2012 Playlist

Good evening everyone!

How are you all this weekend? I’ve been enjoying my last moments of "doing nothing" before the real course work starts. Been catching up on Dark Shadows mostly, and starting to read The Woman in Black, since both movies are coming out this year.

Recently Jillian Venters aka The Cupcake Goth posted on her Live Journal something interesting, a play list for 2012, songs to help set the tone for the New Year.

An interesting thing to do, something I’ve never been done before. Have any of you?

I’ve found myself lately listening to a lot of older music, as well, avoiding a lot of my more "heavy" sounding songs. My selection of metal is a little too "noisy" for me these days, or something like that, or maybe it’s a subconscious protest from my brain that cannot wait to get it’s mitts on the new Nightwish album ^___^

Whatever it is, these have been the songs I’ve been listening to these days and have been setting the tone for the New Year

The first song, I declare to be my theme song for my New Year, this is the year I need things to be “well with my soul”

“It Is Well” by Kutless

“Perfect Day” by Miriam Stockley

“Sweet Song” by Cecile Corbel

“Orinoco Flow” by Enya

“The Wayfarer” by Nightwish

Alright, what kind of playlist would this be if some metal or Nightwish song didn’t end up on it *grins* This is one of those new-old songs, an older song of Nightwish, but one that I have happily rediscovered after being forgotten about for some time now.

And there will be more Nightwish in my life very soon, in only a few days their new album finally becomes available in Canada (!!!) Oh January 10th, you have been long awaited by many.

I feel like rainymood.com needs a mention as well, as a current new favorite thing of mine, seriously though, listen to Misty Mountains (Cold) while having that website open, thank me later ;)

God Bless,
Alice

Un Monstre a Paris

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A while ago an intriguing movie came up on my radar, an animated French film, Un Monstre a Paris.

I found out about the film through the art of one of my favorite artists, Abigail Larson. I’m always ridiculously excited when she posts new art on her Deviant Art page & I want everything in her etsy shop! xD

On her blog, she posted this beautiful piece inspired by the film

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I just knew I had to learn more about this film!

On IMDB, the film is described as

"A 3D-animated movie set in Paris in the year 1910 and centered on a monster who lives in a garden and his love for a beautiful, young singer."

Wikipedia expands on this summary saying,

"The film is set in Paris, France, during the Seine flood of 1910. An experiment gone bad turns a flea into an anthropomorphic monster (Matthieu Chedid), who eventually meets and is hidden by Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), a singer at the cabaret L'Oiseau Rare, where he develops musical abilities."

Here is the trailer for the film

The film is directed by Bibo Bergeron, whose name you may or may not recognize, but perhaps you are familiar with his previous works, which include The Road to El Dorado & Shark Tale.

Interesting thing about Vanessa Paradis who voices Lucille in the film, the name didn’t ring a bell at first, but since 1998 she’s been in a relationship with Johnny Depp! Lucky gal ^^

Also, is anyone else seeing the Phantom of the Opera story elements here? The setting is Paris, there’s a beautiful singer, a frightening monster with musical abilities who has feelings for mentioned singer, & you even have a character named Raoul who has feelings for Lucille!

Yes, the Phantom elements alone make this a film that I need to see!

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I do, however, worry for this film. It was released back in October of this year but didn’t fair so well at the box office. According to Wikipedia the budget for the film was € 28.22 million but after four weeks at the box office had only earned € 14.4 million, making back barely half its budget. But those are only two numbers that are not telling the whole story. It did say that was only in four weeks & didn’t say how many theatres it was open in. Also, not sure how much advertising was done for the film. As well, I’m not sure what kind of expectations there were for this film.

It has been hard to find out information on the film. There isn’t even a page for it on Rotten Tomatoes yet. & honestly, I’m scared to do too much poking around for reviews. There are all of four reviews listed for the film on IMDB, which I’m nervous to read. Unless I’m reading for a trusted review site, I’m always concerned about spoilers. That’s how Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland was ruined for me, bloody reviewers... If you must spoil the ending at least warn us you will do so! *cough* rant over...

