I was hunting for the old 1970’s slumber party song D.O.A. by Bloodrock. I found it on a podcast titled I’m In Love With That Song. (If you got here looking for D.O.A., hey slumber party sister, I refer you to the October 15, 2023 episode.)
One reason that song appeals to morbid 10-year-olds is the lyric content. It’s a dying man’s first-person narrative of a plane crash. English teachers, if you need to explain first person point of view to morbid children I recommend this very song. They will never forget it, not even if they only heard it once off a smuggled record in a friend’s basement over 50 years ago.
There’s another reason it sticks with you. I’ve heard there was a secret chord, that evidently irks The Lord, called the Tritone, or the Devil’s interval. That two note combo is the squawky part in heavy metal, West Side Story, Purple Haze, all your favorites. Go listen to D.O.A. on Youtube if you want to hear it.
“I have a guitar. I could play that. ” And I did: F and B. No demons were summoned. Except Gary, who came in later and said my tritone didn’t sound spooky at all. My fault: I went high F down to B instead of low F up to B. Much spookier.