My Book Soundtrack Playlist: Warcross

I’ve decided to do a little something before I review books: make a soundtrack for them. What do I mean? Well, sometimes I associate certain songs with scenes or characters from the book. I also hope doing this will help me remember scenes and characters from books better!

The music I choose will be a mix of soundtrack (because I listen to so many soundtracks) and lyrical music.

I will include links for songs that I can find on YouTube.

Needless to say, there will be SPOILERS. So if you haven’t read Warcross yet, either don’t read this until you do, or look for my spoiler warnings, which I will put in caps and bold.

Anyway:

Emika’s Theme: I would say, Listening With A Thousand Ears from Person of Interest. It has plenty of computer generated music and electronic sound, which matches Emika’s intelligence and amazing computer skills. But it also has distinct instruments and an orchestra. This shows off her innate humanity, meaning that underneath her smarts, she is still kind and compassionate.

Link: Listening With A Thousand Ears

Hideo’s Theme: Near’s Theme from Death Note. Near’s Theme sounds computerized very fast, which is fitting for the creator of Warcross. It also conveys intelligence and intrigue, as it sounds emotionally distant. However, listen closer, and you hear more depth to it, much like Hideo. You get the sense of humanity, but much more hidden than Emika’s, and also in a different way.

Link: Near’s Theme

Emika hacks Warcross: Gate of Steiner from Steins;Gate. Gate of Steiner has a very synthesized sound to it, which is only fitting for a video game world. It also has tension in it, especially in the beginning part. It also has a lot of energy to it, which is fitting.

Link: Gate of Steiner

Emika arrives in Tokyo: Hacking to the Gate from Steins;Gate. I imagine any fast paced J-Pop song could work, but especially this one. It has a catchy electronic tune, amazing vocals, and also has plenty of energy. It also has a science-fiction theme, and underneath the catchiness, you can sense something more serious and a little darker.

Link: Hacking to the Gate

Song at the Club: Trust Me from Durarara. Hey, it’s a fun, catchy J-pop song! Besides, the words Trust Me could match Warcross in any number of ways, right?

Link: Trust Me

The Phoenix Rider’s Second Tournament: Attack on Titan Main Theme. It’s got an electric, synthetic beat, is fast paced and doesn’t let up on the tension, and again, has a beautiful voice to go with it. It’s an intense, fast song, and goes with the second Tournament well, which in it’s snowy setting had a lot of tension.

The Last Tournament: The Race of His Life from The Flash. This one is also fast paced, but has a less electric sound to it, which lends a sharp contrast to the rest of the songs I picked, which I hope would work. It also sounds very intense, and would hopefully make the scene even more suspenseful.

Link: The Race of His Life

SPOILER SONGS AND SCENES:

Emika’s Backstory: Alone With Numbers from The Imitation Game. Emika’s backstory is sad, which works with this melancholy theme. A slow start with a piano would work with her early, less technology focused days, and has a haunting finish. It also has “numbers” in the title, which portrays her interests even early on.

Link: Alone With Numbers

Hideo’s backstory: Brother Mine from Sherlock. I think the title explains it all, don’t you?

Link: Brother Mine

Emika confronts Zero (first time): No Time For Caution from Interstellar. I think something less electronic sounding would make an interesting choice for this scene. On one hand, you have a hacker and bounty hunter, and on the other, a cyber terrorist. It would be a good contrast to have eerie organs, which give off a creepy feeling, especially once Zero makes his offer to Emika.

Link: No Time For Caution

Emika confronts Zero (second time): No Weapons (2:59 on) from Stranger Things. This is a very haunting sound. Plenty of synthetic instruments, and an eerie and strange melody. It gives you chills, and I think it works for the darker side to Warcross. In a way, I think this song could work as Zero’s theme.

Link: No Weapons

(HUGE SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED) The Truth about the NeuroLink: The Last Jedi trailer music. This might be an odd choice, but I think it fits. It has a slow buildup, which could work for when Emika is about to confront Hideo. Then it has an epic orchestra, which could go with the actual discovery. Finally, it has a very slow, almost delicate sounding finish with a piano, which would add an interesting melancholic feeling as Emika turns down Hideo’s offer.

link: Last Jedi Trailer Music

Zero’s Identity: Prepared To Do Anything from Sherlock. This is a song with a slow buildup but a lot of impact, because when it gets going, it gets going. Right when the song hits its climax is when his identity would be revealed, and then the slowness of the rest of the song would finish the scene.

Link: Prepared To Do Anything

The last scene, or the ending credits (if this was a movie, in my case, the acknowledgements): Monster Without a Name, from Psycho Pass. The book ends with Emika deciding whether to take Zero’s offer, or to find another path. The song title could refer to one of two people, or both. In particular, I feel like the lyrics: I was born behind these dark iron bars/I pray that the evil in you can be amended/So bring justice to me/To destroy this evil before it destroys me/We’ll pay for our karma and go together, nameless monster could go with a lot of Warcross.

Lyric link: Winter Sakura

Hideo and Emika’s theme: Skyfall from Skyfall. Why do I feel like this song could be their theme? Well, let’s look at some lyrics I think could be from Hideo’s perspective: For this is the end/I’ve drowned and dreamt this moment. Then: Let the sky fall/When it crumbles/We will stand tall/Face it all together. Then: Where you go I go/What you see I see. Put your hand in my hand/And we’ll stand. Do you see what I mean? And then there’s a stanza that could be from Emika’s perspective: A thousand miles and poles apart/Where worlds collide and days are dark/You may have my number, you can take my name/ But you’ll never have my heart. Do you guys agree?

Link: Skyfall

And to finish off my playlist, I found a funny comment. It’s a spoiler, and I don’t remember where I found it, but it’s basically (and this is paraphrased): “Hideo must have watched a lot of Death Note as a child.” 😂 I KNEW his mission reminded me of something…(just a bit less sinister)