the poison in my blood: a mix for "A Lively Convo"

the poison in my blood: a mix for A Lively Conversation Between Two Corpses [by Sam]

This is a fanmix for Sam’s story ”A Lively Conversation Between Two Corpses”—which you can find the first part of here: A Lively Conversation Between Two Corpses (1).

There are two sides to this mix and each is in a zip of its own, if there are any problems are you just want one or two songs, please tell me and I’ll do my best to fix/accommodate you.

Last but not least, enjoy, and if you haven’t already go read ”A Lively Conversation …”.

On to the mix.

Ta,

Cal.

textures by masterjinn

brushes by keepwaiting

fonts: Bobcat, Apocalypse Now, and Rock It

Side A

[ZIP: SIDE A]

1. Mistaken For Strangers;The National

oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over

surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wanna watch

another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

Theme for ”A Lively Conversation …”

2. Expo ’86; Death Cab for Cutie

but if I move my place in line I'll lose / and I have waited; the anticipation's got me glued

I am waiting for something to go wrong / I am waiting for familiar resolve

A song for Miles on the train.

3. Illegal Tender; Louis XIV

It takes a lover, it takes a lover

It takes a lover that will love me like no other

A song for Margot, Miles, Alexei and the Nurse.

4. Pretty Girls; Neko Case

Wind your flimsy blue gowns tied around you

Around curves so comely and sinister

[…]

Oh pretty girls, you're too good for this

How you break my heart in this cold waiting room

Oh pretty girls, you're too good for this

Don't let them tell you you're nothing

A theme song for Margot—because she is so comely and sinister.

5. A Mess To Be Made; The Format

then there's you, you're a mess to be made

Another song for Margot, as well as Miles; poor guy can never get things to turn out right.

6. For The Price of a Cup of Tea; Belle & Sebastian

For the price of a cup of tea

You'd get a seven inches

Soul black vinyl to stop your tears

You can use my stereo

You might be the village joke but

Don't listen to the gossip of the other folk

She just wants to be accepted in this place

There's something in her face

She will always seem exotic and aloof

If you want to know the truth

Her friend the stars dripping from the jewelled sky

When she was passing by

Would keep her calm

There was people that she knew, at least she thought she did

Be easy on the kid!

A song about Margot, the line—“Be easy on the kid!” is totally about her treatment of Miles, especially on the train. As for the part when Miles and Margot meet up once again after Alexei's death.

7. Make Me Smile; Steve Harley

blue eyes, blue eyes, how come you tell so many lies?

A song for Miles.

8. Almost Lover; A Fine Frenzy

We walked along a crowded street

You took my hand and danced with me

[...]

I cannot go to the ocean

I cannot drive the streets at night

I cannot wake up in the morning

Without you on my mind

So you're gone and I'm haunted

A song from the POV of Miles; For Margot.

9. Aphrodisiac; Bow Wow Wow

Take an a-a-aphrodisiac, don't do no-no-nothing, just relax

Your ha-ha-heart goes pitter-pat, take an a-a-aphrodisiac

If you want to fall in love with somebody

Somebody that you're not in love with at all

A theme song for Margot and Miles. Particularly for the polygon of relationships between Margot and Miles; Miles and Alexei; and Alexei and the Nurse.

On another note, I adore this song; it’s great to bop around to.

10. Hey Bulldog; The Beatles

Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles.

What makes you think you’re something special when you smile.

[...]

childlike, no one understands

you don't know what it's like

to listen to your fears

some kind of solitude

is measured out in you

you think you know me but

you haven't got a clue

if you're lonely

you can talk to me

O M G; it’s a Beatles song and it’s not a FREAK mix.

This song is a theme song for Miles. Also the line: "What makes you think you're something special when you smile" is a Margot line.

11. River Flows In You; Yiruma

[Instrumental]

I adore this piece of music; it is just so pretty and I think it reflects the melancholy of “A Lively Conversation …” very well.

12. A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction; Bright Eyes

How soft they speak and seem to be at peace

With the music and the madness that is pulling me into this

And the shades of the lamps are woven red

The light, it stains and consecrates

Anointing all forgotten forms that swirl and smoke

And haunt this place

The girls in gowns all nurse the dark

A theme song for “A Lively Conversation …” ; as well as a song for Miles and his relationship with Alexei.

13. People Are Strange; The Doors

People are strange when you're a stranger

Faces look ugly when you're alone

Women seem wicked when you're unwanted

Streets are uneven when you're down

A theme song and POV song for Miles.

14. Photobooth; Death Cab for Cutie

Cup your mouth to compress the sound

Skinny-dipping with the kids from a nearby town

Everything that I said was true

As the flashes blinded us in the photobooth

I lost track and then those words were said

You took the wheel and you steered us into my bed

Soon we woke and I walked you home

And it was pretty clear that it was hardly love

And as the summer's ending

The cold air will rush your hard heart away

You were so condescending

And this is all that's left

Scraping paper to document

I've packed a change of clothes and it's time to move on

A song for Alexei and Miles’s affair/relationship/thing.

