Thursday, 16 April 2015

"If I had a voice I'd sing..."

Anyone who has watched an episode of Vikings will know the colossal part music plays in tying the whole show together. It's the cast member that doesn't get the credit. It ramps up the suspense and makes the tension in some scenes palpable. It sets the pulses of the audience racing as if you were running into battle with the shield maidens and warriors, and is the thumping heartbeat of every battle sequence. It sets the eerie, discordant tone for some of the more unsettling pagan ritual scenes(Season 1 Episode 8 Sacrifice and the human sacrifice of Leif at Uppsala, anyone?). Who can't recall the haunting but beautiful a Capella song that played through his final triumphant moments?!
The opening credits of the show are perfectly scored by Fever Ray's 'If I Had A Heart'. An ominous, atmospheric song that incites the Vikings lust for power, wealth and land, and invokes Ragnar's own insatiable hunger for knowledge and exploration in a single recitation: "This will never end coz I want more. More, give me more, give me more!"
Hats off to Michael Perlmutter and Trevor Morris for their musical contributions to the show.
As much as it is an element of the show, music is a huge part of my life. Since I can remember, I've been making noise and writing songs. The second I picked up a guitar there was no end to my capacity for making a cacophony.
What follows(if you choose to click on the video) is my cover of "If I Had A Heart" by Fever Ray.

VERY IMPORTANT WARNING/DISCLAIMER
1. If you press play, you do so at your own risk. I do not claim to be a good singer/guitarist, I merely enjoy both(aka, you will have no legal comeback if your ears start to bleed).
2. It's probably best to turn the volume down a bit and don't watch this in public...I do not want to be responsible for you getting concerned glances from strangers who think you are viewing questionable cat videos!
3. Yes, I know, the video quality is shocking. It was taken on a severely disfigured iPhone which should have been retired many moons ago(there's a new one in a box in bedroom but I'm kinda waiting to see how long it will hold up considering how mangled it has gotten).
4. Yes, I know, there are a multitude of things wrong with my guitar playing, phrasing and that little bit towards the end where I had to quickly take a breath(I forgot to take one at the correct time and if I hadn't gasped for air when I did I would probably have accidentally suffocated myself whilst trying to entertain you with a little musical number...that's showbiz for ya folks!).
5. No Vikings were actually harmed in the making of this video.
6. No infringement of copyright is intended by this video/blog.

#LikeAViking

2 comments:

  1. Loving the blog! Fav part this week is the vocals and the disclaimer haha made me lol
    Snaps for Maddie

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  2. Thank you lady! 😊 I felt the disclaimer was necessary. Don't want to find myself in a legal nightmare ha ha

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