This pick for song of the day marks the fifth time the “Bards” from Germany has made an appearance. This song marks the third track to be chosen from their latest album, At The Edge of Time. To say that I am a fan of Blind Guardian would be just a tad bit of an understatement.
“Valkyries” is the latest song of the day and it’s Blind Guardian at their most progressive metal. As a band they’ve grown from a German speed and thrash metal band then became one of the progenitors of the power metal subgenre. For the past dozen or so years they’ve evolved their sound to incorporate progressive, melodic, symphonic and orchestral stylings to their basic power metal sound.
This song has lead bard Hansi Kürsch writing about Norse mythology, specifically the concept of the Valkyries who fly and roam above the battlefield to take those worthy slain warriors to Valhalla. Kürsch has been one of the best songwriters in the metal scene that I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. His songs are musical epic poems and if one has been following the previous “song of the day” entries involving this band they would’ve seen just how complex and intricate the lyrics Kürsch as come up with for each and every song. “Valkyries” lyrics are no different and listening to him sing it in his distinct voice conjures up images of glorious battlefields and brave warriors clashing in battle.
Listening to this song definitely would make for a great way to pump one up for the possibility of going into battle with battleaxe and sword in hand.
Valkyries
To the gods of the north, I pray And raise my cup for the fallen ones Then I cry In Valhalla they’ll sing
Rain Red blood keeps pouring down Come Valkyries, join me on that final ride
Here I lie bleeding Odin, I await thee
The battle rages on
New lines they’re weaving The future, the past and the present They’re one They will reveal their mask To show me a way to survive This bitter war
Soon it will be over He will be the one We’ll weave in
And terror will now rule these lands
When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home
Destiny A spinning wheel The path of glory Round and round Come join us On your final ride to Asgard Let’s move on fast Allfather waits So let’s heed the final call
For now We leave this world behind It’s over
All glory to the brave Still blood will rain Through storm and fire Let war winds reign It’s the feast for the crows
Follow the light Just follow the light Or fade away
Soon it will be over He will be the one We’ll weave in and terror will now rule these lands
When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home
We’ll keep on weaving We’re crushing through lines With our battering swords We’re marching on Assign the brave To survive This bitter war
Soon it will be over He will be the one We’ll weave in
And terror will now rule these lands
When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home When the battle is lost And the slain ones are chosen Valkyries will guide us home We’ll heed the final call A call to arms The valkyries will guide us home
Then finally I hear them say Carry on For Valhalla awaits you
Four years ago, I was in Recycle Books in Denton, Texas and I came across a book called something like “Unknown Legends of Rock and Roll.” The book came with a CD that featured music by some of the bands featured in that book. The first song on that CD (and my personal favorite) was Smashed Blocked, a song from a band called John’s Children.
Folk metal, pagan metal, viking metal, these terms all share a common root in black metal, starting with Bathory’s stylistic transition in the late 80s. I decided to break the rest of this down into my top 20 straight up black metal songs and this, my top 25 songs that extend beyond the genre without breaking from it wholesale. I’ve obviously taken a lot of liberties in determining what goes where. Don’t regard this as any sort of ordering of favorites so much as the order I happened to settle on after a number of considerations.
I think black metal is one of the most diverse genres to be found, and rather than trying to divide up a dozen sub-genres, I’d like to highlight through twenty five songs the vast world lying beneath blast beats and tremolo picking.
25. Ceremonial Embrace – Mysterious Fate
I know very little about this band. They appeared out of Finland in 2000 to release one fairly average album and then disappear back into obscurity. The opening track however, Mysterious Fate, is an impressive take on a sound you might associate with Windir – staccato synth supported by sweeping slower moments that focus heavily on melody without ever really ceasing to be black metal.
24. Enslaved – Clouds
One of the original “second wave” black metal bands, Enslaved (along with ex-Emperor frontman Ihsahn) really pioneered the transition from the raw style into something much more complex. I like to think of this song, off their 2008 release Vertebrae, as one of the better tracks to exemplify what you might call “post-black”, a prefix that, as in all other genres, can suggest a dozen different things and might be better seen as an approach to music than a stylistic trait. You might alternatively call this progressive black metal, though I like to restrict my usage of that term.