Despite all this, I’m going to be keeping my eye out for this film & get my paws on it when I can. & I’ll be crossing my fingers & hoping that there will be subtitles rather than having the film dubbed in English.

Another thing that drew me to the movie was the music, which I will be discussing in a future blog post, stay tuned!

Stay Spooky,

Pending Imaginarium STORYTIME by Nightwish

Hello dear guests!

This is a very quick post, it’s been very busy day, had an hour long interview that has to be redone because nothing was actually recorded! & there’s also a video project that needs to be finished tonight, EKK!!! But I really wanted to share this with you all!

One of my all time favorite bands, Nightwish, a symphonic metal from Finland, has released a new music video for their song Storytime. But this is just the start; a teasing video preceding the movie that is being made called Imaginarium.

There’s so much to be said about this song, the upcoming album, & the film, but there’s no time tonight!
Long story short: this song is bloody brilliant, I cannot wait for the film to be released, this is the new era of Nightwish, & for heaven’s sake get over Anette replacing Tarja as the lead singer.

So here’s the music video & the song lyrics!
Enjoy!

It was the night before,
When all through the world,
No words, no dreams
Then one day,
A writer by a fire
Imagined all of Gaia
Took a journey into a child-man's heart...

A painter on the shore
Imagined all the world
Within a snowflake on his palm
Unframed by poetry
A canvas of awe
Planet Earth falling back into the stars

I am the voice of Never, Never Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

I am the journey,
I am the destination,
I am the home
The tale that reads you
A way to taste the night,
The elusive high
Follow the madness,
Alice you know once did

Imaginarium, a dream emporium!
Caress the tales
And they will dream you real
A storyteller's game,
Lips that intoxicate
The core of all life
Is a limitless chest of tales...

I am the voice of Never, Never Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

I am the voice of Never, Never Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
Searching heavens for another earth...

I am the voice of Never, Never Land
The innocence, the dreams of every man
I am the empty crib of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

Stay Spooky,

Have You Heard of the Ghost of John?

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Good evening, dear guests!

Have you heard of the contest that the talented Kristen Lawerance is having over on her blog?

She’s given her trick-o’-treaters permission to use her song “The Ghost of John” to make a YouTube vid. There will be three winners who will get signed copies of Ms. Lawerance’s CDs. The contest is all about YT views, not ratings or how fancy the video is, all about the views! The contest ends on the 25th.

And below is my video entry. I had a lot of fun making this video, and yes, I was being a good little procrastinator & putting off writing papers to edit the video ^^’ I used clips from Disney’s dark & largely unknown film The Black Cauldron (1985).

I would appreciate any clicks you give the video, though, considering how much this blog has been neglected, I feel odd asking for your help. You all owe me nothing, I on the other hand…

Or even better, check out Kristen’s website, HalloweenCarols.com or her YouTube channel

Halloween almost being upon us, her music is perfect for this time of year. I simply adore her approach to music:

“In December we pull out our Christmas CDs, but what do we pull out in October? Cheap, “spooky” sound effects and time-weary compilations?

I think Danny Elfman gave us some great stuff with his music for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride,” and I love what he creates. But we need more! And I have my own style to give you.” (♥)

I whole heartedly agree. While there are certain Halloween themed songs I love dearly, there is no real equivalent (at least not that I have heard) to Christmas carols. Kristen is helping to change that *grins* Some of her songs are very cute like Flappy Bat, while others like The Souling Song are about the older Halloween tradition of Samhain.

So here’s my video, featuring “The Ghost of John”, & the lyrics are below

Have you heard of the Ghost of John?
Long, white bones and the rest all gone!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?

John belongs in a quaint nightmare.
Wobbly jaw and a hollow glare!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t things look murky through sockets bare?

John is gone from feet to skull.
Pointy elbows and clavicle!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be harsh to hug John’s fossil?

John’s not sad; he has had his day.
Smile that’s fixed in a rigid way!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t frowning be hard when lips decay?

John once said, “I’ve lost my head!”
Empty thoughts top his spine instead.
Oooooooh!
Isn’t it the truth now that he is dead?

Stay Spooky,

Music Monday: Water for Elephants trailer music

Life is the most spectacular show in Earth

Hello and Happy Music Monday to you!

