I read once, perhaps back in the 90s, that as film as an art form enveloped our culture, the form of the novel as literature dissolved into the writing of screenplays in both narrative form and structure. Or at the very least that all novels were written, consciously or otherwise, with screenplay adaptation in mind. The same might be said about music. They existed along parallel lines for decades and then as film grew as the primary form of our cultural expression, the two parallel strands began to wrap around each other, resembling a strand of DNA, the double helix. There is so much music written and performed to present a cinematic image or spectacle that it’s hard to deny that it’s all a soundtrack to something, if only prefixed images inside the head of the composers and musicians. Even live performances have largely grown to include grand cinematic spectacle. This isn’t a criticism. Quite the contrary. I believe it was inevitable that art media grow together and not just inseparable partners but of the same body.

Music like this Youtube darkwave/dance mix is a prime example. It’s not just that my imagination may (or may not be) more cinematic/dramatic than others. It’s just undeniably part of the art scenario. Everything is orchestral. Everything is operatic. Everything is a soundtrack. Music video furthered that. We all had an inner screenplay running with our favorite music prior to the rise of MTV and the music video, but the very idea of music without an image began to fade about 40 years ago now. I used to see it as a tragic progression, and the depersonalization of music, but now it just seems, as I said before, inevitable. We had embraced it in live performances long before there were music videos as we know them now.

There is no doubt that I choose music daily that will soundtrack my inner movie. You can decide for yourself what my choices mean about me, either my mental state or about me as a person. You may or may not be correct but my whole bag is transparency. I don’t pretend.

Or maybe I do. If we have an inner movie that we play daily in our heads then it is surely something we have concocted and written. If there is a screenplay then there are character roles so it would stand to reason that I may have invented a character for myself. Again, decide for yourself what I may be doing, and equally just how transparent and authentic you are yourself. Where are we now anyway. Do we create culture or have we reached a point now where culture runs full speed ahead on its own steam and creates us? Equal measures? We all like to say we are keeping it real, but the question still remains. Real what? True to yourself or true to your character role? Is there any meaningful difference, and if so, what is it?

Blah blah blah, I don’t know. DJ Israel put together a killer mix here. Very much a grand cinematic feel to it, but absolutely fire. It’s a far cry from the happy synthpop sounds of early MTV, which for all intents and purposes had the same vibe as banjo music. This is all kind of noir, Bela Lugosi stuff. This is shadows of the blackest blacks. Again, decide for yourself what goes on in my head that I keep choosing music like this.

Onward. It’s Monday.

Tracklist:

• 00:01 Whirl – Soft Kill
• 04:17 All Black – Ritual Veil
• 07:42 Into The Void – Buzz Kull 1
• 0:52 Glory – Cold Cave
• 15:55 New Clear Dawn – Skeleton Hands
• 19:14 La Poussiere – Automelodi
• 22:18 La Esencia del Dolor – Dr Body
• 26:15 Yellow – Low Factor
• 30:50 Pap Smear – Crystal Castles
• 33:00 Kiss Me Until My Lips Fall Off – Lebanon Hanover
• 36:50 Hinterland – Linea Aspera
• 40:28 Astro – Mannequin
• 43:30 Economical Animal Superstar – Aural Vampire
• 45:55 Turn Away – Kontravoid
• 48:09 Unicorn (Hocico Mix) Apoptygma Berserk
• 50:07 Der Mussolini (Giorgio Moroder & Denis Naidanov Remix) – DAF
• 53:05 Tears – Boy Harsher
• 55:35 Durdu Dunya (Boy Harsher Remix) – She Past Away
• 59:45 Technophobic (Techniques Berlin Remix) – Tobias Berstrup
• 1:03:40 Allegedly, Dancefloor Tragedy – Suspiria