Lisbeth Salander Soundtrack
Which songs should be in a Lisbeth Salander soundtrack – read all the suggestions below!
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I don’t remember
Did something in my past create a hole?
Don’t use your gender
To drive a stake right through my soul
I live to function
On my own is all I know
No friends to mention
No distraction, nowhere to go
Shallow, shallow
Give it to me, give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow
No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
This city drains me
Well maybe it’s the smell of gasoline
The millions pain me
It’s easier to talk to my PC
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Current lyrics feature: From a song from the fan-created Never-ending Salander Soundtrack – Shallow by Porcupine Tree. Thanks to Craig for the cool contrib! Below is a great cover version by Snedd on YouTube, and you can listen to a snippet of the real thing here
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Categories: From the Fans
23 Comments » (Including 5 Discussion Threads)
« WANTED: Your ideas for Sally | Home | Millennium in Stieg Larsson’s own words »
January 11th, 2010 at 2:26 PM
great idea =)
my first song is massive attack- dissolved girl-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdpluQpyAn8
2- Shiny toy guns – Ricochet! (She Ricochets – And You Don’t Notice
exactly 
)
She’s In Your Head, You Just Don’t Notice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5mSvwuwV8
3- flyleaf -Cassie -(lyric’s just so cool like lisbeth
)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhA6bJ1SIHo
January 11th, 2010 at 3:03 PM
One that immediately jumps out at me is “Cry Little Sister” by Gerard McMann. It’s been used in numerous Films and TV Series like “The Lost Boys” and “Witchblade”.
Personally, I prefer Charlie Sexton’s version, but I couldn’t find it on YouTube so here’s a link to the original. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fFo-WZsm5Q
I was just going through my Porcupine Tree CDs (I think Lisbeth would be a fan) when I got to “Shallow” from “Deadwing”. Check out the lyric…
I don’t remember
Did something in my past create a hole?
Don’t use your gender
To drive a stake right through my soul
I live to function
On my own is all I know
No friends to mention
No distraction, nowhere to go
Shallow, shallow. Give it to me, give it to me
Scissors cutting out your anger
Shallow, shallow. No good to me, not if you bleed
Bite your tongue, ignore the splinter
This city drains me
Well maybe it’s the smell of gasoline
The millions pain me
It’s easier to talk to my PC
Wow! Is that Lisbeth, or what?
The only YouTube link I could find, that wasn’t some spotty teenager noodling away in his bedroom, was this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U78-FMgTo8M
Someone submitted it from Guitar Hero so the video isn’t that exciting, but at least it is the original track.
I know that’s only two. I might come up with more later.
Enjoy,
Craig
January 11th, 2010 at 4:59 PM
Great ideas – both Craig and eszra, when I get home from my nightwatch, I’ll have a good long listen and add my own! Hey – I think I’ll just tweet it all before that. Might be some other lurkers out there who want to join in
January 11th, 2010 at 5:18 PM
you can listen here. I love it
http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=4330460&song=Shallow
January 11th, 2010 at 9:58 PM
Thanks esra, that’s great!
Deadwing is a cracking album. Probably my favorite.
January 12th, 2010 at 1:08 AM
OK, first up has to be Safe Sex. There are two versions. One by the girl group Pandora’s Box and an equally good one from Karine Hannah. This would be great at the end of Dragon tattoo as she is crushed seeing Mikael strolling off with Erika. Second, easily would be Breathe Me by Sia. I can see that as a backdrop for a montage of Lisbeth traipsing about the world for the opening of The Girl Who Played With Fire. I’ll have to think further on a third nomination.
January 13th, 2010 at 7:23 AM
I found a new song.
I have to say this one is rocks ! when sally saw erica and mikael leaving together at the end of the first book .or second book whatever this should be one of the soundtrack 
Puscifer / the undertaker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Px926hFRdI
some of the lyrics
Either way I must say goodbye.
You’re dead to me.
So I…
……….
I’m severing the heart line,
(severing the heart line)
I’m leaving your corpse behind…
(leaving your corpse behind)
Not dead but soon to be, though.
(not dead but soon to be)
I won’t be the one who kills you,
I’ll just leave that up to you.
….
Severing the heart line,
(“I told you so…”)
I’m leaving your corpse behind.
(“I told you so…”)
Not dead but soon to be, and
(“I told you so…”)
I’m gonna be the one to say “I told you so”.
January 13th, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Hi there, folks,
Well, in case you were wondering … I do work as a freelance journalist (somewhat like Mr. Blomkvist, although I guess I don’t quite have his rep yet) and as a web-entrepreneur (I guess). What pays the rent currently … he, he … another story. How about night shifts as a helper for disabled persons? So now I’m in between shifts in a particularly heavy week and my head is busted, but … I simply have to butt in this discussion. And I’ll start with esra and then work my way up.
