Radiolab: The Ring and I

Radiolab is a show on NPR that everyone should listen to. Today while driving home from work, I started listening to a recent episode called “The Ring and I.” It’s about Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, which is a 4-part opera that lasts for about 18 hours.

Now, a brief digression: Once I was reading an article about opera, and someone had left this comment on the article:

“I just saw La Traviata and really enjoyed it. It was my first opera. I think I’ll try The Ring Cycle next.”

To me, this is like saying, “I like spaghetti. I think I’ll spend the rest of my life in Italy.” 18 hours is a long time, people.

But “The Ring and I” (available here) makes it sound pretty interesting — apparently Tolkein borrowed the idea of a ring of power from it. They compare the use of leitmotifs to guitar riffs (featuring the riff from Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”). And I learned that the stereotypical image of an opera singer as a husky gal with blond braids and a horned helmet comes from the second part of The Ring, The Valkyrie. The Valkyrie in question is Brunnhilde, a character drawn straight out of Norse mythology (like a lot of stuff in The Ring).

But I told you all that so I could tell you this: I have decided what my life’s work shall be. It’s going to be a rap epic — a rap song of unprecedented scope and daring. In it, the hero fashions a gold chain of infinite power, which allows him to bust the phattest rhymes imaginable. It will be 18 hours in length, and it will be called: The Bling Cycle.

But until I get around to that, you might enjoy this rap song by one of my favorite Nerdcore rappers, MC Frontalot. (If you’re unfamiliar with nerdcore, well, that’s a whole other post… Just check it out.) It’s called The Rhyme of the Nibelung, and it’s about The Ring, and it samples from The Ride of the Valkyries. Lyrics are available here.