Wintermute Playlist

Thought I'd put this up while we're on the subject of Neuromancer.

William Gibson's coinage of the word "cyberspace" and his ultra-hip future-pop-culture style led to the description of a lot of fiction in the 80s and 90s as "cyberpunk." There was even a temporary streak of some musical acts that were described as cyberpunk. Most of it noise, which didn't tolerate multiple listenings.

I recently put together a play list of some familiar and not-so-familiar songs, which created a Neuromancer-y vibe for me. I dubbed this playlist "Wintermute" in iTunes. None of these are cyberpunk, though I might call a couple "cybergoth." I think the CD makes for a good walking soundtrack (playing time: almost exactly 1:15).

Presentation Format: Song - Artist - Album (Notes)

• Above - Blue Man Group - The Complex (dulcimer, synthesizer, drums, PVC pipes, and a rock group, layered like a frothy parfait to cleanse the mental palate)
• The Model - Kraftwerk - Man Machine (kinda makes me envision Molly)
• Down in the Park - Foo Fighters - Songs In The Key Of X: Music From And Inspired By The X-Files (awesome cover of the Gary Numan original)
• 3 Libras - A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (these lyrics are evocative of Molly, too)
• Whip It - Devo - Whip It (Heh. More Molly?)
• Judith - A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms (gothic metal, though the lyrics aren't relevant to Neuromancer)
• Closer - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (Ahem. More Molly?)
• The Current - Blue Man Group - The Complex (the trip into cyberspace/inner space begins)
• Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails - Lost Highway Soundtrack (did someone say "trip"?)
• Trip Like I Do - Filter/Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do (Yes. Someone did say "trip.")
• Blue (Remix) - A Perfect Circle - Weak and Powerless CD Single
• I Like To Score - Moby - I Like To Score
• Imagine - A Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe (better than the Lennon original, IMHO)
• We Are All Made of Stars - Moby - We Are All Made of Stars pt. 1 (I love this song. Always reminds me of the excellent star stuff episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos.
• I Feel Love - Blue Man Group/Venus Hum - The Complex (I actually liked the Donna Summer original, one of the few examples of really good disco. This version kicks it up a notch. And, to restate a theme. . . Molly?)
• Ordinary World - Duran Duran - Duran Duran 2 (The Wedding Album) (a gentle landing from the trip)
• Astradyne - Ultravox - Vienna (one of my very favorite instrumentals of all time, and a traditional album closer for mix CDs of mine)

There are probably hundreds of other combinations of songs that would evoke the cool, grungy, electronic, trippy world of Neuromancer, so let me know what your playlist would be...

Posted by JohnL at September 15, 2005 11:32 PM | TrackBack