Dresden Files Fanmix: Central Trilogy
The trio of Changes, Ghost Story, and Cold Days are the midpoint of The Dresden Files, and are often considered a “central trilogy,” because they represent huge transformations for different aspects of his character. In Changes, his world; in Ghost Story, his body; and in Cold Days, his soul.
I’ve been tinkering around with this fanmix for a while now, and I still consider it a work in progress, but I figure it’s finally time to post it.
Enjoy! If you dig a song, be sure to support the artist by buying the song or CD on Amazon or iTunes.
Oh, and SPOILER WARNING for all three books, duh.
CHANGES:
Apocalypse Please, Muse — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
“They’ve taken our daughter.”
Declare this an emergency,
Come on and spread a sense of urgency,
And pull us through,
And pull us through!
And this is the end,
This is the end,
Of the world!
Born to Lose, Jenny Owen Youngs — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Harry draws upon every resource in his arsenal.
Somewhere in the night, a man is standing by
With a deal you won’t be able to refuse
No, you can’t call him, but expect your phone to ring
And brother, you prepare yourself to
Offer up what you were born to lose
Bottom of the River, Delta Rae — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Harry makes the deal he swore he’d never make to avert an even more monstrous fate.
The wolves will chase you
By the pale moonlight
Drunk and driven by a devil’s hunger
Drive your son like a railroad spike
Into the water, let it pull him under
Don’t you lift him, let him drown alive
The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder
Let that fever make the water rise
And let the river run dry
Rabbit Heart, Florence and the Machine — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
In a scene we won’t see until Ghost Story, but which informs her every action in Changes and beyond, Molly agrees to help Harry arrange his suicide. She knowingly trades herself and the man she loves to save the daughter he’s never met.
I must become the lion hearted girl
Ready for a fight
Before I make the final sacrifice
…
And in the spring, I shed my skin
And it blows away with the changing wind
The water has turned from blue to red
As towards the sky I offer it
This Is War, 30 Seconds to Mars — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Team Dresden goes into battle! (Bonus fanvid in the YouTube link! I love this fandom.)
To the right, To the left
We will fight to the death!
To the edge of the earth
It’s a brave new world
From the last to the first
Kid, Amos Lee — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Ebenezar understands Harry’s struggle.
Been kicked around so long
You’re starting to get used to how it feels
The taste of blood that’s in your mouth
There’s still somehow it always heals
Don’t know how you keep on getting up
From all those ghostly blows
And all that pain that lingers
Deep down in the darkness where it grows
I know how hard it is
To keep your head up kid
Looking Out, Brandi Carlile — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Spanning “Changes” and “Aftermath,” Murphy helps Harry through the darkness, then wrestles with her own loss.
My one and only wrecking ball, and you’re crashing through my walls
When you’re outside looking in, you belong to someone
And when you feel like giving in and the coming of the end,
Like your heart could break in two, someone loves you.
GHOST STORY:
Is There Anyone Out There, Delta Rae — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Those who relied on Harry are forced to find their own power to defend the city.
Oh, when we were young, we never knew
The pain that lay beyond, but then we grew
And all my heroes they were strange
But we all just want to be the same
But who will lead us when they are gone?
Who will save us when the wrong ones have won?
Remains, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Harry returns to a changed world.
Burn down my home
My memories hardened and are bright as chrome
Good times escape
While every mistake seems to be caught on tape
Terrible Things, April Smith and the Great Picture Show — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Molly grapples with hideous guilt and lashes out at those around her.
I know that I’m afflicted
But who could have predicted
The monster that I’ve become
I keep things carefully covered
So no one will discover
That I could be the culprit
I’m sorry I can’t help it
The Tower, Vienna Teng — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Murphy struggles to define herself in this new world.
She turns out the light anticipating night
falling tenderly around her
And watches the dusk
The words won’t come
She carries the act so convincingly the fact is
Sometimes she believes it
That she can be happy the way things are
Be happy with the things she’s done
Sing for Absolution, Muse — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Harry despairs over Susan’s death and the destruction he wrought.
Sing for absolution
I will be singing
And falling from your grace
Our wrongs remain unrectified
And our souls won’t be exhumed
The Man With the Hex, The Atomic Fireballs — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
I just threw this in for the big battle with Corpsetaker because it was too fun not to! (Fact: there is no battle scene that could not be improved with swing music.)
Save us from the man with hex!
COLD DAYS:
45, Shinedown — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Harry and Mab’s dance.
What ever happened to the young man’s heart
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart
Bridges, Tracy Chapman — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Murphy makes clear to Harry how far he’s drifted from the path.
You should take some time maybe sleep on it tonight
You should take some time baby heed the words I said
You should take some time think about your life
You should take some time before you throw it all away
Harbor, Vienna Teng — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Molly offers Harry a new home.
Sail your sea
Meet your storm
All I want is to be your harbor
The light in me
Will guide you home
All I want is to be your harbor
Hysteria, Muse — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
The Winter Mantle eats at Harry’s soul.
It’s holding me, morphing me, and forcing me to strive
To be endlessly caving in and dreaming I’m alive
Because I want it now, I want it now, give me your heart and your soul
Raise Hell, Brandi Carlile — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Molly is caught between her new independence and her old apprenticeship and suffers the consequences of proximity to Harry.
I dug a hole inside my heart
To put you in your grave.
At this point it was you and me,
And mama didn’t raise no slave.
You took my face in both your hands
And looked me in the eye
And I went down with such a force
That in your grave I lie.
Landscape, Florence and the Machine — [ YouTube | Amazon ]
Nemesis wreaks havoc on the Ladies of faerie.
She’s just like the weather, can’t hold her together
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Cause it’s burning through the bloodline
It’s cutting down the family tree
Growing in the landscape, darling, in between you and me
Through It All, Katy Pfaffl/Mighty Kate — [ No YouTube Link | Amazon ]
“I’ve got your back. Always. So God dammit, don’t you start taking the highway to Hell. Because I’m going to be right there with you. All the way”
Even as our lives change
And it feels like we may fall
I stand beside you
With you through it all