It's been a bit since I've talked about music and video, so here we go.
- Mickie's belated birthday presents showed up (thanks, Mickie!) so I now have Explosive: The Best of Bond
to listen to (and watch, since the flip side of the CD is a DVD with several of their videos). If you've not heard any of Bond's
work, I urge you to give them a listen. Four classically trained string
musicians can lay down a mightly phat beat, especially when they spice
it up with full techno accompaniment. Think of it as "Hooked on
Classics" only with cool music.
My favorite number off this album, Explosive, has a kick-ass video (even with the silly Mariah Carey moments -- you'll know them when you see them).
- Also in Mickey's care package: Babylon 5 - The Complete Fifth Season
. Now I have the last two seasons on DVD and only need the first three, plus the movie collection
and Crusade
to have the complete B5 run.
Unlike many B5 fans, I thought Season 5
was a strong season; I enjoyed the telepath story arc, as I think the
Telepath War is one of the most fascinating bits of the B5 universe and
I'd love to see more about it.
Most importantly, though, this season
contains the incomparable episode Sleeping in Light, which is
the final episode of the series. It's a powerful and moving episode; I
start crying about 2 minutes in and usually don't stop until 15 minutes
after I'm done watching.
- Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia
is a collection of songs by many Christian artists, including Jars of
Clay, Steven Curtis Chapman, Rebecca St. James, and more. This is good
stuff.
In particular, Tobymac's New World is chock full of
lyrics like "He gave them something to believe / Came back in all His
majesty / He conquered evil through his love and handed them the land
they were dreaming of" with a sound like Linkin Park in their prime.
The David Crowder Band's suave disco offering of Turkish Delight talks about how big sins come in small temptations.
The most powerful song on the album, though, is Rebecca St. James's Lion;
the accompanying picture is a shot of Lucy and Susan mourning over the
Aslan's muzzled corpose as he rests on the Stone Table, so you can
probably figure out just what kind of impact the song has.
- One of Steph's friends introduced her to the Celtic Woman
show that has been on PBS. You can head to the website to find out more
about the incredible artists who feature in the show and to hear
samples, or you can get one or both of the CD
or DVD
.
There are a couple of less-than-compelling songs on here (do we really
need yet another rendition of "Danny Boy"?) but all in all, it's good
listening.
- 19yo pop queen newcomer Bonnie McKee cuts a swath through the mass-written, mass-produced twaddle put out by her peers. I especially like the song Trouble; it's got an infectious beat, catchy lyrics, and Bonnie puts in an impressive performance.
- Finally, because we liked the miniseries so much, we got Battlestar Galactica - Season One (2004)
.
This new series kicks some serious ass -- you can believe me because I
didn't like the original all that much (although I have a nostalgic
fondness for the comic books and the Vipers and Cylon Raiders I used to build out of Lego).