My 10 Favorite Albums of 2014

December 19, 2014December 18, 2014 / saraletourneau / 9 Comments

If I could use one word to describe the music of 2014 for me, it would be “weird.” Firstly, it was a year of transition and rediscovery music-wise. In May, I left my music-reviewing post at Sonic Cathedral after 5½ years so I could concentrate on novel-writing and other creative pursuits. Suddenly I had more freedom – and time! – to listen to genres besides female-fronted rock and metal. That explains why this year’s Top 10 list features the most variety I’ve ever had in my end-of-year countdowns. Yay! 🙂

Secondly, the quality of 2014’s music took me on a bumpy rollercoaster ride. There were awesome surprises, huge disappointments, and an unusually high number of “in-betweens” that I needed to replay several times before knowing how I felt about them. And in some ways, my #1 pick summarizes my year of music: It tips its hat to my “head-banging” past while shocking the hell out of me – in the best way possible. In fact, I don’t think my SC colleagues would have seen this one coming (except for one – she knows who she is, because it’s all her fault *winks*).

Buckled in? Then let’s go! Continue reading →

Chronicling The Craft: 90,000 Words

November 2, 2014 / saraletourneau / 6 Comments

Part 2 of My WIP’s Music Playlist

Chapters Completed: 22

Chapters In Progress: 6

Chapters Not Started: 6

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with writing my current work-in-progress (WIP), which is a fantasy novel. Every 5,000 words, I let readers know what I’ve accomplished since the previous article and share advice, discoveries, techniques, etc. Besides the word count in each article title, a “chapter ticker” at the top also tracks my progress as I use the skip-around / “writercopter” method to write the novel. Today’s installment celebrates the book reaching 90,000 words in length.

What?! How the… OK, I know I’ve said before that the 5,000-word milestones sometimes creep up on me, but I was completely unprepared for this one. Part of it may be because I’d been busy with all kinds of freelance and blog writing, and my head was so far removed from reality (not literally speaking, of course!) that it lost track of when I should start writing this Chronicle. So, I originally had no idea what topic to cover after giving the update. Thankfully an easy one came to mind. 😉

Here’s what I’ve worked on since the previous Chronicle: Continue reading →

Mini-Review Monday: David Arkenstone – “Celtic Garden”

March 31, 2014April 27, 2014 / saraletourneau / 3 Comments

David Arkenstone – Celtic Garden

Rating: 4 /5

I stumbled on David Arkenstone’s newest album Celtic Garden when I heard a couple songs at a gift shop several weeks ago. With just that sampling, I was transported to another land by the American new age musician’s blend of rustic folk music, enchanting vocal and instrument solos, and cinematic inspiration. Celtic Garden wasn’t available for purchase then (the store had a pre-release promo copy), so I pre-ordered it from Amazon as soon as I got home. And after repeat listens to the CD, I’m still under its spell.

Celtic Garden pays tribute to celebrated Celtic and new age artists such as Loreena McKennitt, Enya, and Celtic Woman, as well as the music from the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit films. Half of the tracks are instrumentals highlighted by violinist David Davidson, whose style ranges from playful (“Misty Morning”) to forlorn (“Nocturne”) to sweeping (“Misty Mountains / Song Of The Lonely Mountain”). His “duet” with Susan Craig Winsberg on flute and pennywhistle for “The Voice” evokes images of folk dancing and Ireland’s greenest meadows. The other half of Celtic Garden floats on the breeze of Charlee Brooks’ voice. She’s not a power singer by means, but that’s not what Celtic music is about. Instead, Charlee uses her gentle talents to charm the listener (“All Souls’ Night”), pray for compassion (“Deliver Me”), and pine for a distant lover (“Only An Ocean Away”).

Celtic Garden soothes me and speaks to my inner child. It entices me to relax, sing along, do yoga, even dance! (Yes, I’ve actually followed the urge and danced to this CD a few times!) I do, however, have a couple nitpicks. First, a couple tracks don’t come across as truly Celtic (“Misty Morning” sounds more like a nautical / pirate jaunt than an Irish jig, while “Safe and Sound” retains too much of the country twang from Taylor Swift’s original). Also, while the cover of Annie Lennox’s LOTR classic “Into The West” is well done, the song requires more power and emotion than Charlee’s voice can offer. Nonetheless, I’m thrilled that my recent gift store shopping led me to discovering David Arkenstone’s Celtic Garden. And I’m sure I’ll be visiting this breathtaking musical Eden time and time again.

Highlights: “Misty Mountains / Song of the Lonely Mountain,” “All Souls’ Night,” “The Voice”

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Deciding whether to buy Celtic Garden from Amazon? Let me know whether you found my review helpful by clicking here and selecting either “Yes” or “No.”

Coming Soon: No new CDs to review at the moment, so it might be a few weeks before the next Mini-Review Monday. However, stay tuned for a new Chronicling The Craft, as well as a special post in April that’s dedicated to National Poetry Month!