Pipster fanmix

[eliyes]

Okay, so, here's the song list in order. I don't have any art for it, and I don't have a download link (yet!), but I've put in youtube links for the songs I could find there.

This is arranged to follow the development of the relationship between Pied Piper and Trickster, following canon but injecting a love affair into it. I will try to explain why I chose each song.



1. "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Charlie Daniels Band

It might be a sin
But I'll take your bet, and you're gonna regret
'Cause I'm the best there's ever been!

The reason both Piper and Trickster pull heists in mainly for the thrill, the challenge of getting one over on the powers that be. This song speaks to that, in both of them. Plus, it has the musical mastery aspect for Piper and the whole defeating the Devil thing Trickster keeps managing. ;3

2. "Shelter Me", Cinderella

We all need
A little shelter
Just a little helper
To get us by

This is about finding a place to belong with the Rogues -- and within the Rogues, increasingly with each other. (The criticism of people in power also works for Piper's developing activism and Trickster's con-artist cynicism.)

You can spend your money
Before you get your pay
With a toss of the dice
You can piss it all away

Still taking chances, and landing in jail (and then breaking out).

3. "Sweet Disposition", The Temper Trap

Songs of desperation
I played them for you
A moment of love
A dream
A laugh
A kiss
A cry
Our rights
Our wrongs

Piper changes from crook to vigilante-activist. This distances him from his former associates (those who have survived). Is the thing between more than friendship? Can even friendship survive being on arguably opposite sides of the good guy/bad guy divide? And what does Trickster think of this change?

Stay there
'Cause I'll be coming over

Well, as we all know, he also went semi-legit~ ;3

4. "And I Will Follow", composed by Jason Robert Brown, sung by Lauren Kennedy
[Okay, you can find many other ladies singing this on youtube, but this is the version I have and love best, and you can listen to it on JRB's site here, at least right now.]

Falling in love is scary, especially if you've learned not to really trust people, and triple especially if you're falling for someone of the same sex for the first time and don't come from a background where that's necessarily okay (like, say, being raised by a conspicuously heterosexual most-likely-Catholic Italian father).

Okay, here are ALL THE LYRICS to this song, because I just cannot choose a snippet, because it grows:

Ask me something easier
A smile, a kiss...
Look, I’ll give you anything
But don’t ask me this.
Don’t ask for faith when there’s no great supply,
Don’t ask for love when I’m just now beginning to feel it,
Don’t know quite why.
Here come the waves – here comes the ocean -
How to decide?
What’s there to risk? Why is the course unclear?
Practical fact, foolish emotion,
Terrible pride...
What’s there to fear?
Take me from here!

And I will follow
Anywhere,
I will follow,
And you will lead me there.

I should resist,
I should refuse you.
Ask me again!
See how I’m strong?
See how I keep my vow?
Maybe I’ll trip –
Maybe I’ll lose you!
What happens then?
What happens now?
Just show me how...

And I will follow
Anywhere,
I will follow,
And you will lead me there.

Oh, all the voices that beg me to stand my ground -
Oh, all the voices that tell me to stay -
All representing the life that I’d planned around:
Do what’s expected,
Do what’s accepted,
Do what you’re told to,
Until today!
‘Til today!

And I will follow
Anywhere,
I will follow,
And you will lead me
There...
You will lead me there,
And I will follow.

I will follow
And you will lead me there.

It's exhilarating as hell, and freeing.

5. "I Love You, You Imbecile", Pelle Carlberg

I love the way you talk
I love the way you stalk
me with your mobile phone
I love the way you smile
The way you're juvenile
I love the way you moan

I can live with vanity and puns
and the morning temper runs
I can live with all your downsides
I can live with you, hon

All I want, all I need
All I want is you
I can live with all the stupid things you do.

The actual having of the relationship, where they drive each other nuts and have annoying quirks and discover that these things don't actually make it harder to stay together; in fact, they kinda charm each other with it all. A little bit honeymoon phase, a little bit, "Wow, we really do work well together".

6. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk", Rufus Wainwright

If I should buy jellybeans
Have to eat them all in just one sitting
Everything it seems I like's a little bit sweeter
A little bit fatter
A little bit harmful for me

And then there's those other things
Which for several reasons we won't mention
Everything about them is a little bit stranger
A little bit harder
A little bit deadly

They aren't perfect, and things in the world do not stay wonderful. Hartley is framed for the murder of his parents, and with no memory of whether or not he really did it, he withdraws from his friends and loved ones and refuses to ask for their help while he's imprisoned. James is working for the FBI and, after being forbidden to work on proving Hartley's innocence, grows increasingly frustrated with his job; he can see the neccessity of gathering reformed Rogues to his side as trouble looms on the horizon.

You got to keep in the game
Maintaining mystique while facing forward
I suggest a reading of 'A Lesson In Tightropes'
Or 'Surfing Your High Hopes' or 'Adios Kansas'

It isn't very smart
Tends to make one part so broken-hearted

Iron Heights does not leave Hartley in the best of mental health, and he's more than a little touchy when James recruits him, not sure if he can trust the team -- or himself.

Still there's not a show on my back
Holes or a friendly intervention
I'm just a little bit heiress, a little bit Irish
A little bit Tower of Pisa whenever I see you
So please be kind if I'm a mess

(This is the song that started me on the path to making this fanmix. I could probably give you a paragraph for each line; I tried to restrain myself.)

7. "Someone To Fall Back On", Jason Robert Brown
[Listen to this on JRB's site here, and give the whole thing a chance -- it builds beautifully.]

Some comedy -
You’re bruised and beaten down
And I’m the one
Who’s looking for a favor.
Still, honestly,
You don’t believe me
But the things I have
Are the things you need.
You look at me
Like I don’t make sense,
Like a waste of time,
Like it serves no purpose -
I am no prince,
I am no saint,
And if that’s what you believe you need,
You’re wrong - you don’t need much,
You need someone to fall back on...

And I’ll be that:
I’ll take your side.
If I’m the only one,
I’m used to that.
I’ve been alone,
I’d rather be
The half of us,
The least of you,
The best of me.
And I will be
Your prince,
I’ll be your saint,
I will go crashing through fences
In your name. I will, I swear -
I’ll be someone to fall back on!
I’ll be the one who waits,
And for as long as you’ll let me,
I will be the one you need.
I’ll be someone to fall back on:
Your prince,
Your saint,
The one you believe you need
I’ll be - I’ll be
Someone to fall back on.

They strive to earn back each other's trust and piece themselves together again.

And then the shit really hits the fan and Bart is dead and the world heads rapidly to ruin. Together, they run.

8. "And So We Run (first recording version)", David Usher

Give me a sign
Give me a reason to hold on
I'm holding on
What is a life?
A series of moments
All in a line
Just passing by

And so I lay here awake
As all the clouds fall away
Then fast asleep in your arms
Wake up wonder where we are
Try to freeze frame the day
Then the light starts to fade
I will scream at the sky
'Til we drink the oceans dry
And so we run
And so we run
And so we run

And so we run

Over the bridge
Back to the place where we were young
What we could've done
What did you find?
That we are naked under God
Lucky God is blind

And so I lay here awake
As all the clouds fall away
Then fast asleep in your arms
Wake up wonder where are
Try to freeze frame the day
Then the light starts to fade
I will scream at the sky
'Til we drink the oceans dry
And so we run

I always picture them managing to hole up in a chilly squat in Gotham for a few hours of exhausted sleep before having to move on, a half-step ahead of pursuit, here. And then, finally, the train.

9. "The Show Must Go On", Queen

Empty spaces - what are we living for
Abandoned places - I guess we know the score
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for...
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore
The show must go on,
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on.
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?

I don't need to tell you what this song represents.

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly - my friends
The show must go on
The show must go on
I'll face it with a grin
I'm never giving in
On - with the show -
I'll top the bill, I'll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the -
On with the show -
The show must go on...

10. "Joyride", Roxette

Hello, you fool, I love you,
C'mon join the joyride

A second chance.

I hit the road out of nowhere.
I had to jump in my car
And be a rider in a love game
Following the stars.
Don't need no book of wisdom,
I get no money talk at all.

I made this fanmix before Flashpoint and the reboot that followed, so I didn't intend this to mean the possibility of them getting together in the DCnU, but feel free to take it that way if you want.

What I actually meant -- *dons fedora* -- has to do with a conspiracy theory of mine regarding Trickster's metaphysical place in the DCU. Remember that in many mythologies, the Trickster is sacred: he teaches and helps humanity when they need it most; he reminds the powerful to be humble; he keeps the weak sharp and shows them how to survive by his example; and he reminds people to laugh, in general and at ourselves, because without joy our souls have no room for growth/the divine/wisdom. Trickster characters test heroes for worthiness.

Remember that James has fought Neron and won -- twice. Remember that his son, Billy Hong, is the Majee, a saviour sent or chosen by Meshta (god of Light, Love, and Justice), to observe and weigh humankind's progress and potentially lead them into a new, golden age after a period of terrible strife -- and that without knowing Billy was his kid, James arranged to save him and his followers, fought off Neron that second time, and made Neron forget about the other Rogues so he'd leave them alone and give them a chance to redeem themselves.

Billy (and Meshta) promised James from now on he'd have a friend on the side of the angels. Billy (and Meshta) saw that Piper was there to help, and was the only (reformed) Rogue who didn't need the promise of gain to do so.

Remember that when James jumped between Deadshot and Piper, he said, "Not him -- not now!". I think Trickster knew some of what was moving behind the scenes to cause all the carnage on Earth, and I think he knew that Piper was the key to stopping it. He knew Hartley had to survive, so he sacrificed himself to save him. I don't think he knew in advance that it would be Hartley's grief over James' death, and his heartbroken determination to not waste his sacrifice, that would spur Hartley into destroying Apokolips. But he did know he himself would die, and he knew that Hartley would have more work to do, hence the Will he left in Hartley's trust.

*removes fedora* And so, after his heroic death in the cause of good, and Hartley's works in same -- not giving over the Anti-Life Equation despite what he'd just been through? Impressively heroic -- they get that second chance. :D ♥

We're a part of this together,
Could never turn around and run.
Don't need no fortuneteller
To know where my lucky love belongs, oh no

'Cause it all begins again when it ends
Yeah, and we're all magic friends.

(And also, I like the circus/fairground theme for James' return. ;3 {And I grew up singing Joyride, plus I adore Per Gessle's voice. X3})



~FIN~
(for now)

Comments

This is cool - if below is tl:dr.

[luminece.livejournal.com]

Gosh, this is super cool. (I know you posted this a while back now on piper_trickster, but I missed it somehow.)

Such a good mix of songs, with explanations that make sense. I hadn't heard the Laura Kennedy version of "And I Will Follow" before, but it is very lovely.

You totally 'get' the Trickster Archetype, what a trickster is, what James Jesse is as the Trickster. Everything you say is spot on.
What's so funny (and maybe a little disheartening concerning more recent DC writers) is that I think John Broome and Carmine Infantino 'got it'. The few stories where Gardner Fox wrote stories including the Trickster 'got it', and in fact Fox seemed fond of the idea of both trickster characters and guile heroes (Jay Garrick was a bit of a guile hero during the Golden Age). Much of what the Trickster does especially in the earlier stories of the Silver Age Flash definitely fall in both the roles of 'testing the hero' and 'teaching humility to authority figures'. (Its too bad that Cary Bates didn't seem to get the idea that Barry Allen needed to be humble, because jeez does Barry get a lot more smug during the mid-70s, and he doesn't seem to learn.)
Of course, I think the writers for Blue Devil got the concept of tricksters, and given that they were writing a "Fun" book, they played with it and did use James to test Dan Cassidy as a hero, so to speak (well, and Dan's patience... and sanity.) Its cool that Mark Waid and Peter David used the Trickster in the same way in Impulse. The metaphysical role of trickster characters actually help a world stay balanced.

