OOC: Sythyry Music Contest

[sythyry]

This is all OOC.

I mostly write to music.  Most of my novels have theme songs -- oddly, A Marriage of Insects is the one that doesn't, having been written before I discovered that bit of magic.  And it really is magic, in the terrestrial psychological-effect sense.  I have trained myself to focus on Mating Flight when I hear Morning Musume's Onna Ni Sachi Are, or Wrath of Trees when I hear Varttina's Maahinen Neito.  For more extensive writing, I have a whole playlist -- which I constantly tinker with, and some of which I listen to elsewhere, but is suitable for writing that story.

Sythyry doesn't have theme music. 

Theme music, or a solid playlist, would help me write more Sythyry.

So here's the contest.  Suggest music for Sythyry to me. 

• First Prize: Super-cameo: a character of your design will be Sythyry's favorite musician in Srineia.  Hijinx and/or doom may be involved.
• Second Prize: Everyone who tells me something useful (or something new that I like even if it doesn't work in the Sythyry playlist) gets a cameo as a musician.  Or, if you prefer, is allowed to decline a cameo as a musician.

Here are the absolute requirements and rules: 

• A successful entry has to suggest Sythyry or World Tree when I listen to it.
• I have to be able to listen to it, and buy it legally, somehow. 
  
  • (Pointers to Amazon mp3s or iTunes songs are perfect for me to buy it.)
  • (Actually, something that I happen to have around and hadn't thought of would be even better.)
  • Pointers to sites where I can listen to at least a sample before buying are good. 
  • If it's too much work to get ahold of or I can't figure out how to, I won't listen to it.
• Multiple suggestions are fine, and even encouraged.

Here are my suggestions:

• I do like vocal music for writing, especially energetic stuff.  Not required, but helpful.
• Music with English lyrics mostly interferes with writing, though.  (Scraps of English, as often found in J-POP, seems OK.)  French and Welsh music is only a little of a problem -- I don't speak them well enough to fuss about the words in music -- and other languages are all good. 
• I'm not that fussy about artistic merit or stylistic appropriateness.   Morning Musume is aimed at adolescent Japanese girls, but works really well as writing music for me. 

Thanks very much!

Comments

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Okay, here goes. By the way, I have an Amazon account over on Hypatia's Hoard of Reviews, so if you shop through Amazon, looping through my other blog there will give them my account code so they know I sent you.

Lute Music for Witches and Alchemists -- This is my favorite lute album, very suave court music and excellent for writing to.
http://www.amazon.com/Lute-Music-Witches-Alchemists-Kirchhof/dp/B00004S38O

Midsummer album by Heather Alexander -- The song "The March of Cambreadth" is my favorite battle hymn.
http://www.amazon.com/Midsummer/dp/B00104WC24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250487701&sr=8-1

Elvendrums -- These folks are my very good friends, and they play brilliant percussion-dominant music with fantasy and Pagan themes. All the albums are terrific, but _Drumstruck_ is entirely instrumental, so probably the best for writing to. High energy drumming with Celtic and African influences, suitable for a wild revel. Also: Vae, "Othertimes" on Gateway to Faerie is for you, the ultimate song about not fitting in, but being a person anyway.
http://www.elvendrums.com/sound.php

Molly & the Tinker -- Mostly English comedic ballads, so not perfect for writing, but Molly plays the hammered dulcimer like an Orren in Wild Rush. You should hear it once just for the mind-boggling speed. Also because, well, imagine Sythyry watching a rushing Orren playing music.
http://www.mollyandthetinker.com/Catalog.asp

Bonnie Rideout -- Here is one of my favorite fiddlers. When I think of the Herethroy, I always wonder if they can "sing" like crickets, so they remind me of fiddle music.
http://www.bonnierideout.com/

Songs from the Shire -- My favorite pastoral-mood album, for visiting pleasant country fields, if our hapless heroes ever get to relax.
http://www.amazon.com/Songs-From-the-Shire/dp/B0014D29YM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250488802&sr=8-2

Owain Phyfe -- A Renaissance Faire performer with a honey voice, and I don't know how many languages he sings in because my ears snagged on Welsh, which was about 6 or 8 down the list. He also has Lute Works which I think is instrumental rather than vocal.
http://www.owainphyfe.com/

"The World Inside the Crystal" -- Sythyry, our world has wizards too; this is their song. They made the crystal cubes through which we view your journal.
http://thestarport.org/people/steve/Doc/Songs/world.html

The music of the gods:
Cecil Taylor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yomesyf8GFY
Keith Jarrett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyR7zvxjDGo&feature=related
My partner Doug says, if you fall in love with the obscure jazz, he can help you hunt down copies of the hard-to-find stuff.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooops, forgot one.

Zap Mama -- This is multicultural music with a lot of the lyrics in various African languages. Plus sound effects made with people's mouths. The cuckcoo chirps on one song reminded me of the Herethroy again.
http://www.zapmama.be/

Re: Hmm...

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! *dives into links*