Songs for Your Characters

I actually have entire playlists based on characters. I put in things I imagine they'd listen to along with songs that make me think specifically of that character.

I do the same thing with writer's block too. Depending on which character I'm writing, I put on a playlist and it always helps.

 

I actually have a full folder for my Chess World cast alone
Each character has a couple songs; some define them overall, some a certain part of their story, some their relationship to other characters.
I also have a few instrumental pieces for certain scenes, basically like a movie OST.
It bothers me that some of them don't have songs yet, and I am glad whenever I find something fitting...sadly it's a slow process, since I'm no good at looking for new music out of my comfort zone and it's sometimes very hard to find music handling a specific theme.
For example, I wanted more espionage related songs, but they are either "basically the James Bond OST" or "female agents flirting around" or "text fits, but sound not at all".
I also heavily prefer male voices (most of my characters are male too).

Sadly for my second story I am still without any songs.
I sometimes feel like this is actually one of the reasons why I still lack the same connection to them like I do have with my chess group (and why those characters are also all waaay less defined).

Music inspires me a lot, both in character creation and for photoshootings, and is very important for me and a big part of my creative process.
I love taking pictures inspired by songs too and have done so already several times (and got a few more I want to tackle someday).
And honestly, there is nothing worse than fitting lyrics to a song that is soooo not your taste

 

There are a few theme song tags on youtube, I'm also trying to make my own, so if you go there you can see a lot of videos of people answer this.

I try to have a main them song for my characters, for inspiration. I use music for writing and art. Example my luts girl is a demon, her theme song is Rev 22:20 by Pucifier. The lyrics explain her completely.

@Ara have you tried Feeling good by Michael Buble?

 

@Kraftykitt: I actually have something by him on my playlist
I use "Sway" for some lighthearted "dancing together" scene between the two spies, since this big band sound suits them pretty well.
"Feeling Good" is on my regular playlist, but I've had this song so long already there it just doesn't feel like it really belongs to my character.

I also have songs like Bang, Bang; Secret Agent Man and Skyfall for him. Most of his songs are not really about his job though, and more about him being the sappy guy he is
I remember going through Archer and James Bond playlists on 8tracks too (and countless other websites).

 

Mine are all kind of embarrassing... Toshi's is definitely the second season opening of BNHA, the name of which I'm don't know. Both RIN RIN! HI HI! (The opening of Nanbaka) and Zenryoku BATANKYUU (the second Osomatsu-san opening) remind me of Ilya. Aelic's is Thank You!! (the second ending of Bleach). (I pretty much only listen to anime songs, okay?) I have tons more, 'cause almost all songs remind me of my characters in some way, but these are up there right now.

 

When it comes to discovering new music, especially with certain themes/feelings, I enjoy listening to fanmixes on 8Tracks, it inspires me a lot. ^_^

 

@Ara ah wasn't sure. Usually I think spy and that song pops into mind, or Snake eater from the metal gear solid game, or to be honest hide n seek by Namie Amuro.

I have such an eclectic mix of music that I can grab anything for any mood really. Again helps a lot with writing, drawing, and now working on my dolls

 

Only one of my characters has an actual playlist (weird mix of emo screamo and classical piano), and he's not one of my doll characters, but... it's always exciting when you hear a song and know it goes with your character. I've definitely been inspired by a few random songs when I wasn't even looking for it.

 

I have a few songs that match my dolls!

Journey - Leave This Place by Lione
Rayleigh - Lions by LIGHTS
Zephii - Ready and Waiting to Fall by MAE & Clarity by Zedd
Alyssa - Meteorites by LIGHTS
Katarina - Feel Good by Illenium ft. Daya & Take Me Home by Cash Cash ft. Bebe Rexha
Riyan - Heavy by Linkin Park ft. Kiira & Muscle Memory by LIGHTS
Brink - The Everglow by MAE & A Melody, the Memory by MAE
Vienna - Freesol by Seven Lions
Chrom - Wolf Bite by Owl City
Bambi - Vanilla Twilight by Owl City & Replaced by Kate McGill
Pommie - Saviour by LIGHTS

 

Vince's songs are... mostly very silly little things. I lost all my old playlists (and half my music) during an iTunes update and haven't remade his list, but he had doll/toy related songs and then just some odd humor songs.

