Monday Music Break: Queen of the Grudge

I've been feeling a bit out-of-sorts lately, so tonight I decided I needed something a little odd and maybe a little melancholy to match my odd mood.  I once again check out the "pagan" tag on Bandcamp and found this interesting self-titled EP by gypsy-folk duo Pisces Rising.  Pisces Rising consists of Arielle Bryant and Austin Moss, two established singer/songwriters and poets based in North Carolina.  

The song I picked from their EP is called "Queen of the Grudge."  The funky little guitar and contemplative vocals just really fit what I needed from my music today.



Right now they're offering downloads of their EP, with the option to "name your price" for the download (it can be $0).  I just sent them a few bucks in appreciation for such great music, and I'm looking forward to listening to it lots in the future.

Monday Music Break: Starbound Beast

Music fans may have already heard that Huntress released a new album, "Starbound Beast" a couple of weeks ago, and will be touring the US and Canada all summer.  (Unfortunately, the closest gigs to me are several hours away in Pennsylvania, so I'm probably going to miss this tour.  Tempted to gather a few folks for a road trip...any takers?)

Huntress is a female-fronted, occult-themed metal band.  According to their site, they thrive on thundering drums, heavy riffs, spectral solos and catchy choruses that come from the band‘s musical concoction of occult science and bong rips. HUNTRESS remains true to the roots of melodic heavy metal with a penchant for thrash, death and black metal.  Love it.

Source: http://huntresskills.com/music/

So I decided this week to share a song from their new album, because seriously this music is just sick.  Check it out!  This one is called "Zenith."

And a bonus song from their new album, because damn, I do love me a hot chick who can growl on that mic.  But who doesn't, right? :)  This is the title track, "Starbound Beast."

Monday Music Break: Arrowsmith's Fire

Oh sadness.  After today, Google Reader will be shut down for good.  So long, Google Reader - we'll miss you!

David Tennant is also sad that Google Reader is going away.

Ah well.  On to new and shinier RSS readers, like Feedly!  I do love how pretty it is, and its functionality has improved greatly now that they have so many new users flocking to their service.  What feed reader have you settled on?

So in looking for a pagan musician to feature this week, I poked through the pagan tag on Bandcamp and found a group called In Gowan Ring.  Some of the music has a bit of an experimental vibe to it, but when I read the band's description I instantly resonated with this line: "It shows a man on his journey, incarnating the music of his soul."  I just love that.  It feels just like what real music is all about.

Have a listen to one of their tracks, "Arrowsmith's Fire," which is on their EP titled "The Glinting Spade."

Monday Music Break: How Soon is Now?

A friend of mine was asking on Facebook yesterday about where to find the full version of the Charmed theme song.  And it got me to thinking about theme songs to "pagan" TV shows.  Most of these theme songs are not by pagan artists, but we still come to associate them with pagany themes because of their association with these TV shows.  So I feel like these theme songs would fall under the banner of the pagan music scene because while they are not written by the pagan community, they are definitely for the pagan community through their association with these shows.

Take, for instance, this song - a cover of "How Soon Is Now?" by Love Split Love (also called the Psychedelic Furs).

The band isn't pagan, and there isn't anything particularly pagan about this song.  When you listen to it, you probably instantly think of witches, a big hand-drawn Book of Shadows, energy balls, rhyming spells, and demon fighting with "the Power of Three," amiright?  (It's the full version of the Charmed theme song, in case you're not familiar with the show.)

I found this from the Lulu's blog, but I don't know the original source :\

Of course, I still prefer the original version by The Smiths. You just can't beat Morrissey's distinctive voice.

What's your favorite theme song to a neopagan-y TV show?  Tell me about it in the comments!

Monday Music Break: Fee Ra Huri

When I was looking for a song for this week's Monday Music Break, I thought I was in the mood for some more neopagan metal.  Then I watched a video of a pagan group called Omnia performing live.  Their punky, primal dress and hair and stage attitudes really appealed to me this evening.

Source: worldofomnia.com

According to their website, Omnia's musical message is about respect for nature, personal liberty and freedom of thought, and expression for all.  I really vibe with their attitude towards music, religion, culture, etc. - that "nothing is sacred, only nature."  They also openly define themselves as pagan, incorporating a modern pagan spirituality into their music and performance.

I particularly liked their stage presence in this live recording of "Fee Ra Huri" so I thought I'd share it with you all today.  Enjoy the primal punkiness!

Monday Music Break: Dragon Ritual Drummers

You know what?  Today I need some drums in a serious way.  And so do you.

(Source: dragonritualdrummers.com)

What, you don't believe me?  Take a listen to today's Monday Music Break. The song is "Masters of Chaos," by the Dragon Ritual Drummers.  There is some serious spiritual power behind this song that I can't quite put my finger on.  Listening to this song I kind of just want to put it on a loop and dance myself into a trance. 

See?  I told you that you needed some drums :)

Monday Music Break: Der Hölle Rache (Queen of the Night Aria)

Today is an opera kind of day.  I woke up with a strong desire to listen to opera, particularly "Mi Chiamono Mimi" from La Boheme.  So on and off all day I've been listening to divas like Maria Callas, Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Aleida Rodriguez, and Valentina Nafornita.