I’m over the moon about this. Originally this post was meant to be more of me asking you to help me find out something but now it’s completely about me sharing amazing music with you. Allow me to explain...

Back in December the trailer for Water for Elephants came out. The title was not unknown to me. I had not read the novel but I had heard praise for it. However the plot never interested me, so I never investigated further. Even after watching the trailer, the story itself didn’t interest me (and maybe seeing Robert Pattison was a turn off as well ), but for me, I have a very nostalgic feeling when it comes to circuses, and would perhaps watch the movie just for that. But it was the music used in the trailer that caught my attention.

Here’s the trailer for the film:

The first song starts at about 0:27 and the second at about 0:57.

It was not too difficult to find out what the first song was. It’s “Song For Jesse” by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis. It was part of the soundtrack for the film The Assassination of Jesse James.

But what everyone was dying to know was the second song? The question of what this song was got asked numerous times on Yahoo Answers as well as on the comment pages of YouTube videos of the trailer.

Some speculated that it was music for the film and had not yet been released. This was not the case because the song was used in the American trailer for Ponyo (the song starts at about 0:22), so the song had already been released.

It was YouTube channel TrailerMusicLabel who posted a teasing video showcasing part of the song. And just last week, they posted the full song. I hope they know how happy they’ve made people

It seems the composer’s name is Franois Paul Ache and the song is “Chimerical Dream”. Can’t seem to find out anything about Ache, but searches for his name connect him with the trailer.

And so here it is, after much searching by countless people, here it is:

It’s a very magical song, so soft and gentle, music for fairies, music to dream by. And when listening to it, you can’t help but think of the trailer and images of circuses pop into your head. Yes, there is much negativity connected with circuses, but let’s leave that topic for another time, shall we?

Stay Spooky,
Alice Grimm

Music Monday: RoBERT – Ange et Démon

Good day and Happy Monday to you all!

Today we’ll be looking at a song by singer RoBERT.

♥

“An independent artist and songwriter, RoBERT's musical style is described as fairy-like, halfway between the tragic and the gothic, sometimes with a pinch of nonsense. Themes of death, childhood, and love regularly appear in her songs, marked by her crystalline, often fragile opera voice and the baroque (and sometimes electronic) music...” ♠

Oh RoBERT, why had I not discovered you before?

On Saturday, while going through my YouTube subscriptions, I watched Michelle Phan’s latest video, 4 Different Chinese Girl Looks. In her video, she used the song Ange et Démon by RoBERT. Yes, I’m one of those people who finds new music through make-up tutorial videos

Here is the music video for the song:

RoBERT - Ange et Demon (HQ) (réalisation: Gerlando Infuso)
Uploaded by gerlandoi. - Independent web videos.

Haunting music, taxidermy and stop motion animation, yes, I am in love with this video The little details in the video are charming, many of which I missed the first time watching the video, due to quality of the video on YouTube, like the blood dripping from the hung rabbits onto the leopard skin on the floor.

Also, the song was used in a commercial:

And the fact that the song is in French does not take away from the song for me but rather adds to it. I know some people would be bothered by listening to a song that was not in their own language or even a song where they could not understand the lyrics, but there’s so much more to a song that just the lyrics! And if you’re limiting yourself to the English language, you’re missing out on some amazing artists!

That all being said, the first thing I attempted to look for after listening to the song was to try and find the English translation of the lyrics. I didn’t have much luck, much like when I was looking for the lyrics to La Fille Damnee.

Here are the French lyrics, they came from here,

Crois-tu que je suis Ange... ou Démon?
C'est mon secret.