23. Astrofaes – Path to Burning Space
If black metal in the 90s meant Norway, black metal in the 2000s meant Ukraine. This, one of Astrofaes’s earliest works, really shows both the all-encompassing guitar and the folk elements that have come to define a lot of what is Ukrainian black metal. They weren’t the first to really capitalize on these – that credit belongs to a band I’ll be showcasing frequently herein – but in exploiting them they really helped to make “Ukrainian black metal” something distinct and recognizable.
22. Hellveto – Warpicture
When Poland’s Hellveto first started to make their mark in the early 2000s I remember hearing them described as “war metal”, a term that has since fallen into disuse. While this music would today be called pagan metal, with maybe an “orchestral” additive, at the time it was something really unique, and it still stands apart as decidedly different from the Russian bands, like Arkona and Pagan Reign, that helped pioneer the genre.
21. Nokturnal Mortum – Perun’s Celestial Silver
Welcome to the first of many entries I’ve slotted for what I consider to be the greatest black metal band of all time: Nokturnal Mortum. To merely credit them with the explosion of black metal in Ukraine is to miss how completely unique their music still is. No one has managed this sound before or since – primitivism in its ideal. The shrill, lo-fi guitars, the violent brutality of Russian and Ukrainian that Germanic languages don’t quite encompass, a folk sound that is both beautiful and enraged… This isn’t just a statement about the past, it is a violent declaration of war on the present. It is unfortunate that the band has yet to get over their stance on white supremacy and their virulent antisemitism (this song appears as track 88, a neo-nazi symbol for “Heil Hitler”), but it is also a testament to the authenticity of their sound.
20. Drudkh – Ars Poetica
Drudkh have put out eight albums and one EP since 2003, making them one of the most prolific metal bands on the market. Were that not enough, almost every member has played a role in at least one other prominent Ukrainian black metal band during this time. They’ve had their ups and downs, and 2009’s Microcosmos received its fair share of criticism, but I struggle to find any fault in this track. Dark, intense, reverent, in Drudkh can be heard the same renunciation of the present and praise for a distant past that characterizes Nokturnal Mortum (although without the racist undertones, though a sort of guilt by association has still landed them on many a list of nsbm bands.)
19. Triglav (Триглав) – The Warrior of Honour
Like Nokturnal Mortum, Drudkh, and Astrofaes, Triglav hail from Kharkiv, Ukraine. A lesser known band of the scene, having only released one album, theirs is a pagan metal sound that owes much more to black metal than most.
18. Ihsahn – A Grave Inversed
Enough with Ukraine. I take you now to Ihsahn, former Emperor front-man and possibly the most talented musician to emerge from black metal. “Progressive” anything in metal terms conjures to my mind an obnoxious, pretentious focus on esteeming technical skill over song writing (maybe I just heard way too much Dream Theater when I was in high school), but Ihsahn’s “prog black” indulgence is a glorious and rare exception. His 2010 release, After, might be his best work to date, and this track somehow manages to incorporate a saxophone into black metal and still be fucking awesome. I have ridiculous respect for this man, and I hope upon hearing what he’s done here you will too.
17. Altar of Plagues – Through the Collapse: Watchers Restrained
A lot of what I’ve come to think of as post-black metal feels to be founded in the depressive/atmospheric styles that characterize usbm. (If I may digress, Xasthur provides guest vocals on Agalloch’s monumental Ashes Against the Grain.) Having only really taken form over the past few years, there may be much more to come. If you don’t like what follows the first two minutes of this song, don’t bother listening through it. It doesn’t return to the opening sound. White Tomb as a full album though, and especially the introduction of this track, qualify Ireland’s Altar of Plagues as one of many promising new bands in the sub-genre. This was released in 2009.
16. Nokturnal Mortum – Kolyada
This first track, on the other hand, was released much earlier. Nokturnal Mortum’s third album, Goat Horns, was released in 1997 and showcases the high point in their early sound. The band has gone through three major phases, roughly from 1995-1997, 1998-2003, and 2004 to the present. The band has even on occasion re-recorded earlier songs to fit their updated sound, Perun’s Celestial Silver being an example. (That track, of 1999’s NeChrist, originally appeared in 1995 on Lunar Poetry in a very different form.) Their middle period is my favorite and the one I’ll be primarily sticking too, but I’ve provided a second song here, their 2007 re-recording of Kolyada, in case you’re curious what they currently sound like.
