Drummer, beat, and piper, blow, Harper, strike, and soldier, go

[ironymaiden]

Next wave of tattooing is complete - the bronze and brown are colored. (my artist thought she would get the background done too, I knew she would not get to it based on the time it took to do the others. Next month we'll get it done) I don't have good pictures yet; the color of the bronze isn't faithful to the inspiration art (where they're a dull greenish-brown) but to the color of earth lizards called bronze, which are kind of a golden tan with orange markings.

Every pass gets me thinking about the Pern books. I got this idea that I should add commissioning music for some of the ballads and Menolly's songs to my lottery money fantasy list.* And then I thought of course this has been done by now. I found a couple of supposedly McCaffrey-approved albums, but not a single song had a memorable tune!?! WTF did they read the books at all? The whole point of the teaching ballads was that they would make memorizing important info easy. Menolly's talent is writing earworms I can't even.

So given stupid amounts of money, what living songwriter/composer/band would you hire to write catchy tunes for existing lyrics? Bonus points for acoustic arrangements (but I'm not against power or folk metal).





*other items include grants for painting houses in Seattle in bright colors, a bookstore that sells only books I like, and buying medical debt

Comments

[motodraconis]

For pure old English folk, Steeleye Span, for soulful ethereal stuff with an occasional harder edge, Eivør or Myrkur, for some crazy moshy polka-metal, Finntroll, and for something with a more brutal snarl woven with skaldic chants and Viking warrior clean vocal chorus, Skálmöld.

[flexagon]

Jonathan Coulton, or OK Go!

[flexagon]

P.S. I'm also interested in buying medical debt. Do you have any organizations/methods in mind beyond RIP Medical Debt...? Which just changed its name, apparently. https://unduemedicaldebt.org/

[sirriamnis]

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.

[coffeedaiv]

The thing is, you are not looking for "good" music, as I understand it. You're looking for earworms.
So... who writes the ad jingles? Once upon a time, it was Barry Mannilow.
These days? I am not sure, but with stupid levels of money, this is a thing you can find out.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've had people bitch over me humming or singing those things. "Drummer Beat" is one I still singing while outside planting things. I have a bunch of them memorized, and I put zero effort into doing that. They just stick.