Fire
The idea of fire in regards to human civilization is as ubiquitous and important as life itself. The ability to use, control, and create fire back in the days of homo erectus became so imperative that human beings evolved into the only species that could nutritionally thrive on cooked meat. While it took some time for humans to be able to harness the power of fire for themselves, most likely obtaining it at first from forest fires and wildfires begun by struck lightning, mythology is rife with stories of gods that either controlled, blessed, provided, or used fire as part of their power and allure. The most well-known, at least in the Western World, is that of Greek titan Prometheus, who famously gave the human race the gift of fire, and was rewarded by an angry Zeus for eternity as an eagle ate his liver while he was helplessly chained to a rock.
But the symbolism of fire is rampant in storytelling and songwriting, as shown by this week’s mixtape. Fire has come to represent many things: the Christians, the Chinese and Hebrews viewed fire as a symbol of divinity; it can represent creation, destruction, and transformation interchangeably; it can stand in for passion, for danger, for unchecked power; it is the destruction of cities and civilizations, yet is the rebirth of mythical birds in both ancient times and the J.K. Rowling Wizarding World.
The use of fire in song is by no means completely documented in this mix, as, without much effort, I was able to select over twice as many as necessary tracks, which, truth be told, may have even been more representative of the theme than some which ended up making the final cut. Part of the allure of any art project is what is left out as much as what is used, leading to a discussion among scholars and fans that is as if not more important than the art itself. I initially began with The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Fire,” The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” and The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno,” only one of which, as you will see, actually made the final cut. Reasons for this may be interesting, or may just be the result of a caffeine-addled brain at some ungodly hour. Discussion, gratitude, or condemnation of such choices is always encouraged in the comment section. Because criticism and appreciation isn’t just the participatory act of listening, it’s also the relaying of thought and feeling, the two-way street known as communication. So pass the fire back to me and complete the ritual.
Ladies and gentleman, geeks and nerds, audiophiles and music aficionados, allow me to present the first in what I hope is many Surviving Life mixtapes for Geekscape. (Technically, this isn’t the first, but it’s the first since 2013, so let’s set that last attempt on fire and start fresh, like a forest floor that has been singed only to allow new seeds to flourish.) This mixtape is literally fire.
Listen to the mix in order as you read about all of these hot hot tracks, via Mixcloud embed:
SIDE A
1. OHIO PLAYERS “FIRE” (1974)
We open with a universal alarm, a siren, calling attention that what’s about to happen is hot. The simple monosyllabic title conjures mental images of heat and flame, as well as the firefighter hat-wearing model from the album cover. The song itself was the first number one single for this group from Dayton, Ohio. If it also alludes to the vibes of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music,” it is because this track was the catalyst for that funk tune. The Ohio Players mostly had funky nicknames like “Rock,” “Diamond,” “Sugarfoot,” “Pee Wee,” “Satch,” and then there’s piano and keyboard specialist “Billy,” The song has been used by Toyota in commercials and also by DJs every time a fire breaks out at a wedding or prom. This felt like the right place to start as the groove is as funky as the song’s subject is hot: this track is a four-alarm, child.
2. EARTH, WIND & FIRE “SERPENTINE FIRE” (1977)
While both the band and this track mention fire, the song itself is a great second entry and, as was pointed out by The Guardian, “runs on pure adrenaline.” This song was noted as the 307th best single of all-time back in 1989, and is somewhat buried by the success of “Shining Star,” “Let’s Groove,” and “September,” but I’m kinda hoping it makes it’s way back into public consciousness. Your neck will inadvertently let you know, this song is a bop.
3. THE POINTER SISTERS “FIRE” (1978)
Again, fire. Simple. This time it is about kisses which seem to ignite sparks. Growing up in a very religious household where the sisters would listen to and sing gospel music, it is a jump into the secular that brought success to these West Oakland siblings. This song even has the biblical allusion to Samson & Delilah. There is no urgency to put this fire out. It seems controlled and welcomed like heat in the dead of winter.
4. ALICIA KEYS “GIRL ON FIRE” (2012)
“This girl is on fii-yahh” Is she a witch? Is she a phoenix? Is she completing a shooting streak on NBA Jam? Whatever she’s doing, the world is taking notice. This girl is simultaneously on and walking on fire. She is encapsulating all the positives of fire that could be used as metaphor in song. This is just unbridled positivity. Motivation music. (And those drums, which are a big part of the allure, are an interpolation of “The Big Beat” by Billy Squier, so check that out as well.)
