Music and Literature

[Firebeard]

Hello everyone

I would like to pick your brains, if I may. I am a music student, currently researching the influence of classical English literature on contemporary music.

For example, Stairway to Heaven quoted from the 'all that glisters is not gold' speech from Merchant of Venice, the Doors got their name from a William Blake poem, Kate Bush did Wuthering Heights, Sting based his Summoners Tales on Chaucer, Johnny Rotten based his stage persona on Richard III, etc. I have got some examples but need more.

If anyone out there knows of any instances of classical literature influencing contemporary music, I'd love to hear from you. By influence, I'm including band names (eg, Uriah Heep, the Boo Radleys), lyrics, song titles, even background sound effects, like the radio playing King Lear in 'I Am The Walrus'. I'm also including people like Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, whose lyric style was heavily influenced by John Betjeman and T. S. Eliot. I'm arbitrarily defining 'classical' as pre-1950 and 'contemporary' as post-1950. The more obscure and unlikely the connection, the better. The holy grail for me would be to find a quote in Shakespeare or similar that seemed to influence (say) the Pussycat Dolls. If there was a line somewhere that said 'dost thou not wish thy wench as comely as I?', I would be a happy man!

Basically, I'm trying to demonstrate that many rock and pop musicians were far more cultured and educated than the media would have us believe.

Many thanks,

Andrew Barber
Swindon, England

[JBI]

Look at the influence of the English Madrigal composers, and think of their effects on music. That's as far as I can think, without singling Gilbert and Sulivan, and John Dryden with Henry Purcell. You'd be better off with French and Italian, as most operas are based on works in those languages, if not classical themes. English music is rare, though you can make a few cases discussing Handel and the Bible, and whatnot.

As for contemporary music, well, look at Leonard Cohen, he was a poet first. Look at Dylan, another poet, or at Simon and Garfunkel, who do a play on Robinson's Richard Cory

[Ghuyuran]

In Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers, the singer refers to an old geocentric model of the universe.

I'm guessing you know where this is from: "music of the spheres".

[Epistemophile]

hey andrew,
have you listened to anything by neil hannon (who also goes by the name of 'the divine comedy')? his music is full of literary allusions; too many infact to be mentioned here. one of my favourite contemporary artists. especially check out a song called 'the booklovers' from the album 'promenade' which has references to many authors. here's a guide to his music of sorts:
http://www.somethingdivine.org.uk/dict.php

[JCamilo]

Jefferson Airplane did White Rabitt basead on Alice, Nick Cave and bad seeds have a number of musics with literary reference, Iron Mainden did the The Rhyme of Ancient Mariner, Joy Division have Athrocity...

[andave_ya]

Loreena McKennit put "The Lady of Shalot" and "The Highwayman" and "Dante's Prayer" to music.

[armenian]

tool (The Grudge,46 & 2, Third Eye), pearl jam (pilot, do the evolution, bu$hleaguer), marilyn manson (fight song), System of a Down (Steal This Album), i know Tool and Pj have more and im sure you can find something with Rage Against the Machine

[Epistemophile]

Roger Waters' scathing parody of the Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green He leadeth me the silent waters by.
With bright knives He releaseth my soul.
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places.
He converteth me to lamb cutlets,
For lo, He hath great power, and great hunger.
When cometh the day we lowly ones,
Through quiet reflection, and great dedication
Master the art of karate,
Lo, we shall rise up,
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water.

(excerpt from Pink Floyd's 'Sheep' from the album 'Animals')

[Epistemophile]

And the album was vaguely inspired by George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'.

[Firebeard]

Wow, you guys have been busy! I've posted the request on another couple of boards and got nothing. I like it here.

Thanks for everything so far. I'm kicking myself that I missed the Floyd reference - I'm a huge Floyd fan. In my defence, Roger Waters is going through some sort of distorted vocoder when he does that bit...

I'm not sure whether I should be including the Bible as a work of classic English literature though. I can certainly justify its inclusion; it was published in English 400 years ago with the King James version and it contains some lovely poetry, so it meets all the criteria, but it would be hard to separate the influence of the book on writers from the effects of living in a society already influenced by it. Plus I'd have to mention virtually every gospel song and a significant chunk of the blues!

