A few years ago I saw the most fantastic, campy-kitschy video sung by a group of fabulous 80s new-wave ladies in comfortable sleeping attire, and last night when I was trying and ultimately failing to conjure forth who they were and the title of the song …I was convinced of at least one thing: they were singing about Dracula.
When I woke up this morning, after posting queries all over social media, the answer had been revealed to me by the miraculous Mondo Heather–and now that I reflect further upon my first hearing the song, I am almost certain that it was Heather who shared the video that I initially saw!
Mystery solved: it’s Dracula’s Tango from 1982 by British group Toto Coelo. The video is an absolute blast and I couldn’t help but try and grab some (ultra blurry) captures below, along with the delightfully demented lyrics. And of course, here’s a Spotify link for playlist purposes!
The moon was shining in the night The hounds were baying under simple stars And as you storm under the lights I knew my heart would be at stake
Am I just another victim? ‘Cause I never can resist him Oh don’t, don’t go You’re gentle touch Is what I need so much, and…
Dracula la la I’m a sucker for your love When you do do do what you do to me And you la la la now I’ve got you in my blood Supernatural love’s getting through to me Dracula la la I’m a sucker for your love When you do do do what you do to me And you la la la now I’ve got you in my blood Don’t you know dear Count it’s a mystery?
Prima Donna I’m yours
Even though you have the cross to bear
We take the mirror off the doors
And snuggle in our double tomb
‘Cause your castle is a nightmare
You’ve got batty friends who live there
Oh please, just squeeze
I go insane don’t tap my windowpane
Dracula la la I’m a sucker for your love
When you do do do what you do to me
And you la la la now I’ve got you in my blood
Supernatural love’s getting through to me
Got to get my teeth in you
Necking is the thing to do
Even though they never know it
Positive or not
You and I coagulate Vitalize a dying rate Vladimir my dear You know I’m after every drop
Get into a different vein R.I.P is all the same I was bitten now I’m trying Transylvania
You’re the coffin I’m the key We tune up in harmony I’ll do anything for you Except for mania
Dracula la la I’m a sucker for your love
When you do do do what you do to me And you la la la now I’ve got you in my blood Supernatural love’s getting through to me Dracula la la I’m a sucker for your love When you do do do what you do to me And you la la la now I’ve got you in my blood…
Track list: The Moth by PJ Harvey | The Swan by Ionna Gika | For The Sun by Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky | All Of This by Ayla Nereo | Cold Clear Moon (Written By Tomo Nakayama) by Swimming Bell | Tiptoe by Gracie and Rachel | Possession 2019 by Kompromat | Psychic Sobriety by Foie Gras | Romance Noire by Double Mixte | Kuiper Belt by KÅRP | Starbound by Mouth Wound
Feel Nothing by Health | Glass Candy by Naked City | Bury A Friend by Billie Eilish | Alone Together by Ritual Howls | Concerning The White Horse by Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch | Gorgon Madonna by Yugen Blakrok | We Appreciate Power by Grimes | Buried In The Sand by HÆlos | Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have But I Have It by Lana Del Rey | Be Still, My Tongue by Snorri Hallgrímsson | Burning Sea (feat. Tomasz Mreńca) by Daniel Spaleniak | Adorations by Burial Hex
Track list: Fever Dreams by Emma Ruth Rundle | Cross by Louise Lemon | Woman by Cat Power | Sky Full Of Song by Florence + The Machine | Blue Vapor by Marissa Nadler | Mariners Apartment Complex by Lana Del Rey | Lovely by Billie Eilish With Khalid | Black Lagoon by Still Corners | Alpha by Anna Calvi | Dancing And Blood by Low | Stundum by Hekla
Track list:
Leave Behind by Sarah Cripps | Thirst by Louise Lemón | Emigre by Alela Diane | Mississippi by The Secret Sisters | Black Rose by The Glass Child | Body Below by Emily Fairlight | Julie by Rhiannon Giddens | Lament by Marisa Anderson | The Distance by Emma Ruth Rundle | Where the Heart Grows by Mellow Diamond
A playlist for sleepwalking into the midnight wood, a forest dream in the dark forever.
Track List: Silhouettes by Lucy Claire | YouTube | In The Dark Woods by Shadow | Fluttering by Zinovia Arvanitidi | Some Limited And Waning Memory by christina vantzou | The Creek by Rhian Sheehan | Black Salt by Alder & Ash | Never return home by Strië | Stems by Poppy Ackroyd Depth of a Glance by Aaron Martin | Breathe by Erik K Skodvin and Rauelsson | My Friend the Forest by Nils Frahm | Dawn by Fabrizio Paterlini | home by nights by hecq
I’m not much for holiday music (though I’ll fight you when it comes to the clear superiority of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas”,) and while I am not trying to rain on anyone’s traditional Frank Sinatra-accompanied or Beach Boys or whatever Christmas parade–I have to tell you, I don’t really care for that kind of music at all.
Christmas carols have always made my teeth ache and set me on edge, even as a child. Especially the jingly-jangly tunes, bursting with a frenzied, frenetic (and forced, I always surmised) cheer. I just don’t feel those feels. I never have. As a child I would probably say “winter is a good time to be sad.” As an adult I might say that winter is a lovely time to thoroughly steep oneself in melancholy…but it all translates the same, really. Winter is no time for cheer. Bah humbug!
But as a music-lover, I do still like to surround myself with lovely sounds during these long frozen nights and brittle, sunless days (don’t laugh at me–it’s actually 40° here in Central Florida this morning!) What do you like to listen to whilst cozying up for your holiday celebrations? Do you prefer to fill your winter wonderland with somber sounds, moody melodies and gloomy tunes? If so, here are three bleak, brooding playlists sure to frost the cockles of your heart during the cold waves and snowfall, and into which you may escape when the rest of the world is too damn jolly.
Here is a spotify playlist curated with the majority of these selections, or should you prefer to listen to the individual 8tracks mixes, click on each of the images below.
But the dark embraces everything:
shapes and shadows, creatures and me.
–Rainer Maria Rilke
Track list:
Hungry Face by Mogwai | If I Had a Heart by Fever Ray | So Close (feat. Arnór Dan) by Ólafur Arnald | Peeling Off The Layers by Wildbirds & Peacedrums | Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family | St. James Infirmary by Mark Lanegan & Greg Dulli) | Into The Black by Chromatics | Civilian by Wye Oak | Burn It Down by Daughter | Fuel to Fire by Agnes Obel | Serpents by Sharon Van Etten | No Rest For The Wicked by Lykke Li | Born To Die by Lana Del Rey
What a treat it was to interview and get to know this wonderful, brilliant woman! Listening to her recount her marvelous experiences at Lily Dale while recording for this exciting project was truly one of the highlights of my year. I hope you’ll enjoy read her stories as much I did hearing them, and translating them for the page.
