Things that brought me delight in August, 2016:
Music
Marissa Nadler, Strangers
(It's trite to call Marissa Nadler's unique style of drear-pop haunting, and yet, what else could it be?)
Myrkur, Mausoleum
(acoustic versions with a choir turn Myrkur's black metal into beautiful elegies)
Opeth, The Candlelight Years
(I avoided Opeth for a long time because the albums I had heard were very prog-rock and very noodling, but it turns out that their early stuff is well within my range of sonic interests.)
* * *
Books
Octavia Butler, Dawn
(I'm really not much of a science fiction reader, but this was pretty amazing. But the amazing part was the science fiction elements; the literary display of human nature is the real draw in Dawn.)
Film
Ginger Snaps
(Although horrific monstrosity as a metaphor for puberty is a pretty well-worn idea, I still think Ginger Snaps is one of the best examples of how the convention can be done well.)
* * *
Gaming
Tome of Beasts
(A great selection of monsters to fill in the gaps of 5e's Monster Manual. All the new fey and undead were especially welcome.)
(It's trite to call Marissa Nadler's unique style of drear-pop haunting, and yet, what else could it be?)
Myrkur, Mausoleum
(acoustic versions with a choir turn Myrkur's black metal into beautiful elegies)
Opeth, The Candlelight Years
(I avoided Opeth for a long time because the albums I had heard were very prog-rock and very noodling, but it turns out that their early stuff is well within my range of sonic interests.)
* * *
Books
Octavia Butler, Dawn
(I'm really not much of a science fiction reader, but this was pretty amazing. But the amazing part was the science fiction elements; the literary display of human nature is the real draw in Dawn.)
Film
Ginger Snaps
(Although horrific monstrosity as a metaphor for puberty is a pretty well-worn idea, I still think Ginger Snaps is one of the best examples of how the convention can be done well.)
* * *
Gaming
Tome of Beasts
(A great selection of monsters to fill in the gaps of 5e's Monster Manual. All the new fey and undead were especially welcome.)
