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Tonks and the Aurors- We Are Magic
Dec. 1st, 2009 09:06 pmPost-2015 Warning for AC mentioned, as he does vocals on one song.
I must say three things up front:
I love this concept (following a character through a whole book). I admire Draco and the Malfoys for doing it in their EP of the Month and I actually think it worked exceptionally well in this case, even though Tonks isn't in Deathly Hallows very much. The quality of the songs is wonderful; they're layered, polished, and complex instrumentally & vocally.
1. So it Begins- This is the perfect song to begin with. It starts out slow and gets fast and catchy and really gears us up for the fight. It's one of my favorites. I was listening to it at work and on only the 4th listen through, I found myself unconsciously counting 1-2-3-4 out with my fingers; that's when I knew I was truly hooked. The song pulled me right in.
2. A Day In the Life- Not my favorite tune. It's nice, but it's kind of repetitive and I would have liked something a little sweeter melodically when it comes to a song about the wedding. That aside, I really liked this song. It paints a beautiful, detailed picture of their wedding and really touches my heart. I love Remus pacing like a wolf in a cage, him taking her hand, her mother seeing her in her dress, the fact that not everyone is there but they had to do it, etc. Seriously, the way it's described makes me so sad that wasn't in the book. It's canon for me now :-) Well done!
3. The Mission- I'm an idiot. It took me, like, a full minute to figure out this was the 7 Potters scene the first time around. You would think a line like "Seven identical young men" would clue me in, but it still took me far too long. I like this one a lot. Her line about giving her life to protect Ron is fantastic. And I love that the song is addressing Remus; the moment at the end of the song where Remus talks about what he saw and how they lost Mad Eye makes me choke up a little. It's written well and it's sung powerfully.
4. Fallen- Awesome sound to this one; great job. I can't help but think about The Remus Lupin's song about Fleur & Bill's wedding. I like them both quite a lot. Tonks' is strong and I love how she recalls Dumbledore and Mad Eye and plays her role as an Auror so well here amidst the chaos as the government & world fall apart. THAT'S the Tonks I love!
5. Breaking News- I love songs with clever (double entendre) titles. This one is fantastic. Steph did a great job of the moment Tonks tells Remus she's pregnant with his cub, er, child. There's so much said and just as much unsaid. The song is beautiful and the meaning is tragic. I might also mention that during one pass through the album, the tracks were out of order (I don't remember how it sorted) and this song in my playlist came right before the Tonks/Remus wedding. This order made me happy in a "oh, so THAT is why she is getting married!" kind of way.
6. Tonight Tonight- Honestly, I had to re-listen to this one just now because I couldn't remember what it was about when I went to make comments here. It's immensely beautiful and the emotions Tonks puts out there in it- anger, confusion, love, hurt, etc. come through mournfully and forcefully.
7. Taking You Back- My FAVORITE song on the CD! I've listened to the whole album about 10 times through now, but I've listened to this song more than 30 times. I tend to prefer really sweet or really upbeat Wizard Rock songs, this being the latter. It's a great, layered composition and it's got canon cred with Alex from the Remus Lupins joining Tonks in great duet/argument/love song. The chorus makes me SO happy. If it were any other song, and if the lines were taken out of context, I would be furious (because I'd never call my Remus dumb and I don't think Hufflepuffs are doormats by definition): "Remus Lupin you're kinda dumb sometimes/Luckily I knew that when I married you./Yes you know I'm a Hufflepuff because I'm taking you back./But you know you'll be paying for this for a while." LMAO! With lines like "Did you happen to forget that I was pregnant?" and "Harry needed my help." "That's clear from the way you're back here." I could die with the perfection that is this song. It's the perfect range of emotion and does a very believable job of outlining the situation of Remus running out on her (and then coming back with his tail between his legs) and why she took him back. It's funny and loving and rings true to me. And, did I mention that the song is just FUN?! And epic.
8. Remember- Just plain breaks my heart. There's so much tragedy in the Deathly Hallows and this song about Ted Tonks really gets straight to the way Tonks' father influenced her life. She tells us what he meant to her and it touches me. It's so sweet and sad and it's perfectly written from Tonks' perspective.
9. The Radio- This is my second favorite on the album (not surprising; I love the upbeat songs). This song has a fantastic sound to it that I can't get enough of. There hasn't yet been a Potterwatch song that I haven't loved (although I can only think of 4 so the base isn't that big). I think the count of times I've listened to this one is up to 25 or so (compared to 10 for the rest of the album). That "my baby goes by Romulus" line gets me every time. This song really says so much about the period and mood of the time. And it leaves me with this wonderful feeling that we can win the war and Harry will triumph. It's not until the song is over that I, um, remember that the war already took place and Harry did triumph. But just hearing about Tonks listening to her husband & the others on Potterwatch really does fill me with hope for the characters; it's kind of hilarious. I LOVE it! I love hearing this song, I especially love singing along to this song, and I would happily have bought this album just for this song alone. Though I'm glad it came with 12 other spectacular songs.
