They Expect To See A Dinosaur

Scout Niblett “Dinosaur Egg” – The most consistently inspired and entertaining part of DC Comics’ otherwise erratic weekly series 52 was a subplot written by Grant Morrison in which most of the mad scientists in the DC Universe are held captive on Oolong Island by the enormous egg-shaped “mutant flesh machine” Chang Tzu. They aren’t exactly prisoners — it’s an island paradise, and they are all “given an unlimited budget and encouraged to let their imaginations run wild on the finest mind-expanding narcotics available to man.” The scientists are, as another character describes them, “groping, stumbling, self-conscious man-boys…autistic midget savants.” They aren’t exactly evil, but they are all twisted by their enormous egos and total lack of social grace.

Scout Niblett’s “Dinosaur Egg” sounds as though it is being sung from the perspective of one of these cowardly, emotionally damaged creeps. Niblett’s character impatiently demands a dinosaur egg to hatch, bosses around her robot slave, and calls upon a “tortured spirit” to help her frighten her guests at some sort of bizarre social gathering. (I kinda get the impression that the “guests” will all be there under duress.) The music is stark and fragile like an old school Cat Power tune, and Niblett manages to express her character’s petulance, insecurity, and impotent rage in a way that’s at least somewhat sympathetic. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)

Gui Boratto “Beautiful Life” – This is another fine example of a song with lyrics that simply offer a subtitle for the feeling expressed by the music — “what a beautiful life, what a beautiful life, what a beautiful life.” Boratto’s track simulates and stimulates a state of calm bliss that feels almost unnatural. The beat snaps with just enough aggression to trigger physical movement, but it mostly just guides us through a succession of keyboard hooks that wash over the listener like cool waves of pleasure. (Click here to buy it from Amp Camp.)