Today James Gunn talked a little bit about the GOTG soundtracks, so I responded with an entire thread, obviously. And while I was writing it, something occurred to me. All the songs you hear in Vol 2, you know they’re coming from the Walkman. (Turns out there’s a name for that! Diegetic sound!) You see Peter listening the songs and we’re hearing what he’s hearing.
But the reprise of The Chain comes after Ego smashes the Walkman. That almost battle-cry of “if you don’t love me now, you’ll never love me again” comes from somewhere else. Peter’s heart, Meredith’s ghost, all of the Guardians functioning as one, any or all of those things. Ego crushed the Walkman but that’s not where the music actually is. I never noticed that before and I love it.
I think it’s been stated canonically that Peter was playing the song with his Celestial Powers, which is a really cool and super Peter thing.
That’s partially it but also, Fleetwood Mac just rolls so hard it can occasionally defy laws of causality and emerge when you need it most