{"id":1058,"date":"2016-10-31T12:00:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T16:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2016-11-08T22:40:48","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T03:40:48","slug":"patterson-hood-of-the-drive-by-truckers-on-horror-and-songwriting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2016\/10\/31\/patterson-hood-of-the-drive-by-truckers-on-horror-and-songwriting\/","title":{"rendered":"Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers on Horror and Songwriting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog is called the Department of Tangents because I couldn\u2019t find another way to connect three personal passions I wanted to cover \u2013 music, horror, and comedy. They are more concepts than genres. They are broad in scope, and most everyone has a different idea about what makes them successful. Wherever these things do overlap fascinates me. Thinking about this, I began to hear elements of horror in the music of one of my favorite bands, The Drive-By Truckers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

I got in touch with one of the Truckers\u2019 principal songwriters, Patterson Hood<\/a>, a while back to ask him about this, the menacing hook and storyline of \u201cSinkhole\u201d<\/a> or the twisted psychological tales like \u201cWhen Walter Went Crazy\u201d<\/a> or a song from his solo album, \u201cMurdering Oscar.\u201d Hood was kind enough to take time to consider the questions. <\/p>\n

Would you say you\u2019re a fan of horror writing or horror movies?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Yes and no. I really love the great ones, amongst my favorite things, but not much of a fan of the rest, unless it offers something more than cheap thrills (not that I don\u2019t like cheap thrills). I\u2019m not a big fan of the supernatural or plots that are too deeply dependent upon that to create the horror. Again, with exceptions (The Exorcist<\/em><\/a>, The Shining<\/em><\/a>, Carrie<\/em><\/a>, and Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/em><\/a> are standout exceptions but I\u2019m sure there are many more).<\/p>\n

Is there anything from that world that influenced your writing?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure there is. Use of suspense and stretching out a passage to increase tension. A general darkness.<\/p>\n

How does fear work as an element of songwriting, I the pantheon with love, hate, and other emotions? Do you ever write to evoke a feeling of fear or dread?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When appropriate I want to use whatever tools I can to further the story I\u2019m trying to tell, as long as I can do so without detracting from the bigger picture.<\/p>\n

Some of the songs feel to me like short horror stories \u2013 \u201cMurdering Oscar,\u201d \u201cThe Assassin,\u201d<\/a> \u201cWhen Walter Went Crazy,\u201d \u201cGoode\u2019s Field Road,\u201d<\/a> or even \u201cSinkhole.\u201d Do you see them that way? Do some feel literary in a way that others don\u2019t? <\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s certainly elements of that in those and many other songs. There is a lot of horror and terror in everyday life and I\u2019m often inspired to write about those things. None of those songs are in themselves typical of the horror genre, but they certainly owe a debt to aspects of that in form and presentation. I would probably want to use horror the same way I would use comedy, as a way of making the story I\u2019m telling a better and more emotional experience for the listener or reader. <\/p>\n