Music To Read WoT By

[Zidel333]

OK, so recently I've been listening to a lot of music that reminds me of WoT in some way. I thought it would be fun to post some that are particularly relevant to either characters or just the tone of the series. Please add your own!!

 

 

Tone and Nations:

 

 

Andor, Two Rivers, and The Series In General: best expressed in new age Irish Celtic, such as Sleepsong by Secret Garden (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J2lVnT65pw), Celtic Women, and Enya.

 

Also, Tudor music such as Greensleeves (

) or Pastime with Good Companyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vottDdrRSVk

 

Aiel: the Children of Dune soundtrack such as Inama Nushif (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znJdaWzoRYw) or Dune Messiah (

)

 

Cairhein: Baroque music, like Vivaldi's Four Seasons, especially Winter reminds me of Cairheinian nobility and their Game of Thrones. (

)

 

Tinkers: Gypsy music obviously, and also Russian. :P

Black ( Dark ) Eyes or Ochi Chernye works too. (

),

 

Kalinka, as played by the Red Army Russian Choir (

) or Katusha (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHlq_P5CI18&feature=related)

 

or some of the songs from my fave Russian film The Irony of Fate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq7YNvJOjK8)

 

Illian: Greek music, like Zorba The Greek (

) or just some awesome balalaika.

 

Forces of the Dark Requiem for a Dream theme song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Ma4BvMUwU)

 

Epicness of the Series or Generic Royalty: Main Title (House Atreides) once again from the Children of Dune soundtrack

 

Now We Are Free from Gladiator soundtrack by Lisa Gerrard (

)

 

End of Tarmon Gai'don: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by the late Hawaiian ukulele maestro Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ltAGuuru7Q)

 

 

 

Characters:

 

Aviendha: Joan Jett mostly, because they're both pretty BAMF women, such as I Hate Myself For Loving You(

)

 

Mat: Anything by Weezer or most Punk.

 

Perrin: Oddly enough, Greenday. Not in the lyrics or sound, but the annoying pacifism.

 

Rand:

 

(Quick preface: So, I'm a huge Rand fangirl (9 years strong!) and I can't help but hear most acoustic or heavy acoustic rock as being Rand personified. They all tend to be downer, angry, and dark. Which is Rand, seriously.)

 

-Breaking Benjamin's I Will Not Bow (

)

 

-The Toadies's Possum Kingdom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwD5rQ-_d4)

 

-Linkin Park, pretty much everything, but especially Bleedin' Out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znSCwbG8_L8)

 

The best though is Nine Inch Nail's or Johnny Cash's Hurt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clq01TXQR0s).

 

The lyrics scream Rand:

 

   "I hurt myself today

   To see if I still feel

   I focus on the pain

   The only thing that's real

   The needle tears a hole

   The old familiar sting

   Try to kill it all away

   But I remember everything

   

   What have I become?

   My sweetest friend

   Everyone I know

   Goes away in the end

   You could have it all

   My empire of dirt

   I will let you down

   I will make you hurt

   

   I wear this crown of thorns

   Upon my liar's chair

   Full of broken thoughts

   I cannot repair

   Beneath the stains of time

   The feeling disappears

   You are someone else

   I am still right here

   

   What have I become?

   My sweetest friend

   Everyone I know

   Goes away in the end

   You could have it all

   My empire of dirt

   I will let you down

   I will make you hurt

   If I could start again

   A million miles away

   I would keep myself

   I would find a way"

 

 

(If you read all the way here, congrats! I hope you clicked on some of the links, and listened for yourself. Oh, and PLEASE ADD MORE SONGS!!)

 

[Balefire to da face!]

We had a thread like this a while back. Hurt is a masterpiece of a sound, it fits a lot of stuff(in fact, book 7 of the Dark Tower series opens with lines from Hurt being quoted) ;) Some other NIN songs I find fitting are "The Wretched" perfectly fitting the opening confrontation between LTT and Ishy in the beginning of tEotW. And "Only" describing Rand's struggle with LTT in his head...

 

I'm becoming less defined, as days go by

Fading away, well you might say I'm losing focus

Kinda drifting into the abstract in terms of how I see myself

 

Sometimes, I think I can see right through myself

Sometimes, I think I can see right through myself

Sometimes, I can see right through myself

 

Less concerned, about fitting into the world

Your world that is!

