Stay tuned for important announcements about the first official workshop performance of The Steampunk Opera in London later this year and the Indiegogo campaign to help fund it.
For today… don’t ask me why but i got a hankering to compare difference versions of classic Hall Of The Mountain King music origianlly compsoed by Edvard Grieg for Act 2 Scene 6 of Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt, which premiered in Christiania on February 24, 1876.
Obviously the piece is totally iconic. Everyone knows it. (If you’re not sure wait for one of the videos below. You’ll probably recognize it.)
Why on earth would i want to play you different genre versions of this song as a post? I DON’T KNOW! I got all obsessed with Peer Gynt last night and it just occured to me today. It’d be fun!
So let’s begin with the original:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLp_Hh6DKWc]
NOW let’s do one of the most awesome covers of this ever done by the metal cello quartet Apocalyptica:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2aIVKp1OY]
THIS is probably the next most famous version. It might be a bit forgotten now, but in the 70s it was huge. ELO:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGsqvas8CHo]
One more deserves put here for doing something different with our little melody of the day than yet done.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slQAxSJ3W3g]
There you have it. My top choices. JUST for the purposes of completion i will include the other versions from here on, although i tell you, these first four are enough for me. With that said, this next one from The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ros IS pretty darn good.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPZtigbbkz4]
Now we get into ones i just don’t give a crap about. I’m sure some will disagree vehemently, but hey, my list. GO make yer own.
And no offense, but this one by Epica… it’s fine. There’s nothing essentially wrong with it… but there’s not outstanding about it. Yes, another metal band plays it… whoo there’s an orchestra… it’s sounds exactly like about what you’d expect. (Yes,. i know there’s an album version,. I included the live one because it’s more interesting to watch.) Sorry kids, middle of the road metal. I’d rather relisten to Apocalyptica
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCc-QtY5XbA]
This one by Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow just cracks me up. Sorry, but a lot of metal makes me chuckle. When the singer starts wailing in his castradi range and the guitar hyper actively wheedely wheedely whees all over the two fingers in the air aggressive beat… it just all sounds like a caricature of itself and i find it funny.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiaPgqqdSWo]
But THIS… oh dear Lord, THIS thing is just ABOMIDABLE. I’m not against techno per say, i am against BAD techno. And there is a LOOOT of bad techno out there. This amazing version of utter stupidity illustrates how to do everyone wrong. Namely, be stupid. Really stupid. Wow! Someone played a well known melody on a cheesy synth over a techno beat? Well stop the presses!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XaNfmOjG6M&feature=related]
