Well, I started out this series featuring a couple of songs I’ve been enjoying for the better part of two decades. Here is one I discovered less than a week ago. It’s not too often that music successfully creeps me out these days, but I suppose I should have known I was in for a treat when Veilburner were described to me as a bad acid trip.
“Scorched Earth Exorcism” is a great example of this band’s unique, psychedelic mix of death and black metal. It’s some seriously twisted stuff, and nothing on the album better captures the deranged spirit of the season than the melody that takes over this song around the 4 minute mark. I’ve been watching AMC’s The Walking Dead marathon over the past few days, and I seriously had a dream about hunting zombies with this screwed up tune playing in the background. It was disturbing and awesome.
Throughout the 2000s, Agalloch unleashed a series of albums that have influenced countless bands across the metal spectrum. Not only did Ashes Against the Grain (2006) play an enormous role in ushering in the era of post-black metal, but Pale Folklore (1999) pioneered the folk metal aesthetic for a nation whose traditional genres stood leagues apart from the metal scene. (It would be another decade before Austin Lunn nailed a metal interpritation of bluegrass.) Most American folk metal bands carry Agalloch’s stamp of influence with them, and why not? Pale Folklore perfectly captures a sense of melancholy mystery that reflects a land whose native sons were slaughtered, leaving their secrets only a faint whisper in the air.
If there’s one thing that will draw me back out of obscurity no matter how much work I’m bogged down with, it’s Horror season here on Shattered Lens. As a de facto film blog’s one author who pretty much never watches movies, I like to do my part by digging out a mix of tunes appropriate for the season.
This is always the time of year when I stop focusing on new releases and revisit a lot of my metal and folk favorites of old. From b-side Satanic cheese to authentic pagan anthems to the truly deranged, all the music I love most seems to find a home when that oppressive summer sun gives way to pleasant temperatures and dimming lights. It’s my favorite time of year, and my music collection rises to the occasion.
Opeth is pretty common fair in the textbooks of heavy metal these days, but Mikael Akerfeldt’s finest works came before the fame, in my opinion. Their 1995 debut, Orchid, ranks highest for me. While Akerfeldt’s trademark progressive rock experimentation was present from the get-go, those early albums had a sort of hollow, natural tone to them that lent the band a distinctly folk vibe. Orchid (and Morningrise) seem to drift through the crisp, foggy air surrounding a lake on the edge of a forest, the sun just beginning to rise over the horizon. I don’t wake up early when I can help it, but if a morning commute is necessary, Opeth always sees a spike in my play count. The vision that songs like “The Twilight is My Robe” paint is stunningly vivid, and surprisingly peaceful in contrast to Akerfeldt’s harsh vocals.
The song itself doesn’t sound very much like horror. It’s got the down home country rock, but listening to the lyrics it’s very much belongs with any song full of doom, gloom and horror. It may be down home country with toe-tapping melody, but make no mistake the latest “Song of the Day” is quite horrific when one listens to it carefully.
I’m talking about Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 hit “Bad Moon Rising”.
One of the singles to come out of their classic Green River album, “Bad Moon Rising” is all about the titular bad moon on the rise. A sign of a bad omen or, if one was to take things to the extreme, of an impeding doom. The lyrics to the song speaks of natural disasters, catastrophic events and just about anything bad that would kill you the moment you step out onto the streets.
It’s a song of existential horror as it points out that no matter what we do there’s no preventing the infinite ways that Death can just come in and take one’s life. It’s quite the nihilistic tune and one that fits in well with Through the Shattered Lens horror-themed month.
Bad Moon Rising
I see a bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightning. I see bad times today.
Don’t go around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
I hear hurricanes a-blowin’. I know the end is comin’ soon. I feel rivers overflowin’. I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
Don’t go around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise. Alright!
Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we’re in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.
Well, don’t go round tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
Don’t come around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
It’s that time of the year. It’s October here in Through the Shattered Lens and that means one thing: horror-theme month.
October has become a sort of favorite month for us over here at Through the Shattered Lens. While other genres and topics will be posted and and get their time in the sun, this month always brings the site back to the shadows and things that made us fear the dark. Horror has been a common thing which drew Lisa and I to continue the site from it’s fledgling early months to going on almost 6 years.
I’d like to start my contribution to all-things horror by introducing those who haven’t experienced one of the best shows on TV which also has one of the most unique horror theme’s on either big or small screen.
The theme for Showtime’s Penny Dreadful was composed by Abel Korzeniowski. It’s a theme that gives an audience of hint at the show’s Victorian Age gothic setting with just the right amount of dark romance and psychological themes the show has become famous for.
So, here’s the latest “Song of the Day” set for the witching hour.
It was in the Fall of 1990 when I first heard of the latest Song of the Day. It was during Ken Burns’ excellent The Civil War documentary series on PBS where I heard “Ashokan Farewell.” This haunting “Scottish Lament” by Jay Unger and Molly Mason made Burns’ documentary on the U.S. Civil War feel more alive instead of just another academic exercise on learning one of the pivotal events in U.S. history.
