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A thought on B/A and B/S in music.
These are some thoughts that've been in my head for a while. I'm not sure they are particularly interesting, I just felt like sharing. It's all about music...
Both B/A and B/S have a theme. The Bangel one is 'Close Your Eyes', the Spuffy one 'The Final Fight'. Now just going by titles, they say so much about the relationships they relate to:
- Buffy says: "Close your eyes" before she kills Angel. He is the victim - his own victim, in that he has to pay for Angelus's crime. It is a heart-wrenching, soul-destroying moment for Buffy, left bereft and alone, deciding that she cannot cope anymore and runs away from home. Buffy tried to pretend that everything was going to be ok when she started seeing Angel - she knew they had no future, but she was drawn in and closed her eyes to the harsh facts.
"When I kiss you, I want to die."
- Now the Final Fight... Buffy and Spike were always about the fight. "Do we really need weapons for this?" "I'd rather be fighting you anyway!" They were dancing for years, before Spike finally 'went down fighting'. His last words: "I wanna see how it ends!" He was not a victim, but a champion, his own actions having brought him there. Buffy was left stronger, ready to start a new life - proud of her lover. Because Buffy and Spike hardly ever pretended. She tried to deny what he felt - what she felt - but she never made it more, never tried to say that it would end well.
"This isn't real, but I just wanna feel."
The other point is the music itself:
- 'Close Your Eyes' is a beautiful, sad piece of music. You can hum the tune after hearing it once. It fits perfectly with the tragic, doomed love of Buffy and Angel... it is Romeo and Juliet set to music.
- 'The Final Fight' on the other hand is complicated. It's big and powerful and sweeping. It is not easy to remember, but much more satisfying to listen to. It could even be argued that it reflects the story of Buffy and Spike. It starts out slow (s2), and then builds and builds (s4-5) until it suddenly comes to a climax (s6) and then quiets down (s7). The last few movements are slow and lush and rich, reflecting the beauty and understatedness of s7 Spuffy. I love this piece of music far, far too much.
Both B/A and B/S have a theme. The Bangel one is 'Close Your Eyes', the Spuffy one 'The Final Fight'. Now just going by titles, they say so much about the relationships they relate to:
- Buffy says: "Close your eyes" before she kills Angel. He is the victim - his own victim, in that he has to pay for Angelus's crime. It is a heart-wrenching, soul-destroying moment for Buffy, left bereft and alone, deciding that she cannot cope anymore and runs away from home. Buffy tried to pretend that everything was going to be ok when she started seeing Angel - she knew they had no future, but she was drawn in and closed her eyes to the harsh facts.
"When I kiss you, I want to die."
- Now the Final Fight... Buffy and Spike were always about the fight. "Do we really need weapons for this?" "I'd rather be fighting you anyway!" They were dancing for years, before Spike finally 'went down fighting'. His last words: "I wanna see how it ends!" He was not a victim, but a champion, his own actions having brought him there. Buffy was left stronger, ready to start a new life - proud of her lover. Because Buffy and Spike hardly ever pretended. She tried to deny what he felt - what she felt - but she never made it more, never tried to say that it would end well.
"This isn't real, but I just wanna feel."
The other point is the music itself:
- 'Close Your Eyes' is a beautiful, sad piece of music. You can hum the tune after hearing it once. It fits perfectly with the tragic, doomed love of Buffy and Angel... it is Romeo and Juliet set to music.
- 'The Final Fight' on the other hand is complicated. It's big and powerful and sweeping. It is not easy to remember, but much more satisfying to listen to. It could even be argued that it reflects the story of Buffy and Spike. It starts out slow (s2), and then builds and builds (s4-5) until it suddenly comes to a climax (s6) and then quiets down (s7). The last few movements are slow and lush and rich, reflecting the beauty and understatedness of s7 Spuffy. I love this piece of music far, far too much.
no subject
F.ex. in 'Sleeper' Aimee Mann is playing 'Pavlov's Bell' during the Bronze scene, the theme running through 'The Zeppo' is called 'Dead Guys With Bombs', the song at the end of 'Entropy' begins with the words "Who would sell their soul for love..." and at the beginning of 'Crush' the band plays a song all about choices... I would recommend getting the soundtracks asap! :)
Oh - and the prime example of this is of course 'Stupid Thing' (by Nickel) the song that plays in the scene where Spike first sees Buffy (in the Bronze) - "I'm one step away from crashing to my knees...".
no subject
I remember reading an analysis of all of "School Hard" on SSS and I think it noted the lyrics' applicability to Spike's eventual actions. Though given the plans for the character that part couldn't have been premeditated. But yes, I have heard discussion about the song choices made. BtVS was a show with a lot of levels of detail. Certainly gave us a lot to talk about!
no subject
Yes, and the first one (that's just called 'The Buffy Soundtrack' or something boring like that). Actually the UK version of 'Radio Sunnydale' had twice as many songs on it as the US one, so try to get hold of that one! ;)