Killer Song!

Joseph Harvey: It was good enough for Johnny Cash to cover

• SamRobertsND +1 — Peter: "The lyrics tell a compelling story with pathos. The rhythm is very interesting. The transition to the chorus is smooth. Fits the category really well." I've loved this song for a while. It's such a strange circumstance; makes you think about how your life can be ruined in an instant. Very well done, Joseph.
• fionmul +1 — at first i thought the person killed their brother. i love the storytelling of this song and the ending smacking of Christian Hope the best to ever do it, absolute legend, whoever submitted this has brilliant taste 💯
• Claire +1 — I was struck by the way this song gets into the interior life of the killer himself. Also of course “these are difficult times.” I feel like it isn’t just a gimmick though, it adds to the melancholy and (dare I say) psychological disjointedness that the song is trying to capture. Love the instrumentation too. Gordon gets my vote
• Regina Scime +1 — Iconic
• Sam Ary +1
• judd.baker 0 — Truly stacked round, almost voted for this but I liked a few other songs more. But this is excellent. Props for the inclusion of an unintentional homicide in this round
• Edward James 0 — I love this song and this version has an absolutely killer saxophone part, but others just beat it for me.

Edward James: I humbly request you listen closely. One of the greatest murder mysteries ever written, and want to hear peoples’ conclusions

• judd.baker +1 — It almost feels too predictable to upvote this but I cannot resist. This is a work of art. Bob Dylan is a master of the 8 minute epic, and that’s a style that is especially well suited to songs about taking life.
• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Sam Ary +1
• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "I liked it as a song. I would say it's good, not great. It does involve people dying, but that's just one of many elements. I like the withheld elements." Cool song, I hadn't heard of it before. So Rosemary kills Big Jim out of jealousy? Who got shot? I'm assuming that the Jack of Hearts is the other gang member who is helping to keep things lively at the cabaret so that his partners can steal the money (Big Jim must've seen his face on a wanted poster). A good submission.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Can I get the tiniest hint of variation over eight minutes please
• fionmul 0 — this was really good. ofc.
• Claire 0 — I definitely don’t have a strong take on whodunit but my one take is that the line saying the Jack of hearts is an actor is probably more significant than I realize. Great song. I don’t however have enough votes for every great song on this list.

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Gorgeous. Rare Sammy + Joseph musical solidarity moment
• fionmul +1 — 10/10, hope this wins, begrudgingly
• Regina Scime +1 — I have to vote for Ray Charles
• Sam Ary +1
• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "Good song, not my favorite. The action of the killing is secondary to the romance. I wish there was something from the killer's perspective." Incredible production, dripping with flair. Ray and Willie is a wild combination. This would be an informed Cowboy Summer submission for Songs Sammy Would Love. However, I'm not sure I like it enough to take a vote from my other favorites on here. I'd disagree with Peter that the identity of the killers is a critical component of the song. Sometimes an enigmatic killing force works very well. as I think it does here. But I like other songs better.
• Edward James 0 — Banger, and the Ray Charles collab is amazing. But just got beaten by others for the theme, imo.
• Claire -1 — This just felt kinda corny to me and didn’t quite hit, sorry

• SamRobertsND +1 — Peter: "I don't normally like that musical style but this was done really well, I liked it. It fits the theme well, told from the killer's perspective and yet there's real pathos there still. It almost feels like the killer believes his own excuses." I love the Killers' sound, how could a Hillsdale alumnus not. I agree with everything Peter said, and the fact that it was based on a real murder makes it all the more poignant.
• shea nowicki +1
• Edward James +1 — This is one of my favorite songs ever. That driving bass line is heavenly. The five song stretch from this song to “All These Things That I’ve Done” (and on their debut album nonetheless) is one of the greatest five song stretches in music history. Which makes it all the more astounding that I never knew it was about a murder mystery. Perfect submission, well done.
• fionmul 0 — memorable, but if this was claire i love you forever

Sam Ary: Lyrics got this man locked up for life

• SamRobertsND +1 — Peter: "Good song. Definitely about murder. That it was based on a real story adds some pathos. I don't usually like this style and I liked this." Glad to see the hip hop representation, we need more of it. This one stole a vote! Doesn't get more authentic than the murderer himself singing. YNW Clan will persevere without Melly.
• ared56 +1
• Edward James +1 — This represents something we would be missing if it was not present in this round. Just like Stackerlee is “folk” music in the sense it portrays day-to-day situations of real people in contemporary language, this is the same for the modern time. Great choice and read.
• judd.baker 0 — This very nearly got my vote. Good read. Just not as much of a vibe
• fionmul 0 — type of music i listened to as a junior in high school, unfortunately. in some ways the realest of the submissions, but this contained cuss words that make me cringe
• Claire 0 — Unquestionably a killing song content wise. Artistically/musically, though, I didn’t enjoy it as much as others on this list
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Uh no

