#licherally

Basically when I make playlists I start with one or two songs I know and had in mind, and then start looking for songs that are ideally new to me, too, and fit the vibe. I do this by selecting artists or genres and then just... searching. As I do this, I arrange and re-arrange the choices in the draft playlist and keep listening for how well they mix and mesh. I don't know if the results work for anyone but me, but I strive for an end product that I can listen to start to finish like an album.

Song choices

Never Existed was a candidate for the beginning of the first Hornblower playlist I made, but I ended up deciding against it because I really really wanted it to be the opening, and it fits older, more experienced Hornblower better. It has that frantic quality to it that I try to represent throughout parts of this playlist and that gets picked up again in the last song.

People Are Lonely is in there for vibes; this playlist has a particular sound to it and I decided early on that this one has to be in there. The bits of French are a bonus, because I kicked the other France reference songs in the end.

Titanic is a wildcard choice but one I made early and never went back on. It incidentally is a fun nod to Ioan's first role, but most of all I chose it for its flamboyant style and to represent the class alienation Hornblower experiences in society once he earns his Star. I highly recommend looking up a translation of the lyrics:

In any case, I decide Whether noble or not Better to be newly rich than never rich And not alone in company Let's deca-dance at all events Waltzing to the last step For he who waltzes properly Is also fit for the exit/sinking

I'm tired of everything is here because I absolutely had to put some breakcore into this one, because it is a genre that fits him very well. This inclusion is also the reason I chose two other instrumental pieces in the playlist. Time to sit with one's thoughts.

No Ho Entens and Misery are about his relationships: never easy, always troubled. His one companion is, you guessed it: Misery. I also highly recommend translating the lyrics:

My complexes (and you know I'm collecting them) came asking for money all at once two hours ago. With a finger against my lips, she said: "Why do you talk so much if what you want is to make love?" I can't explain it well... or don't you understand? Don't you understand?

Stand My Ground is self indulgence. I re-included it last minute, simply because I want this song associated with him. Something about the inner trepidation, the necessity of bravery as a choice. Bla bla - I just really like the song.

Birds Of Prey was a lucky find. I went through Aguilera's discography hoping to find something, and this one was perfect to me. Hornblower gets wrapped up in that assassination plot, the abduction - the chic events he attends are full of betrayal and malice, and I think this is a good illustration.

(Catastrophe) I found while looking for aggrotech. It's not really that, but I enjoy the resigned pounding hurt that it transports. A post-Caudebec kind of emotion.

Absence was added when I realised I needed something goth for him; it carries on the numbness from earlier.

Discards

And last, here are some of the songs that were in draft versions of this playlist but did not make it into the end product, either because I ended up not liking the way they flowed with the others or because I found another song to better express the vibe:

Save My Hide - Helloween. I was contemplating this one for his internal conviction that he is a coward: ditched it for flow reasons.

To France - Cover by Blind Guardian. For his fling with Marie; discarded for flow reasons and because the lyrics did not match as well as the other choices.

Desenchantée - Cover by Viva La Panda & Her Majesty. For some reason I really wanted a version of Desenchantée in there for a while, but I just did not find a version I liked enough in combination with the other songs. This one was my favourite; unfortunately, the chorus has a beat that does not match the vibe. Pity!