Starfleet HQ - Challenge 5x11: Star Trek Tropes

[refuse2shine]

For the Star Trek Tropes challenge over at starfleet_hq, I decided to make two fanmixes inspired by the Dress Up Episode trope. I chose two specific Dress Up Episodes to base my fanmixes on. The first is inspired by A Fistful of Datas from TNG and the second is inspired by Our Man Bashir from DS9.







Full Playlist Here

A Fistful of Datas is an absolutely fantastic holodeck episode of TNG where Worf, Deanna and Alexander take on bad guys who become copies of Data in the Ancient West. I tried to reflect the setting and mood of the episode in the playlist, taking some themes from classic Western films and some classic country songs with a couple of newer ones thrown in as well.

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - Ennio Morricone
(instrumental)

This is one of the classic Western themes I chose and its often parodied and used in scenes in Western-themed media with tense shootouts similar to the one that occurs in A Fistful of Data.

(Ghost) Riders In The Sky - The Outlaws
If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the devil's herd, across these endless skies

More of a Western-flavoured rock song, this classic tune tells a story of a cowboy and I felt it fit the tone of the episode.

Old Town Road (Remix) - Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
I got the horses in the back
Horse tack is attached
Hat is matte black
Got the boots that's black to match

One of the most interesting combinations of ideas I've heard over the past few years, I chose this song to kind of showcase the mixing of the future technology with the aspects of the Ancient West as shown in this episode.

Honky Tonk Man - Dwight Yoakam
Well now I'm living wild and dangerously
But I've got plenty of company
The moon comes up and the sun goes down
I can't wait to see the lights of town

In A Fistful of Datas, there's a saloon full of cowboys and one of the villains of the story. I chose this song to represent the atmosphere in the saloon.

Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) - Dolly Parton
Well I'm a lady mule skinner
From down old Tennessee way
Hey hey, I come from Tennessee

There are a few versions of this song but I chose Dolly Parton's specifically as she put a sort of feminist twist to the song and I felt it really fit Deanna's role in the episode, being more versed in the Western genre than Worf.

In Lonesome Dove - Cyndi Limbaugh Torres
The shadows stretched across the land
As the shots rang out down the Rio Grande
And when the smoke had finally cleared the street
The men lay at the ranger's feet

In Lonesome Dove is a whole Western story in a song and I chose it as Deanna mentions her father used to tell her stories of the Ancient West. I've always loved the story this song tells so I thought it would be a good inclusion.

It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells
It wasn't God who made honky tonk angels
As you said in the words of your song
Too many times married men
Think they're still single
That has caused many a good girl to go wrong

The other women depicted in A Fistful of Datas are the woman who runs the saloon and a brief glimpse of a woman who is implied to be a prostitute. I included this country classic to represent them.

Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison
And time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a-rollin'
On down to San Antone

This song is about a man stuck in prison for murder and so it reminded me of Eli Hollander during A Fistful of Datas being stuck in the jail cell for most of the episode.

Beer For My Horses - Toby Keith & Willie Nelson
'Cause justice is the one thing you should always find
You got to saddle up your boys
You got to draw a hard line

This song is representative of Worf's sense of justice as both a Klingon and the Chief of Security on the Enterprise. This song discusses a hands-on approach to law-keeping and a great celebration of victory, both things that definitely fit Worf's personality and views of Klingon honor.

The Magnificent Seven - Elmer Bernstein
(instrumental

This is the second Western theme I chose. The Magnificent Seven (or at least, the 2017 version of it) is a story of a group of diverse characters coming together to defend a town from injustice. I feel the story line is very similar to the ways that Star Trek has characters from different alien species and with different values coming together to meet a common goal.








Full Playlist Here

Our Man Bashir is a James Bond inspired episode of DS9 where Bashir and Garak are secret agents in 1960s Earth. Due to a series of malfunctions, the transporter patterns and consciousnesses of Kira, Dax, O'Brien and Sisko are stored in the holosuite. As such, characters from the program take on their likenesses. Bashir and Garak must make sure that none of the characters that the crew are embodying die or else the real crew will die as well. For this playlist, I took some spy film themes and some songs, both modern and older, that I felt fit the spy film vibe this episode goes for.

Soul Bossa Nova - Quincy Jones
(instrumental)

This song is more popularly known as the theme song from the Austin Powers films. As both are clearly inspired by James Bond, I felt the song fit.

Angel In Blue Jeans - Train
Like a sunrise made of white lies
Everything was nothing as it seems
I was shot down in cold blood
By an angel in blue jeans

Kira's character in Our Man Bashir is a KGB spy and a rival to Bashir, but the characters became lovers within the story. This song represents that relationship and the possibility of it being duplicitous.

Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers
There's a man who leads a life of danger
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger
With every move he makes another chance he takes
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow

This song is a glamorized interpretation of the suave Bond-esque spy like Bashir's program represents and so I chose this song as a representation of that.

Lovesong - Adele
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am young again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am fun again

Sisko's character, the villain Hippocrates Noah, decides to spare Kira's character, calling her "a spirited individual". I chose this song since the lyrics really bring that thought home.

She's a Lady - Tom Jones
She always knows her place
She's got style, she's got grace
She's a winner

The women in Our Man Bashir all (for the most part) end up being love interests to Bashir's character and so this song is to represent Bashir's views on the various female characters in the program.

Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande
Somethin' 'bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman
Somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout, somethin' 'bout you
Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn't

Dax's character Honey Bare gets charmed by Bashir's character and he ends up escaping and so I chose this song to represent that moment from Dax's point of view.

No Time To Die - Billie Eilish
I let it burn
You're no longer my concern
Faces from my past return
Another lesson yet to learn

There is a tense moment in Our Man Bashir between Garak attempts to stop the program. Bashir then shoots Garak, even though the holosuite safeties are disabled, since if the program ends, it will kill the rest of the crew. This song is meant to represent that moment between the two.

Ten Cent Pistol - The Black Keys
She hit them with her ten cent pistol
Because they ruined her name
Well, she hit them with her ten cent pistol
And they've never been the same

Bashir states that the story would end with Bashir's character ending up with either Dax's character or Kira's character. Whoever he doesn't end up with will die. This song is to represent that possibility.

Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
Why you try to put up a front for me
I'm a spy but on your side you see

This is also meant to represent the scene where Bashir charms Dax's character but from Bashir's point of view.

Get Smart Theme - The Ventures
(instrumental)

Like Austin Powers, Get Smart is a fun spoof of the spy genre and James Bond. For the same reasons, I chose Soul Bossa Nova, I chose this theme.

Comments

[refuse2shine]

Thank you :D Fanmixes are one of my favourite things to make and I haven't had the opportunity to do so in a bit, so when the challenge had that as an option, I ran with it.

[sonofgodzilla]

I love making tapes, but I've never had the skill to stick to a theme like a fanmix requires, so I really like the fact that you've done this.