Personne ne sait ce que vraiment je suis
Quand se glisse à mon cou le collier de tes mains
Cette parure éphémère trop serrée à mon goût
Mon souffle vient à manquer
Voila tu la dénoues
Je glisse dans tes bras, me voila à tes pieds
Plus morte que de raison
Mon Ange, mon Démon

Oui c'est un coup de foudre
Tu es tombé du ciel
Et en m'ôtant la vie, tu m'as donné des ailes
Je suis Ange et Démon et suis prête à me battre
Et toi tu bats de l'aile et tombe en pâmoison

Les portes de l'enfer et celles du paradis
Ne savent pas encore vraiment ce que je suis
Un Ange ou un Démon, de qui donc est le crime?
Serais-je tentation ou simplement victime?
Si les portes du ciel ne veulent pas s'ouvrir
Tu m'ouvriras tes bras et j'ouvrirai mes jambes
A nous deux, mon amour, nous enfanterons un dieu
Un Ange ou un Démon
Là n'est pas la question

Oui c'est un coup de foudre
Tu es tombé du ciel
Et en m'ôtant la vie, tu m'as donné des ailes
Je suis Ange et Démon et suis prête à me battre
Et toi tu bats de l'aile et tombe en pâmoison

Crois-tu que je suis Ange ou Démon?

Oui c'est un coup de foudre
Tu es tombé du ciel
Et en m'ôtant la vie, tu m'as donné des ailes
Je suis Ange et Démon et suis prête à me battre
Et toi tu bats de l'aile et tombe en pâmoison

Je suis Ange et Démon et c'est là mon secret
Je suis Ange et Démon, c'était là mon secret

Je suis Ange et Démon (x2)

Through YouTube, I was able to find the translation for the first part of the song. YouTube user Aoscadin provided part of the translation in the comments section of the music video.

Do you think I'm angel or demon?

It's my secret.

Nobody really knows what I am

When slipped on my neck the collar of your hands

This ephemeral dress too tight for my taste

My breath runs out

That thou unbind I slide into your arms, here I am at your feet

More dead than reason

My angel, my demon

Yes it's love at first sight

You fell from heaven

And take my life, you gave me wings

I'm Angel and Demon and am ready to fight

And you beat the wing and fall into a swoon

Now once more, like when I posted the La Fille Damnee, I challenge you my dear guests, for those of you who know French, do you think you would be able to share with us the full French to English translation of this song? The interwebs will love you for it *wink*

Stay Spooky,


Links:
Last.fm ♦
Official ♣
Wikipedia ♥
MySpace ♠

Music Monday: Jessye Norman

Happy Music Monday to you all!

This post is dedicated to my mom, who will (hopefully) never read this blog, but it is dedicated to her nonetheless. In this post we’ll be looking at some of the Christmas music of Jessye Norman. It is Jessye Norman’s Christmas album Christmastide that is my mom’s all time favourite Xmas album, hence why this post is for her

♥

First, a little background on Ms. Norman:

“Jessye Norman (born September 15, 1945) is an American opera singer. Norman is one of the most admired contemporary opera singers and recitalists, and one of the highest paid performers in classical music. A true dramatic soprano with a majestic stage presence, Norman is associated in particular with the roles of Aïda, Cassandre, Alceste, and Leonora in Fidelio. Norman has been given the nickname ‘Just Enormous’ for her powerful voice and range...” ♦

And believe me “just enormous” is very appropriate Her voice is simply amazing. While her style of singing may not be your cup of tea, I do not think it can be denied that her voice is a beautiful & powerful instrument.

Speaking of her voice, I didn’t realise that there were certain “voice types” I just thought a soprano was a soprano. For any of you who have knowledge of these things, perhaps you can offer your own thoughts on her voice in the comments.

“Norman is most often referred to as a dramatic soprano but unlike most dramatic sopranos, Norman has become known for roles more traditionally sung by other types of voices. … Some vocal critics assert that Norman is not a dramatic soprano but has in fact a rare soprano voice type known as a Falcon. The Falcon voice is an intermediate voice types between the soprano and the mezzo soprano that is similar to the dramatic soprano but with a darker-color. Norman, however, refuses to place any labels on her voice...” ♦

Getting back to her music, it was her Christmas album, Christmastide, which my mom always played (and still does) at Christmas time when I was growing up. Yes, at my home, there’s never a trace of Frosty the Snowman playing, it’s Jessye Norman, the Westminster Cathedral choir, or the album Christmas Goes Baroque, which has in recent years become a close second to Ms. Norman’s album. I think it’s because of all these classical Christmas albums that I found myself, in my teen years (and to this day), drawn to the music of (old) Nightwish, and other bands which feature female leads and have that classical/soprano influence.

