‘Under the Milky Way’: the song Danger Mouse wishes he had written
For Danger Mouse, an album is not just a body of work. He fashions a universe for an artist to step into, a mutual space to manifest the sonic visions that he has mapped out.
As a producer, he operates as a film auteur would. He once told The New York Times, “I want to create a director’s role within music… I can create different kinds of musical worlds, but the artist needs the desire to go into that world.” In fact, Burton achieved a perfect balance of the two when convincing David Lynch to sing on his and Sparklehorse’s collaborative album, Dark Night of the Soul.
The results of Burton’s works have been countless in their revolutionary impact. From his work as half of the soul duo Gnarls Barkley, to producing the likes of Gorillaz’ culture-shifting Demon Days and forming Danger Doom with the late rapper MF DOOM, no genre has been left unmarked by Brian Burton’s genius.
Born in White Plains, New York, Burton’s first immersion into music began while studying in Athens, Georgia, in the late 1990s. Under the name Pelican City, Burton released three trip-hop albums, where his admiration of Portishead’s sound coincided with his admiration for the likes of Nirvana and Pink Floyd. During this time, he opened a university concert featuring OutKast and Goodie Mob, which is where he met CeeLo Green, a member of Goodie Mob. They soon formed Gnarls Barkley, beginning Burton’s extensive history of collaboration.
Coinciding with the rise of music’s internet virality, a remix album called The Grey Album made Burton an accidental overnight sensation. The work, intended only to be heard by Burton’s friends, mixed beats made by samples from The Beatles’ eponymous, so-called White Album with a-capella vocals from Jay-Z’s The Black Album. The collection became infamous for its reimagining, but sparked an interest in Burton, who defied genre in favour of melding together an irresistible sound. He proved that a complete eradication of boundaries in music was not only possible, but necessary in music’s evolution.
With an evident appreciation for any music, regardless of genre, it is unsurprising that one of Burton’s favourite pieces of music would harness a similar multifaceted approach to his own. Speaking with NME, he chose The Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way’ as the song he wishes he had written. “From that mysterious song title onwards, this is incredible,” Burton says. “It sounds so simple, which I think could be a lesson for my own songwriting. So often it’s the songs that have just two or three chords that become your best-loved songs”.
The song is a lush, poignant track that has since taken on a life of its own, used in countless commercials and included on the Donnie Darko film soundtrack. Like Burton’s The Grey Album, ‘Under the Milky Way’ was also an accidental hit. As vocalist Steve Kilbey told News Limited in 2011: “You’d think people would think it’s been overused, but the more it’s used the more people seem to want to use it… You can hear it wasn’t written for profit. It’s an accidental song I accidentally wrote and accidentally became a single and accidentally became a hit… I never see ‘Under the Milky Way’ – it’s so busy out there working…”
Listening to the song reveals various sonic influences that are evident across Burton’s discography, from its melodic acoustic guitars to its quiet, barely there synthesisers. Burton’s appreciation for the song showcases his knack for distilling the best pieces of songwriting and composition, a talent that persists across his endless collaborations.
