When Hollywood gets its grubby little mitts on Feline Alchemy it will doubtless provide a soundtrack. And this soundtrack will doubtless be irredeemably naff. So, in order to offer some much-needed guidance, I’ve created a faultless soundtrack for the story, as will be unveiled in this and succeeding posts. The fact that Feline Alchemy is essentially an indie/alternative/post-punk kind of story explains the prevalence of these types of songs in the soundtrack.
Chapter 1 – Cat Power, Sea of Love
“That’s the day I knew you were my pet.”
Promise of devotion or thinly veiled threat? It’s always nice to see the tense undercurrents that accidentally lurk in old pop songs. Over a spectral harp Cat Power breathes out the melody like a drowning angel, pretty much.
Chapter 2 – Boo Radleys, Lazarus
“Maybe now I should change? You see, I’m losing my faith…”
After a dub reggae intro paces back and forth like a psychedelic panther counting the bars of its cage, you’re greeted with a sunburst of trumpets galloping over the horizon – a crescendo of affirmation. Self-explanatory, really.
Chapter 3 – Tricky, Hell is Around the Corner
“Distant drums bring the news of a kill tonight.”
Isaac Hayes gets turned inside out. Naturally enough, this results in a certain amount of gore and a mumbling high-priest interprets the entrails, making dark promises in a language no-one’s heard before. Isms and schisms anyone?
Chapter 4 – The Smiths, Panic
“I wonder to myself… couldn’t life ever be sane again?”
Johnny Marr channels classic T Rex while Morrissey smuggles a death threat against DJs onto daytime radio. Precisely how pop music’s supposed to be, surely?