Lo and behold! I have done it! \o/
Fair warning: this monstrous piece of musicalized headcanon (mostly adherent to general canon, except for one place where it's clearly marked), started with Brand New, Death Cab and Stars, you can imagine it sprouted ~feelings and vanilla alt-rock rather than gritty realism, so it is an oversimplification, rather, of everything that The Hunger Games are, and focuses largely on Katniss and Peeta, with a good side helping of Gale. I apologize in advance for glossing over many of the other amazing characters, for all generalisation, romanticism, etc. and rampant imperfections.
In a way, I've come to see this as a Peeta POV narration (wouldn't you want to read the whole thing again in first person, present tense, Peeta? All those things he went through on his own, never referred to...), so that might be an explanation of the predominantly male vocals in this collection, even in the songs that evidently portray Katniss' POV. Peeta has been the first to realize what could be done to him and what he must do in the arena and make his peace with it, and he was the first to force himself to function after all the trauma.
Finally, the title is intentionally ambigious, feels free to read into it or dismiss it. My own interpretation will be fairly obvious, I suppose.
/TL;DR
AN: credit for pictures used in cover art go to
geomofo@photobucket and the band Bright Eyes, whose actual album art I snagged.
So go and look and you know who will go into a major sulk if you don't download, comment on and love this fanmix I really hope you will find it to your satisfaction.
01. T H E C H E S S G A M E
John Williams
♫the day of the reaping
{instrumental}
02. D I S A R M
Smashing Pumpkins
♫ the tributes of district 12:
friends or foes?
I used to be a little boy
So old in my shoes
And what I choose is my choice
What's a boy supposed to do?
The killer in me is the killer in you, my love
I send this smile over to you
Disarm you with a smile
03. R A B B I T H E A R T
Florence + The Machine
♫ in the capitol;
"now they all want you"
The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamor fades
I start spinning slipping out of time
Was that the wrong pill to take
Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems I've made the final sacrifice
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
04. S E R E N I T Y
Godsmack
♫ the night before the arena:
"i don't want them to change me in there"
Where do we go when we just don't know
And how do we relight the flame
When it's cold?
Why do we dream
When our thoughts mean nothing
And when will we learn to control?
I need serenity
In a place where I can hide
05. FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER
Brian Tyler
♫the cornucopia
{instrumental}
06. W A S P N E S T
The National
♫ katniss vs the careers pack & peeta
You're cussing a storm in a cocktail dress
Your mother wore when she was young
Red sun saint around your neck
Your eyes are broken bottles
And I'm afraid to ask
In all your wrath and cutting beauty
You're poison in the pretty glass
You're a wasp nest, you're a wasp nest
07. N O V E M B E R R A I N
Guns 'N' Roses
♫ the rain break
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
Don't you think you need somebody
08. SET YOURSELF ON FIRE
Stars
♫ the berries;
cheating the games is freedom;
freedom is death
In every single place that has ever been
There is only one thing
In the darkest part of you
That you have ever seen
Out there amongst the waves
And inside your lover's head
There is only one thing
In a cage where only one thing could be free
And it's not you and I
09. H A R D E R T O B R E A T H E
Maroon 5
♫ the fallout;
"one more time? for the audience?"
You drain me dry and make me wonder
Why I'm even here, this double vision
I was seeing is finally clear
You want to stay but you know very well
I want you gone
When it gets cold outside
And you got nobody to love
You'll understand what I mean when I say
There's no way we're gonna give up
10. T H E B O Y W H O B L O C K E D
H I S O W N S H O T
Brand New
♫ "so I thought if I stopped being so,
you know, wounded.."