5. BLOODHOUND GANG “FIRE WATER BURN” (1996)
Yes, the chorus is lyrically taken from a song which will be discussed later, but the verses are parody and satire the likes of which have never been equalled in song since the release of this album “One Fierce Beer Coaster” (a joke about the value of physical music that NOFX also used for their album “Coaster”). Jimmy Pop Ali raps with what is perceived as little-to-no enthusiasm using stereotypical hip-hop hype phrases like “c’mon party people throw your hands in the air” that sound almost Ben Stein-esque in nature. Whether this is a commentary on the white-washing of hip-hop, the commercial watering-down of lyricism in early nineties rap, or simply just a trope this Trappe, Pennsylvania native found chuckle-worthy, it is a timeless piece of alternative music history and therefore, found its home on this week’s mix.
6. THIRD EYE BLIND “BURNING MAN” (1997)
“’Burning Man’ is the single best sounding recording I’ve ever made. We did it on old broadcast Neve consoles and basically tracked and mixed it in one session. It’s still the loudest, most present, freshest damn thing. That’s what it sounds like being in the room.” – Stephan Jenkins
What else can I say about this song that isn’t said by the man himself? This is fire as rebirth. Let this one open you up like a burning pinecone and cleanse you of imperfection. “First we caffeinate, then incinerate.” If you weren’t awake before, you are now.
7. TALKING HEADS “BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE” (1983)
Credit for this song partially goes to Parliament Funkadelic, who, during live jams, would often yell, “Burn down the house!” Chris Frantz, drummer, liked the audience chant so much that they used it on a song Talking Heads built out of their own jam. Again, they seem to not want water, or any stopping agent. The fire here is engulfing, but welcomed.
8. FRANZ FERDINAND “THIS FIRE” (2004)
Glasgow-based band Franz Ferdinand, not to be confused with assassinated Austria-Hungary heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand (not that you fucking would confuse them, but I spent thousands on a political science degree I’m not using so let me name-drop World War I catalytic figures when I get the chance), started in art school and took over the world for a brief period in the early aughts. With influences as diverse as The Fall, David Bowie, and Talking Heads, the band could have been an elitist group for music snobs, but instead sold millions of albums in the dawn of the Napster-era, the decline of music civilization. This fire was out of control and makes you want to dance like the floor is lava and you’re wearing booties your grandma knit for you.
9. MIDNIGHT OIL “ BEDS ARE BURNING” (1988)
One of the biggest hits to come out of Australia, this track about Aboriginal land rights became an international hit somewhat due to the fact that the band almost refused to be in their own country during their 1988 Bicentennial celebration as somewhat of a protest against how their government was treating the indigenous people who had been present on the lands since before time began. The song itself infectious in groove and as expansive as the landscape it describes, but also poignant and empathetic lyrically as a life spent in activism. Don’t just listen to this one, be affected.
10. BILLY JOEL “WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE” (1989)
Joel himself has claimed the melody for this one is like “a dentist drill.” You either love of loathe this one. Personally, I made it a point to memorize this list of headline events turned into song, but that’s because I was an only child with very few friends and thought I would somehow impress people by accomplishing this. (I also memorized “B.O.B.” by Outkast and R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” so if you ever want a memorable karaoke night, I’m accepting invites.) The song itself was born of a conversation Joel had just after turning 40. Someone claimed it was a “terrible time to be a 21-year-old,” and Joel thought back to the problems that were happening when he was that age, then just started listing things from the time of his birth until present. Many parodies have been written trying to update the song, but the coke-fueled speed, synthetic keyboard percussiveness, pretentious eighties “woke” culture, and list of societal Boomer events make this song an island entity in the tiny sub-genre of list songs.
11. THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE “FIRE” (1967)
At the height of the psychedelic sixties, there was a shooting star whose flame burned brighter than the midnight lamp and exploded by the dawn of the seventies. James Marshall Hendrix, a left-handed enigma who often would set his instrument ablaze (see: “Jimi Plays Monterey” by D.A. Pennebaker), left no stone unturned, not even the third one from the sun. This song includes the line “Move over Rover, and let Jimi take over,” which sounds like the walking-embodiment of a cheese log, but that afro-clad genius makes it feel like silk. That’s the thing about talent and confidence, they give you the freedom and the power to make even the most pungent stank desirable. I wanted to include the Crucial Taunt version from “Wayne’s World” just because this is Geekscape, and who wouldn’t get a kick out of that, but it was their only song from the movie not included on the soundtrack, so… we’re stuck with Jimi Fucking Hendrix. At least it isn’t the Chili Peppers.
