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This is an empty country, I am the king
Three days to Halloween, and the season already feels like its own castoff skin: the air had that arid tin taste when I left the house this morning, the leaves are draggled yellow and lusterless as old blood under grey ledges of cloud; the sky brightens in patches like eighteenth-century oils, without the same impression of warmth. Evidently it is time to break out the sweaters.
In honor of personae, masks and faces, I offer a selection of character songs. There are a lot of these on my computer. In some cases, picking a single representative was well-nigh impossible, never mind all the polymorphous artists who didn't even make it onto this playlist. The problem with putting together these mixes is they always make me think of more.
Sarah McLachlan, "Building a Mystery"
You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way?
Amanda Palmer, "Guitar Hero"
And I could save you, baby, but it isn't worth my time
And I could make you chase me for a little price-is-right
Pere Ubu, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"
The sun a hot circle on a canopy
'25 a racing blot on a bright green sea
Ahead, the dim blur of an alien land
Kate Bush, "Oh! England, My Lionheart"
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom
Give me one wish and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose
Or with my shepherd who'll bring me home
Human Sexual Response, "Andy Fell"
He was leaning out the window—they all say that's right
Someone heard him mumbling about Bishop Pike
He fell out of the window in the middle of the night
Andy fell down
The Psychedelic Furs, "Pretty in Pink"
All of her lovers all talk of her notes
And the flowers that they never sent
And wasn't she easy? Isn't she pretty in pink?
Art Brut, "Emily Kane"
I hope this song finds you fame
I want schoolkids on buses singing your name
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, "Rattlesnakes"
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in On the Waterfront
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance
The Geraldine Fibbers, "Lilybelle"
In the dark, she is rocking not to records, but to voices in her head
Lilybelle, Lilybelle, Lilybelle hot as hell
Three AM and it feels just like high noon in her head
Mission of Burma, "Mica"
First she says: why mince modes?
If you feel like a patient, why not dress like one?
Then she says: why can't I sleep
Between icy wet white sheets for three days
And sink down deeper than dreams?
The Dresden Dolls, "Dear Jenny"
Ashley talks to astronauts back home by means of fax transmission
Andy gets a new tattoo each time he gets back bathroom privilege
Weary, oh, so drearily, we wave our flags into the camera
Amber goes: the hotlines are all friends, but no one ever answers
Consonant, "Buckets of Flowers, Porno Mags"
Buckets of flowers, porno mags, cages of canaries
Her one photo, kohl-eyed, and he's bent close, alive
PJ Harvey, "A Perfect Day, Elise"
God is the sweat running down his back
The water soaked her blond hair black
Andy Prieboy, "Tomorrow Wendy"
Underneath a chilly grey November sky
You can make believe that Kennedy is still alive
They're shooting for the moon and smiling Jackie's driving by
Tori Amos, "Pretty Good Year"
And Greg, he writes letters and burns his CDs
They say you were something in those formative years
Richard Thompson, "Josef Locke"
And I've been gone from you for some while
Those English taxmen, they cramped my style
And if you think I'm some fraud upstart
Just let my voice be my calling card
Norma Waterson, "On Fridays He's Fred Astaire"
The rest of the week, he's a pen-pushing clown
But on Friday, he'll be Fred Astaire
Sam Phillips, "The Fan Dance"
But when I do the fan dance, I'm all the red in China
I'm dialing life up on my telescope
Fringe and mathematics shaking down the curtain
To find the dragon parade
Tom Waits, "Tango Till They're Sore"
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
So send me off to bed forevermore
Robyn Hitchcock, "N.Y. Doll"
One in a million, people hit you
Like a windowpane
Sincerely, I remain
Arthur Kane
And because I just discovered him and am delighted by the innocently enthusiastic, occasionally surreal double-entendre value of many of his songs:
George Formby (Jr.), "In My Little Snapshot Album"
Now I've got a picture of the girl next door
In me little snapshot album
And I've never had a better snap before
In me little snapshot album
The night was dark and the hour was late
She was kissing her boy by the garden gate
Heh—wouldn't she love to see page eight
In me little snapshot album?
