"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

#Spooktober 2 – The Surprising

I know this opinion might be unpopular with music connoisseurs, but I liked what Deep Purple did with their 2017 studio album Infinite.

My favourite track has to be “The Surprising”, and it’s a perfect feature for this Spooky Season with its haunting atmosphere, its mythical and biblical echoes. With the narrative voice intruding into the music, I often connect it with another track of the same album, “On Top of the World”.

It wasn’t quite the curse of Tutankhamen
Or the kiss of death from Judas in the night
And it felt so far beyond the blue horizon
Tempting me with transports of delight
And then the devil took my hand and said
Come along with me
There I was, wide awake and dreaming
Reaching out for something in the sky
But I could not control that trembling feeling
Everything I want is slipping by
And then the devil took my hand and said
Something you should see
I never knew what happened to my nightmare
Everything went dark that August day
And the eclipse was on the other side of somewhere
But I was on the upside of afraid
And then an angel took my hand and said
Come along with me

 
books and literature

Werewolves Wednesday: The Wolf-Leader (16)

A werewolf story by Alexandre Dumas père. Chapter XVI: My Lady’s Lady Thibault was delighted at seeing what had happened to the young Baron, whose hand, anything but light, had so shortly before made use of his whip on Thibault’s shoulders, which still smarted with the blow.

Read More »
June 11, 2025 10:00 am
architecture, engineering and construction

Ornaments in Transit: Tracing Milan’s Art Deco Echoes

Do you remember last month, when we took a stroll through Milan in the wake of Casorati’s new exhibition at Palazzo Reale? I would be amiss if I didn’t follow up with another walk inspired by another, great show, closing this month, so here we

Read More »
June 11, 2025 10:00 am
Pride Month

Pride Month 2025: Art of the Day

Swapped Lives, Eternal Forms: Visualising Gender Fluidity in the Torikaebaya Monogatari Torikaebaya Monogatari (literally “If only I could exchange (them)!” often translated as “The Changelings”) is a 12th-century Japanese narrative that tells the story of two siblings: a boy raised as a girl and a

Read More »
June 11, 2025 10:00 am
Load More
Share on LinkedIn
Throw on Reddit
Roll on Tumblr
Mail it
No Comments

Post A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS

Werewolves Wednesday: The Wolf-Leader (16)

June 11, 2025

A werewolf story by Alexandre Dumas père. Chapter XVI: My Lady’s Lady Thibault was delighted at seeing what had happened to the young Baron, whose hand, anything but light, had so shortly before made use of his whip on Thibault’s shoulders, which still smarted with the blow.

Read More

Pride Month 2025: Art of the Day

June 11, 2025

Swapped Lives, Eternal Forms: Visualising Gender Fluidity in the Torikaebaya Monogatari Torikaebaya Monogatari (literally “If only I could exchange (them)!” often translated as “The Changelings”) is a 12th-century Japanese narrative that tells the story of two siblings: a boy raised as a girl and a

Read More