Brian Hagan's Blog, page 2

Music Monday: Symphony No. 5 – Hidden Citizens

If you’ve listened to my other Music Monday posts, you probably know already that I’m a fan of dubchestral music. Recently I stumbled across Hidden Citizen, whose album Revivals takes 5 classical Beethoven compositions and reworks them into short, but awesome, dubchestral masterpieces. All 5 can be heard on youTube, but if you enjoy them then I encourage you to purchase the album (we’ve gotta encourage them to make more!)

It was hard to decide which song to share in this post, but I ended up going with track 1, Beethoven’s Symphony No 5. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.

You can help support the musician and this blog by purchasing their album using the affiliate link here:

You can find the rest of their albums here: https://amzn.to/2IGk2dt

You can also follow them on twitter at https://twitter.com/hiddencitizens

Would you like to suggest a piece of music for a Music Monday blog post? Leave me a comment!

Episode 4 of Brian Reads: Flash Fiction

It’s Episode 4!

Holy cow, Episode 4 is finally online! It’s really about time and I’m so glad it’s happening. That hiatus was killer, in the bad way.

The big thing I’m facing now is: I NEED MORE STORIES! Because, I really don’t want the podcast to end up just being my stories. Ideally, I wouldn’t have my stories in it at all, I would love to make it nothing but other people’s stories. So if you have a piece of flash fiction sitting around, or if you have an idea that would make for a great piece, please send it my way!

Also, since getting the podcast description is kind of a hassle, here are the links mentioned in it:

https://issuu.com/jacquelinedell/docs/combating_censorship_a_zine_project

https://www.facebook.com/colesmithcomics/

https://twitter.com/colesmithcomics

 

Ending the Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been doing any updates aside from the occasionally social media posts. Life kind of foisted a hiatus on me while various tasks and jobs demanded attention from me. Winter is tough anyway, what with seasonal affective disorder giving me a good one-two. But the days are getting longer and things are looking up. The first round of edits for The Single Deed of Emeril Battles is done and I have a few new stories to read on the podcast. Maybe I’ll have some updates on those sooner rather than later, but we’ll just see.

The point is, I’m not dead and have actually been a bit productive. I thought you all might like to know.

Episode 3 of Brian Reads: Flash Fiction

So today I finally got episode 3 online. I missed an episode at the end of November due to having my voice destroyed by a headcold that would’ve made Sauron hope to never be reincarnated. The bounce back wasn’t so… bouncy, so I ended up a few days late on this episode. So it goes, I suppose.

This episode included an interesting piece by Rhonda Gordon titled The Whistling. The story has some small errors (the reason lobsters are cooked alive is to minimize food poisoning, not to keep the meat tender) but nothing that I felt made the story a bad choice for this podcast (you may disagree, feel free to let me know). What I found interesting was the relevancy of the topics addressed in the story, and how the character relates her situation to her recent experience. Because it’s a flash fiction piece, though, there’s not really enough space to explore that relationship and its meaning, if any. I would very much enjoy hearing what others have to say about it.

On a related topic, I currently have no stories submitted for the podcast. I’m not sure what I’m going to do if the 31st rolls around and nobody has submitted a story. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen. If you think you can help in any way, please do!

Music Monday: That’s a Wrap – Thomas Bergersen

This is it, NaNoWriMos! We’re on the last stretch, with only three more days after today! It’s the toughest leg of our journey, and I bet you need some inspiration. Well open up your manuscript and get ready, because That’s a Wrap is ten solid minutes of Thomas Bergersen’s ultimate music themes compilations.

Although That’s a Wrap isn’t part of any actual movie soundtrack, it sure sounds like it!

If you enjoyed the song, you can help support Thomas Bergersen and this blog by using the Amazon Affiliate link below to buy the MP3!

Music Monday: Tubular Bells Part 1 – Mike Oldfield

It seems to me that a lot of us form our musical preferences when we’re growing up. Well, nothing could influence me as much as this track from Mike Oldfield.