So how about hearing some of this fantastic music? Here are some of the songs I found on YouTube. These all seem to be taken from a TV Christmas special at Ely Cathedral. If anyone has any more information about these performances, you can let me know in the comments

O Holy Night
I get cold shivers when listening to this song, especially at about 1:00, now this is what you call epic

Adeste Fideles
The all boys choir at the beginning are simply lovely

Christmastide
This is one of mom’s favourites

Silent Night

Stay Spooky,

Music Monday: Music of the Middle Ages

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Hello and good Monday to you!

This post comes to you a little late because I took an after supper nap. I’ve been feeling a little sickly the last two days, but I think by tomorrow I’ll be much better

Today we look at some music from the past, Music of the Middle-Ages!

This term one of the courses I’ve taken is the introduction course to Medieval Studies, and I love it so much! It’s one thing to read about gothic cathedrals and Arthurian legends on your own, but studying it in a class takes it to a whole new level, and gives learning the sort of structure that I haven’t quite been able to apply to my own personal studies ^^’

The section we’re dealing with now is what the prof is calling The Latin Legacy. We’re covering cathedrals and the writings of saints and monks. Love it! We’ve also taken a quick look at some of the music. The music is simply beautiful, and got me to start searching... And that’s how I found SwingingRingaDing’s YouTube channel. It was just what I was looking for.

There were a good many songs which were ladled “Music for a Knight”, take a listen to some of my favourite below!

Saltarello

Entre Av'e Eva

A l'entrant d'este

Isn’t that just lovely? It reminds me a little of some of the folk bands I listen to. Fair to say some of them have taken inspiration from the medieval period.

Some other songs were labelled “Music of the Church”. This is my new music to relax to. School life is stressful at times, and it’s great to have a way of dealing with stress. For me I deal with negative emotions with music.

Da pacem

Iacta cogitatum tuum

Adorabo

What do you think my guests? Which did you like better, the music of the Knights or the Church? Or is it just not your cup of tea? Is there music of a particular time period that you adore?

Thanks for reading!

Stay Spooky,

Music Monday: The Company of Wolves Soundtrack

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Hello and good Music Monday to you!

Today we’ll be listening to the soundtrack for the 1984 horror fantasy film, The Company of Wolves.

For those not familiar with the movie, here’s the trailer below. I warn you though; there are a few nasty looking moments in the trailer.

The movie was based around three stories by Angela Carter which appear in her book The Bloody Chamber. The stories were “The Werewolf”, “Wolf Alice”, and “The Company of Wolves”. I highly recommend all three stories and The Bloody Chamber, if you are a fan of dark fairytales.

In the film appears the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” with many dark twists and turns. There is also the presence of werewolves, which do show up in some early versions of the Red Riding Hood story. The story is filled with symbolism which conveys the themes of loss of innocence, hitting puberty and awakening of sexuality. The look of the film has a haunting feeling about it, with gorgeous sets, simple cottages in a primeval forest. It’s just the way you imagine a fairytale to be.

In the film, a very young Sarah Patterson (she was only 12 when the movie was filmed!) plays the little red riding hood character, Rosaleen. Her grandmother is played by Angela Lansbury, who you may recall was the voice of Misses Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The very handsome huntsman is played by Micha Bergese.

The movie is my all time favourite werewolf movie, and I cannot say enough good about the film. Being filmed in the 80s, there’s no fancy CGI here but good old fashioned puppetry, used in the bloody werewolf transformations. Also in the film is an amazing soundtrack

There is a haunting violin theme that occurs through the film, you can listen below

I’ve tried to pick out some other favourites from the soundtrack, but I don’t think I want to flood this blog post with videos. I can however suggest you check out YouTuber Borgarborgen channel where the entire soundtrack has been uploaded.

My favourite quote from the movie is spoken by Rosaleen. In the soundtrack it appears on the first track, while in the movie it is spoken at the ending. It is the original moral of the story that appears in an early version of The Little Red Riding Hood tale.

Little girls, this seems to say, never stop upon the way.
Never trust a stranger friend; no-one knows where it may end.
As you're pretty, so be wise. Wolves may lurk in every guise.
Now as then, 'tis simple truth, sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth.

