Mix - Fake News: Mister America
Feb. 5th, 2009 03:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ptahrrificTitle: Mister America
Rating: PG
Warnings: Mild innuendo, swearing, bondage, large images.
Pairings: "Stephen"/wife, "Stephen"/Papa Bear, and (if you squint) "Stephen"/Jon
First "Stephen" mix. A comprehensive character study, made all the way back in early '08.
(He's so vain / He probably thinks this mix is about him.)
1) Cheap Trick - Baby Mumbles
The Colbert Report. Stephen brands the show from top to bottom, and his whole self is poured into it.
"I know that my name may be up there in the title and it’s silhouetted on the back wall so it looks like we put it up there twice. And it’s on this plasma screen down here and on the chaser lights on the bottom of this platform and on either side of the desk which is itself shaped like a giant C...."
[Instrumental]
2) Bjork - Joga
The ThreatDown. He is comfortable feeling under attack because he knows how to handle it: he turns fear into anger, and anger into strength. [Stephen's POV.]
"I believe that there are ways that we can use multitasking, because it’s not just actions. We multitask emotionally, you know? We can multitask our fears. So we can be afraid of terrorists and socialized medicine at the same time."
Emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
3) The Lion King - The Madness of King Scar
Formidable Opponent. He fights with himself, opening a rift onto his hidden self-doubt and self-loathing in the process. A few of his insecurities: that he isn't loved or respected, that he is inferior to his predecessor, and that he isn't convincingly heterosexual. [Stephen as Scar, and the rest you can work out from there.]
Stephen 1: "Give it!"
Stephen 2: "No!"
Stephen 1: "Do you want me to cut off your mike?"
Stephen 2: "You don’t have the balls!"
Stephen 1: "Jimmy, cut off his mike!"
I'm better than Mufasa was
I'm revered
I am reviled!
I'm idolized
I am despised!
I'm keeping calm
I'm going wild!
I tell myself I'm fine
No you're not
Yes I am
No you're not
Yes I am
No you're not
Yes, no, yes, no
Oh, who am I talking to...?
4) Blue October - X Amount of Words
The Wørd. Stephen pretends to have logical opinions, rational fears, and a socially acceptable self. The bullet knows better. [Bullet's POV.]
"That's why I do not have, and have never had, a subconscious." [Except Me]
"You can be whoever you want to be: whoever you say you are." [It's Pronounced "Coal-Bare"]
High strung
Say X amount of words
You're solar, bipolar
Panic disorder
Seems harder and harder and harder
Still you try to control it
You mold, you mold
Yeah you shape to mold
5) Metric - Succexy
Stephen's politics. Playing on fear and picking fights, based on dogma, detente, and denial. [Russ Lieber's POV.]
"I am in favor of missile defense, yes, not because missiles remind me of a penis. I like them for their power, their thrust, the explosive imposition of our will into the fertile deltas of another country."
All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies
Invasion's so succexy, so succexy
Invasion's so succexy, so succexy
Let's drink to the military
The glass is empty
Faces to fill and cars to feed
Nothing could beat complete denial
6) Kansas - Fight Fire With Fire
Stephen's repressed homosexual urges. He can't quench them, so he indulges them in tightly controlled ways, and never in public or respectable places. (Also, every Stephen mix should include a Kansas song.) [Stephen's POV.]
"I’m gonna miss being a doctor ... no more giving physical exams at the bathroom at the Outback Steakhouse. Ah, I probably could still do that."
Fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my head is a pyre
Fire with fire
And I'm never gonna lose this flaming desire
Fire with fire
I'm out of control and I want you to know
7) Roy Zimmerman - Jerry Falwell's God
Stephen's faith. Dogmatic, judgmental, inflexible, and angry. He believes in a God who loves you, as long as you're good enough to deserve it. [God Machine's POV.]
"Imagine, a preacher reads a Bible passage that says that gay people should be put to death. It’s in Leviticus somewhere." [In The “Stoning” Section] "Now, if some misguided follower hears this preacher say that God wants gay people to be put to death and somehow misinterprets that to mean that God wants gay people to be put to death, the toler-azi are going use this law to put that preacher in jail for inciting violence."
Jerry Falwell's god was standing by the elevator while we were talking about the party, so we had to invite him.
Secretly, we were all wishing that he wouldn't come, because he's vengeful and jealous and he tends to smite people.
