Archive of Our Own

26 tracks, one for each of the 25 squares on my card for fanbingo All of these come from my own music collection. Yes, I have what could generously be called an "eclectic" taste in music. This mix doesn't even begin to touch the reality of that.

1. Deux ex Machina: "Ghost Riders in the Sky" - Spiderbait
If you want to save your soul from Hell a-riding on our range
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the Devil's herd, across these endless skies

One of my all-time favourite songs -- I have yet to hear a version I didn't love. Per Wikipedia, "[The writer] said that he had been told the story when he was 12 years old by an old cowboy friend. The story resembles the northern European mythic Wild Hunt."

Particularly appropriate for this square, since a representative of Satan warning you off of your present course of action is a "god out of a machine" if ever I've seen one.

2. Secret Identity: "Nobody Knows Me" - Madonna
I've had so many lives
Since I was a child
...
Nobody, nobody knows me

If only one person truly knows who you are, your identity is a secret to everyone else. Given the nature of this song, that one person could even be yourself.

3. A/U Freestyle: "Of Wolf and Man" - Metallica
(move swift) All senses clean
(earth's gift) Back to the meaning, back to the meaning of wolf and man

A song all about the reality of werewolves. (Among possibly other things. Metallica seems to inspire debate just by existing, let alone when discussing the meaning of their lyrics.)

4. Scars: "Leave a Scar" - Marilyn Manson
Whatever doesn't kill you is gonna leave a scar
Whatever doesn't kill you is gonna leave a scar.

I've loved Marilyn Manson since I first listened to Portrait of an American Family on cassette after borrowing it from the guy who saw them opening for NIN. Their (his?) more recent music is quite different from the early years, but still excellent. This song isn't about physical scars, but the scars no one can see are usually the ones that hurt that most.

5. Mirror, Mirror: "Another Part of Me" - Michael Jackson
Can't you see...?
You're just another part of me

The first time I heard this song was when I saw Captain EO at Disneyland. The lyrics may not directly reflect the meaning of the square, but I've never forgotten that movie, and this is the song that Jackson sings at the end, after "EO transforms the Supreme Leader into a beautiful woman, her lair into a peaceful Greek temple and the planet into a verdant paradise." [Wikipedia]

6. Exile: "Moonchild" - Shakespear's Sister
But on this planet where do I fit in?
I could be in trouble or just imagining
Sometimes I feel like an alien

No one is ever as alone as they may think, but it often takes someone who cares to point this out to them.

7. Woke up in Bed Together: "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" - The Proclaimers
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be,>
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next you

This square was actually one of the hardest to find a song for. When I realised this song actually mentioned waking up in bed with someone else, I didn't even think to stop twice. (I've known all the words to this one since the first day I heard it on the radio... back in the earlier days of my high school years.)

8. Aphrodisiacs: "The Perfect Drug" - Nine Inch Nails
the more I give to you the more I die ...
you are the perfect drug

I still haven't watched Lost Highway, the movie this was written for, but I've owned the soundtrack since it came out and this song is the main reason why.

9. Secrets & Lies: "Dark Secret" - David Rudder
I'm haunted by dark secrets
Shadows of love

Is there anything else that people lie more about?

10. Getting Physical: "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" - Journey
When I'm alone, all by myself
You're out with someone else
Lovin', touchin', squeezin' each other

Sort of a partner to the song above, albeit unintentionally.

11. Possession & Mind Control: "Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man" - Concrete Blonde
You don't scare me, you don't scare me, I said
To whatever it was floating in the air about my bed

Concrete Blonde has done songs about ghosts, devils, vampires, AIDS, murder, and despair. And I love every one of them. They're a very underappreciated band and I'm very sad that they've stopped making music.

12. Auctions & Slavefic: "I'm a Slave 4 U" - Britney Spears
I'm a slave for you. I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.
I'm a slave for you. I won't deny it; I'm not trying to hide it.

Sometimes slavery is forced on you, and sometimes you choose it.

13. [Wild Card - Apocafic]: "Time Will Crawl (MM Remix)" - David Bowie
Time will crawl
till the 21st century lose

This was the song, along with "Glass Spider," that introduced me to David Bowie. It began a love affair that's still running strong and along the way ended up with me (at one point) owning every single studio album the man has ever done. (That tally, by the way, is pretty high. I've lost most of my CDs during various moves, but I believe it was over 40.)

