At the end of a long, difficult day, Tyrion Lannister just likes to kick back with some Mozart and Handel, maybe a little Mumford & Sons. He’s also way into Art Tatum and Miles Davis, despite jazz not existing in his time and place. Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Yes, Game Of Thrones is a fantasy show, so theoretically anything is possible. Once dragons are introduced into a narrative, all bets would seem to be off. But the characters clearly do not have access to streaming music services like Spotify. As far afield as George R.R. Martin’s franchise can go, everyone can agree that this would be beyond the pale. Nevertheless, the official Game Of Thrones Spotify account has 31 free, streaming playlists, each one themed around a particular character. As Thrones prepares for its sixth season this weekend, this is a fun way for fans to reconnect with characters from the series’ past. For anyone who might want to know, for instance, what Ned Stark would have listened to while working out, here is a golden opportunity to learn. For the record, Ned’s playlist is heavy on classic British rock: Beatles, Zeppelin, Stones, Cream, Kinks, etc. The basics. There’s some Jimi and Creedence in there, too.
The most popular playlist, unsurprisingly, belongs to Jon Snow, the character whose fate is still being debated by fans. Jon’s musical tastes, at least as represented here, run toward guitar-driven rock and alt-metal. Expect to hear some Biffy Clyro, Deftones, Foals, and Arctic Monkeys. But who’d have guessed he was also into OK Go? Maybe he was taken in by the viral video with the treadmills, but how could he have known what treadmills even are, let alone viral videos?
The truly perverse, meanwhile, will want to check out Joffrey’s playlist. For better or worse, it’s everything that viewers might expect: My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Dashboard Confessional. One might wonder whether Cersei Lannister’s playlist would contain something thematically appropriate, like “Shame Shame Shame” by Shirley & Company. It does not. Instead, Cersei seemingly favors such pop divas as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Mariah Carey. Fair enough, but just for variety’s sake, there’s also a little Metallica in there.