My friend Shawna Romkey's final book in her Speak of the Devil series released this week. To celebrate, here are five songs that give a nod to the devil.
After battling her way back from Hell only to discover Luc didn't make it out, Lily must rally the angels to descend back into the Devil's domain. Now she has thirty days to rescue her angelic warrior boyfriend and break the curse to free God before Lucifer and his demon army destroy all of humanity on Earth. Forget passing the eleventh grade. Lily must face the ultimate final exam to give the Devil his due and save the world before the reapers catch up and deliver the death she cheated from them a year ago." -- Shawna Romkey
1 - Devil Inside - INXS
2 - Sympathy For the Devil - The Rolling Stones
3 - Running With the Devil - Van Halen
4 - Highway to Hell - AC/DC
5 - The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
If you'd like to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
This year I'll be taking a once-a-month look at specific instruments and showcasing five songs or tunes which place that instrument front and center.
This year's feature is called Spotlight On...
...and for our seventh installment, I'm venturing out from the primal body instruments of hand-clapping, whistling and vocal harmonies to explore percussion. Following April's look at drums, May's look at the vibraphone or vibes, and June's look at piano, here are five songs which shine a spotlight on the cowbell.
1 - Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult - 1976
On April 8th, 2000 as season 25 of Saturday Night Live was drawing to a close, a sketch originally titled Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult but now commonly referred to as More Cowbell aired to immediate acclaim. It has only grown more popular in the fifteen years since it was first broadcast.
Cowbells as part of the percussive instruments is more common in salsa music, but has a recurring place in pop and rock music. Apparently the 1970s enjoyed something of a cowbell renaissance.
Don't Fear the Reaper is one of many classic rock songs attached to one my favorite shows of all time -- Supernatural. To be honest, however, for me it will always belong to the 1994 miniseries The Stand.
2 - Low Rider - War -1975
3 - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman Turner Overdrive - 1974
This is my fifth year participating in the A to Z Challenge. It's the first year that I wasn't able to complete the challenge by April 30th.
However, like those marathon runners whose main goal is to finish what they started, knowing they'll cross the finish line hours behind the top three, I'm going to carry on and complete the challenge.
Because there are so many participants, many bloggers spend the next few months visiting all of the other participants now that the posting schedule has slowed down. To see how the challenge wrap-up works, click HERE.
I'm going to backdate my entries so that they make chronological sense, but I'll also include the true posting date. I'm all out of sequence and I'm just going to finish the posts as I get to them.
So what happened? I had several things going on at once, the deal-breaker being my main computer going in the shop. I had to make some pacing choices, as I have learned to do as part of my treatment for chronic pain and fatigue issues. Believe it or not, setting the A to Z Challenge aside was actually me making progress.
And now, dear readers -- on with the show.
For today's blog challenge, let me introduce you to my regular Friday feature:
Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
This week's set is made up of songs that start with the word 'under'. They remind us that experiencing something that feels like bearing weight can be a turning point in our lives, while being beneath a structure can offer a sense of shelter.
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
If you've been following the #YesAllWomen social media trend this week, you'll know that the recent murder spree at the University of California, Santa Barbaratriggered an outpouring of reaction from women in response to the shooter's perceived lack of social success with the opposite gender.
In my opinion, the murder spree is a mental health issue, just as here in Halifax the murder two years ago of Raymond Taavel was also a mental health issue, though it triggered a wave of support for gay rights due to the words spoken at the time of the attack -- "He was consistently using the word faggot," said a witness to the fatal attack. (CTV News)
A tumblr blogger wrote the following account of just another day in the life of a woman, adding her voice to the #YesAllWomen hashtag:
In response, male writer Tom Hawking wrote this encouraging piece, which looks at the encounter from a broader perspective, which often gets missed in the heat of people sharing painful experiences:
"Put yourself in his position, in isolation, and you might see how he felt the way he did -- to his own eyes, he was no doubt making mildly flirtatious small talk with a girl who, to his eyes, shut him down with unnecessary emotional force. And now he feels like a victim. He didn't deserve that, he thinks to himself. What's up her ass, anyway? Why didn't she enjoy the attention?
If you're a woman reading this, you're probably shaking your head and saying, "F**k that guy'...
Understand that your actions don't exist in a vacuum. They exist in the context of a society where literally every woman you will ever meet has a similar story to tell...You don't get a gold star for being a good person. It's the minimum standard of human decency that anyone should be able to expect." -- Tom Hawking, Flavorwire
I am one of those with multiple #YesAllWomen stories to tell, only one of which I will share here with you:
After a long day of editing my fourth year film at Ryerson, I headed for the streetcar in Toronto in the late afternoon -- a bright, sunny day, lots of people around, and me dressed in comfortable, casual clothing for the editing room (not in any sort of come-hither outfit, which has to be mentioned because that is apparently always relevant.)
I was stopped by a young man about university-student age, someone who was well-groomed and not crazy-looking (also relevant, as there are enough odd sorts of people in the downtown of a large city, and giving wide berth to those who look like they've been on a bender is a good start.) So, not expecting trouble, I listened as he asked if I knew what time it was.
I checked my watch. "Quarter to three," I said.
"Beautiful tits," he said.
