elisi: Edwin holding a tiny snowman (Smile Fan by buttersideup)
elisi ([personal profile] elisi) wrote2008-11-11 07:47 pm
Entry tags:

Vikings yay!

Happy Birthday [livejournal.com profile] beer_good_foamy! I was trying to think of something different for your special day, and this (at least) will be original. (Am presuming you're not familiar with the group - you've never mentioned it, but I think it's your kinda thing.)

Anyway, this is Tyr, a Faroese heavy metal group, who hit upon the brilliant idea of adapting old viking/medieval ballads. This is Regin Smiður (well a few verses - the whole thing is near Ring Cycle length...). ETA: Their videos are obviously made on a shoestring. I find this rather endearing.



[Notes for cultural geeks. A brief explanation of the history of the ballads can be found here (and yes, I had to learn a ton of these at school!). Notes on the Faroese dance here. For those who favour the 'show, not tell' approach, here is a proper traditional dance & ballad: Ormurin Langi. (Tyr have their own take here. This is not considered disrespectful, btw - people are generally very happy that the culture finds new ways of growing & expressing itself. Also viking tales are rather perfect for heavy metal! *g*]

[identity profile] beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com 2008-11-11 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks a lot! And that was a great video even if I didn't understand more than two or three words... :-D

Here's one in return: Hoven Droven's "Köttpolska". I've watched old people dance to this.