This year the World Science Fiction Convention (i.e. Worldcon) is taking place in Chicago. I am not going, but because I voted in site selection I have a supporting membership of the convention, which means I get to vote in this year's Hugo Awards. That means I receive the voters packet: digital copies of most of the works that made it onto the ballot. But before the packet was distributed I went and read all the finalists in the short story category, as these are all available to read online. To be honest, not all of these are great, but one really stood out for me, that being Sarah Pinsker's "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather". This is presented as though it were the talk page of Lyricsplainer, one of those websites like Mudcat where people discuss the lyrics of folk songs. In the story the people are discussing the obscure folk tune "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather", whose lyrics can also be found in both the Child and Roud collection of ballads. The song tells of a man and woman meeting together for a tryst in the woods, where oaken hearts do gather (that line is repeated throughout the song). There is an element of foreboding, with the reader perhaps fearing that the man will have less than noble intentions, but things take an unexpected turn and it is the man who suffers a terrible fate. The lyrics go on to suggest that his fate is a ritualistic one and that these events will be repeated when other men find themselves lured into the woods, where oaken hearts do gather. What exactly is happening here remains oblique, but that only adds to the sense of unease the lyrics generate.
Meanwhile, in the Lyricsplainer comments people there are discussing the song and making the case for particular variants of the words. We also see the kind of feuding and trolling that bedevils the online world. But buried in among all the chatter one of the commenters starts talking about how he thinks the song is set in a specific place in England, which he decides to find for himself. As the discussion progresses he posts again about how his inquiries are progressing. What happens next may not surprise you; in the best tradition of folk horror, the reader twigs where the story is going a good bit before the protagonist does. That does not stop the ending from packing a considerable punch.
You can read the story for yourself on the website of Uncanny magazine here:
https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/where-oaken-hearts-do-gather/
Sarah Pinsker meanwhile is a musician as well as a writer. Her band The Stalking Horses have recorded their own version of the song. It would not spoil your enjoyment of the story if you listened to this first, or vice versa.
image source (Guardian: "Getting back to nature: how forest bathing can make us feel better")
Previously I wrote about my favourite new tunes of 2021. Now let me talk you through some tunes from before 2021 that first crossed my orbit in that year. I originally compiled this as a CD-R and now I have made YouTube and Spotify playlists for these, though not all of these tracks are available on those platforms.
Here are some quick notes on the tunes, with information on where I heard them.
Silver Apples "Oscillations" (1968) [Silver Apples' untitled album]
I feel the most guilty about including this one as it is not completely completely new to me: I have heard it around and possibly even seen a version of Silver Apples live. But I had not previously owned a copy of the album and so had not had a chance to listen to this odd piece of music that seems to prefigure all kinds of cool later music from later years. Ironically I still have not listened to it that much as cat name of Billy Edwards does not like it.
The Silver Apples album is available in all good record stores.
Annette Peacock "Pony" (1972) [v/a Cafe Exil: New Adventures In European Music 1972-1980 (2020)]
I do not know very much about Annette Peacock and would not have heard this track if I had not finally knuckled under and bought the Café Exil compilation. It is an enjoyable piece of 1970s weirdo music, somewhat electronic but only round the edges.
Café Exil is available from all good record stores. I have yet to see an Annette Peacock album in the wild.
Camizole "Camizolemania" (1975) [Camizole 1975]
This is the product of a French electronic prog outfit. I am unclear as to whether they are actually famous or just well-known in the pages of Frank's APA, the journal of record for sonic explorers. The music is faintly ominous and lacking in vocals. In an alternate universe these guys are massively successful and no one has heard of Tangerine Dream.
Lynsey De Paul "Sugar Shuffle" (1976) [v/a Bob Stanley Presents 76 In The Shade (2020)]
This is from Bob Stanley's compilation of songs evoking the scorchingly hot summer of 1976. Ms De Paul's languid sounds conjure up a dance floor of couples fearing that their erotic heat might lead to a mass outbreak of spontaneous human combustion.
76 in the Shade is available from all good record shops.
More funny electronic music from days of yore, this sees Glenn-Copeland in a relaxing mystical mode. It's a bit "hello trees hello sky" but nevertheless makes for a relaxing listen.
The whole Keyboard Fantasies is worth a listen. Beverly Glenn-Copeland did one of those Tim's Twitter Listening Parties for it.