I haven't made Marigold a playlist, but I think it would be Simon and Garfunkel heavy... very soft and folk-y.

Moz doesn't have a body (the floating head I have does represent the D&D elf version of his character, rather than the semi-grizzled adult human man version), but does have a lot of music- 'Non, je ne Regrette Rien' by Edith Piaf, 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' by Dusty Springfield, and 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon are more his personal songs in his regular universe.

As for not-currently-shelled characters...

Estee has 'Angel of the Morning' by Merrilee Rush and 'I Know That He's Mine' by Caro Emerald.

Lydia has 'Head Over Heels' by Tears For Fears and 'Sheena is a Punk Rocker' by the Ramones.

The boys of 'Elaborate Rituals' have 'Smalltown' by Lou Reed, 'O Children' by Nick Cave... and 'BFF' from Rhett and Link's Buddy System.

 

My pair's songs aren't etched in stone and are subject to constant changes as I hear new songs, but I'm going to list some of their current ones.

Adhara:
- She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel
- Mordred's Lullaby by Heather Dale (chosen more for its tone and mood)

Guórén:
- Because of You by Kelly Clarkson (sometimes in tandem with Bui Doi from Miss Saigon)
- Son of Man from Disney's Tarzan

Love song evolution:
- I Don't Know How to Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar
- Evermore from the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast
- Deep River by Utada Hikaru
- Perfect by Ed Sheeran (specifically PianoGuys' instrumental version)

---- Added 8/31/2018 ----

Kokiden:
- Eva by Nightwish
- Frozen by Within Temptation
- Final Distance by Utada Hikaru

Okaasan-hime:
- Nemo by Nightwish
- Far Away by Nickelback

My-crew-in-general song:
- Dead to the World by Nightwish (*snork* only makes sense if their joint histories are sufficiently explained)

 

@Birdydown
Mentioned it earlier, but I tend to do the same! At least for the espionage theme I looked at Archer FX and James Bond 8tracks too.
Thinking about it, maybe I should go for the obvious choice and look at Team Fortress 2 Spy playlists

@Kraftykitt
MGS is definitely on my playlist too!
I got "Snake Eater" for Schwarz (the spy) and "Father&Son" is one of those "fake movie OST" songs I use for a certain scene.
Kazuhira has "Heavens Divide" and the "Victory Song" in his playlist. And "Sins of the Father" I use for a character that belongs to my partner, but is in the same story.
"Here's to you" I want to use for a shooting someday too. Kojima has a great taste in music.

@BenEMcD
I have a few characters who I identify with a certain type of music (like, a type that both fits them and would be the type I could imagine them listen to)...unfortunately it's sometimes a type that is not what I like to listen to.
For Ryanne and her best friend I actually imagine mostly grunge, dirty sounding music but that's not my thing; the closest I can find for them that I still really like is Placebo.
Finding new music to like is so difficult, I don't want to sit down and think "I will look for music now"
I'm also one of those people who rarely likes everything a band does. So I got a wild mix of artists on my iPod, but usually only a few songs (sometimes only one), even from bands/artists I overall very like.

Since I like what other posted, a mix of mine:

Schwarz - songs about his profession, character, past and relationship to a female spy
Bang, Bang (Nico Vega and Sinatra version); Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers); Once upon a December (Anastasia OST); Mr. Brightside (The Killers); Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Queen); Skyfall (Adele) etc.

Roman - songs about the sea/ocean, his relationship to his King, relationship to his arch enemy and his change in character throughout the years
What the water gave me (Florence + The Machine); I love you & Iron (Woodkid); Swallowed in the Sea (Coldplay); Somewhere only we know & Crystal Ball & Early Winter (Keane); Auf Kiel & Das schwarze Meer (Subway to Sally) etc.