"The lyric is themed around the pollution and destruction of the planet by industry (Bowie has cited hearing of the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986 as the genesis of the lyric) .... Bowie said "It deals with the idea that someone in one's own community could be the one responsible for blowing up the world." Bowie also admitted at the time that it was his favorite song from the album." [Wikipedia]

14. Canon A/U: "A Kind of Magic" - Queen
The bell that rings inside your mind
Is challenging the doors of time

Yes, he really says, "gimme gimme gimme fried chicken" at the end of the song. The humour is only one of many reasons to love Freddie Mercury. This song is from A Kind of Magic, also known as the unofficial soundtrack to Highlander.

15. ____ Made Us Do It: "Anything Goes" - Guns N' Roses
I been thinkin' 'bout, thinkin' 'bout sex
Always hungry for somethin' that I haven't had yet

The "____" can be filled by "Hormones," right?

16. Mistaken Identity: "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me" - Kid Rock
You never met a motherfucker quite like me
Not like me, God damn like me, hey hey like me

A song all about the truth of a life versus what people see. (How misunderstood is Kid Rock? I suspect that the fact this song ends with him being interrupted by someone saying, "You know, there's more to life than just you," and him bursting into laughter, says an awful lot.)

17. Yearning & Obliviousness: "Sendin' All My Love" - The Jets
If I could just catch yours, you'd be mine
I've got so much to say
Uh, would you look my way

One of the poppiest, happiest-sounding songs about unrequited love that I've ever heard.

18. Resurrection: "Ain't No Grave" - Johnny Cash
There ain't no grave
Can hold my body down

A song about resurrection in its religious sense, sung by one of the best.

19. Genderswap: "The Lord Was a Woman" - Candye Kane
The Lord, she was a woman
The Lord was a woman but she dressed up like a man

Genderswap and crossdressing, all in one song! If you've never listened to Candye Kane, you're missing out on one of the most amazing voices (aurally, lyrically, and personally) in music today. A brief bio: "Candye Kane is an American singer, songwriter and performer best known in the blues and jazz genre. She has been included in the Rolling Stone Guide to Jazz and Blues, Elwood's Blues by Dan Aykroyd, The Blueshound Guide to Blues, Allmusic and other blues books and periodicals. She also had a brief career as a porn star during porn's golden age." [From Wikipedia]

20. Contemporary A/U: "Super Villain" - Powerman 5000
Smash it up, burn it down
Tearing up the underground
You wanna live like a super villain

Who wouldn't like to be a super villain at some point in their lives?

21. Truth or Dare: "I Dare You" - Shinedown
I dare you to tell me to walk through fire
Wear my soul and call me a liar

A song I've loved since I first heard it. (Being used as a theme song for Wrestlemania 22, as a matter of fact.)

22. It's a Style Thing: "Return to Sender" - Elvis Presley
I gave a letter to the postman, he put it in his sack.
Bright and early next morning, he brought my letter back.

A classic epistolary song.

23. Fuck or Die: "Sex Type Thing" - Stone Temple Pilots
I know you want what's on my mind
I know you like what's on my mind
I know it eats you up inside

Also one of the more difficult squares to find a song for, but I think the urgency here covers it very well.

24. Betrayal: "Evil Laugh" - Seanan McGuire
My laugh is an evil laugh! Ha ha ha ha DIE.
It's been really swell, but now it's time to say goodbye.
My sudden inevitable betrayal was the only way

One of the most straightforward songs in the mix.

25. Speech Deprived: "If It Be Your Will" - Leonard Cohen
I will speak no more, I shall abide until
I am spoken for, if it be your will

And of course, no mix is really complete without Leonard Cohen.

26. They Fight Crime!: "Beer For My Horses" - Toby Keith & Willie Nelson
We'll all meet back at the local saloon
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces
Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses

The song itself is all about the topic, but if you want a real hoot, check out the video, featuring Toby as a homicide detective and Willie as a retired profiler. It is Pure Awesome. This one was originally listed separately, so isn't featured on the cover art.

Notes:
3. I had my werewolf!Tony AU fic in mind for this one, I'll admit.
14. And the SorcererSupreme!Tony official Marvel A/U for this one.
20. And of course, evil!Tony in this one.

Yeah, I'm a little Marvel-obsessed, but I did try to make song choices that would work in general.

Listen on Spotify.