The Piper is down

June 25, 2006 7:58 PM

songfilter: I am trying to compile a CD of pop/rock tunes that uses the bagpipes or its assorted cousins including keyboard fakery to achieve a celestial set of tones that only squeezing a bladder with a mouthpiece can provide.

Besides, "Do you think I'm sexy" from So I Married an Ax Murderer , "Long Way to the Top" by AC/DC, the Church's "Under the Milky Way" and Big Country's "In a Big Country" what other pop/rock tunes can the green board suggest for bagpipe assisted seduction?

posted by jadepearl to media & arts (33 comments total)

In Extremo and Saltaltio Mortis play rock with bagpipes. [For the latter, try their album "Erwachen"; "Heptessenz" has a slightly less rockier feel.] Both of them base many of their songs off of medieval songs, but the music is definitely rock.
posted by ubersturm at 8:04 PM on June 25, 2006

Last track on Quasi's "Sword of God"—Rock And Roll Will Never Die, I think.
posted by cortex at 8:12 PM on June 25, 2006

Most of Dropkick Murphy's Do Or Die album has bagpipes. Its boston irish punk though, not sure if that quite fits what you need.
posted by devilsbrigade at 8:20 PM on June 25, 2006

On Slade's "Run Run Away", they used guitars in harmony to simulate bagpipes.
posted by forrest at 8:25 PM on June 25, 2006

Er, Saltatio Mortis. I can type, really, I swear. If you want individual song recommendations: For In Extremo, try "Spielmannsfluch," "Santa Maria," "Vollmond," or "Palastinalied," though many of their songs would fit. I'm not as familiar with their newer stuff, but I hear it's even more rock-based. For Saltatio Mortis: "Hor die Trommeln" or perhaps "Am Scheideweg."

For Celtic stylings, Cruchan is a Celtic metal band - I remember mostly tin whistle in their stuff, but there may be some bagpipe as well. There's of course Irish-American folk-punk - the Dropkick Murphys, Floggy Molly (uileann pipes rather than normal bagpipes), etc.
posted by ubersturm at 8:25 PM on June 25, 2006

I once saw a comedian play Van Halen's Eruption on bagpipes. It was fantastic! True story. That is all.
posted by ashbury at 8:36 PM on June 25, 2006

Also in the same vein as Saltatio Mortis is Wolfstone. For non-bagpiped celtic excellence, I suggest Shooglenifty.
posted by The White Hat at 8:36 PM on June 25, 2006

For that special, late '80s feeling, allow me to add:

Rod Stewart, "Every Beat of My Heart"
Simple Minds, "Belfast Child"

Not sure how much seductive mileage you'd get with those two, however.
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:38 PM on June 25, 2006

"You're The Voice" by John Farnham
posted by sueinnyc at 8:54 PM on June 25, 2006

Cruachan. Maybe I was wrong about the typing. Speaking of Celtic metal, I think some Skyclad tracks have bagpipes, along with the more common fiddle and tin whistle, though I can't for the life of me remember which albums I should be looking on. I don't think that Waylander or Primordial use any bagpipes, though I could be wrong.

Cultus Ferox's stuff is mostly a little less metal/rock than In Extremo, but "Skurkanas" or "Rans Horder" might work. Schattentanz's "Ein Blatt im Wind" and Cumulo Nimbus' "Wirtshaus" would probably be OK as well. [I found these on compilation albums, so they might be harder to find.] I don't have any Subway to Sally, but I'm told they're more or less like In Extremo & Saltatio Mortis. And of course, there're Tanzwut, side-project of the very traditional Corvus Corax, who play electronic music with rock and medieval bagpipes. Try "Der Traum," "Labyrinth," "Der Wächter," etc. There's also an album of electronic remixes of Corvus Corax's traditional stuff called "In Electronica."
posted by ubersturm at 8:56 PM on June 25, 2006

"Bigpipe Style" from Orbital's "Style" single (or "The Altogether" bonus disc).
posted by neckro23 at 8:57 PM on June 25, 2006