Ryanne - mix of western/folk-esque stuff and harder tunes, fitting her past as a farmer to her escape into a life as soldier and her (rough) relationship with another man
Dust Bowl Dance (Mumford & Sons); Post Blue (Placebo); A Horse With No Name (America); D is for Dangerous (Arctic Monkeys); Six Shooter (Coyote Kisses); Flesh and Bone & Shot at the night (The Killers); Ich will brennen (ASP); Waidmanns Heil (Rammstein) etc.

Enough for now, don't want to spam

 

I love Rev22:20 Im using it for my Iplehouse/dollstown girl who is supposed to be my series' equivalent to Lilith.

Other than her having a theme song, a couple of mine have playlists. Grim, for instance is a lot of the harder stuff in my playlist: lots of slipknot(kilpop, the devil in I, and for the softer side he hides, vermillion part two), avenged sevenfold (scream, little piece of heaven), some Korn (especially Kill You and Lullabye for a Sadist), as well as a bunch of three days grace (I hate everything about you, just like you, home, animal I have become, goin down), a little bit of the used (cut up angels, blood on my hands). In another genre, he has a bunch of MSI (3 s', Hey Tomorrow, f*ck you and your friend yesterday (am I allowed to say that here?)), and a bit of panic! At the disco (Lying is the most fun a girl can have with her Clothes on, and There’s a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought of It Yet)

To be a little more general in the sake of brevity, for Azrael and her boyfriend, I have a lot of Halestorm, pretty reckless and a little paramore for her and a lot of Sixx AM, linkin park and seether for him. She also has a lot of evanescence in their playlist, and they share a few songs by finger eleven and Billy Talent. Other bands with a huge part in the playlist are shinedown (mainly him), three days grace (both but mainly him), and stone sour (both).

 

Yes! I haven't found one for everyone yet, but I'm getting there.


1. Parker- "Story of My Life" by One Direction and "What Do You Mean" by Justin Bieber
2. Dhani- "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" by Rolling Stones and "Howling At The Moon (Sha-la-la" by the Ramones
3. Kier- "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes ft Adam Levine
4. Hailey- "Change your Life" by Little Mix
5. Justin- "Dirty Work" by Austin Mahone, "Lolly" by Maejor Ali
6. Luc- "Pursuit of Happiness" cover by Lissie
7. Erica- "I Think About You" by Colin Raye
8. Opaline- "Femme Fatale" by Velvet Underground ft Nico
9. Lakin- "Lithium" by Nirvana, "Jet Black Heart" by 5SOS, "Black Tangled Heart" by silverchair and "Let It Go" from Frozen
10. Jack- "She Looks So Perfect" and "Hey Everybody" by 5SOS
11. Tanner- "If That Isn't Love" by Weird Al Yankovic and "Man From Milwaukee" by Hanson
12. Amir- "Centerfold" by J. Geils Bands and "Figured You Out" by Nickelback
13. Rose- "This I Promise you" by NSync
14. Eirnin- "Drunken Lullabies" by Flogging Molly

I don't have one yet for Derby or Marie. Derby loves Disney princess songs, especially from the stronger, braver, less girly princesses like Mulan and Merida, but she doesn't have a specific song that relates to her. Marie likes Oldie Goldies and retro cartoon theme songs, but again, there hasn't been one in particular that really jumps out and calls her name.

For my off topic critters and pet dolls, they don't really have full personalities, much less songs, though I guess "The Island of Misfit Toys" song from the Rudolph Christmas special fits--they're all weirdies in their own way and don't fit in with the human crew, so they all hang out together in my sewing room. Though the TMNT theme song could be fitting for Raphael. :P

 

The song "Have I Told You Lately" by Rod Stewart always reminds me of my first and still favorite BJD, Hiro (my Volks SD13 Link).

Many songs have inspired the stories about my band, including:

Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk
Neon Trees - Animal
The Cure - Friday I'm in Love
Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
The Vaccines - If You Wanna
Weezer - Perfect Situation
blink182 - What's My Age Again
All American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret
Cake - Never There
etc etc etc

Linda S.
galatia9

 

My one little human Trystann would totally have the song Company of Fools as his theme song. I see his personality as that kind of playful.