Stay Spooky,

Links

The Company of Wolves on IMDB
The Company of Wolves on Wikipedia
The Company of Wolves soundtrack on last.fm
If you fancy watching some (or all) of the film, it has been uploaded to YouTube by FlightxOfxFantasy

Music Monday: Blind Guardian's At The Edge Of Time

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Hello and Good Monday to you, & welcome to another Music Monday!

Today we take a look at Blind Guardian’s latest album (which came out this summer) At The Edge Of Time. Take a look at the album preview below:

My favourite song from the album is “Curse My Name”

♠

BG is a power metal band from Germany, & within the realm of power metal, they are one of the finest bands. With album titles like “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” & “Imaginations From The Other Side”, you can tell that their lyrics are fantasy filled. Their song’s subject matter has been inspired by the works to Tolkien to legends & myths. Their songs truly are epic

The band’s had a special place in my heart since I discovered them in my early high school days. When I got in high school, with the help of the internet, I began to discover music that I really liked. I no longer just listened to what all of my friends were listening to or what was on the radio or television. It was through BG that I discovered many other power metal bands & other types of metal as well, like symphonic metal. Yes, it was BG that helped me find my beloved Nightwish. But my love of Nightwish is another story for another day, they deserve a blog post all their own

How I originally heard of BG was through Neopets. Oh dear yes, Neopets. Does anyone else remember that site? The site provided me with much amusement in junior high When I was on the site, I was part of a guild that had a Middle-Earth theme. Very nerdy, I know, I loved it It was one of the members of the guild that brought up BG, mentioning the album Nightfall in Middle-Earth. I searched for the band, book-marking their homepage, but it was some time before I bothered to look for their music. But when I did, it was love at first sight,err,hearing

One of my all time favourite songs from the band is “The Bard’s Song-In The Forest”. The music video is simple, but the song is beautiful. It’s a crowd favourite when they play live. It’s amazing to hear concert recordings of the song; it’s all the more beautiful to hear the audience sing along. I highly recommend looking up such videos on YouTube.

Tomorrow will take us away
Far from home
No one will ever know our names
But the bards' songs will remain
Tomorrow will take it away
The fear of today
It will be gone
Due to our magic songs

Yes, I am getting very off topic here, considering this post is meant to focus on BG’s new album, but I cannot resist sharing old favourites of the band with you all

Another picture, which is of great amusement to me, I just have to share it with you. The title of the image is “Guardian's Real Audience”, & I believe that title to be true.

♦

So my dear guests, what do you think? Are you a bit of a metalhead like myself? Or is metal not your cup of tea? What of BG’s lyrics/subject matter, does it intrigue all you fantasy inclined folk?

Stay Spooky,



BG official website: ♣

BG on last.fm page: ♥

BG lyrics on DarkLyrics: ♠

Music Monday: Blackmore's Night - Autumn Sky

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Welcome to the first Music Monday here at The Grimm Tea Party!

Music Monday is where I will be featuring songs, albums, bands, or artists that are my cup of tea. To start this new feature off, we have Blackmore's Night latest album Autumn Sky.

I only discovered Blackmore’s Night this year, but they’ve become one of my favourites. It’s the sort of music you always wished for, but just didn’t know where to find it. Their genre is a little hard to describe, it’s (as wiki puts it) Renaissance-inspired folk rock. Give a listen to the album preview below:

Just by listening to the album preview, I’ve picked out my favourites: “Sake Of The Song”, “Keeper Of The Flame”, “Vagabond (Make A Princess Of Me)” & “Song And Dance”. Haven’t not yet listened to the album in full I’m still not sure where I would rank the album in regards to the rest of BN’s work, but I don’t think it could replace Fires At Midnight as my favourite BN album.

Autumn Sky teaser & interviews:

Blackmore’s Night CD Autumn Night is now available, having been released September 3rd, 2010.

So, what do you think? Did you like it? Had you even heard of Blackmore’s Night before now? Maybe it’s just not your cup of tea, and that’s fine. Maybe next time I’ll serve something to your liking.

