Music Rec List - Xena And Gabrielle
I want to be writing, but... eh, it is just not happening. I think somewhere between dinner and now, my brain officially crapped out on me.
And, more than likely, the urge will return around midnight - when I should be sleeping.
//
As for this rec list, I am still going with the seven song method ('coz seven is a nice number) and these are songs that make me think of these two lovely ladies - separately and together, during the good times (and bad and otherwise).
I've found that with each list I do, I then think up a dozen more songs that could be on them.
I am sure the same can be said for this one. ;)
--I love this song for Gabrielle, post-season three. If you read the lyrics, they deal so heavily with the death of a child (in the songs case, unborn; in Gabrielle's case, the continual 'death' of Hope) and how the mother left behind feels the guilt of that child's demise. I've written several times about the complex nature of Gabrielle and Hope, of how that particular time in Gabrielle's life is almost as defining as when she met Xena - it becomes a wound that she carries forever (as is evident in 'The Abyss', Season Six).
/
--Okay, to me this song is as much about love as it is about the pain of love. And there is, among all the humor and the soulmate-stuff, this edge to the relationship between Xena & Gabrielle. First, yes, I am a subtexter (maintexter, really...). So, I see them in a certain light already. But even if that element was removed, that edge is still there - those moments where they are terribly possessive over each other. Just like the lyric states: you give it all, but I want more...
They do that so much with each other, whether they notice it or not. They push and they come together and they pull away and they come back - and they don't like it when someone else pops up in the middle of their tug-o-war [lol].
And I love this aspect to their relationship. It's very nice for a sub/maintext fiend like myself.
/
--Speaking of the soulmate-stuff and AFIN and such, this is damn near perfect for the end of the series and for the 'end' of Xena herself.
It is resigned, but not with sadness. It is someone facing their own mortality and recalling their life, but also holding fast to a good moment... a good day... a thousand good memories before it is all over.
And how poignant that for a show such as this, eh?
/
--I always, always think of Conqueror-era Xena when I hear this song. It is brazen and cocky, just like she seemed to be way back when - tearing up the lands and taking over the world, acting like a god already. She didn't need to be made one.
Of course, this is over-looking the obvious emotional turmoil... and that's alright. ;)
Because Xena wasn't always a 'good' girl.
/
Neko Case - 'The Next Time You Say Forever'
--Gah, I love this song for Gabrielle towards Xena, post-AFIN. Because I am taking it further than that boat and that ghost, that's what my fanfiction brain tends to do.
And while I am a firm believer in their great & understanding love, I am also a believer that there would be anger, too. Anger that the one who promised you forever is leaving you behind, leaving you to walk this world alone.
So, in a sense, this is an abstract selection (for things we do not get to see play out). And, yet, it rings true when I think/ponder Gabrielle's feelings beyond the ending.
/
--Now, I get to step away from all that freakin' angst and give you some sweet devotion. It imagines a future, full of affection and completion, and that is how I see this pairing more often than not. They fill in the gaps for each other, they can convey all things with a look and a smile - they are each others 'beloved', a center in a world full of storms.
And, c'mon, did you know that Minnie Driver could sing so damn well?
/
--A bit of a cheat, but I honestly do not think I have to explain why this song fits so fucking well. This lovely person explains it for me, in video form.
And, more than likely, the urge will return around midnight - when I should be sleeping.
//
As for this rec list, I am still going with the seven song method ('coz seven is a nice number) and these are songs that make me think of these two lovely ladies - separately and together, during the good times (and bad and otherwise).
I've found that with each list I do, I then think up a dozen more songs that could be on them.
I am sure the same can be said for this one. ;)
--I love this song for Gabrielle, post-season three. If you read the lyrics, they deal so heavily with the death of a child (in the songs case, unborn; in Gabrielle's case, the continual 'death' of Hope) and how the mother left behind feels the guilt of that child's demise. I've written several times about the complex nature of Gabrielle and Hope, of how that particular time in Gabrielle's life is almost as defining as when she met Xena - it becomes a wound that she carries forever (as is evident in 'The Abyss', Season Six).
/
--Okay, to me this song is as much about love as it is about the pain of love. And there is, among all the humor and the soulmate-stuff, this edge to the relationship between Xena & Gabrielle. First, yes, I am a subtexter (maintexter, really...). So, I see them in a certain light already. But even if that element was removed, that edge is still there - those moments where they are terribly possessive over each other. Just like the lyric states: you give it all, but I want more...
They do that so much with each other, whether they notice it or not. They push and they come together and they pull away and they come back - and they don't like it when someone else pops up in the middle of their tug-o-war [lol].
And I love this aspect to their relationship. It's very nice for a sub/maintext fiend like myself.
/
--Speaking of the soulmate-stuff and AFIN and such, this is damn near perfect for the end of the series and for the 'end' of Xena herself.
It is resigned, but not with sadness. It is someone facing their own mortality and recalling their life, but also holding fast to a good moment... a good day... a thousand good memories before it is all over.
And how poignant that for a show such as this, eh?
/
--I always, always think of Conqueror-era Xena when I hear this song. It is brazen and cocky, just like she seemed to be way back when - tearing up the lands and taking over the world, acting like a god already. She didn't need to be made one.
Of course, this is over-looking the obvious emotional turmoil... and that's alright. ;)
Because Xena wasn't always a 'good' girl.
/
Neko Case - 'The Next Time You Say Forever'
--Gah, I love this song for Gabrielle towards Xena, post-AFIN. Because I am taking it further than that boat and that ghost, that's what my fanfiction brain tends to do.
And while I am a firm believer in their great & understanding love, I am also a believer that there would be anger, too. Anger that the one who promised you forever is leaving you behind, leaving you to walk this world alone.
So, in a sense, this is an abstract selection (for things we do not get to see play out). And, yet, it rings true when I think/ponder Gabrielle's feelings beyond the ending.
/
--Now, I get to step away from all that freakin' angst and give you some sweet devotion. It imagines a future, full of affection and completion, and that is how I see this pairing more often than not. They fill in the gaps for each other, they can convey all things with a look and a smile - they are each others 'beloved', a center in a world full of storms.
And, c'mon, did you know that Minnie Driver could sing so damn well?
/
--A bit of a cheat, but I honestly do not think I have to explain why this song fits so fucking well. This lovely person explains it for me, in video form.