It has been
said that the two main subjects of Art are Love and Death. Having
already dealt with the first one, the column tries today to also
'touch' the - not so pleasant - second one...1. Join Me In Death – HIM
(Ville Valo)
With the first single from their second album, Razorblade Romance (1999), HIM from Finland, with Ville Valo as frontman, managed to win the hearts of the european audience. The song was included in the soundtrack of the film The Thirteenth Floor (1999).
2. Death Or Glory – The Clash
(Joe Strummer-Mick Jones)
A track from the emblematic double album London Calling (1979), the thirs one for The Clash, which is greatly responsible for the status and legend they enjoy today.
3. Death Take Your Fiddle – Spiritualized
(J. Spaceman)
This transformed folk song sounds really ghostly the way it has been instrumented with the velvet vocals and soulless voice by Jason Pierce… From Songs In A&E (2008).
4. Art Of Dying – George Harrison
(George Harrison)
This excellent track from the triple album All Things Must Pass, released by Harrison in 1970, a few months after the official announcement of the Beatles, grabs you by the hair from the very beginning. With Eric Clapton's guitar tricks, the drums gallop and many wind instruments, it convinces you you should learn this "art of dying"...
5. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll – Bob Dylan
(Bob Dylan)
Narrating the death of Hattie Carroll, on February 9th 1963, Bob Dylan convicted the accused of her murder, William Devereux “Billy” Zantzinger, to eternal bad fame. The court on the other hand only punished him with 6 months imprisonment... From the album The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1964).
6. Last To Die – Bruce Springsteen
(Bruce Springsteen)
A song from Magic in 2007. It is said that Springsteen drew inspiration for it from the sayings of John Kerry (later a senator and candidate for presidency) in a testimony to the American Senate in 1971, about Vietnam war.
7. Glad Nation’s Death Song – The Walkabouts(Chris Eckman-Terri Moeller-Bruce Wirth-Glenn Slater-Michael Wells-Carla Torgerson)
In New West Motel in 1993, The Walkabouts seemed quite influenced by the work of Neil Young. Take for example this song that brins electric guitars together with the violin.
8. Sudden Death – Jay Jay Johanson
(Jay Jay Johanson)
The Swedish Jay Jay Johanson became famous around here with his second album, Tattoo (1998) and the his Even In The Darkest Hour. This trip hop song also comes from that album.
9. Death And All His Friends – Coldplay
(Guy Berryman-Jonny Buckland-Will Champion-Chris Martin-Jon Hopkins)
Here we have the song that closes Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends in 2008 and which is unified with hidden track The Escapist. Never had the Coldplay sounded as glorious until then...
10. Live And Let Die – Paul McCartney & Wings
(Paul and Linda McCartney)
This song was written on account of the homonym James Bond film, starring Roger Moore. It was the first song from this film series to be nominated for an academy award; it lost by The Way We Were performed by Barbra Streisand...
* Photos from http://dansemacabre.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/grim_reaper.jpg, www.amazon.co.uk and www.wikipedia.org.
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