Well, the first "mixtape" seemed to go alright, so let's try it again. In celebration of International Women's Day, and taking inspiration from Phonogram: The Singles Club, all the tracks featured are ones by female artists; all of you about to come in going "but where's international men's day jack you gender-traitor", go face the fucking wall.
Phonomancy Mixtape #2: Ladytron
1) Arianne - "Komm, süsser Tod" - The End of Evangelion
Another soundtrack choice, this one coming from The End of Evangelion, aka the Final Boss of Anime. Analternate true well, definitely an ending of sorts to the apocalyptic mecha TV show Neon Genesis Evangelion, it's a feature-length animated film where the fate of the world rests in the hands of a manic depressive 14 year old and his godlike giant robot. Without giving too much away, it goes about as well as you'd expect, with all manner of lurid hyperviolent psychotic chaos breaking out.
And it's all scored to a pretty little pop ditty (unusually for an anime, this song is entirely in flawless English and is played in End of Evangelion with no subtitles for Japanese audiences). There's not much about this that's completely original - the organ at 0:24 is similar to Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale", and the big chorus sounds an awful lot like the singalong part of "Hey Jude" - but it works as a slice of morbid melancholy pop, given wings by Arianne Schreiber's gorgeous singing voice. Despite its pleasant piano-drums-strings backing, the narrator sings about a deathwish, a desire to fade away and for the world to end. Even the title, borrowed from Bach, translates to "Come, Sweet Death". Arianne wants to die, and she couldn't be more bubbly about it. It's really quite disturbing.
Now everybody sing along! "It all comes TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DO~OWN!"
2) Kate Bush - "This Woman's Work" - The Sensual World
It's a source of pride for me that one of the most influential female musicians of modern times (if not the most) comes from my hometown of Bexley. Despite all the legions of clones and imitators in her wake, Kate Bush still stands without compare, her crown still untouched. As ostentatious and "artsy" as her work can be, like Peter Gabriel, her music never comes across as pretentious because a) she commits to it entirely, and b) she's really, really damn good at it.
The Sensual World saw Bush continue to explore her artistic palette, what with songs about unrequited love, Molly Bloom from Ulysses, and going on a date with a man who turns out to be Hitler. There's nothing like side 2 of Hounds of Love, but it's a solid album regardless, and comes with this rather beautiful track about childbirth. Featured in the John Hughes film She's Having a Baby (not one of Hughes' finest moments, admittedly), the song is unusual since, despite the female vocalist, it's from the point of view of the film's male lead, played by Kevin Bacon, as he waits for his child to be born and hopes his wife will be alright. Bush brings it home with an octave-spanning vocal that never feels forced or mannered. Sublime.
3) Yoko Shimomura - "Scherzo di notte" - Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
Say what you will about the Kingdom Hearts series, like how it's stopped really being about Disney properties and how the newer games have appalling storytelling; the music has always been top-notch, and this is one of my favourite tracks. Having spent most of my childhood trying in vain to complete the Hollow Bastion level, the soundtrack is now ingrained firmly into my brain, especially the battle theme "Scherzo di Notte" (Italian for "Joke of the Night"). An elegant rousing melody with a dramatic string section and piano coming in at just the right time.
4) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds & Kylie Minogue - "Where the Wild Roses Grow" - Murder Ballads
This one's kinda pushing it since Nick Cave plays just as big a part in this as Minogue, being one of the narrators, but the focus is always on the woman, the tragic Eliza Day, so it gets in. The UK has Kylie as something of a patron pop goddess, so it came to a surprise when I learnt how adored she is overseas, particularly the States where - as a lesser-known pop star - she has the same amount of indie cred as European artists like Robyn and Annie.
Between her cameo in Leos Carax's bizarrely beautiful love letter to cinema Holy Motors and this song, Minogue has earned that cred. The song's parent album, Murder Ballads, is full of songs old and new about spilling someone else's blood, and like Komm, süsser Tod, the dissonance between its lovely cinematic musical backing and its dark haunting lyrics makes it all the more disturbing. A song about a mad young man beating his lover's head in with a rock to keep her forever beautiful doesn't deserve to sound so beautiful, and it isn't helped by how Minogue sounds so innocent and naïve here.
5) Hikaru Utada - "Passion" - Ultra Blue
More Kingdom Hearts, this one being the theme song for theseco technically third game if you include Chain of Memories. Japanese-American superstar Hikaru Utada recorded English versions of her songs for the international releases, and both "Simple & Clean" and "Sanctuary" are good songs, but they're trumped somewhat by the original Japanese.