Cheers again

Andrew

[Kafka's Crow]

Sarah Brightman Fleur du Mal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkmGuEAvmf0

Marilyn Manson has countless literary illusions. Doors took their name from Huxley's Doors of Perception. James Blunt's sings about Dorian Gray in Tears and Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_P26rP52hA

[JBI]

Sarah Brightman Fleur du Mal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkmGuEAvmf0

Marilyn Manson has countless literary illusions. Doors took their name from Huxley's Doors of Perception. James Blunt's sings about Dorian Gray in Tears and Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_P26rP52hA

You fancying yourself Byron now :p?

[kelby_lake]

There's a song called Orpheus by David Sylvian

[SirRaustusBear]

The Velvet Underground have a song called Venus in Furs based off the book by the same name by Sacher-Masoch.

Metallica has a few, like the song For Whom the Bell Tolls and one called the Call of Ktulu.

Radiohead has a song called Paranoid Android based off a character in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and their song Exit Music (For a Film) is an alternate ending to Romeo and Juliet.

Neutral Milk Hotel's album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is largely based on the Diary of Anne Frank, especially the song Holland, 1945.

Explosions in the Sky have a song called The Moon is Down after the Steinbeck book.

The Arctic Monkeys song I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor references both 1984 and Romeo and Juliet.

The Decemberists released an EP called the Tain based of the Celtic poem.

Of Montreal's song The Past is a Grotesque Animal references both George Bataille's Story of the Eye and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

[SirRaustusBear]

I don't know how I forgot this because their my favorite band but Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult references Romeo and Juliet. Also their song Searching for Celine is a reference to Louis-Ferdinand Celine

[Kafka's Crow]

You fancying yourself Byron now :p?

Mad, bad and dangerous (Matchbox):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LDvNu48Hjw

[PabloQ]

Rick Wakeman (best known as the keyboard player for Yes) released solo albums where he interpreted the Journey to the Center of the Earth (I know it's French) and the King Arthur Legend. Wakeman's different from some of the other musicians cited because he put a musical interpretation to scenes or characters of the works.
Alan Parsons had an album based on Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination and another album titled I, Robot.
Rush has a song titled Tom Sawyer.
Kenny Loggins had a song titled "The House on Pooh Corner."
The Police makes a reference in "Don't Stand so Close to Me." to that book by Nabokov.
Led Zeppelin has a song titled Moby Dick.
I haven't even started working my way through the lyrics, but there's a wealth of examples of what you're looking for.

[Kafka's Crow]

Sarah Brightman releases a new version of Phantom of the Opera and Wow (left me with the hair on the back of my neck standing!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXvB2TRWsW8&feature=related

[stlukesguild]

You fancying yourself Byron now?:p

And you Titian?:D


It is almost time for a change, isn't it? But how can I improve on Michelangelo?

[JBI]

You fancying yourself Byron now?:p

And you Titian?:D


It is almost time for a change, isn't it? But how can I improve on Michelangelo?

Rembrandt perhaps, or Caravaggio, or maybe even Raphael. Michelangelo is probably the best all around, but in terms of painting, and not sculpture, there are better portraits.

[stlukesguild]

Rembrandt perhaps, or Caravaggio, or maybe even Raphael. Michelangelo is probably the best all around, but in terms of painting, and not sculpture, there are better portraits.

Certainly. But Michelangelo was never interested in the portrait... the portrayal of the individual character. Rembrandt is the master of that... and Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Goya, and several others can match him there from time to time.
So I'll post one of my absolute favorite portraits. A portrait of the artist's sister-in-law that was so sensual that an entire myth of the artist's supposed affair with her arose... and Sir Joshua Reynolds would exclaim, "It is hard to imagine that she was not fed upon roses."

[djy78usa]

Hello everyone
If there was a line somewhere that said 'dost thou not wish thy wench as comely as I?', I would be a happy man!



Wouldn't we all!:lol:

[trianon]

Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen

[kelby_lake]

Very early Duran Duran songs were inspired by Fitzgerald stories.

[Kafka's Crow]

Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen

Rage Against the Machine's interpretation of this song is excellent as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MChMz-eRTKA

[Tournesol]

I've always found Don Henley's 'End of the Innocence' to be very interesting, in terms of it's lyrics. Reference to kings, and yet modern things as lawyers. Perhaps it may be pertinent.

[barbara0207]

Brian Ferry and Sting both did their own version of Shakespeare's Sonnet 55: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day". These two versions are quite different. Sting's is rather loud, fast, angry at times, Ferry's is soft and slow as he made it for Princess Diana's memorial concert.

[PabloQ]

Meanwhile, JBI and St. Luke are waaaay off topic.