 

Well the majority of my dolls are based on characters I had before they were dolls or in the case of a couple of them are based on book/movie/anime characters, so they do have theme tunes or songs that remind me of them/fit them/fit their characters, but these are the only definate ones at the mo.

Sarge (Iplehouse Kamau,) - I Stand Alone & I ****ing Hate You ~ Godsmack (because Sarge is a loner, he hates people being around and just people in general and he's just a mean, grumpy guts especially to Blade, they just fit him and his attitude really well.

Blade (Doll In Mind Lyell,) - Poison ~ Alice Cooper & Chase and Status ~ Pieces (because he loves Sarge, but the guy is basically twisted and pretty horrible to him, at least at first and yet again they fit their relationship quite well really,)

Neo (ResinSoul Dan/Mu mix,) - Sweet Like Chocolate ~ Shanks and Bigfoot (mostly because he's just so adorable and his partner always calls him sweetheart, it just fits their relationship,)

Clove (Elfdoll Rita/Supia Hybrid,) - Born To Die & Sweet Serial Killer ~ Lana Del Rey (in relation to her backstory and also sort of relationship with Cato, and the second because it's basically what she is and does. She plays coy and sweet in the interviews, but she's kinda pyschopathic and a killer who enjoys it a great deal,)

Cato (Iplehouse Luo/Soom Idealian Hybrid,) - Just a Little Girl ~ Trading Yesterday (in relation to his sort of relationship with Clove,)

and for both Cato and Clove together - Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush/Placebo (I put both because I love the original but it's mostly the Placebo version that makes me think of them and their world and some of the stories/ideas me and an old friend had of them.)

 

All of my dolls and some of my planned dolls have at least one theme. Some have just the one, and some have more than one.

JOHNNY: "Lonesome Loser" by Little River Band ( except for Johanna he's had poor luck with romance), "Steppin' in a Slide Zone" by the Moody Blues (this one's lyrics echo his storyline vaguely), and "Clocks" by Coldplay (he likes the piano line).

JOHANNA: "Can You See the Real Me" by the Who (Johanna has a split personality) and "Do Ya" by the Electric Light Orchestra (this one makes Johanna think of all the people she loves).

JOHNNY/JOHANNA TOGETHER: "Love Me Tomorrow" by Chicago (this played on the radio during their first casual date), "Under Moonshine" by the Moody Blues (this played on the radio during their first serious date, shortly before Johnny asked Johanna to go steady), and "Bus Stop" by the Hollies (the two got to know each other in a bus cubicle).

ALISTAIR: "Geno" by Dexy's Midnight Runners ("just because," he says).

JU-HWANG (since this is Brigadoon I'm including her here): "Mafland" by Maf ("it's fun to dance to," she's told me).

ALISTAIR/JU-HWANG TOGETHER: "Freaks in Love" by Elton John (neither Alistair nor Ju-hwang are 100% human, and they're very much in love, so this fits them)

CHLOÉ: "Mr. Blue Sky" by the Electric Light Orchestra (if you read Chloe's profile and listen to the song you'll know why the song fits her)

GUINEVERE: "Barefootin'" by Robert Parker (she loves to dance) and "No Time" by the Guess Who (she has no time for romance, unlike most of my other characters).

ROGER: "The Seeker" by the Who, and "Mad World" by Tears for Fears (these two tie together, as Roger has had a tumultuous life, and is seeking a calmer one).

YLLA: "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes" by any artist that can sing the song in tune (Ylla is a literary character; if one reads "The Martian Chronicles" one will know why this song fits her).

LIBBY: "Living Through the Ghost" by Shinedown (she's a ghost during part of the storyline) and "Half-Moon" by Blind Pilot (simply because she finds this song soothing)

That leaves Anne and Niki without themes. I'll have to go back and work on them a bit.

