12 Songs: Wise Blood
Seeing as last night’s excursion into the world of Flannery O’Connor has us all hooked on the southern gothic vibe, we thought maybe we’d keep things going a day longer.
But just how exactly does this transfer into the world of song, you might ask?
Well, we can start with Nick Cave, who is known to namedrop O’Connor from time to time as a major influence (his book And The Ass Saw The Angel is basically a poor man’s Wise Blood). Next we’ll look for music with biblical allusions, blues-inspired instrumentation, and guttural yelps for vocals (The Gun Club, Son House come to mind). And then make it dark, sick even (The Scientists) but also comic in an unsettling way (The Cramps, The Birthday Party). Finally, round it all out with a gospel track or two (Elvis’s “Crying in the Chapel” will do nicely. By the way, have you heard the calypso remix?).
Listen to the rest on Spotify here.
Note on the artwork: I bought these two postcards from a small gallery tucked away in backstreet in Paris a few months ago (corny, I know) with photos of emulsions by Pauline Desramont on them. The other photographs/emulsion/paintings the gallery had on display are definitely worth checking out, many of which are posted on their instagram @prodromusgalerie.
