Imagining books and music in quirky and creative ways
When the Cheshire Cat fades to just a smile in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the reader is more or less nonplussed. Weird, abnormal stuff has been happening for the entire book, so a cat disappearing is accepted as part of the established universe of the book. But if you were Continue reading “How to Understand SuRprises in Classical Music”
What if books had hidden “Easter eggs” like in the movies?
Sometimes in movies the viewer will find hidden or bonus information that only someone who has seen all of the other related movies would understand. For example, in Disney’s Aladdin, when Jasmine’s father is Continue reading “What If Books Used “Easter Eggs?””
What better way to celebrate the release of the live action Beauty and the Beast movie than to share a piece that encompasses all of the magic of the story? This piece really brought to life certain scenes in the fairy tale for me Continue reading “Classical Music Stories: Beauty and the Beast”
I find it fascinating that the classical piano piece “Clair de Lune” is used so much in movies. I mean, what is it about that specific piece that makes it so popular and meaningful? And how does using it in different movies give a new, nuanced meaning to either the movie scene and/or the music itself? Continue reading “Clair de Lune in Two Popular Movies (What’s Up With That?)”
Have you ever thought about how much repetition there is in music? If you read my last post on the subject (Repetition in Pop Music, Classical Music, and Poetry) then you probably have! And since you guys seemed to like that post a lot I’m back to talk about other types of cool musical repetition! Continue reading “Repetition, Fairy Tales, and Classical Music”
I never really thought about it until I started writing this post, but there don’t seem to be a whole lot of pets in literature or YA books. (Maybe because the characters are off on crazy adventures so having a pet just doesn’t fit in the story?) Be that as it may, Crookshanks (Hermione’s cat in Harry Potter) and Dinah (Alice’s cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) are two pretty great felines. Continue reading “Which Cat Would Make a Better Pet: Crookshanks or Dinah?”
Sure, the song itself mentions Juliet at one point. But have you ever thought about how the song really does mimic Shakespeare’s play in certain ways? Continue reading “Romeo and Juliet in Top 40 Music”
Characters are often awkward, plain and simple. That’s why we love them, right?! Well, sometimes the “awkwardness” goes a little too far and things get a bit…interesting. So this post is an homage to some of the most incredibly “awkward” moments in literature. Continue reading “Literature’s Most Awkward Moments…”
I have discovered…drumroll please…the classical music equivalent of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. And it’s so exciting.
“Tzigane (rapsodie de concert)” is a piece for violin and orchestra, written by Maurice Ravel in the 1920s, and it uses this hilarious back-and-forth between musical styles in a really similar way to Bohemian Rhapsody. Continue reading “The Bohemian Rhapsody of Classical Music”
Optional Bonus Challenge: Listen to the piece first before you read the rest of this post. (It’s less than 5 minutes long and you know your poor eyes could use a break!) While you’re listening, imagine who the characters might be and what they might be doing if the music was a film score to a book you’ve read. It could be Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or a different book– entirely up to you! Then you can read what I imagined below and compare the two stories (and comment letting me know how they ended up being similar or different!!).
Again, totally optional. And now without further ado: Continue reading “Classical Music Stories: Alice in Wonderland”
If Mermaids Wore Suspenders 