RELEASED ON
Tuesday March 19, 1996
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1069
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2024-08-18 07:59:53
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Version 31
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DESCRIPTION
Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files is a soundtrack album released in 1996, featuring a collection of tracks by various artists that capture the eerie and mysterious essence of the popular TV series, The X-Files. The album includes a mix of existing songs, remixes, and original compositions inspired by the show.
Overall, the album captures the essence of The X-Files through a diverse range of musical styles, from rock and alternative to industrial and electronic, each contributing to the show's enduring sense of mystery and suspense.
TRACKLISTING
0. Nick Cave and The Dirty Tree: Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum
1. Mark Snow: X-Files Theme (Main Title)
2. Soul Coughing: Unmarked Helicopters
3. Sheryl Crow: On the Outside
4. Foo Fighters: Down in the Park
5. William S. Burroughs % R.E.M.: Star Me Kitten
6. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Red Right Hand
7. Filter: Thanks Bro
8. Frank Black: Man of Steel
9. Meat Puppets: Unexplained
10. Danzig: Deep
11. Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Frenzy
12. Elvis Costello with Brian Eno: My Dark Life
13. Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper: Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)
14. P.M. Dawn: If You Never Say Goodbye
15. X-Files Theme (P.M. Dawn Remix)
INSIDE THE STUDIO
- The albums illustrations were made by Sue Coe.
- Design by Katherine Delaney.
- Executive album producers: David Was and Chris Carter.
- One of the most intriguing aspects of Songs in the Key of X is the hidden track that precedes the first listed song. If you start the CD and rewind it back 9 minutes, you'll find a hidden track featuring a haunting duet between X-Files creator Chris Carter and composer Mark Snow. This track was deliberately placed before the first track to surprise listeners and align with the show’s theme of uncovering hidden truths. The idea of hiding a track was innovative for the time and added a layer of mystery, just like the series itself. Inside the album, the first text is: "NICK CAVE AND THE DIRTY THREE would like you to know that "0" is also a number."
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds contributed the song "Red Right Hand" to the album. Cave, known for his dark, brooding style, was an ideal fit for The X-Files. "Red Right Hand" had already been used in several films and TV shows, but its inclusion in Songs in the Key of X became particularly memorable due to its lyrics about unseen, malevolent forces, which mirrored the themes of the show. Interestingly, the song was so fitting that it was later featured in multiple episodes of The X-Files, including "Ascension" and "Sleepless."
- The Foo Fighters, who contributed the song "Down in the Park" to the album, have a name rooted in UFO folklore. "Foo Fighters" was a term used by WWII pilots to describe unidentified flying objects. Lead singer Dave Grohl has always had a fascination with the paranormal, making the band's participation in the album feel like a natural extension of their interests. The song itself is a cover of a Gary Numan track, and its eerie, dystopian vibe aligns perfectly with the mysterious and often unsettling tone of The X-Files.
- Rob Zombie teamed up with Alice Cooper to create "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" specifically for the album. The collaboration was intense, with both artists channeling the dark, gothic themes that are prevalent in both their music and The X-Files. This song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1997, highlighting the mainstream impact of the album. Rob Zombie later mentioned in interviews that working on this track was one of the most creatively fulfilling experiences of his career, as it allowed him to blend his love of horror with his passion for music.
- Elvis Costello contributed the song "My Dark Life," which he co-wrote with Brian Eno. The track is notable for its experimental sound and dark lyrics, which fit perfectly within the context of the album. Costello was a surprising addition to the lineup, as he was better known for his work in punk and new wave. However, his ability to adapt to the eerie, atmospheric style required for Songs in the Key of X showcased his versatility as an artist. The song itself is about living in the shadows, a recurring theme in The X-Files.
- P.M. Dawn, the hip-hop group known for their ethereal sound, contributed the track "To Be Loved" to the album. The group's members were huge fans of The X-Files, and they were thrilled to be asked to participate in the album. Their song, with its haunting melody and introspective lyrics, was inspired by the show's exploration of the unknown and the search for truth. In interviews, the group expressed how much they loved the series and how honored they felt to be part of something that had such a significant cultural impact.
- The song If you never say goodbye was co-written by Chris Carter.
- The cover art for Songs in the Key of X is itself full of hidden messages and Easter eggs, much like the show it represents. Designed to look like an old case file, the album cover includes various cryptic symbols and codes. Fans of the show have spent years trying to decipher these elements, adding to the album’s mystique. The cover reflects the overarching themes of the series—secrets, hidden truths, and the search for knowledge.
- Chris Carter's message from the album inside cover:
- Here I go searching for context and corollary, reason and rationale – writer's crampons. Why an "X-Files" record, album, or CD? Why indeed. Have we succumbed to the swinish flu of grubbing moneymakers who see dollar signs like a fever dream, an endless sea of swag stamped with the eponymous "X"; the spiders to the flies of the New World Wide Web Order, for whom mammon is its own impenetrable logic, a one-word syllogism?
