We are all our own devil and we make this world our hell! So goes the refrain of "Oscar Wilde," the catchy song by the Chicago-based indie rock band Company of Thieves. "Oscar Wilde" has earned the band a bit of notoriety, winning them the 2007 New York Songwriters Circle award and appearing on soundtracks from Gossip Girl to Dove commercials.
As an awkward teenager, the moody singer Morrissey took solace in the works of Oscar Wilde. Today, the singer counts his copies of Wilde's books among his most treasured possessions. The poet was a major inspiration to Morrissey in his loner teenage years, and continues to be an important influence in his music.
Ernest in Love is a musical adaptation of Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest. Numbers include "A Handbag Is Not a Proper Mother," "Metaphorically Speaking" and "Muffin Song." An entertaining album, if you prefer your theater sung to you.
Salomé is the title of Wilde's one-act play, originally in French, about the Biblical character Salomé. Shortly after Wilde's death, German composer Richard Strauss composed an opera based on Wilde's play.
Peter Brotzmann is a German saxophonist, clarinetist and evident Wilde fan. His 1996 tribute to Oscar Wilde is one of more than 100 records Brotzmann has released in his career.
The Wilde Oscars were a five-piece Irish band named after their countryman, Oscar Wilde. They broke up after releasing just one album and one single in the 1990s. We don't know if, like their namesake, they were done in by their own internal demons.