30 Century Man

I'll tell you a story about an obscure song that grabbed my attention earlier this year, and would not let go. Late last November, I purchased a new (to me) 2021 Prius. When I realized it connected seamlessly with my current cell phone, I finally relented and got a Spotify subscription. In other words, I finally followed my kids' footsteps. Unlike my kids, I immediately added whole LPs to my library, rather than playlists. The stuff I listen to is old-school enough that there might be 30-40 minutes of time for any one LP. And once an album is finished on Spotify, you'll find yourself immediately subject to whatever algorithm Spotify uses. One day, as I was on a commute, an LP finished up. I was probably listening to Television's Marquee Moon or The Patti Smith Group's Radio Ethiopia (two LPs I enjoy), when the last song ended and the algorithm did its thing. One of the first songs offered to me by the algorithm gods was a song called 30 Century Man by Scott Walker. The song sounded like something I might have heard before, but I just could not recall when or where. 

30 Century Man is a 90-second acoustic guitar and vocal song. It's somewhat dark and haunting. I could almost imagine someone playing something like it in a coffee house circa 1990. Eventually, I'd remember that I had heard someone else cover it at the end of a Futurama episode from well over a decade ago. One would also hear the original performed by Scott Walker on Wes Anderson's film The Life Aquatic (which I strongly recommend). I would then start delving into Scott Walker's career and I have not been disappointed. 

 

If you listen to the entire Scott 3 LP, you'll notice this song seems very out of place. The rest of the collection features some beautifully arranged pop ballads that were a bit darker than the typical Frank Sinatra or Burt Bacharach song. The orchestration on the LP hints at some of his more avant-garde interests that would define Scott's latter career. On the song 30 Century Man, the lyric itself has an existentialist vibe to it. The temptation to escape is ever present when faced with weighty choices, including cryogenic freezing (as alluded to in the song). The lack of any orchestration for this song makes the lyric feel considerably more direct. It is as stark as the choices in front of us. 

I'll gladly put that song on repeat. Actually Scott 3 is a lovely LP which was a big hit in the UK in 1969. Before this particular LP, Scott Walker was a prominent UK-based pop star both as a solo act and with is band, The Walker Brothers. Neither Scott nor his former bandmates ever took off in the US. However, songs by Scott Walker and his band have appeared as background music for scenes in a number of films and TV episodes over the years. Chances are you have heard Scott Walker's early work, but just didn't know it.

As for his later work, I am beginning to delve into it now. Like a lot of experimental music, it requires devoted attention, which is a bit of a challenge on a commute. I find it fascinating, and I can see how his work, especially his later work, is well-respected. If we think of 30 Century Man as a meditation on following short-term fame or artistic integrity (dwarfs versus giants) or just dropping out (freeze), we get an idea of what he was wrestling with at the peak of fame. He certainly didn't freeze, and he was no dwarf. He's a giant who can influence the likes of David Bowie. He used his cachet as a pop star to offer some different choices to a mass audience while he could. In the long term, we are the better for it.