1. The first song on Satan’s playlist is “How to Disappear into Strings” by Radiohead. Although this scene does not actually appear in Paradise Lost, this song portrays the process of Satan falling from Heaven into Hell. Paradise Lost does not describe the physical fall from Heaven, so I chose a similarly wordless song to convey Satan’s dramatic downfall. The song begins with a harp, an instrument reminiscent of Heaven, effectively mirroring Satan’s starting position at the beginning of the fall. As more and more instruments join the choir of strings, the song adopts a very spacey and dreamy feel that represents how Satan was in some strange middle ground between Heaven and Hell, almost floating as he dramatically falls further away from Heaven. Further, the notes played rise and fall throughout the song, unable to stay at one note for long. This reflects Satan’s inner turmoil as he starts to lose the elements of what made him an angel, as represented in the higher notes, with the demonic characteristics of whom he will become, as seen in the lows. As Satan nears Hell and the song nears its end around 4:30, the song not only becomes louder, but the instruments begin to sound alien and unsettling, with moments of respite that are quickly drowned out by a cacophony of strings at 5:11, foreshadowing what Satan will become. After this sequence, silence as Satan begins to regain consciousness, and the song ends.
2. Shine On picks up where How to Disappear ends. The ballad is unorthodox; as the first song on the album, it does not rush to hook listeners. Instead, it makes us witnesses to the fall of a great man, which in this case is Satan. You sit through the opening seconds of silence, unsureof what to expect, just as Satan is waking up from his long fall from Heaven. Slowly, an ominous and unsettling synth reverberates in your ears as if you are about to experience the genesis of the universe: the spacey synth is the first and only sound in existence; then, the modular bell-like instrument is the only movement in an otherwise empty vacuum. This almost breathes life into Satan, or at least reflects him regaining consciousness. Soon, a new instrument begins calling for others to join in the ensemble to confront the droning background synth. However, just as Satan is weak and confused in his first lucid moments, it quickly fades into the background; a guitar takes its place, but the guitar is shaky and unconfident in its abilities, afraid of being lost to the driving wave of the synth chord. As the song progresses, the instruments become more confident, again reflecting how Satan wakes up and feels the power within him (Note the beginning of the song vs. 4:30 vs. 8:45). Aside from tracking the start of the epic and being a very, very good song, the context and meaning behind “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (pt. 1-5)” also characterizes Satan’s character arc, describing the power he once held as an angel. The song is the first track on Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, a tribute to ex-band member Syd Barrett and the devolution of his relationship with the cutthroat music industry that later encouraged his spiraling drug use and eventual exit from the band. No track elegizes Syd Barret as successfully as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” which uses electronic and offsetting synths to represent the band’s heavy guilt from failing Syd. Although the lyrics in the song are meant as an elegy to Syd Barrett, serve the same purpose in the context of Satan. Gilmore sings: “You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon / Shine on you crazy diamond” and “Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun” (10:05, 8:45). Just as Satan reached too high, so did Syd Barrett, and the song reflects on that. Also, given how Satan often pities himself, noting how he has been dealt “eternal woe” among other moments, I think he would especially like how this song almost romanticizes the downfall (Milton 4.69).
3. Another more calm song, “Something In The Way,” describes the huge task that Satan has ahead of him. Towards the end of the first book, after Satan had already finished building Pandemonium, I could imagine him playing this song as he looked up at Heaven with Kurt Cobain’s “Something in the way” ring in the background. The slow drum in the back of the song builds up tension – the song thus also serves to motivate Satan. Although the song is slower and slightly depressing, this reflects Satan’s more pensive state in the beginning and later in the poem. More importantly (maybe my idea of this song is too greatly influenced by the new Batman movie that this song appeared in, so now I am equating the two), although Satan’s task is hard, this song would motivate him and help him seek his revenge.
