Soundtrack

Over my time in writing this series, I have come across several tunes I think would be ideally suited to Dimensions, and they're far from your typical anime-style choices you might expect. Naturally, the vast majority won't appear in the series in text itself, both because it'd be a bit pointless and because they wouldn't fit that well, but I still felt fit to share with you these tunes. I expect to add more to fill the gaps as time goes on, and I'd be happy to hear any suggestions anyone has. I've also put some notes in as to why I chose these songs on some of them, and some of them are also hints to larger and future themes to come in the series. If you like the songs, I suggest you support the artists by purchasing them yourselves. You never know, you might become open to a whole new genre of music, be it the realm of British rock, pop, roll and alternative, or just good ol' American rock. In any case, enjoy!

Oh, and, if you haven't read up to the latest point in the series yet, I suggest you hold off on reading below. Some of the themes may act as spoilers for you.

If you want to look up the lyrics, I suggest using LyricWiki. Also, I reserve the right to change these if I find something better suited.

Albums

Track Number - Song Nickname (purpose) - Song Name by Band - Lyrics

Brink of Chaos (Book 1, 2, 3 Soundtrack)

1. The Theme (Series theme): Parallel Universe by Red Hot Chili Peppers - Lyrics
2. Links in a Chain (Book 1 theme): Here It Goes Again by OK Go - Lyrics
3. In the Clouds (Takato's theme): The Biggest Dreamer by Koji Wada - Lyrics
4. Rika's Call (insert): Promise by Melissa Fahn
5. Television = Reality (Book 2 theme): Throw Away Your Television by Red Hot Chili Peppers - Lyrics
6. Complications (Rika's theme): I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics
7. Our Eternal Divide (Chaos and Harmony's theme): New Divide by Linkin Park - Lyrics
8. The End of the World (Book 3 theme): It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. - Lyrics
9. Comedy Pair or Tragedy Duo (Henry's theme): All My Best Friends Are Metalheads by Less Than Jake - Lyrics

Lies, Damn Lies, and Secrets (Book 4, 5, 6 Soundtrack)

1. Angels in Deep Dark New York (Book 4 theme): Little Angel by Hard-Fi - Lyrics
2. Crying in a Brand New World (insert): Otherside by Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Lyrics
3. Losing Control (Ryder's theme): Viva La Vida live and cooler/recorded by Coldplay - Lyrics
4. The Bitter Edge of Reality (Book 5 theme): What You Came For by Franz Ferdinand - Lyrics
5. Low Tolerance, Big Problem (Mari's theme): Misery Business by Paramore - Lyrics
6. Burning More Than Just Bridges (Taiki's theme): Killer by The Hoosiers - Lyrics
7. The Trick to Survival (Book 6 theme): The Trick To Life by The Hoosiers - Lyrics
8. Tights and Seduction (Chiyo's theme): A Million Ways by OK Go - Lyrics
9. Ivy's Letter (insert): So Ahead of Me by Orson
10. Deal With The Devil (Ivy's theme) Devil May Care by SAL (both video and music track are free to download from the artist at the time of writing) - Lyrics
11. Aspirations of a Psychopath (insert): Mutiny by Pendulum - Lyrics
12. My Life After My Death (insert): Sleeping Sickness by City And Colour - Lyrics

Rainy Days in Sunny Shinjuku (Book 7, 8, 9 Soundtrack)

1. Run. Just Run. (Book 7 theme): Runaway by Hail the Villain [suggested by Rmac]
2. Run, Run Fast (Rayleigh's theme): Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars - Lyrics
3. Coma (insert): Afterlife by Avenged Sevenfold
4. Choices (insert): Choices by The Hoosiers
5. Feed the Fire (Book Seven end theme): Watercolour by Pendulum
6. Fateful Reunions (Book 8 theme): Thnks fr the Mmrs by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics
7. Chorus of Angels (Angels' theme): The Strength to Go On by Rise Against - Lyrics
8. The Final Verdict (insert): Confessions by City and Colour - Lyrics
9. The Four Black Ships (insert): Invaders Must Die (Liam H Re-amped Version) by The Prodigy
10. The Most Beautiful Days of Our Lives (insert): 40 Day Dream by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
11. Picking Up The Pieces (Book 9 theme): Closer by Joshua Radin - Lyrics
12. Welcome to Adulthood...suckers... (insert): Higher Ground by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

More when released.

