Countdown to The Blood of Olympus: 2 Days

Hello, there. I would just like to start off this post by letting you know that I am trash. No. I am not just trash. I am garbage disposal. I am a garbage truck emoji next to a poop emoji next to a fire emoji. And the poop emoji isn't even smiling. Why am I so awful, you ask? It's because I haven't actually read any of Heroes of Olympus yet. I know. Blasphemous. It's on my list, along with a million other books. I have read the Percy Jackson books (and also The Kane Chronicles if that makes me any less irrelevant) so this post will focus on the parts of Percy and company's lives I've been around for.

You may or may not recall a while ago, we did countdown posts to City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. One post I did was a playlist inspired by the contents of one of the books, which can be found here. 

I thought I would make another one in preparation for Blood of Olympus, focusing my song choices on all the Percy Jackson and the Olympian novels and characters, of course. 

NOT SPOILER FREE

1. Go the Distance - Roger Bart

I'm sorry. This is why I'm trash. I really had to put Go the Distance as the first song because I'm so lame. Anyway, I guess I'm going to be even lamer and explain the choice even though I'm sure anyone reading this understands the lameness right off the bat. First off, the fact that it's from Hercules, a movie about the son of Zeus. Totally great, right, because Percy Jackson is built all around Greek mythology and Percy himself is Poseidon's son? I also like it because the whole song is about literally "going the distance" and doing what seems impossible and unachievable, which is a big theme in the Percy Jackson books. In the first book, I feel like it's the most prominent, because that's when he's just a boy who hasn't been claimed by any god and he's trying to do this huge impossible quest with a satyr who's failed bigtime before and a girl who might be super smart, but IS just a 12 year old. I think it might seem like a cliche choice but it really is apt to describe the essence of their journeys. 

2. Battle Scars - Paradise Fears 

I think this is another song that really embodies everyone's journeys throughout the multiple books rather than identifying a specific book or character or scene. With lyrics like "This is a call to the soldiers, the fighters / the young, the innocent, the righteous / we've got a little room to grow / better days are near / hope is so much stronger than fear" and "no you're not alone / keep marching on / this is worth fighting for / you know we've all got battle scars" this song resonates well with what Percy and his ever-rotating crew of companions are going through. 

3. I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab For Cutie 

You knew a Percabeth song was coming up. Don't lie. I think this is a really good one because there are a lot of popular cheesy love songs used as Percabeth songs and I think this one is a little mellower and less harsh synth pop sounds and shrill voices and more depth, which isn't to say that none of those songs are any good, just that Percabeth is a relationship that has developed over a long time and a lot of books and has gone through a lot of ups and downs and I'm sure a lot has happened with it in the books I haven't yet read so I really think a song of this tone is good for describing them. The reiterating line is the title line, and they really WOULD follow each other into the dark, but definitely not blindly, and the song comes with a lot of emotion and packs a punch, which is why I feel it's so fitting. 

4. DESTROYA - My Chemical Romance 

Well, this is kindof taking things a little literally but I wanted something for the villains and I feel that whenever things happen, they happen with a bang, or a lot of bangs, and kindof go down in a huge show with lots of things getting destroyed in the wake. Even when the good guys are trying to accomplish something, they end up doing things like setting off volcanoes on the way. In the chorus of the song, the word "Destroya" is repeated with much enthusiasm and I just picture the villains using this as an anthem as they figure out a way to wreak havoc and make everything go to hell in a handbasket. 

5. I'm Just a Kid - Simple Plan

Everything considered, they're mostly just kids. I mean, Thalia's never hitting 16, so she's REALLY just a kid. Percy and Annabeth are 12 when the books start and even though years pass, they're still kids who haven't had normal childhoods, and now things are about to get HELLA weird and nothing ever really gets easier and so they're just kids but their lives really are nightmares and a lot of good comes with it and they get their happiness eventually but man is it tough being a demigod. 

I uploaded the playlist to Spotify here, so check it out and let me know how you feel about my song choices!  

- Noor

What songs remind you of Rick Riordan books?

Let us know in the comments!