Transcript:
Intro music: Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of Speak Beasty. Whether you’re a Dapper Dan or a Flapper Fran, we’re glad you’re here, sugar.
Hello magical friends, Beasty and musical alike! Welcome to an extra-special crossover episode of WZRD Radio and SpeakBeasty. I’m your hostwitch Bess.
Geoff: I’m Geoff.
Jennifer: And I’m Jennifer.
I am hostwitch of WZRD Radio, your wizard rock radio show, and the Writer Wrangler at the Wizrocklopedia. I use she and her pronouns. We were trying to discuss our favorite wizard rock songs and I couldn’t choose… I’ve been playing “Good to See You Wallenby” by Kwikspell on repeat, also “Accio Hot Guy,” because I just bought the Butterbeer Experience’s complete oeuvre, and “Wizard Rock Thursday” by Pottorhead.
Geoff: I’m Geoff. I am a host and social media correspondent for SpeakBeasty, the official Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them podcast. I’m also a content editor for MuggleNet.com and in the muggle world I’m a warehouse worker, which is generally where I listen to most of my podcasts, like this one. And if I had to pick a favorite wizard rock song, I have been listening to “Luna I Believe in You” by How Airplanes Fly a lot recently. But if I had to pick my most favorite wizard rock song I’d probably pick “Diagon Alley” by Tonks and the Aurors.
Ah, those are such good choices.
Jennifer: I’m Jennifer, I am the social media manager for SpeakBeasty and in my muggle life I am a production assistant for knitting magazines, so I feel like Dumbledore would approve of that. Um, we all know he loves a good knitting pattern. I am from the UK and my favorite wizard rock song has to be “With You Whatever Happens” by Lauren Fairweather. Um, I actually got it tattooed recently which was like a huge deal because my family are very anti-tattoo, so I don’t think I’ll be getting another one. I love that song. It reminds me of all the friends I’ve made because of SpeakBeasty and the fandom and stuff. It gives me all the warm fuzzies.
That’s a, a really solid descriptor of Lauren Fairweather and her music and performances.
Jennifer: Absolutely. It just gives you lots of feelings.
Geoff: Bess, for our SpeakBeasty listeners who might not be as familiar with your show, why don’t you walk us through the general format of what we’re going to be doing today so that they know what to expect and tell us a little about some of the music we’re going to be hearing today.
Absolutely! For all of you Beasty friends who are unfamiliar with the, ah, WZRD Radio world, I host a twice a month podcast wherein I play a variety of wizard rock and give updates on what’s going on in the wizard rock and Harry Potter world and do some wandoscopes, which we’ll be doing later for my cohosts.
Jennifer: I’m very excited. I love you wandoscopes.
Geoff: I’m very excited about that too. I feel like I always enjoy hearing the wandoscopes but I always kind of have to listen very carefully to follow what’s really going on there. I haven’t had somebody do a proper horoscope for me in a long time.
Well we’ll be getting into all of that shortly, but first up of course, is a music break starting with “Be Smart” by Witherwings.
~*~
That was “Be Smart” by Witherwings, “Dementor’s Kiss” by the Arkadian [lyrics], and “Drakveterinaren” by the Swedish Shortsnouts [lyrics].
Geoff: I have to say, after that first set of songs I have a little bit of a headache. I think I might’ve banged my head a little bit too hard during “Dementor’s Kiss.” I love it when wizard rock goes metal because I feel like there’s actually not enough of it.
It is actually becoming a bigger subgenre, I think. There’s a new band called Slytherin that just started in the last year or so that does a lot of metal. The Rotfang Conspiracy just came out…
Geoff: Oh the Rotfang Conspirac—oh, see, I love when you can tell by the references the people starting these bands really know the series. Cuz you’d have to really know the series to get that one.
It’s a pretty deep cut for sure. And their music is fabulous.
Geoff: Right. I’m gonna add those to my list of stuff that I’m looking up after the show.
I also love “Be SMART” by Witherwings, that we played first because it takes the concept of S.P.E.W. and brings it forward some. It’s the “Society for Magical Animal Respectful Treatment.
