I’m deep in the revision process for Book III of the Crimson Empire trilogy, and that means I’m listening to music most constant-like. For me music isn’t just the soundtrack to my writing but the actual fuel I need to keep it going, and I’m always on the look-out for new sounds. Hence, this here giveaway:
I’m giving away three hardcovers of A Blade of Black Steel, the sequel to A Crown for Cold Silver. All you have to do is post a comment below linking to a single song you think should be on a Crimson Empire soundtrack-it can be on bandcamp, soundcloud, youtube, whatever, so long as this luddite can click the link and hear the song. Contest ends Thursday, July 7th, whereupon I’ll choose three winners using some esoteric system of my own devising.
Oh, and due to the beastly cost of international shipping I’m going to have to limit this to US residents. Cheers!
Nick Sharps
I submit “Smooth Sailing” by Queens of the Stone Age. It’s got that sexy/sinister vibe that I get from The Crimson Empire. Here are some lyrics I find particularly fitting for Cold Cobalt…
“It’s all in motion, ain’t no stopping now
I got nothing to lose and only one way, up
I’m burning bridges, I destroy the mirage
All visions of collisions, fuckin’ bon voyage”
and…
“I hypnotize you, ignore, then defy you
I blow my load over the status quo… oh
Here we go”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QetvK6ldl2s
Jesse Bullington
Better late than never I’m catching up on actually responding to all these… And yes, this was quite apt (and I dig the salary men video!). Thanks for taking part!
Jamie Grefe
Prepare for battle. And destroy.
CIRCLE - SACRIFICE (vox by Bruce Duff)
https://soundcloud.com/ektrorecords/circle-sacrifice
Jesse Bullington
Thanks for turning me onto this!
Roy Thomas
I have a self diagnosed problem with reading. Anyways I know where your coming from, without music the real world would drown me.
https://youtu.be/NknjE2SBPxw
This song from the new Witcher game has powered me through several Final Papers for my history degree.
Todd Rittenhouse
Bit of a spoiler for the Witcher, but there is a certain author and a dastardly pair of grave robbing brothers in the game.
Jesse Bullington
*That* I have seen, thanks to youtube and some sharp-eyed fans!
Jesse Bullington
Man I have been dying to play this but still lack the technology. This soundtrack just makes me long all the more for a ps4…
Caleb Wilson
“Wanna Fight” by Cliff Martinez, from the movie “Only God Forgives”.
Suitable for any number of slow motion giant monster sequences or viewings of terrifying vistas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRHMJ_zzjnA
Jesse Bullington
Martinez’s work on Refn’s soundtracks is sooooo good-don’t know if you’ve seen/heard the Neon Demon yet, but it’s another winner.
Richard Gallipeau
My go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFO8qiW8WzQ
Jesse Bullington
Thanks for posting!
Anthony Hudson
Perfect for any writer locked away in a hotel in the snow: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B36ByqOoFd5DSW1nc0xGNEJmOG8/view (I swear it’s a song, not a spam link)
Jesse Bullington
Dick Clark had it right-music truly is the soundtrack to our lives. Thanks!
David Wildsmith
With more bar smoke than an underground Parisian nightclub, Tom Waits delivers a sinister lament in ‘Little Drop of Poison.’
A song layered with intrigue and soul, perfect for clawing that last drop out of your prose.
http://youtu.be/zkj_ov_0LA4
Jesse Bullington
One of my favorites of his, thanks! Caught him in 08, if memory serves, on his Glitter and Doom tour-such a force of nature. And nurture.
Chris Chenault
This, the soundtrack of decades.
https://youtu.be/yYz3nMAAMME
Jesse Bullington
This is new to me and obviously solid as good steel-really dug this whole album, thanks!
Jon Davis
I present to you Burnt Offering by The Budos Band: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-gOK9LjTtl8
Jesse Bullington
Another crazy good selection, thanks!
