Zombie Tunes: The P.L.A.N.

Preperation is the key. It is what gives me peace of mind, knowing that I'm prepared. I have the confidence that I would totally survive the Zombie Apocalypse. Why? Because I have a P.L.A.N.. Two of 'em, in fact. Both fool proof.

First off: What does P.L.A.N. stand for?

Play
Legendary
Anthem
Now





Plan A: Assess the Situation.
Before sharpening the ol' machete and fueling up the blow torch, I'd play Michael Jackson's Thriller for the approaching horde. If the zombies don't start dancing (as illustarted below), then I'd know the situation has gone critical, and it's time for Plan B.

Plan B: Bunker Down.

I'd go to ground with my family and ride out the walking plague in secrecy and seclusion. In short; I'd hide, and I'd hide well. I think I'm ideally suited for this. I'm self-amused, so it's not like I need a ton of people around to keep my entertained; I enjoy rereading books, which is good because I think in case of a zombie apocalypse, the library might be closed; and I'm not afraid of eating new things, a fact that will come in handy when the food runs low and we have to supplement the larder by eating pinecones and dandelions.

I'm kinda sad Zombie Week is over, it was so much fun, and Velvet was a wonderful host! I hope we can do this again sometime. But now it's time to say goodbye, to all our company. Z-O-M. Mmmuunggahaaum. B-I-E. Eeeeat braaaains. Ap-pre-ci-ation Weeeek!

Zombie Girrrl

Zombie Tunes (part 6)

 Good eeeeeeeeeevening. Too vampire? O_o
 In this segment, I'll be sharing with you two songs that were featured in one of my favorite books, World War Z by Max Brooks. The addition of music as a tool to purvey the emotional strain that the survivors and soldiers were feeling during the Zombie War was excellent. It added yet another layer of realism. Plus, they were some great tunes!

Song 1: The Trooper by Iron Maiden. This song was used as a means to pump up the troops and lure the undead menace to their final demise. It added a very real ellement to the fight scene, and who doesn't love a little IM?

Song 2: How Soon is Now by The Smiths. This song was used as a soundtrack to a zombie attack documentary in WWZ. The battle field was cloaked in fog, and the soldiers couldn't see the zombies till they were right on top of them. A true nightmare. The songs creepy guitar licks really worked for that scene.

I'm a big, big fan of book soundtracks. It adds another layer of immersion and demension.

Tomorrow is the last Zombie Tunes post, The P.L.A.N.

Happy Zombie Week!

Zobie Girrrl

Zombie Tunes (part 5)

 Sorry about not having this up yesterday as I'd promised, but I wasn't feeling 100%. I felt sluggish, foggy, and I had this insane craving for... braainnnssss! But I'm fine now. ;)
 On Wednesday I posed the question, "What's in a name?" The answer? Zombies. Many bands use the word "zombie" in their names, and more often than not, their name is their only connection to the sub-culture of the living dead. Their music is often devoid of anything resembling the zombies (the exception being Rob Zombie; I think he might actually be one).
 Today we'll spotlight two bands who've chosen to rock under similar monikers, but have taken it in totally different directions.

 First up, we have The Zombies. This English band formed in 1959, about thirty years after the modern zombie was introduced into popular culture by the American horror author H. P. Lovecraft, who is credited with writing perhaps the first incedent of a zombie biting a human. The Zombies broke up in 1968, The Time of the Season was one of their last songs released. I love psychodelic vibe. Unlike most 60'd tunage, this song wasn't about peace or making a political statement, it illustrated the other cultural revolution going on at that time. I'm sure it's clear by the lyrics what that revolution was all about. ;)

 From the calming psychodelic pop of The Zombies, we switch over now to something of opposite polarity. White Zombie. This band, who broke up in 1998, was noted for it's use of horror and fantasy in their lyrics. While most guys were rocking about life, drugs, or whatnot, they were screaming about monsters. True innovators! I give you More Human Than Human.

Tune in for part 6; Featured Tunage.

Happy Zombie Week!

Zombie Girrrl

Zombie Tunes (part 4)

 Goooooood morning listeners! Welcome to part four of our zombified music tour!
 On todays menu is Zombie Name Droppers! Artists who just sorta throw zombies out there, like wonderful (allbeit rotting) confetti.

