the CD of the Beast

At last. The Evil Mixmania list, the one that was to reveal the pimpled, hairy side of my icky little soul. At first I thought I'd never find enough songs: I don't have a lot of overtly evil music lying around, but I do have a lot of songs about the nasty, minor-seeming day-to-day things we all do to increase the amount of misery in the world. Once I included those, I had to cut waaaay, waaaay back (Oh, DUH! some people made two CDs. Okay, here's my (pathetic) excuse for not doing that: I only had one empty case left). Anyway. Apparently my Dark Side contains a lot of jealousy and paranoia - or maybe that's just what people mostly write songs about (howbout we not examine that question too closely).

So here's my list, annotated because I'm feeling defensive today.

Keep Young and Beautiful - Annie Lennox
Keep young and beautiful / if you want to be loved.... No! But, um, kinda. I mean, we try to tell our kids and ourselves to look beyond appearances, but marketing is pervasive and calls bullshit on our best efforts. So unfair.

Hard Rock Hallelujah - Lordi
Europe's favorite pop song! Hahahahaha! It's not really high-quality metal, but it'll do. The song includes references to both the "Arockalpyse" and the "Day of Rockening," so there's some linguistic evil right there, and it's cheesy and funny and strange. I bought the CD, specifically so I could include the song in this mix, but I actually find myself listening to it. For real.

Black Planet - the Sisters of Mercy
Environmental disaster, anyone? And however much we try not to be part of the problem, we all are.

Meine Ex(Plodierte Freundin) - Die Ärzte
Last night my girlfriend exploded / I didn't expect that, that's why I'm blood-smeared / I must say, I'm really irritated / Last night my girlfriend exploded
Ah yes, three guys who've made a musical career out of juvenile jokes. Very popular with eleven-year-olds, including mine. I liked them too, at first, but eventually their jokes get kind of samey. So sort of like the Dead Milkmen, only German.

Alarming = the Sniglet can sing along with this one.

Steak for Chicken - Moldy Peaches
This one is really evil not only because the two singers are saying different things at the same time, so you have to listen really hard, but also because when you finally understand them, you can only say "Ewwww...." Hella funny.

La Bruja - Conjunto Jardín
"The Witch", a Mexican folk song. Not my favorite version, but the one I happen to have on CD. It's a jaunty little tune in 3/4 time about flying at night and sucking the blood of small creatures.

Over You- Aaron Neville
The creepy jealous boyfriend song. I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment, but the tune is toe-tappin'.

Cemetery Polka - Tom Waits
This one is just so gleefully sick-n-wrong, all about rich, elderly relatives and greeeeed. Uncle Bill would never leave a will / And the tumor is as big as an egg / There's a mistress, she's Puerto Rican / And I heard she has a wooden leg. Bwaaahaha.

Welcome to the Occupation - R.E.M.
Yeah, in line with Black Planet, this one's about colonialism as economic rape, another thing we all buy into (including me) and just try not to think about how wrong it all is.

Golden Boy - Natalie Merchant
Another one in the theme of Keep Young and Beautiful, about how appearances matter more than actions.

Little Black Heart - A-Ha
I'm not actually sure what this one's about, but it reminds me of me and my tendency to get into wretched little moods about nothing.

Watch Your Step - Elvis Costello
1. It sounds threatening, doesn't it? You better watch your step. Oooo, booga booga.
2. I simply couldn't NOT include a Costello song, and this was the best I had on CD. Probably.

Foul Play - Robert Cray
Yes, it's true: I'm not a real blues fan, because I like the pretty stuff. Robert Cray and and Al Green and BBKing make me want to lie on the floor, that's how much I love them. This is a perfect song about a relationship dying of jealousy and suspicion that may or may not be unfounded.

Read About Love - Richard Thompson
So effing funny, and also tragic because there must be a guy like this in your past - if you didn't date him, then your best friend or sister did.

Beat of Love - Voice of the Beehive
About the icky little things we do to fuck eachother over.

(I'm Gonna) Burn Your Playhouse Down - the Proclaimers
I've got an achin' in my heart / Arson on my mind.... Just funny. And hostile. And sung in a heavy Scottish accent, which makes it somehow cuter.

Who's That Girl? - Eurythmics
More jealousy and paranoia. A classic.

He Likes Me - Violent Femmes
Admit it, you have so been here. You want to be grown-up about the break-up, and all gracious and shit, but you're just not feeling it. These guys are the patron saints of sarcasm.

Turn Around - They Might Be Giants
More quirkiness. It is via this song that the phrase "Paper-white mask of evil" entered my vocabulary.

Mr. Wrong - Cracker
A country-flavored song about the date from hell, basically. Now do you have a girlfriend / and does she look as good as you? / Hey - would she like to meet my brother? / He'll be out of jail in a month or two...

Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Well, it sounds evil. Actually, I haven't been able to figure out what this song's about, but I really like it, for being so happycute while being about tidal waves of blood.

So, the song du jour of the day: any of the above.

Oh right, and my Mixmania benefactor who sent me such a fab CD which I have already talked about how much I love? Is the Daily Bitch, who totally wocks.