Cause it doesn't really matter anymore

(no, it doesn't really matter anymore)

No, it doesn't really matter anymore

None of this really matters anymore

 

Yes, I am alone but then again I always was

As far back as I can tell, I think maybe it's because

Because you were never really real to begin with

I just made you up, to hurt myself

I just made you up, to hurt myself, yeah

And I just made you up to hurt myself

I just made you up to hurt myself, yeah

And I just made you up to hurt myself

 

And it worked

Yes, it did

 

There is no you, there is only me

There is no you, there is only me

There is no ****ing you, there is only me

There is no ****ing you, there is only me

 

Only

 

Well, the tiniest little dot caught my eye and it turned out to be a scab

And I had this funny feeling, like I just knew it's something bad

 

I just couldn't leave it alone

I cut off that scab

It was a doorway trying to seal itself shut

But I climbed through

 

Now I'm somewhere I am not supposed to be

And I can see things I know I really shouldn't see

And now I know why now, and now I know why

Things aren't as pretty, on the inside

[dapianoplay3r]

I don't like listening to music with words while reading. I left lotr playing on TV once and was thinking about the books. The music was from the March of the Ents scene and it just gave me the perfect picture of the last battle with rand and all the channelers slowly embracing the source and linking up till they end up looking like a tower of blazing light. It was awsome

[Loophole]

I don't like listening to music with words while reading. I left lotr playing on TV once and was thinking about the books. The music was from the March of the Ents scene and it just gave me the perfect picture of the last battle with rand and all the channelers slowly embracing the source and linking up till they end up looking like a tower of blazing light. It was awsome

 

haha, i agree, i did the same thing. So now i have got some movie soundtracks from epic movies and i think it works pretty well. LOTR songs do fit the battle scenes especially well.

[Sylvia]

The only music that I can ever really think of while reading, is the CD I was listening to when I first read TEotW. Music for People by VAST. I don't know how well it actually fits, but it always brings me back to that time when I hear it.

[OptimusPrime]

Pendulous Threads, by Incubus, is the song Moridin and the Dark One sing about Rand.

 

Mend this careless thread

It’s gone askew

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

Or pull and see how much we can undo

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

 

On a burning bridge, your options are minimal at best

Depending on where you’re standing

And how much breath is in your chest

If it came down to it

Would you high-tail home and hide?

Or dance on fire and enjoy the ride?

 

Mend this careless thread, it’s gone askew

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

Or pull and see how much we can undo

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

 

At the heart of it all

That innermost, your fiery core

There’s an amassing armor and it’s building you into a bore

Life’s a match in a gas tank

Don’t ever mourn the ebbing tide

Just dance on fire and enjoy the ride

Hey!

 

Mend this careless thread, it’s gone askew

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

Or pull and see how much we can undo

(Thread on my sweater is pendulous, step back and pull it

Watch it unravel faster than a speeding bullet)

 

 

Nothing Else Matters, by Metallica, is Rand talking to Min after Tarmon Gaidon.

 

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

 

Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

 

Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters

 

Never cared for what they do

Never cared for what they know, whoa

But I know

 

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

 

Never cared for what they do

Never cared for what they know, whoa

but I know

 

I never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

 

Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters

 

Never cared for things they say

Never cared for games they play

I'd never cared for what they do

I'd never cared for what they know

And I know

 

Yeah!

 

So close no matter how far

Couldn't be much more from the heart

Forever trusting who we are

And nothing else matters

 

 

Pretender, by Foo Fighters, is Rand talking about everything.

 

Keep you in the dark

You know they all pretend

Keep you in the dark

And so it all began

 

Send in your skeletons

Sing as their bones go marching in... again

The need you buried deep

The secrets that you keep are at the ready

Are you ready?

 

I'm finished making sense

Done pleading ignorance

That whole defense

Spinning infinity, but

The wheel is spinning me

It's never ending, never ending

Same old story

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

In time or so I'm told

I'm just another soul for sale... oh, well

The page is out of print

We are not permanent

We're temporary, temporary

Same old story

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

I'm the voice inside your head

You refuse to hear

I'm the face that you have to face

Mirrored in your stare

I'm what's left, I'm what's right

I'm the enemy

I'm the hand that will take you down

Bring you to your knees

 

So who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

 

Keep you in the dark

You know they all pretend

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

(You know they all... pretend)

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

What if I say I'm not like the others?

(Keep you in the dark)

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?

(You know they all... pretend)

You're the pretender

What if I say that I'll never surrender?

 

So who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

 

[Perrin is Hot]

When I read the books I'm typically listening to either Loreena McKennit (Canadian celtic/folk singer/musician...nothing past The Mask and Mirror though)or Summoning, who are a truly EPIC ambient black metal band that themes their music around Lord of the Rings.  I first read The Shadow Rising while listening to Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son..." album continuously throughout.  Thematically that album is pretty close to concepts in TWoT; a person meant to save the world, no one believes him, all that.

