Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for TIME, Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
The actual Harry Houdini — a Hungarian illusionist who captivated the world with his seemingly impossible stunts — died in 1926, so he can’t stand up unless he’s finally found a way to permanently cheat death. But either way, the escape artist’s legacy can’t be … well, escaped. Decades after Houdini took his last breath, musicians have continued to use his name in song titles when they want to express something about the ability to disappear or break out of a seemingly impossible situation. On May 31, Eminem dropped “Houdini,” the lead single off of his upcoming album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) — around six months after Dua Lipa dropped her own “Houdini.” And they’re not the only artists who have paid homage to Harry Houdini with their music. Whose “Houdini” are you in the mood-ini for today? Peruse the very different options below.
Abra-abracadabra
And for my last trick, I’m about to reach in my bag, bruh
Slim Shady has returned from the “dead” to drop something new-dini, with the help of a cameo-filled, comic-book-style music video. The lyrics reference Megan the Stallion’s shooting (“would I have a shot at a feat”), call his own kids “brats,” and make the self-aware observation that he’s “a bigger prick than cacti be.”
Catch me or I go Houdini
Dua brought a crew-dini together for the group choreography in the music video for her version of “Houdini.” The dance track, off her album Radical Optimism, expresses the perspective of someone who is a serial ghoster but might be ready to settle down for the right person.
Got shackles on, my words are tied
The music video for this song, off Foster the People’s debut album Torches, follows a concert that seems pretty screwed-ini (given that the band members have died). But in the spirit of the song’s namesake, an illusion fools the crowd.
Everybody thinks you’ll never make it
But every time, you escape
This track, off of Kate Bush’s album The Dreaming, is possibly the mood-iniest entry on this list. She switches from singing the lyrics — which are told from the point of Houdini’s widow, Bess — to screaming them in frustration.
