‘Songs in the Key of X’: the surprising impact of a 1996 ‘X-Files’ inspired CD compilation
Over 30 years on from its debut on America’s Fox TV network in 1993, the X-Files ought to have been relegated by now to obscure “cult favourite” status, but somehow, its relevance only seems to be growing in the wider culture.
It doesn’t hurt that the show’s two stars, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, avoided the convention circuit and have gone on to long, successful careers, with both currently out promoting high-profile new series: Anderson in Trespasses and Duchovny in Malice. While on the press junket for Malice, in fact, Duchovny made headlines just this week for apparently hearing Catatonia’s 1998 X-Files tribute song, ‘Mulder and Scully’, for the very first time. “It’s catchy. I like it!” was his long-overdue review.
It’s somewhat forgivable that Duchovny had missed the boat on that song back in the day, as the X-Files, by that point, had already established itself as one of the preferred shows among the cooler, “alternative” stars of the 1990s, and had thus inspired no shortage of tributes, references, and tips of the cap.
The high point of this period, when X-Files was at its peak and experiencing its most satisfying convergence with what was then a left-leaning conspiratorial counter-culture, came in 1996. That’s when showrunner Chris Carter got the opportunity to put together a musical accompaniment to the TV series, a compilation CD called Songs in the Key of X: Music From and Inspired By the X-Files.
That “inspired by” piece was key, as it allowed Carter to include songs that had appeared in episodes of the show, such as Danzig’s ‘Deep’ and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ ‘Red Right Hand’, as well as music from artists who were merely fans of the show and wanted to join in the fun. This included the Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, Frank Black, and some interesting duets between Elvis Costello and Brian Eno (‘My Dark Life’), Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper (‘Hands of Death’) and REM with William S Burroughs (‘Star Me Kitten’).
“It was a giant surprise that all of these people loved the show and were interested in being a part of the soundtrack,” Carter later told USA Today when discussing the CD, which reached the Top 50 on the US Billboard chart. “I think music inspired by the X-Files would be moody and thoughtful and mysterious, but sometimes people did upbeat poppy songs that were appropriate.”
Carter had been satisfied scoring his TV show with studio-composed music up until midway through its second season, when he happened to be listening to a Los Angeles alt-rock station and got a jolt of inspiration.
“I heard this Nick Cave song, ‘Red Right Hand’,” he recalled, “and thought, ‘I have to have that song!’ It was the first piece we used that wasn’t composed [for the show].”
This was 20 years, mind you, before Peaky Blinders made ‘Red Right Hand’ its theme song. As such, for many young Millennial X-Files fans, it was this 1996 CD compilation that not only introduced them to that song, but to Nick Cave himself, as well as Soul Coughing, and Danzig, maybe even Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
The truth was out there, and so was a big, wide world of weird, dark music to discover.
