By Sidecar Shiv
We live in a stranger world than we know. A hundred years ago an iconoclastic American named Charles Fort could be found sitting in the British Museum Reading Room or the New York Public Library, collecting details of anomalous events which seemed to contradict established doctrines – hence the modern-day description of such phenomena as “Fortean”.
Special Agent Fox Mulder (who may or may not be a fictional character – how can we tell?) has spent his career investigating these phenomena, and his mantra is “I want to believe” – celebrated here by GBH, who declare their aspirational loyalty to the Loch Ness Monster, to aliens, and to the anthropoid Sasquatch. Me too! The Aliens themselves are happy to admit that they’re here – “I Am The Unknown”.
Some phenomena have a rational explanation, but have entered everyday acceptance. A local example would be the cosmic Marfa Lights, used as a metaphor for a crumbling relationship by Texas singer Paul Cauthen. Are they UFOs streaking through the night sky? Or are they just reflections of automobile headlights bouncing off the atmosphere? Many would say: does it matter? They’re there, and they’re what you want them to be.
Let’s suppose a UFO arrives on Earth in plain view. Will we surrender? Will we proclaim World Contact Day? Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Nixon-era “It Came Out Of The Sky” offers a more likely scenario: “Spiro came and made a speech about raising the Mars tax. The Vatican said, 'Woe, the Lord has come', Hollywood rushed out an epic film, and Ronnie the Popular said it was a 'communist plot'. No news of the craft’s occupants. In truth they probably use less visible methods.
Hot Chocolate broke their run of likably seductive top-10 hits with the extraordinary “No Doubt About It”, an account of an otherwise unseen Close Encounter Of The Third Kind between members of the band and (if the video is to be believed) shaven-headed lady aliens in silver jumpsuits. Or you can hitch a ride into the cosmos in their crafts. NWOBHM band Jameson Raid do exactly that, and travel from Birmingham to Another Star; seven days of splendour, far away.
Ghosts of the departed are another area of the supernatural entirely (and another topic); they mostly come and visit us at apparently random times. But human nature is such that some of us have an overwhelming desire to reverse the process and contact them. Blondie’s postmortem chat with a loved one is too charming to miss out: “We could navigate together, psychic frequencies, coming into contact with outer entities, we could entertain each one with our theosophies …” It may not always be that straightforward. Wire propose that reincarnation may not be consistent: “I never know which version I’m going to be”. Tell your local Time Lord.
We’ve saved the best ‘til last – the monsters. Metallica use imagery from the esoteric writer HP Lovecraft in “The Thing That Should Not Be”, but that title is a good description of sea monsters. lake monsters, hairy hominids, ape men, big cats, black dogs, werewolves, living dinosaurs and all the rest of the cryptid zoo. Most of them mean us no harm. Jonathan Richman’s “Abominable Snowman In The Market” – “I think that he’s a real nice guy” is just a regular refugee struggling to adjust to new surroundings. The housewives hate him.
But. They don’t all want to be our friends. The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing take the family for a day out in Margate, but encounter a Lovecraftian elder god down by the sea wall. Said Pa “I don't care if he's he is an elder god, let's head down to the pier …” But nobody’s seen Nan for a very long time.
Elsewhere, polite zombies have infiltrated Jonathan Coulton’s office. They haven’t project-managed their long term plan, but they’ll eat your brains anyway. In the late 1970s, Leeds was terrorised by the apparently unstoppable Yorkshire Ripper. For better or worse, his activities were seen as inspiration for Bob Pegg’s lo-fi single “The Werewolf Of Old Chapeltown” - to the extent that Pegg was interviewed under caution by the police investigating the case. Warning: this song ends on a cliffhanger, and your palms will be sweating. Lock the door, turn out the light.
Aliens and More Out There A-List Playlist:
1. GBH – I Want To Believe
2. The Aliens – I Am The Unknown
3. Paul Cauthen – Marfa Lights
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – It Came Out Of The Sky
5. Hot Chocolate – No Doubt About It
6. Jameson Raid – Seven Days Of Splendour
7. Blondie – (I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear
8. Wire – 40 Versions
9. Metallica – The Thing That Should Not Be
10. Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers – Abominable Snowman In The Market
11. The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing – Margate Phtagn
12. Jonathan Coulton – Re: Your Brains
13. Bob Pegg – The Werewolf Of Old Chapeltown
Bigfoot and Beyond B-list Playlist:
1. Four Below Zero – My Baby’s Got ESP
2. The Rezillos – Flying Saucer Attack
3. Sheryl Crow – Maybe Angels
4. Sun Dial – Plains Of Nazca
5. Protomartyr – Windsor Hum
6. Type O Negative – Green Man
7. Steeleye Span – Long Lankin
8. The Handsome Family - Caterpillars
9. Calexico - Sirena
10. Shonen Knife – Kappa Ex
11. Mastodon - Megalodon
12. Don Jones - Bigfoot
13. The Chills – Male Monster From The Id
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
Brownsville Station – Martian Boogie (one of those so-awful-it’s-great records)
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: People are strange … songs about unexplained phenomena. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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Fancy a turn behind the pumps at The Song Bar? Care to choose a playlist from songs nominated and write something about it? Then feel free to contact The Song Bar here, or try the usual email address.