#playlist breakdown

Short Change Hero- The Heavy

I always try to kick off my playlists with “who IS this person if you broke them down into one song” but that is not what this song is. This is a song to prepare the listener for Pick’s story, and the slow intro of it really brings that in. In chronology this is actually Pick just before meeting the party, recounting the events that got him to this place (we’ll get back to that later) the crunch of shoefalls and distant thunder are also big thematic queues into the rest of the playlist.

First and foremost, from Pick’s perspective, this is not the story of a hero, and he wants you to know that up front.

The Sound of Silence- Disturbed

What a great cover. Pick doesn’t remember his childhood super well, so his first memories are of the silence, and the darkness, and the things he saw in that time. He found faith and lost it all at once, and it seemed like an eternity in that place, just struggling to pick out anything of worth in there. This song kicks off 

ACT 1 of Pick’s story, which I can’t say the title of because it’s spoilery.

A Skeleton of Something More- Sleeping At Last

People praying for a better day to come, waiting for that night, that night when everything is going to change. Get out of this place, go on to something else. The shred of hope that is wilting, a skeleton of something more.

Whatever It Takes- Imagine Dragons

Pick is not one to give up that easily, he will always say his stubborn tenacity is his best quality and it hasn’t let him down yet. Beat him, break him, want him to die so, so badly. But he’s not going to stop, he’s gunna end this, and he’ll outlast and do whatever he needs to to accomplish that.

Best of You- Foo Fighters

Pick’s refusal to give in was cute at first but now it’s getting annoying. They double down on him and he doubles down right back, we’re fighting now, and Pick will be fighting for a long, long time after this. Thank goodness he’s good at it.

Pressure- Muse

Pick learns that bloody, beaten, surrounded in the corner is where he is at his strongest. He lives under pressure, and it almost makes him laugh. If things were going too easy it wouldn’t be fun, so bring it on.

The Pretender- Foo Fighters

Pick is looking up from the pits at him, and there’s practically electricity burning between those stares. Pick has finalized his plans of revenge against him.

Believer- Imagine Dragons

Enter fucking Anders. The man that’s going to change everything for the better. That night that they’ve been waiting for has a date now, and it’s fast approaching. Pick was stewing in his anger and knew nothing else but the fight, but now, Anders has made him a believer. 

Uprising- Muse

That night has come, and it’s time to put all the chips down on a plan. It works, mostly. This marks the end of ACT 1, with a thrilling tale that can only really be translated as “fuck you!”

Starlight- Muse

Muse takes us out of ACT 1 and continues with us right on into ACT 2, and this one I can definitely share the name of: Act 2: Anders. This series of songs talks about their relationship. But first we have to put a lot of distance between us and Act 1 to start this story off proper, and that’s just what this song does, it takes us far far away by the light of the stars.

 We tie in some of the previous songs talking about lights in the darkness, and waiting for “that night”. We have finally gone out of the darkness and into the light of day.

My Best Friend- Weezer

Honestly, pretty self explanatory, Anders is everything.

Make a Little Money- Royal Deluxe

Now that we’re out and traveling around, we gotta work! Ander’s shows Pick the ropes of life and they do pretty good as a team, enjoying coin and each others company and going where the wind (and work) takes them.

I’ll Keep You Safe- Sagun

This song in its chill repetitiveness acts as a sort of time skip transitional phase in Act 2, where the development of Anders and Picks relationship kind of stabilizes and goes on for a while without much change. However, the end of the transition makes a play on that title “I’ll keep you safe” it went from a promise made in the beginning to a promise upheld in the end, but now things are different.

Very different.

Alive- Pearl Jam

Pick really shouldn’t be, and yet I guess he is, so now his title is actually really really true, this little goblin is damn near unkillable. The gift of life is a damn hard gift to give sometimes.

But where the fuck is Anders.

Lonely- Idealism

This instrumental is the only one present in Pick’s playlist, to really sink in that truly for the first time in his life EVER, he is alone, and sometimes you just have to sit and deal with that for a while.

Wish You Were Here- Lee Fields & The Expressions

Not that hard to admit really, Pick wants to know where the hell Anders is, and what the hell this letter he left means, he’s very confused and just wants his friend back.

Zombie- The Cranberries

Partially foreshadowing, but mostly just bad memories creeping back in. Without Anders bad dreams are coming back and Pick is not doing well, and he really just wants the pain to go away.

Blood In The Cut- K.Flay

Yeah, Pick is really really not okay, and he’s coping with it in some unhealthy ways that will lead to his particular quirks he has developed later on in life. It’s been so long and he’s fought so much that he doesn’t really know what pain feels like anymore, at least not physical. He tries to get the pain out, so that he can just feel that instead of the emotional pain inside. But when the blood runs, he learns something new about himself.

Stronger- Kanye West

Well holy fucking shit guess we’re a fucking bloodhunter huh- Anders letter makes a bit more sense now, but most importantly Pick has found a way to weaponize his pain, and he’s got a hell of a lot of it to use. He’s ready to take things on.

Radioactive- Imagine Dragons

Pick is starting to experiment with his powers, he’s learning with what Anders left him to pick up the pieces and become the adventurer he’s going to need to be, basically this is his training montage.

Blood On My Name- The Brothers Bright

Training is complete and we’ve basically made our way to level 3 babey!!! Pick has learned as much as he can and now he’s got his two goals in mind- find him, and find HIM. But first he needs to find Baldur’s Gate and make some friends.

End of Act 2

Walk- Foo Fighters

We’ve come full circle to the very first song in short change hero. The footsteps in that song becomes Walk here by the Foo Fighters, where Pick has put all of his past experiences behind him and is ready to start over here at the start of the third and final act so far.

Act 3 Ironically or not is also called Walk

Starting over is hard but Pick has had the time to figure out his feelings and find himself a little, and we end right as he crests the hill that gives him the first view of Baldur’s Gate. He fastens his gloves and gets moving again.

If You Only Knew- Shinedown  & The Crow & The Butterfly- Shinedown

Shinedown comes in with a pair of songs as Pick makes his way to the city to remind him of the person that got him where he needs to go. He thinks about Anders, off in some faraway place, and hopes that he’s proud of Pick for what he’s been able to accomplish on his own. But he also knows that he’s gotten as far as he can on his own and needs some help.

Thunderstruck- AC/DC

ENTER THE PARTY

Pick explodes onto the scene into a group of people that he has no idea WHAT to think about, but you know what? They’re kinda weird and definitely ready to make waves like him, so he’s happy, and he thinks he’s found the group that he needs. 

Theres some tension with a few people, and that electricity is back, but Pick’s ready this time.

Also, bringing back the thunderstorms all the way from short change hero again! Boom!! How’s that for some musical foreshadowing bitches? 

It only helps that Pick’s blood rites are electricity, doesn’t it?

Bonus tracks

Pick’s story has pretty much ended here with Thunderstruck, as he now has to learn more about this party and figure out what he wants to do, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some bonus songs for you all!

State of Mine- Stoj Snak

A hope for the future, that these people pick has found can be not only what he thinks he needs to accomplish his goal, but what he really needs and doesn’t even know he needs yet- a real family.

Power- Kanye West

Pick is starting to see the bigger world for what it was, and the one man on Pick’s list is starting to become multiple. Theres something definitely wrong with the world and Pick’s particular viewpoint lets him see it, and he doesn’t like it.

Maker of My Sorrow- Eliza Rickman

Pick’s main goal is to the party for now, and then for Anders, that’s what he feel the overall importance is, but he hasn’t forgotten the promise he made all the way back in The Pretender: someone is going to get super murdered and Pick ain’t dying until that happens.