Music Hour at the Opium Den: “End of the World” (cover) by Girls

Every day at an undisclosed hour, Ms. Angora Holly Polo retires to the opium den in the lowest bellows of the manor and lets her servants blow opium smoke into her face before writing her music reviews. In this edition: “End of the World” (cover) by Girls

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I believe the original of this song, originally sung by crossover country star Skeeter Davis in the ’60s, is the record playing on repeat when that creepy girl kills herself in Girl, Interrupted. Is it not? Perhaps for that reason, this doe-eyed little tearjerker always elicits images of girls hanging themselves or pasty broken doll parts whenever I hear it.

As a bonus track on their album Album, Girls recently covered it and added a new level of creepiness with a wash of echoing sound, the undulating guitar played just a smidge out of tune. Making lonely songs echoey is even creepier. He sounds as though he’s singing from inside a box, and at one point there are sudden dissonant guitar-stabby sounds. I nearly soiled myself thinking about how creepy this is just now.

*Editor’s Note: Wow. I had scheduled this to publish a while back, not having any idea my collage, starring Brittany Murphy crying blood, would coincide with her death.