Wednesday, November 13, 2013

I've Got To Doubleback (The Playlist Project - Part 4)

Part 4 - we're getting down to the end!

Fifty Years Running - The Doctor Who Playlist Project

(Part 1 is here)
(Part 2 is here)
(Part 3 is here)

Track 31: Beethoven’s 5 Secrets by The Piano Guys feat. the Lyceum Philharmonic



Another Piano Guys entry. I just like this version of OneRepublic’s song and I wanted an instrumental song to serve as a transition between the next stage of the playlist. I wonder if the Doctor has ever met Beethoven.

Track 32: Double Vision by Foreigner



A lot of weird stuff happens to the Doctor. And this song is kind of weird (but still good). Plus, I used this song in my Librarian in the TARDIS review of “The Android Invasion,” and I loved how it fit in with that story. Then, I remembered how many stories there have been, not just with the Doctor meeting past incarnations of himself but also stories where the Doctor has met some kind of doppleganger - whether that’s the Abbot of Amboise in “The Massacre” or Ramon Salamander in “The Enemy of the World” or Handy!Doctor in “Journey’s End” or the Flesh!Doctor in that one two-parter from Series 6 that I hate with the burning fury of a thousand suns, but Matt Smith is fantastic in it anyway.

Track 33: Doubleback by ZZ Top



I got shot through a space not long ago,
I thought I knew the place so well.
It wasn't the same, now it goes to show,
Sometime you never can tell.

Another entry from the Back to the Future movies. It's fitting, seeing as how that movie trilogy was what first taught me everything I know about time-travel fiction.  My parents took me to see the first movie at the drive-in theater when I was merely five months old and it was all downhill from there.

Track 34: The Captain by Biffy Clyro



This song was in this Fifth Doctor tribute video and I liked it so much that I watched it a lot, which meant I started to like the song and associate it with my dear Fivey.  It was a total personal-preference-thing, so it went on the playlist. Nothing to it more than that.

Track 35: Fire and Rain by James Taylor



Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to

I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again


Sort of a much more contemplative song. I can imagine the Doctor, alone in the console room either tinkering around with some component or staring at the center column, thinking of everything he's seen and everything he's done - hoping that he can still keep up the pace and keep living his lifestyle. Because that's all he's known for hundreds of years.

Track 36: Spaceman by The Killers



And you know I might
Have just flown too far from the floor this time
Cause they're calling me by my name
And the zipping white light beams
Disregards the bombs and satellites

That was the turning point
That was one lonely night

The star maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, "Everybody look down
It's all in your mind"


Another Killers tune and another fan-video inspired addition (and another Fifth Doctor vid - I regret nothing!)  I just love this song and if you think I'm going to do anything except give preferential treatment to my dear, sweet Fivey - you go another think coming :)

(Note: This version of Spaceman is missing the bridge part that says "the Nile used to run from east to west" - which made me think of Erimem, the Egyptian girl who almost became Pharoah but instead travels with the Fifth Doctor in Big Finish. Just - listen to those stories. They're wonderful!)

Track 37: Ordinary by Train



And when the world is on its knees with me its fine
And when I come to the rescue I get nothing but left behind
Everybody seems to be getting what they need where's mine
‘Cause your what I need so very but I'm anything but ordinary


Another song to a video that I made back in the day (be gentle - this was the very first one I ever made). This one illustrated the “Human Nature” two-parter in Series 3 for me and actually made that story work for me.  It kind of bugged me that the Doctor would have chosen to have a normal human life when he could travel all over the universe and all through history and I had a hard time with that story when I first saw it (besides - how was Martha supposed to get home?)  But then I had this song come up on my iTunes shuffle and - I started to understand.  It's easy for me and my normal, everyday life to say "I want to go on an adventure!"  But for a character that has that all the time - I guess normal, everyday would be a treat.  But the Doctor (at least) would never get more than a taste of it because it's not in his nature.  He's not normal and he's not everyday.  And that's why we love him so much.

Track 38: All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers



When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I want to stand up, I want to let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I want to shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand

There are so many different lyrics I could have chosen to highlight from this song because - it's just a great song! And it's a great illustration of the Doctor, especially the post-Time War. Someone out there in Internet Land posited that this was the perfect song for the Tenth Doctor (almost the theme of "The Waters of Mars" - see the line "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier) and I think I agree (I wish I could remember who that person was and give them credit - if that was you or you know who it was, drop me a line).

Track 39: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve



'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Try to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no


So, we've come to the point where I have no idea why I picked these songs other than a few random lyrics and that I think they sound good. I guess line like "I'm a million different people," put me in mind of regeneration and that's something I would have highlighted if I made a video with this song. I just have a lot of random ideas, but not a lot of time or resources to put them all together (but feel free to do it yourself if any of this inspires you)

Track 40: Bring Him Home by The Piano Guys



Ending out this section with another slow instrumental to transition to the final ten. The Doctor may have his moments of doubt, but his companions (and fans, let's be honest here) keep pulling him through.

You know what? We are pretty good :)

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