And now to the music:
Massive Attack … ah, I’ve heard of them but not really listened to their music. I must have been out of my mind! This sound is gorgeous! Both sensitive and tough. You didn’t comment on why you thought this song, “Dissolved Girl”, ‘fitted’ Lisbeth but you didn’t need to either. It fits the mood around her perfectly I think. (I haven’t checked out the lyrics yet, though, but I will do so.)
I was a bit skeptical about “Ricochet” at first, because I thought it was ‘too much’. I’m generally not into heavy rock, but that’s not why. No, it’s more bc I think that one shouldn’t automatically equate ‘angry rock’ with Lis Salander. However, I must say that the lyrics fit Very Nicely with a certain bullet-to-your-head scene and aftermath. And there’s a really nice metaphor there: “She ricochets!” That’s right, Zala – right back into your ugly head with an axe to grind (literally!
). So: Thumbs up here as well!
Flyleaf’s “Cassie” … hmm … I think I’ll have to pass on this one for now. For one reason: (As far as I can make out) it’s about one person’s suicide – this Cassie. I can’t say that some of the nihilistic feelings that she describes about religion, life, death and so on wouldn’t have crossed Lisbeth’s mind at some time or other. They probably have, but this song is too concrete, I feel, to really ‘fit’. (It’s a very daring piece of music, though – and I like it for that!)
Okay, those were my initial thoughts. Remember, I’m still looking for a good easy-to-get-an-overview-of way to compile all suggestions into a poll or something. And: I’m not judging anyone’s taste in music! I’m just trying to share some of my own thoughts about how I think the songs would fit – or not fit – a soundtrack. And why. That you’ve commented here means a great deal to me, and so does your suggestions so I hope you’ll keep on coming back.
I’ll take a break now, be back later with more comments, and then when the discussion really gets going I’ll retweet it all and see if we can’t haul some more people to this thread. It’s by far one of the most interesting pages I’m doing, I feel, and I think it’s because music means such a great deal to us. We instinctively ‘think music’ even when we see a movie or read a book (and the smart movie-people of course know this!
). So there’s a lot of interesting discussion-stuff about why we like Stieg Larsson and Lis Salander, just waiting to be discovered so to speak, if we approach it from the musical angle.
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Update to this comment 18:40 Copenhagen time 13 January 2010: I now know why your comments get caught in my spam-filter! It’s because of the links. So the problem is at my end, not yours! That also goes for anyone else posting. I’ll temporarily adjust the spam-filter to allow comments with many links, so your comments should go online now without moderation. (I hope.)
Stay tuned.
January 13th, 2010 at 2:10 PM
Damn! I notice that YouTube have pulled that version of “Shallow”.
Try this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTkTu8FtWjo
It’s a cover, but a pretty good one…
January 16th, 2010 at 3:13 PM
I’ve just listened the song over a couple of times – “Shallow” – and its absolutely spot on! (Not just because of the lyrics.) But one thing intrigues me: What exactly does ‘shallow’ refer to? Any suggestions? (Or is it just me who is thick??)
January 16th, 2010 at 3:17 PM
Okay, now I’ve dived into the lyrics here as well, and – bingo:
“There’s always the risk of surrendering more
Than I ever intended to do
And there’s no such thing as safe sex
When it comes to loving you”
Right on the mark for that final scene, Rich. I wonder if I should just forget the silly poll-thing (since we don’t have that many suggestions yet) and instead do some kind of collage-page with music, lyrics quotes and excerpts from the books? After all, that is the way I’ve tried to structure the Millennium Tour section of the site (I know, I know – it’s still very small with just Mikael, Millennium and Miriam, but more is coming up, I promise!)
January 16th, 2010 at 3:21 PM
I think it fits with book 2 – and the ‘grave scene’. Perhaps it could even match some kind of crazy goings-on in Lisbeth’s head while she is buried alive? And even though the lyrics are kinda broad there’s actually a verse that fits quite well to a specific scene:
“I won’t be the one who kills you – I’ll leave that up to you”
Remember: Zala died because he got too self-assured in front of the guy the Section sent to the hospital to talk to him (Guldberg, wasn’t it?). Okay, okay, maybe they had planned to kill him all along, but still … he kind of made it easy for them by being such a complete idiot and trying to threaten them from his sickbed. Don’t bite the hand that feeds …
January 18th, 2010 at 11:22 AM
I dunno..
For me, it could mean that the singer is unable, or unwilling, to feel any deep emotion for anyone else (which would fit with Lisbeth).
