Vampires have Great Taste in Music!

Well, fictional HBO vampires do, at any rate. During a glut of ugly, cold, drizzly Upstate New York days this week, I decided to catch up on some television, because going outside was simply an unacceptable option and working didn't seem much fun either. How convenient, then, that I had stockpiled every episode of HBO's new series True Blood. Watching the show, I was very quickly reminded of my strange inability to suspend disbelief when it comes to things I actually know something about. After I'd seen a few episodes, I started complaining to my poor sweet sister. "Ugh! First of all, Northern Louisiana is more like Arkansas than funky swamp country. Secondly, that one guy, Rene? His Cajun accent is one of the worst I've ever heard! Third..." Cutting me off, she said, "Uh-huh. But vampires are real?" Point taken, dear sister. Mom still likes me better.

At any rate, I finally made it through Episode 4, when much to my pleasant surprise, I noticed that Vampire Bill was listening to Cambodian-meets-surf-punk band Dengue Fever on his car stereo in the last scene of the show. Naturally, his southern-bred companion couldn't possibly tolerate such music, so she turns it off. Because, as we all know, no one except weirdos from New York and San Francisco like world music. Also, remember, vampires are real. Fast forward through the creepy opening sequence to the first scene of the next show, and... wait, could it be? That sounds like Tuvan throat singing! "What is that, anyway?" asks our fair heroine. "It's Tuvan throat singing," responds our handsome vampire. "Wait, what? For real?" asks our shock-riddled world music guide. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen or heard Tuvan Throat singing in any pop-culture context before. And I certainly didn't expect to hear it in a TV show about vampires in Louisiana. Cajun or zydeco, maybe, or even old-time music (given that the show's producers are clearly geographically challenged), but not Tuvan flippin' throat singing! So now I'm officially a fan of the show, and I hereby deem vampires to have the best musical taste of any subcreature. I officially agree to not complain about the terrible, stereotypical depiction of Louisiana life, in exchange for the producers throwing me another world music bone once in awhile. On that note, Happy Halloween!