Stuck In My Skull 353 -- "Last of the Wilds"

Song: "Last of the Wilds" || Artist: Nightwish || http://youtu.be/vouAtmE13vs ||

[youtube http://youtu.be/vouAtmE13vs]

Comments: So, I recently (Christmas) came into quite a bit of music. In addition, I recently turned on a radio and realized "Wow, I'm really behind on pop music!" So, between both of those factors, I will be sending you some new tunes soon. But for today, I beg your pardon, but I have to pass this song along. Nightwish is generally considered to be masters of symphonic metal, but they're also really good at putting together an instrumental track -- all of the symphonic and none of the metal. "Last of the Wilds" is the symphonic track from Nightwish's album Dark Passion Play. Enjoy!

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Stuck In My Skull 315-- "The Poet and the Pendulum"

Song: "The Poet and the Pendulum" || Artist: Nightwish || http://youtu.be/r3ntHpYocc0 ||

[youtube http://youtu.be/r3ntHpYocc0]

Comments: Normally I wouldn't do two Nightwish songs so close together, but I found out last night that vocalist Anette Olzon has left the band as of October 1. @#$%. That is really, really depressing news. I really enjoyed Nightwish's two albums with Anette, and was looking forward to several more. To my knowledge, no vocalist is currently listed to replace her, and Floor Jansen will be finishing the tour in her slot. As a tribute to the now-departed vocalist, I post the longest Nightwish song I know of, and the first Nightwish song with Anette that I remember playing over and over on repeat. Enjoy!

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Stuck In My Skull 312-- "7 Days to the Wolves"

Song: "7 Days to the Wolves" || Artist: Nightwish || http://youtu.be/Uod4zDdhofY ||

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uod4zDdhofY]

Comments: Yet another Nightwish song that did well enough to be released as a single, and wasn't, to our infinite sadness. Well, not really infinite, but very great. This song is a shining exemplar of just how flexible of a band Nightwish is, rolling several dramatically different-sounding sections into one song. I love this song. Actually, I love Nightwish, period, but this song is particularly excellent.

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Entry 267-- "Sahara"

Song: "Sahara" || Artist: Nightwish || http://youtu.be/auHuwRAYDPE ||
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auHuwRAYDPE?rel=0]
Comments: Happy Tuesday, everyone. If you haven't heard it, "Sahara" is one of the lesser-known songs off Nightwish's album Dark Passion Play, and I can't understand why for the life of me. It's an excellent song, and has a habit of getting stuck in my head for hours on end. Don't let that discourage you from listening, though. Enjoy the song!

On an unrelated note, I'm still toying around with embedding the code for the video directly in the post, as opposed to inserting a video by way of clicking through a bunch of videos. If it doesn't work, apologies! Click the link at the top and it will still take you to the youtube video.

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Entry 198-- "I Want My Tears Back"

Song: "I Want My Tears Back"
Artist: Nightwish

http://youtu.be/fV2C9_MAJ0E
Comments: I woke up this morning with this song in my head, and despite being sick, managed to not only power through my morning, but be amazing about it. Thank you, Nightwish! Anyway, this song hasn't been released as a single, and I don't think it's going to, which is a shame. It's off the Imaginaerum album, which you should definitely listen to, straight through. Enjoy the song!

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Entry 168-- "Last Ride of the Day"

Song: "Last Ride of the Day"
Artist: Nightwish

http://youtu.be/Myse6nPdKJQ
Comments: Today's song was a toss-up between this song and "The Great Pandemonium" by Kamelot, and to be quite honest, this song won because the video to the Kamelot song is pretty bad, in my opinion. This song, on the other hand, is excellent enough to need no video. I can tell already-- this is going to get stuck in my head today. Enjoy the song!

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Entry 162: Cover Week, Part 6-- " Storytime" Weekend Special!

Song: "Storytime"
Artist: Frozen Lys
http://youtu.be/XPslYwWcVJU

Comments: Hello, all! Chris here, back from my week off. Thanks to Miriah and Amanda for covering so well for me! I was down in New Orleans, rebuilding houses that got trashed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And before you ask, yes, there is still plenty to be done down there. I was working with the Saint Bernard Project, which you should all go look at. No, really. Although the world has by-and-large forgotten about New Orleans, that city really does still need your help.
Anyway, the song. I forget how I stumbled onto Frozen Lys, but a month or two ago, I ran into this band. This trio covers Nightwish songs, and as far as I can tell, doesn't even do it by playing together in person. This three-piece band (not a five piece band with backing, like the original) does an impressive cover of an excellent song, over the internet. I emailed them, and they have told me that they will be producing original work in the future. I can't wait to see it. Frozen Lys, you have impressed me. Keep up the good work!
Regular content will resume Monday. Hope everyone enjoyed St. Patrick's Day (safely)!