Klimperei "Le Chat du Cheshire" (2000) [Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles]
Klimperei "Qui A Derobé les Tartes?" (2000) [Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles]
I had to get the Alice Au Pays Des Merveilles record after one of my Frank's APA buds reported a daughter describing it as "disturbing". Conceptually this is like something from the 1970s, when releasing an album of songs based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland would have seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do, but instead it is from 2000 and is in French. It has a certain sing-song quality to it, like it is music for children, except this is what you play to children if you want them to grow up to become serial killers.
Damon & Naomi "A Second Life" (2005) [In the 21st Century (2019)]
Some people tell me that Damon & Naomi's post Galaxie 500 work is fundamentally inessential. Listening to this gently likeable tune suggests otherwise.
The Anchoress "One for Sorrow" (2016) [Confessions of a Romance Novelist]
I started to explore The Anchoress's back catalogue, with this poppy number from 2016 being one of the more striking tunes from her album of that year. The lyrics share concerns with some of the more striking tunes from 2021's The Art of Losing.
The Sisters of Mercy "Jolene" (1983) [BBC Sessions 1982-1984 (2021)]
Another false entry as I previously had this on a cassette, but as that obsolete device long ago made its way to landfill it seemed reasonable to pick up an officially released collection of the songs the early Sisters played for various BBC radio programmes. This is of course a cover of the Dolly Parton classic, either played straight or with tongue so firmly in cheek that it makes no difference.
Available from all good record stores.
Maria ja Marsialaiset "Kirjoita Postikorttiin" (2017) [Pysy Hereillä]
"Are these people friends of yours?" one might ask, in this case receiving a partial "Yes", in so far as one of these Finnish ladies is in fact one of buds from the long defunct Bowlie forum. The tune is a cover of the Shocking Blue classic "Send me a postcard", but with more rock.
Confidence Man "Try Your Luck" (2018) [Confident Music for Confident People]
It can't be long before I get sick of Confidence Man but I aim to enjoy the ride as long as possible. This opener to their 2018 debut album sets down the template for what I think of as the Confidence Man sound: Janet Planet singing about how amazingly cool she is over dance floor beats.
Gemma Dunleavy "Up De Flats" (2020) [Up De Flats]
Gemma Dunleavy is an Irish pop music person. Here she sings about her pride in her origins in the Sherrif Street flats.
Death Valley Girls "Under the Spell of Joy" (2020) [Under the Spell of Joy]
This songs comes from the album of the same name that was an impulse purchase following a Twitter listening party where they gave good tweet. This is ritualistic psych-influenced music from their album about turning positive thinking into arcane magic.
The Anchoress "Wicked Game" (2020) [Bandcamp download]
Ms the Anchoress sings one of the saddest of all love songs. But it's no longer on Bandcamp and is also not available in any shop or streaming platform, though there is a short excerpt on Facebook.
Ennio Morricone "Un Uomo Da Rispettare" (1972) [Crime and Dissonance (2005)]
People were telling me that Ennio Morricone's music is worth exploring beyond the Spaghetti Western soundtracks, so I picked up a digital copy of this highly recommended compilation. The album features various tunes from Italian crime films of the Bastardo Policia variety, with Un Uomo Da Rispettare being a crime drama starring Kirk Douglas (I have not seen it myself but I am guessing they dubbed his dialogue (because it is an Italian film from the 1970s, when they dubbed everyone's dialogue)). It's a monster tune, 11 minutes of intermittent trumpet and ominous shuffles based around a plaintive piano sequence. God only knows how they use it in the film (I can imagine it being a bit on the long side for film viewers) but it makes for an amazing listen on record.
This year the World Science Fiction Convention (i.e. Worldcon) is taking place in Chicago. I am not going, but because I voted in site selection I have a supporting membership of the convention, which means I get to vote in this year's Hugo Awards. That means I receive the voters packet: digital copies of most of the works that made it onto the ballot. But before the packet was distributed I went and read all the finalists in the short story category, as these are all available to read online. To be honest, not all of these are great, but one really stood out for me, that being Sarah Pinsker's "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather". This is presented as though it were the talk page of Lyricsplainer, one of those websites like Mudcat where people discuss the lyrics of folk songs. In the story the people are discussing the obscure folk tune "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather", whose lyrics can also be found in both the Child and Roud collection of ballads. The song tells of a man and woman meeting together for a tryst in the woods, where oaken hearts do gather (that line is repeated throughout the song). There is an element of foreboding, with the reader perhaps fearing that the man will have less than noble intentions, but things take an unexpected turn and it is the man who suffers a terrible fate. The lyrics go on to suggest that his fate is a ritualistic one and that these events will be repeated when other men find themselves lured into the woods, where oaken hearts do gather. What exactly is happening here remains oblique, but that only adds to the sense of unease the lyrics generate.
