sga_squee | Unsung Heroes of Fandom Part 1 (Reply)

I've posted in my LJ part one of a tribute to unsung heroes of fandom. I'm cross-posting here as well. :-)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I consider the ‘unsung heroes of fandom’. You know the ones I mean. The people whose work decorates your wall. The creator of the sound mix playing on your ipod. The people who make the stuff you use every day without thinking much about it. The people who beta your work and hold you to a tougher standard. The cheerleaders who encourage you when you are two seconds from hitting the delete button on your story.

The people who make screencaps. Icon makers. The gif makers. The people who comment on stories. The people who make cover art or fanmixes. The people who spontaneously send you gifts of the same.

I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite works in these areas over the next couple of weeks, starting with vida_boheme ’s incredible fanmixes. I say incredible, because that’s what they are. It might seem like simple work to throw together ten or fifteen songs and say they ‘go’ with a particular story, but that’s like saying anyone can string together some words and call it a story. vida_boheme is in a class all by herself when it comes to the art of fanmixing.

To start, she has an encyclopedic knowledge of music. She has spoiled me for other soundmixes in this regard. Most people can’t help but superimpose their own musical tastes on the mix they are creating—vida_boheme ’s knowledge base is so broad, that has little chance of happening. She takes that knowledge and she uses it to craft the right combination of musical mood and lyrics and matches it to sections of the story. It is no different from the Oscar winning sound score created by the musical director of any movie. What makes it more astonishing to me is that the songs not only seem right and perfect but on the tracks that she’s personally made for any of my stories, the music is *my* music, matching my tastes and preferences, even if I’ve never heard the song or artist before in my life. My musical horizons have expanded greatly due to the creation of these mixes. It’s no secret that I love them—they are a daily part of my life. Not only that, but I do some of my best storyplotting while listening to them!

I listen to Vida’s mixes almost exclusively when I drive and I drive a lot. Prior to discovering the concept of fanmixes for a particular story, I had created my own little Atlantis soundtrack, which was mostly songs I'd taken from fan videos that I'd enjoyed and put on a playlist to remind me of SGA. Vida's mastery of the art has inspired me to try my hand at creating a mix for one of my own stories and because it is personal, it works for me. But the tracks I listen to obsessively are the ones Vida created and are listed here (behind the cut for length):( Links to all vida_boheme's fanmixes )