Imaginaerum

Nightwish's new album, Imaginaerum, won't officially be released in the US till January, but the music video for "Storytime" can be viewsed on youtube, and the lyrics for the whole album on their website.
I've always liked that songwriter Tuomas Holopainen references both fairy tales and Disney in his songs-(contrary to what is often thought, like by the makers of the show "Once Upon a Time", Disney and fairy tales are not one and the same, but Holopainen references both often). The above song references the power of tales and stories-something I think we can all relate to here.

The album, using a creepy carnival as inpiration, seems to be an adult searching for the wonder and awe of childhood, but at the same time very mindful of that primal fear that children experience as well. And while we adults tend to think we're too intelligent to get scared of things that go bump in the night, often we're just operating under the illusion of control-life is so uncertain and precarious. Not that we should be paranoid all the time, but I'm glad the album isn't one-sided and either idealizes childhood or views life as hopeless.

The album contains many other references to fairy tales and classic fantasy characters-Alice, mermaids, etc., and also some less obvious ones-one song (I Want my Tears Back) contains the line "the voice of Mary Costa." It takes a more hardcore Disney fan to recognize this as the woman who voiced Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

I've mentioned Nightwish before, and again, their music isn't for everyone-but if dark creepy carnival-inspired symphonic metal sounds like a good idea to you, you'll probably really like this album.

Beauty and the Beast by Nightwish

Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Finland. That particular combination tends to be disliked by some people anyway; this song is from their very first album and therefore even stranger. It's not my favorite music of theirs, but I love that Tuomas Holopainen, pianist and songwriter, is a huge fan of Disney and Beauty and the Beast. The lyrics are clearly influenced by Disney's version. So if you listen, be forgiving of the computerized sounds and the male singer (both singers have been replaced by now)-or you could just read the lyrics.

Beauty And The Beast (Angels Fall First)

Remember the first dance we shared?
Recall the night you melted my ugliness away?
The night you left with a kiss so kind
Only a send of beauty left behind

Ah dear friend I remember the night
The moon and the dreams we shared
Your trembling paw in my hand
Dreaming of that northern land
Touching me with a kiss of a beast

I know my dreams are made of you
Of you and only for you
Your ocean pulls me under
Your voice tears me asunder
Love me before the last petal falls

As a world without a glance
Of the ocean's fair expanse
Such the world would be
If no love did flow in thee
But as my heart is occupied
Your love for me now has to die
Forgive me I need more than you can offer me

Didn't you read the tale
Where happily ever after was to kiss a frog?
Don't you know this tale
In which all I ever wanted
I'll never have
For who could ever learn to love a beast?

However cold the wind and rain
I'll be there to ease your pain
However cruel the mirrors of sin
Remember beauty is found within

...Forever shall the wolf in me desire the sheep in you...

Arabian Nights Ear Candy

If you mention "Scheherezade" to a musician, they will probably assume you're talking about the Rimsky-Korsakov piece:

Such a great piece.
Ravel also has a version of Sheherezade, for soprano and orchestra:

There are different ballet versions, which use Rimsky Korsakov's music:

I posted this a long time ago, when no one read my blog, so here it is again-a completely different musical genre, the Nightwish song "Sahara" is inspired by Arabian Nights as well. The chorus:
"One thousand one nights unseen
The philosopher and the Queen"

For the Birds

A couple posts ago I mentioned that Cinderella is a tale that modern people don't necessarily connect to, although it's been so well-loved for generations it's still possibly the most popular. By contrast, Hans Christian Andersen's "The Nightingale" (full version on Surlalune; summary by me) has a lot of themes in it that are very current, yet it's not especially well known.

Birds themselves are very trendy these days. The first two images are Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2010; the third is a necklace from Claires-similar necklaces can be found all over.
It's interesting the reactions I get to this necklace-people in an older generation tend to seem almost distressed when they realize that the bird is outside of the cage. And it's true, the bird would be a lot safer in the cage (I remember all those distressing times in my childhood when our hamsters would escape-one sadly drowned in the sump pump, it was so traumatic), although it's supposed to be a symbol of freedom. As with everything, there are dangers to either extreme-conformity or freedom, although in this culture the younger generation is all about independence and freedom.

The Nightingale has some other interesting aspects-
Appearance vs. reality-the royal people are surprised to learn that the famed, talented nightingale is just a plain, gray little bird. They are more excited by the bejeweled mechanical bird.
Authentic vs. fake-the people are taken by fads; first the real nightingale and then the mechanical one, but they love the mechanical one because it's predictable. It's proven that people tend to respond positively to music simply because they've heard it before and can recognize it, but Anderson's comment is a very interesting commentary on human nature in general.
Tension between technology and the natural world-this aspect of the fairy tale obviously could not be found in the more ancient tales we know and love but is something we all feel. We all use and like at least some aspects of technology, but the minute it stops working I get all upset that this culture is such that we can't work or communicate without it. Most of us probably would like to get more in touch with nature but find it difficult in our hectic, appliance-driven lifestyles.

