Radio Active #22: Trilogy Philosophy, Hypertext d20 SRD, MirrorMask Soundtrack

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The much discussed, long-delayed MirrorMask soundtrack is finally reviewed, but not before I spend some time discussing the logic (or lack there off) behind small-press publishers releasing books in trilogy format. I also talk about the Hypertext d20 SRD, an excellent resource for stressed game masters.

Getting the Podcast

Show Notes

  • MirrorMask Track: Running for the Bus
  • Intro
    • The Philosophy of Trilogies
      • Big trilogies — heck, big series — tend to dominate fantasy circles, and often science fiction ones as well. So why do small press publishers (and self-publishing authors) insist on emulating this? Want to get me to take a chance on your book? Don’t make me think I have to read three books to understand what you’re trying to do!
  • TSFPN Promo
  • Sites of Note
    • d20 Hypertext SRD
      • www.d20srd.org
      • Classes, spells, feats, skills, magic items and the near complete open content stuff from Unearthed Arcana. Great for DMs on the go, since 90% of what you need can be found in it. Also great for quickly looking up rules at the gaming table (assuming you or a cohort have a computer and internet connections)
  • Ancestor Podbook Promo
  • Soundtrack: MirrorMask
    • by Iain Ballamy
    • La-La Land Records
    • Duration: 1:13:57
    • Buy it from Amazon.com
    • For the movie by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.
    • Nuketown: Donning the MirrorMask
    • A difficult soundtrack to review, given that I haven’t seen the movie, and probably won’t until it’s on DVD. So takek what I say with a grain of salt.
    • 30 tracks, which is great — I love it when soundtracks throw a lot of content at you, the more, the better.
    • “Sock Puppets / Flyover”: Representative of the playful mix of music on the soundtrack, from carnival to etheral. Much of the soundtrack, especially the first few tracks, is this sort mishmosh of styles, sort of like a circus mashed together with a jazz festival, with a few experimental musicians thrown into liven things up.
    • “A New Life”: Light, soothing, enjoyable
    • “If I Apologize”: Favorite song off the album (so much so that it’s in my work playlist).
    • It’s a playful, occasionally enjoyable soundtrack, but I suspect it will have the most vallue for those who’ve seen MirrorMask and loved it. So I recommend waiting to buy it until after you’ve done that.
  • Outro

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