After Midnight: The Vampire Edition

Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Vampire

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Toadies: Possum Kingdom

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I am attempting to be healthier in all areas of my life, so a midnight bedtime these days is my attempted-but-not-always-achieved goal - however, my true nature is noctural, long after everyone else has gone to bed. In the wee hours of 2 and 3 a.m., I can more easily tap into my full creativity and inspiration - I've always called it keeping "vampire hours"...

Given the fascination lately with "creatures of the night", Buffy Sainte-Marie's eerie and mysterious melody, with her vibrato voice telling a story of innocence turned to desolation, is goosebump-inducing - it's a cautionary tale to keep one's rosary close at hand...

I always thought Possum Kingdom was about a vampire, but read recently that's not the case - I will continue to believe my theory, immersing myself in the insistent beat and the erotic pull of danger... and promises of eternity...

Drugs: Codine

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Codine

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In 1963, Canadian Cree folksinger Buffy Sainte-Marie became addicted to codeine while recovering from throat surgery. The song she produced from that experience may put the shakes of withdrawal in the voice of a male protagonist, but the avid, apt description of the enslavement and relief the drug produces are a roadmap to her own recovery, and fair warning for a nation of sixties countercultural folkfans playing with chemical fire as they tested the limits of their minds and bodies.

I find much of Buffy Sainte-Marie's music overwrought, but this is a perfect match of subject and slow, raw soul-baring folk blues. No wonder Codine would go on to become one of Sainte-Marie's most covered songs, picked up by the likes of Donovan, Gram Parsons, and the Quicksilver Messenger Service. Here's an early, oddly poppy example from the psycho'lectric end of the spectrum:

The Charlatans: Codine

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