10. It's True- Ohhh Teddy *sigh* How I love you. This is such a great song. Even though I think it's strange that JKR seems to think all the female characters need to get pregnant, and even though I think the pregnancy came at a very inconvenient time, this song really makes me happy it happened. It really shows me an encouraging, lovely picture of mother!Tonks and warms my heart immensely.
11. Mr. Springsteen- See my point above. It's an awesome song (and I did get the Born to Run reference) and I never skip over it or anything. I'm happy it's there, it just doesn't speak to me quite as much as the others because I don't have the same familiarity with Springsteen.
12. Streets of Hogsmeade- Another favorite of mine. It's also got a great sound to it that fits the tone. The assonance is particularly done well here and gives the lyrics a great sound "The graffiti on the streets of Hogsmeade reads". I've actually teared up several times while listening to this song-- not because it's sad, but because of the way it portrays Dumbledore's Army as rebels who are powerful and fighting for good. They won't give up and they WILL win. It's so full of hope and strength.
13. We Are Magic- A great song to end with. Obviously, we know how Tonks and Remus end up, which makes me sad. But this song still manages to be not only uplifting but inspiring. They're magic, yes, but so are we! So is Wizard Rock and this fandom and the fans. The weapon we have is love and with that we can do anything! Also, this song is so catchy and WRockers need to quit doing this to me. I love when albums end on an upbeat note (I'd have it no other way) but then I go around singing the last song or humming it to myself and people hear me. LOL
Steph did an excellent job at not only covering Tonks' life during all of Deathly Hallows but turning it into an album that works. One or the other would be admirable, but both together is stupendous. The balance of sweet and catchy, the rise and fall, the intense emotion, the details that fill in so many blanks JKR left, the quality & variety of sound-- it's an amazing album and one I look forward to listening to many more times! It makes me want to immediately drop everything and re-read the last book.
I must say three things up front:
- Sadly, I don't have much of a familiarity with Bruce Spingsteen (Sorry). If there are tons of clever references in lyrics or tune throughout, those totally went over my head.
- I wasn't all that familiar with Tonks' previous works when I bought this album (I have since purchased her other albums, of course). I first heard her on Jingle Spells 2 (possibly my favorite song from that album). And I've acquired a few other songs here and there from other compilation albums. I've listened to her EP from the Wizard Rock EP of the month club. But I don't have any of her earlier albums (yet; I plan on buying them now). So I'm looking at We Are Magic with more objective eyes than I usually have (fangirl that I am). Why did I buy it, then? I'm not sure myself. It was a spur of the moment purchase when I saw Tonks mention it. But I am so glad I did (plus my pre-order came with an awesome sticker and button- squee!)
- Remus Lupin is, hands down, my favorite Harry Potter character. So the fact that he crops up so often during the album makes me very happy. In fact, many of these songs are written as if they were being sung to Remus. That makes me so happy. Though when it comes to my Remus, I'm a puppy shipper. I like him best when he's with Sirius. I'll go Snupin if the story's good; actually, I tend to pair him with anyone except for Tonks. However, there's something about these songs that makes even ME fall in line with canon, and that's the highest compliment I can give!
I love this concept (following a character through a whole book). I admire Draco and the Malfoys for doing it in their EP of the Month and I actually think it worked exceptionally well in this case, even though Tonks isn't in Deathly Hallows very much. The quality of the songs is wonderful; they're layered, polished, and complex instrumentally & vocally.
1. So it Begins- This is the perfect song to begin with. It starts out slow and gets fast and catchy and really gears us up for the fight. It's one of my favorites. I was listening to it at work and on only the 4th listen through, I found myself unconsciously counting 1-2-3-4 out with my fingers; that's when I knew I was truly hooked. The song pulled me right in.
2. A Day In the Life- Not my favorite tune. It's nice, but it's kind of repetitive and I would have liked something a little sweeter melodically when it comes to a song about the wedding. That aside, I really liked this song. It paints a beautiful, detailed picture of their wedding and really touches my heart. I love Remus pacing like a wolf in a cage, him taking her hand, her mother seeing her in her dress, the fact that not everyone is there but they had to do it, etc. Seriously, the way it's described makes me so sad that wasn't in the book. It's canon for me now :-) Well done!
3. The Mission- I'm an idiot. It took me, like, a full minute to figure out this was the 7 Potters scene the first time around. You would think a line like "Seven identical young men" would clue me in, but it still took me far too long. I like this one a lot. Her line about giving her life to protect Ron is fantastic. And I love that the song is addressing Remus; the moment at the end of the song where Remus talks about what he saw and how they lost Mad Eye makes me choke up a little. It's written well and it's sung powerfully.
4. Fallen- Awesome sound to this one; great job. I can't help but think about The Remus Lupin's song about Fleur & Bill's wedding. I like them both quite a lot. Tonks' is strong and I love how she recalls Dumbledore and Mad Eye and plays her role as an Auror so well here amidst the chaos as the government & world fall apart. THAT'S the Tonks I love!