And, of course, he knew we were thinking that, so it made him all the more determined to show up and punish us.
And I wanted to invite my god, but I couldn't find him.
But Jerry Falwell's god is hard to miss... the gossamer robe and the beard down to here, and the button that says, "What would Jesus do?"
[...]
And he turned the loaves to fishes, and the Oreos to Hydrox. And he divided up the room, divided he, saying "Gays here, lesbians here, pagans here, abortionists, feminists, civil libertarians, People for the American Way," and frankly, some of us did not know where to stand.
I went with the lesbians.
8) Ben Folds Five - Philosophy
Stephen and Jon. Since Jon does not have a rigid worldview with strong opinions on everything, Stephen assumes he's a permissive liberal flip-flopper with no opinions at all. (Likes him anyway, though.) [Stephen's POV.]
Stephen: "What is it tonight, Jon? Which sad old lady's fractured pelvis are you going to be chortling over this time? Cackling like a hyena as she scrambles along the icy pavement, bones creaking, dressing gown rent asunder, clutching at your pant leg, crying, 'Oh, please, young man, stop laughing at me! Oh, won't someone please call Geraldo?'"
Jon: "...we don't show old ladies falling on ice."
I see that there is evil
And I know that there is good
And the in-betweens I never understood
[...]
I got my philosophy
(Keeps my feet on the ground)
And I love you; you're my friend
But you got no philosophy
9) Handsome Devil - Tie Me Up
Stephen and O'Reilly. Although he is infuriatingly superior in most situations, Stephen will fawn, flatter, debase himself, and generally put up with any amount of abuse to win Papa Bear's approval. [Stephen's POV.]
O'Reilly (clip): "Colbert just blew me right away..."
Stephen: "I did not do it 'right away', Bill! We talked, we went to dinner ... the whole thing felt very organic!"
O'Reilly (clip): "Maybe I should have just slapped him!"
Stephen: "'Should have'? My ears are still ringing!"
As I recline may I remind you one more time
I want to be there when you want to cross that line
Pleasure and pain
Hit me again
You want the fire, girl, and I'm your gasoline
Wait and see
Baby, wait and see
Tie me up
Tie me down
I just want to be the one,
I just want to be the one you love
10) Stephen Lynch - Gay
Stephen and Tad. Stephen projects his own fantasies onto his beseiged building manager. And while Tad admires Stephen very much, he doesn't take it that far. [Tad's POV.]
"I have no problem with the gays. What they do in the privacy of my imagination is their own business."
-
Stephen: "My building manager, Tad, and I, are not gay. There is no word for our special kind of relationship."
Tad: "Yes, there is! I'm your building manager!"
Stephen: "Tell you what. Come down to my cabin this weekend and we'll talk about it."
Tad: "Are there gonna be other people there this time?"
If I were gay
I would give you my heart
And if I were gay
You'd be my work of art
And if I were gay
We would swim in romance
But I'm not gay
So get your hand out of my pants
11) Toby Keith - How Do You Like Me Now
Stephen and Charlene. He assumes that, now that an audience of millions love him, she'll have to. [Stephen's POV - not necessarily accurate.]
Stephen: "Hey, Charlene. So, you wanna go to the big dance with me?"
Meg (playing Charlene): "No way."
Stephen: "Great! I'll pick you up at eight."
Meg: "I said no way!"
Stephen: "And I said I'll pick you up at eight. We are going to that dance together, and people will see us together and they will know that we are in love."
Meg: "Are we still acting...?"
How do you like me now
Now that I'm on my way?
Do you still think I'm crazy
Standing here today?
I couldn't make you love me
But I always dreamed about
Living in your radio
How do you like me now?
12) Carly Simon - You're So Vain
Stephen and most of the world. He doesn't recognize when he is being subtly mocked. [The rest of the world's POV.]
"Hey, Carly Simon - thanks for writing that song about me!"
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?
13) Harvey Danger - Little Round Mirrors
Stephen and his sympathizers. They recognize that he is constantly seeking love and approval from others because he has nothing more solid to hold on to. There aren't many people like this: Stephen has a tendency to push them away before they understand him too well. [Alan's POV.]
Stephen: "Alan, you have a new white friend?"
Alan: "He’s not new. I’ve known him since college."
Stephen: "Oh. Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m very happy for you."
Alan: "Stephen, are you okay?"
Stephen: "Do you think maybe I could get a hug?"