Stay Spooky,
Alice Grimm


Blackmore’s Night Links:

Official site ♠
BN Wikipedia page ♦
Last.fm ♣
BN on Facebook ♥
Ritchie Blackmore on Facebook ♠
Candice Night on Facebook ♦

RE: La Fille Damnee

(♦)

Good Friday to you Guests!

I have a belated post for you today, very late, very late indeed! I have an update to the post La Fille Damnee (♣), I now have the proper French-English translation. This is all thanks to Micheline. While it still might not be the exact translation because as Micheline explained to me in an email, her French is Canadian. The French in the song is from France. The two types of French are very close though, and will give a better understanding than the translation I provided you.

So once again, here is the translation of Cécile Corbel’s song “La Fille Damnee”

Dis moi combien, combien de deniers

Tell me how much, how much money

Forgeron, pour ferrer mon coursier

Blacksmith, to shoe my horse

C'est cinq sols, pour vous mon prince

It's five pounds, for you my prince

Seulement cinq sols et un dernier

Only five pounds and the last

J'etends chanter, j'entends chanter

I hear singing, I hear singing

La fille damnée, j'entends chanter

The damned girl, I hear singing

A la lune montante, j'etends l'oiseau chanter

To the rising moon, I hear the bird singing

Ma jolie, ma si jolie, file dans la nuit

My pretty, my so pretty, girl in the night

Au premier fer que tu mettras

With the first iron which you will put

Mon bon père, il va t'appeler

My good father, he will call

Au premier clou que tu poseras

With the first nail which you will pose

Il va t'appeler "mon père"

He will call "my father"

Qui est ce diable qui m'appelle père

Who is this devil which calls me father

Dis moi qui est-il sur le champ

Tell me who is in the field

C'est ta fille, ta chère fille Jeanne

It is your daughter, your dear daughter Jeanne

Ta fille, morte et enterrée

Your daughter, dead and buried

Dis moi, ma fille, qui t'a damnée

Tell me, my daughter, who your damned you

Là bas sur la lande et les blés

There low on the moor and in the wheat

C'est cet homme le long de la mer

It is a man along the sea

Chaque jour Il venait me trouver

Each day He came to find me

Prenez mon corps mon coeur et ma robe

Take my body my heart and my dress

Sous la lune il faut les brûler

Under the moon they should be burned

A la brune vous jetterez mes cendres

To the tide you will throw my ashes

Au vent, au vent vous les jetterez

To the wind, to the wind you will throw them

A big thanks once again to Micheline for the translation,
I hope you all enjoyed it

Wishing you cool breezes on warm summer days,


Links:
Cécile Corbel's Official Site (♥)
Cécile Corbel's Last.FM Profile (♥)

La Fille Damnee

(♥)

One of my new favourite artists is Cécile Corbel. Thanks to Ms Corbel, I think I am finally recovering from my hatred of the French language. Allow me to elaborate, living in the bilingual country of Canada, French is offered in school, and I was required to take it from grade 6 until the end of high school. I was not happy about this, and hence French has always been my enemy. Having been out of high school for some time now, I have had time to get over my dislike of the French language, just in time to enjoy the songs of Cécile.

Her instrument of choice is the harp, giving her songs a Celtic sound to them. She sings in both English and French. Her song “La Fille Damnee” is hauntingly beautiful. It is from her album, Songbook Vol 2. There is also a music video for the song, which can be found on YouTube (and I’ve posted it below). One of the things that irritated me about the comments for the video was that people kept asking for the lyrics and yet the lyrics were there in the comments section! This is why before you ask anything in a YouTube video check the video description and the comments section. Your question may have already have been answered. Such was the case in the music video for “La Fille Damnee”.

As for what the song is about, user PoirotAndCo (♥) explained in the comments: “Its the story about a [man] who goes to a blacksmith to shoe his horse. As the blacksmith starts working, the horse starts speaking with the voice of the man's dead daughter Jeanne. She tells her father that she was damned because she met every night with a strange man in the moor. She [begs] her father to take "her body, her heart and her dress", to burn them and to throw the ashes into the wind...”

User BugBug81 (♥) provided the French lyrics...