Rach’s Musical Brain - w/c 8 Feb 2021

I decided to give this playlist a new name... as I feel like it fits? What do we reckon? I’ll test drive it maybe...

Anyway! What have I got for you this week? Well, seeing as we got a wee bit of steamy content this week from After We Fell, I think it’s even more prevalent to get this out now!! (OH MY GOD THAT TRAILER!!)

It’s a theme week of sorts, and all of these songs feature in what we have so far of the After series: After and After We Collided (AWC), starring Josephine Langford (sister of 13 Reasons Why‘s Katherine Langford) and Hero Fiennes Tiffin (nephew of Ralph and Joseph Fiennes and the guy that played Young Tom Riddle in HP and the Half Blood Prince!). After We Fell and After Ever Happy are in Post Production now... the former arriving later this year (hopefully), so there will be more!

But this particular playlist comes with something new: a backstory... as I need to explain a few things!

After making the attempt at writing a book on Wattpad myself (see the Rachel's Book tab on the home page for more details!) After rose to prominence in my brain when I realised it was written by a fellow (albeit much more successful!) Wattpad author, Anna Todd. So I started reading her original script - which was (now, stay with me here) One Direction Fan Fiction. Harry Styles is the male lead and then all the other boys in Tessa’s life are the other band members, with Liam being Tessa’s best friend. I’ll be honest... it wasn’t the greatest, but the story was still captivating enough to hold my attention! I just think it was because I was a few years too late in reading it. I just missed the hype.

But anyway... I stuck with it, finished all 4 of them, and then realised that it had been rewritten after it was read ONE BILLION TIMES on Wattpad. Now Anna Todd was clearly someone who recognised a niche market at the time she wrote it, as it was published at the HEIGHT of One Direction, and even I have to admit that I was a Directioner at one point. I saw the movie. I have it in my DVD collection... But having read both versions, I definitely prefer the newer one, with newly named characters (Harry = Hardin, Zayn = Zed, Niall = Nate, Louis = Logan, Liam = Landon). I’ve read and re-read all these books maybe 5 or 6 times, and when the new films come out, I’m sure I’ll read them all again. And again.

Fast forward a year or so and After was released in the US, NOT the UK and I was very upset, but then in July 2019, the UK got it on Netflix, and as my sister can attest, it’s probably my most-watched movie of 2019! And I ABSOLUTELY fell in LOVE with the soundtrack. It came out near 2 years ago and The Lake Kiss still always features prominently in my top 25 most played on Spotify.

But then fast forward again to September of last year (2020), and after months of worrying we wouldn’t get it at all - on top of Covid worries - this time the UK got After We Collided first! My friend and I got our tickets, and I enjoyed it 9 times in the cinema. I hugely enjoyed it - I’ll explain why in a bit - but some of the time I went because I wanted to spend as much time in the cinema as I could before they all closed again. To be honest, I‘m glad I did... because they closed just over a month later, and haven’t reopened. Sad face.

I’m getting to the music now, I promise. Now, the tracks I’ve chosen are both the Justin Burnett soundtrack and various artist ones, and they all feature in the films and there are 5 tracks from each film - and are in chronological order! But after mentioning a few times in previous playlists how much I liked the films, I felt like an After playlist was due... so here we are.

Let’s get to the fun stuff! And remember, the playlist is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uvGPB5HsOhdICfOxGVqDZ?si=AITrBW6lSgCZNFTcB-FsJw

Aaaaaand... enjoy!

***

NUMBER 10.

Hardin in the Cafe - Justin Burnett

Hardin is already on Tessa's radar at this point, after their run-in in Tessa's room. Here, Hardin's getting a coffee with his friends whilst Tessa is studying, and their eyes lock. It's a very short snippet of a track, but you can almost feel the raw connection between the two of them... In finding the pictures for this playlist I've gone straight to the film screen caps page (which totally ISN'T in one of my saved pages...) and I am NOT surprised that the views on these 2 particular images are way higher than any others (almost 1,000 views higher). Although the connection they have showed it really well - and Hero and Jo‘s chemistry is so good - one can never portray the connection as well as the book does (mostly because there just isn’t time to show everything, even if we as fans want it all) but I think this look is enough to redeem that. It's a powerful look. In the book, she takes one look at him and his tattoos and you can see she’s attracted, interested and intrigued. Here, you can definitely see that too.

