In addition to #photofridays, I'm also gonna start sharing some of my favourite music for #musicmondays
I've got a pretty varied taste in music, and my hope is to share some great songs, albums, and bands I enjoy - both internationally and from Australia, and even Adelaide itself.
Not all the bands will be to everyone's taste, obviously, and that's fine - but hopefully some of you will discover something new to enjoy!
I will warn you, there will be a pretty heavy bias towards folk, folk-pop, and dark-folk. But I'll try and scatter in some rock and other genres too!
Many of the tunes I show off will be older ones, and commonly known. That's just me showing off my favourite tunes, regardless of where and when they come from.
Today's entrant comes from my all-time favourite bands, The Decemberists, from Portland, Oregon, with the fifth album - The Hazards of Love
Source: decemberists.com
I first discovered The Decemberists when my sister's ex-husband bought me The Hazards of Love on vinyl, along with a record player, for Christmas.
The Hazards of Love, released in 2009, is a rock opera with a single, unified narrative, told via 17 tracks. Each track seamlessly moves from one to the other, so only one or two tracks can really be listened to on their own.
The Hazards of Love is an epic masterpiece, telling a tale of a girl riding in the woods and coming across a wounded faun, who turns out to be a forest prince. It tells the tale of their love, and the opposition from the Forest Queen and The Rake. Each character is masterfully voiced and acted, and each comes with their own powerful theme mixed expertly into the narrartive.
It's definitely a Sunday afternoon album, and best listened to in the way you enjoy a good book or movie - without distraction. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the story.
Get a taste of one of the best tracks - Annan Water - where the hero begs the turbulent river to allow him passage so that he can save his beloved:
You can listen to the full album via Spotify here:
If YouTube is more your jam, you can find the playlist here. Note, you lose some of the effect because of ads and playlist loading.
If you enjoyed it, let me know in the comments!