Another genuinely creepy classic: Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs & Orchestra (2001: A Space Odyssey Soundtrack)
Peter Hammill - Porton Down. Porton Down, in England, is home to a biological warfare and survivability research facility. The music complements the scariness of the lyrics. Porton Down (2006 Digital Remaster) - YouTube "Won't hear a sound at Porton Down, The clear liquids keep their silence, Buried underground at Porton Down The fast form of the final violence. Quite right to be worried about the proliferation Of nuclear bombs and power stations, But there's a deterrent that's going to Unearth us yet... Hurry on round about Porton Down, A quick glimpse of the future warfare Hidden under ground at Porton Down; Far too frightening to utter what you saw there. They got bacteria to drop us where we stand, They got diseases still unknown to man, They got the virus and a microgram's enough To do in a continent. The ultimate madness, Just one shattered test-tube to wipe out the world. It begins with the mustard gas, It proceeds to Hiroshima. The culture moves on - Now it's bacterial, truly insane. Porton Down waits to fever the brain. Won't hear a sound at Porton Down, The clear liquids keep their silence Buried underground at Porton Down, The fast form of the final violence. Hurry on round about Porton Down A quick glimpse of the future warfare, Hidden underground at Porton Down, Far too frightening to say what you saw there. No sound at Porton Down, From Porton Down, After Porton Down."
Yeah, it sounds like it was a bad scene for him. I may be wrong but I thought I read that those were kinda the last major sessions for any SMiLE tracks, I seem to remember a quote from Van Dyke Parks where he said he was done contributing to the album due to the conduct (the toy fire helmets, the trash can burning in the studio) in those Fire sessions. I am glad Brian got a Grammy for the song, it is a great instrumental track.
The story I've heard is that Mike insulted him by telling everyone in the studio that the lyrics were rubbish and Parks quit the project after that
One of the few Bad Seeds records I don’t own because it was just a bit too murder-y for me. I mean, I know I could have expected that based on the title, but it was too much for me…
I love this song, but knowing that it’s Watt trying to find a lost bag of weed makes it decidedly unscary. My pick for creepiest vibe from SY would be “Halloween.”
And speaking of early Sonic Youth, there’s also “Shaking Hell.” The vocal starts around 2:35, and it really builds from there.
Good choice. Something about his down pitched voice over that sparse repetitive beat really makes the aggressive lyrics feel even more unsettling. I think the track is meant to be humorous more than anything else but it lives up to the dark mythology of that album.
Creepy audio loop and the deep-voiced authoritative narration surely gave a few Hoffmanites childhood nightmares in the 60s.
Not to mention the Scanimate stuff in the 70s, (about 10 seconds in here), which is cool to watch but eerie and spooky as well
Manson's cover of Sweet Dreams, particularly the video, scared the crap out of me back when I first saw it. I didn't know who he was, but man... that video was the only time I was ever legitimately scared by a song/video.
That same commercial framework/same announcer was very deliberate over the years. At some point in the early 80's, there was a large battle over retaining the same old same old and changing. The same old lost and they went with new commercials. Then there was a power shift and the leader of the same old folks became the publisher. The folks who were left after the dust settled got harassed the rest of the decade. One was my boss. The publisher was fond of saying as the years passed "never should have changed that TV ad"..........even tho the change made no difference