When I remembered it was Monday and time for another Monday Music Break, I began wondering about whether any parts of opera could be considered part of the pagan music scene.  Are there pagan themes in classical opera?  Are there any modern-day operas written for a neopagan audience?

The answer to the first question is yes, there are lots of classical operas with pagan themes!  The Greenman wrote a fabulous three-part series about pagan themes in classical opera.  It's quite detailed, but fascinating!

One of the operas he mentions is The Magic Flute by Mozart.  The play takes place in a temple of Isis and Osiris, centered around a series of bizarre initiation rituals.  The Queen of the Night is another name for the goddess Isis.  An opera featuring a goddess in a major role?  It doesn't get much more pagan than that!

Source: http://garycbenson.blogspot.com/2012/05/magic-flute-costume-design.html 

I've yet to see The Magic Flute (*sadface at how expensive opera tickets are*).  However, the Queen of the Night's second aria, "Der Hölle Rache," has long been one of my favorite arias to listen to, ever since my Pop-Pop gave me a CD with this song and a number of other famous pieces opera music.  So I'd like to share this gorgeous and delightfully pagan piece of opera with you all today.  This performance is by Diana Damrau of the Royal Opera House.

I must say, I am envious of coloraturas like Diana Damrau who can sing this - it's so gorgeous, but gosh are those notes high!  Even when I was taking voice lessons I could never sing like that.

So far I haven't been able to find any modern-day operas with neopagan themes, but I shall keep looking.  If you are aware of any please let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email!

Monday Music Break: Man to Man

Wow, guys.  I am sort of speechless and so very saddened at what happened at the Boston Marathon earlier today.  I just cannot comprehend why people enact such terrible violence on their fellow human beings just to make a point.

I think pagan musician Matt Morris had such a grace-filled response on Twitter, so I wanted to share it:

Cultivate love as a response to violence. #Boston
— Matt Morris (@MattMorris) April 16, 2013

I've been struggling all afternoon about what song to post for this week's Monday Music Break, in the wake of this tragedy.   I listened to a few artists and was drawn to this pretty harp-filled song called "Man to Man" by Lorelei Greenwood.  It is from her first solo album, "Allure."

Source: lorelei-greenwood.com

I first found Lorelei's music when, many years ago, I was searching for chants to use in my practice and stumbled across her website.  She has written many truly beautiful chants that I still keep in my chant repertoire to this day.  She is currently working on two other albums set to release this year, so keep your eyes out for more of her musical awesomeness.

Monday Music Break: Swimming to the Other Side

Happy Monday everyone!  What fun things did you all do over the weekend?

I spent yesterday doing some heavy spiritual work with a friend, so right now I feel the need for a nice, lighthearted song that calls upon the energies of water.  Elaine Silver's song "Swimming to the Other Side" feels like a nice fit for that today.  She has a lovely voice that isn't the strongest, but still carries some wonderful energy behind it. 

It looks like Elaine doesn't describe herself as pagan - at least not on her website - but I can see how she appeals to many pagans because she works with faeries and her music has recently evolved into what she calls a "Metaphysical Musical Ministry."

Source: elainesilver.com

Monday Music Break: Awakened Soul

The lyrics (c) Sharon Knight & T. Thorn Coyle

I was totally stumped about what to post for today's Monday Music Break, and then my friend reminded me of a chant she really likes called "Awakened Soul" by Sharon Knight and T. Thorn Coyle.  It's from their chant album Songs for the Strengthening Sun.

I first learned this chant the first time I attended Sacred Space, which was 4 years ago I think.  Thorn taught it to us during one of her workshops, using it to wake us up and sync our energies at the beginning of the class.

Given my personal origins with the chant, and the theme "the sacred all around," it seemed very apropos to post this chant in the wake of this year's Sacred Space Conference.

   

Monday Music Break: Innocent Wind (Wind God Girl)

I am back from the Sacred Space Conference!  Whee!  What a wonderful weekend.  I met so many amazing, inspiring people over the weekend, and even got to meet fellow bloggers Lonely Coyote and EmKat for the first time. 

This year at Sacred Space I spent a lot of time working on the process of moving on from the numerous instances of loss I've experienced (friendships breaking down, an intense and difficult break-up, my Grandmother's death).  I felt a powerful need to call upon the energies of the Morrigan - somewhat for her fury in the beginning, but mostly as a source of strength and self-empowerment.  I wore my raven earrings for much of the conference to help me in this.  It gave me a great deal of self-confidence in talking to people I didn't know and building upon new friendships that had just begun.

Image from http://www.paganspace.net/forum/topics/gods-and-goddesses-2

I found this song "Innocent Wind (Wind God Girl)" by a group called Morrigan.  It's not a pagan band - in fact I'm pretty sure it's from the soundtrack to a video game - but I listened to it and it speaks to me of the Morrigan and her birds.