4. Quite a change of pace (and a little bit of an intense song), the third song in the playlist, “DRAINO,” reflects Satan a little later in the epic where he is at the height of his jealousy and all he wants to do is corrupt God’s creations. The song’s lyrics exude both the hate for Adam and Eve and, to some extent, himself that Satan has in the fourth book. The lyrics apply very well to Satan’s state of mind; Zillakami (one of the two rappers) raps he, “wanna go to Hell / ‘Cause at least it’s warm on a brimstone floor / And my face is not the same as before / I cannot see who I was before / I died and was reborn as a dog / I cause quakes.” This is after his realization that Satan “[him]self [is] hell,” so the rapper wanting to “go to hell” as in Hell he sees positives reflect Satan’s efforts to bring Heaven to Hell. The following line reinforces that Satan is not who he was in the beginning of the epic as he is more sinister and evil now, as he only finds joy in “misery” (Milton 4.92). The “I cause quakes” line is reminiscent of Satan’s devotion to destroying Adam and Eve. Later in the song, Zillakami raps that he “feel[s] insignificant,” much like how Satan understands that he can never be like Adam and Eve and instead resorts to projecting his insecurities on them, criticizing Eve for her hair.
5. “VENGEANCE,” which is even more intense than “Draino” (maybe lower the volume for this one), is in this playlist to recognize and represent the main goal that Satan has: to take revenge and corrupt God’s children. Where “Draino” (which features two of the same artists on this song) portrays more of Satan’s jealousy and insecurities, “Vengeance” is the manifestation of the pure anger Satan feels towards Adam and Eve for being what God loves the most. This rage is present in Satan when he is “bent on man’s destruction” (Milton 9.55). Whenever I hear this song, I get a rush of energy, and I feel the rage the song induces, so the very upbeat and very aggressive song reveals the anger in Satan. The chorus repeating “I feel the pain, kill the brain / ‘Cause, bitch, I walk with vengeance” is perfect when considering how Satan embraces his cruel nature and “feel[s] the pain” expressed in the song while also carrying, or walks, with “vengeance” all the time. The first verse talks a lot about killing people, and although that might be a little much, the idea of taking out, in this case, the rapper’s rage on others is something that Satan would relate to. It is the manifestation of all his hatred for God and anger that he did not reach.
6. It would be impossible for me to make a Satan playlist and not include some sort of classical song. The intensity of this song is exactly what I feel could be playing at the moment that Eve is tricked into eating the apple – the song starts off as Satan in snake form is bringing her closer to the apple, and at the climax of the song (and poem) Eve takes a bite and Mozart’s orchestra roars in the background. As the music dies and becomes quieter, Satan can relish his revenge. Just as Lacrimosa was written by Mozart as a requiem for a dead person, in this instance, it commemorates the death of Adam and Eve’s purity. The choir sings: “qua resurget ex favilla,” (When from the dust shall rise), and although this is a reference to Christ’s second coming, it takes a more evil meaning in this context and can be adapted to predict Satan’s rise from the dust, or the depths of Hell, and his eventual arrival in Eden. Given that this happens towards the end of the poem, I chose to put it 6th in the playlist as the playlist is also now almost over. Apart from the song’s significance, the Latin lyrics, medieval nature, and the death surrounding the song give it a very religious feeling that is in line with Paradise Lost.
7. The last song on this playlist, “Enemy,” is Satan’s victory lap after accomplishing his goal. After corrupting God’s children, Satan can return to his Hell victorious and proud of his revenge. The song, which is sung from the point of view of the bad guy, revels in the idea that he has so many enemies as “everybody wants to [their] enemy” and are “praying [on their] fall.” This confidence portrays the singer as alone against everyone else, much like how Satan had to trick multiple angels, Adam, Eve, and to some extent, trick God to complete his quest. Furthermore, the character in the song almost enjoys being the villain as they have accepted who they are, much like how after he becomes Hell, Satan is clear on what he wants to do and who he is. Lastly, the exaggerated swagger in the song, practically laughing at being the bad guy in the sarcastic “Oh the misery!” repeated throughout the chorus, is one of the key characteristics Satan displays, especially at the beginning of the poem in his “courage never to submit or yield” or “unconquerable will” (Milton 1.105, 108).