Or could it be the way society sees this person? Or the way (s)he sees her/himself..?
January 18th, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Hi there,
It’s a great idea to see what fans would like to include in Lisbeth’s soundtrack.
On the other hand it’s hard to pick only 3 songs… lots keep popping up in my mind for different reasons. So I’ ll give 3 for now:
1. ‘Hypocrite’ by Asian Dub Foundation. This song for me describes what Lisbeth and Plague and the rest of her net pals think of the society. Plus it reminds me of what Lisbeth did with the Wennerstrom finance..
Lyrics quote:
‘Hypocrites, we’re gonna get inside your mind
Hypocrites, you will pay for your crimes
Hypocrites, we’re gonna bleed you dry
And your pockets wiil be empty but you won’t know why’
Link to the song: Couldn’t find any video… I ‘ll look better and get back.
2. ‘Take me back’ by BabyBird. This is a song that Lisbeth would say to her mother… about how she would like to take back all the suffering that the lived at the hands of Salachenko.
Lyrics quote:
‘I would have stabbed him (who would have stopped me?)
I would have stabbed him (you would have stopped me)’
Link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUhbhRenOLc
3. ‘Well I wonder’ by The Smiths. The Smiths have the general energy and rebellious attitude of Lisbeth and there is a verse on this song that would fit like a glove on how her father and brother thought that they killed her, but she never gave up.
Lyrics quote:
‘Gasping – but somehow still alive
This is the fierce last stand of all I am
Gasping – dying – but somehow still alive
This is the final stand of all I am’
Link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXZUEx9M188
Hope you like them and find them fitting as soundtracks!!!
Take Care,
Alien.
January 19th, 2010 at 9:09 AM
I already like them very much, and I’m really grateful that you chose some songs, which relate to some of the scenes that we haven’t really dealt with yet on this page of sally’s. After all, there are so many to choose from! I’ll get back to the songs above later (just home from another nightwatch so I’m pretty busted), but I’ll put them on the playlist immediately!
January 21st, 2010 at 11:03 AM
I like “Take me back” best, since there are some really neat song lines here, very fitting for the particular scene. How about: “I’m so angry, she’s not angry” – I’m sure many children, who grew up with fathers who kept abusing their mother, have felt like that. Especially if their mum just stayed around instead of either fighting back or running away.
Anyway, they are all nice songs and I think we are rapidly closing in on the date where I have enough material for it to make sense to make a poll-page. Also I’d like to use some of the song suggestions on other pages, e.g. a ‘best moments of Millennium’-page or some such.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Probably a bit of all three … remember Peter Teleborian’s ‘diagnosis’ of Lisbeth, for example! And Lis also seems to have a very harsh view on her own ability to relate emotionally others, as if she has already given up. It’s actually one of the really defining traits of her character, her technical skills and cognitive ditto are inversely proportionational (can one say that in English?) with her emotional ‘skills’. And it’s really extreme in both cases. Also, I believe this combination is what makes the character so popular.
Most of us – both men and women – can identify, I think, with a little bit of Lisbeth, even if she is sort of an extreme reflection of the suppressed parts of our own psyches, and our attempts to compensate by mastering some skill or other outside of own minds and hearts … (Does that make sense or am I rambling?)
January 27th, 2010 at 10:51 PM
You guys have got to hear this: I just found an original Lisbeth Salander-song – with Salander-lyrics and all!
http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=131448#
“1- Let me tell you the story
of Lisbeth Salander,
You might have heard of her , everywhere
in the newspapers.
Don’t believe when they tell,
she’s a dangerous psychopat
The ones whom tell their truth
Are the real murderers.”
- and more lyrics @ the above URL.
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Okay, it’s probably not gonna break any sales records but you gotta give the artist kudos for trying …!
January 31st, 2010 at 9:26 AM
shallow is fantastic
You’re right =)
February 11th, 2010 at 11:33 AM
As a matter of fact, Ricochet has been really growing on me – lately. So I used it to accompany the second installment in our fan fic Thanks again, es!
Note: As of late 2010 the fan fic has been discontinued!
January 27th, 2011 at 1:26 AM
“Telephone Wires” by Mirah makes reminds me of how Lisbeth feels about Mikail and so does her song “Cold, Cold, Water”
The song “Whistle to the Choir” Is what i’d like to think Mikail will finally tell Liseth how he feels!
January 27th, 2011 at 1:28 AM
This is an amazing idea just to add in. Whenever I read a book I always put songs to go with it!
February 5th, 2011 at 11:42 PM
I thought of another song “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush
This line from it is represents the ending of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so well,
“How could you leave me, when I needed to possess you, I hated you, I loved you too”
I adore the Lisbeth/Mikael romance