I am still a bit burnt out from the intensity of the weekend, so I will be writing one or two posts with my thoughts on the conference later this week when I have more of my brain back.  In the meantime, enjoy the music and have a lovely week!

Monday Music Break: Rhiannon

Happy Monday, ya'll!  Sorry I missed last week's music break.  It was...a week.  I had some major car troubles that needed attention (again...argh.), with a broken exhaust pipe that needed to be welded back on, and a broken thermostat to boot.  Nothing like having a car with no heat that sounds like an airplane when you hit the gas.  Fortunately, the auto shop I took it to fixed it all up and it works great again.  No more airplane car!

Lately I've been feeling a stronger connection to my patroness, Rhiannon, after years of feeling really disconnected from her energy.  And last night I readjusted the astral journey I take to visit her and had a much more powerful visit with her than I've had in a very long time.

In contrast to the other gods I work with, Rhiannon has retained much of the imagery of her mythology, and holds a greater air of mystery about her.  She has always been very much a Queen of the Realm with me.  She is very regal, always appearing in beautiful sparkling gowns and perfectly-coiffed, curly white hair.  And yet she can still be warm and caring like a mother with a child.

Rhiannon by DAW (http://www.sodahead.com/DAW)

So in her honor, I'm posting one of my favorite songs about my goddess.  This is a really great live version of "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac from 1976.  Stevie Nicks really pours out her soul in this performance.

Monday Music Break: Cimmerian

Happy Monday, folks!  I need to make this quick today because I seem to have injured my back in a most ridiculous manner and it hurts less when I'm lying down.  (Seriously, I turned in the car to see if the lane next to me was open so I could merge, and I pulled something badly.  RIDIC.  I must be getting older.) 

Image from tmitg.bandcamp.com

Today's song is "Cimmerian" by the Machine in the Garden.  I first heard this song on A Darker Shade of Pagan a month or two ago and instantly loved the beat.  There's a lot of power in that beat.

Monday Music Break: Creature of the Wood

Today's Monday Music Break features "Gypsy celtic folk rock for naughty punk faeries" - otherwise known as S.J. Tucker's side project, Tricky Pixie.  Tricky Pixie is a fusion of some of today's Celtic folk rock superstars - combined with the delightful vocal and guitar stylings of S.J. Tucker are the awesome talents of stealth cellist Betsy Tinney and faerie tale minstrel Alexander James Adams. 

           

Members of Tricky Pixie, from left: S.J. Tucker, Betsy Tinney, and Alexander James Adams.  Photos from trickypixie.com.

I have had their song "Creature of the Wood" running through my head since Saturday night because of a certain delightful satyr in my life.  He had never heard it before.  I had so much fun seeing his reaction when I played it for him on Saturday night :) 

Monday Music Break: Imbolc Fire

Happy February!  Since Imbolc was just over the weekend, I wanted to share something Imbolc-related with you all.

So what luck, a few days ago I heard about Imbolc Fire, a pagan folk rock studio project of Irene Jericho, Chris Kackley and Jay Jericho from Cassandra Syndrome.  A band with super-talented musicians from the DC region, who also have Imbolc in their band name - perfect!

Image from imbolcfire.bandcamp.com

Their bandcamp page describes Imbolc Fire as such: "The project channels earthy spirituality and mysticism into acoustic, hand-percussion driven musical journeys. Spanning from jubilant to deeply introspective, this group offers the listener a moving tapestry of sonic experiences."

I decided to share all 5 songs from their debut EP, "Drum and Chalice," because... well, because why not?  It's great music and deserves to be heard!

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?

Monday Music Break: Dar Williams

So the world didn't end on Friday like so many people were predicting.  Was anyone else just a little bit disappointed?  I mean, all that hype and hoopla leading up to the 21st, and then nothing happened except the sun rose and set.  What a let down! ;-)

Since today is Christmas Eve and we've just celebrated the Winter Solstice, I decided that today's MMB should be Dar Williams' "The Christians and the Pagans."  It's about family Christmas dinner where both the Christians and the witches learned to get along. 

I'm off to spend a few days with my family for the holiday.  There's going to be the annual Christmas Eve party with my Dad's lifelong friends, and Christmas dinner with my Mom's side of the family.  Then I'll be back home and have the rest of the week off to do as I please.  Bliss!

Monday Music Break: Arkona

It's Monday, which means it's time for another Monday Music Break!

I've been listening to a lot of hard rock and metal lately, so when I tried to think of what song to post this week, I immediately thought of all the European pagan metal bands I recently discovered via the wonders of the internet.  (Okay, actually I thought first of Cassandra Syndrome, but I've already posted their music twice :)  One of those European bands is Arkona, a Russian group fronted by lead singer Masha Scream that combines elements of metal and folk in their music.

Photo by Acid Pix via Wikimedia Commons

This song by Arkona is called "Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov."  I don't have a translation of the lyrics (if you have one please post them in the comments!), but from the video description, the basic idea is that she is singing about Russian legends and traditions.

Kick-ass, right?  I might just post some more pagan metal next week :)

For all my American readers, I hope you have a happy, thanks-filled Thanksgiving!