I had just finished listening to an album on Spotify (most likely Patti Smith Group’s Radio Ethiopia) when Spotify’s algorithm tried to figure out what to do after that LP. This was one of the first songs get played:
Needless to say, I made note of the name of the artist, and looked him up later when I was home. This song appeared on Scott 3, and sounded a bit out of place on that LP (although probably a better fit for Scott 4). This song, 30 Century Man, has appeared on the occasional film or TV series. Wes Anderson used Scott Walker’s original version on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. A cover of this song was used during a critical passage of a Futurama episode a number of years ago.
Scott Walker was more of a big deal in the UK during the 1960s, and his record company was definitely trying to market him as the next Frank Sinatra. Scott had other plans, and the albums he would release toward the last few decades of life would become increasingly experimental, to the point of having no relation to pop or to rock. Most of us in the US would not have ever heard of him, but he certainly had quite the discography, and even his more mainstream offerings were ones that could challenge listeners (especially when he was writing his own material).
Cheers, everyone.