The song became an instant classic the moment it started playing during the series. Ken Burns’ loved the song so much that he used it several times (25 times officially) during the 11-hour running times of the series. Each time it played the song evoked strong emotions from all who heard it, but none moreso than when it was the accompanying music for a reading of a Union Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife prior to the start of the First Battle of Bull Run. Even the most critical viewer of Ken Burns’ documentary sees this sequence and the accompanying “Ashokan Farewell” a major reason why this series became an instant classic and continues to be the standard bearer of how a documentary should be done and done well.
Through good times and bad I have always been a huge fan and follower of Metallica. Even as they foolishly went off track following the path Bob Rock set for them throughout most of the 1990’s through the disastrous St. Anger debacle as they tried to return to their earlier sound, I have always followed this band which made up the original Big 4 of thrash metal (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth).
It was on their 1998 cover album, Garage Inc., that the band released one of their most popular songs. It wasn’t an original, but a cover of the classic Bob Seger hard rock song about the hard road and life of a musician. Seger’s “Turn the Page” is just one of those hard rock tunes that latches onto the listener and forces them to listen and understand. Most such songs tend to be quite pretentious with nothing much to say once the listener really pays attention. The same cannot be said about Seger’s song.
Metallica decided to cover this song for their Garage Inc. album which was all about them covering their own favorite hard rock and metal songs of the past. While Metallica kept the original’s tempo, they added their own heavier and harder edge to song that straddles the line between hard rock and heavy metal. Even James Hetfield’s alcohol and cigarette ravaged vocals lent a sense of the hard road and life the track sings about.
The biggest change from the Seger song to Metallica’s cover has to be the accompanying music video which still remains one of the most controversial in MTV’s music video history (well, when they still played music videos). Seger’s song was released in 1973 when the concept of music video was nonexistent. With Metallica’s cover it was almost a guarantee that it would get a music video and what a video it was and still is.
The video was directed by Jonas Akerlund who had made a name for himself directing some of the most creative and innovative music videos of the day. His take on the song switches from a musician’s hard road and life on the road to that of a single mother trying to make ends meet as an erotic dancer by day and a prostitute by night to provide for her young daughter. The video was banned from receiving any sort of airplay on MTV as it dealt and showed the disturbing side of such a life. The fact that the tamer version of the video (below) still couldn’t make it on the airwaves just showed how much more haunting and controversial the uncensored version turned out to be.
Turn the Page
On a long and lonesome highway, East of Omaha You can listen to the engines Moanin’ out it’s one note song You can think about the woman, Or the girl you knew the night before But your thoughts will soon be wanderin’, The way they always do When you’re ridin’ 16 hours, And there’s nothin’ much to do And you don’t feel much like ridin’, You just wish the trip was through
(Chorus)
Here I am, on the road again, There I am, up on the stage There I go, playin’ star again, There I go, turn the page
So you walk into this restaurant, All strung out from the road And you feel the eyes upon you, As you’re shakin’ off the cold You pretend it doesn’t bother you, But you just want to explode Yeah, most times you can’t hear ’em talk, Other times you can
All the same old cliches, Is it woman, is it man And you always seem outnumbered, You don’t dare make a stand Make your stand
(Chorus) Ah But here I am, on the road again, There I am, up on the stage Here I go, ah playin’ star again, There I go, turn the page Woah
Out there in the spotlight, You’re a million miles away Every ounce of energy, You try and give away As the sweat pours out your body, Like the music that you play
Later in the evenin’, As you lie awake in bed With the echoes of the amplifiers, Ringin’ in your head You smoke the day’s last cigarette, Rememberin’ what she said
What she said
Yeah, and here I am, On the road again, There I am, up on that stage Here I go, playin’ star again, There I go, turn the page And there I go, turn that page
There I go, yeah, Here I go, yeah, yeah There I go, yeah, Here I go, yeah Here I go, There I go And I’m gone
So, after weeks of waiting we finally got the trailer for the Deadpool live-action film set to release on February 2016. I’m sure that people will be flocking to Youtube to look up two songs that were featured during the trailer. The latest “Song of the Day” comes courtesy of the second song in the trailer and a classic hip-hop track of the early 2000’s.
DMX was what one would call a giant of hip-hop when he first entered the scene in 1998 and dominated the hip-hop landscape in the next five year with five albums that debuted No. 1 in the charts. His presence and charisma was such that even Hollywood even came calling and DMX starred in several action flicks. It’s from his 2003 film Cradle 2 the Grave that our featured song comes from.
“X Gon’ Give It to Ya” was part of the soundtrack to Cradle 2 the Grave. Whether one actually thought the film was any good would be up for debate. Now the song itself was a hit and continued to cement DMX as the hardest and most recognizable voice in hip-hop at the time. Other rappers made more money. Others were more socially aware. Yet, when it came to just an all-out lyrical assault on listeners DMX still reigned supreme.
