Jill Tracy states that some of her biggest childhood influences were film score composers such as Bernard Herrmann, and classic suspense tales, including Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang films, Ray Bradbury stories, and Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone.
She is listed in San Francisco Magazine’s Top 100 Creative Forces in the Bay Area.
1999's Diabolical Streak is the first studio album featuring her back up ensemble The Malcontent Orchestra. “Evil Night Together” from Diabolical Streak was awarded the SIBL international Grand Prize for songwriting. The album was listed among the "Top 10 Neo-Cabaret albums of all time" in Shift magazine. “The Fine Art of Poisoning,” from Diabolical Streak became an animated short film in 2003, a collaboration with Bay Area animator Bill Domonkos. The film has won over 30 film festival awards and continues to screen internationally.
Jill Tracy and The Malcontent Orchestra’s original score to F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent vampire classic Nosferatu debuted live at San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema in 1999 and toured Northern California theatres during Halloween season for five consecutive years. This led to the 2002 CD release Into the Land of Phantoms.
Her latest (and fourth) album, The Bittersweet Constrain (2008), explores a heavier, cinematic sonic edge with the addition of instruments such as the sarod, harmonium, and seldom-seen Chapman Stick. The recording also features percussionist Randy Odell, horn player Ralph Carney (Tom Waits/B52's), cellist Erica Mulkey (Rasputina/Unwoman), and violinist Tony Cross (Tarentel).
Produced by Alex Nahas (John Vanderslice/Zoe Keating/LaughingStock), The Bittersweet Constrain has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "devastatingly beautiful."
Domonkos served as art director/graphic designer for The Bittersweet Constrain. The CD packaging features Jill Tracy portraiture by Bay Area surrealist photographer Michael Garlington, known for his dreamy macabre imagery shot on vintage film stock.
Torture
Jill Tracy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A strange device designed to kill
Hanging out in the Pillory
Drawn and quartered for the whole town to see
The infliction of the Rack
Boiling oil in great stone vats
Bound and broken on the Wheel
But all I know is how you make me feel today
This torture
Is getting close to you
Torture
The agony I put myself through
Torture
The bittersweet constrain
Torture
For Desire is the cruelest pain
Back in 1585
They’d impale a man alive
Wooden collar and iron truss
Chinese Death of 1000 Cuts
And on the pages in between
They spoke of the Garrote and the Guillotine
Iron Maiden and Little Ease
But all I know is how you make me feel today
This torture
Is getting close to you
Torture
The agony I put myself through
Torture
The bittersweet constrain
Torture
For Desire is the cruelest pain
My mind’s caught in a Brank
And all the ribbons of my skin
Tomorrow ends up in shackles before it even begins
And the tears that fall upon my face
They trickle to the floor
Like water torture falling
Drop by drop by drop by drop by drop by drop by drop
This torture
Is getting close to you
Torture
The agony I put myself through
Torture
The bittersweet constrain
Torture
For Desire is the cruelest pain
And you taught me all about pain
Jill Tracy's song "Torture" is a haunting and eerie portrayal of the various forms of torture used throughout history. The lyrics reference some of the most barbaric and gruesome forms of torture, such as the Brazen Bull, the Rack, and impaling. The song is essentially about how love can be a form of torture and desire can be the cruelest pain. The singer of the song seems to be caught in a state of mental torture, describing herself as being caught in a "Brank," which was a form of punishment that involved locking an iron mask onto a person's head. The lyrics suggest that this mental torture is self-inflicted, as she sings about putting herself through agony.
The song starts by referencing the Brazen Bull, a torture device that was shaped like a bull and used to burn people alive. The lyrics then reference other forms of torture such as the Pillory (used for publicly humiliating and punishing offenders), the Rack (used to stretch people until their limbs were dislocated), boiling oil, and the medieval torture wheel. The lyrics then jump to the subject of love and desire being the cruelest forms of torture. The singer is caught up in this emotional agony, describing it as a bittersweet constraint.
Throughout the song, Jill Tracy uses disturbing imagery to portray the brutal nature of torture. She sings about tears falling like water torture, and how desire can be as painful as the Chinese Death of 1000 Cuts. The overall theme of the song seems to be that love and desire, like torture, can be both alluring and destructive.
Line by Line Meaning
So goes the tale of the Brazen Bull
This is the story of a deadly contraption.
A strange device designed to kill
The Brazen Bull is a bizarre invention meant to end lives.
Hanging out in the Pillory
Public humiliation was used as a punishment.
Drawn and quartered for the whole town to see
People were publicly executed through tortuously gruesome methods.
The infliction of the Rack
Stretching people beyond their limits was a form of torture.
Boiling oil in great stone vats
Boiling people alive was a method of torture in the past.
Bound and broken on the Wheel
Breaking limbs on a wheel was another means of torture.
But all I know is how you make me feel today
Regardless of the past torturous methods, only your current feelings matter.
This torture
The agony of love
Is getting close to you
The pain of passion draws nearer.
The agony I put myself through
The heartache is self-inflicted.
The bittersweet constrain
The torment is both pleasurable and painful.
For Desire is the cruelest pain
Longing and yearning can be devastating.
Back in 1585
In the year 1585
They’d impale a man alive
Executing someone through impalement was a thing.
Wooden collar and iron truss
Instruments of torture made of wood and metal.
Chinese Death of 1000 Cuts
Execution through slow, painful cuts
And on the pages in between
Texts speak of
They spoke of the Garrote and the Guillotine
Various means of execution were mentioned, such as the Garrote and the Guillotine.
Iron Maiden and Little Ease
Instruments of torture like the Iron Maiden and Little Ease were mentioned.
My mind’s caught in a Brank
The artist feels like they're trapped in a Brank, an instrument used to silence and humiliate women.
And all the ribbons of my skin
The pieces of flesh that fall from her body are like ribbons.
Tomorrow ends up in shackles before it even begins
The future feels predetermined and hopeless.
And the tears that fall upon my face
Crying in pain from their predicament.
They trickle to the floor
The tears fall to the ground.
Like water torture falling
The tears fall like drops of water, much like the torture method of water torture.
And you taught me all about pain
The person being addressed has been the source of the singer's pain.
Contributed by William B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hostessofhorror99
This was the song that introduced me to Jill Tracy and her unique talent. I always had a love for dark/morbid songs (Creature Feature, Avenged Sevenfold, Voltaire, etc.) and this did not disappoint. I love the chill jazzy vibes that intertwine with the twisted lyrics. It's like her songs can be found playing in a fancy speakeasy for supervillains and baddies alike.
@freyjasage
<3
@LaviniaLaviosa
♥