Recently I've developed a taste for electro-pop, but I liked "Passion"/"Sanctuary" ever since I first booted up Kingdom Hearts II many moons ago, with Utada's ethereal vocals about moving on despite still clinging to the past complementing the militaristic drums and mournful strains of electric guitar. Maybe we can consider this Year Zero for "Jack's Sudden Weird Liking of Synth Pop". Both versions are very atmospheric: it opens with breathy backing vocals and spacy synths, then the guitar kicks in and it explodes into life, the near-constant presence of percussion adding weight and gravity to a track awash with airy synthesizer and pulsing guitar chords. The use of reversed English in the chorus and the bridge (with "Sanctuary" using it a wee bit more) is a delightfully weird touch and only adds to the idea that we're somewhere completely alien, yet beautiful.
What edges "Passion" out as the victor over "Sanctuary" for me is Utada serving as her own choir in the choruses through multi-tracked vocals; it just adds a little something extra.
6) Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" - Hounds of Love
More Kate Bush? Aren't you guys lucky?
Hounds of Love came out in 1985 when Bush was being a better David Bowie than the actual Bowie, who was out recording mediocre tripe like Tonight, and it leads with its best foot forward in "Running Up That Hill", a wonderfully atmospheric track with haunting synthesizers, a driving beat, and another typically strong Bush vocal about trying to further connect with a significant other. The couple are so scared of hurting the other during intimacy, the woman thinks about making the titular deal with God to swap their roles, so they can better understand each other - an inspired idea. A lot of Hounds of Love is inspired by Low, what with its attempts at crafting alien atmospheres and a second side of instrumentals, but as much as I love Low, it never had something as great as "Running Up That Hill".
7) Kate Bush - "Wuthering Heights (New Vocal)" - The Whole Story
Phonomancy Mixtape #2: Ladytron
1) Arianne - "Komm, süsser Tod" - The End of Evangelion
Another soundtrack choice, this one coming from The End of Evangelion, aka the Final Boss of Anime. An
And it's all scored to a pretty little pop ditty (unusually for an anime, this song is entirely in flawless English and is played in End of Evangelion with no subtitles for Japanese audiences). There's not much about this that's completely original - the organ at 0:24 is similar to Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale", and the big chorus sounds an awful lot like the singalong part of "Hey Jude" - but it works as a slice of morbid melancholy pop, given wings by Arianne Schreiber's gorgeous singing voice. Despite its pleasant piano-drums-strings backing, the narrator sings about a deathwish, a desire to fade away and for the world to end. Even the title, borrowed from Bach, translates to "Come, Sweet Death". Arianne wants to die, and she couldn't be more bubbly about it. It's really quite disturbing.
Now everybody sing along! "It all comes TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DO~OWN!"
2) Kate Bush - "This Woman's Work" - The Sensual World
It's a source of pride for me that one of the most influential female musicians of modern times (if not the most) comes from my hometown of Bexley. Despite all the legions of clones and imitators in her wake, Kate Bush still stands without compare, her crown still untouched. As ostentatious and "artsy" as her work can be, like Peter Gabriel, her music never comes across as pretentious because a) she commits to it entirely, and b) she's really, really damn good at it.
The Sensual World saw Bush continue to explore her artistic palette, what with songs about unrequited love, Molly Bloom from Ulysses, and going on a date with a man who turns out to be Hitler. There's nothing like side 2 of Hounds of Love, but it's a solid album regardless, and comes with this rather beautiful track about childbirth. Featured in the John Hughes film She's Having a Baby (not one of Hughes' finest moments, admittedly), the song is unusual since, despite the female vocalist, it's from the point of view of the film's male lead, played by Kevin Bacon, as he waits for his child to be born and hopes his wife will be alright. Bush brings it home with an octave-spanning vocal that never feels forced or mannered. Sublime.
3) Yoko Shimomura - "Scherzo di notte" - Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
Say what you will about the Kingdom Hearts series, like how it's stopped really being about Disney properties and how the newer games have appalling storytelling; the music has always been top-notch, and this is one of my favourite tracks. Having spent most of my childhood trying in vain to complete the Hollow Bastion level, the soundtrack is now ingrained firmly into my brain, especially the battle theme "Scherzo di Notte" (Italian for "Joke of the Night"). An elegant rousing melody with a dramatic string section and piano coming in at just the right time.
4) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds & Kylie Minogue - "Where the Wild Roses Grow" - Murder Ballads
This one's kinda pushing it since Nick Cave plays just as big a part in this as Minogue, being one of the narrators, but the focus is always on the woman, the tragic Eliza Day, so it gets in. The UK has Kylie as something of a patron pop goddess, so it came to a surprise when I learnt how adored she is overseas, particularly the States where - as a lesser-known pop star - she has the same amount of indie cred as European artists like Robyn and Annie.
