(no subject)

Hold my hand as I take this chance of a lifetime...
Let not the real world pull me under
But how does one prioritize between a dream and a reality?

The worthy and the unworthy

(Good...or bad news.)

"Rakkaus on lumivalkoinen" take two (4.61MB .MP3) - please tell me if you prefer this one or the old one. I fixed the lyrics in this one, but I max out my mic a little at the climax on this take. I personally like this one better, except for that one flaw. Also: the karaoke track I found sucks. I won't be using it. (Edit: I updated this file. Corrected a split-second error in the sync)

"Oi jouluyö" preliminary take (2.77MB .MP3) - just a preliminary recording to figure out what key to sing in. My voice sounds really dead, because the one *excellent* performance I could do of it... I forgot to hit the record button. And I was pretty wasted after that.


Semi-related: the "Dark chest of wonders!" series.

Etymology of a pseudonym (work in progress)

Tuuli – The wind. The wind is an artist. Dancing grasses in fields. Songs in rustling leaves. Paintings in desert sands. In the raw, the wind can be powerful, even destructive. Wind can be as gentle as a refreshing breeze, yet can be as strong as a hurricane. But that intensity can be harnessed and put to good use. The artist that is the wind never ceases its work for any reason; it never tires; it is never exhausted.

Mustasydän – Black-heart. Black – the colour of my hair and the colour of my heart, tainted with the pain of death and resurrection. There was once an end to all hope, an end to all innocence; and in rebirth I was made into the wind - the artist that I am. Death renewed my senses, opening my eyes to the world and ending my naïveté.

But there was one thing that never died. And that one thing was music.



Am I getting a little too heavy with the NW-allusion ("End of All Hope," "End of Innocence," "Kuolema tekee taiteilijan (Death Makes an Artist)"...) in the second section that it sounds contrived? It honestly isn't contrived, but first impressions matter with those who have never known me. The KTT allusion could also be read as my interpretation of the song, which I suppose could be a good thing...

Hans Zimmer allusions

On NW's live recording "From Wishes to Eternity," the instrumental interlude in the set is an amazing version of the main theme from Crimson Tide (in particular the third minute (2:00-3:00) of the track "Roll Tide" from said movie soundtrack). The second theme of this interlude (the middle section) is clearly the inspiration for the chorus of "Dead to the World," though I have yet to find an MP3 of the source (it's from Deep Blue Sea*). This second theme also sounds a bit like one of the themes from Shrek*.

There seems to be some sort of mass appeal to the soundtrack scores of the movies The Rock, Crimson Tide, and Gladiator (on which the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl* was heavily based). More the first two, possibly because of the percussiveness of their main themes.

Now, I can infer that Hans Zimmer's music was probably one of the major influences on Tuomas Holopainen's composition style**. It was a major influence on my musical preferences, that's for sure. But I had no idea that the Crimson Tide-theme influence was so heavy in TH's music (especially in songs from albums I don't have yet, grr). I put on my copy of "Highest Hopes" today and here's what I've found. These are usually quite subtle (but not, because the rhythm of the CT theme is very distinctive):

- "Stargazers" 2:32-2:40; 3:03-3:10 (the transitions between verses)
- "Ever Dream" 0:30-1:00; 1:52-2:02 (the CT melody is clearly in this one)
- "Bless the Child" 3:50-4:14 (melody in here too, altered rhythm)

The coda segment of "Dead Boy's Poem" starting at 4:50 (and pretty much goes to the end of the song) not only has hints of CT in the keyboard part, but the beginning of the melody of the vocal line is pulled right from the flute interlude in "Moondance."

Along the same vein, this is almost like me picking apart the music of Russ Landau (composer for the Survivor TV show) in terms of themes from, similarly, The Rock and Gladiator (which is understandable, as he actually worked on The Rock as part of the Media Ventures collective).


*Not Zimmer soundtracks, but Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean for sure are by Media Ventures peoples.
**Confirmed.


Postscript: Mind, I'm not afraid to admit that TH does a crappy job with the CT theme. He never actually gets any farther than the first two measures of said theme, either in his 'inspired' instrumental or when he sneaks it into whatever other song. That leaves out the freaking best part of it, and leaves it so that I cannot say that he's using the CT theme, but rather, a motif from it.