[Owayn The Traveller]

Neil Youngs On the Beach minus Walk on. Gotta love revolution blues. Live at massy hall also but use your ipod and cut out the clapping that always puts me off.

[Isgrimner]

My musical tastes are pretty wide open, but mostly rock and older punk.  If you had to guess, what you have the greatest chance of catching me listening to most of the time would probably be Tool/A Perfect Circle, Social Distortion, or David Bowie. 

 

There came a time when I wasn't usually listening to a lot of music when reading. However, when Knife of Dreams came out, I found myself reading and had the TV on for some reason.  The channel I had it on was showing a marathon of Cirque du Soliel. The music from that really worked for me when reading WOT.  For one thing, there is a lot of instrumental, and the ones with vocals, are from multiple languages includeing "Cirque" language which is bassically gibberish.

 

My favorites would be the music from Verakai and Alegria.  I ended up getting those on DVD and ripping the audio off them so I could listen to it as music when I read.

[Ashaman DeRouge]

Wings for Marie, Right in Two, and a few other TOOL songs fit the WOT theme perfectly.

 

I think I said it in the other thread earlier but Godspeed You! Black Emperor are a -perfect- fit in my mind. Its mostly strings and drums instrumental soundscape, but it's a lot more engaging than I made than sound :P The rise and fall of the peices are delicious, and when I go out to weed my garden later I will be listening to them!

 

The Fragile album as a whole is friggin' spectacular.

 

Also, Possum Kingdom? I suppose you could apply the lyrics to Rand and Elayne sneaking around and making out in corners, I guess :P

[Saguin Venart]

Whenever I see Taim or Logain I think of, 'The God that Failed' by Metallica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIgb7cMgJEw

[ed2funy]

Interesting...

 

*follows thread*

[jwillis7]

I know its nerdy but i listen to the WoW music, its awesome and the times when the music matches what is happening it is awesome.

[Saguin Venart]

Rand- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eMQyX-zAhQ 'Sanitarium by Metallica'

 

Mat- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiYaXzByCi0&feature=related 'Luck be a lady by Frank Sinatra'

 

Perrin- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA14Vw033Us 'Of Wolf and Man by Metallica' (Come on its a perfect fit)

 

Logain Ablar-

'King Nothing' by Metallica

 

Mazrim Taim- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIgb7cMgJEw 'The God that failed' by Metallica

 

When Mat blows the Horn in TGH-

'Ghostriders in the sky' by Johnny Cash.

 

Whenever Min and Rand are together- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EE59Ex5Px4 'Where is my mind' by Pixies.

 

Shadar Haran- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z-hEyVQDRA&feature=related 'Master of Puppets' by Metallica

 

[Isgrimner]

Taking Saguin's idea, here are some songs that kind of fit the characters, at least at certain times during the books where it reflects the character's growth or state of mind, in my mind.

 

Rand:

    The Man Who Sold the World - David Bowie(kind of gives off a Lews Therin/Ishameal vibe.

    Down in a Hole - Alice in Chains

    Nutshell - Alice in Chains

    Play With Fire - Rolling Stones

   

   

   

(this song especially fits him in TGS)

 

 

Mat:

    I Wasn't Born to Follow - Social Distortion

    I Don't Want to be a Soldier - Mad Season (I think their version fits Mat better than John Lennon's)

    House of the Rising Sun - the Animals

    Time Bomb - The Old 97s (song fits after he finds out Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons)

   

    Garden - Pearl Jam

   

 

Perrin:

    Wicked Game - Chris Isaak early on when with Faile

   

Mainly just the vibe and sound of the song remind me of Perrin

    The Patient - Tool Regarding what he would do to get Faile back after she was taken

   

just a vibe thing again

 

Thom

    While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles

   

   

I feel Thom has a lot of regrets and this song fits him, especially his mood in The Great Hunt

 

 

Lan:

   

    Going Down to Die - Danzig

    Achilles Last Stand - Led Zepplin

 

Jain Farstrider/Noal Charin

   

 

Ishamael

    Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones

   

 

 

 

Loial

   

 

Min

   

at least her thoughts on Rand

 

Faile

    She's Got Issues - the Offspring Early on in her dealings with Perrin

 

The Taint on Saiden

   

 

Ta'veren

 

 

Padan Fain

    the Nephilim - AFI

    Paranoid - Black Sabbath

 

Mazrim Taim

   

 

Trollocs/Myrddraal

    Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

    Hero - Ministry

   

 

Aiel

   

joking

    Elysian Fields - Megadeth

    Imagine - A Perfect Circle The dirge-like quality of the musical arrangement on this version reminds me of the Aiel's Wash the Spears song

 

Band of the Red Hand

    Blood of Heroes - Megadeth

   

Not really the lyrics, but the music

 

The Two Rivers/Manetheren:

    Defy You - The Offspring

 

 

 

[DarTiaElMoscato]

SHINEDOWN!!!