Alan: "Yeah. Sure, man."
And every time you crash
Don't you
Want to find something you could love
Half as much as you love all your little round mirrors?
See yourself reflected in one
There's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill
14) Supertramp - Take The Long Way Home
Stephen and his family. On the job, he sees himself as a hero; he doesn't notice that people back home are laughing at him, and he pretends not to notice that his family life is falling apart. [Omniscient POV.]
"I just want you to know that at our Thanksgiving feast I will not chug the Merlot, call you an egomaniac who you are sorry you married, throw a drumstick at your head and go sit in the rental car for the rest of the meal. Though I know someone who will."
So you think you're a Romeo
Playing a part in a picture-show
Take the long way home
Take the long way home
'Cause you're the joke of the neighborhood
Why should you care if you're feeling good
Take the long way home
Take the long way home
And when you're up on the stage, it's so unbelievable,
Oh, unforgettable
How they adore you,
But then your wife seems to think you're losing your sanity,
Oh, calamity
Is there no way out?
15) Saving Jane - The Girl Next Door
Stephen and his staff. They have conflicting feelings about their boss. Sure, he's an arrogant, unsympathetic, short-tempered jerk. But he is extremely talented, as well as charming, sexy, wealthy, and to all appearances comfortable and confident. On some level, they can't help but be jealous. [Bobby's POV.]
Bobby: "I'm sorry. I'm Bobby, the stage manager, and, ah . . ."
Stephen: "Tell him I don't work with fill-ins!"
Bobby: "Apparently Stephen doesn't work with fill-ins."
Small town homecoming queen
She's the star in this scene
There's no way to deny she's lovely
Perfect skin, perfect hair
Perfumed hearts everywhere
Tell myself that inside she's ugly
[...]
Maybe I'll admit it
I'm a little bitter
Everybody loves her, but I just wanna hit her
[...]
She's Miss America
And I'm just the girl next door
16) Styx - Miss America
Stephen and his fans: his main reason for existing. But as much as they adore his public image, he is constantly afraid that it will fall apart. The more popular he becomes, the greater his fear that he will be revealed for the lost little boy he is underneath. [The fans' POV -- not as it really is, but as Stephen fears it will be.]
"Sure, they could be a little 'strict', but I often think back fondly on the memories I haven't repressed. The truth is, I wouldn't be the man I am today if it wasn't for the way my parents raised me. And I love the man I am today -- which means I love the way my parents raised me."
"I had a happy childhood."
--I Am America (And So Can You!)
Well, are you really who we think you are?
Or does your smile seem to wear you down?
It's the girl who you once were
Screaming to jump out
It's the dream that you must live
A disease for which there is no cure
This roller coaster ride you're on
Won't stop to let you off
Bonus track) Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
Only in crisis will Stephen admit how much he likes Jon. And no matter how much he pushes Jon away, he will always pull Jon back. [Stephen's POV. He's the one who chose the song, after all.]
Jon: "I'm sorry, Stephen, I'm being told we don't have time for the toss tonight..."
Stephen: "No, Jon!"
[Stephen holds up a radio, which begins to play:]
In your eyes
The light, the heat
(Your eyes)
I am complete
(Your eyes)
I see the doorway
(Your eyes)
To a thousand churches
(Your eyes)
The resolution
(Your eyes)
Of all the fruitless searches
Oh, I see the light and the heat
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes
Rating: PG
Warnings: Mild innuendo, swearing, bondage, large images.
Pairings: "Stephen"/wife, "Stephen"/Papa Bear, and (if you squint) "Stephen"/Jon
First "Stephen" mix. A comprehensive character study, made all the way back in early '08.
(He's so vain / He probably thinks this mix is about him.)
1) Cheap Trick - Baby Mumbles
The Colbert Report. Stephen brands the show from top to bottom, and his whole self is poured into it.
[Instrumental]
2) Bjork - Joga
The ThreatDown. He is comfortable feeling under attack because he knows how to handle it: he turns fear into anger, and anger into strength. [Stephen's POV.]
Emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
3) The Lion King - The Madness of King Scar
Formidable Opponent. He fights with himself, opening a rift onto his hidden self-doubt and self-loathing in the process. A few of his insecurities: that he isn't loved or respected, that he is inferior to his predecessor, and that he isn't convincingly heterosexual. [Stephen as Scar, and the rest you can work out from there.]
