La Révolution

This is a French series with an alternative take on the French Revolution. I am not sure if there is more than one season, but the first season is available on Netflix. The season ends in a spot that leaves the way open for another season, so if there is one, I really hope Netflix gets it.

Also, as an aside, the music (by Saycet) is really good.

There are two perspectives; one is a young noblewoman and her family, and the second is a brilliant doctor working in a prison. They are connected by the rebels who are trying to overthrow the aristocracy.

I don’t want to give too much away, but while it doesn’t happen in this season, the invention of the guillotine is hinted at, with a much different reason for use than in the actual revolution.

How is this horror, you might ask. There is a disease overtaking the aristocracy with some very interesting and dangerous effects.

I highly recommend this series. The visuals, the music, the costuming, not to mention the acting, are all very good. It’s well worth checking out.

The Music of Horror Films/Series

One thing that has really impressed me is the quality of some of the horror series, especially, musical scores. I love soundtracks anyway, but some of the best ones lately seem to come from horror series.

I’m planning on talking about these series along the line, but thought I’d just write a post to point out the music that I thought was really well done.

I would like in particular to point out The Newton Brothers, who did the soundtracks for both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Along with the opening credits, they are truly stunning. The music does what it’s supposed to do (what is music supposed to do in a series/film? That’s a broad question)—it sets an atmospheric tone that isn’t overwhelming, but has a strong main theme that is used throughout the series.

Another really good soundtrack is the one for La Revolution. If you’re into modernization of classical music, there’s a couple of choice pieces for you here. The music is also used really well here, not overwhelming but accentuating.

Black Spot (Zone Blanche) has a really different kind of soundtrack, and a very catchy theme—with a banjo. Don’t think of Deliverance. Of course, now that I’ve said that, you probably are. It’s a very sparse soundtrack compared to the orchestral tones of the previously mentioned soundtracks, but it’s really effective and works great for the atmosphere of the series.

The Chalet has a haunting theme based on a children’s song. Since my French is only so-so, I couldn’t find out if it’s a real children’s song or one written for the series.

I know that there are more, but these are the ones that really stand out in my memory, and if you like soundtracks, they’re definitely worth checking out. (As are all these series).

Thanks for reading! If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to add them—I am always looking for new music!

Not Your Kind of People

Sometimes when I get new music there’s a song that particularly strikes me, fits the place I’m at. Feels a little like an anthem of a sort. And it’s nice to know someone else felt the same, enough to write a song I can identify with enough. It is/was a popular song at the time, so obviously it struck a chord, much as Radiohead’s “Creep” did. There are a lot of us, apparently.

This is from the band Garbage, who I’ve always liked. I know someone who could give you a much better history of the band–he’s been to see them more than once in concert and is good with details about that kind of thing. Basically, in my recollection, it was started by a group of people in the music industry, producers, etc., who decided to see if they could start a band. They decided people were going to be cynical of their efforts and were just going to say they were going to sound like garbage, so they took that for their band name. They’re anything but. I suppose one would either like them or not, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say they “sort of” like them.

They don’t pander. They mock. They write ballads. They go heavy on the guitars. And they sound like themselves. Granted, I’m not exposed to a whole world of music, but I don’t often think, “Gee, that band sounds like Garbage,” which sounds funny. I’m sure there are some, I just don’t who they are. Sort of a heavier retro-ish band.

“Not Your Kind of People” is off their 2012 album, Not Your Kind of People. It’s on sale at Amazon for $5.99 right now, a really good deal.

Live version in Taipai–sometimes hard to understand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUnVnR56d3M&w=560&h=315

Album version–Album Cover–You can go do other things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckCsw_JyJI&w=560&h=315

The Landfill Harmonic

I joined this site to follow, The Upworthiest, and they have some of the coolest things. I don’t watch TV and generally tend to miss some of the more interesting things on the news (well, truthfully, some of the more interesting things tend to not make the news).

This is one of their most recent stories, a project started on Kickstarter to make a documentary in Paraguay:

http://www.landfillharmonicmovie.com/

The Recycled Orchestra

The Recycled Orchestra–Violin Detail

The Recycled Orchestra–Sax Detail

Nothing is Simple

It’s true. Nothing is simple. If it were, it would be too good to be true. Why is it that life seems to be like an unceasing fairy tale, where we keep coming across the obstacles, but never reach the dream? There are moments in there, of course, little slices of time that feel like snuggling on a couch with someone you care about, hand in their hair, then they’re gone, and you’re left on the couch alone wondering what went so wrong and how you could go from admired to hated so quickly. You’re tried, sentenced, and beheaded before you’re given a chance to defend yourself, and you realize you’ve wandered into the Red Queen’s garden accidentally.

“Oops,” you might say as the ax falls. “I should have been one of the flamingoes instead.”

Or is it like Groundhog Day, where you have to keep reliving the same day over and over until you get that one infinitesimal thing right, the one you couldn’t quite put your finger on before but suddenly bursts forth in all of its resplendent glory. You get to pass go. You get to collect $200.

Or, you don’t figure it out, and suddenly your’re talking to a health insurance representative who answers your question about whether or not you had health insurance during May and June with, “Wellll, you did and you didn’t.” Or you’re told by two different departments at a university, “Of course, we automatically defer late enrollments for September,” while the head of your department was told, by the same person, “Why would we tell anyone that? They have to ask if they want to be considered for enrollment in September.”

Nothing is simple when we are like little ants, people with no meaningful lives to these people who make decisions every day that are nothing to them, little people whose decisions are determined by bureaucrats who don’t have to worry about the fact they can’t go to the doctor, or that the decisions they make regarding someone’s enrollment have staggering effects. We’re just game pieces to them, names on a piece of paper. Which, if we’re lucky, don’t get paper-clipped to the back of the one in front of it.  That’s happened to me, for a referral I was waiting for while my left hand was atrophying away to look a little like a skeleton’s, only it was the wrong time of year–May. How like my body to refuse to time its injuries to the appropriate holiday.

While I hate to stick in a long bunch of lyrics here, this is a song that has resonated with me on more than one occasion–it voices how I’ve felt many of the times I’ve felt trapped, oppressed, and like I’ve had no choice (say, for instance, in a job situation). It’s from Muse’s album Resistance, and the song is Uprising. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KQmps-Sog  I like Muse in general, but this album and The 2nd Law (a little more uneven and not as cohesive as Resistance, but a good album nonetheless) are both good.

Uprising

Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume,
They’ll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down,
And hope that we will never see the truth around
(So come on)
Another promise, another scene,
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed,
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds,
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on)

They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious
(So come on)

Interchanging mind control,
Come let the revolution take it’s toll,
If you could flick a switch and open your third eye,
You’d see that
We should never be afraid to die
(So come on)

Rise up and take the power back,
It’s time the fat cats had a heart attack,
You know that their time’s coming to an end,
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/muse/

I will be the first to admit that their videos seldom make sense, and the teddy bear in this one seems just a bit…malevolent. But if you think the one for Uprising is odd, find the official one for Supermassive Black Hole.  <g>

Their concerts are great as well, but very noisy. They’re the only ones I go to see–I’m picky that way.

Well, all those lyrics tired me out, and I don’t feel like a huge rant.

But it’s definitely true. Nothing is simple.