Deadwood (Music from the HBO Series)

We cats have a lot of swear words in our vocabulary, but I don't think I can write them in English. If you've ever heard us fighting, you know what I mean. 

The HBO series Deadwood was suddenly cancelled after only three seasons, despite being one of the best series ever written and filmed. The series is based on true events and real people who settled Deadwood, South Dakota, although fictional events and characters are mixed in with the historical facts. Unfortunately, many people went bat-shit (as opposed to cat-shit) over the language. I suspect that the controversy had something to do with the cancellation. 

In a special feature, David Milch, Deadwood's creator, explained that people of that time (late 1800s) were educated by the Victorian novel, with its convoluted syntax. Also, settlers of Deadwood were attracted to that area by its absence of local, state, and federal laws. They were iconoclasts and anarchists (in other words: cats), and they used language to show their contempt for authority, hence the swearing. What you wind up with are almost-Shakespearean soliloquies filled with obscenities. It's lovely!

What's all this got to do with music? Well, after your ears have adjusted to the strange mixture of Victorian and profane language, the second thing you'll notice is the skilled use of music to create a mood and tell the story. Each episode ends with a different song, and the soundtrack album is completely beautiful. Two of the best are "High Fever Blues" by Bukka White and "Twisted Little Man" by Michael J. Sheehy.

"Twisted Little Man": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzx44jDcjtU&feature=fvwrel

"High Fever Blues": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Rn8qSXDJY

You'll notice a parental advisory on the album. This is because--in addition to the music--the album contains some of the memorable lines from the episodes. My personal favorite is "Who?, Wu!," a dialogue that rivals Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on First?" routine.

Here's the scene on YouTube (and don't say I didn't warn you; it's unsuitable for kittens) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KsU89R1A8M

After we'd watched the series via Netflix, we bought the soundtrack, and then my person was given a gift of all three seasons on DVD. We're in Deadwood heaven! Check out Deadwood and discover what I'm talking about.

Peace out!

Dazed and Confused Soundtrack

Here's a trip down the 1970s' memory lane! The setting of Richard Linklater's 1993 movie, Dazed and Confused, is the last day of the year at a high school in a small Texas town in 1976. The seniors are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid, even the football players who have signed a pledge not to.

Now, I must say that no cat in his/her right mind would sign a pledge to avoid catnip, but then, we're rarely jailed for getting stoned on that particular weed.

The film offers glimpses of the early careers of actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Afflect, Parker Posey, and even an uncredited Renée Zellweger.

The soundtrack includes tunes by many of the '70s all-stars: Alice Cooper, Kiss, Foghat, Black Sabbath, ZZTop, Lynryd Skynyrd, and more. Even my GramCat wasn't alive in the '70s, but most of this music has stood up well over the past 40 years. Take a little nip, and take a little trip back in time.

Peace out!