In honor of personae, masks and faces, I offer a selection of character songs. There are a lot of these on my computer. In some cases, picking a single representative was well-nigh impossible, never mind all the polymorphous artists who didn't even make it onto this playlist. The problem with putting together these mixes is they always make me think of more.
Sarah McLachlan, "Building a Mystery"
You live in a church where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search for the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow and a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way?
Amanda Palmer, "Guitar Hero"
And I could save you, baby, but it isn't worth my time
And I could make you chase me for a little price-is-right
Pere Ubu, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"
The sun a hot circle on a canopy
'25 a racing blot on a bright green sea
Ahead, the dim blur of an alien land
Kate Bush, "Oh! England, My Lionheart"
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom
Give me one wish and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose
Or with my shepherd who'll bring me home
Human Sexual Response, "Andy Fell"
He was leaning out the window—they all say that's right
Someone heard him mumbling about Bishop Pike
He fell out of the window in the middle of the night
Andy fell down
The Psychedelic Furs, "Pretty in Pink"
All of her lovers all talk of her notes
And the flowers that they never sent
And wasn't she easy? Isn't she pretty in pink?
Art Brut, "Emily Kane"
I hope this song finds you fame
I want schoolkids on buses singing your name
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, "Rattlesnakes"
She looks like Eve Marie Saint in On the Waterfront
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance
The Geraldine Fibbers, "Lilybelle"
In the dark, she is rocking not to records, but to voices in her head
Lilybelle, Lilybelle, Lilybelle hot as hell
Three AM and it feels just like high noon in her head
Mission of Burma, "Mica"
First she says: why mince modes?
If you feel like a patient, why not dress like one?
Then she says: why can't I sleep
Between icy wet white sheets for three days
And sink down deeper than dreams?
The Dresden Dolls, "Dear Jenny"
Ashley talks to astronauts back home by means of fax transmission
Andy gets a new tattoo each time he gets back bathroom privilege
Weary, oh, so drearily, we wave our flags into the camera
Amber goes: the hotlines are all friends, but no one ever answers
Consonant, "Buckets of Flowers, Porno Mags"
Buckets of flowers, porno mags, cages of canaries
Her one photo, kohl-eyed, and he's bent close, alive
PJ Harvey, "A Perfect Day, Elise"
God is the sweat running down his back
The water soaked her blond hair black
Andy Prieboy, "Tomorrow Wendy"
Underneath a chilly grey November sky
You can make believe that Kennedy is still alive
They're shooting for the moon and smiling Jackie's driving by
Tori Amos, "Pretty Good Year"
And Greg, he writes letters and burns his CDs
They say you were something in those formative years
Richard Thompson, "Josef Locke"
And I've been gone from you for some while
Those English taxmen, they cramped my style
And if you think I'm some fraud upstart
Just let my voice be my calling card
Norma Waterson, "On Fridays He's Fred Astaire"
The rest of the week, he's a pen-pushing clown
But on Friday, he'll be Fred Astaire
Sam Phillips, "The Fan Dance"
But when I do the fan dance, I'm all the red in China
I'm dialing life up on my telescope
Fringe and mathematics shaking down the curtain
To find the dragon parade
Tom Waits, "Tango Till They're Sore"
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
So send me off to bed forevermore
Robyn Hitchcock, "N.Y. Doll"
One in a million, people hit you
Like a windowpane
Sincerely, I remain
Arthur Kane
And because I just discovered him and am delighted by the innocently enthusiastic, occasionally surreal double-entendre value of many of his songs:
George Formby (Jr.), "In My Little Snapshot Album"
Now I've got a picture of the girl next door
In me little snapshot album
And I've never had a better snap before
In me little snapshot album
The night was dark and the hour was late
She was kissing her boy by the garden gate
Heh—wouldn't she love to see page eight
In me little snapshot album?
no subject
Mine too.
I had to discontinue my SIRENIA subscription for the short term due to a financial squeeze. I've asked Caitlin to substitute issue #35 for issue #30 so I could read "Mirror of Venus." I look forward to reading it.
no subject
Thank you! I hope it is to your liking!
And I hope your finances soon improve; I wouldn't want to miss any more Sirenia than I had to . . .
no subject
You may wish to substitute back: I had completely forgotten that "The Mirror of Venus" was to be reprinted this month in The Harrow. Enjoy!