Today in DJMC, we’re joined by Mr. Colin Bell! Colin is a good friend of mine whose writings you may know from Comic Booked, It’s Bloggerin’ Time! or Newsarama, or perhaps the phenomenal Jonbot vs Martha. You may even know his work as a fine and upstanding gentleman letterer, to which he is.
But it sounds like I’m setting up his dating profile here when I’m really setting up his post for this week’s DJMC, wherein Colin offers you up the soundtrack for this nifty cool webcomic he co-writes with some other handsome fine gentleman entitled Detective Space Cat! So, read on:
Hi! I’m Colin Bell, comic writer, dream-weaver, and one-third of Team Detective Space Cat – a sci-feline mwoir mystery webcomic that’s just rounded off its first year on the internet. When I was asked to contribute a DJMC mixtape based around the comic, I rigourously Spotifyed the words “space” “cat” and “detective”, and now I’m happy to share the results! Enjoy!
INTRODUCTION: “Care” – Kaada
The first page of Detective Space Cat is a long, languid zoom from outer space all the way to the dive bar that our hero finds himself propped up in. Kaada’s off-kilter “Care”, with it’s mish-mash of olde timey samples always put me in mind of radio waves beamed into space, long since broadcast from Earth, colliding and mucking each other up. Hence, perfect for this.
TITLE SEQUENCE: “Wildcat” – Ratatat
If Detective Space Cat had a title sequence, this song from Ratatat would be a shoe-in to accompany it, mainly due to the frequent cat growls through it. But then if we DID have a title sequence, I’d presume we must be on television in some form, and in which case where would I find the time and/or inclination to write articles like this? These are the sacrifices a comic writer must make.
“We Are Detective” – Thompson Twins
This could also function as a theme tune, but it only works if you quickly sing the words “space cat!” after the Thompson Twins sing “we are Deteeeective” and also change the “we are” to “I am.” Frankly it might be more hassle than it’s worth.
“Saturday Night On Saturn” – Les Baxter
A little bit kitsch, a little bit noir, orchestral, space-themed. SLAM DUNK.
“Anonymous Face” – Quix*o*tic
The lyrics: “you, you don’t know me”. The bassline: perfect for slooping about in the shadows, tailing suspects. The effect: Detective-y. Fun fact: Quix*o*tic are the second best asterix-using band after Welsh indie-punksters Mo*ho*Bish*o*pi.
FIGHT!: “Spinning and Scratching” – Love is All
Continued belowThe soundtrack to Space’s nightclub dust-up with the ill-fated, should’ve-had-his-own-comic Condorlando. This song perfectly epitomises Space’s fighting style – fast, scratchy, and peppered with incoherent Swedish yelping.
ART-JAM: “Notre Prof d’Anglais” – Chantal Kelly
When Space was forcibly injected with a halloucenegenic drug and went off on a wacky trip masquerading as the greatest art jam of all time, it suggested this litte French Ye-Ye number up due to a chorus of “la, la la la laaaa” that sounds much like what I imagine the soundtrack to insanity to be. Forget the lyrical content (the heartwarming tale of a young girl being taught English) and focus on the rollicking brass riff, battered guitar and double-time drums of the last minute and you’re on your way.
“Space Guitar” – Johnny “Guitar” Watson
Self explanatory.
“Gun”- CHVRCHES
The problem with soundtracking anything set in space, or the future, is that give it a few years and any song you picked will sound dated as funk. Don’t believe me? Check out the Prom scene in Starship Troopers, or the nightclub scene in Robocop, or apparently any scene from any Paul Verhoeven film. Don’t tell me Showgirls wasn’t set on the moon!
Anyway, the thing with CHVRCHES is that for me, right now, their music sounds like THE FUTURE INCARNATE which is why I’ve no problem including it – to be honest I would’ve quite happily fashioned a reason for any of their songs to be included, but “Gun” with it’s repeated outro of “it’s you I’ll come for” really nails the dogged (catt-ed?) determination of Space as he heads towards the end of cracking his case.
“Drunk on the Moon” – Tom Waits
Every hardworn detective needs some bluesy, morose downtime. This one comes from Tom Waits, the patronsaint of boozehounds. Or boozecats. Plus, it’s set on the moon, so you know it’s a winner.
“End Titles (from Blade Runner)” – Vangelis
Co-writer Matt really pushed for the Love Theme from Blade Runner for this slot. But then he’s not writing this, is he?
“Waiting For A Star To Fall” – Boy Meets Girl
From the very first page of Detective Space Cat I’ve always said to the team that this should be the soundtrack the closing credits of our first case, ideally playing over a freeze-frame of a joyous Space in the midst of a celebratory punch-the-air jump. Feel good times. Sadly the closer we get to the end of writing it, the bigger the downer I think the end of this case might be, making this song tonally WHOLLY INNAPPROPRIATE, but at the same time with its mentions of stars TENUOUSLY TOTALLY APPROPRIATE. Picking songs is hard, you guys.
Continued belowThat’s it for this edition of DJMC. If you like what you hear or don’t, chime in in the comment section to let us know what you think of the mix and/or the column. You can also stream the whole thing right here:
