You'll be pleased to know that we hit our Kickstarter target for the latest issue of Department of the Peculiar, so Rob has come up with an excellent "extra" to give away with the comic if we hit our stretch goal. (Believe me, I don't understand any of this stuff.)
Because the writer is a sadist, the script for the latest issue required Rob to draw a wall full of portraits of dead rock stars. To be honest, when I wrote that, I thought he'd just do thumbnail sketches... but, Rob being Rob, he ended up doing full portraits... of loads and loads of them.
(Believe me, that's not all of them.)
These went down pretty well when he posted them on Facebook, so Rob came up with the idea of publishing them in a CD booklet. And because it wasn't really fair that the lazy writer got away with doing bugger all for this venture, Rob asked me to write the liner notes.
I came up with a couple of ideas, thinking about what else you'd find in a CD booklet, and decided to write up a track-listing for this imaginary record. Just like the kind of nonsense list / mix I've been writing here for years.
So I've started compiling a list of songs by dead rock stars about death / dying / living forever / etc. etc. etc. This kind of thing...
Hank Williams - I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
John Prine - When I Get To Heaven
Faron Young - Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young
Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
John Denver - Leaving On A Jet Plane
Warren Zevon - Keep Me In Your Heart
I have a few more, but because I'm scared of missing out some obvious ones, I thought I'd throw it open to you guys and see if you had any further suggestions.
Here are the rules...
1. The singer (preferably songwriter) has to be dead.
I rejected Who Wants To Live Forever? by Queen because it was written by Brian, not Freddie.
2. The song title has to be about life or death, heaven or hell... it can't just be in the lyrics.
I rejected Come As You Are by Nirvana... but I'd probably have included it if Kurt had called the song "I Don't Have A Gun".
Similarly, I couldn't include My Generation by The Who even though it contains the perfect line ("Hope I die before I get old") because the title doesn't allude to life or death, and the songwriters are still with us.
3. I'll also accept songs where the songwriter appears to have eerily predicted their own demise - like the John Denver one above.
Above is the cover to the "Heroes" booklet, featuring Mal (our character) posing as Bowie.
As always, your wisdom will be gratefully received.
And now, because I didn't have time last week to pay proper tribute to Little Richard...
More information on the Department of the Peculiar Kickstarter here.
Charlie Rich - 'I Feel Like Going Home'. It has to be this version.
ReplyDeleteHome being heaven. Or hell.
DeleteDear everyone else on the internet. Forget it. John nailed it.
DeleteMy immediate thought was to suggest Marc Bolan who '...danced myself into the tomb...' in Cosmic Dancer and claimed that it was '...easy as picking foxes from a tree...' in Solid Gold Easy Action (the number plate of the car in which he died, crashing into a tree was FOX 661L).
ReplyDeleteThese though are lyrical concerns, not song titles, so how about All Things Must Pass by George Harrison? Also, Life Fades Away by Roy Orbison is one that will stop you in your tracks.
Or 'Don't Put No Headstone on My Grave' . Same artist.
ReplyDeleteNot dead but as a darkly humorous counterpoint I'd propose Half Man Half Biscuit's 'Tending the Wrong Grave For 23 Years'
ReplyDeleteTownes Van Zandt-Waiting Around to Die
ReplyDeleteGeorge Jones - The Great Judgement Morning or Tarnished Angel
ReplyDeleteMy Death, a song performed by Jacques Brel, Scott Walker and David Bowie.
ReplyDeleteWaylon Jennings - Heaven or Hell
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJames Brown - Hell!
ReplyDeleteThe Dead South - In Hell I'll be in Good Company.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Michael - Jesus To A Child
ReplyDeleteNo - doesn't fit the rules does it. Sorry.
DeleteThank you, all. Some excellent suggestions there which will really help out.
ReplyDeleteYou excluded The Who's My Generation because of it's lyrical allusion.
ReplyDeleteWell, how about The Who's Heaven and Hell.
2 band members have croaked. 1 of them (John Entwistle) wrote this track, and the title exactly matches your criteria in point 2
Could you do a catch-all and go for Dead Pop Stars by Altered Images?
ReplyDeleteJohn Denver - I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane.
ReplyDelete3 Steps to Heaven - Eddie Cochran
I Would Die For You - Prince
Sorry Rol, just noticed you already had John Denver, missed that yesterday, i will replace that with You Scare Me To Death by Marc Bolan.
DeleteFab portraits by Rob and a great idea too - I love your combined talent and imaginations!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was 'My Death' as already mentioned by TS. Bowie's version is the one that gets me most.
OK, more...
ReplyDeleteThe wonderful Jake Thackray with 'Last Will And Testament..' One for every funeral!
The Doors: The End
and
Johnny Thunders: Dead Or Alive
I think all three singers would be great subjects for Rob's art style too if not already immortalised in his ink!
Great call on Jake Thackray C!
DeleteThe artwork really is fantastic - Reread the last issue the other day to familiarise myself with the characters again. You are a very clever pair.
ReplyDeleteAww. Blushing. (Rob does all the work.)
Delete