 

I have all of their stuff on my ipod and I play it on repeat while I am reading both the WOT and the Mistborn books...they are perfect for this series.

 

Of course elMoscato and I always hear "Iron Man" when we read or talk about Lan!

 

# "Fly from the Inside"

# "Left Out" 

# "Lost in the Crowd" 

# "No More Love"

# "Better Version" 

# "Burning Bright" 

# "In Memory"

# "All I Ever Wanted" 

# "Stranger Inside" 

# "Lacerated" 

# "Crying Out"

# "45"

# "Simple Man"

# "The Dream" 

# "Heroes" 

# "Save Me" 

# "I Dare You" 

# "Yer Majesty"

# "Beyond the Sun" 

# "Trade Yourself In"

# "Lady So Divine"

# "Shed Some Light"

# "Begin Again"

# "Atmosphere"

# "Fake"

# "Some Day"

# "Devour"

# "Sound of Madness"

# "Second Chance"

# "Cry for Help"

# "The Crow & the Butterfly"

# "If You Only Knew"

# "Sin with a Grin"

# "What a Shame"

# "Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide"

# "Breaking Inside"

# "Call Me"

# "I Own You"

# "Energy"

# "Son Of Sam"

 

[rubbernilly]

Like others, the CD I most associate with WoT is the CD that I listened to first/most often when I started tEotW...

 

Images and Words by DreamTheater

 

Best band on the planet (once they added Rudess on keys).

'nuff said.

[Azrael Maravaile]

Always like listening to Dream Theater while reading too. Although its a shame that if you aren't a musician there is a 99% chance you've never heard of them

[dapianoplay3r]

I like listening to this

I imagine everyone marching to the last battle and embracing the source

As the voices come in one by one we see people embrace and link till finally when that lone voice comes in Rand joins with everyone and becomes a pillar of light as he has so much power

as the instrumental comes in i imagine (if this was a movie) the camera flying backward in a hage reveal showing the whole armies of light with wolves as far as the eye can see. Then as everything gets combined i see the armies of the DO getting blown to pieces by the channelers

yea lol

[Durinax]

Korn and Metallica and System of a Down, just cause I love em so

Korn particularily the songs Got the Life, Freak on a Leash (haha Fain EotW), Alone I Break, Did my Time

Any Metallica (Of Wolf and Man for Perrin, and for some reason Some Kind of Monster reminds me of how addictive the OP and TP are)

 

EDIT

I just thought I would also put that Other Light by Finger 11 fits with Rand end of EotW after he learns some of whom he is

All Nightmare Long by Metallica for the dreams :D

[metallicafan08]

Ever heard "Seven seals" by Primal Fear? Think you can guess what it brings to mind, it would be an awesome soundtrack for when the final seal breaks and all hell breaks loose!! I'm well glad to see lots of Metallica songs getting suggested, sounds like a lot of metal fans read WOT  ;D also someone was name checking Dream Theater and "Images and Words", absolutely fantastic album and just like to say i'm in the 1% of non musicians who love them lol!!

[Saguin Venart]

The song 'Bulletproof' by Five Finger Death Punch Reminds me of Saidin before it was cleansed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqUCgD0FhLg&feature=related

[gotbliven]

Well, I'm a real fan of scenes where Rand breaks down and cries, and I always imagine it when I listen to this song

. Like when he finds that dead kid in the Stone, and tries to bring her back to life, or after Moiraine falls into the portal.

 

And this

. Imagine the first minute and a half of this to images of Egwene blasting Seanchan from the White tower. Epiiiiic.

 

And I agree with some previous poster about The Pretender by Foo Fighters. That always brings Rand to mind for me.

[Taryntula]

Anything by Journey. It's about the only music I can listen to while reading...I've heard all their songs so many times and know them so well they aren't a distraction. What a nerd I am!

 

Songs for characters:

 

Mat = "Escape" (because he's always trying to escape...ha ha!)

Thom = "I'll be alright without you" (poor guy has lost so many loves)

Rand = "Ask the Lonely"

 

I could go on, but I won't ;)

[Stanley the Bugman]

Just a couple of ideas for some music themes...

 

Rand -

Mat -

Perrin - Rainbow - "Run With The Wolf"

Nynaeve -

Thom -

Lewis Therin -

Shadar Logoth - Dream Theater - "A Nightmare To Remember"