Me: going from tired and thinking about what was I going to have for supper, to mind-blanking rage in one split second (bearing in mind what Tom Hawking said about actions not existing in a vacuum, and already having too many #YesAllWomen encounters in my life)
Me: grabbing my purse from my shoulder intending to clobber him in the side of the head with it
Him: seeing me start to grab my purse to hit him
Me: (in my mind) No! No! You can't do that! It's assault. You can't assault someone.
Me: changing to my left hand, darting it forward, grabbing the white styrofoam coffee cup out of his hand, squeezing it and dumping the coffee all over him
Him: "What the hell are you doing, you f**king bitch?"
Me: "What did you say to me?" (loud enough for eveyone to hear)
Him: "I said 'What time is it?"
Me: "You said 'Beautiful tits'!"
I dumped the empty cup on the ground, looked up the street at everyone frozen in place, and carried on until I got on board my streetcar.
Another day in the life of two people whose experiences up to that point resulted in a misguided attempt at flattery (!?!) from him, and a Kill Bill reaction to it from me.
So this week's musical set is dedicated to the work that still needs to be done in our culture when it comes to gender relations.
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
A new year, and a new feature for 5 on Friday -- The Hit Makers.
Once a month I'm going to feature the songs that launched careers. Starting with the British Invasion in the early-to-mid 60s, I'll be looking at different musical styles and the groups or singers from those styles who I love the best.
1 - I Want to Hold Your Hand -- The Beatles -- 1963
2 - You Really Got Me -- The Kinks -- 1964
3 - The House of the Rising Sun -- The Animals -- 1964
4 - My Generation -- The Who -- 1965
5 - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction -- The Rolling Stones
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
I just made it through a crazed revisions marathon over the Labor Day weekend, getting my vampire manuscript ready for three readers so they can give it the very last once-over. Then I'll be handing it to the formatter to prepare for e-book distribution. Hold on! I'm comin'!
Needless to say, I leaned heavily on some pulse-quickening music playlists to keep me going. Here are a few of the tunes that saved my ass last weekend.
1 - Hold On, I'm Comin' - Eric Burdon and The Animals
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
Before we get to the music -
May I present to you my second book trailer for my work-in-progress, Saint Sanguinus:
~~~~~~Roll Credits~~~~~~~
Tanwen - Stevie Cooper
Bearer of bad news - Scott Baker
Vampire Lord - Brad Smith
Producer - Tara MacDonald
Writer/Director - Julia Phillips Smith
Director of Photography - Luke Hudgins
Production Assistant - Caroline Ruyle
Picture/Sound Editor & Special Effects - Doug Woods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For this week's 5 on Friday, let's take a journey through Tanwen's character arc. Tanwen is the woman featured in the book trailer. She's the main female character in my Dark Ages vampire story.
She soon realizes she's clashing with just about everyone in her family and her village.
3 - What Have You Done - Within Temptation
She makes a decision which has immense repercussions.
The clips featured in this video are from one of my favorite films, Day Watch / Dnevnoy dozor. If you're into urban paranormal stories and don't mind Russian subtitles, this is the film for you.
4 - Hyper Music - Muse
These are Tanwen's feelings about an unrequited love figure.
5 - Achilles Last Stand - Led Zeppelin
This is where Tanwen finds herself by the end of the story. Update on where I'm at with my manuscript requests: About to turn over the two partials for a final read-through. Then, they're off to see the Wizard.
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
I'm actually at the writer's retreat as you read this.
(sighing with joy)
I'll be around to visit my fellow 5 on Friday participants once I return. In the meantime, settle in for some tunes that are devilishly attractive, each in their own way.
Note: The music ends at the 4:15 mark. Inexplicable 3:19 of dead air on this upload (?!?)
Call it a day When night becomes our mad escape Forgetting the things you mean to say When all the right words come too late And everything falls out of place Under the pillow Out of the race Out of the window
Devils on my shoulder
So, so happy When happiness spells misery Mister, me hoping to be Where ugliness meets beauty And if you'll see The demon in you The angel in me The Jesus in you The devil in me
Something's wrong, cause my mind is fading Ghetto blasting disintegrating Rock 'n roll, know what I'm saying And everywhere I look There's a devil waiting
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
At my sister's wedding last weekend, she walked down the outdoor aisle to the strains of a string version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
The weather was a mix of everything on her wedding day - a bit of sun, a bit of drizzle, a bit more sun. Nothing to make them relocate the outdoor ceremony - but all the ingredients for a spectacular double rainbow later in the day.
I'm repeating this shot which I posted yesterday, just because it's so crazy incredible.
For more wedding fun, scroll down to Thursday Thirteen.
Photo by Anita Coady
For today's 5 on Friday, I salute all things rainbow.
Have you seen her dressed in blue See the sky in front of you And her face is like a sail Speck of white so fair and pale Have you seen the lady fairer?
This song is off an album that my sister and I used to listen to constantly while driving along the seaside, when we were both in our late teens/early 20's.
But if you're sitting there beside her And a bear comes in the room And you keep on going cause you're unaware Ooo, then you'll know that you are there
Beyond the silver rainbow You won't know if you're coming or going
Champion of the Arts - I write historical and paranormal fiction, as well as poetry. I love to showcase creative works by artists of all stripes. Blogging from Nova Scotia, Canada
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