Monday Music Break: Godsmack

I was poking through my Facebook newsfeed today and I ran across this picture of Sully Erna, the lead singer of Godsmack:

 

By the way, if you haven't seen his tumblr, you should - so much eye candy ;)  

Anywho, can you believe I had no idea that anyone in Godsmack is pagan?  This makes me really excited to see that the lead singer of a well-known and popular hard rock band is openly pagan!  Hell yeah!

Source: musicianphotojournal.com

And as it so happens, I've been really feeling the hard rock/metal vibe lately.  I just got Cassandra Syndrome's newest album, Satire X, so I've been listening to that a lot.  I was also really rocking out to groups like Drowning Pool and Institute during my endless hours of driving around the Mid-Atlantic region last week.

So, you lucky darlings, enjoy some delicious, delicious Godsmack.  Here's "Awake," which has always been one of my favorites.  Strong lyrics, driving guitar rhythms, and such delightfully aggressive vocals.  Yum yum yum! 

Monday Music Break: Shores of Avalon

Hi folks.  I apologize for the radio silence lately, but things have been really rough for me over the last few weeks.  Among other things, my family has been dealing with the loss of my Grandmom.

Last week my 92-year-old Grandmom, Alma Beaty, was moved into hospice care, and was refusing food and liquids.  Her health deteriorated quickly after that, and she passed away on Friday morning.  She had dementia for many years (over a decade, I think), and was nearly blind and deaf.  My Dad said she never really recovered from the surgery she had to repair a broken femur a couple months ago, which I guess was just too much for her body to handle on top of everything else.

I wasn't really close to Grandmom, due to living far away and having difficulty connecting to her through her dementia.  But I am still sad that she died.  At the same time, my parents and I have taken comfort in the fact that she is finally released her from all the pain, suffering, and confusion.
 
Here's a photo of the last time I saw her, on Mother's Day last year.  That's my Dad on the left, me, Grandmom, and my Aunt Kathy.  I think my Mom was taking the photo.

I wanted to dedicate today's Monday Music Break to my Grandmom, and to everyone who has lost someone lately.  It is a sad but very beautiful song by Tina Malia called "Shores of Avalon," about how we'll all meet our loved ones again in the Summerland.

Peace on, Grandmom. 

Monday Music Break: P!nk

Did you guys see that article on The Wild Hunt the other day about how more people are identifying as spiritual, but not religious?  In it, pop musician P!nk was quoted as saying she love Native American spirituality, Buddhism, and paganism?  (You can see the full 5-minute interview on BBC - I definitely recommend watching it, very entertaining!)

Photo by Corbuzon, from Wikipedia

I've been feeling a strong need for images of powerful, independent women in my life right now, so this couldn't come at a more perfect time.  I was super excited to read that a powerful feminist artist like P!nk draws from paganism as part of her spirituality.

So for today's Monday Music Break I'm going to share my favorite Pink song, "Raise Your Glass."  For all of us pagans who live on the fringes of society, all of us freaks and geeks, and my fellow pirates, cheers!

Who do you look to as an image of a powerful, independent woman?

Remember, the Minions Love You

It seems I've come down with the nasty cold/flu thing that's going around lately, and I'm feeling pretty cruddy. So, in lieu of real content I bring you some awesome things I've found on Pinterest lately! I guess we'll make this sort of like a Five on Friday.

Source: daystyledesigns.com via Stormy Heart on Pinterest

Hot Cast Goddess Quilt. Oooo. The fire and the roots are within you!

Source: elenadudina.deviantart.com via Stormy Heart on Pinterest

I am completely in love with the neopagan and fantasy art by Elena Dudina.

Source: ellix730.tumblr.com via Stormy Heart on Pinterest

Jack Harkness meets sexy lady. If someone can find out where I can buy this coat, I will love you forever.

Source: piccsy.com via Stormy Heart on Pinterest

Pretty much like that, yep.

And finally...

Source: tasteofawesome.com via Stormy Heart on Pinterest

D'awww, you have to love the minions. So adorable. Ba-na-naaaaah, po-ta-tooooooh naaaah!

Happy pinning! :)

2012 in Review

I started my blog last year, but I only posted haphazardly.  2012 was really the year I figured out what I really wanted to do with my blog, and started using my blog as a way to feature some of the super neopagan music out there.  I'm still loving that direction, and will keep on going through 2013!

In my Monday Music Break feature, I posted some really fantastic music by and for the neopagan community this year.  The two most popular MMB posts in number of views were Solas and Happy Llamas.  Some of my other favorite MMB posts from this year include Arkona, Frenchy & the Punk, Revel Moon, Bill Laswell, Kiva, and Acacia Sears.

Over the summer I celebrated my 1st bloggiversary with some of my favorite songs by pagan musicians.

I participated in the Fall 2012 edition of Bloggiesta.  This time around I learned more new tricks for making my blog more awesome, and the process I had a great time!

I reviewed Kellianna's new album, The Ancient Ones, and although I had fun, I realized that reviewing music is more difficult than I anticipated.

I took a look back at which of my 30 before 31 goals I was able to accomplish.



And finally, I used my blog as a way to share the music I myself write for the neopagan community - ritual chants.  Over the year I've been posting my Sabbat series that I completed a couple of years ago, and right now all but my Brighid chant is up (that will be posted later this month).  Go check them out:

Ostara // Beltane // Litha // Lammas // Mabon // Samhain // Yule