By ShivSidecar
“Beyond the gopher holes there’s a world going on - Underground,” sings Tom Waits, with the realisation of an explorer discovering a whole new society. On one level, he sings about a mining town where “…they’re alive, they’re awake, while the rest of the world is asleep… they are marching around under your boots”. But this was also the point in Waits’ career where he adopted a new, opaque, claustrophobic style of music – in short, he joined the underground, where he’s stayed ever since.
Many of us are city-dwellers, and go underground occasionally – to travel, to see musicians play, in some cases even to live or work – but it’s not our natural environment. And yet there’s a huge infrastructure down there which we rarely see – cables, water pipes, sewers, all of which sustain our daily lives. There may also be things we can only imagine. Mark Stewart + Maffia ‘s 1983 recording “Paranoia Of Power” lists some likely candidates: bunkers, proton beams, laser beams, radio waves, microwaves, heavy ions, alpha waves. Do you find your brain lets you down as you get older? There may be a reason for this.
There were surprisingly few nominations for songs set in clubs, gigs or raves, given the long association between music and cellars and other underground venues, and the emergence of subcultures through small clubs. Flesh For Lulu’s “Subterraneans” (not the Bowie piece) seems to be a celebration of the early goth scene, and the “safety in numbers” ethic – new arrivals coming in two by two. Key line: “Everything happens after dark”. Sneaker Pimps aspire to be part of this, or any, scene but they’re stuck in a small town – the singer needs to take action soon, or end up “6 (Feet) Underground”.
In many parts of the world there’s also safety underground. In areas of the US, storm cellars are common refuges from tornadoes, as celebrated by Elysian Fields. “Climb down my storm cellar, as the thunder swells” sings vocalist Jennifer Charles. If you sense an alternative interpretation of her intentions, that’s your choice. No such mystification from The Beautiful South, who have discovered the joy of underground coitus, and intend to carry on for all eternity: “We’ll still be at it in our grave.”
Underground railways, metros and other rapid-transit systems are familiar to many of us. Elvis Costello uses a London Underground train stalled between stations as a framing device for a series of portraits of his fellow travellers. Those who have experienced this scenario (dark tunnel, no information) will recognise the reality of the song’s title: “Waiting For The End Of The World”. For an altogether more relaxing experience, Robb Johnson boards the Circle Line for a reminiscent and meditative trip through the dark.
Underground cities are a recurring trope of science fiction. Sopwith Camel’s very groovy “Fazon” sees the human race investigating future habitable environments – underground, underwater and outer space (the latter wins out). Some interesting imagery in The Sundays’ “I Won” – “let me take a candle to a cellar tonight, I'd like to take some matches there and set it alight… I'd like to have a party in a cellar tonight, and I'd love to have a party but it wouldn't be right”. Harriet’s won a domestic victory and needs to celebrate. Is she also a pyromaniac? I’m not hanging around to find out. Curiouser still is the 1972 “Spiders (In Neal’s Basement)” by the Chicago ensemble McLuhan (no relation) – nonsense lyrics sung over horns and some suspiciously UK-proggish backing. I don’t claim to understand it, but I’m glad I heard it.
Out of the city at last, but there’s more cause for paranoia. Peter Hammill is at the Ministry of Defence’s underground research labs at “Porton Down”: “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…” Any of this sound familiar? A scarifying vision of how future warfare may (will) be conducted. We seem to be on slightly safer ground with Josh Ritter’s story song “The Temptation of Adam”. Josh and Marie have broken into a missile silo, apparently post-catastrophe, for safety. How things develop makes for an affecting (and very funny) narrative. But hang on for the last line – it’s a cliffhanger.
[A coda for our times. From the YouTube comments on the Elysian Fields track:
Roman Shuliatiev “Listening [to] this amazing song in a bomb shelter in Ukraine”.
Best wishes to you Roman – be safe ].
Underground A-list Playlist:
Tom Waits - Underground
Mark Stewart + Maffia – Paranoia Of Power
Flesh For Lulu - Subterraneans
Sneaker Pimps – 6 Underground
Elysian Fields – Storm Cellar
The Beautiful South – Hold Me Close (Underground)
Elvis Costello – Waiting For The End Of The World
Robb Johnson & the Irregulars – Coincidence On The Circle Line
Sopwith Camel - Fazon
The Sundays – I Won
McLuhan – Spiders (In Neal’s Basement)
Peter Hammill – Porton Down
Josh Ritter – The Temptation Of Adam
Big Basement B-list Playlist:
Sugar Pie DeSanto – In The Basement (Part 2)
Guru featuring Branford Marsalis – Transit Ride
Joe Bataan – Subway Joe
Mute Choir - Basement
New York Dolls – Subway Train
Superchunk – Basement Life
The Queers – Back To The Basement
Tiger – Time Tunnel Cellar
Pavement – Grave Architecture
Girls Aloud – Sound Of The Underground
Manhattan Transfer – Notes From The Underground
sir Was – Digging a Tunnel
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – The Basement
Radiohead - Idioteque
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Buriedfed
The Rolling Stones – Torn and Frayed
Johnny Flynn - Tunnels
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
A Z-list playlist of songs I might have nominated this week, with a few off-topic lurches:
Robyn Hitchcock – 52 Stations
Nathan Hall & The Sinister Locals – The Catacombs of Camden Town
Carolanne Pegg – A Witch’s Guide To The Underground
Heron Oblivion – Beneath Fields
The Tickle – Subway (Smokey Pokey World)
Denis Couldry – James In The Basement
Klaatu – Sub-Rosa Subway
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Basement tapes: songs set below the ground floor. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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