Dark Deviations: TV On the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me”
The language and aesthetics of horror are all around us and seem to pop up when we least expect it. “Dark Deviations” is Haunted MTL‘s dive into those moments.
TV On the Radio
First of all, sit back, relax, and enjoy one hell of a song.
TV on the Radio is an indie rock band from Brooklyn that hit the scene around 2001. The current line-up consists of Tunde Adebimpe, David Andrew Sitek, Kyp Malone, and Jaleel Bunton. Gerard Smith, the bassist at the time of the release of “Wolf Like Me,” would later succumb to lung cancer in 2011.
TV on the Radio’s sound is eclectic. Some of the acts the band claims influence include Earth, Wind & Fire, Brian Eno, the Pixies, Prince, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
“Wolf Like Me” was the first single from their album Return to Cookie Mountain.
Werewolves
Werewolves are a fairly common trope in music. Clearly Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” immediately come to mind. There are other great songs that touch on themes of lycanthropy. The Cramps’ “I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark At The Moon,” and First Aid Kits’ “Wolf” are some great examples.
Lycanthropy can be defined in a few different ways. Most common is the folkloric concept of humans undergoing transformation into bestial forms. Often this is a wolf-like transformation. However, we see lycanthropy displayed in all sorts of forms across literature and folklore. Asia, in particular, has several instances of werecats.
But really, it is all about the werewolf in the context of western media.
“Wolf Like Me” and Lycanthropy
Both the song and video for “Wolf Like Me” use tropes of lycanthropy for metaphorical purposes. Particularly key to the song is the association of werewolves being a release. The chorus states this pretty clearly:
My mind has changed
My body’s frame, but, God, I like it
My heart’s aflame
My body’s strained, but, God, I like it
We see instances of inhibitions being released in the video. Examples include the car-ride, the dancing at the club, and finally the girl biting the lead male.
That of course also evokes one of the more… interesting associations of lycanthropy; that of lust. Werewolves are second only to vampires when it comes to being objects of desire. I mean, a search of Wattpad really showcases this.
Is lust all over that video?
How about in the song itself?
Dream me, oh dreamer
Down to the floor
Open my hands and let them
Weave onto yours
Feel me, completer
Down to my core
Open my heart and let it
Bleed onto yours
Feeding on fever
Down all fours
Show you what all that
Howl is for … a, yep. Check.
Wrap it up
TV on the Radio is not really a horror band. They’ve got a wide variety of amazing tracks and a song about werewolves isn’t entirely out of their stylings. Even still, “Wolf Like Me” is just one of those little offbeat tracks by an offbeat band that would be a great addition to any horror fan’s playlist. It evokes werewolves, and we think that is awesome.
Wow, you’re still with us… So, taking it from Part 1 and Part 2 of this saga, we’re still knuckle deep in finger spiders here at Haunted MTL! Because I made A LOT of unfulfilled requests for a spider out of fingers, I will continue this snarky little AI art series with NightCafe and Canva through the month of September…
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: fingers spider; fingers as spider; fingers as spider legs no hand; spider out of fingers.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders What You Get! This is all on you… You let the terrifying AI art generated finger spiders in the house and then let them crawl on you. When you turn into a spider, that’s all your own doing. Leave me out of it.
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: spider hand; fingers as spider legs; spider hand fingers; spider as fingers.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders Look I’m Sorry! I wish I could help. I really really do. Keep scrubbing at it even if your flesh falls off. It’s really your only hope now. You’ve been bitten and there’s not much to do for it now.
All of the AI art images used in this series were generated on Thursday, June 13, 2024. If you want to see more freaky spiderness in art here on Haunted MTL, check out Bitten and Soul Catcher. More AI art graphic narratives from Jennifer Weigel have explored Little Red Riding Hood and Into the Deep Woods. Oh, and the Tiny Brain Computers exploration. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.
They’re back… So, continuing where we left off, we’re still knuckle deep in finger spiders here at Haunted MTL! Because I made A LOT of unfulfilled requests for a spider out of fingers, I will continue this snarky little AI art series with NightCafe and Canva through the month of September…
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: finger spider; spider out of nothing but fingers; spider made out of only fingers; fingers as spider.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders Too Late! Well now that they’re in the house and you’re hunting them down, don’t let them crawl on you. Not only are they seriously creepy, but the AI art generation can warp time and space around itself and allow them to evolve to your biology.
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: spider out of only fingers; fingers into spider; finger spider; fingers as spider legs only.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders No You Didn’t! I can’t believe you let the AI art generated finger spiders crawl on you! What were you thinking?! Just try to wash it off as best you can… Like seriously, I can’t help you any more, you’re on your own.
All of the AI art images used in this series were generated on Thursday, June 13, 2024. If you want to see more freaky spiderness in art here on Haunted MTL, check out Bitten and Soul Catcher. More AI art graphic narratives from Jennifer Weigel have explored Little Red Riding Hood and Into the Deep Woods. Oh, and the Tiny Brain Computers exploration. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.
So I tried to convince the AI to give me a spider made out of fingers, because there’s no way it could possibly mess that up right? Wink. After multiple unfulfilled requests for finger spiders, I bring you this snarky little AI art series with NightCafe and Canva for the month of September…
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: fingers as spider; spider made of fingers; a spider out of nothing but fingers; finger spider hand.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders Coming Soon! It’s just a matter of time before these horrifying AI art generated creations come crawling into your home to feast on your blood. For they are hungry and they are evolving…
Images: Overall design aesthetic of fashion / design advertising spread in muted tones with four AI art rendered images of spiders, built spiders, and spiders on hands, with any given number of legs on spiders and fingers on hands as you’d expect from AI interfacing at this time. Prompts used from top left to lower right include: fingers as spider; spider hand shadow puppetry; fingers in shape of spider; spider that is a hand.
Text reads: Creepy Crawlies Finger Spiders They’re Here! Too late, you let them into the house. You’d better be sure to find and squish them all before they breed and come after you. They are still hungry, and they are still evolving…
All of the AI art images used in this series were generated on Thursday, June 13, 2024. If you want to see more freaky spiderness in art here on Haunted MTL, check out Bitten and Soul Catcher. More AI art graphic narratives from Jennifer Weigel have explored Little Red Riding Hood and Into the Deep Woods. Oh, and the Tiny Brain Computers exploration. To see more such devolutions into AI generated art, check out the Will the Real Jennifer Weigel Please Stand Up? blog.
