The Giant Panther

I was listening to Giant Panther's posting of The Drums' Let's Go Surfing earlier and this song came to mind. "Goodbye Horses" was a song written and performed by the late William Garvey (unfortunately Garvey just passed on this past August 3rd) and appeared in the killer flick The Silence of The Lambs. If you are like me you had never heard of Q Lazzarus or William Garvey prior to this 1991 blockbuster film. I don't have any clue as to why it was left off the official soundtrack since it was basically the musical star of the show give or take the Tom Petty music as the girl was originally abducted, but it was. A band called Psyche did a cover of this song in 1996 on their CD Legacy, but the versions are nearly indistinguishable. Usually this means the cover is weak, but in this case it's pretty close in terms of which version is better. Maybe it comes down to who's drum machine is programmed better? Hey, The Drums, get it? What a coincidence...

I seriously doubt there can be any spoiler alerts 18 years hence, but in case you haven't seen the film...I'd suggest coming out of your cave once in a while. Serial Killer Buffalo Bill (impeccably played by actor Ted Levine) has a scene where his androgynous character dances with his unit tucked between his legs trying to mimic something akin to what today's youth refer to euphemistically as a "camel toe." Ted Levine's portrayal is constantly mimicked by the general public, most often comedians, which is a sign of greatness as far as I'm concerned. "Goodbye Horses" was the theme of this crucial scene. I can never hear this song and not think of Jody Foster, but it had just the right far off, oblivious to evil, sounding cadence to make it perfect for this movie. At the time I was thinking I had missed an Orchestral Maneouvers in The Dark (another great guilty pleasure for this writer) song, but I got that cleared up later. "Goodbye Horses" also turned up in the film "Married To The Mob" and in "Clerks II." It's a pretty cool track as far as I'm concerned. I don't need to hear it more than a couple times a year, but I'm definitely a fan. I find that the vocals in The Drums remind me of Q Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses." I doubt a one hit wonder like Q Lazzarus could have influenced The Drums, but the similarities seem apparent to me. When they say "Oh Mama, I want to go surfing" I'm hearing Q Lazzarus. Maybe it's just me, but just for fun and games...