Now, we at the Neohomeridae recently attended a social activity apparently called a "school dance" (Ephor put olive oil on her arms and in her hair like the hot girls in Homer, but it just made her smell like a really classy salad), and were suddenly barraged by the odd phenomenon of pop music! Of course, being the classics geeks we were, we immediately sought to parallel these songs to characters in the Iliad. Sure it's silly, but so's pop. ^_^ Anyway, here's what we have so far... if there's not much here, that's because, uh, we really don't know that much pop.
Hector and Training Trojans: "Whip It!" by Devo (Devo). Sample Line: "When a problem comes along, you must whip it! When something going wrong, you must whip it! Now whip it... into shape! Shape it up!" Brilliant! This is the most hilarious workout music ever to have the misfortune to be invented, and I say it would be genius for a bunch of pushup-pumping soldiers of Ilium.
Paris: "Flavour of the Week" by American Hi-Fi (Fi). Sample Line: "And he's got posters on the wall of all the girls he wishes she was, and he means everything to her." What better way to describe the Paris/Oenone relationship? It would be a great portrait of the callous Paris, we think. We got to talking about the "too stoned" line, and decided that a modern-day Paris wouldn't make a bad junkie after all.
Oenone: "Power of Goodbye" by Madonna (Ray of Light). Sample Line: "There's nothing left to try; there's no place left to hide. There's no greater power than the power of goodbye." This isn't strictly Iliad material, but it's still established mythological canon that in the end Paris is wounded with a poison that only she, in her wise ways, can cure, so he drags himself over to her. Unfortunately, Oenone was abandoned by Paris for Helen, and because she had loved him so greatly and was hurt so much, she refuses to help him. Her "I love(d) you but I can't and won't" attitude is nicely summed up here.
Menelaus: "Time" by Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon). Sample Line: "And then one day you find ten years have got behind you--no one told you when to run: you missed the starting gun." Ooh, it was the "ten years" part which clinched it! It's a song about a man who suddenly finds himself left behind, then scrambles to catch up (there's some lovely imagery where the song's protagonist chases the sun only to have it rise behind him). Wow! Isn't that Menelaus-y? In the Iliad, his identity is really that of the cuckhold, the confounded and grief-stricken husband left behind while his wife goes sailing with a new beau, and being left behind is really what "Time" is all about.
Agamemnon: "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne (Let's Go). Sample Line: "Then you're somebody else with everyone else ... you try to be cool, you look like a fool to me." How could we not mention this grossly overplayed song? Ugh. Anyway, Agamemnon seems to be an actual nice person one-on-one, but the more people that are involved the more of a jerk he is--it's a direct variation! As with Lavigne's complicating character, he really makes an ass of himself whilst trying to be the big man (see his "motivational" speech).
(Ephor's note: Incidently, there actually IS a song out there called "Agamemnon," by the Violent Femmes. I downloaded it eagerly, but I was shocked and disappointed! It has NOTHING to do with Agamemnon. Something about a telephone ringing... whatever. *grumble*)
Cassandra: "Exit Music (For A Film)" by Radiohead (OK Computer). Sample Line: "Wake from your sleep, the drying of your tears. Today we escape, we escape." This is a song with rather badly-crafted lyrics, but lyrics are only one facet of a song. "Exit Music" is about a character who wakes up crying, forced to leave home. This strikes us as being nicely parallel to Cassandra as she's forced to leave Troy (at the same time escaping the Sack). What strikes an especially excellent Cassandra note is the sound of a seashore as the main character is leaving. The mood of the song works well for her also: quiet, brooding, miserable, building to loudly passionate before sinking back into resignation.
Note: Again, there really IS a song called "Cassandra" by ABBA--this one actually on topic. However, it's... well, TOO relevant. There's no challenge involved in imagining the character!
Dolon: "Secret Agent Man" by Weird Al (among others). Sample Line: "There's a man who leads a life of danger, to everyone he meets he is a stranger...Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow." A terribly silly, but nevertheless irresistibly perfect, song for Dolon. It has the sleaze, the ridiculous melodrama and the twangy James Bond music that all fit that lovable scumbag so well.
Helen and Paris: "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna, again. Sample Line: "To love you is to be part of you. I've paid for you in tears, I've swallowed all my pride... I looked into your eyes and my world came tumbling down." In my opinion this song, too, is somewhat outside the reach of the Iliad, but too well suited to the characters to ignore. Ideally, I think this is a song from Helen's point of view just after she's met Paris, long before the ten year disillusionment of the war. The tone of the song is loving and musing, but slightly sad and bitter as well; it's a song about someone succumbing to their emotions despite the warnings of reason and good sense--both those things seem extremely appropriate to the situation Helen found herself in. Also, the soft, light and very feminine sound of Madonna's voice here reminds me of Helen. And besides, isn't Paris a 'beautiful stranger' exactly?
Achilles: "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park. Sample Line: "Everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break!" What do Achilles and "One Step Closer" have in common? Many things. Both exhibit the same self-centred, psychotic rage, for instance. The lengthy bridge that consists almost entirely of the singer shouting "Shut up!" over and over again was a particularly good example of how startlingly angry this song is. We also thought the line "All these words, they make no sense" to be very appropriate for the dunder-headed greek. In short, Achilles, a man who spends most of his life barely clinging to that edge of sanity and morality anyhow, was the perfect match for this song.
Patroclus: "Glycerine" by Bush. Sample Line: "It must be for real / 'cause now I can feel/ I didn't mind... it's not my time to wonder why." Again, as with many-a pop song, the lyrics of this song are NOT its strong suit. However, by perusing them we can glean that it's about an abusive relationship growing colder with sparks of near-epic redeeming moments. That's what reminded me of Patroclus and Achilles; it's a strikingly parallel relationship. And for those of you who's tag line is "Seeing homosexual relationships in well-established literary characters means that you don't believe in meaningful platonic friendships!" all I can say is that in your case, ignorance is its own punishment. I could say that it's an equal tort to presume all characters heterosexual, but I'm not all THAT attached to my thesis... Anyway. The sample lines refer to a sacrifice, and allude to a certain push by fate. A huh? What does that remind you of? Very much like a certain someone whom the gods compel to take up Achilles' armour and fight a fatal fight against the Trojans, not that I'm mentioning any names!