Geoff: It’s clever. And you can’t really make fun of it, because you say “spew” and it’s so easy to poke fun at but you say “smart” and it just—it even sounds smart. It’s in the name!
Jennifer: It’s so good.
Yeah, I think that one’s a particularly good one. But now it is time for our wandoscopes, and I actually sent them to you so you can each read your own.
Geoff: So my wand is English Oak, 10 ¾ inches, with a phoenix feather core. You are loyal, courageous, and strong. Strong, of course, does not have to mean physical, although it can. But it can also mean strong in your convictions or or sense of self or dedication. When paired with a phoenix core it means you are the kind of person who isn’t afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means facing down your deepest fears—or those closest to you. There’s going to be a general undercurrent of pleasantness this month for you, English Oak. Of course there will always be stressful moments, but something about the rest that winter brings will resonate with you this month. Take extra time for napping, stretching, and eating tasty treats to make the most of it. Toward the end of the month you’ll start feeling the urge to get creating, whatever that means for you. If you’re not sure what you want to be working on, check in with a chestnut wand and see if they have any thoughts. You might be strong alone, but you’re even better with a trustworthy companion.
That is a brief overview of what having an English Oak and phoenix core wand means and things to look forward to for the rest of the month.
Geoff: I love it. If I know any chestnut wands out there who wanna give me advice about what I should be working on towards the end of the month, I can give you my email.
Do you know, I think we actually have one.
Jennifer: I think we might! My wand is chestnut wood with a phoenix feather core, 10 ¾ inches and unyielding flexibility.
Look at that resonance between the two of you. Sharing a core—
Geoff: Oh right! No wonder we get on so well. Which is fortunate because she’s kind of my boss.
Jennifer: Oh wow, that’s incredible.
Geoff: She’s sort of the, um, one who’s in charge of what I do on the SpeakBeasty Twitter.
Jennifer: So my wandoscope is you, Chestnut wand, have a veritable plethora of interests and abilities. The one thing that aligns them all? You can never sit still when there’s something interesting going on. Which is so true it’s, like, actually embarrassing—
Geoff: Mhm.
Jennifer: How do you know me, Bess? And your phoenix core reinforces this with its ability to adapt to anything over time. Famous wandlore expert Garrick Olivander—who is also a Ravenclaw like me, I would like to point out—also says that the Chestnut-phoenix feather wand will always be concerned with all manners of justice, which should be a wide enough scope for your talents and interests. Oh what a fabulous month for you! You’re going to use your wide range of interests to deepen a relationship, maybe even two. Like a book protagonist picking up teammates, you’ll build a party of individuals who are ready and eager to tackle whatever your next project is. Keep an eye out for a thestral hair or dogwood, someone you might not normally think of including. They just might hand you the piece you need or become an invaluable ally. That’s quite apt actually, because I have some job interviews next week.
Well, I wish you good luck with them then.
Jennifer: Thank you.
Geoff: Yeah, good luck Jenn! You’re gonna kill it.
Jennifer: I’m sure it’ll be okay. They’re always awkward when they’re, like, over Zoom.
I’ve, ah, always believed that the way that muggle life holds on to horoscopes, wizards must take wandlore very seriously in terms of who you’re compatible with, you know, personality styles…
Jennifer: Absolutely. It, it definitely makes sense. I’m surprised we’ve not seen anything like that in the books before, really.
Right? And it felt like a shame. So I went through everything that Garrick Olivander and other wandlore experts have ever said and worked out what that means for individuals based on their wood and core. There are scores of rarely used cores and dozens of wands. It has a, uh, a much greater capacity for encompassing individual quirks and differences than astrology.
Jennifer: Yes, than just when you were born, yeah.
Geoff: Mhm.
Although to be fair, people have started including things like sun signs, moon signs. You know, what was rising…So perhaps they are more similar than I think.
Jennifer: Yeah.
Geoff: I still, I really need…It always impresses me when people are up on exactly what all of that means and I always need somebody to explain it to me because it just seems like a lot to keep track of. But that’s probably because I haven’t taken the time to properly educate myself on it. I always like it when somebody can do a horoscope for me and explain what all that means.