Stephen 2: "No!"
Stephen 1: "Do you want me to cut off your mike?"
Stephen 2: "You don’t have the balls!"
Stephen 1: "Jimmy, cut off his mike!"
I'm better than Mufasa was
I'm revered
I am reviled!
I'm idolized
I am despised!
I'm keeping calm
I'm going wild!
I tell myself I'm fine
No you're not
Yes I am
No you're not
Yes I am
No you're not
Yes, no, yes, no
Oh, who am I talking to...?
4) Blue October - X Amount of Words
The Wørd. Stephen pretends to have logical opinions, rational fears, and a socially acceptable self. The bullet knows better. [Bullet's POV.]
"You can be whoever you want to be: whoever you say you are." [It's Pronounced "Coal-Bare"]
High strung
Say X amount of words
You're solar, bipolar
Panic disorder
Seems harder and harder and harder
Still you try to control it
You mold, you mold
Yeah you shape to mold
5) Metric - Succexy
Stephen's politics. Playing on fear and picking fights, based on dogma, detente, and denial. [Russ Lieber's POV.]
All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies
Invasion's so succexy, so succexy
Invasion's so succexy, so succexy
Let's drink to the military
The glass is empty
Faces to fill and cars to feed
Nothing could beat complete denial
6) Kansas - Fight Fire With Fire
Stephen's repressed homosexual urges. He can't quench them, so he indulges them in tightly controlled ways, and never in public or respectable places. (Also, every Stephen mix should include a Kansas song.) [Stephen's POV.]
Fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my head is a pyre
Fire with fire
And I'm never gonna lose this flaming desire
Fire with fire
I'm out of control and I want you to know
7) Roy Zimmerman - Jerry Falwell's God
Stephen's faith. Dogmatic, judgmental, inflexible, and angry. He believes in a God who loves you, as long as you're good enough to deserve it. [God Machine's POV.]
Jerry Falwell's god was standing by the elevator while we were talking about the party, so we had to invite him.
Secretly, we were all wishing that he wouldn't come, because he's vengeful and jealous and he tends to smite people.
And, of course, he knew we were thinking that, so it made him all the more determined to show up and punish us.
And I wanted to invite my god, but I couldn't find him.
But Jerry Falwell's god is hard to miss... the gossamer robe and the beard down to here, and the button that says, "What would Jesus do?"
[...]
And he turned the loaves to fishes, and the Oreos to Hydrox. And he divided up the room, divided he, saying "Gays here, lesbians here, pagans here, abortionists, feminists, civil libertarians, People for the American Way," and frankly, some of us did not know where to stand.
I went with the lesbians.
8) Ben Folds Five - Philosophy
Stephen and Jon. Since Jon does not have a rigid worldview with strong opinions on everything, Stephen assumes he's a permissive liberal flip-flopper with no opinions at all. (Likes him anyway, though.) [Stephen's POV.]
Jon: "...we don't show old ladies falling on ice."
I see that there is evil
And I know that there is good
And the in-betweens I never understood
[...]
I got my philosophy
(Keeps my feet on the ground)
And I love you; you're my friend
But you got no philosophy
9) Handsome Devil - Tie Me Up
Stephen and O'Reilly. Although he is infuriatingly superior in most situations, Stephen will fawn, flatter, debase himself, and generally put up with any amount of abuse to win Papa Bear's approval. [Stephen's POV.]
Stephen: "I did not do it 'right away', Bill! We talked, we went to dinner ... the whole thing felt very organic!"
O'Reilly (clip): "Maybe I should have just slapped him!"
Stephen: "'Should have'? My ears are still ringing!"
As I recline may I remind you one more time
I want to be there when you want to cross that line
Pleasure and pain
Hit me again
You want the fire, girl, and I'm your gasoline
Wait and see
Baby, wait and see
Tie me up
Tie me down
I just want to be the one,
I just want to be the one you love
10) Stephen Lynch - Gay
Stephen and Tad. Stephen projects his own fantasies onto his beseiged building manager. And while Tad admires Stephen very much, he doesn't take it that far. [Tad's POV.]
-
Stephen: "My building manager, Tad, and I, are not gay. There is no word for our special kind of relationship."
Tad: "Yes, there is! I'm your building manager!"
Stephen: "Tell you what. Come down to my cabin this weekend and we'll talk about it."
Tad: "Are there gonna be other people there this time?"