And if it makes you less sad
We'll start talking again
And you can tell me how vile
I already know that I am
It's as cold as a tomb
And it's dark in your room
When I sneak to your bed
To pour salt in your wounds
Standing trial for your sins
Holding onto yourself the best you can
You are the smell before the rain
You are the blood in my veins
11. S I B E R I A N B R E A K S
MGMT
♫ all is rotten in district 12;
katniss feels useless
If you're conscious you must be depressed
Or at least cynical
The older I get
The more I suspect there's a trick
But really there's no trip at all
That doesn't result in a fall
Nobly wasting the night, but it isn't right
Running away isn't rough
But it's not enough
And you can sit beside me
And tell me what it's worth
But I hope I die before I get sold
If you find the soul that you lost
Frozen in a starry void
Take it within and hope the sight of blood
Can will signs of life to return
12. C H A N G E
Poets of the Fall
♫ mockingjays are baked into bread,
katniss is oblivious,
and gale is angry
You say you feel a chill in the season
Like something is falling apart
You say you can't hold it
together much longer
And I should look after your heart
But I feel a change coming on
Rolling out of the blue like a storm
And it's bending your will
Like a willow tree twisting
Trying to regain its form
My worth is the look in your eyes
My prize the smile playing tricks
On your lips and I wonder again
Do you ever dream of the world like I do
13. C O M P A N Y C A L L S
Death Cab for Cutie
♫ "I'm gonna stay right here and
cause all kinds of trouble"
I'll take the best of your bad moods
And dress them up to make a better you
Set your sights, destroy this party line
'Cause it's so tired
Set your sights, destroy this mock-shrine
'Cause it's so tired
14. D E V I L' S S P O K E
Laura Marling
♫ gale gets the whip;
katniss and peeta get the quell
That I might be a part of this
Ripple on water from a lonesome drip
A fallen tree that witness me
Him alone, him and me
But the love of your life lives
But lies no more
And where she lay a flower grows
The arms are fed and the babes that wed
The backs that bled keeping her in tow
But I am your keeper
And I hold your face away from light
I am yours till they come
15. A T H O U S A N D M I L E W I S H
Finger Eleven
♫ picnic on the roof;
"I wish I could freeze this moment,
right here, right now,
and live in it forever"
Forgive me if now I wear the face of worry
This time alone could never cause any doubt
But I’ve been cold too long
Such a strange time to find myself
With all the holes, my love
To fill up from the middle
So can you stay until we close our eyes
'Til your dreams hold mine, just stay
Until we know we tried one more time
Cause laughing lovers can overcome
Their closest demons
And they’ll go on and they won’t let go
Maybe stars know why we fall
I just wish they were thinking out loud
Oh, I could wish all night
16. A R E Y O U R E A D Y ?
Three Days Grace
♫ "remember who the enemy is"
You'd said we'd never get this far
You said your words
We've played our parts
Said your two cents now
It's my turn
So, sit down, shut up
Are you ready?
So, you think you know how this story goes
Are you ready for this?
17. F O L L O W T H E L E A D E R
Matthew Ryan
♫ the victors in the clock arena;
who leads, who follows?
We're in a solar system
Together and alone
There's brighter days ahead
I've seen them on tv
Word is there's something big
Hidden up their sleeve
Now you can follow your gut
Or you can follow the past
But if you knew an eclipse was coming
Why'd you even ask?
18. R U N
Snow Patrol
♫ keeping watch on the beach;
"that's no good, no good at all,
because he'll start going on
about Prim and my mother and everything
and I'll just get confused.
so before he can talk, I stop his lips with a kiss"
And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here
Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
19. C O N V U L S I O N
Mark Bradshaw
♫waking up after the arena explodes
{instrumental}
20. A D A Y L I K E T O D A Y
Tom McRae
♫ "all I need is air
and a clear shot at one of his veins";
so we'd both be free
Welcome back
Says the voice on the radio
But I never left
I was always right here
In your hand all the colours
You thought were kings
At the turn of a card
Can just disappear
I wish I could comfort you
If love is our defence
It’s alright I can comfort you
If you let me I could love you to death
PART ONE.ZIP {on to part two}