Between her cameo in Leos Carax's bizarrely beautiful love letter to cinema Holy Motors and this song, Minogue has earned that cred. The song's parent album, Murder Ballads, is full of songs old and new about spilling someone else's blood, and like Komm, süsser Tod, the dissonance between its lovely cinematic musical backing and its dark haunting lyrics makes it all the more disturbing. A song about a mad young man beating his lover's head in with a rock to keep her forever beautiful doesn't deserve to sound so beautiful, and it isn't helped by how Minogue sounds so innocent and naïve here.
5) Hikaru Utada - "Passion" - Ultra Blue
More Kingdom Hearts, this one being the theme song for the
Recently I've developed a taste for electro-pop, but I liked "Passion"/"Sanctuary" ever since I first booted up Kingdom Hearts II many moons ago, with Utada's ethereal vocals about moving on despite still clinging to the past complementing the militaristic drums and mournful strains of electric guitar. Maybe we can consider this Year Zero for "Jack's Sudden Weird Liking of Synth Pop". Both versions are very atmospheric: it opens with breathy backing vocals and spacy synths, then the guitar kicks in and it explodes into life, the near-constant presence of percussion adding weight and gravity to a track awash with airy synthesizer and pulsing guitar chords. The use of reversed English in the chorus and the bridge (with "Sanctuary" using it a wee bit more) is a delightfully weird touch and only adds to the idea that we're somewhere completely alien, yet beautiful.
What edges "Passion" out as the victor over "Sanctuary" for me is Utada serving as her own choir in the choruses through multi-tracked vocals; it just adds a little something extra.
6) Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" - Hounds of Love
More Kate Bush? Aren't you guys lucky?
Hounds of Love came out in 1985 when Bush was being a better David Bowie than the actual Bowie, who was out recording mediocre tripe like Tonight, and it leads with its best foot forward in "Running Up That Hill", a wonderfully atmospheric track with haunting synthesizers, a driving beat, and another typically strong Bush vocal about trying to further connect with a significant other. The couple are so scared of hurting the other during intimacy, the woman thinks about making the titular deal with God to swap their roles, so they can better understand each other - an inspired idea. A lot of Hounds of Love is inspired by Low, what with its attempts at crafting alien atmospheres and a second side of instrumentals, but as much as I love Low, it never had something as great as "Running Up That Hill".
7) Kate Bush - "Wuthering Heights (New Vocal)" - The Whole Story
This song is awesome, and I will hear no word against it. This is also the best version.
8) Arcade Fire - "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" - The Suburbs
One of those wonderful Arcade Fire tracks where Régine Chassagne takes lead vocal, "Sprawl II" is possibly the finest track on what is already a pretty damn fine album about trying to escape the stagnation of suburbia. The arrangement is wonderfully baroque, with burbling synths pushing it forward and I'm suddenly aware this is just one of many tracks in this post that includes mentions of synthesizers. In Arcade Fire's defense, they rarely use them. There's something retro about the track, from the odd disco feel of the music to Chassagne's Debbie Harry-esque performance; it's a time bubble of the past generation, where disco and New Wave were king.
Every time I listen to this, I'm amazed at how good Régine is. She starts the song singing timidly about her small-minded parents/neighbours/asshole high school classmates ("They heard me singing and they told me to stop/"Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock"), but as it goes on, she becomes full of energy and fire, laughing at them for being so stuck in the past, repeating the opening line with fresh defiance. For a while, I didn't get the hype behind Arcade Fire; then I heard this, and it all clicked.
9) Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton - "Freedom" - Django Unchained
I love Django Unchained. I really do.
The soundtrack is one of many reasons, chiefly because a Tarantino film soundtrack is going to be 24-karat gold quality, both with his choice of existing film music and the original songs. "Freedom", a duet by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton, is one of the latter, and boy is it a beauty. It sounds like a 60s folk-soul ballad without feeling too much like a throwback, and both singers give powerhouse performances. In light of today, I'm going to single out Boynton, whose warm smoky voice sounds tired yet hopeful, but Hamilton's ace as well. If you don't have the Django Unchained soundtrack, or at the very least don't have this song, there's something wrong with you.
10) Metric - "Breathing Underwater" - Synthetica
And rounding off this post is yet another synth-pop song with a female lead vocalist! Gosh, my playlist sure has a lot of variety, right?
"Breathing Underwater" almost feels full to burst at times, opening with what sounds like a video game console booting off and bombarding the listener with synthesizers, keyboards, guitars, and probably a little bit of the kitchen sink too. It almost approaches stadium rock, the kind of genre U2 have been successfully cultivating for years (and often snidely referred to as "corporate rock") that relies on a big arena to get the most out of. Having not seen Metric live, I can't comment on its effectiveness, but this is the best kind of stadium rock, in the same vein as "With or Without You"; it's bursting with life.
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