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            Instead of starting off this blog with a half attempted explanation of why we as a society are fascinated with the disturbing nature of serial killers -I just read enough of them, I don’t need to add to the useless pile- I’m just going to say that for whatever reason we are, and instead explain what made me want to write about Dahmer in the media in the first place.  (I’m also not going to delve into who Dahmer was.  You must know if you’re reading this, and if not, that’s what our friend Internet is for.)

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            It all started with a song called Dead Skin Mask.  I’m not much of a Slayer fan but I’m familiar with a few of their songs.  Dead Skin Mask, a tribute to Ed Gein, is my favorite of theirs, and that song led me to 213, which is a tribute to Dahmer. One band.  Two songs about killers.  I’ve had the idea of writing a piece about Dahmer in the media for quite some time now, so I can’t remember exactly what else made me want to look more deeply into it, but here I am writing, and hopefully here you are reading, so the whys behind it aren’t necessarily important.  Tonight I finally decided to sit down and do my homework, and it was a lot harder than I expected.

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            Jeffrey Dahmer is referenced A LOT in the media; books, television, music, movies, documentaries.  The list goes on and on.  He’s had more media exposure than someone willing to sleep their way to the top could ever dream of.  After realizing I could be getting in way over my head, I narrowed my focus onto music, since it was music that originally spawned my idea.

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            However, just focusing on music was easier said than done.  I found lists and lists of songs that were supposedly about Dahmer, but I couldn’t just take the writers’ word on it and call it a day.  Not only did I look up the lyrics for every song, but I categorized them as well. I even listened to a few, but there were just too many to listen to them all.  Not to mention, even if the lyrics were spot on, the majority of the songs were flat out horrible sounding; bad music, undiscernible lyrics.  I encountered it all and then some.

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            While I acknowledge it would be impossible to truly know 100%, I’d still like to be the first to claim that Jeffrey Dahmer should have bragging rights when it comes to having the most songs written about a serial killer.  Hell, a whole album was written and composed in his honor, but more on that later.

     

             I brought up categories, and that’s only because some of the songs I looked up didn’t seem specifically written about Dahmer, and while the internet can be a wondrous place of limitless information, sometimes that information is just people running their mouths with nothing to back up their claims.  So on that note, I’ll highlight a few of these songs for your reading and listening pleasure. 

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Undead Unknowns

            These are songs listed as being written about Dahmer, but I couldn’t find any lyrics, any videos, and sometimes, not even any information on the actual band.  Obviously the names of the songs should be proof enough, but because I couldn’t find any “real” information, it’s hard to say if these songs even exist.  (Then again, if anyone knows otherwise, feel free to send me a comment with any information.)  I also included songs that just referenced him but are obviously not “about” him.

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Acumen Nation – Apt. 213

Cradle of Filth – Lord Abortion

Creaming Jesus - Celebrity Cannibalism

Evil Anger – The Milwaukee Cannibal

Final Solution – Lord Dahmer

Gorilla Joe – Jeffrey Dahmer

HotrodBob – Apt. 213

Kesha – Cannibal

The Calm Before – Jeffrey Dahmer Eat Your Heart Out

The Nightmare River Band – Jeffrey Dahmer

 

           

 

Milwaukee Maybes

            These are songs that were either supposedly written about Dahmer but I found the lyrics/titles too vague to draw a concrete conclusion, or I could hear his name and aspects of his life mentioned in the lyrics, but not a listing of the lyrics.  For that reason, if he’s only referenced, I don’t consider it being “about” him. (These are different than the ones listed in the unknowns, since I could read the lyrics and judge he was just mentioned as opposed to being written about.) Particularly funny was Molotov’s cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rapsody.  The lyrics are in another language, but I can see Dahmer’s name spelled out in English.  How he fits into Bohemian Rapsody I’ll never know.

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At The Drive-In - Arcarsenal

Blood Duster – Dahmer the Embalmer

Manic Street Preachers - Marlon JD

Molotov - Rap, Soda y Bohemia

Necro - Tom Dahmer Mixtape Freestyle

 

 

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Dahmer Definites

            These are songs that are 100% without a doubt written about Dahmer.  Some were funny, some were chilling, and some just down right awful, but I must single out Pinkard & Bowden’s Friends in Crawl Spaces.  This was hands down the most brilliant of the list.

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Church of Misery - Room 213

Dead Moon - Room 213

Dudley Saunders – Love Song for Jeffrey Dahmer

G.G.F.H. - Room 213 (Frozen Heart mix)

Marilyn Manson - Choklit Factory

Pearl Jam - Dirty Frank

Pinkard & Bowden – Friends in Crawl Spaces

Slayer -213

Soulfly - Jeffrey Dahmer

the pAper chAse - Said the Spider to the Fly

Venetian Snares – Sinthasomphone

Violent Femmes - Dahmer is Dead

 

 

 

Macabre

            I also have to single out a band called Macabre, which is a “murder metal” band based out of Chicago, Illinois.  As the genre name would imply, their lyrics focus on serial killers and mass murderers.  Their lyrics are factually correct, and according to Wikipedia, the band members have actually met some of their subjects in person. 

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            If Dahmer was running for prom king, Macabre would be his legion of adoring yet not worthy enough admirers.  It’s due to their 28 songs about his life, 26 of them on an album entirely devoted to the killer, (simply titled “Dahmer”) that affords him the bragging rights of having the most songs written about a serial killer.  Even without their hefty contribution, Dahmer still boast an impressive 22 song references, not including the few songs where I couldn’t find any band or lyric information.