AT NIGHT, I AM THE NIGHT: THE GRISLY MASHUP BETWEEN JAZZPUNK & HORROR IN THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR JOY ON FIRE'S "IN SPEAKING LIKE THUNDER"

Behold the music video for “In Speaking Like Thunder.” It completely eradicates the distance between Jazzpunk and Horror, leaving us stranded in a world that crosses rural sectarianism with discordant Middle Ages topographies. With music by Joy on Fire, lyrics and vocals by your humble blogger, and video by Daphne Bacon and Cody Snyder, “In Speaking Like Thunder” will have you reaching for a talisman and a baggie of shrooms alike.

The main character and his fellow townsfolk attempt to confront a series of omens in the form of moonlit disturbances, grisly discoveries in the woods, puzzling iconography, and dizzying isolations. A proliferation of period weapons — scythe, axe, pitchfork — accompany the period garb of a transcendent era. Viewers will hardly doubt the extensive lubrication proffered by meads, wines, and grogs; surely, there must be some greenery in that phat pipe!

After a torch-wielding posse melts away, the main character confronts a bipedal forest beast who has fostered all the mayhem. The man bows down before the beast. He embraces the beast. The two even dance together. Then, the clouds part and the full moon confers some sobriety on what will surely be a gruesome conclusion. The lines “At night / I am the night” may apply to the powerful beast, or they may apply broadly to the moon-force, or the presence that speaks “like thunder.”

The music veers between an up-register drone and crunching narrative; between free jazz outrage and gnawing synthesis. Indeed, all these sounds congeal at once as the instruments stretch toward the denouement of the final, mad dance. As for the lyrics, this is the second time I wrote a song in French, before bringing it over to English. (Also see “Unknown City.”) My French is hardly perfect, but in the translation, cometh the jaggedness.

The lyrics in both languages follow below. May they inspire new thoughts and images. May you play the song loud, pour yourself something mildly intoxicating, and jump around in the usual manner. Oi.


       In Speaking Like Thunder

       In speaking
       The thunder
       In speaking
       Like thunder
       In speaking
       The thunder
       In speaking
       Like thunder

       My word
       As crazy as
       My word
       As crazy as the mouth
       My word as crazy as
       The mouth of God
       My word as crazy as
       The Mouth of God

       At night
       I am the night
       At night
       I am the night
       At night
       I am the night
       At night
       I am the night

       At night
       In speaking
       I am the night
       Like thunder
       At night
       In speaking
       I am the night
       Like thunder


       En Parlant Comme le Tonnere

       En parlant
       Le tonnere
       En parlant
       Comme le tonnere
       En parlant
       Le tonnere
       En parlant
       Comme le tonnere

       Ma parole
       Aussi fou que
       Ma parole
       Aussi fou que la bouche
       Ma parole aussi fou que 
       La bouche de dieu
       Ma parole aussi fou que
       La bouche de dieu

       A nuit
       Je suis la nuit
       A nuit
       Je suis la nuit
       A nuit
       Je suis la nuit
       A nuit
       Je suis la nuit

       A nuit
       En parlant
       Je suis la nuit
       Comme le tonnere
       A nuit
       En parlant
       Je suis la nuit
       Comme le tonnere