This song may or may not have been inspired by the tale, but the words of the chorus certainly apply:
"A nightingale in a golden cage
That's me locked inside reality's maze
Come, someone make my heavy heart light
Come undone bring me back to life

A nightingale in a golden cage
That's me locked inside reality's maze
Come, someone make my heavy heart light
It all starts with a lullaby"

"The Escapist," by Nightwish

Beauty of the Beast

Image available as ipad case (or iphone) from Kirstin Mills
One of the reasons I love the band Nightwish is because of songwriter Tuomas Holopainen's love for Beauty and the Beast-the theme can be tracked through each of their albums. In the album "Century Child", this is especially evident through the phrase "Beauty of the Beast." I love the idea of challenging perceptions; maybe the Beast is beautiful, either truly physical attractive, in the eyes of some beholders, or in his character-in the French tale, he is innocent and Beauty is the one who breaks her word to him. Which is connected to the image above (though the illustration has nothing to do with Nightwish), for here the hint is that the beast is within the Beauty (or...Little Red Riding Hood) as well. In typical fairy tales, the heroes and villains are obvious. In Beauty and the Beast, it's not so obvious, which I appreciate.
The opening song of the above mentioned album, "Bless the Child," contains these words at the end of the beginning narrated part:
" One night I dreamt a white rose withering,
a newborn drowning a lifetime loneliness.
I dreamt all my future. Relived my past.
And witnessed the beauty of the beast"


The last song of the album is titled "Beauty of the Beast."

The opening words "Trees have dropped their leaves/clouds their waters/all this burden is killing me" always makes me think of this as a late fall song, so here we are.

The lyrics "I fear I will never find anyone
I know my greatest pain is yet to come
Will we find each other in the dark
My long lost love" could apply to any single person...but I always imagine them being the Beast, before he's met Beauty, despairing of ever finding someone to break the spell.
Also from this song: " My home is far but the rest it lies so close
With my long lost love under the black rose
You told I had the eyes of a wolf
Search them and find the beauty of the beast"
and
" Sanest choice in the insane world:
Beware the beast but enjoy the feast he offers"
Not sure exactly what Tuomas means by these words...I have my ideas, and I'm sure each person has their own interpretation as well.

Random

I didn't expect to come across Beauty and the Beast over on the cheeseburger network of all places (the home of lolcats and fail blog, among other things) but this picture was on historic LOLs. I was debating whether or not to post it, since I don't think it's that funny, and it doesn't look to me like her knee is anywhere close to his groin...is that just me? Unless the leg we see is his right leg because his left was somehow amputated...

This is Nightwish doing a cover of Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction." If you don't like metal don't listen, I'm just posting it because the lyrics of the chorus refer to a fairy tale:

"Just like Pied Piper/Led rats through the streets/Just like marionettes/Sway to the symphony of destruction."

I can't remember ever reading the story of the Pied Piper, or coming across it in scholarship about fairy tales, but it's somehow something everyone is familiar with. The only version I can remember reading is Tanith Lee's thought-provoking tale in "Red as Blood: Tales from the Sisters Grimmer."

Siren

A siren is a mysterious bird-like woman (though often portrayed as a mermaid) that sings with a most beautiful, enchanting voice, luring sailors to crash their ships and die.

Nightwish-"The Siren" from their album Once

A lady with a violin playing to the seals
Hearken to the sound of calling

Who tied my hands to the wheel?
The zodiac turns over me
(Come to me)
Somewhere there my fate revealed
I hear but how will I see

I tied myself to the wheel
The winds talk to my sails, not me
(Come to me)
Somewhere there my fate revealed
I hear but how will I see

Possible link between Cupid and Psyche and Nightwish

Been a while since I posted a Nightwish song! High time again.

Their song "Planet Hell" repeats these lyrics: "Save yourself a penny for the ferryman/Save yourself and let them suffer." At first I assumed this was just describing a horrible place. But when I read the full version of "Cupid and Psyche" (the earliest known version in the history of "Beauty and the Beast"), I discovered that one of her tasks was to take the ferry to hell. She is given two halfpence to carry in her mouth (I don't know why) and specifically instructed, "and it shall come to passe as thou sittest in the boat thou shalt see an old man swimming on the top of the river, holding up his deadly hands, and desiring thee to receive him into the barke, but have no regard to his piteous cry..." and other sorry creatures Psyche is forbidden to share her pennies with, because otherwise she'll never leave hell. The people pleading for help, we are told, are traps set by Venus, so Psyche is not actually guilty of cruelty.