5. Breaking News- I love songs with clever (double entendre) titles. This one is fantastic. Steph did a great job of the moment Tonks tells Remus she's pregnant with his cub, er, child. There's so much said and just as much unsaid. The song is beautiful and the meaning is tragic. I might also mention that during one pass through the album, the tracks were out of order (I don't remember how it sorted) and this song in my playlist came right before the Tonks/Remus wedding. This order made me happy in a "oh, so THAT is why she is getting married!" kind of way.
6. Tonight Tonight- Honestly, I had to re-listen to this one just now because I couldn't remember what it was about when I went to make comments here. It's immensely beautiful and the emotions Tonks puts out there in it- anger, confusion, love, hurt, etc. come through mournfully and forcefully.
7. Taking You Back- My FAVORITE song on the CD! I've listened to the whole album about 10 times through now, but I've listened to this song more than 30 times. I tend to prefer really sweet or really upbeat Wizard Rock songs, this being the latter. It's a great, layered composition and it's got canon cred with Alex from the Remus Lupins joining Tonks in great duet/argument/love song. The chorus makes me SO happy. If it were any other song, and if the lines were taken out of context, I would be furious (because I'd never call my Remus dumb and I don't think Hufflepuffs are doormats by definition): "Remus Lupin you're kinda dumb sometimes/Luckily I knew that when I married you./Yes you know I'm a Hufflepuff because I'm taking you back./But you know you'll be paying for this for a while." LMAO! With lines like "Did you happen to forget that I was pregnant?" and "Harry needed my help." "That's clear from the way you're back here." I could die with the perfection that is this song. It's the perfect range of emotion and does a very believable job of outlining the situation of Remus running out on her (and then coming back with his tail between his legs) and why she took him back. It's funny and loving and rings true to me. And, did I mention that the song is just FUN?! And epic.
8. Remember- Just plain breaks my heart. There's so much tragedy in the Deathly Hallows and this song about Ted Tonks really gets straight to the way Tonks' father influenced her life. She tells us what he meant to her and it touches me. It's so sweet and sad and it's perfectly written from Tonks' perspective.
9. The Radio- This is my second favorite on the album (not surprising; I love the upbeat songs). This song has a fantastic sound to it that I can't get enough of. There hasn't yet been a Potterwatch song that I haven't loved (although I can only think of 4 so the base isn't that big). I think the count of times I've listened to this one is up to 25 or so (compared to 10 for the rest of the album). That "my baby goes by Romulus" line gets me every time. This song really says so much about the period and mood of the time. And it leaves me with this wonderful feeling that we can win the war and Harry will triumph. It's not until the song is over that I, um, remember that the war already took place and Harry did triumph. But just hearing about Tonks listening to her husband & the others on Potterwatch really does fill me with hope for the characters; it's kind of hilarious. I LOVE it! I love hearing this song, I especially love singing along to this song, and I would happily have bought this album just for this song alone. Though I'm glad it came with 12 other spectacular songs.
10. It's True- Ohhh Teddy *sigh* How I love you. This is such a great song. Even though I think it's strange that JKR seems to think all the female characters need to get pregnant, and even though I think the pregnancy came at a very inconvenient time, this song really makes me happy it happened. It really shows me an encouraging, lovely picture of mother!Tonks and warms my heart immensely.
11. Mr. Springsteen- See my point above. It's an awesome song (and I did get the Born to Run reference) and I never skip over it or anything. I'm happy it's there, it just doesn't speak to me quite as much as the others because I don't have the same familiarity with Springsteen.
12. Streets of Hogsmeade- Another favorite of mine. It's also got a great sound to it that fits the tone. The assonance is particularly done well here and gives the lyrics a great sound "The graffiti on the streets of Hogsmeade reads". I've actually teared up several times while listening to this song-- not because it's sad, but because of the way it portrays Dumbledore's Army as rebels who are powerful and fighting for good. They won't give up and they WILL win. It's so full of hope and strength.
13. We Are Magic- A great song to end with. Obviously, we know how Tonks and Remus end up, which makes me sad. But this song still manages to be not only uplifting but inspiring. They're magic, yes, but so are we! So is Wizard Rock and this fandom and the fans. The weapon we have is love and with that we can do anything! Also, this song is so catchy and WRockers need to quit doing this to me. I love when albums end on an upbeat note (I'd have it no other way) but then I go around singing the last song or humming it to myself and people hear me. LOL
Steph did an excellent job at not only covering Tonks' life during all of Deathly Hallows but turning it into an album that works. One or the other would be admirable, but both together is stupendous. The balance of sweet and catchy, the rise and fall, the intense emotion, the details that fill in so many blanks JKR left, the quality & variety of sound-- it's an amazing album and one I look forward to listening to many more times! It makes me want to immediately drop everything and re-read the last book.
