Hello World! Welcome to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where our writers chit chat about our current nerdy favs. This time around, we’re all about memorable soundtracks, fairy tale detective mashups, and an app that provides discounted games for every budget…including free!
Shara’s Favorite Thing is… “Light of the Seven” from Game of Thrones
This may be a little late, but I’m in love with the track “Light of the Seven” from the Game of Thrones Season 6 score by Ramin Djawadi. All of his work on the show has been phenomenal, but this track really stands out because it’s SO unlike anything the show has utilized thus far. The season six finale (don’t worry, no spoilers) started out with this gorgeous piano solo that’s simply haunting, and immediately you feel like something big and important is going to happen. It draws out the tension in a maddening way. Like I said, no spoilers, but watching the events on the show almost overpowers the music scoring it, and it wasn’t until I listened to the track by itself that I really fell in love: how it starts out with the piano and adds the strings, interplays between the two, and then adds the haunting vocals from two boys, and then lets lose with a mad organ frenzy, and finally folds in the orchestral movement for the finale. And if you listen carefully, you’ll most certainly catch a variation on the opening credits theme that we all know and love. I’ve seen the season six finale criticized partially because this song doesn’t feel like it belongs on the show. It does. It so does. It’s beautiful and haunting and if you start listening to it, you’re not going to get it out of your head. It’s a symphony in and of itself.
Janicu’s Favorite Thing is… Masque by W.R. Gingell!
I’m a sucker for old stories retold in different ways, so I want to talk about Masque by W.R. Gingell. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, where Beauty (aka Lady Isabella Farrah) is a meddling amateur detective who is determined to solve a ghastly magic-related murder, while Lord Pecus, (whose face is mysteriously masked — guess who he is), is the Commander of the Watch trying to keep her out of trouble. This was a delightful read that is a perfect fun summer book. I had a great time identifying the bones of the original fairy-tale while marveling at what made this it’s own story: Belle’s wiles as she runs circles around everyone, the Regency-like world, and life as a diplomat’s daughter. There are even legit street urchins here, for goodness sake. So. Much. Fun. (With a side of creepy, creepy, murder). The good news is, this isn’t the only retelling this author has done.
Betsy’s Favorite Thing is… Amazon Underground!
July forced me to brutal practicality in lots of ways. Since I get to talk about a couple of the month’s overtly fun things in posts later this month, I thought I’d share one of my favorite practical things here. As a smartphone user, and most certainly as a mom of young children, I’m always on the lookout for new nifty apps and games. Bonus points for the apps I find being well-made, or potentially educational for the kiddos, or free–which means that Amazon Underground is working with a trifecta of awesome for me, on a regular basis. Here’s the deal: you download the Amazon Underground app to nearly any Android device and use it just like the Google Play Store to find, download, and manage your Amazon apps. OR just go to Amazon’s Appstore for Android and look for the Actually Free banner across the top left corner of an app’s icon before you clicky clicky. You’ll have completely free access (including lots of in-app purchases) to thousands of games and even grown-up type apps. Each month they choose 5-20 featured apps, but there are many more than that available for free at any one time. It’s definitely worth a long look if you’ve broken free from Apple’s iEverything grip.
Tez’s Favorite Thing is… “Sledgehammer” from Star Trek Beyond!
I may not be interested in watching Star Trek Beyond, but I’m totally here for the lead single from the soundtrack. Written by Rihanna, Sia, and Jesse Shatkin, Sledgehammer is a power-ballad about breaking through obstacles. The music video’s director, Floria Sigismondi, explains that from the film, “We used the broken moon, we used the swarm ships, and we used [Starbase] Yorktown”. Watch Rihanna as a “space witch”, and stay tuned for the colourful night scenes that make this a Favorite Thing.
Any thoughts on the favorites about? What have you been geeking out over lately? Let us know in the comments. Looking for more recommendations? Then click on the category for My Favorite Things. We may be a new blog, but we already have dozens of awesome suggestions for you here on Speculative Chic.
Masque sounded right up my alley, and even better–today it’s free on kindle! (8-02-16)