Nine Inch Nails - Run Like Hell

Teeth of the Sea - Whilst We Live in Fear of Hell

And just because I always like to throw in something from New Zealand,

The House of Capricorn - The Road to Hell is Marked

The Fire Theft - Heaven

Nemo - Aux Portes du Paradis

(I suspect a lot of people consider this filler, but I love this short instrumental track!)

Sandbender - In Heaven

And, again, a Kiwi selection,

Jordan Reyne - Heavenly Creatures

As for Martin Mull, that video is unavailable to me (both the embed and at youtube, it takes me to the right video).  This TV spot is one I find.

Logan:  All film music this time from you.  Great source(s).  Krzysztof Penderecki - "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima"  Begins with a very ominous sort of swarming sound.  Discordance continues in this orchestral piece, plenty of drama and suspense! The feeling of doom continues throughout.  Lots of slippy-slidyness in strings and more swarm sounds as the piece nears it’s close.  A crescendo at the end, and then to fade.  I know I would have seen that episode, just don’t remember the music from it, but it is a slippery one to find a grasp for memory, which could explain it.  Certainly fits the “hell,” aspect, which doesn’t mean I don’t like it. Léo Delibes - "The Flower Duet (Lakmé)"  This one I do know, and it is lovely, indeed.  Angelic female voices swelling with orchestra beneath.  Truly heavenly.  Also loved that film.  Xiu Xiu - "Blue Frank / Pink Room"  Certainly starts with scary screaming, the guitar comes blazing in, very wrongle-ly (not as in “wrong,” just trying to describe the sound) with lotsa echo.  There are muffled drums in it, with more screams and indiscernable words being spoken, sound like a recording in a big, empty warehouse.  Peter Ivers / David Lynch - "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)"  This I do know from the film…pretty spooky stuff in a very Lynch-ian way.  A girly-girly sing-song voice with organ underneath, sure I hope I don’t see something like that when it’s my time to go to the other side!  

Nick_h_nz:  Nine Inch Nails “Run Like Hell”  Ominous beginning (we’ll probably hear lots of ominous on the hell-side of things in this poll).  Love the atmospheric start.  Strings and some very subdued bells?  Or on keys?  Or something.  Anyway, also some quiet clackety percussive sounds.  Tension building, as a guitar? comes wailing through, but still way, way back in the mix, with the percussion increasing and whirring sounds join in…all sound is very back, if that makes any sense, which adds to the sense of “what is happening here? And why am I so spooked?”  Bowed instrument comes to the fore, kind of.  The sounds begin to recede even more and the music comes to a gradual end with a static-y sound, then, actually end abruptly.  Teeth of the Sea “Whilst We Live in Fear of Hell”  Rattly-whirlies start this piece out.  Solo brass instrument languishes in, then more join in, in discordancy.  There is a feeling of medieval-ness to me, in the sounds of the brass, like hearing it through the echoes of time.  Lush electric guitar comes along, with equally lush keyboard underpinnings.  Shimmers slice across the guitar.  This piece is in no hurry, and it doesn’t harm it in the least.  Sound dies back, then a beautiful, heart-tugging trumpet? emerges from the quiet, all the while the guitar (with lots of echo added to it’s plinking) and keys continue on their way.  This was sublime to my ear, and I don’t normally care much for brass.  The piece shimmer to an end.  The House of Capricorn “The Road to Hell is Marked”  This wastes no time getting right to it, with wailing guitar and pounding drums.  Here’s some heavy rock with even some growling, sort of punkish in intensity. Lots of head-banging commences. Not a fan of the vocals, but I actually like the lead guitar part. The Fire Theft “Heaven” Acoustic piano and male vocalist.  Soulful sound with a bit of rasp to his voice.  Full on guitars, bass and drums kick in after a couple of verses.  He’s a good yeller, too.  I like this, for a heavier piece, but not as much as a couple of the “hell,” selections, so far.  Nemo “Aux Portes du Paradis”  Whang-y bass hits a few notes, then a sort of shakuhachi flute and maybe harp?  There are also some sort of string-like effects on keys or guitar and some very French-sounding reedy instruments….A guitar has some decidedly Frippian slidy things going on.  I very much like this.  Sometimes the shortest things have an immense appeal.  Sandbender “In Heaven”  This has some repetitive guitar notes and some sliding string sounds, there is subdued percussion underneath.  Guitar comes even more to the fore over something that sounds vaguely like it might be vocal, but might also be strings or something else.  The percussion then moves more to the front, and the stringy thing becomes a tad Oriental in feel….then it slips into something entirely different with keys, then back to the guitar at the fore.  Everything dies back for some washy keys and sparkly things.  A spoken sort-of Indian vocal comes in (maybe from a film, it sounds a bit like).  Jordan Reyne “Heavenly Creatures”  Sounds like maybe this will be an acoustic one, we’ll see.  This has a dark-folk feel, something I very much enjoy.  This is very shivery, in a great way.  There is a sense of enchantment to it, with the breaths and the steady, steady bodhran (?) beat.

