, i was horizontal and my friends / were fishin' me out the bottom of a bottle / i'm missing you more every day / i can't keep the wantin'-you at bay...

magpie - the mountain goats magpies are associated with fearlessness, good/bad luck, omens, and death. sparrows are a common tattoo and symbol for sailors, but i think of magpies when i think of collins. (i have a magpie tattoo and love corvids, though, so i'm biased) try hard to do your best / the magpie will have his way... [...] and remember what we had here / when there was something left to save.

casimir pulaski day - sufjan stevens a nod to collins watching his friends die. in the morning, in the winter shade / on the first of march, on the holiday / i thought i saw you breathing...

dirt - julien baker, TORRES more references to wine of coca here, as i imagine collins's addiction/poor coping got worse. also makes me think of the potential of collins trying to find goodsir while in a stupor. you're my first dial after last call / ringing you up just to shit-talk 'til i pass out / if you ask how i've been doing, i won't lie / more than half the time, i'm only skatin' by...

funeral pyre - julien baker julien baker is my go-to collins artist. hands down. if i'm writing my AU chapfic with collins and don't have a playlist, i put on one of julien's albums. ouchie! i wake up with the same pain every night / digging a hatchet into my left side / clearing my chest for something to burn / ash from a decorative urn...

salt in the wound - boygenius the arctic hardens his wounds. the wine of coca does, too. he's accepting his fate, and we're closing in on his end here. i'm gnashing my teeth, like a child of Cain / if this is a prison, i'm willing to buy my own chains...

no shade in the shadow of the cross - sufjan stevens nearing death. maybe a last bit of sanity right before he drinks the last wine of coca he'll ever taste? he prepares to see a million daybreaks, all in one? i slept on my back in the shade of the Meadowlark / like a champion, get drunk to get laid / i take one more hit when you depart. / i'll drive that stake through the center of my heart / lonely vampire inhaling its fire / i'm chasing the dragon too far...

will anybody ever love me? - sufjan stevens seeking comfort in anything that offers it. all that collins wants is love, i think. he wants to be understood. to be held. tie me to a tiny wooden raft / burn my body, point me to the undertow / push me off into the void at last / watch me drift and watch me struggle, let me go...

hurt - johnny cash (cover of nin) he hurt himself, but so did tuunbaq. this is the end. what have i become? / my sweetest friend / everyone i know / goes away, in the end...

the parting glass - boygenius, ye vagabonds (rip sinead o'connor.) the last three tracks here are a tribute to collins - what i imagine would have happened if the arctic would allow for a proper memorial. this is him in the afterlife, in the face of the million daybreaks, looking back. finally at peace, i hope. for all i've done for want of wit / to memory now, i can't recall / so fille to me the parting glass / good night and joy be with you all...

bones in the ocean - the longest johns this could be goodsir remembering collins, or crozier looking back at the entirety of the hell that was the failed expedition. alternatively, an AU: what if collins was able to leave? what regret would he feel? what would he carry with him? as the souls of the dead live for'er in my mind / as i live all the years that they left me behind / i'll stay on the shore but still gaze at the sea / i remember the fallen, and they think of me / for our souls in the ocean together will be.

we raise our cups - hadestown original cast recording lastly, here's to our diver. our underwater orpheus. he looked back, saw euridice (orren), and we all wish that he hadn't. but at least it meant that he loved him, and loved his crewmates. he cared. that was the strength of his softness. but the ones who sing in the dead of night / we raise our cups to them / wherever he is wandering / alone upon the earth / let all our singing follow him / and bring him comfort... [...] we raise our cups to them / and drink 'em up / we raise 'em high / and drink 'em dry / to orpheus and all of us / goodnight, brothers, goodnight.