Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files

Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files1996SoundtrackSongs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-FilesXsoundtrack.jpgA crude painting of a little green manvarious artistsTemplate:Start dateVariousTemplate:HlistTemplate:DurationWarner Bros.David WasThe X-Filesx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}} Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files is a 1996 compilation album released in association with the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The album contained a mixture of songs that were either featured in the series, or shared thematic elements with it. Songs in the Key of X peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart after its release. The album's title is a play on the title of Stevie Wonder's 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life.

The album has received positive reviews from critics, with one review describing it as "easily the most ambitious record ever assembled for a TV soundtrack". The song "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1997, losing to Rage Against the Machine. The album also features two songs hidden in the pregap before the start of the first track, both recorded by Nick Cave and The Dirty Three.

Production

When plans for the album were initially proposed, executives at both Fox Broadcasting Company—the network responsible for the series—and Warner Bros. Records began compiling a list of possible inclusions, most of which were eventually rejected. Artists such as Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Seal were approached to possibly contribute material. Although all three were admitted fans of the series, none were able to get involved in the project—Petty was unable to commit due to a tour, Springsteen was contractually tied to Sony Music Entertainment, while Seal was "snowboarding in South America or somewhere".<ref name="EWprod">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Elvis Costello and Brian Eno's track, "My Dark Life", came about as a result of album producer David Was asking Costello to provide a song that would sound like "'you went into the studio with Brian Eno"—the two musicians had recently met at a film screening at Paul McCartney's home, and reconvened to record the song the following week.<ref name="EWprod"/> R.E.M. and author William S. Burroughs collaborated on a new version of "Star Me Kitten", a song that had originally appeared on the band's 1992 album Automatic for the People.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Rob Zombie has described his collaboration with Alice Cooper on the song "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" as one of the "great moments where you really feel like you've made your dreams come true".<ref name="Voices">Kane, Billson and Oregan, p. 192</ref> Zombie and Cooper were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1997 for the song, losing out to Rage Against the Machine's "Tire Me".<ref name=Grammy1997>Template:Cite news</ref>

Several of the songs on the album were used in episodes of the series. Soul Coughing's "Unmarked Helicopters" appeared in the fourth season episode "Max",<ref>Meisler, p. 196</ref> while Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand" was heard during the second season episode "Ascension",<ref name="redrighthand">Template:Cite news</ref> Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Frenzy" appeared in the second-season episode "Humbug",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Danzig's "Deep" was featured in the third season episode "Syzygy", while the Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper song "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" was featured in the fourth season episode "Small Potatoes". Three of the artists featured on the album would also go on to contribute songs to The X-Files: The Album, the soundtrack to the series' 1998 feature film adaptation—Foo Fighters' "Walking After You", Soul Coughing's "16 Horses" and Filter's "One".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Release and reception

Songs in the Key of X was released on March 19, 1996.<ref name="AMGreview"/> It would eventually reach a peak chart position of 47 in the Billboard 200 album chart on April 13 that same year, spending a total of ten weeks in the chart.<ref name="Billboard">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album also spent five weeks in the Swedish Sverigetopplistan charts, peaking at number 42,<ref name="sweden">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and six weeks in the Finland's Official List chart, reaching a peak at number 24.<ref name="finland">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Reviews for Songs in the Key of X were generally positive. Upon the album's release, Entertainment Weekly's David Browne rated it a B, calling it "easily the most ambitious record ever assembled for a TV soundtrack". Browne felt that the contributions to the album by Sheryl Crow and William S. Burroughs were amongst its highlights, though felt that the compilation was "dragged down by ponderous contributions" from Nick Cave and Elvis Costello.<ref name="EWreview">Template:Cite magazine</ref> AllMusic's Steven McDonald was mostly positive towards the album, rating it three stars out of five and stating that "while not perfect, the album makes a nice alternative compilation", noting that it shares the television series' "blue-light glow of twisted mystery". McDonald felt that the Foo Fighters cover of Gary Numan's "Down in the Park" and Elvis Costello's "My Dark Life", along with Mark Snow's theme for the series, were the highlights of the compilation.<ref name="AMGreview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sandy Masuo, writing for the Los Angeles Times, rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of four, finding that the compilation's "unsettling ambience" suited the "deliciously creepy" atmosphere of the series. Masuo felt that the R.E.M./Burroughs and Costello/Eno collaborations ultimately turned out to be "more interesting in theory than in practice", naming "Down in the Park" as the best track on the compilation, with the contributions of Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and P.M. Dawn also noted as highlights.<ref name="LAT">Template:Cite news</ref>

A review for the album in The Independent noted that none of the songs "can really hold a candle to Cave's "Red Right Hand" in capturing the show's sense of fatalistic futility", adding that there seemed to be "a shared soul thing" between Cave and Carter.<ref name="independent">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Ted Cox, writing for the Daily Herald, described the album as "a who's who of modern rock". Cox rated the album three stars out of five, noting that "most of the material hits the fair-to-middling quality level of a neglected album cut or a good B-side"; adding, however, that the album's overall "atmosphere of paranoia and alienation" helped to tie it together.<ref name="herald">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Writing for The Buffalo News, Anthony Template:Not a typo rated the album four stars out of five, calling it "a strange, delightful trip". Template:Not a typo felt that "Star Me Kitten" was the album's best song, and that Danzig's "Deep" was its "weakest cut".<ref name="buffalo">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Writing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Fred Shuster felt that compared to other television tie-ins that "aren't worth the aluminum they're recorded on", Songs in the Key of X "is a rare exception because of the unusual quality and rarity of the tracks". Shuster rated the album three stars out of five, describing it as "more imaginative than the show that inspired it".<ref name="LA Daily">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Track listing

Notes

Charts

Weekly charts

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Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref name="Ryan"/>	8

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref name="Ryan"/>	48

References

Works cited

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