15. Enslaved – As Fire Swept Clean the Earth
I here return to Enslaved for their 2003 album Below the Lights. I throw the term post-black metal around loosely, and while this song might have next to nothing in common with Altar of Plagues, such is the case in other genres where the post- tag comes into play. Enslaved are significant both in their music and in the fact that, having been around since the early 90s, a whole lot of current musicians grew up listening to them and stuck with them over the years. This song can be seen as an early example of what became more common later in the decade, and I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence that this particular band wrote it.
14. Windir – Dance of Mortal Lust
Windir are so unique that I had a hard time figuring out how to fit them in here. Valfar froze to death on a mountain in Norway in 2004, and a tragedy though it may be, I don’t think the creator of this music could have been fated a more fitting end. I chose this song for its accessibility, but I encourage you to seek out his entire brilliant discography.
13. Emperor – The Tongue of Fire
By the final Emperor album, in 2001, it becomes difficult to think of them as “mere” black metal, or anything else for that matter. At this point Ihsahn was writing their music fairly independently from the rest of the band as I understand it, and you can here hear the full amalgamation of his black metal days and his transition into something far more complex.
12. Drudkh – Eternity
Blood in Our Wells, released in 2006, is my favorite Drudkh album, and this my favorite track on it. Their earlier albums receive more praise, and I encourage you to listen to them, but for me this is the apex of their accomplishments.
11. Klabautamann – October
If you’re thinking “this isn’t black metal at all”, you’re probably right, but in the context of the album it concludes it ought to be regarded as such. Der Ort was released in 2005, two years after Enslaved’s Below the Lights, and whether there was any direct influence there or not, I think Germany’s Klabautamann accomplished in this song the most beautiful thing to yet emerge from that extension of black metal.
I’ll be posting the remainder of this list, along with a few others, throughout the month. Hope you enjoyed.
If there ever was a song one should live their life by it would be this song. A song written by singer-songwriter Paul Anka whose melody was based off of the French song “Comme d’habitude” by French musicians Claude François and Jacques Revaux, but in the end popularized by the Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra. I speak of the classic song, “My Way” and it’s my pick for the latest song of the day.
The song was released in 1969 from Sinatra’s album of the same name. It became Sinatra’s signature song and has become a staple of karaoke bars everywhere and the one song guys are more than willing to belt out sober or not (though the more alcohol consumed the louder and more forceful the singing which always adds to the effect). The lyrics and theme of the song speak about a man (or one can also say woman as well) looking back at his life at the tail end of his days and liking what he’s seen and how he’s lived.
It’s a song so beloved by many music lovers that it’s been covered by so many musicians from so many differing musical backgrounds. From Elvis Presley, Nina Simone and Nina Hagen and even punk and symphonic metal versions by Sid Vicious and Northern Kings, respectively. There’s nothing about this song that doesn’t speak to a man about how one should conduct themselves through their life. And this is perfectly pointed out by this particular lyric in the song which also happens to be my favorite: “Regrets, I’ve had a few; But then again, too few to mention.”
So, this very early October morning of 2010, the latest song of the day also happens to be my favorite song ever. Long live Ol’ Blue Eyes.
My Way
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.
I’ve lived a life that’s full.
I’ve traveled each and ev’ry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.
I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say – not in a shy way,
“Oh no, oh no not me,
I did it my way”.
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows –
And did it my way!
This rather lengthy sequence comes towards the end of Walter Hill’s 1981 action film, Southern Comfort. Two national guardsmen (played by Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe), after spending the majority of the movie being chased through the Louisiana bayou by “bad” Cajuns, find a few moments of fleeting peace with “good” Cajuns. While I love the way Hill builds up the tension in the scene, it’s the authentic atmosphere that makes this sequence memorable. Hill filmed this sequence with nonprofessional extras who pretty much just did their thing.
(As a sidenote: I’m fluent in French but less so in Cajun.)
Be warned: two hogs are gunned down and gutted about halfway through this scene. Since this film was made by Walter Hill and not Umberto Lenzi, I doubt the hogs were specifically murdered just for the movie. To be honest, as a former farm girl who has spent more than a little time down around the bayous, I find it diffilcult to cry too hard over a hog. Trust me, they’re nothing at all like Babe.