I wonder if we could find an overlap, the way there is between Hogwarts Houses and Ilvermorny houses with wand makeup and astrology.
Geoff: Oh I’m sure we probably could. And I wonder how that would compare to—I know that they do astrology in divination. But the astrology that they’re doing in divination, apart from the fact that they’re learning it at a wizarding school, doesn’t seem to have anything particularly magical about it. It looks a lot like the kind of astrology that we do in the muggle world.
I wonder if that’s one of those crossover things that a rogue wizard brought to muggles.
Geoff: Possibly…I know that Dumbledore was in favor of discontinuing Divination. But I would like to know how did Divination end up as part of the curriculum? Because we know that there are subjects that they don’t teach anymore, and that there are specialty subjects that they only teach every now and then, so Divination has clearly stuck around for a while and I would be interested to hear how it got there.
There was a band at one point called ‘The Wands’ that sang just from the perspective of wands from the series.
Jennifer: That’s amazing!
Yeah.
Geoff: That’s clever. That’s so clever
Jennifer: I’m going to have to check them out.
I have a handful of their songs and the one that I remember most clearly is Ron Weasley’s wand being hurt and angry at its maltreatment.
Jennifer: That’s so great.
Geoff: Oh my…
Jennifer: I love them when they’re from, like, different perspectives. Like a few of the songs that we listen to later on are from really interesting perspectives that you don’t get to see very often.
Mhm.
Geoff: Well they did think about that one, didn’t they.
Indeed. Ah, you should also hear “Mermaids Above Water,” I believe it’s called. They’re very conceptual.
Geoff: Very nice. See, if you told me “Okay, Geoff, we want you to write a wizard rock song from the perspective of a wand” I’d probably come out with something like “Please take me out of your pocket.”
Jennifer: I’m gonna blow your butt off.
Geoff: Who do you know who’s lost a buttock?
Ah, my favorite character. Almost a decade ago I asked the DeGeorges of Harry and the Potters what they thought the future of wizard rock looked like and they said they thought it was things like The Wands and Mermaids Above Water, that get more niche and play more with the concept of music and Harry Potter.
Geoff: I’d be—I’d be excited to hear that.
Jennifer: Uh, recently there’s been the shanties—the sea shanties?
Yes!
Jennifer: Those were incredible! That little EP that was released of wizard rock sea shanties. It was something I didn’t know I needed until I had it and it was just incredible.
Yes! And Totally Knuts is doing a comp of sea shanties with other bands.
Jennifer: Really!?
Mhm.
Geoff: Hooray!
Jennifer: Incredible.
Geoff: When? And also, can I have it now? I didn’t really think that much about sea shanties until I heard the soundtrack for, I think it’s Assassins Creed: Black Flag—that’s the one where they did the sea shanties, right? Yes, I’m sure of it.
You’ll have to tell me.
Jennifer: Yeah. We need to send her…
Geoff: There was a lot of really fabulous sea shanties on that one and I just got so fascinated by them. So when that album you just mentioned comes out I gotta—I gotta have that.
Jennifer; Jude Law actually used to sing sea shanties on the, um, set of Crimes of Grindelwald so, um, maybe we’ll just send him a wizard rock version so he can sing it for us.
Geoff: Mhm!
Or get him in on it, yeah.
Jennifer: Yeah. I think he should absolutely do that. When I meet Jude Law.
Geoff: Yeah, when you meet Jude Law tell him that I think he’s doing an absolutely fabulous job and if anybody has anything to say about it, they can come talk to me.
That goes back to your, your strength, as an English Oak, I see.
Geoff: Yep, that’s…See, there you go. It’s definitely apropos.
Next we have another music break, starting with “My Name is Newt” by Newt Skabander.
~*~
That was “My Name is Newt” by Newt Skabander [lyrics], “Dark-Haired Man” by Flitwick and the Charmers, and The Blibbering Humdingers with “Erumpent Tango.”
Jennifer: I love that song, The Erumpent Tango, so much!
Uh, they are so much fun.