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Entry 155-- "Slow, Love, Slow"

Song: "Slow, Love, Slow"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/8Xbow9faH3s

Comments: Dear me, what a song. "Slow, Love, Slow" is a jazzy number in the midst of a symphonic metal album, and I love it. I won't call it a complete jazz song, but it is definitely jazz-y. This gets stuck in my head fairly often, and I think it's beautiful. Enjoy!

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Entry 139-- "Ever Dream"

Song: "Ever Dream"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/W39WaGTPnvg
Comments: I was writing the labels for a post on "Nemo" when I realized I had used it back in Entry 25. And thus, at the last second, a change of songs and a new entry. "Ever Dream" might well be my favourite song off the "End of an Era" live album, and quite possibly my favourite Nightwish song ever. It's a toss-up between that, "Ghost Love Score," "Bless the Child," and "Poet and the Pendulum." Of course, I haven't heard anything but "Storytime" off the new album, so it might well be replaced once I do. In the mean time, though, it's a contender for my favourite. Enjoy!

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Entry 120: Symphonic Metal Week II-- "Storytime"

Symphonic Metal Week II, Part I
Song: "Storytime"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/5g8ykQLYnX0
Comments: Here we go again! Welcome to the second Symphonic Metal Week, because one just wasn't enough! To open the week, the first single of Nightwish's new album "Imaginaerum," "Storytime." I have to admit, the video can be a tad creepy, but it's still quite excellent, as is the song. It's fast, and catchy enough to get stuck in my head for most of the day the first time I heard it. If all of "Imaginaerum" sounds like this, I might have to break my rule about buying albums while they're still fresh (and expensive) and go buy it. Enjoy the song!

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Entry 113-- "Amaranth"

Song: "Amaranth"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/GdZn7k5rZLQ
Comments: "Amaranth" is a wonderful proof by demonstration of a variety of different ideas I hold about symphonic metal as a genre and music in general. One-- new isn't bad. (No, I don't wish to get into the "new" Nightwish versus "old" Nightwish debate over vocalists.) Two-- music videos can be art. Three-- metal requires crazy hair, no exceptions. Actually, the last one is mostly a joke, not a serious allegation, but it usually holds. More to the point, this song is wonderful-- take a listen!

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Entry 70-- Symphonic Metal Week, Parts 3 and 4

Symphonic Metal Week, Parts 3 and 4
Song 1: "Bless the Child"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/8Pjh0visgJI
Comments: Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday, folks. To make it up to you all, two songs today! The first one is by Nightwish featuring their original vocalist, Tarja Turunen, who sounds nothing like this their new vocalist (Anette Olzon). (I mention this because the debate over the comparative merits of the vocalists regularly ignites youtube comment threads into flame wars, and is quite heated.) I have heard this song described in terms similar to a very good movie soundtrack. Go listen!

Song 2: "Our Solemn Hour"
Artist: Within Temptation
http://youtu.be/JwWRUVVadQg
Comments: And after you listen to that song, take a listen to this one. Slightly less cinematic, this song has (if I hear this correctly) a full orchestra and chorus behind the metallic instrumentation. This song blew me away when I heard it-- hopefully it will rock your world too.

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Entry 65-- "Ghost Love Score"

Song: "Ghost Love Score"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/0VF0BlXP-0Y
Comments: Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday, guys. I got something like four hours of sleep, and was sso busy that I completely forgot. In return, long, epic song! "Ghost Love Score" is a rolling, ten minute symphonic metal classic. Check it out!

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Entry 25-- "Nemo"

Song: "Nemo"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/qUTTA2X74N4
Comments: Symphonic metal at its very best, "Nemo" is one of the finer works of Nightwish. If you cannot understand the operatic lyrics, I recommend looking them up. Also, I posted an entry over the weekend as a thank you for 300 hits: check it out! http://stuckinmyskull.blogspot.com/2011/08/entry-24-boom-boom-guetta.html

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Entry 4-- "Wishmaster"

Song: "Wishmaster"
Artist: Nightwish
http://youtu.be/tLW7wJvdFSI (Original Lyrics)
http://youtu.be/gg5_mlQOsUQ (Misheard Lyrics)
Comments: This song holds the dubious honour of having the most often misheard lyrics of any song I know, thanks in large part to the opera-like vocals of the (not coincidentally) opera-trained lead singer Tarja Turunen. I felt the need to post a video of the lyrics, rather than an actual music video so that readers not familiar with the band could actually understand what was being said, and in doing so, found the Misheard version. I couldn't resist copying down that link as well. After more than a day of having the song stuck in my head (in a fiendish combination of the true and misheard lyrics), I decided I had to post it. (To any fans of the band who intend to pose the typical "What do you think of Anette Olzon, the new singer?" my answer is: I like them both, for different reasons.)

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