The music here, by the way, was performed by the legendary Dewey Balfa.
What an awesome month. Forget Christmas, Halloween is where it’s at. Zombie movie marathons, kids walking around dressed as ghouls and barbarians, all the candy in the world, how can you beat it? And considering Christmas has its own devoted genre of music, why shouldn’t this (far superior) autumnal advent?
I thought I’d post up ten of my favorite “songs of the season” for your enjoyment.
Månegarm – Ur själslig död
I don’t know, maybe it’s just their unusual name, but I find myself often forgetting that Månegarm exist. I really shouldn’t. They’ve put out some impressive music.
Finntroll – Trollhammaren
I never saw the English translation of these lyrics until I came across this particular video, and now I love the song even more. “Amongst the shadows rides a beast like a black tree, gripping hard a mighty hammer, looking for weak Christian blood. He is not human, not fragile and weak like you. You will be helpless. No eyes see your end.”
Troll Bends Fir/Troll Gnet El – Strawberry Berserk
No one has ever quite settled on a proper means to transliterate Тролль Гнёт Ель, but whatever we call them they certainly fit the occation. The title of this song makes no sense to me, so I’m just going to assume it’s about getting really drunk.
Korpiklaani – Kohmelo
Korpiklaani manage to release a new album every year, with six since 2003 and another planned for February. As can be seen from their most recent one, this has been no deterrent to their quality. I know I linked this once before, but I can’t resist putting it up again – by far my favorite song by them.
Myrkgrav – Endeoner
Myrkgrav, like so many bands of the genre a solo project, composed this anthem to close his only full length album, Trollskau, Skrømt og Kølabrenning.
Thyrfing – Mjölner
I don’t listen to Thyrfing all that much over all, but Mjölner has one of the most ass-kicking melodies in metal.
Ensiferum – Victory Song
In this ten minute epic the chorus says it all. “Swords in their hands, they killed each and every man who dared to invade their sacred land. Victory songs are rising in the night, telling all of their undying strength and might.”
Pagan Reign – Печаль Сварога (Novgorodian Folk Dance)
Pagan Reign hail from Russia. Though they broke up after their 2006 release, the feel of the band remains largely intact under the offshoot project Tverd (Твердь). Also, this track gets my vote for the greatest intro ever.
Falkenbach – Heathenpride
Falkenbach’s contributions to viking/pagan metal cannot be overstated. Heathenpride tells the tale of a band of missionaries who ravage the northern lands in the name of Christ. With a sacrifice to Odin and Tyr, a pagan king calls for revenge and slaughters the Christian invaders. A happy ending if ever I’ve heard one. As it relates to actual history, Saint Boniface felled the sacred Donar Oak, near Fritzlar, Germany, in 723. Thirty-one years later he was put to the sword by pagans in Friesland, northern Holland. The Christians were, at best, just as barbaric as the pagans they sought to convert, and far less justified in their actions. Boniface’s death can be seen as one of the few pagan triumphs as Christians raped and pillaged their land. Whether Heathenpride is telling this story or some similar one that I am unaware of, the point is still a strong one.
Bathory – Hammerheart
The late Quorthon, father of viking metal, had once intended Twilight of the Gods to be his final album, and this was its closing track. We’ll see him in Valhalla.
Now that the winds call my name
And my star has faded, hardly a glimpse up in the empty space
And the wise one-eyed great father in the sky stilled my flame
For the ones who stood me near
And you few who were me dear
I ask of thee to have no doubts and no fears
For when the great clouds fills the air
And the thunder roars from oh, so far away up in the sky
Then for sure you will know that I’ve reached the joyous hall up high
With my blood brothers at side
All sons of father with one eye
We were all born in the land of the blood on ice
And now all you who might hear my song
Brought to you by the northern wind, have no fear
Though the night may seem so everlasting and forever dark
There will come a golden dawn
At ends of nights for all ye upon whom
The north star always shines
The vast gates to hall up high
Shall stand open wide and welcome you with all its within
And Odin shall hail us bearers of a pounding hammerheart
The song of the day is tied in with my Twitter Follow Friday. I’m going way back old school. For most of my friends and family this is not too way back, but for the other half I know anything that didn’t come out during the last 10-15 years is way, way back. With that out of the way I present to your viewing and listening pleasure “Whip Appeal” by Babyface.