Jennifer: I think I first heard them on your show. I think it was—was it “Wizard Robes” that you played?
Yes.
Jennifer: Ehm, I loved that. That was so good. And then I bought the, the album. And they’ve not come out with anymore music, unfortunately.
No. I am hounding them—
Jennifer: Excellent.
–but they seem to be busy with other things right now.
Jennifer: Aw, shouldn’t be allowed. It’s so good. And they’re in the UK as well so maybe I can convince them to do a little concert. I want to go to a wizard rock show!
Someone’s trying to bring back Wrock London…was that you? That was someone…
Jennifer: I don’t think that was me. But at least there’s someone else! I’m not far from London, I could make that happen.
Geoff: I almost laughed just then when you said “Newt Skabander” cuz I wasn’t sure if I should be saying it as “Newt Skabander” so it sounds like “Scamander” or if I should be saying is as “Newt Ska-Bander” because it’s a ska band.
Well they haven’t told me I’m doing it wrong yet so…
Geoff: I saw the name and I got excited. I said “Wait a minute…I know what kind of music this is gonna be!” And then I played it and I said “Yes! There’s the horn section!
Yeah, ska is another subgenre that is becoming increasingly popular with Newt Skabander and Flitwick and the Charmers.
Geoff: Oh my go—that song by Flitwick and the Charmers…
Jennifer: It’s so clever! It’s so clever.
Geoff: It took me a minute.
Jennifer: Yeah, it took me a while to realize it was Trevor.
I first heard them play it live at MISTI*Con and was absolutely blown away. It’s my, ah, second-favorite Flitwick and the Charmers song.
Geoff: What’s your favorite?
Jennifer: What’s your first?
“Wish You Well.”
Jennifer: Oh, that’s a good one.
Geoff: The listeners have no reason to know this, but when I was relistening to the playlist this morning in preparation for our episode, I came up with a dance for the Erumpent Tango and I sent it to my fellow hosts.
It’s true. His best quality is his wiggles.
Jennifer: We should absolutely make that music video.
Geoff: Yeah, I’m quite proud of my wiggles. Didn’t know I’d ever actually say that but there you have it. Now I have to come up with a signature move for all of the other songs as well.
The, um, Blibbering Humdingers are working out dance routines for a lot of their more recent music—
Jennifer: Yeah! They did do the Erumpent Tango. Was it that one? I know I saw one of them.
I believe it was “Niffler Swing” that they just had the music video come out for, yeah.
Jennifer: Oh, and they were dancing all over town. I thought that was really good, I enjoyed that.
Geoff: It makes sense because it’s so danceable—
Yes.
Jennifer: Absolutely.
Geoff: –The Blibbering Humdingers. Which is another deep cut. That’s a reference that you really gotta—you really gotta know your series to get that one. So I appreciate that.
The, um, Niffler Swing video, I don’t know if either of you’ve seen it, but they photoshop in their bandmate because they’re, you know, social distancing right now. So there’s just a little floating musician in parts of the video. It’s my favorite part.
Jennifer: I didn’t notice that! I’m going to have to watch it again. That’s so good.
Geoff: I’m gonna play that after we’re done here. That’s, that’s clever.
Yes, everyone go watch it. It is a brilliant video. They are so much fun. And you, Geoff, have been extolling the virtues of ska in wizard rock lately. Is that a favored genre or are you just excited about all the horn sections?
Geoff: Well, I’m a classically trained musician and I’ve had the chance to do a lot of different kinds of things in my life—
Jennifer: Wait, how did I not know this? I like how you just said that casually, you’re a ‘classically trained musician.’
Geoff: W—
Jennifer: How did I not know this?
Geoff: I feel like it came up when we first—I first—I’m certain it came up when we first met cuz I’ve got two degrees in music.
Jennifer: Wow.
Geoff: Yeah, I’ve got a bachelors vocal performance—
Why are you not hosting WZRD?
Geoff: You what?
I majored in sociology, why are you not hosting my show?
Geoff: You know, I don’t know. I really, I—I don’t know. And actually, since you ask, the reason my wizard rock is not out there is because I don’t have anywhere near good enough equipment to record it yet. However, that equipment should be in my home soon.