JD:  Harry Partch “Delusion of the Fury: Act I: Treats with Death and with Life Despite Death: Emergence of the Spirit”  I remember seeing a documentary about Harry Partch back in the 70’s, so knew what to expect.  Intriguing guy.  Lots of disconnected feeling here and chant-y vocals.  Sort of a March of the Neanderthals, I’m thinking the vocal is “Death,” with it all being so slowed down since Death has so much time at his command (or maybe it’s a March of the Ents?).  Chris De Burgh “Spanish Train”  Castanets and quiet guitar, with a spoken vocal at the start.  There are orchestral touches, the vocalist moves from singing to speaking and back.  Big Pig “Devil's Song”  Rhythmic beginning, female sultry vocal, that moves into ferocity at times.  Male chorus behind her in places.  Sounds like they’d really be fun to see live.  Collective Soul “Heaven's Already Here”  I remember this band, this is sort of ala JC Mellencamp in sound, sort of alt/rock/Americana.  Acoustic sound for the most part.  Nice vocals, clean production.  Enjoyable song.  Alice Cooper “Hallowed Be My Name"  This one is known to me, vintage Alice. 

Lewian:   Idem “Suedirland Bantry Bay 2010 Filmmusik”  Piano and some whirry thing, there is also the sound of maybe people speaking, but not intelligibly so.  An organ-y thing enters the soundscape, or a concertina or the like.  It is very relaxing, not in a boring way.  F. M. Einheit “Korrektionsanstalt”  This one goes right to my eadrums after the soothing previous piece, and with good reason, considering the subject matter.  Lots of percussive sounds and a rising and falling whhhhhwwwwwwwaaaaa, with sounds of distantly blatting sheep, groans, cries and shrieky things and the like.    Sort of a heartbeat, underwater sound enters, along with some drippy sounds.  A menacing tone is heard for just a moment, then almost-bells and distant, shrieky guitars and an almost purring sound, now with underground drip sounds.  I certainly do NOT want to go to this place, but it makes for interesting listening. 

The first one is called "Taivaan lapset" which means "children of Heaven" and the other is "Epäonnisten liikemiesten Helvetti" which means "The Hell of unfortunate businessmen". These will most likely be my nominations, but I'll confirm that when it's time. 

CMX - Taivaan lapset

CMX - Epäonnisten liikemiesten helvetti

Here's another hell-themed song. Haikara were a Finnish prog band who started in 1970s. "Manala" is a mythological underworld, place of the dead, or hell if you like. This is the closing track from their debut that's easily one of the best Finnish prog albums. 

Haikara - Manala 

 

What happens if a track is about both heaven and hell?

 

 

Again, some of my suggestions in previous polls could have fit here... I was thinking about Kreng, for example, and others, but here we go. A first couple of bands that you know already from me (for those who have followed these polls), and it's an odd couple - they're very far apart... But somehow the conclusion of the first song will need the second one... (I have to come up with some kind of argument, no?).

King Missile - Heaven:

Noir Désir - 666.667 Club:

A second couple is also an odd one, but in an other way: maybe heaven doesn't sound that jolly and hell not that dark...

Einstürzende Neubauten - Paradiesseits:

(you can find translated lyrics here; click on the track title and then on "translation"...)

The British Expeditionary Force - All Those Demons

Thank you for your thoughtful commentary, Logan.  It is indeed electric harp that Athy is playing.  Jackson C. Frank also wrote "Blues Run The Game," which was a big cover tune in the 1960's folk club scene.  Azam Ali, as you probably remember, I brought here before, she's kind of in her very  own league, for me, always stretching her boundaries.  Martin Mull, an old favourite for the humour in the piece....Plus!  Bonus of heaven and hell being in the same song.  I also toyed with pairing this with Kaleidoscope's version of "Oh Death," (for the mention of both in one tune) but then would have had to find another pairing for Jackson and I felt that perhaps 6 songs in one would be too many, for people's time allotment.  

Great idea for a subject, I did have a lot of trouble coming up with things that I felt weren't too familiar.  Another potential candidate was The Psychedelic Furs with "Heaven," though I thought that might be too known, which I try to avoid here.