Dr Who music tribute cd

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by OmahaStar, Jun 6, 2009.

  1. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    I just heard about this group in the Who livejournal community, and after listening to the three sample songs on their website, I've ordered the cd.

    The songs are written sort of as though the singer is a companion to the Doctor, and is reliving adventures with him, both the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. The lyrics to all their songs are on the site.

    Is anyone else familiar with them? And what do you think of them?
     
  2. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    Now that I have this brilliant cd, I can talk about it with an informed opinion. That said, here we go ...

    Track 1 - "An Awful Lot of Running" - This shows an awful lot of promise, and it doesn't disappoint. In a way, the singer is a blend of Rose, Martha, and Donna, as a companion to the Doctor. The background music is catchy, and there are tons of lines straight out of the series. The most awesome part of this is the use of the Doctor Who theme song, integrated very well into the whole song. The sad part is the inclusion of Doctor-Donna with "Binary, binary, binary" ... it just made me start thinking about what happened to her in the season finale and I got sad all over again. And for a song from a band I'd never even heard of two weeks ago, that's a pretty big accomplishment.

    Track 2 - "Gallifreyan History 101" - I like the idea of this song. I can't stand the execution. Whoever is doing the lead vocals on this did a really horrible job, and took really interesting and fun lyrics (about Rassilon and Omega) and made them ... well, nails on a chalkboard. Also, being nitpicky, Omega is pronounced (as far as Doctor Who is concerned) oh-mee-gah, not oh-meh-gah. Since the entire song is centered around classic Who, it's surprising that this was overlooked.

    Track 3 - "Count the Shadows" - This is a haunting retelling of the Library two-parter from season 4, both hilarious and sad at the same time. I love the quick bit about how a Time Lord could come around and turn the light on, but the singer doesn't think the Doctor is going to show up this time.

    Track 4 - "Shipwrecked" - Not sure what I think about this song. It feels like it's meant to be the Doctor suffering from depression, and talking through it. Good music, but not sure what they're trying to say with the lyrics.

    Track 5 - "Type 40" - A love song from the Tardis to the Doctor. The Tardis realizes she is the last of her kind. There were hundreds of other Type 40 ships once upon a time, but they were decommissioned. Now, she's the only one of her kind left, and she's old, but there's so much left to see, and even when she's broken, the Doctor will always fix her, never give up on her. And while the lyrics are brilliant, I get the feeling ... and I may be wrong here ... that they sampled the theme song from Neverending Story as the main theme of this song. And I love TNS, so to have that combined with a DW love song like this makes me love it even more.

    Track 6 - "Blink" - A rock star retelling of the third season story Blink. I was listening to this song as I drove by a cemetery on the way home from work on Friday. And as I heard the line about the angels having the phone box, what did I see? Oh yeah, a life sized stone carving of an angel. I, uh, didn't blink for about two minutes after I had passed it by.

    Track 7 - "Exterminate, Regenerate" - This ... how do I want to put this? It made the Daleks cool again. I've never liked the pepper shakers, you know, the big bad aliens who were trying to conquer the universe, whose mortal enemy was ... stairs? Yeah, them. This is a rock anthem that describes the never ending fight between the Doctor and the Daleks, with both sides knowing that if one side ever truly died, the other must die as well. So as long as the Doctor is still alive, so are the Daleks, and the reverse is also true.

    Track 8 - "K9s Lament" - K9, the only dog I've ever really liked. lol This song is from his perspective, letting us in on his thoughts, that while he's been programmed to be this perfect, faithful companion, always positive and speaking "affirmative, master" inside he's a complete rebel. I watched "School Reunion" last night, and every time K9 spoke, I thought about this song, and it fits perfectly ... Mickey and K9 are in the car, Mickey keeps saying they need something to open the doors of the school and K9 keeps saying "We are in a car" like "use it as a ram, you moron" and I kept thinking "inside my metal head, I'm just singing my song" like the little rebel he is.

    Track 9 - "Journey's End" - A hilarious retelling of the two-parter that ended the fourth season. The best part was the group singing lines of dialog followed by someone doing brief commentary or other bits such as "Second Doctor / there were two of them!" "Captain Jack / hi there!" "Didn't mention mickey cuz he's really not much use / sorry" ... that, and "We've reached the journey's end, having a laugh inside the Tardis, though it didn't make much sense, it's always nice to see them Daleks."

    Track 10 - "Friends of the Ood" This is an acoustic song (meaning, guitar as the only instrument) ... I may be wrong, but this song feels like it was done by one member of the group for no reason other than for fun, just for grins, and added to the cd as a bonus. If that's the case, I'm really glad it happened, because it is a fun song, from the perspective of the now-free Ood after the Doctor-Donna saved them.

    Track 11 - "Exterminate, Regenerate (Demo)" - This is a dramatically different version of the other version (song #7 above) done as an acoustic version with no audio fx, nothing but one person with an incredibly strong voice, with a funny blooper about halfway through the song. With that edited out, this is strong enough to play on the radio, easily.

    Track 12 - "We are the Daleks" (hidden/bonus track) - This is a 30 second bit of ... well, not sure what it's supposed to be, but it's not even listed on the cd or anywhere else, just added as a bonus. I didn't care for it at all, just thought it was ... well, it didn't fit with the rest of the cd.

    I have copied 10 of the 12 songs over to my ipod, and listen to them at random now. I left off the second song, about history, and the last "song" because they're just this short of water-boarding, as far as the Geneva Convention is concerned.

    The other 10 are more or less brilliant. This is a very talented group of musicians, and I'm very happy to have discovered them. I can honestly say that if they put out a new cd today, within five minutes of hearing about it, I would have my copy ordered.

    If you're interested in ordering this five-star rated cd, or hearing a selection of songs from the cd, you can go to www.dftba.com or www.myspace.com/chameleoncircuitmusic.
     
  3. Kelso

    Kelso Vice Admiral Admiral

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    On the destruct button until the last minute!
    I couldn't even make it through the samples on the site.

    You must like Doctor Who a lot. :lol:
     
  4. OmahaStar

    OmahaStar Disrespectful of his betters Admiral

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    Second only to my worship at the alter of the one who is Jane, yes. The songs are definitely written by geeks who know, and love, the Doctor.