This particular slow jam from Babyface’s 1989 LP album Tender Lover was a particular favorite of RnB fans from 1989 and beyond. I know that it was a major hit from 1990-91 during the prom season. Even after 1991 after I had graduated it stayed quite popular with everyone especially couples. I mean this song has romance written all over it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sudden baby boom of 1990 and a few years was due to just this particular one song.
Whip Appeal
Somebody told me
There’d be trouble at home
‘Cause we never talk a lot
When we spend time alone
So how are we supposed to know
Know when something is wrong
Well, we’ve got a right to communicate
It keeps a happy home
And no one does it like me
And no one but you
Has that kind of whip appeal on me
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
When we go to work
How the day seems so long
The only thing I think about
Can’t wait ’til we get home
‘Cause we got a way of talking
And it’s better than words
It’s the strangest kind of relationship
Oh, but with us it always works
And no one does it like me
And no one but you
Has that kind of whip appeal on me
Whatever you want
It’s alright with me
‘Cause you’ve got that whip appeal
So work it on me
It’s better than love
Sweet as can be
You’ve got that whip appeal
So whip it on me
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
And no one does it like me
And no one but you
Has that kind of whip appeal on me
[HOOK 4 times]
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
Keep on whippin’ on me
Work it on me
Whip all your sweet sad lovin’ on me
Hi. I came across this old commercial for Crystal Meth on YouTube earlier this year and it has really stuck with me. I have a fear that this is another one of those things that everyone else on the planet has already seen but oh well. Better late than never.
It’s debatable just how effective this commercial is, to be honest. Because while I don’t think anyone would say it’s necessarily a good thing to get hooked on meth, that little jingle is so freaking catchy. I have to admit that I recently found myself singing it while I was cleaning the kitchen. Also, and admitedly a lot of this has to do with me being OCD, it’s hard for me to really see the downside of having the cleanest house on the street. So, no, the commercial did not sell me on meth. But it did make me want to go clean the house.
Finally, I can’t end this post without including Sin33’s remix of the Meth Song.
In 1978, just based on what I’ve read, everyone in America was regularly doing huge amounts of cocaine. Whether you were in a disco or at a PTA meeting, you knew that eventually someone would produce a small mirror covered with white powder. President Carter even snorted it during that year’s State of the Union speech. Sure, some people used gold spoons and others had to make do with a one dollar bill but, in the end, cocaine brought all Americans together as a nation and helped the country heal after the trauma of Watergate.
It also contributed to some the year’s best films. Days of Heaven, Superman, The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Grease, Animal House, Interiors, Halloween, Midnight Express, Convoy, Go Tell The Spartans, and An Unmarried Woman; these were all films fueled by the Peruvian Headache Powder.
However, no discussion of 1978 cocaine-fueled films would be complete with mentioning Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Featuring songs originally performed by the Beatles and starring the Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, and a whole bunch of other people that my mom liked, Sgt. Pepper’s is a film that, quite honestly, should just be retitled 1978.
Plotwise — oh God, do I really have to try to describe the plot? Seriously, this could take forever. I mean, the film isn’t quite two hours long but a lot of stuff happens and really the only connection between any of it is that these odd cover tunes of classic Beatles songs keep popping up in the weirdest places. Okay, let me try to get this all into one paragraph —
There’s a small town called Heartland that is very small and simple but it’s also the home of the legendary Sgt. Pepper who, throughout history, has maintained world peace by playing his magic instruments. But then Sgt. Pepper dies and apparently turns into a gold weather vane. His magic instruments are given to the mayor of Heartland, Mr. Kite (George Burns, who also narrates the entire movie). The world is in mourning. But then one day, the Henderson Brothers (the Bee Gees) decide to form a new Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and they invite Sgt. Pepper’s grandson, Billy Shears (played by Peter Frampton) to be their lead singer. Heartland rejoices and George Burns has a surprisingly sweet scene where he sings Fixing A Hole.
Anyway, the new band is such a hit that the owner of a record company invites them to come to Los Angeles and record an album. Billy says goodbye to his girlfriend, Strawberry Fields (Sandy Farina) and then joins the Hendersons in a hot air balloon which promptly leaves for California. En route, the balloon collides with an airplane but nobody is seriously injured.