Ooooh.
Geoff: And when it is, I’ve got some songs.
Oh my goodness! Is it ska?
Jennifer: That’s so cool!
Geoff: It is not ska. I would need a horn section for that, I think…
You know, I know someone who can help with that.
Geoff: Great. Give them my email and let’s talk.
Jennifer: This is so cool!
Geoff: You know, I um…like a lot of wizard rock people out there it’s just me and my guitar. Her name is Laverne.
Do you play as Laverne and Shirley?
Geoff: I wish I’d thought of that! No. My plan is to put out my wizard rock under the same name I use on all my social medias cuz I’m trying to brand myself. So it would be Dream Quaffle, is how I would put that out there.
Oh, I like that.
Geoff: Yeah, I actually got Dream Quaffle back from when Pottermore first came out. You know how you would sign up for it and it would give you a choice of usernames?
Jennifer: Yeah, like random usernames, yeah.
Geoff: It gave me a list of random usernames and DreamQuaffle…I forget the numbers, it was something like 2-9-3-5-7, I don’t know. But I liked DreamQuaffle so I held onto that. And then when I started getting really active on social media with podcasts and MuggleNet and all of the other things that I’m involved in now, I noticed that nobody else had gotten hold of that name yet so I decided to just go ahead and grab it. So now on all my social medias I’m DreamQuaffle. And when I start putting out my wizard rock, hopefully soon, that’s the same name that I’m planning to use.
Jennifer: Maybe Bess’ll play your songs, yeah? On the next episode.
Geoff: As soon as I can get something put together that’s even someone decent quality, Bess I promise that if you would be kind enough to share it on your program I will send you all my stuff.
I look forward to that, for sure. It does have to fit the themes though.
Geoff: Fair enough.
Jennifer: I was thinking the other day, there’s a lot of songs about nifflers. You could probably do a whole episode just nifflers.
I’ll bring that to my brain trust. I have a small group that helps me come up with songs that fit themes because—
Jennifer: Oh, that’s really cool.
–I own a lot of wizard rock; I do not yet have it all memorized.
Jennifer: Yeah…
So you saying that you remember your Pottermore name…were you in Pottermore Beta or on Pottermore at all, Jenn?
Jennifer: I was! I could remember mine, actually. I was RoseMoonstone on Pottermore. Um, I didn’t have the beta, I came to it kind of later. I was really annoyed because I didn’t quite get through all the sections. You know, when it was like the books and you could go through all the different stages.
Mhm.
Jennifer: I didn’t quite manage to finish all that when they made the new one. I was really sad about that.
I remember I got into the beta and was so stoked and figured everyone had to have because if I got in…I had to have not been very high on that list. But then Lauren Fairweather released a song—
Jennifer: Yes! Still waiting for her email, yeah.
–“Still waiting for my Pottermore Email,” yeah, and couldn’t believe that they had somehow let me into this beta but not Lauren Fairweather, who is Lauren Fairweather! That was when I knew that the system was broken. But that was funny. I wonder if everyone remembers their Pottermore, ah, username.
Jennifer: It’s, like, engrained in you.
Yeah, I was LumosFlight.
Jennifer: Everyone feel free to send us your Pottermore usernames.
Yes, and tell us which iteration of Pottermore was your favorite, cuz it’s been through a few.
Jennifer: It has!
Geoff: I liked the one that isn’t Wizarding World.
The current version?
Geoff: No, I just mean that when they changed it from Pottermore to Wizarding World I just, nyeh.
Ah.
Jennifer: Yeah, now it’s articles and stuff. It’s not as cool as it was.
Geoff: Yeah, didn’t really care for that.
Jennifer: Yeah. I liked where you could look through all the chapters. That was really cool.
Geoff: That was the part that was fun for me! And then they took it away!
So what is the Time-Turner you all have?
Jennifer: Yes! Shall we head into the Time-Turner?
Intro music: A few turns should do it, love.