Absolute Power (Book 10, 11, 12 Soundtrack)

1. The Darker Side of the World (Book 10 theme): Cemeteries of London by Coldplay - Lyrics
2. The Real End of the World (Book 11 theme): Blood Sugar by Pendulum - Lyrics
3. Angels United (Angel's theme): The War by Thirty Seconds to Mars
4. The Lord of the World (Book 12 theme): No More Sorrow by Linkin Park - Lyrics

More when released.

Resolution (Book 13, 14 Soundtrack)

1. Effect and Cause (Book 13 theme): What I've Done by Linkin Park - Lyrics
2. Final Revelations (Book 14 theme): Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol - Lyrics

More when released.

Unsorted titles

Book Themes

Main Theme

Parallel Universe by Red Hot Chili Peppers - Lyrics

If there's anything which defines this series, this song at least comes close. The rolling and progressing nature of it, mixed in with the roaring nature of the chorus, is pretty similar to how this series rolls.

The title on its own relates to the name of the series, and will become even more relevant as this series heads towards its later books.

The reflection on how, "deep inside of a parallel universe, it is getting harder and harder to tell what came first", reflects both on the situation of Rey and of you, the readers, trying to understand this complex universe going on. It also concerns a certain other character very well too...

"You could die but you're never dead" refers, of course, to Ryder's unique situation, and the idea of a "spider web" relates both to the complexity of their universe and to that of their social interactions.

There's also a few other meanings to the lyrics, but unfortunately by revealing them I would be spoiling far too much. Still, enjoy trying to second-guess me using it.

Book One: Links

Here It Goes Again by OK Go - Lyrics

Ah the treadmill song (watch the video). A lovely upbeat theme to bring us into the series, and one which compares well to the darker tones later on.

For starters, it's pretty obvious that by "here it goes again", I'm referring to how this is where I pick up the plotline, taking it from the Tamer roots to the exposing of something far larger and unknown underneath.

Takato's discovery at the beginning of this book ties in well with "and you leave me with my jaw on the floor", and the arrival of a certain seemingly immoral joker coincides with "Oh, just when you think you're in control".

Finally, "a break in the monotony" is a fairly apt description of how the events of this book change their lives once again.

Book Two: Powers

Throw Away Your Television by Red Hot Chili Peppers - Lyrics

(I wasn't able to hunt down a non-live version of this song.)

Well, for Takato and the other Tamers, this is the point where they really need to throw away their television, the point where it becomes unnecessary to watch certain people on television, because, well, they're real. XD

It's also the point where it stops being a repeat "getting old" and it becomes new for the Digidestined.

Oh, and "renegades with fancy gauges" is a lovely if odd way to refer to everyone's favourite time travelling redhead.

Book Three: Evils

It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. - Lyrics

(I wasn't able to hunt down a non-live version of this song.)

When a book has the world ending in it - several times over, in fact - this song has to be used. It's like a rule.

Book Four: Gods

Little Angel by Hard-Fi - Lyrics

Book Five: Demons

What You Came For by Franz Ferdinand - Lyrics

Book Six: Tricks

The Trick To Life by The Hoosiers - Lyrics

The source of the 'The Trick to...' titles in this book, so inevitably it has to be the main theme for the book too.

Book Seven: Escapes

Runaway by Hail the Villain

Book Eight: Parallels

Thnks fr the Mmrs by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics

Book Nine: Sorrows

Closer by Joshua Radin - Lyrics

"I" in this is Ryder. Take from that what you will.

Book Ten: Darkness

Cemeteries of London by Coldplay - Lyrics

A very dark theme this time round, and one for which the meaning will become apparent in time.

Book Eleven: Threats

Blood Sugar by Pendulum - Lyrics

Book Twelve: Truths

No More Sorrow by Linkin Park - Lyrics

Book Thirteen: Realities

What I've Done by Linkin Park - Lyrics

Book Fourteen: Ends

Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol - Lyrics

Single Character Themes

Takato Matsuki

The Biggest Dreamer by Koji Wada - Lyrics

Okay, so I lied about the whole 'things other than typical anime songs'. This song is just perfect for him.