In Los Angeles, they meet the record company owner and it turns out that he’s played by Donald Pleasence. (It’s interesting to think that Pleasence filmed this and Halloween around the same time.) Pleasence proceeds to sing the creepiest version of I Want You ever heard. I’d include a clip of the performance but Pleasence manages to go on for a good ten minutes, repeating “I want you,” in an odd little voice while staring at Peter Frampton.
The boys sign a contract with Pleasence. Billy Shears is led astray by Lucy and her band, the Diamonds. (Guess which song they get to sing.) Somehow, this allows Mean Mr. Mustard to steal Sgt. Pepper’s magic instruments. Mr. Mustard drives around in a yellow van and he’s assisted by two female robots who, at one point, sing She’s Leaving Home in their electronic, robot voices.
The band is informed that the instruments have been stolen. Outraged, they jump back in their hot air balloon and quickly start a recovery operation. It turns out that Mean Mr. Mustard has given the instruments to three separate villains.
The first villain is Dr. Maxwell Edison who uses his silver hammer to turn old people into boy scouts. This may sound ludicrous and silly but fortunately, Maxwell is played by Steve Martin. His cameo is one of the highlights of the film, if just because he seems to be one of the few people who actually enjoyed himself on set.
The second villain is the Reverend Sun. He brainwashes people or something. I’ve seen this movie a few times and I still can’t quite figure out what Reverend Sun’s deal is. When I first saw this movie, I got excited because I thought that Tom Savini was playing Rev. Sun. Then I forced my sister Erin to watch the movie and she told me I was stupid because Rev. Sun was obviously being played by Frank Zappa. Well, I did some reasearch and discovered that we’re both stupid. That’s neither Savini nor Zappa. It’s Alice Cooper.
The final villains are played by a very young (and very, very hot!) Aerosmith. Here, they are called the Future Villain Band and oh my God, Joe Perry…this film needed a lot more Joe Perry. I mean, it’s understandable that Steve Tyler gets most of the screen time and young Steve actually looks pretty good in a Mick Jagger sort of way but Joe Perry…Oh. My. God. Anyway, Aerosmith does a cover of Come Together and Joe Perry circa 1978 was just so freaking gorgeous, oh my God. Eventually, Frampton and the Bee Gees come along and ruin things by getting into a fight with Steve Tyler which leads to the camera constantly cutting away from Joe Perry who is really, really, really hot and all kinds of sexy in this movie. They should have just called this movie Joe Perry. Oh. My. God.
Uhmm, where was I? Oh yeah — so, anyway, eventually the weather vane comes to life and suddenly, Sgt. Pepper’s a black man who sings Get Back and ends up magically resetting the past and turning Mean Mr. Mustard into an altar boy or something like that. Oh, and the Bee Gee who looks like a New Age healer ends up singing my favorite Beatles song, A Day in the Life.
Finally, it appears that every single person on the planet shows up in the film’s final scene where a huge group of “stars” show up and sing the film’s title tune one last time. In the end credits, these people are listed as being “Our Guests At Heartland.” Doing some research (i.e., looking the thing up in Wikipedia), I’ve discovered that these folks were apparently all pop cultural icons in the 70s. I didn’t recognize a single one of them but I’m sure they probably all snorted a lot of cocaine.
(And, by the way, Joe Perry does not get to return for the finale so bleh on you, movie.)
For some reason, this movie kept showing up on Starz last November and that’s where I first discovered it. The first time I saw it, I came in right at the start of Steve Martin’s cameo and the film itself was so just plain weird that I had to jump on twitter and let the world know what I was watching. (Actually, it doesn’t take much to make me jump on twitter and tell the world what I’m doing.) As a result, I soon discovered that, apparently, I was the only person on the planet who didn’t know about this film.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is really a pretty bad movie. The plot tries way too hard, the pacing is terrible with some scenes lasting forever and others ending before they really start, and Frampton and the Bee Gees are all distinguished by an utter lack of charisma. The youngest Bee Gee appears to be cheerfully stoned throughout the entire movie while the other two (and Frampton) are trying way too hard to act.