judd.baker: The Decemberists were made for this round

• ared56 +1
• shea nowicki +1
• Edward James +1 — I really loved this, just about gratuitous violence without any background context. Really imbues the vibe of the theme imo. The “culling” terminology makes it very mysterious. Love it.
• Claire +1 — Like this take on the theme a lot, and I feel like the instrumentation really adds to the eerie/ironic vibe of the song. I didn’t have a single criterion for judging this round but I think the ones that I voted for all struck me as doing something particularly artistically interesting (in addition to being about killing of course)
• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "Good instrumentals, catchy. Not really sure what it is about." I liked it on a basic level but got distracted in a way that I didn't listening to other contenders on here. Lyrics too ambiguous/figurative for me to compete with the more literal competitors on here.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Cool
• fionmul -1 — this was lyrically disturbing (albeit on theme) and i just in general didn’t like it
• Regina Scime -1 — Are you okay

shea nowicki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

• judd.baker +1 — Hard song to listen to. But it absolutely deserves a vote.
• Joseph Harvey +1 — Absolute masterpiece. The closing line is haunting
• Claire +1 — Would deserve an upvote based purely on the song’s merits. Sufjan in his troubadour element, somehow telling a gruesome and devastating story with compelling beauty. But that aside, I think I’d upvote anyway purely on principle as a way of taking a stand after last league’s Sufjan hate
• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "Musically good, definitely about killing someone." An utterly amazing song. As I said in chat, I had this in mind for a Flannery O'Connor round. Monster as mirror. Gut wrenching and convicting. It devastates me every time I listen to it.
• fionmul 0 — i liked this. not to be the stereotype of myself, but i would love Lizzy to cover it
• Edward James 0 — Bold move to write a song like this, have to respect it. But for the round, I am partial to songs actually about killing.
• ared56 -1

SamRobertsND: Anonymous inmate recorded in 1947-48.

• judd.baker +1 — Moving. Excellent
• Regina Scime +1
• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "Very haunting and raw, unpolished. I like it." I love that it's an anonymous inmate. Wrongfully imprisoned man? Petty criminal? Hardened murderer? We'll never know. The reverberation of the jail and the background noises of inmates adds a lot.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Haunting
• fionmul 0 — i thought this was a great song, just not enough votes!
• Edward James 0 — I’ve heard a lot of versions of this song, and this is one of the best for sure. If you don’t know, Alan Lomax traveled the country for years finding folk and blues artists and recording them. Probably one of the greatest contributions to popularizing American music, as it led directly to the folk/blues revival in the 60s which influence mainstream music till today. It nearly misses my vote only because I’m well familiar with it, and I feel like others deserve more recognition for an interesting read of the theme.
• Claire 0 — Really cool. If I had another vote to give to it I could.

fionmul: top tier taking-of-life bop

• SamRobertsND 0 — Peter: "A great song about an angry young man shooting people. But I cannot dissociate with the 2006 Ventura County Fair piglet races, for which it was used as a pump-up song." A masterpiece of production. It's ubiquitous use is well deserved but has also perhaps contributed to the softening of it. I think of it in the same category as Beat It, more of a sports pump up number than a murder song.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Amazing song but poor fit for this round. The murder is almost incidental to the song
• fionmul 0 — i wish i had submitted cranes of potter 😭
• Edward James 0 — This doesn’t fit the theme vibe for me, even though it is technically correct
• Claire 0 — Listening to this song in this particular context, it was kind of giving “song playing over a movie montage of violence/killing, giving the scene a somewhat ironic tone”. As the song went on though I felt like it lost the energy and the fun and kinda dragged. It’s a true classic but just didn’t strike me enough to get a vote in this difficult round

Regina Scime: Agnus Dei

• Joseph Harvey +1 — Sounds like it could be a pure pop Sleep Token cut off of This Place Will Become Your Tomb! I like the implication that this song is about murder
• fionmul +1 — i can’t wait to live to this asap
• Claire 0 — Badlands was such an iconic era. This is a banger. But I was getting more girlboss rather than killing vibes
• SamRobertsND -1 — Peter: "Is this song about killing someone? Enjoyable song, fun beat, but it's not clear enough for me. I would ding it for use of liturgical Latin without proper context." I really like this song musically. I'd definitely listen to it night driving, I'm a sucker for these electronic beats. But the lyrics aren't clear or trenchant enough for me.
• judd.baker -1 — I really enjoyed this, more than I thought I would, but the taking of life connection is more tenuous than a lot of others on this playlist
• shea nowicki -1 — Love this song... not sure I see an explicit murder theme. Gotta think about it more
• Edward James -1 — Not about killing???
• Sam Ary -1