NUMBER 9.

The Wave - Colouring

I don't why I love this one so much, but I suppose it's because it's Hardin and Tessa's first date... the one that eventually leads to The Lake Kiss, which really is my favourite. I just think the tracks fit how Hardin and Tessa can't stay away from each other. 'I know we pushed it all the limits and I know I won't give you up for a minute." I'll be honest, Hardin and Tessa's relationship in the books is almost toxic. There is a lot of shouting, a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of arguing... but then in amongst it there are these beautiful moments. The montage here is them heading towards their first date at the lake... each not understanding what was about to happen to them.

NUMBER 8.

Complicated - Olivia O’Brien

This is a scene where Tessa feels rejected. After kissing Hardin at the lake, she says that she'll tell Noah about them... to which Hardin dreacts and says that he doesn't date, confusing her. She goes back to the room, maybe thinking that Hardin rejected her because of the way she dresses... so she tries on a few of Steph's clothes, tries on her eyeliner, before looking at herself and wiping it off, realising she shouldn't have to change. We know, as readers or as viewers, that Hardin loves Tessa just as she is. But I also like this song because it's a cover of Avril Lavigne's Complicated. You wouldn't have thought to put that song in this scene... but when you slow it down and use a softer voice, it gives the song a lot more emotion!

NUMBER 7.

Out of Love - Alessia Cara

I love this bit. Despite what happens just before it, after Noah finds out about Tessa's overnight stay with Hardin and her cheating on him, Tessa knows what she did was right... even if she did hurt Noah. "Noah was my best friend. But you... You're so much more." She is opening herself up to Hardin, telling him that he means more to her than anyone ever had. This song is playing whilst she makes up her mind. She's walking around campus... until finally her find their way back to Hardin's frat house; back to him. It's his face as well, when she says it... it's so cute.

NUMBER 6.

Bath - Justin Burnett

This is probably THE cutest moment of the first film. And even if it isn't the same as how it happens in the book, the cuteness makes up for it completely. Tessa and Hardin are playing a game in the bath. Hardin is writing things on her back... and Tessa is guessing what they are. Quite unsuccessfully. She asks him to write another one, promising she'll get it this time and Hardin thinks about it before writing 'I love you' on her back, which she doesn't guess. She turns around and asks what it was, but he doesn't say anything. He simply looks at her like this... It's quite beautiful, so well done and is such a tender way to show that he really does love her (despite what happens next *sad face*). In the book, Hardin basically ends up screaming 'I love you' at Tessa, but this look says everything. Everyone deserves to be looked at like this at some point in their lives.

NUMBER 5.

You Were Supposed To Be Different - Aron Wright

Aron Wright is popping up all over the place for me at the moment! But that’s not a bad thing! This song is right at beginning. After Hardin’s prologue, and what the expected story would be, it shoots to the reality of him in a car, 1 month after the end of film one. He’s surrounded by empty drink bottles, empty food packets and looks like crap... to put it nicely! The words are powerful in themselves though. It's as if Tessa is speaking. Telling Hardin he was supposed to be different... to be someone worth giving up so much for. But he hadn't proved to be. And in one of the most awful ways.

NUMBER 4.

