My Gen X Playlist: Zombie – The Cranberries

My brother-in-law is a huge fan of The Walking Dead. I looked it up on Netflix and there are all kinds of episodes of that show. The only problem is I’ve never been a fan of the zombie genre.

So it surprised me when I started watching The Santa Clarita Diet. I thought I’d watch something lighthearted and funny instead of my normal crime or espionage shows. Plus it has Drew Barrymore in it. I hadn’t seen her in years.

It shocked the shit out of me when I discovered Barrymore’s character suddenly becomes undead and eats human flesh to survive. What the hell? Is she a zombie? Well, not really. But an undead person killing humans for food is close enough. I’m surprised I’ve continued with it. I’m on the last season and find myself occasionally laughing out loud. Not surprising, this show will never win any awards. But that’s not the purpose of some shows. This is a fun half hour diversion that’s needed from time to time. I’m not sure if this will be a bridge to The Walking Dead, but you just never know.

Zombie songs. I already added Time of the Season by the Zombies to the playlist. I couldn’t think of another Zombies’ tune that I knew and liked. Rob Zombie? I know the name, but couldn’t name a tune. I looked up the soundtrack of The Walking Dead. I only found a dead end.

So I’m going with the obvious, Zombie by the Cranberries. I know the only connection is the title, this song has nothing to do with the walking dead. Dolores O’Riordan wrote this song after an IRA bombing in 1993 that killed two children.

“There were a lot of bombs going off in London and I remember this one time a child was killed when a bomb was put in a rubbish bin – that’s why there’s that line in the song, ‘A child is slowly taken’. [ … ] We were on a tour bus and I was near the location where it happened, so it really struck me hard – I was quite young, but I remember being devastated about the innocent children being pulled into that kind of thing. So I suppose that’s why I was saying, ‘It’s not me’ – that even though I’m Irish it wasn’t me, I didn’t do it. Because being Irish, it was quite hard, especially in the UK when there was so much tension.”

Wikipedia

Pretty heavy stuff. I remember when I first saw the music video. I thought it was intense. Yet another stark contrast from The Santa Clarita Diet. And that’s OK. Sometimes you need to engage in the serious and intense. Other times you need to watch Drew Barrymore chomping on a fresh human arm. Just depends on your mood.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken

But you see it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head
They are fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head
They are cryin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey, oh

Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou
Dou, dou, dou, dou

Another mother's breakin'
Heart is taking over
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken

It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head
They're still fightin'
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head
They are dyin'

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hey, oh, ya, ya-a