It's a Werewolf Bar Mitzvah / Spooky, Scary / Boys Becoming Men / Men Becoming Wolves

So while I started this blog to chronicle my year in the Middle East, my large percentage of introspective time leads to lots of living inside my head.  I day dream and write a lot of weird stuff.  Sometimes this needs an outlet, like a blog, for example.  So if you only want to hear about Jordan and my life here, you can stop reading and wait until the next post.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a love song about zombies (which I've posted along with a few covers and originals at drop.io/tedssongs).  Generally speaking, I like zombies a lot more than werewolves.  I mean, compare Dawn of the Dead  to Teen Wolf.  Filmwise, I don't think it's really even a contest, no matter how great Michael J. Fox is.  The zombie oeuvre is much stronger, spanning genres from comedy (Dance of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland) to horror (Night of the Living Dead, all of Romero's work) and action (28 Days Later [look, I know rage zombies are not traditional zombies, but it's a pretty good movie]).  However, writing the song got me thinking why there aren't more songs about zombies in comparison to the fairly large number of songs about werewolves.  The conclusion I reached is that  becoming a zombie is a pretty simple experience.  First it's fear, then it's hunger.  Specifically for brains.  While running away from zombies for two hours leads to good action and lots of witty repartee, it doesn't necessarily translate well to song.

Becoming a werewolf is a far more complicated issue.  Due to the cyclic nature of werewolfism, the transformation involves fear, hormones, anger, personality changes, guilt, and a loss of control.  It's kind of like being a teenage boy.  This mess of emotions often leads to musical awesomeness.

So without further ado, here are my top five (and one extra) songs about werewolves:

1. TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me" YouTube

"Wolf Like Me" gives the impression that turning into a werewolf is an exhilarating experience that makes you feel alive.  With the pulsing bass drum like a heart beat and the guitar cutting through, the transformation they sing about is one of power and embracing one's wildness.  Key lyrics:

My mind has changed my body's frame 

But god I like it
My heart's aflame, my body's strained 

But god I like it

2. Blitzen Trapper - "Furr" YouTube

I only got into Blitzen Trapper this past year, but I really like a lot of their stuff.  I think this is their best-known song, and it's a more emotional view of becoming a wolf.  Interestingly, they sing about both turning into a wolf and coming back to humanity, a side of the werewolf experience that isn't often explored.  Also there's a great harmonica solo.

For my flesh had turned to fur, yeah
And my thoughts, they surely were, turned to
instinct and obedience to God.

3. Warren Zevon - "Werewolves of London" YouTube

Probably the best-known werewolf song on the market.  Warren Zevon was a weird guy who wrote some pretty amazing songs, and both his awesome howl and sense of humor come through on the track.

If you hear him howling around your kitchen door
Better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again

4. Cat Power - "Werewolf" YouTube

Everything Chan Marshall sings sounds haunting, so when she sings about werewolves in a slow minor key number, it's killer.   She sings about the werewolf's pain, a kind of counterpoint to TV on the Radio's fist pump of a song.  It's a song about resignation, about the return of a known hurt.

Cryin' nobody know, nobody knows my pain
When I see that it's risen; that full moon again

For the werewolf, for the werewolf has sympathy
For the werewolf is somebody like you and me.

5. Five Man Electrical Band - "Werewolf" YouTube

I'm not sure how I came across this Canadian werewolf jam.  But it's awesome, in a ridiculous Canadian '70s rock way.

I know he's my own flesh and blood
But he makes my blood run chilly
Cause I saw him from my window
And he was on the heel
Just screaming at the moonlight

****BONUS****

Tracy Morgan/Jordan - "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" YouTube

This appeared briefly on an episode of 30 Rock, but apparently they recorded a full version, which is hilarious.

Then my teeth turned into fangs and my nails into claws

And I nearly dropped the torah when my hands turned into paws

I growled and I roared and my rabbi did as well

It was a rocking werewolf zoo at Temple Beth Emmanuel

I promise I'll get back to talking about the Middle East and Iraqis soon enough.