The Master Tape

I'm still working on my Master comic, unlikely to finish it, but enjoying it nontheless. Part of the research process was finding a song for my Mr Blonde bit - Master-dances-to-something-inappropriately-poppy-while-doing-devilish-things.

Starting from Voodoo Child and I Can't Decide, the obvious criteria was: something modern, something with good lyrics, and something with a good beat you couldn't help but dance to.

It evolved into a playlist of songs which I listen to while I'm working - with my crazy-poppy favourites mixed in with suitable pieces from the show, and also a little piece of the Dark Knight soundtrack which I always have on when drawing twisted bits.

There are some flaws with it, if anyone making mix tapes wants to rectify it. The first is, I couldn't find the Fifth Doctor theme tune - it was a choice between the 1974 one or the Trial of a Timelord one, to which I have a terrified Pavlovian reaction. Second - the website couldn't find "Almost Sorry" by the Scissor Sisters, which has great words, nor "The Devil's Triangle" by King Crimson. Thirdly, the list is obviously influenced by me, and my definition of "good to dance to", which is harmless 70s pop - I couldn't find anything which mirrored Voodoo Child. Finally - this is a one Master playlist. Even though "Why So Serious" is universally Mastery, and the Clangers an obvious tribute, it's obviously dedicated to John Simm's brand. Aside from a snippet of King Crimson, it's hard to find any evidence. But I'd love to do one which encompasses all six

Hope you enjoy!


SeeqPod - Playable Search

#1 - Doctor Who Theme - ideally, this would be Doctor 5 for my comic, but you can't have it all.

#2 - All the Strange Strange Creatures - they use this somewhere in Utopia and it always gets my blood going.

#3 - Voodoo Child - obviously...

#4 - Mambo No. 5 (Bob the Builder) - if I had been filming this, or doing an animation instead of a comic, I might just have chosen this instead. A very, very close second choice. Because it's good to dance to, and also because of the Clangers-Teletubbies link.

#5 - clip from the Clangers - the reference is obvious, I hope - if not then you're stumped, because I don't know which episode this comes from. I instantly noticed how fitting the words were - I'm almost certain the Doctor Who creators were thinking the same thing...

#6 - The Master Vainglorious - great piece of music!

#7 - 99 Luftballons - the song is about the aftermath of war and death, so it links into the previous one well.

#8 - Teletubbies theme - while we're feeling light and frothy...like the Nena, this is slightly danceable.

#9 - Ballroom Blitz - this is the one I've picked for my comic. I'll admit it - this was Tarantino's first choice for Reservoir Dogs, so you can see where the inspiration came from. But I've always loved this song, and listen to that beat! The definition of infectious! The words aren't bad either.

#10 -The Futurekind - something else with a really quick beat.

#11 - Rubber Bullets - great, boppable beat; lousy lyrics, at least for our purposes.

#12 - The Ballad of John and Yoko - when I was going through my audible patch of Tarantino love, I listened the Reservoir Dogs album to death. That's when I really appreciated this song - it's got the same chords, same beat as "Stuck in the Middle with You" - only it's not. Took the pressure off a bit - I listened them both to death instead. I felt the latter song was too iconic to use openly, so again this is my substitute.

#13 - The Master Tape - more good drummy music.

#14 - Oh Mickey - irritating, sugary, but can you help tapping your foot? And there are obvious Who-related possibilites in the title...

#15 - Ring of Fire - this is here for a reason, honest. For now, however, I'm not going to reveal why...

# 16 - more Clangers - more sinister this time. Ideally, the clip would cut off after "see and hear".

#18 - Why So Serious - The instuments used remind me of bits of Sound of Drums - the pounding electrics, the offkilter soundscape

#19 - This is Gallifrey - too different in tone to go anywhere but the end, this is nevertheless a terrific piece of music. Nice to give the place some majesty, after years of resembling an airport departure lounge. But it's linked closely with Last of the Timelords - using themes et al.

#20 - I Can't Decide - naturalment.

#21 - Clockwork Creep - not a song the Master would listen to, which is why it's firmly at the end, but I couldn't resist the cheery, creepy lyrics (about a bomb on a plane...) which neatly encompasses Simmmaster's fractured psyche.