Jennifer: On SpeakBeasty we have two segments which are generally at the end of the episodes, the Time-Turner and the Newt Case. So in the Time-Turner we generally…it’s like a history lesson, basically. Um, usually exploring things in the 20s and 30s which are, you know, when the films are based. And the Newt Case is, obviously, the fian—fantastic beasts, because we love them. But today I thought we would have a look at wizard rock. So I put up a little history lesson on wizard rock. I feel like I should start by saying I took this from different sources and kind of squished it together. So if any of this is wrong I’m really sorry, it’s my fault. Feel free to ‘at’ me on Twitter.
I will happily throw you under that Knight Bus. I see you’re starting with the, ah, most dangerous subject of “when was wizard rock started” and “who wrote the first one?”
Jennifer: Yes. Please—please don’t hate me. But the first Harry Potter song dates from 2000—possibly—when Switchblade Kittens released “Ode to Harry,” written from the perspective of Ginny Weasley. But most people say that wrock started properly in the summer of 2002 when brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge started the band Harry and the Potters in their garden. Their friends Brian Ross, Bradley Mehlenbacher and Matt Maggiacomo created the bands “Draco and the Malfoys” and “The Whomping Willows,” respectively, mostly to poke fun at their friends, but it kind of took off. And, of course, it happened at the same time when recording devices were cheaper and the internet was kind of exploding. It just really took off and more and more bands in more and more places started to pop up. Wrock is generally centered in America I would say. As someone in the UK I would like more wizard rock shows over here, please. But it is quite international and there’s a big community in…I wanna say…Switzerland? Is that right, Bess?
Ah…Swedish Shortsnouts.
Jennifer: Swedish—I knew it started with an “s!” I should have looked this up beforehand. See, I’m a Ravenclaw and I didn’t do my research. I mean, I should be fired surely. Ehm, most people tend to date the heyday of wizard rock between 2006 and 2009 but when the new things started coming out, like our favorite film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the Cursed Child, a resurgence started when people started making more content about it. The amazing Grace Kendall puts together a Sampler every year, which is always incredible. I think 2020’s is actually the best one yet. I love that one. Also this year there is a Pedia Compilation Club which you can sign up to, which you can receive four digital albums throughout the year. Am I right in thinking the first one comes out in March?
Yes! And, full disclosure, I did get roped into that project as part of the ‘Pedia team. So can confirm, it’s going to be amazing.
Jennifer: Excellent. I signed up and I am very excited. Wrock can often be political. For an example the Harry and the Potters latest album Lumos contains some really cool songs like “On the Importance of Media Literacy Under Authoritarian Rule.” It’s one of my favorites. Tonks and the Aurors have also got “Huffleriot.” And our listeners obviously won’t be able to see this, but Geoff is currently wearing a Huffleriot t-shirt. So he—he’s bringing the Tonks and the Aurors love to the episode.
I’m sure he’ll post a picture for us.
Jennifer: Yes! Check our socials, we will post some pictures. There’s also Wizard Rock the Vote, and there’s many, many, many songs recently about the disappointment that occurs when someone isn’t who you think they are. One of my favorite versions of this is Shauna Carrick’s “Where Do We Go From Here?” which makes me cry every time. It’s so good. I think one of the reasons why is because the Potter books basically are—they kind of teach you to stand up for what you believe in. So it kind of makes sense that then music based on that would kind of track that, really. The whole movement is infused with an amazing DIY spirit by people who are really passionate about the series and about music. It’s always a really nice place filled with amazing people. Even though it’s generally called a genre itself, it contains other genres. Like we were saying about ska earlier. There’s, like, acoustic, there’s pop, there’s filk…there’s sea shanties now, which is just amazing. There’s metal, there’s rap. You can probably—in any genre there is probably a wizard rock band who plays music based in it. There’s something for everyone, which is what I love about it. I thought I would end this section with a quote from Paul Thomas’ book “I Wanna Wrock! The world of Harry Potter-inspired wizard rock and its fandom” which is amazing by the way. Not sponsored, but you should go read that. It’s great. He says that “most people are drawn to wizard rock because it’s a community where you can be accepted for who you are.”
