Friday Music

It’s lunchtime on Friday….you know what that means….

Something to get the blood moving on a cold and snowy day: Brian Setzer Orchestra – “Jumpin’ East of Java” — go on, I dare ya not to move. Big band plus smoking rockabilly guitar? Yes, please!

Speaking of guitars…here’s another track from Robert Rodriguez’ “hobby-band”, Chingon. Like many of their songs, this takes a mariachi standard and rocks it up considerably: Chingon – “Cuka Rocka” On top of everything else, he’s a ridiculously talented guitarist as well. Why am I not surprised?

This is a very pretty re-working of a very good song. Former Men At Work frontman Colin Hay has been touring small clubs recently, doing accoustic sets. This is one of the songs he performs: Colin Hay – “Overkill (acoustic)”

To switch gears entirely, I’ll post this–my favorite song from the godfathers of goth, Bauhaus. No, it’s not the expected “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” Bauhaus – “Dark Entries.” I used to play this song very loudly in my room, and make my parents worry. :)

Here’s a song from a new group that definitely has echoes of Bauhaus and other early-80s alternative bands. I heard this a few times on the radio, and it’s really growing on me: stellastar* – “Sweet Troubled Soul.”

Speaking of retro sounds from modern bands, here’s some absolutely perfect “androgynous space aliens” glam from Lawrence’s own Vibralux – “Single.”

One of the more famous bits of sample-based music, this track was given the blessing of Blue Note Records, the label who provided the source samples. You’ll recognize it. It’s been used in a lot of places, but even so, I really like it: Us3 – “Canteloop (Flip Fantasia)”

Lastly, another one of my own compositions. This one features some dialog samples that I think that some of you will appreciate. @nubis – “Litany.”

More next week.

More meme-age, and a thought.

LJ info thingy:

1. My LJ username is gmskarka, because, duh, that’s my name. I’ve never been much for witty usernames, mostly because my online life has always been a facet of my chosen career, and so being easily identified was important. I have thought of changing that from time to time….if I was to change it, I would use “knightwriter.”

2. My journal title is “The Designer Monologues”, which is a play on “The Vagina Monologues” and the fact that I’m a game designer, suggested from a forum post by a few years back.

3. My journal’s subtitle is Thoughts and Ramblings from Writer/Game Designer Gareth-Michael Skarka….’cuz that’s what it is.

4. My friends’ page is titled “The World-Class Irregulars.” A long time ago, I started writing down notes for adventures of a Buckaroo-Banzai-esque modern pulp hero named Erasmus Quinn. Quinn, as is usual with these sorts of heroes, surrounds himself with a group of highly talented individuals, whom I named “The World-class Irregulars”, in reference to the Baker Street Irregulars of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and the fact that despite being “irregular” (in the “odd” meaning of the word), they are paragons in their own right (world-class). It seemed not only a nice hearkening back to something which I *still* might get back to writing (Quinn is the focus of my “Heroes of the New Wave” concept), but a pretty damned good description of my friends as well: World-class Irregulars.

5. My default userpic is a shot of me at KCRF 2005 taken by , which, apparently, is a damn sight sexier than I ever gave myself credit for….at least according to the comments it has generated.

and, a thought:

Reading ‘s post which mentioned her magical name has me thinking along those lines. I have a question for my like-minded friends: What does one do if your magical names were chosen when you were a teenager, and you no longer feel connected to them in any meaningful way? It seems somewhat cavalier to simply change them….at least without some kind of re-dedication. Thoughts?