Shakespeare meets modern music

old-books-candleRecently, I discovered a creative site that I absolutely adore, and I love it so much that I wanted to share it here. It’s called Pop Sonnets, and the creator takes lyrics from modern songs and writes a new version of them, Shakespearean-style. It’s nothing short of amazing; the writing is wonderfully lyrical and utilizes Shakespearean language and form in a way that’s still completely accessible to the modern reader. The transformation is so well done that half the time, I can’t even tell which song inspired the piece until I look at the closing attribution. Check it out for yourself and see if you aren’t anxiously awaiting each week’s new entry.

Moving to the music

Apparently, elephants like violin music almost as much as I do. Watch these elephants dancing to the sound of violinist Eleanor Bartsch playing Bach.

What you seek and what you find

A few years ago, I was in a restaurant having lunch and “Wichita Lineman” (the original version by Glen Campbell) came on the sound system. I hadn’t heard the song in ages and I’d forgotten how much I loved it. I went home and searched iTunes but could only find a cover by a group called the Scud Mountain Boys. I decided to give it a try, and I fell in love with the song all over again. I adored the simplicity of their interpretation; somehow the simple, stripped-down version was more poignant and moving than the original.

I got caught up with real life (moving, Grandma’s cancer and other things) and the CD where I’d burned the song got lost in the shuffle. But I ran across it again a few weeks ago, and I’m so glad I found it. I’m sharing it here to be sure I don’t lose it again.

Here’s a YouTube video of the group performing the song live. (It’s fairly similar to the recorded version.) The music starts around 0:40 seconds. Enjoy!

A little Dwarf music, the sequel

Wow.

I knew I liked the song “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran, which runs at the end of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. But seeing this video just blew me away. It’s put together with clips from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and it’s very well done. If you’re a Hobbit fan, you’ll definitely want to give it a look.