If I were gay
I would give you my heart
And if I were gay
You'd be my work of art
And if I were gay
We would swim in romance
But I'm not gay
So get your hand out of my pants
11) Toby Keith - How Do You Like Me Now
Stephen and Charlene. He assumes that, now that an audience of millions love him, she'll have to. [Stephen's POV - not necessarily accurate.]
Meg (playing Charlene): "No way."
Stephen: "Great! I'll pick you up at eight."
Meg: "I said no way!"
Stephen: "And I said I'll pick you up at eight. We are going to that dance together, and people will see us together and they will know that we are in love."
Meg: "Are we still acting...?"
How do you like me now
Now that I'm on my way?
Do you still think I'm crazy
Standing here today?
I couldn't make you love me
But I always dreamed about
Living in your radio
How do you like me now?
12) Carly Simon - You're So Vain
Stephen and most of the world. He doesn't recognize when he is being subtly mocked. [The rest of the world's POV.]
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?
13) Harvey Danger - Little Round Mirrors
Stephen and his sympathizers. They recognize that he is constantly seeking love and approval from others because he has nothing more solid to hold on to. There aren't many people like this: Stephen has a tendency to push them away before they understand him too well. [Alan's POV.]
Alan: "He’s not new. I’ve known him since college."
Stephen: "Oh. Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m very happy for you."
Alan: "Stephen, are you okay?"
Stephen: "Do you think maybe I could get a hug?"
Alan: "Yeah. Sure, man."
And every time you crash
Don't you
Want to find something you could love
Half as much as you love all your little round mirrors?
See yourself reflected in one
There's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill
14) Supertramp - Take The Long Way Home
Stephen and his family. On the job, he sees himself as a hero; he doesn't notice that people back home are laughing at him, and he pretends not to notice that his family life is falling apart. [Omniscient POV.]
So you think you're a Romeo
Playing a part in a picture-show
Take the long way home
Take the long way home
'Cause you're the joke of the neighborhood
Why should you care if you're feeling good
Take the long way home
Take the long way home
And when you're up on the stage, it's so unbelievable,
Oh, unforgettable
How they adore you,
But then your wife seems to think you're losing your sanity,
Oh, calamity
Is there no way out?
15) Saving Jane - The Girl Next Door
Stephen and his staff. They have conflicting feelings about their boss. Sure, he's an arrogant, unsympathetic, short-tempered jerk. But he is extremely talented, as well as charming, sexy, wealthy, and to all appearances comfortable and confident. On some level, they can't help but be jealous. [Bobby's POV.]
Stephen: "Tell him I don't work with fill-ins!"
Bobby: "Apparently Stephen doesn't work with fill-ins."
Small town homecoming queen
She's the star in this scene
There's no way to deny she's lovely
Perfect skin, perfect hair
Perfumed hearts everywhere
Tell myself that inside she's ugly
[...]
Maybe I'll admit it
I'm a little bitter
Everybody loves her, but I just wanna hit her
[...]
She's Miss America
And I'm just the girl next door
16) Styx - Miss America
Stephen and his fans: his main reason for existing. But as much as they adore his public image, he is constantly afraid that it will fall apart. The more popular he becomes, the greater his fear that he will be revealed for the lost little boy he is underneath. [The fans' POV -- not as it really is, but as Stephen fears it will be.]
"I had a happy childhood."
--I Am America (And So Can You!)
Well, are you really who we think you are?
Or does your smile seem to wear you down?
It's the girl who you once were
Screaming to jump out
It's the dream that you must live
A disease for which there is no cure
This roller coaster ride you're on
Won't stop to let you off
Bonus track) Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
Only in crisis will Stephen admit how much he likes Jon. And no matter how much he pushes Jon away, he will always pull Jon back. [Stephen's POV. He's the one who chose the song, after all.]
Stephen: "No, Jon!"
[Stephen holds up a radio, which begins to play:]
In your eyes
The light, the heat
(Your eyes)
I am complete
(Your eyes)
I see the doorway
(Your eyes)
To a thousand churches
(Your eyes)
The resolution
(Your eyes)
Of all the fruitless searches
Oh, I see the light and the heat
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes
Rebloggable on Tumblr | Listen on 8tracks
(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-06 12:31 am (UTC)Once again you have proven that you know this character better than most people know their own families. Great song choices!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-02-06 12:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-06 03:05 pm (UTC)