To add to that, I'm not exactly sure what Piper's role is on a purely, but somehow he became important... I think it must be the root of what his powers are about: control and freedom.
I don't know if you've read the original Fourth World books by Jack Kirby, especially Mister Miracle and The Forever People but one of the main themes is the idea that the New Gods of New Genesis are embodiments of aspects of freedom and creativity, which Jack Kirby viewed as what makes life worth living (Scott Free is actually the embodiment of freedom from oppression, and the Forever People are embodiments of various aspects of youthfulness - childlike dreams, innocence, imagination, etc.). Conversely, the New Gods of Apokolips are embodiments of domination, control and oppression - things that prevent growth, learning, and creativity - i.e. Anti-Life (for example, Glorious Godfrey is the embodiment of slander, thus his role as propagandist against the Justice League and heroes, while his sister Amazing Grace is the embodiment of betrayal and false hope - she would ingratiate herself with any rebel groups that were fighting against Darkseid and his forces, and even help them just to the point where they might have a chance, only to betray them at the last moment in order to hammer the point home that there was NEVER any chance that the people of Apokolips would ever be free.)

Re: This is cool - if below is tl:dr. Part 2

[luminece.livejournal.com]

Okay, yeah - getting back to Piper - his ability, even back in the Silver Age, is that he could hypnotize a person with his music. The idea of music (an inherently creative thing) exerting control over others is a very, very old concept - its one of the methods Gilgamesh uses to escape Erishikagal's advances, the ancient Greeks believed that music was magical, thus its role in their religious beliefs and many of their myths, and of course, The Pied Piper of Hamelin has older related stories with the same themes of magical music, failing to keep promises and the consequences thereafter. What's interesting about Piper is that he becomes the Pied Piper in part to gain some measure of control over his life (see The Flash #307), but uses music to control others - its like this weird paradoxal thing. He wants freedom from his parents' desires for what sort of person he should be, but he imposes his own will on others. Its weird, but it justifies the idea that he could channel the Anti-Life Equation. But the other strange thing is this - music is still a naturally creative medium. It is from a Fourth World standpoint a thing of Life. So somehow Piper's character straddles both concepts of control and creativity. Like you said, ultimately, Piper rejects Anti-Life despite the terrible things that he has been put through.

So to me, it seems like both Trickster and Piper fulfill basic metaphysical functions in the DC multiverse. Laughter and music both have sacred purposes, so there's something to that, too.
I also find it odd that no one in universe (except maybe Max Mercury - he wanted Bart to learn from Trickster's actions, and actually tells Bart to take Piper's advice into account) seems to catch this. For all the talk of the Big Three's influence, there are plenty of other forces at play, and it seems like most of the characters in the DC universe seem to ignore this (or you know writers ignore it).

Uh, yeah, tl:dr - I like your thought process here making this mix, and I will probably add this list to my overall mega music mix for the DC universe.
(Grife - I had to split my comment in half... I'm so sorry. )

Re: This is cool - if below is tl:dr. Part 2

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

Wow, a comment! Sorry I took so long replying, RL is a slog lately. Thank you very much for your feedback and kind words. You have blown my mind with your theory about Piper, here -- I think you must be right about why he was able to channel the Anti-Life Equation, because you make so much sense. And if you aren't right, you should be, and this is my headcanon now. :Dd

Re: This is cool - if below is tl:dr. Part 2

[luminece.livejournal.com]

I inspired headcanon? Wow. *blushing*

I've been thinking about Piper and the whole Anti-Life Equation a lot lately. And Trickster and the trickster archetype as a cultural necessity. I'm really glad I ran across this mix and your insightful commentary.