Rika Nonaka

I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics

Rey Matsuki

Worried About Ray by The Hoosiers - Lyrics

Ryder Stevens

Viva La Vida live and cooler/recorded by Coldplay - Lyrics

Mari Flynn

Misery Business by Paramore - Lyrics

Ivy Winters

Devil May Care by SAL (both video and music track are free to download from the artist at the time of writing) - Lyrics

Henry Wong

All My Best Friends Are Metalheads by Less Than Jake - Lyrics

Tai Kamiya

Beat It by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics

Davis Motomiya

Fame < Infamy by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics

Kari Kamiya

She's A Handsome Woman by Panic At The Disco - Lyrics

(I wasn't able to hunt down a non-live version of this song.)

Takeru Takashi

Mr Brightside by The Killers - Lyrics

Kazu Shioda

Do What You Want by OK Go - Lyrics

Ryo Akiyama

Who Am I? by 38th Parallel - Lyrics

(Link no longer works - if anyone can find a source please mention it on the talk page and I'll add it.)

This song truly has a lot of meaning really... and all those means relate to Ryo pretty well.

The part on "Made like a mirror to reflect his glory" demonstrates how Ryo is somewhat a reflection of Millenniummon's power and Millenniummon himself (in a really sick sort of way that I am not going to go into). Also, the reference to mirror is really ironic, seeing how Ryo is the opposite of Millenniummon in more ways than one, so it is kinda like looking at a reflection of your opposite self.

"But the glass got smashed" refers to how Ryo sought his own destiny and managed to break the endless cycle of fighting that he and Millenniummon are destined to continue. "Bought a counterfeit story" refers to how Ryo chose to create a new life in the Tamer's world rather than returning to his original world, thus creating a life that is 'counterfeit' somewhat as he truly does not belong in that world... kinda like how Ryder is in a world he isn't supposed to be in as well. (Hey, doesn't that mean that Ryder's leading a counterfeit life too?)

"We gave into pride" is pretty clear. Ryo got, like Rika would say, too much air in his head. "On that day we died inside" states how Ryo really died on the inside when the other Digidestined betrayed him by bluffing him about the D-1 Tournament. "We ignited a rebellion" is true in more ways that one would like to think. This is one bit I would leave the readers to guess about.

The part on, "An infectious disease that labels us felons" is really obvious. Cyberdramon is the disease... one can guess the rest. "Cold and alone"... that doesn't really strike anyone as the cocky Ryo Akiyama we know right? Well, wrong. Inside, Ryo is truly 'cold and alone', as he has no one to truly call his friend. Due to his need to have to restrain Cyberdramon, he does not have the time to socialise and really get to know his friends. Also, due to the Digidestined's betrayal, he is hesitant to do so as well, and thus uses Cyberdramon as an excuse to not socialise, thus always leaving a barrier between him and all the others. They are allies, they fight together, but they are not truly friends to him (unconsciously of course). Which is why he is "ever wandering in search of a home". After all, his true home is already long gone. And since he chooses not to socialise, Ryo doesn't really have anyone other than Cyberdramon, who can't really be considered a friend except while he is Monodramon. And since he is always alternating between the Real and Digital Worlds, he never settles down.

"Hearts breaking and shaking" refers to how Ryo's heart is always breaking half the time. During his adventures against Millenniummon, he had lost more friends than anyone else... in this whole series. Not only the friends that had died to save him, but also the friends that he considers lost, namely the Digidestined. "In time with our hearts vibrating" refers to how frequent this happens to him. Poor Ryo, huh?

It's obvious with "We say bridges to yesterday are burned", referring to how the roads to the past are now barricaded. After all, Ryo is a time traveller. He knows the ups and downs of time travelling and all its rules (Yes, Rey is not the only one who knows... actually, I don't think she even knows the rules of time, only the basics). So, this actually refers to how his time travelling and dimension hopping days are over.

"Seasons over, all those leaves have turned" just shows how much time has passed since all his adventures with Millenniummon. "But we cannot look now" refers to how Ryo is unable to look back at the past as it is too painful and how he cannot look into the future, as there is no future for someone like him (after all, all he does is try and restrain Cyberdramon. That's all). "We can only keep our gaze locked on the ground" emphasizes on how Ryo cannot look anywhere but. He cannot look forward, he cannot look backward. Well, you get the rest.

"And here we stand with wide eyes, as our world comes crashing down" is truly ironic. Ryo's world has already crashed down. But who's to say that it wasn't going to happen again?

"Who am I to say right?, Who am I to say you're wrong?" references how Ryo's sense of right and wrong was inverted in the past, resulting in dire consequences. But who's to say it isn't going to happen yet again... again?

