They’re Swallowing Me Whole

The Silures “21 Ghosts (Part 1)”

At the time “21 Ghosts” was released in 2003, a techno approximation of a glam rock shuffle was very on-trend in electronic music. Goldfrapp released their signature hit “Strict Machine” around the same time, and artists on Michael Mayer’s Kompakt label were rapidly iterating on the “schaffel” sound. I love this aesthetic – sleek, sexy, intimidating – and wish it would come back in style. In context, this sound came out near the end of the electroclash phase and pushed that sort of cheeky hedonism into a more severe, aggressive, and kinky place. (Not for nothing, but “21 Ghosts” is a song that casually mentions watersports.)

“21 Ghosts” was the result of a collaboration between the French producer Vitalic and the American punk singer Linda Lamb, and appears on a one-off EP called All You Can Eat. There’s two versions of the song, but I strongly prefer this one, which has this violent, urgent feeling to it. I like the way Lamb’s nasal NYC accent contrasts with the harsh, grinding tone of the music – it’s like she’s trapped inside this machine. The lyrics flip between evocative nonsense – “lady fancy knickers likes watersports,” “look out, Argentina just scored another goal!” – and a creepy account of being haunted by precisely 21 ghosts. It’s a horror song, but it’s not necessarily the supernatural element that makes it scary. It’s more about feeling like you have no agency, and that you have no choice but to be passive as outside forces dominate you.

But really, if you wanna TL;DR this, let me just say this: This is one of the greatest bangers to ever be featured on this site. It is one of the best songs of the entire 2000s.

Buy it from Amazon.