I think that is a pretty good summation.
Jennifer: Definitely.
The point of wrock is to be safe and inclusive and intolerant of intolerance. That’s why you have things like Wizard Rock the Vote and working so closely with the HPA, and the Trans Wrock Comp that came out last year.
Jennifer: Yes, that was amazing!
And I believe another one is coming out this year. Like, ah, many fandoms, you know, we have an issue with a creator who is…well, transphobic.
Geoff: Mm.
Jennifer: Yes, absolutely, yep.
And also, as a fandom, have a history of problems with abuses. The series itself has issues of racism…but the core messaging being “accepting people and doing your best to do what is right” is the part that has resonated and is what wizard rockers fight so hard for. And that is why they are so loud and unyielding when it comes to things like transphobia and racism.
Jennifer: I loved when it all kind of first came to light, all I saw on my timelines—it was just full of love and people standing up and saying “this isn’t acceptable.” Which I think is just incredible of the fandom to be like “you know what, we’re not gonna take this, this isn’t right.” It just shows that it’s full of wonderful people, really.
We are, of course, imperfect. There are always subjects that we could handle better. But I think it’s the punk rock spirit that Harry and the Potters imbued into the genre, right, of standing up against fascism, authoritarianism, and doing your best to ensure that there’s a place for everyone.
Jennifer: Absolutely.
Geoff: Very true.
And on that note, I believe it is time for another music break starting with “The Niffler Swing” by the Blibbering Humdingers.
~*~
That was “Niffler Swing” by the Blibbering Humdingers, “These Beasts are Fantastic” by the 8th Horcrux [lyrics], and “Rise of the Basilisk” by Gadding with Ghouls [lyrics].
Jennifer: I love “These Beasts are Fantastic” so much. I think it’s my favorite song of all the ones that we’ve got today.
That is one of my—
Jennifer: It’s so cheerful.
Geoff: In a way it reminds me of Owl City, which—
Jennifer: Yes!
Geoff: –which would be a great name for a wizard rock band, by the way.
Jennifer: Yeah, I can completely see what you mean. It’s just so good. I feel like Newt Scamander would love that song. He’d have a little bop to it in his case.
That is one of my all-time favorites. Of course I say that about many songs. The 8th Horcrux, Paul Thomas that you quoted earlier is a member.
Jennifer: He is.
Yeah, so he is one of our, um, wizard rock historians and comes, like most of them, from a more intimate perspective on it. Grace Kendall being another who carefully curates wizard rock history.
Jennifer: And sings the most amazing sad songs. I love them so much.
Yes. Their most recent album is “Sad Songs for Sad Girls in Hogsmeade.”
Jennifer: Yeah.
Geoff: Oh. There’s a catching title for ya.
Jennifer: It’s so great.
Geoff: Nevermind the sad girls everywhere else, we’re just gonna talk about the ones in Hogsmeade for a little while there.
It is their brand, just the sad music. They said it–
Jennifer: Her sad songs, yeah.
–In an interview I did. You know, “oh it’s Grace Kendall! Everyone get down on the floor and cry.” I know nothing about Gadding with Ghouls, so I can’t add anything about that. Sorry everyone!
Jennifer: It was a great song though. Really creepy. In a good way.
Geoff: It’s a great band.
Mhm.
Jennifer: It’s time for the podcast question! What was the musical theme for this week, and what is your favorite wrock song?
If you heard a song and fell madly in love, you can find a link to it in the transcript at WZRDRadioPod.WordPress.com. If you want to tell me the answer to the podcast question, you can find me on Twitter at WZRDRadioPod. Or email me at WZRDRadioPod@gmail.com.
Geoff: And if you want to find SpeakBeasty on any of our social media platforms, we are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. You can also email us at SpeakBeasty@gmail.com. And don’t forget to check out our Patreon for lots of exciting bonus content.
Until next time, magical friends: Here’s Muggle Snuggle with “Care of Magical Creatures” [lyrics].
End transcript.
Art is by graphic_co on fiverr and Jennifer of team SpeakBeasty.
WZRD Radio Podcast 