"Play judge, look you in the eye, Who am I to throw the stones" is clear cut. Ryo doubts in his ability to judge anyone at all. After all, he deems that Tai, Matt and Izzy to be 'betrayers' (yet again, unconsciously of course. He would never consciously think this) while he knows that they are actually 'betraying' him for his own good. For everyone's own good. He knows that, and yet he still doubts them. Thus, he doesn't trust his ability to judge anyone anymore.

"I remember when trust went for free, Sold for a smile on the face of a fantasy"... Do I really need to explain this? Ryo used to trust anyone freely, and now he doesn't. "Now trust is a costly commodity, Giving it away is the mark of absurdity " adds even more emphasis to that.

"Truth found her home in the pages of fairy tales, Decadent words formed the phrases for dreams that failed....And truth is a homeless traveler, Hoping in the night to be found" refers to something in the future that only B.C. would know... more or less. They are all seeking the truth, the truth of the whys and the whats, the truth of why Ryder is in their world, the truth of the Angels, the truth of everything really. It also refers to the situation of readers, of how people like you (yes, I'm talking to you, the person who's reading this) are really seeking the truth as well.

"And we wave goodbye to our innocence, And we wave goodbye to our ignorance, And we wave goodbye to our nursery mindsets, Abandoning cribs of complacence" refers to how Ryo had long ago waved goodbye to his innocence (bye), ignorance and 'nursery mindsets' (gross). He is no longer complacent as well. But it also refers to how Ryo would love to be innocent again, ignorant again, to return everything to a nursery mindset, simple and easy to solve, and not the complicated life he now leads.

Kohaku Souta

Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends by Fall Out Boy - Lyrics

DC

Chop Suey by System of a Down - Lyrics

Taiki Araki

Killer by The Hoosiers - Lyrics

Chiyo Suzume

A Million Ways by OK Go - Lyrics

Rayleigh Thompson

Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars - Lyrics

Zach Strafer

It Doesn't Matter by Crush 40 - Lyrics

Zach tries to look on the bright side of the situation, no matter the time or place. He will never give up the fight. Submitted by Fireblast123 (owner of Zach's character).

Coupling Themes

Ryder and Mari

Make This Go On Forever by Snow Patrol - Lyrics

Ryder and Ivy

Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy - Lyrics

Previously:

The Other Side by Pendulum - Lyrics

Shorter version with music video

Rika and Takato

Set The Fire To The Third Bar by Snow Patrol - Lyrics

This song just has the feeling of an epic struggle, and the video fits perfectly as the man tries desperately to see the woman on the other side of the mirror (like Takato trying to see the real Rika), and she tries to reach him but can't do so. Martha Wainwright also really reminds me of Rika in the way she sings in this one.

I find the map and draw a straight lineOver rivers, farms and state linesThe distance from A to where you'd BIt's only finger lengths that I see

Both Takato and Rika have an attitude that anything is possible, and hence the idea of a long distance from A to B being only finger lengths to them.

I touch the placeWhere I'd find your faceMy fingers in creasesOf distant dark places

Again, they reach out to each other and find distant dark places, their previous lives and each of their flaws.

I hang my coat up in the first barThere is no peace that I've found so farThe laughter penetrates my silenceAs drunken men find flaws in science

Neither have yet to find any true peace, and the laughter (of darkness perhaps) always penetrates any silence they find.

Their words mostly noisesGhosts with just voicesYour words in my memoryAre like music to me

Noises, music, memory, ghosts...all like Takato's dreams, Rika's singing, the sound of their lives around them.

And miles from where you areI lay down on the cold ground and II pray that something picks me upAnd sets me down in your warm arms

How, particularly in Book Six, they feel so isolated from one another despite being so close at the same time, and they just want to transverse those "miles".

After I have traveled so farWe'd set the fire to the third barWe'd share each other like an islandUntil exhausted close our eyelids

What would happen if they were completely open, and were allowed to be themselves, something they are unable to be because of fear.

And dreaming pick up fromThe last place we left offYour soft skin is weepingA joy you can't keep in

Dreaming, of course, needs no explanation. "The last place we left off" is a nice comparison with their previous incarnations, while the idea of soft skin not being able to keep joy in compares to how Rika has tried to hide her emotions when they're too deep.

Chaos and Harmony

New Divide by Linkin Park - Lyrics