12. ROCK MASTER SCOTT & THE DYNAMIC THREE “THE ROOF IS ON FIRE” (1984)
What else do you need? This is the chant used by Bloodhound Gang, Rancid, and Quad City DJs alike. I played this song on a rooftop on New Year’s Eve 2019 just before the ball dropped and it was cold, but no one felt it for the few minutes this track played. That could have been the copious amounts of alcohol imbibed by the patrons, but I like to think it was my perfect song selection which led into “Dance Monkey” as the first song of 2020. But I digress. You’ve said this chorus a million times, but this was the spark. The legacy speaks for itself.
SIDE B
1. JOHNNY CASH “RING OF FIRE” (1963)
Love as eternal damnation. Sometimes the taste of love is sweet, but other times it’s smoke and whiskey and burning. This classic from the man in black (originally written by future wife June Carter) takes heartache, adds some mariachi horns and biblical hellfire, and likens romantic loss to Dante Alighieri’s vision of the bad place. It itself is transformative and has been covered by many, not least of whom, Madonna, who should probably leave well enough alone at this point (see: bathtub diary quarantine video and elective plastic surgery on her face).
2. KINGS OF LEON “SEX ON FIRE” (2008)
Yes, this was the turning point in these three brothers and one cousin from Tennessee’s career. They went from disheveled, indie-darling garage rockers, to disheveled mainstream arena-filing rockers in one “yooooooouuuuuu,” but the universal metaphor of love (here disguised as sex) as fire, resonated with late-2000s audiences much like it did for Johnny Cash decades earlier, ushering, probably not directly or possibly related at all, an era of fire emojis which filled text messages and Snapchat filters. The lyrics, interestingly enough, were originally supposed to be “set us on fire,” but a sound engineer misheard the chorus and commented, and so the band tried it out, also trying the variations socks on fire, snatch on fire, and cocks on fire, but ultimately settled for the misheard “Sex on Fire.” We’re still burning, there’s plenty of wood, and we’re gonna keep this party going.
3. BIFFY CLYRO “WHO’S GOT A MATCH?” (2007)
More relatives, this time a set of twins (James and Ben Johnston) on the rhythm section, led by songwriter Simon Neil, enter in with their heated track claiming multiple times, “I’m a fire and I’ll burn, burn, burn tonight!” What more do you need? The wordplay (“Which of the witches do you belong?”), the riffage, the way the song sparks like an ember and then quickly engulfs and entire field of audience members… it rages out of control like a panic attack directed through anger at a significant other without warning. Off their 2007 album “Puzzle” (their first in a trilogy of records produced by Garth Richardson), the Biff is huge in Europe and borderline unknown in the United States. They go from headlining the world’s biggest festivals to playing some of the smallest venues this side of the pond. A fucking sin if you ask me, but hopefully now you can answer the question “Who the fuck is Biffy Clyro?” (a question posed on their promotional material for this album) and will take some time to dig a bit deeper into their catalogue if you aren’t already initiated into the cult. ‘Mon the fuckin’ Biff!
4. BIG BLACK “KEROSENE” (1986)
Started in 1980s Chicago, Big Black was fronted by now-legendary producer Steve Albini (responsible for seminal records by Nirvana, Bush, Breeders, Jesus Lizard and more) and had the industrial pulse of a city put to music. The lyrics here about burning down a town that has been the harbinger of boredom and monotony, the guitar harmonics sparking a fire that is cleansing the overgrowth of mediocrity and bringing about the blossoming of the underground, taking root here in the mid-to-late-eighties and finally sprouting in the nineties amongst the ashes of hair metal and over-indulgent pop production.
5. ALKALINE TRIO “MAYBE I’LL CATCH FIRE” (2000)
More Chicagoans here with Matt Skiba’s fronted Alkaline Trio, off their last album on the Asian Man Records label. The intrinsic nature of the lyrics make one long for a warm blanket, like Skiba is using the fire for here in a house that feels cold and empty, and a person who feels like they wear a mask and only pretend to be nice to get what they want. This song really speaks for itself.