X’ Gon Give It to Ya
Arf arf, yeah, uh, yeah (Grr) Yeah, uh (Grr) Yeah, don’t get it twisted This rap shit is mine, motherfucker It’s not a fuckin’ game Fuck what you heard, it’s what you hearin’ (What you hearin’) It’s what you hearin’ (Listen) It’s what you hearin’ (Listen) It’s what you hearin’ (Listen)
X gon’ give it to ya (What?) Fuck waitin’ for you to get it on your own X gon’ deliver to ya Knock knock, open up the door it’s real With the non-stop pop-pop of stainless steel Go hard gettin’ busy wit it But I got such a good heart That I’ll make a motherfucker wonder if he did it Damn right, and I’ll do it again (Yeah) ‘Cause I am right, so I gots to win Break bread with the enemy (What?) No matter how many cats I break bread with I’ll break who you sendin’ me (Yeah!) You motherfuckers never wanted nothin’ but your life saved Bitch, and that’s for the light day I’m gettin down, down, make a nigga say “freeze!” But won’t be the one endin’ up on his knees, bitch please! If the only thing you cats did was came out to play Stay out my way motherfucker
First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (What?) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya
Ain’t never gave nothin’ to me But every time I turn around Cats got they hands out wantin’ somethin’ from me I ain’t got it so you can’t get it (Yeah!) Let’s leave it at that ’cause I ain’t wit it (Yeah!) Hit it wit full strength, I’m a jail nigga So I face the world like it’s Earl in the bullpen You against me, me against you Whatever, whenever, nigga, the fuck you gon’ do? I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothin’ (What?) Only nigga that you know that can chill Come back and get the streets open I’ve been doing this for nineteen years (What?) Niggas wanna fight me? Fight these tears (What?) I put in work and it’s all for the kids But these cats done forgot what work is (Uh-huh!) They don’t know who we be (Lookin’!) But they don’t know who they see, nigga!
First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (What?) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya (C’mon) First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (C’mon) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya
Ayo where my niggas at? I know I got them down in the game Give ’em love and they give it back Talk too much for too long (What?) Don’t give up, you’re too strong (What?) Dog to the wow wow hunnies (Yeah!) Shoutout to niggas that done it (C’mon!) And it ain’t even about the dough It’s about gettin’ down for what you stand for, yo
First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (C’mon) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya (C’mon) First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (C’mon) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya (C’mon) First we gonna rock, then we gonna roll Then we let it pop, don’t let it go (C’mon) X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya X gon’ give it to ya, he gon’ give it to ya (C’mon)
John Wick wasn’t just a surprise hit (relative to it’s modest budget) of 2014, but it was also one of the best films of that year. It was part of a renaissance in action film making that was ushered in by the two-punch combo of The Raid and The Raid 2 that came out of the mind of Gareth Evans.
This Keanu Reeves revenge action thriller didn’t just excel in the visual mayhem and the alternative world the title character lived and killed in, but it also was accompanied by a kick-ass soundtrack created by the underrated film composer Tyler Bates.
“Killing Strangers” is one of the songs from the film’s soundtrack. A song that perfectly captures the character of John Wick that’s sung by Marilyn Manson and composed by Bates himself.
Killing Strangers
This world doesn’t need no opera We’re here for the operation We don’t need a bigger knife (Cause we got guns) We got guns, we got guns We got guns, you better run (you better run, you better run, you better run)
We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers, so we don’t kill the ones that we Love We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers, We’re killing strangers, so we don’t kill the ones that we Love, love, love, love
We pack demolition We can’t pack emotion Dynamite, we just might So blow us a kiss, blow us a kiss Blow us a kiss, and we’ll blow you to pieces
We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers, so we don’t kill the ones that we Love, love, love, love
We got guns, we got guns Motherfuckers better, better run We got guns, we got guns Motherfuckers better run And we got guns, we got guns Motherfuckers better, better, better run We got, we got guns Motherfuckers better run
We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers We’re killing strangers, so we don’t kill the ones that we (better run!)
We’re killing strangers (we got guns!) We’re killing strangers (we got guns!) We’re killing strangers, so we (we got guns!) don’t kill the ones that we Love, love, love, love Love, love, love
“Hotel California” by The Eagles has been one of my favorite songs and this came about due to my own father loving the band and this song being his favorite. It was hard not to love the song when it’s played over and over. For some hearing the song would get them sick of it, but the song most associated with this great American band remains a classic to fans young and old.
This is why the latest Song of the Day sees the return of “Hotel California” but a cover version by a young talent out of Sweden. This particular cover of the song is by Gabriella Quevedo who is all of 18 years-old. She had taken up the acoustic guitar at the age of 12 and self-taught herself how to play “fingerstyle acoustic” after hearing another musical prodigy, Sungha Jung, play the same style.
Many people have covered “Hotel California” and many more will continue to do so. What makes Gabriella Quevedo stand out if the fact that her rendition of the song she literally plays every section of the song with her one guitar. She plays not just the guitar section, but the vocal melodies as well as the bassline. She also happens to insert the back-up melodies into her playing. What she ends up doing with her version of this song is play an entire band’s worth of playing with just one guitar.
Anyone who has listened to “Hotel California” can easily tell what she has accomplished which for a person of such a young age is extraordinary. She has made herself into a sensation with her many covers of rock songs both classic and new. Of all her covers, this one happens to be my favorite.
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