even my henchmen think i'm crazy

I've been thinking about dedicating some posts to cool (and legal) music I've discovered through my roaming the net, so here goes.

A few months back I discovered a song by Jonathan Coulton that has become my own little summer hit. The title of the track is "Skullcrusher Mountain," and it features a lovely, upbeat melody and Coulton's smooth, rich vocals. Coulton sings in an alt-country vein--somewhat like a less depressed Richard Buckner--and when the chorus hits, the music swells and his voice climbs the scale in a dramatic and moving wail. The melody is so catchy that you won't be able to stop humming it. I loved the track at first listen, but it wasn't until the second or third time I played it that I began to pay attention to the lyrics. At the end of the chorus, Coulton croons,

"If you could find some way to be
A little bit less afraid of me
You’d see the voices that control me from inside my head
Say I shouldn’t kill you yet."

And the way Coulton intones "I shouldn't kill you yet," you might, if you're not paying attention, easily assume he's uttering something along the lines of "And she doesn't love me yet."

Soon you realize that the song is sung from the point of view of a mad scientist whose victim is being held at Skullcrusher Mountain against her will. He tries to win her love by giving her disturbing gifts ("What's with all the screaming?"), and with chilling calm he notes that "this mountain is covered with wolves / Hear them howling, my hungry children / Maybe you should stay and have another drink and think about me and you."

It's a love song for the ages! And it's a fiercely infectious tune that, unlike all those other tunes that creep into your head and won't leave, makes for fine mental company while you are fixing a blank stare at the boss/student/coworker who hasn't noticed your glassy, unfocused eyes. Give it a hear; you can download it here. Let me know what you think.

(The above link should allow you to download the song directly, but Coulton asks bloggers to direct traffic to his site, as well. So go here to read his blog and learn more about his recordings.)