15. Far Away; By Ingrid Michaelson

Far away far away, I want to go far away.

To a new life on a new shore line.

Where the water is blue and the people are new.

To another island, in another life.

There's a boy next to me and he never will be anything but a boy at the bar.

And I think he's the tops, he's where everything stops.

How I love to love him from afar.

A song from the POV of Margot—the boy being alluded to: Miles. For Margot and her wishing.

Side B

[ZIP: SIDE B]

1. For The Restless; Tom McRae

I wrote my name and thought of you

But you would not have known

Through a window of a car

A cigarette's a fallen star

A dream within a trail of sparks

And conversation turns to sleep

And I wait for you to speak

I'm waiting still

A song from the POV of Miles.

2. Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh; Bright Eyes

but now we speak with ruined tongues / and the words we say aren’t meant for anyone

it's just a mumbled sentence to / a passing acquaintance / but there was once you

you said you hate my suffering, and you understood / and you’d take care of me

you'd always be there / well, where are you now?

A theme for Margot and Miles.

3. Something To Do With My Hands; Her Space Holiday

Forget all those places that you've never really been

And all those situations you somehow found yourself in

Let your body sink into me

Like your favorite memory

[…]

I'll do my best to keep you, keep you sleepy as the south

With my old watch on your wrist

And my thumbs inside your mouth

Suck on my fingertips until you kill all my prints

So your boyfriend has no clue

Of how much I've been touching you

A song for the relationship between Alexei, Miles, and Margot.

4. Of Angels and Angles; The Decemberists

As on we go drowning

Down we go away

And darling, we go a-drowning

Down we go away

Away

A song for Miles and Sister Tabitha at the end of the story. Though I do believe "darling" could either be Margot from Miles' POV or Miles from Sister Tabith's POV.

5. Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings;Sunset Rubdown

He says your name out loud;

At miniature rooms where no one’s found;

It’s a desperate sound.

A song for Miles—“He” being Miles, and “your” being Alexei and/or Margot, in this case.

6. Look Up; Stars

You're cold, maybe you just missed the sun

You fall, feeling like it's just begun

So far, keeping it together's been enough

Look up, rain is falling, looks like love

Your boy is like a memory

With some sense of touch and a melody

Your girl, she's a renegade

A hurricane that keeps you there, safe

A theme for Miles and Margot.

7. Shape Of My Heart; Noah & The Whale

oh when i look to the shape of my heart,

it's separated only by scars

that cut in and cut out

A song for both Margot and Miles.

8. I Think God Can Explain; Splendor

it's alright, I'm O.K / I think God can explain / I believe I'm the same / I get carried away

A song for Miles after his falling out with Alexei and his run in with the law. And, come on, every mix needs a 90s Power Ballad.

9. It's Better To Have Loved; Temposhark

and i find myself questioning all that i have done / and i'm trying to press the button to rewind

and i find myself whispering 'god, what have you done?' / and i wish i had the option to rewind

A song from the POV of Miles thinking back on Alexei’s unfaithfulness, as well as his reaction to the Nurse and her accusations.

10. Wooden Chair; Angus And Julia Stone

woke up on the floor

with poison in my blood

and i'm missing you

A song from the POV of Miles towards the end of the story, missing Margot. Not to mention, I heart A & J so much.

11. Ain't No Easy Way; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

It's easy to fall in love / When you're on your luck, you know you're done

And the last kiss had a foolish cause / Now your tired eyes can only haunt...

A song for both Margot and Miles. I also think this band is seriously underrated.

12. Desperate; Rogue Wave

Have I gone desperate?

Margot fighting the Doctor; Miles fighting against the situation he is in post Alexei.

13. Doctor Blind; Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton

Hard to hold, cold to touch,

Fall to pieces, treat the rush,

In hindsight, with prime time talk.

All your pain will end here.

Let the doctor soothe your brain, dear

A song for Doctor Mengele-Frankenstein—er… I mean—Neuhaus.

14. Broken; Vitamin String Quartet

[Instrumental]

A song for Margot’s decent and fall in the lair of Good Ol' Doctor Neuhaus and Miles’s stupor. Plus, it is a great cover of a Seether/Amy Lee song.

15. Gossip In The Grain; Ray LaMontagne

Such the lazy Jackstraw

Always late for tea

Never bothers to ring lately.

Says the silly sparrow

'There's gossip in the grain,

Have you heard the...oh, you don't say'

Someday,

Someday,

A snow shall fill the trees

You best make warm the eves.

An ending theme for ”A Lively Conversation …”

Bonus Track: Smells Like Billie Jean; Michael Jackson Vs Nirvana

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene

[…]

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene

Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one

A song for Margot and Miles. Margot is such a Billie Jean. This mash-up makes me very happy.

Ta-da! If there are any problems please tell me.

Cal.