Despite being relatively obscure, Tubular Bells changed the world of music. It was one of the first albums published by Virgin Records in 1973 and the first none-classical (in the traditional sense) performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It hit the top of the charts in the UK so hard that it stayed there until finally deposed by Oldfield’s second album, Hergest Ridge (Oldfield is one of the very few people in history to knock themselves off the #1 spot on the charts). Tubular Bells is also, arguably, the very first orchestrated rock album in the world. If you’ve listened to some of my other Music Monday posts, especially those with Two Steps from Hell and Instrumental Core, then you’ve already heard the fruit of Oldfield’s labor: a whole genre of power, beautiful, elegant, and inspiring music.

A little forewarning: Tubular Bells was recorded in 2 tracks, the first one (posted here) is 25 minutes. So I’ll share with you the advice given most people about to undertake this journey: get a good pair of headphones, lean back, and listen. I hope you enjoy it.

 

You can help support me and my work by purchasing the music you just listened to using the Amazon Affiliate link below. There are several different editions and re-recordings of Tubular Bells, my favorite is the “Deluxe” edition which includes the original 1973 recording and the 2009 remastering (my preference).

Ep2 of Brian Reads is now available

Hi everyone!

So I just published episode 2 of Brian Reads, featuring a story by the very talented and funny Dave D’Alessio. Head over to the Podcasts page to have a listen, if you haven’t already. This episode is only about 13 minutes and should make you smile.

The story I wrote for it, Grave Happenings, strikes me as hilarious. But I think that’s my dark sense of humor coming through. I don’t know what it is about somebody getting unexpectedly hit on the back of the head with heavy tools that makes me laugh. Maybe it’s nostalgia (the same happened to me in a play I participated in back in college, although thankfully the sledge hammer used was a light foam–acting!).

Also, a big thank-you to everyone who’s been sharing the podcast! I hope you continue to do so and enjoy the episodes as they come out. Feel free to throw me any feedback… I’m only two episodes in and I’m sure there’s lots of ways I can improve.

Music Monday: Chaconne by Robert de Visée

It’s the first Monday of November, and the first Monday of NaNoWriMo. This is often the point where people begin to trip up and lag behind, and if that’s you, you’re probably pretty stressed out. Well, I’ve got something for that.

Chaconne by Robert de Visée is a wonderful piece from 1682, masterfully performed by Xavier Díaz-Latorre, that does a wonderful job of taking advantage all that the lute has to offer in a relaxing, stress-melting 6 minute tune. So, if you’re writing or reading, or just surfing the ‘net, take a moment to listen to close your eyes and listen. Everything will be alright.

Music Monday: London Philharmonic Orchestra- Time

An orchestra playing Pink Floyd? Really?

Yes! Trust me, I was just as skeptical as you. But let me tell you: what you’re about to listen to, if you choose to do so, may be the single best adaptation of a rock song ever. It takes me soaring in ways that even the original doesn’t, and it inspires me every. single. time. So put away those distractions, turn up the volume, and give the London Philharmonic 8 minutes of your Time.

If you enjoyed that, please help support this blog (and the London Philharmonic) by using the affiliate Amazon link to buy the album!

New Podcast: Brian Reads

So this week has been ramping up to the release of my new podcast, Brian Reads: Flash Fiction. I’m thrilled to include Stephen Coghlan in this first episode. His story, Kernel of Truth, made for the perfect, light-hearted horror story to end the podcast with. Halloween is a great time to laugh and be scared at the same time.

As far as first episodes go, I’m happy with how this one came together. The music I recorded myself on guitar and ukulele. My performance in reading the pieces still needs a bit of work, but that’ll improve from episode to episode. The real trick will be continuing to find sponsors and writers to help support the podcast. The sponsors cover the cost of podcast hosting and enable me to pay the writers a little bit, while writers help keep the podcast from being just me reading my work. I like having the opportunity to share my own writing, but I want this to be an opportunity for others as well.

So if you haven’t listened it yet, Brian Reads: Flash Fiction is only about ten minutes long and is made to entertain during short periods when you don’t want to commit to a larger podcast. Go give it a listen and please spread the word!