Slayer Soundtrack Sunday ~ Alison Krauss

Bluegrass singer Alison Krauss of Union Station sang two songs in different Buffy episodes.

"It Doesn't Matter" appears in the opening episode of Season Two, "When She was Bad" as Buffy's mother drives her to school. Buffy is acting badly towards everyone, but maybe it's because the Master is haunting her dreams.






"That Kind of Love" was included in the episode "Entropy" in Season 6. As the title implies, things "fall apart" once again for Xander and Anya, as well as Buffy and Spike when a hidden camera reveals Spike and Anya doing the hanky panky. But Willow and Tara get back together as this song plays.

Who would sell their soul for love?
Or waste one tear on compromise
Should be easy enough
To know a heartache in disguise
But the heart rules the mind
And the going gets rough
Pride takes the fall
When you find that kind of love

I can't help feeling like a fool
Since I lost that place inside
Where my heart knew its way
And my soul was ever wise
Once innocence was lost
There was not faith enough
Still my heart held on
When it found that kind of love



Though beauty is rare enough
Still we trust
Somehow we'll find it there
With no guarantee
It seems to me
At least it should be fair

But if it's only tears and pain
Isn't it still worth the cost
Like some sweet saving grace
Or a river we must cross
If we don't understand
What this life is made of
We learn the truth
When we find that kind of love
Cause when innocence is lost
There is not faith enough
We learn the truth
When we find that kind of love



"That Kind of Love" appears on Radio Sunnydale UK and "It Doesn't Matter" appears on Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Album (1999 Television Series)

Slayer Soundtrack Sunday ~ Cibo Matto

Cibo Matto is a group made up of two Japanese women singers, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, Timo Ellis on Drums, and Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, on bass guitar. They disbanded in 2011, but soon got back together again for several fundraisers sponsored by Yoko Ono, including a benefit for the Japan Earthquake survivors. Their blog is Here and you can read more Here.

Both songs found in this episode are included on the 1997 album Super Relax. "Sugar Water" is also found on the imported UK version of Radio Sunnydale.



Cibo Matto played at the Bronze in Episode One of Season Two - "When She was Bad." In that episode (written by series creator Joss Whedon) Buffy is still reeling from her encounter with the evil Master Vampire in Season One that left her literally dead until discovered underground by Angel and Xander, who brought her back to life with CPR. Despite a summer away from Sunnydale with her well-meaning father, Buffy comes home acting sullen and quiet, plagued by nightmares and dark thoughts of death. Buffy mistreats everyone close to her, not just Cordelia who deserves it, but Xander who is still in love with her. In a famous scene, Buffy acts like a bitchy femme fatale, making both Angel and Willow jealous while she dances with Xander, whom she also torments by coming onto him sexually. The background music to all this is Cibo Matto's otherworldly sound.



It's such an interesting plot twist to have the superhero behaving badly, and it works to humanize Buffy, who is physically strong but often emotionally vulnerable.

The two songs by Cibo Matto in this episode are "Spoon" and "Sugar Water."





One more interesting note: during the dance sequence, a man who looks very much like the vampire Spike dances in front of the band while watching Buffy and Xander. This predates the arrival of Spike later in Season Two, Episode 3 - "School Hard". And it isn't Spike because the same young man appears in the final classroom scene, ironically sitting in front of Buffy's desk, and in the sunlit classroom - so definitely not a vampire either. It's quite possible thought that Joss Whedon was foreshadowing Spike early in the season - he knew William the Bloody was coming to Sunnydale, after all, and this guy has exactly the same hair. Maybe the make-up artist was practicing, LOL.