Almost forgot to post this! Laura and I are prepping to spend the next two months working at the KC RenFest, so I got distracted.
I’m not going to write much about this playlist, suffice it to say that it features selections from my personal FAR WEST playlist, and it was on my mind this week for… reasons.
More on that soon.
Friday Music
Another week, and another entry for Friday Music. Here we go…
In the late 70s/early 80s, WBAB on Long Island had a regular show called “Homegrown,” which played local bands. That’s where I discovered the power trio, Zebra, who did a Zeppelin-esque prog-pop-metal. A lot of the Homegrown demo tracks would be featured, re-recorded, on their 83 debut album, but they’ve recently re-released some of the demo tracks, including one of my favorites — “One More Chance.”
“Govinda” is a track from the late-90s debut from psychedelic indie band Kulu Shaker, an Indian devotional chant often used by the Krishna Consciousness group. The lead singer of Kula Shaker, Crispian Mills, is the son of 1960s-70s Disney actress Haley Mills, interestingly enough.
A brand new track from Billy Idol! “Cage” is the title track of the EP of the same name. He and guitarist Steve Stevens still bring it, 40 years on.
A song which was featured (in an altered form) in the latest season of Westworld. The original track, “Everything In Its Right Place,” was the lead track of Radiohead’s album, Kid A. I cannot put into words how much I love the sound of this.
“Alone Again Or” is one of my favorite tracks from The Damned, which is actually a cover of a 1967 track from the band Love. The Spanish guitar makes the song.
Caught the film “Spiderhead” on Netflix, where Chris Hemsworth plays a pharma-bro who has an iPod full of smooth-chill music (like Chuck Mangione, etc.). This track was included in the soundtrack, and I’d completely forgotten about it. Released in 1979 at the height of the disco era, “Rise” was the last charting single from Herb Alpert. Play it. You’ll remember.
Lastly, a recording of the classic folk tune “O Death,” by my favorite folk singer, Rhiannon Giddens, accompanied by Italian percussionist Francesco Turrisi. No matter who does this song, it always sends a chill up my spine.
So there we go, folks — I hope that you’re enjoying these!
RPGaDay2022, Questions 16-22
It’s been a few more days, so here is another batch of RPGaDay2022 questions — numbers 16-22 (see the image above).
What would be your perfect game? Honestly, my perfect game would be a long-lasting one that meets regularly. I haven’t had that in far too long. To get into more specifics: 4-6 players, all relatively experienced (or at least comfortable with deep in-character role-play).
Past, Present or Future? When is your favorite game set? I have a bunch of different favorites, and there’s no real commonality to when they’re set.
Where is your favorite place to play? I don’t tend to use miniatures or battlemats, so I’ve always preferred a comfortable game played in the living room, rather than setting up at a game table somewhere.
Why has your favorite game stayed with you? As I mentioned above, I have a number of different favorites. I would say that the reason they’re my favorites, and why they stick with me, is that they are in genres that I love, or are licensed games in settings that I’ve always loved.
How long do your games last? My game sessions usually last 3 hours or so. Longer, if you count snacking, catching up, general BSing, etc.
Share an intriguing detail from a game setting you enjoy. Although it is inspired by Chinese wuxia and Spaghetti Westerns, the setting of FAR WEST is a fantasy world, not an alternate history setting.
Who is your current character? I am not playing a game currently — and if I was, I’m usually the game master, rather than a player, so I suppose my current character would be “everyone else in the game aside from the PCs.”
Looking ahead, it looks as though most of the remaining questions would have me answering “I don’t have a current character”, or tagging people, which is something better done on social media, rather than via my blog, so this will be the final entry for me for this year’s RPGaDay.