Presented as part of the Humanities Research Centre Seminar Series

Drawing on research to be published in a forthcoming 33⅓ Series book, this paper considers some of the cinematic influence imbued in post-punk band Siouxsie and the Banshees’ ninth studio album Peepshow. Throughout the record, explicit references to films including Nicholas Roeg’s Eureka (1983) and Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse (1981) are made, as well as lyrical references and musical allusions to technical aspects of film including shadows, mise en scéne and the staging of protagonists. Peepshow’s unusual orchestration, song arrangements, multi-intertextual and large scale form borrows heavily from film music, specifically works by Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota and James Bernard.

Samantha Bennett is Associate Professor in Music at the Australian National University where she specialises in popular music, music technology and sound recording. Her first book, Modern Records, Maverick Methods, is forthcoming from University of Michigan Press’ Tracking Pop series.