The Memory of Us - Justin Burnett

I really love Justin Burnett's stuff throughout these 2 movies, and I'm sincerely hoping he is scoring After We Fell and After Ever Happy as well. His use of soft piano and voices, along with soft strings, as we watch Tessa head back into the apartment she used to share with Hardin. The apartment is a memory of them in itself, and as she opens the door, the scene uses a tiny clip of them moving into the apartment in the first movie, time-lapsing it to what it looks like now. It then follows Tessa into the bedroom where she finds one of Hardin's shirts... and her birthday present from him, which brings her to tears as she sees how much thought and love he's put into it. Despite what he did - you'll have to either read the book or watch the film to find out what that something is - you can she really misses him, because she loves him. You can hear the fragility in her in this track as it changes from major to minor and then back again... and I think that tiny change, from major to minor to major, kind of gives the viewer hope. It's the hope that the two of them will find each other again…

NUMBER 3.

In The Office - Justin Burnett

It's Tessa's theme again. I told you I liked it. But there is extra emotion to it because... well... they, for lack of a better word, connect. But it's got extra emotion because it is the first time they tell each other, out loud, that they love each other. Again, despite everything that's happened, they love each other with everything they have, and that's all that matters. I love the way the theme builds here too, as the scene continues. They each know everything about the other. There are no more secrets between them. No more words.... It's just them.

NUMBER 2.

Should Have Known Better - Sufjan Stevens

This song comes after Hardin gets drunk at his dad's Christmas party. Tessa drives him home and then goes out for a walk, leaving a drunk and angry Hardin to fend for himself... which involves him smashing a lamp, drinking even more and then passing out as such.... After going through something hugely traumatic in his childhood - watching his mum get raped by thugs looking for his dad - he can't find it in him to forgive his dad for what happened, given it was his fault it happened. But as the song starts, the bit I really like is what Trish says to Hardin. "I chose to forgive him so that I could move on. Hardin, resentments like this are going to destroy you... and they're going to take Tessa right down with you." Because she's right. As horrible as it was, choosing to hold on to something like that can destroy you...

NUMBER 1.

Can't Stop Loving You - Justin Burnett

This was one of the tracks Justin Burnett released prior to the release of the film. I listened to it over and over, loving its similarity to The Lake Kiss - my favourite track from the first film - and when I realised it was at the end, it made it even better. It’s when Tessa says to Hardin, “You just can’t seem to stay away from me, can you?” To which he answers, “I tried.” She then walks away, not showing any emotion, and you can see just how heartbroken Hardin is over losing her... but when she turns back to him and holds the car door open, his face lifts slightly... and all is well with the world. The good thing about having a consistent composer for a film is that they pull through the Main Theme and keep aspects of it... the risk of having a new composer for sequels is that the mood of the music changes. For example if you compare the Divergent and Insurgent soundtracks... the two are completely different (the former being SO much better). This theme is Tessa and Hardin’s theme... and even though their relationship is tumultuous quite a lot of the time, this softness reminds us that underneath all those arguments is complete, true love.

BONUS

The Lake Kiss - Justin Burnett

Tessa: "I thought... you just wanted to be friends?"

*Hardin shakes his head*

Hardin: "I don't think we could ever be just friends."

Aw man I love this track. I had to include it again. As I said for Can't Stop Loving You, this theme is Hardin and Tessa's, and it's that softness that reminds the viewers that, despite all the arguments, despite all the seemingly bad stuff that happens between them, Hardin and Tessa's love is true... Here, Hardin is actually bearing more of himself than he ever has with his friends. Tessa makes him want to. In the book he does this with other things in mind... but it's in this scene where he truly realises how he feels about here, and realises that he has real love right in front of him... and that he doesn't want to let it go.

***

Everyone has their guilty pleasures. The books they love even though they're not the classics and the films we watch over and over again despite knowing it backwards and forwards. This is mine. Well, at least it is for now.

But you know what? I don't care. They're an easy set of books to read, and the story is still just as much as an emotional rollercoaster the twentieth time around as it is the first. If you're looking for a (vaguely) harmless romantic teen/college drama to watch (or read) on your Saturday night in? I'd recommend this one!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uvGPB5HsOhdICfOxGVqDZ?si=AITrBW6lSgCZNFTcB-FsJw

Of course I have to end with the key quote throughout the books: "Whatever our souls are made... hers and mine are the same."