ACDC on "It's a long way to the top...
posted by cosmicbandito at 9:05 PM on June 25, 2006

Prydein
posted by tellurian at 9:14 PM on June 25, 2006

The untitled track (#10) from Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

And check out this wikipedia list.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:15 PM on June 25, 2006

The Beatles's "Baby You're a Rich Man" has some interesting stuff.
posted by evil holiday magic at 9:29 PM on June 25, 2006

"Oh La La" by The Faces has bagpipes in the end. (It's on the Rushmore soundtrack.)
posted by itchie at 10:03 PM on June 25, 2006

Anything by the Real McKenzies rocks hardcore to the max. A lot of newer Dropkick Murphys has bagpipes now that they have a full time piper. For a more raw punk rock sound with your bagpipes check out Blood or Whiskey. Cheers!
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 11:31 PM on June 25, 2006

Running with the fact the some metafiltarians can't tell the difference between Bagpipes and Uilleann Pipes - U2's Tomorrow, from the album October has always been a favourite of mine.

And given too that you don't mind fakery - it'd be worth listening to the works of Big Country from the 80s, which (almost) patented a creditable Bagpipe-esque sound which the wrung from their guitars.
posted by benzo8 at 12:24 AM on June 26, 2006

See, and if I read the question already, I'd know you knew about Big Country! ;-)
posted by benzo8 at 12:25 AM on June 26, 2006

try wings mull of kintyre
posted by baker dave at 12:54 AM on June 26, 2006

I wouldn't say that it's particularly suited for "bagpipe assisted seduction", but some of Korn's stuff has bagpipes in (Shoots 'n' Ladders, from their selftitled album; possibly others)... it all depends on the kind of stuff your... um... target likes! :)
posted by Chunder at 1:30 AM on June 26, 2006

Er, on the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire soundtrack, there are three songs attributed to Weird Sisters (a fictional band, played in the film by Jarvis Cocker and Jonny Greenwood among others), one of them, 'Dance Like a Hippogriff', has a bagpipe solo. It's not hugely seductive, though.
posted by featherboa at 2:56 AM on June 26, 2006

omg, i can't believe i'm going to associate this with my name considering it's probably not even correct, but does celine dion's "my heart will go on" count?
posted by lannanh at 3:54 AM on June 26, 2006

Joan of Arc by Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 4:07 AM on June 26, 2006

Peter Gabriel: Biko.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 5:53 AM on June 26, 2006

I have this album and was particularly thinking of the samba reggae and bagpipe cocktail called "Glenmalambo" by Scots-Brazilian fusion band Macumba.
posted by rongorongo at 6:05 AM on June 26, 2006

Queen, "Gimme the Prize," from the Kind of Magic album and Highlander soundtrack, has a Brian May solo that opens with a bit meant to sound like bagpipery.
posted by ibmcginty at 6:13 AM on June 26, 2006

Keep the songs a coming, I am a reviewing and compiling as I type. I do agree that some songs are not "pop" enough or not standard seduction but who said I was into standard seduction?

Thanks to all the contributions so far.
posted by jadepearl at 7:10 AM on June 26, 2006

See albums by Arab Strap (I know there are songs on Monday at the Hug and Pint that do, and possibly some on the new album, The Last Romance).
posted by synecdoche at 7:43 AM on June 26, 2006

"Nothing's Alrite in our Life" from "East Hastings" from "f#a#∞" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Phew.
posted by ed\26h at 9:51 AM on June 26, 2006

“America No More” by The KLF.
posted by hilker at 2:22 PM on June 26, 2006

Kate Bush, Night of the Swallow
posted by vers at 3:24 PM on June 26, 2006

They may not quite be pop enough, but you might want to give a listen to the Tartan Terrors. There are sample mp3s on their website.

Watching their dancers throw in traces of "YMCA", the Macarena and the Hustle into traditional Celtic step dancing...really, do see them live sometime!
posted by QIbHom at 3:40 PM on June 26, 2006