 Name dropper numero uno: Muse. In their song Escape they say, "I never realized I was talking to the living dead," something that can't have been very productive as zombies traditionally have the IQ of a pine box. Unless, of course, we're talking about the zombie populary employed in YA, the heart o' gold, head o' mold zombie. That could've been a very fulfilling convo. Anywhoo, onto the song!

 Name dropper numero dos: Corey Taylor. Bother was featured on the first Spiderman soundtrack, and the line, "The zombie hides my face," just jumped out me. I think that might have been my very first encounter with the living dead, it was brief, but memorable.
A thought occurs to me as I listen to this song: The only way a zombie would hide your face is by blocking it with his own face. As he eats you. Hmm...

What's in a Name? Tune in tomorrow and find out!

Happy Zombie week!
Zombie Girrrl

P.S.
 Sarah of Sarah's {random} Musings is having a zombielicious book givaway! Head over right now for your chance to win a signed copy of Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow! Offer expires September 21.

Zombie Tunes (part 3)

 For our third installment of Zombie Tunes, we'll be taking a look at (Un)Death Metal. You may know the stuff, usually it causes you stare at your radio as if it were possessed, reach out cautiously, and turn the knob to a more benign frequency. Unless, of course, you're a fan. Then you crank it up and bang your head till your brains are nice and tender (just how the zombies like it!).

 Exhibit A) All Nightmare Long by Metallica. This video features a communist agenda to propogate the Western World with zombies. It also features the world's first zombie steak. I especially like the means of zombification; mysterious mold spores! Enjoy!

 Exhibit B) Scream by The Misfits. They went all out! It's a little college-indie-film-ish, but I find that quality to be very endearing in a zombie video. And there is some major zombie gore going on here, the hospital thing totally reminds me of one the opening scenes from World War Z. According to Max Brooks, many zombie outbreaks begin in first world hospitals, something this video illustrates well.

 Tomorrow we'll be moving on to Name Droppers!

Happy Zombie Appreciation Week!

Zombie Girrrl

Zombie Tunage (part 2)

Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of our zombie music adventure!
Today we'll be exploring MZU ("Metaphoric Zombie Usage" to you civies). These artists employed the use of zombies as a metaphor for the emptiness, mediocrity, or injustice of life.

Our first song is brought to by The Cranberries. You may know this Irish band for its more popular song Linger, but this is Zombie Week, so I'll not assail your ears with break-up music. According to SongFacts.com, Zombie is, "-Inspired by the IRA bombing in Warrington, Cheshire in 1993. Two children, Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry, were killed. The IRA (The Irish Republican Army) is a militant group determined to remove British troops from Northern Ireland."
Sadly, the embed option has been disabled on YouTube, so here's a link to the video.

Second MZU song is Black Zombies by Nas. I think this song is far more self-explanatory than the other one; you just gotta listen to the chorus:

"Walkin talkin dead, though we think we're livin (black zombies)
We just copy-cat, followin the system (black zombies)"

Tune in tomorrow for (Un)Death Metal!

Happy Zombie Appreciation Week!

Zombie Girrrl

Zombie Tunage (part 1)

 In celebration of Zombie Week, I've put together a playlist of zombie inspired music. After hours of research I've identified six different uses for zombies in music, and now I'm gonna bring it to you in a six part series that will end in (wait for it) MY PERSONAL ZOMBIE SURVIVAL PLAN! Now you, too, can be prepared for the end with my fool proof, two-part plan!

 We'll be starting our musical oddesy with two specifically zombie songs. These were written with the explicit purpose of capitalizing on or spreading the current zombie phenomenon. I think these are very good, and they represent the same slant on zombies that the vast majority of YA books do.


 First up on the menu is Aim for the Head by Creature Feature. I don't know where these guys have been all my life, but they are amazing! And not only is it a really good song, it's also instructional.

 Next on our list is Zombies Everywhere  by Karate Hisghschool. An instant classic with a lot of subtext, this song puts me in mind of Generation Dead.

Tune-in tomorrow when we'll be delving into the subgenre of MZU.

Happy Zombie Week!

Zombie Girrrl