 

My characters totally have their own fav music. Harry Calabrizi & Carmine Ionescu (cousins, in their 30s) are Classic Rock fans (Zeppelin specifically). Harry's wife loves Emerald Rose, Lorenna McKennit, & Enya. Banshi & her hubby love Gakt & that era of JRock. My 20-something girls are ALL into KPop.

 

A lot of my characters have songs I associate with them, though most don't have doll forms (yet!).

My two floating heads Cosmik and Starr do have a few though! I like to listen to them to inspire me to continue working on them (and by that I mean work on saving money for their bodies ) Since they were abducted by aliens and their story has an overall comedic space/extraterrestrial theme the songs usually involve space and/or silliness.

Cosmik Starr’s Among Other Things’ Universe Music

• Star the VEPPer - VEPPer Unit
• E.T - Katy Perry
• Space Unicorn - Parry Gripp
• Reach For The Stars (Mars Edition) - will.i.am
• Starships - Nicki Minaj

 

Definitely have a few songs for ‘em
Henry: A Call to Arms (by Crown the Empire) or Miami 2017 (by Billy Joel)
Harold: To the Sky (by Owl City)
Remmy: Best Day of My Life (by American
Authors)
Rabbit: Rhinestone Eyes or Feel Good Inc. (by Gorillaz)
Gossamer: Fire Fire (by Flyleaf)

And OMG Our Last Night?! They are so awesome!

 

For Sharla my elf its this sweet lullaby.
.
Beautiful and sweet yet haunting

 

Well, for Harry Calabrizi (IH Dexter) it's Led Zeppelin (which song changes LOL) - for his wife it's Loreena McKennit (The Lady of Shalott). For his cousin Carmine Ionescu it's a toss-up between Born to Run & Free Bird. I've got a gaggle of KPop fans as well LOL Big Bang, KHJ, SHINee (sob), BTS being favs. My 2 male KPop fans like CNBlue, EXO & Twice
I've a lot of characters I've got fans of all sorts of music!

 

Several times in the doll version, Shukriyah sings the Bonnie Blue Flag (once Zoey does).
The plastic crew (Emilia, Sophie, Naga, Ilsa, Aloise and Lucile) often sing Dixie and Southern Soldier (though in the story their characters are from they all live on a fictional island called Marchessault).

in the actual stories, Shukriyah has a rather normal 90s teenage girl taste in music, of which I know nothing about.

 

I did this last year, but I have three new dolls since then, so:

-Charlie- "Is There Life on Mars" by David Bowie

-Delphine- "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty, "Witchy Woman" by The Eagles

-Loren- "Back to December" by Taylor Swift, "Dark Horse" by Mila Mason

 

For Nadir, it'd probably be "This love, this hate" by Hollywood Undead, or "Better than me" by Hinder.

 

Arkady: Pieces- Rob Thomas
Moira: Falling Slowly- cover by Chester See and Savannah Outen

 

For the doll I want to get, there are two songs come to my mind

-Song storm and fire-Yuki Kajiura
-Labyrinthus-Ceui

 

There are some great tracks here. I’m going to use this thread as playlist inspiration.

Songs for my crew, in general:
-“Make You Better” by The Decemberists
-“The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire
-“New Slang” by The Shins
-“RE: Stacks” by Bon Iver

 

There is some very good taste in this thread.

I have playlists serving as 'soundtracks' for my writing, which I primarily use to get the books to play like a movie in my head when relaxing or brainstorming. But each character has a few songs I associate with them specifically. In fact, it is now one of the prompts on the sheet I use for fleshing out new faces. ... I limited it to 1-2 per person here.

1. - Uriah-- "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies, "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe
2. - Lysander-- "Girls And Boys" by Blur and "5/4" by Gorillaz
3. - Gailan-- "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon & Garfunkel
4. - Gladys-- "Like A Virgin" by Madonna
4.5. Eikari-- "The Handler" by Muse
5. - Gunther-- "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull
5.5. Orimutoh-- "My Heart Is Black" by Lord of the Lost, "Reich Mir Die Hand" by Blutengel
6. - Sadhinne-- "Starlight" by Muse, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay