Musicians Show Off Book Smarts in Song Lyrics

Listening to music, it's easy to get caught up in the beat or the overall feel of the song. Yet, if you stop and really listen to the lyrics of some songs, you might be surprised to discover some serious literary references being dropped.
 

The Rolling Stones performing in 1968.
Image via http://ashenlady-rhiannon.blogspot.com

Take, for instance, the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." It's pretty much common knowledge that the song, from the Stones' 1968 album Beggars Banquet, was inspired by The Master and the Margarita, a book by Mikhail Bulgakov that Mick Jagger had read. However, Jagger has also gone on record as saying he was influenced by the French poet Charles Baudelaire in writing "Sympathy for the Devil." Jagger told Rolling Stone magazine in a 1995 interview, "I think that was taken from an old idea of Baudelaire's, I think. But I could be wrong. Sometimes when I look at my Baudelaire books, I can't see it in there. But it was an idea I got from French writing. And I just took a couple of lines and expanded on it."

Including the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil," the people at ShortList Magazine have come up with "25 Songs That Reference Books." Another obvious choice comes from the music of Led Zeppelin. "Ramble On," from the 1969 album Led Zeppelin II, mentions names that will be familiar to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. Here is a lyric from the song: "'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor/I met a girl so fair/But Gollum, and the evil one crept up/And slipped away with her." These references are from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. (In the comments section of the ShortList article, readers suggested additional artists who were inspired by Tolkien, among them the German metal band Blind Guardian.)

ShortList also makes it known that David Bowie's 1974 album Diamond Dogs is chock-full of references to the George Orwell novel 1984. At least three songs on the album refer to 1984, including "We Are the Dead," and more obviously, "Big Brother" and "1984." Case in point, here are lyrics from the song "1984": "They'll split your pretty cranium and fill it full of air/And tell you that you're eighty, but brother, you won't care/Beware the savage jaw of 1984." (One commentor pointed out that, besides Bowie, Rage Against the Machine also repeatedly referenced 1984 in their 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles, with three songs on the album - "Testify," "Sleep Now in the Fire," and "Voice of the Voiceless" - featuring mentions of Orwell's novel.)

Other musicians who've shown off book smarts in the lyrics of their songs are, according to ShortList: Radiohead ("Dollars & Cents"), The Strokes ("Soma"), Joy Division ("Atrocity Exhibition"), the Velvet Underground ("Venus in Furs"), Nirvana ("Scentless Apprentice"), the Pixies ("Dead"), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds ("Red Right Hand"), Leonard Cohen ("Hallelujah"), and more. Readers of the article added: Jefferson Airplane ("White Rabbit"), the Mountain Goats ("Love Love Love"), MGMT ("The Handshake"), Noisettes ("Atticus"), Kate Bush ("Wuthering Heights"), Regina Spektor ("Baobabs"), Panic! At the Disco ("Time to Dance"), and lots more.

To see all "25 Songs That Reference Books," and the many more that music-loving commentors said were missed, go to the ShortList article at THIS LINK.

Tolkien's Fantasy Characters in Knitted Form

Amigurumi, which is the Japanese craft of crocheting characters and creatures, is one of the main reasons why I want to master crochet. I often think, "Once I learn how to really crochet, I'll take up knitting as well." The knitted J.R.R. Tolkien characters that Denise Salway has expertly made are a definite inspiration.
 

Denise Salway, standing behind her Tolkien-inspired creations.
Photo via http://thehobbitmovienews.blogspot.com

Salway, a 50-year-old who lives in Wales, took up knitting early in life. However, she abandoned the craft when she was in her teens, according to the Hobbit Movie News website. Yet last year, she picked up her knitting needles once more to make guest favors for her daughter Lisa's wedding. "So impressed were some male members of the wedding party that Denise, who lives in Penyfai, was asked to knit special socks to go with their traditional kilted outfits," reported the Hobbit Movie News. "From there she was convinced to have a go at kitting some of the characters from The Hobbit, and she hasn't looked back since."

Amazingly working without a pattern, Salway has knitted many residents of Middle Earth, among them Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Dwalin, Bombur, Fili, Kili, and Balin. She has even made the dragon Smaug. "I quite like a challenge," Salway revealed to the Hobbit Movie News. "Some of them take a long time. Smaug was over a month to do. Figures take a day or a day and a half."
 

A token of appreciation from actor Graham McTavish next to the knitted version of his character, Dwalin.
Photo via http://uk.movies.yahoo.com

Her highly detailed woolen models of dwarfs, dragons, and wizards are garnering Salway attention worldwide. They are even attracting notice from the actors who portrayed the characters in Peter Jackson's films. John Callen, the actor who played Óin in The Hobbit trilogy, posed for pictures while holding Salway's knitted version of his character. Scottish actor Graham McTavish, who played the dwarf Dwalin in the trilogy, gave Salway an autographed photo for her creative efforts.

Talking about her Tolkien-inspired creations, Denise Salway said, "They make people smile, and that gives me pleasure."

To see more of the J.R.R. Tolkien characters that Salway has knitted, go HERE and HERE. If you wish to follow her on Twitter, you can do so @KnittingWitchUK. You can also admire her "magical knit craft" on Flickr at THIS LINK.

Explore Tolkien's Middle Earth with Google Maps

More than a few of us, I'm sure, have used Google Maps to look around our old neighborhoods, college towns, and of course, current locales. Many have also used Google Maps to virtually walk around prospective places to travel or live. But how many have used this popular Google feature to explore the map of Middle Earth?
 

A map of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.
Image via io9.com

In advance of the December 13 theatrical release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second in the trilogy of film adaptions of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Google and Warner Bros. Pictures have collaborated on what is being called a "Chrome Experiment." This experiment allows fans of Tolkien to visit the actual physical locations that comprise Middle Earth, the fantastical setting for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings adventures.

It's basically a guided, interactive tour of Tolkien's Middle Earth, with the current destinations being Rivendell, Trollshaws, and Dol Guldur (more locales will be added later). Out of curiosity, I opened Google Chrome, went to Google Maps, and alternatively typed in "Rivendell," "Trollshaws," and "Dol Guldur," just to see what would happen. Well, it turns out that you can't explore Middle Earth in that way. You actually have to go to a particular link in order to do so. It's http://middle-earth.thehobbit.com. Going to this link will take you to the following screen:
 

Image via Technorati.com

Clicking on "Begin" will take you to a screen showing an aerial view of a map, from which you can choose to explore "The Wild Upland Woods: Trollshaw," "The Elven Enclave: Rivendell," or "The Once Great Fortress: Dol Guldur." Venturing further into each you will find that you need to use a compass point in order to navigate the terrain, just like you do in Google Maps. I found the graphics within each realm to not be as cool as those on the realm's cover page. Maybe they're still working on that. Still, being able to explore Middle Earth in this way is such a novel idea that Tolkien fans will be intrigued and perhaps pleased.

"In addition to the interactive map," reported Alexandra Cheney of the Wall Street Journal, "there's a 3-D explorable rend of each place designed to work on Chrome and Android. The project marks the first time Chrome Experiments have brought 3-D to a mobile device."

To get an idea of what it is like to take a "Journey through Middle-earth, a Chrome Experiment," check out the brief YouTube video below:
 

The Typewriters of Well-Known Wordsmiths

 Image via http://www.theparisreview.org

A Way to Keep Track of Who's Who in Middle Earth

  To see a larger image, go to: http://lotrproject.com/projects/periodictable

Tattoos Inspired by the Writing of J.R.R. Tolkien

One of my favorite literary quotes is "Not all those who wander are lost." These words are from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, and they resonated enough with some people that they had them permanently inked on their flesh.

Image from http://www.flavorwire.com/356303/20-amazing-j-r-r-tolkien-inspired-tattoos/view-all

Whether it's excerpts from one of the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings, lines of Elvish, or maps of Middle Earth, hardcore fans of J.R.R. Tolkien are getting elaborate tattoos that pay tribute to their beloved author.

http://www.flavorwire.com/356303/20-amazing-j-r-r-tolkien-inspired-tattoos/view-all

The folks at Flavorwire selected "20 Amazing J.R.R. Tolkien-Inspired Tattoos" for a recent article. Some of these tattoos are really quite beautiful, like this rendering of the White Tree of Gondor. This symbol, which is featured in The Lord of the Rings, makes for an absolutely striking tattoo design.

http://www.flavorwire.com/356303/20-amazing-j-r-r-tolkien-inspired-tattoos/view-all

It's amazing that people are so passionate about an author or a work of literature that they will have sayings or symbols connected to that author or literature be forever made a part of their bodies. That's some serious book love! 

The next time I'm sitting near someone reading a novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, I'm going to wonder if he (or she), underneath the layers of clothing, has a tattoo inspired by this author of high-fantasy classics.

To see all "20 Amazing J.R.R. Tolkien-Inspired Tattoos," go HERE. 

PS. I now want a White Tree of Gondor tattoo!

'Hobbit' Coins Thrill J.R.R. Tolkien Enthusiasts

New Zealand just keeps on giving. It was enough that it brought us Flight of the Conchords. But now Hobbit coins? That can be used as legal tender? Stop it!

A spoof of Lord of the Rings in an episode of Flight of the Conchords.
Brett McKenzie (left) actually appeared as the elf Figwit in the LOTR films.

A set of coins featuring Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and other characters from The Hobbit, the 1937 fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, are now on sale in New Zealand. More than collector's items, the coins are real currency, although their face value is only a fraction of what Tolkien enthusiasts will pay to possess them. According to ChannelNews Asia, the coins range in price from NZ$3,695 ($3,020) for one that's pure gold to NZ$29.90 ($24.68) for one that's made of aluminum and zinc.

A set of coins featuring characters from The Hobbit.
Image source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

The coins have been released to coincide with this month's premier of The Hobbit film series, directed by Peter Jackson. Part 1 of the series will open in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, on November 28. (It will hit theaters in the United States on December 14.) International orders for the coins can be made through the website of the New Zealand Post, which "has worldwide exclusive rights to issue official legal tender commemorative coins celebrating Sir Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based on 'The Hobbit,'" according to its home page.

To read more about The Hobbit coins, go HERE. To order the coins, go HERE.