Category: music (Page 3 of 3)

“The Valley of the Forgotten Secrets”

February 8, 2021 / JennyDetroit / 0 Comments

Just gonna leave this here for anyone who wants to roll some dice and fight some lizard men. . .

Honestly, this music is so evocative of a certain era of gaming, of fantasy, of childhood, it’s hard to believe how perfect these dungeon synth albums are. Bands like Kobold, Basic Dungeon, and Gnoll: they all make time machine music. I am instantly transported to being a kid again, even though there was hardly any music like this when I was young — outside of a few computer and video games. But the dungeon synth stuff is *just* close enough to old video game music — and just close enough to the musical scores of old 70s and 80s fantasy films — that it feels like it’s from that earlier time.

I love the track names too. The last track on this album is “Three dangerous artifacts.”

I wonder what those artifacts could be. . .

Perhaps a bowl crafted from star iron, a book of royal genealogy, and an amber scimitar that will banish all wights and ghouls (but only if the blade has tasted the blood of a sand dragon).

Once again, YouTube has led me down another musical rabbit hole that must be explored. . .

Next up: Fief – IV

Pass the tanning butter

January 24, 2021 / JennyDetroit / 0 Comments

We played this song for our kids, and I’m not sure if we fried their brains or what. The boys took to being lobsters and giant clams and stingrays. Much lobster-walking and clawing ensued. Also head-bopping.

I have no regrets.

Black Dog

January 17, 2021 / JennyDetroit / 0 Comments

One of my students mentioned Led Zeppelin the other day, and man, what a great band. I have loved Led Zeppelin for decades but haven’t listened to them much lately. No particular reason why, just listening to other stuff. But when my American Lit class brought them up this week, I was all about going on a Zeppelin binge.

So. Many. Great. Songs.

Seriously, I can’t think of any Zeppelin songs that are actively bad. Or even mediocre. All their songs rock. All have something interesting going on. All are eminently listenable. “Kashmir.” “Going to California.” “That’s the Way.” “Tangerine.” “Black Dog.”

I once tried out for my high school talent show by singing “Black Dog” with a band of guys who were total stoners and awesome dudes. Very talented. My singing, alas, was not so much, and we didn’t get in. But I still had a heckuva good time jamming to that song.

Ordinary Day

January 16, 2021 / JennyDetroit / 0 Comments

I didn’t blog yesterday. It’s okay; one miss isn’t a big deal. Two misses, though, can be the “beginning of a pattern.”

Today’s been a day of music. Lots of listening to old favorites. The Smithereens. Great Big Sea. Mumford and Sons’ first album (always the first album; sometimes the second; never the third).

“The Road Goes On.” (I might be the only person who remembers the Lord of the Rings musical.)

“Morning Has Broken.” (Gosh, do I miss Pushing Daisies!)

“Colours.”

“Beautiful.”

I know it’s not very original or unique to feel this way, but there’s nothing that can make one’s heart swell and yearn more deeply than a good song. Music is sometimes the air I need to breathe. Today was one of those days. I needed to feel the old ache that comes from hearing good music. I don’t know why I needed it, but I did. And somehow, when the music crescendos, when the harmonies gather into a rising wave, when the melody explodes into a final refrain — it’s in that moment that everything falls away, and there’s nothing but me and the music, and life is somehow distilled into that moment, and goosebumps cover my skin, and I know everything’s gonna be okay.

It was nice to have those moments today. To have those songs. To feel good.

Winter Chillin’

January 14, 2021 / JennyDetroit / 0 Comments

Heard this on the radio this morning. Might be my new favorite rendition of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The ensemble is called Red Priest, named for Antonio Vivaldi, who had red hair and was a Catholic priest.