And yet, the film fascinates me. After I saw it the first time, I forced my sister to watch it with me a second time. I then watched it again on my own. Finally, I went down to the local Fry’s and nearly did a happy little dance when I found it on DVD. I’ve watched it since several times. Whenever I’m depressed, it always cheers me up.
What’s the appeal? Some of it is definitely the whole “so-bad-its-good” thing. Actually, that’s probably most of it. Another thing fascinating thing is how literally the filmmakers choose to interpret the Beatles lyrics. Considering the fact that the Beatles themselves were rather open about the fact that a lot of their lyrics were simply nonsense and word games, it’s interesting to try to understand logic behind trying to force them into a coherent storyline. (This is also the appeal of 2007’s Across The Universe, which is technically a better movie than Sgt. Pepper’s but isn’t half as fun to watch.) For instance, Billy Shears isn’t in the film because he’s an interesting character. Instead, he’s just here because — 10 years earlier — either John Lennon or Paul McCartney choose to toss the name into a song. We’re never quite sure what Mean Mr. Mustard’s dastardly motivation is beyond the fact that the filmmakers had the rights to his song. If nothing else, the film is an interesting example of what happens when people try to create a novel out of somebody else’s short story.
However, I think the main appeal of Sgt. Pepper’s is the appeal of 1978. Watching the movie, you feel almost as if you’re literally sitting beside the cast at Studio 54, watching as everyone snorts a line. I think that, for future historians, this film may very well turn out to be a cinematic Rosetta Stone.
Then again, maybe it really is just so bad that it’s good.
Again the power metal lads from Germany, Blind Guardian, appears for the fourth time with one of their newest songs for Song of the Day. The song of which I speak of is the second ballad of two that Blind Guardian composed and produced for their latest album, “War of the Thrones”.
While metal bands have done ballads in the past and will continue to do so, Blind Guardian has shied away from the power ballads of most metal bands and have instead opted for the kind of folksy ballads that troubadours and traveling bards of the Middle Ages and the Age of Renaissance played much in inns and royal courts across the lands. In fact, the band has seen themselves more like traveling bards (but with a power metal kick to their music).
“War of the Thrones” definitely sounds like something a traveling troupe of bards would play at a royal court. Even the subject matter which inspired the song is from a historical fantasy series of novels by fantasy writer George R.R. Martin whose A Song of Fire and Ice many have seen as the American Lord of the Rings. The band never shies away from the fantasy aspects of their songwriting and with this song they embrace this aspect of their band’s sound.
The song’s lyrics has themes and ideas from Martin’s fantasy series. From the raging war for the throne of Westeros which has engulfed the lands south of the Wall to the sinister “Others” beyond the wall whose march will raze the Wall which keeps them from the warring kingdoms in the south. For fans of Martin’s fantasy series the song should be a delight as it brings up imagery from the books. For fans of Blind Guardian it’s a nice addition to their growing folksy ballads which goes hand in hand with their faster and more complex work.
War of the Thrones
Nothing will grow here
Icy fields – blackened sorrow
Legacy of a lost mind
Feed my void
What you’re waiting for
I’m too late
It is more than a game
The river reveals
Now I’m in between these lines
I cannot escape it seems
Sail on, my friend
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Walls they fall
When the march of the Others begins
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Rise and fall
When the War of the Thrones shall begin
While I sit there in silence
Come and talk to me
I can’t free my mind
It is all I’m begging for
While I sit there in silence
Will it ever end?
Will I find what I’m longing for?
Will I ever walk out of shadows so grey?
I’m condemned, I am hallowed
Icy fields they won’t hurt anymore
Will you walk with me?
Any further
There at world’s end
It’s me
I sing
I cannot escape it seems
Sadly I sing
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Walls they fall
When the march of the Others begins
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Rise and fall
When the War of the Thrones shall begin
Away
Watch the river it flows
(Now and ever)
I cannot believe in more
And now my time will come
Carry on
Will I ever learn from the past?
Will I fade away?
Will I ever stay where the shadows will grow?
There is luck at the gallows
I will free my mind
Soon it will show
Let it rain
There’ll be no spring
My dream is a mirror
It reveals a matter of lies
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Rise and fall
When the War of the Thrones will begin
All I ever feel is
All I ever see is
Rise and fall
When the War of the Thrones has begun
Leave a fee for the tillerman
And the river behind…
Through the Shattered Lens 