6. IRON MAIDEN “QUEST FOR FIRE” (1983)
Based on the 1981 animated French film of the same name featuring Ron Perlman, this is sometimes considered Maiden’s worst song based on the cheesiness of the lyrics (rumor has it Bruce Dickinson found the lyrics so funny, he kept laughing during the recording), but it’s still Maiden, which is still better than most of what is categorized as heavy metal. What isn’t debatable is the genius of iconic mascot Eddie, the rotting corpse who joins Maiden on stage and album covers. For a more succinct look at Maiden’s history, check out NOFX’s song “Eddie, Bruce & Paul” off their album Coaster. (Clearly, I like NOFX’s album Coaster…)
7. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE “SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE” (1999)
The fact that this was featured in the film Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle is not even enough to blemish this fiery masterpiece of anger. The lyrics come across like an understandably angered Cliff’s Notes reading of Howard Zinn’s “The People’s History of the United States” (which makes sense considering Tom Morello is a Harvard grad with a political science degree). Rage’s absence a few years after this album’s release was a true loss for conscious debate against blind nationalism in an America that fell hard for red, white, and blue fear-based patriotism following September 11th. But the fire is more about Wall Street greed and political gains through slavery in this song, a fire of a thousand suns engulfing encapsulated in a piercing guitar solo made through feedback, a whammy bar, and a toggle switch.
8. THE PRODIGY “FIRESTARTER” (1996)
Less a song and, as Liam Howlett claimed, “It’s more like… an energy!” “Firestarter” was the crossover success Prodigy had been clamoring for. A brutal, color-drained music video featuring a manically energized vocalist Keith Flint shaking his head amongst the sewers sporting a generously-applied smokey eye, double-finned mohawk and an American flag sweater, one could not be but blown over by a shouting accent and blistering Breeders sample (“S.O.S.” from the album Last Splash). This was not a spark to ignite, but a dragon’s roar accompanied by the squeal of a village lain to waste.
9. INCUBUS “PARDON ME” (2000)
After finding out his long-term girlfriend had been unfaithful and a few close friends had died, Brandon Boyd connected his feelings with the idea of spontaneous combustion, something he’d recently seen on a documentary. The lyrics “Pardon me while I burst into flames” was immediately written on his hands when he made the connection. The guitar solo is replaced by DJ Kilmore’s scratching and adds fury to an already fast-paced and manically-confused aura. These flames had no spark, no cause… possibly the most dangerous fire of all, although many Victorian writers linked spontaneous human combustion with alcoholism.
10. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN “I’M ON FIRE” (1984)
If any song were to sum up the pause in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s “antici-pation,” it would be this classic off “Born in the U.S.A.” Featuring an iconic cover shot by famed-photog Annie Leibovitz and a track-listing that runs down like a greatest hits collection, this song is oft-overlooked, but should never be skipped. A pure two minutes and forty-two seconds of genuine lovesickness, this track ends too quickly, but at least we get through it alive, before the fire goes out.
11. THE ROLLING STONES “PLAY WITH FIRE” (1965)
Admittedly, I’m not the world’s biggest Stones fan, not because I dislike the music, I just always pick the Beatles over the Stones, even though there isn’t necessarily a reason to choose one over the other other than media hype and my own made-up rivalry, especially in this day and age. Therefore, I’d not heard this song until Wes Anderson shoved it down my throat in “The Darjeeling Limited”, and even then, I wasn’t sure of its origins. When I came to do this mix, it seemed more important to include this track than “Smoke on the Water” or “Light My Fire” and so here it is. For no other reason than it felt right. Something hypnotic about the melody feels like being charmed back into a recoiled version of myself in a wicker basket and for some reason that’s calming. Let’s poke the embers and slowly burn out as the fire mix dies down.
https://youtu.be/y3iGZcQBkYs
12. THE DIRTY HEADS “BURN BY MYSELF” (2012)
A song about smoking the devil’s lettuce by oneself and wanting someone to join in. Nothing cerebral or high brow, just chilling. The desire for friends with similar interests and a shared state of mind is one that can be relatable to any and all, regardless of interests, substance use preference, location, or age. We just want to be understood and what better way to do that than to gather and share an experience? There may not be one.
13. BEN HARPER “BURN ONE DOWN” (1995)
Basically James Taylor-meets-Bob Marley, this is simply Ben vocalizing his pro-marijuana stance and claiming, “If you don’t like my fire, don’t come around,” which is basically how most smokers feel. “I’m gonna smoke, either join me, or just go somewhere else, because I’m not hurting anyone.” Hard logic to argue with, even if you’re an over-caffeinated advocate of sobriety. I realize I just back-to-backed the weed songs, and being so close to April 20, 2020, a date (okay, entire month) most smokers have been waiting for since the invention of the meme, I figured what better way to wind down an intense fiery mix of tunes than these last two?
Thanks for checking out this week’s mixtape! Be sure to let me know what songs you did and didn’t like, and which we may have missed in the comments section. See you next week when the theme is cannablism: the eating of human flesh.