Was this an intentional allusion to Cupid and Psyche, as Beauty and the Beast is a favorite theme of songwriter Tuomas Holopainen? Who knows.

Dark Chest of Wonders

"Dark Chest Of Wonders", opening song for the album Once, by Nightwish

This song always makes me think of Peter Pan, especially the lyrics "One night the clock struck twelve, the window opened wide...the age I learned to fly and took a step outside...faith brought me here it's time to cut the rope and fly to a dream..." Given Tuomas Holopainen's love of Disney, I'd be surprised if he weren't influenced by Peter Pan. But overall I love this song because of the celebration of wonder and childhood fantasies.

"Once I had a dream/And this is it

Once there was a child's dream/One night the clock struck twelve/The window opened wide
Once there was a child's heart/The age I learned to fly and took a step outside

Once I knew all the tales/It's time to turn back time, follow the pale moonlight
Once I wished for this night/Faith brought me here, it's time to cut the rope and fly

Fly to a dream/Far across the sea/All the burdens gone/Open the chest once more/Dark chest of wonders/Seen through the eyes/Of the one with pure heart/Once so long ago

The one in the big blue is what the world stole from me/This night will bring him back to me

Fly to a dream..."

Music inspired by the Arabian Nights

If you're like me, every time you hear the phrase "Arabian Nights," the opening song to Disney's Aladdin pops into your head: "Arabian Niiiiiiiiiiights, like Arabian Daaaaaays..." but that isn't the only music inspired by the Arabian Nights.

First of all, a little background: the Arabian Nights is a collection of folktales, but all told within the framework of a larger story. When the Sultan Schahriar's wife had an affair, he was convinced all women were wicked and took his revenge by, after killing her, marrying a new wife each night and having her killed the next morning. Finally, the grand vizir's daughter, Scheherezade, volunteered to be his new wife. Her strategy for staying alive was to tell him a fairy tale each night, but not finish it; in his curiosity to hear the rest of the story, he kept her alive for a thousand and one nights, and eventually fell in love with her. The fairy tales in the collection are the tales Scheherezade tells the king each night. I love this story because of Scheherezade's wit and courage, as well as the lifesaving power of storytelling itself.

I got this beautifully illustrated book at Bluestem Books in Lincoln, Nebraska. Of all the used bookstores I've ever been to, this one had the biggest selection of fairy tale and folklore books.

Anyway: First up is the four-movement suite "Scheherezade" by Rimsky-Korsakoff.



This piece pretty much embodies the essence of Romantic music, with its sweeping melodies and dramatic mood swings. It's the perfect music for listening to while reading or writing fairy tales.

Next is a very different style, but inspired by the same subject matter. Remember my favorite band, Nightwish? Their song "Sahara" from their album "Dark Passion Play" alludes to the Arabian Nights:


"A ballad of dark queen echoes through night
As he flees the curse of gods, the pharaoh's wrath

1001 nights unseen
The philosopher and the queen

Ancient mariner in a sea of sand
The burning beauty his tomb to die for

1001 nights unseen
The philosopher and the queen
Horizon's swarming with death
Run!

Heaven has a darkened face
Dunes are soaring, as on a chase
Caravan of the cursed
Chasing him across the waves

May he now rest under aegis of mirage
As the sands slowly turn to Elysian fields

1001 nights unseen
The philosopher and the queen"

Lyrics found at http://www.nightwish.com/


This poster was created by my brother. He took plain, individual shots off the website, arranged them together, and added the affects.

Nightwish

Let me introduce you to my favorite band, Nightwish.

They are a Finnish symphonic metal band. If that sounds appealing to you, you'd probably like them.


My brother introduced me to them a couple years ago. Right away I loved the music (the second picture is the album art from their latest album, Dark Passion Play), but one of the things that really drew me to them is that their songwriter, Tuomas Holopainen, loves fairy tales and Disney movies, especially Beauty and the Beast. They have a song called "Beauty and the Beast," one called "Beauty of the Beast," quote the phrase "Beauty of the Beast" in several other songs, quote from the Disney movie as well as many others in "Fantasmic," which is a tribute to Disney, and have made their own version of the theme song from "Phantom of the Opera."

When asked in an interview why he loved the Beauty and the Beast theme so much, Tuomas said he loved the idea of duality (hence the phrase beauty of the beast, not just beauty and the beast, a distinction I really love).

Here is a version of "Fantasmic" where the lyrics are illustrated by the Disney movies-