Joshua Bass
Here’s Smokey Kingdom with ‘Dopus’, found somewhere closer to Lark’s Tongue Peak than the Panteran Wastes.
https://smokeykingdom.bandcamp.com/track/dopus
Jesse Bullington
This is new to me and really rich, thanks for sharing!
Joshua Bass
And here’s YOB with ‘Marrow’, from the album ‘Clearing the Path to Ascend’. This might be found somewhere between the Witch Wood and Agalloch.
https://youtu.be/2HdnaDuRwok
Jesse Bullington
And fvck yes to YOB! Think I mentioned on FB I had a character named Yob in A Blade of Black Steel but my editor worried that might make him seem like a less serious character to British readers so I went with something else…now to find a more oblique way of mentioning them in Book III!
Shane Griffin
https://youtu.be/aKGtfOrtJ1s
Jesse Bullington
Thanks for taking part!
Jenna Bird
Ready for some cheese? Maybe. I dunno. I get laughed at for enjoying this.
And while I don’t yet know what best fits for this world, I feel like THIS fits every epic fantasy world….
https://youtu.be/Glrva_Dj9sY
Jesse Bullington
No lie, A Blade of Black Steel has a Manowar reference! No shame in this game…
Lisa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXEpMIFFvdQ&feature=share
Tim Hecker’s In the Fog II
It’s either a daydream or a nightmare, depending which way you swing.
Jesse Bullington
Tim Hecker was new to me but obviously really solid, thanks for sharing! Great writing music.
Jesse Miller-Riley
Turn Loose the Mermaids (instrumental version) by Nightwish.
The first time I heard it, it conjured up images of epic fantasy…and although “epic” is oft overused these days, the Crimson Empire series is TOTALLY epic. I’m almost finished with A Blade of Black Steel and can’t wait for the third installment. This song reminds me of the sweeping events happening on the Star, as well as the characters and their colorful backstories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZVC_7L7bwY
Jesse Bullington
Nice, thanks for sharing-always think of Nightwish as being all about her vocals, but the band is obvs just as talented as their lead.
And really glad you’ve enjoyed the series so much to date-means a lot to connect with like-minded people, and I hope the third book holds up to your expectations…once I finish it!
Jesse Miller-Riley
Yes, please do hurry up and finish it. I want more adventures in the Star!!! 🙂
Jared Chapman
It’s the gristle between your teeth that might or might not be your dead enemy: https://accidentpronerecords.bandcamp.com/album/pilgrimage-of-loathing
The Somnambulist from MAKE’s meaty new album Pilgrimage of Loathing.
(Honorable mention Atticus Atlas from Moth Gatherer: https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-earth-is-the-sky)
Jesse Bullington
These are both choice, but like Joshua above I felt it might be unfair to choose ya since y’all overachievers posted more than one track each! Really appreciate the thoughtfulness of your selections, though, and of course your time for reading!
Jared Chapman
Oh hells. If it’s about music that sounds like it belongs in Crimson Empire I can’t fail to mention the monster songs: “Serpents”, and “Wings Beating Over Heaven” by CROWN from the album Natron: https://candlelightrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/natron
Jesse Bullington
And holy mother of fvcks, CROWN is somehow new to me but feel like the title of the first book should be a reference to them. Excellent contribution, thanks so much!
Maly O
“Mother of Earth” by The Gun Club
https://youtu.be/hvvGM3QhtOg
Jesse Bullington
Oh damn, this is perfect-thanks!
Tony Markham
Did you mean July 2016? Dammit! Oh well, this is a site that various artists have used to put the world of Gravity’s Rainbow to music. Its faster than reading the whole book (again) plus it’s music.
https://soundcloud.com/transmissionsfm/sets/the-thomas-pynchon-fake-book
Jesse Bullington
Hey, better late than never! This looks cool, plus it will serve as cliff notes since I must admit I’ve never actually made it through Gravity’s Rainbow. Haven’t tried it in fifteen years or so, though, so probably time to try it again!
Lauris
https://soundarcade.bandcamp.com/track/delusions-of-grandeur