- But maybe I'm overstating this. Okay, I'm nervous. I've never produced a record or CD before. Like most of us, I've been quite happy in the role of consumer and can honestly say that music, rock 'n' roll specifically, provided more than just the underscore for the Big Bang of my moral universe during the 1970's. Two semi-related incidents, in fact, taught me life lessons no parent or catechism could ever hope to. The first was a test of my young nerve. Goaded by larcenous classmates, I attempted and succeeded in ripping off from the local K-Mart both a Steppenwolf and Led Zeppelin album. Only to leave the store and find that my bicycle had been stolen during the robbery. The other occasion (the details rather too embarrassing, actually) involved my father's Whipped Cream and Other Delights album by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
- But back to the music, as they say. Rewind to 1994 when during the first part of the second season of "The X-Files" a song called "Red Right Hand" was used as a source cue in the second half of a two-part episode entitled Ascension. Got that? This being the first time – if you don't count Bobby Darin's classic cover of "Beyond the Sea" – we had used anything but Mark Snow's ethereal cues to score the show. I'd heard this song on an L.A. late-night alternative station, driving home from an "X-Files" dubbing session. I loved it instantly, and for the next month or two subjected who came into my office to it, at Mach Q levels. Its very ghoulish bass-line and mephitic lyrical imagery had a haunting effect on me and I found myself cueing it up every time I sat down to write. It seemed destined to find its way into the show, eventually becoming the driving radio thrum for escaped alien abductee Duane Barry.
- Fast forward a few months. Looking for new music, new inspiration for myself and what William Gibson calls the show's "florid ideation," I was struck with the idea for this album, record, or CD. With the help of many people, a sort of apostolic concept took shape: music inspired by the show as inspiration for the show. A musical twist on the first Law of Thermodynamics. As of this writing I am subjecting the office to it at Mac Q levels. Smiling like a big-game poacher, wondering if I can do it again without getting caught.
- Thanks to:
- Mary Astadourian, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, the writers, producers and crew of "The X-Files", Peter Roth, Ken Horton, Geoff Bywater, JTTO, Matt Walden, Joanne Service. Special thanks to Dori Carter.
- – Chris Carter, February, 1996
- David Was inside the album cover:
- What is the sound of the "X-Files;" that parallel/paranoid universe that comes hurtling out of the TV box like a weekly delivery from Poltergeist Express? Is it lugubrious and spooky, all theremins and echo chambers? Or is it a pack of bad-mood demons howling off-key hymns to the Unnamable?
- The good news is that we didn't have to prowl the gutters of Tin Pan Alley picking up the discarded songs that are the usual burger-and-fries of the soundtrack game. Contrary to custom, the music assembled here was made for the occasion by artists who came humbly as devotees of the show. The only requirement was that Chris Carter went synaesthetic when he heard their music: Did he see the sounds? What smoky, arc-light visions did they conjure?
- But music doesn't depend on pictures as pictures do on music. Our hope is that these songs will invade your senses and spirit in the same way that "The X-Files" has managed to harness the zeitgeist of this anxious, beriddled aged.
- – David Was, February, 1996
PHOTOS
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LYRICS
2. SOUL COUCHING - UNMARKED HELICOPTERS
(Soul Coughing)
Whose song is that remembered?
At random, serpenting
Through fatty coils emerging
Some other thought is thinking
This light stands above
The houses on the ground
This illumination
Visited upon the whole land
Unmarked helicopters hovering
The Lord is coming soon
Here comes the super copter
Here comes the noise it makes
The demon was an idea
The demon is awake
Or scratch mark left across
The surface of your mind
This hour, now upon us
The hour has now arrived
Unmarked helicopters hovering
The Lord is coming soon
Unmarked helicopters hovering
They said it was a weather balloon
But I know the truth
I know the whole shebang
And I know the names of men they had to hang
I let her out the trunk
Heard what she said at them
They've come to drag us through the double M
It goes black, black, black, black and blacker
It goes black, black, black, black and blacker
It goes black, black, black, black and blacker
It goes black, black, black, black and blacker
Unmarked helicopters hovering
The Lord is coming soon
Unmarked helicopters hovering
They said it was a weather balloon
It was a weather balloon
It was a weather balloon
It was a weather balloon
It was a weather balloon
It was a weather balloon
3. SHERYL CROW - ON THE OUTSIDE
I stood close enough to hear you say
"Do as the beautiful ones do"
Tore out my picture from its frame
I just wanted to be one of you
Standing on the outside, lookin'
Funny how you see the truth
But the feeling does come back to you
"She's crazy as anyone can be"
That's what they say, they say of me
What wanting love can make one do
It isn't my fault, heredity
Standing on the outside, lookin', lookin'
State of grace, state of sin
Standing on the outside, lookin', lookin'
I cannot feel a single thing
But the feeling does come back again
This morning feels like yesterday
And yesterday follows me around
Where do you go when no one cares?
Six feet under, underground
Standing on the outside, lookin', lookin'
State of grace, state of sin
Standing on the outside, lookin', lookin'
I cannot feel a single thing
But the feeling will come back again, again
HISTORY
2024-08-18 07:59:53 -
Pike:
I rewrote the messages from Chris Carter and David Was from the album's inner sleeve.
