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Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Tale Tell Heart Musical


            Throughout the semester, one of my favorite short stories has remained to be “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. I find this short story deliciously sinister and entertaining. The songs that I will choose for different scenes in the song will represent the uncanny theme in varying themes of this short story. 

            The first song that I will choose will be “Creepy Jackalope Eye” by Steve Earle. The lyrics are, “I’m staring you down, Creepy jackalope eye.” The reason that I choose this song was obvious due to the fact that the old man had an eye that was described as, “the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it” (Poe).  The narrator is so disturbed by this eye that he walks in the room nightly, shining a light at the eye. Eventually, the narrator suffocates this man with a pillow because the eye haunts him. After searching the Internet, Wikipedia informed me that a jackalope is a mythical creature that is a creepy combination of a jackrabbit and an antelope. Both the vulture and jackalope eyes are ones that embody creepiness and haunt those that may see it.

            I have chosen the song “The Stalker” by Piebald for the part when the narrator is peeking through the door, staring at the eye. The line in the song that reminds me of this part states, “Ill be around every corner you go, and don’t you look surprised!” This music would make this scene seem very creepy, stressing the idea that the narrator is ‘stalking’ his prey.  The lyrics fit perfectly because the narrator actually is stalking around every corner since he is the primary caregiver for the old man.

            The third song that I have chosen is “Heartbeat” by Red 7.  The lyrics go, “I can hear your heartbeat, knocking on the window, I can feel the weight deep down below. I can hear whispers, coming from the shadows; touch me like hot ten on my soul. I can hear your tip toe, I can hear the door close, anticipation in me grows.” These lyrics remind me of the part of the story when he is speaking with the law officials and he is sure that they can hear the heartbeat. His anticipation continues to grow and grow until finally he cannot take it anymore! He tells the police men of the deed he has done and pulls up the floorboards. Towards the end of the story he states, “Tear up the planks! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” I believe that this song matches the emotion of the scene and provides for very fitting lyrics to go along with what is happening.

            The fourth song that I would choose is “Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel. I would place this song at the very beginning of the story because it would really set a very creepy tone for the entire story. And I believe that the lyrics, “Hello darkness my old friend, I have come to talk with you again,” portray this characters mindset well. He is a very dark and disturbed man that often ‘talks’ with darkness

            The final song that I will choose “Creepy Halloween Instrumental” by Maurice Spears that is used in the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas. The reason I choose to use this song was because it is very intense and brings about a sense of dread in the listener. I believe it would make the part where he is standing at the door peering at the eye and waiting to attack much scarier and bring anticipation in the viewer.



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