Thursday, June 30, 2011

Wizard rock greatest hits

Courtesy of Harry and the Potters.
Tune in this week for Mehera and Claire's favorite wizard rock songs of all time! This is the last regularly scheduled podcast of season three, but keep checking in with The Witching Hour throughout the summer for some exciting updates.

As a matter of fact…. in just a few weeks, we will be releasing Part 1 of our interview with Paul and Joe of HARRY AND THE POTTERS! That's right, guys, the one, the only, the original wizard rock band and the boys who brought it to life. We caught up with them in Portland on their Ride the Lightning tour on topics like the new movie release, Dear Mr. Potter, and more.

On top of that, we'll be SOLVING the mystery of Justin Finch-Fletchley and the pizza obsession! We chatted briefly with Justin in Portland and he finally answered why, why, why he's so into pizza.

So, without further ado, here's the tracks for the newest podcast:

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Greatest Hits

"XOXO Gossip Witch" by the First Task is Dragons
"Alohomora" by Pogo
"I'll Follow Their Son" by the Remus Lupins
"Problem-Solving Skillz" by Harry and the Potters
"My Dad is Rich" by Draco and the Malfoys
"Animals That Have Left Me" by the Mudbloods
"Trains, Doubts and Dreams" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"Portkey into Your Heart" by Into the Pensieve
"The Boy Who Lived" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
"Taking You To School" by Dumbledore
"Bookworm" by Roonil Wazlib
"I Believe in Nargles" by the Whomping Willows
"Loosen Your Tie" by the Remus Lupins
"Hey Hey Ron" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"Just a Hufflepuff" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
"Made to by a Gryffindor" by the Nifflers
"Pizza in the Hall" by Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
"Accio Love" by Ministry of Magic (acoustiatus version)
"Pretty Girl" by Peeved
"Meet Me on Diagon Alley" by Ministry of Magic
"House of Awesome Theme Song" by the Whomping Willows
"Save Ginny" by Harry and the Potters
"Pensieve Diggory" by Ministry of Magic
"Eulogy, Book IV" by Philsopherock
"Woe is Me" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
"Come On, Angelina" by Gred and Forge
"Who Are These Boyz?" by the Parselmouths
"Caught in Your Devil's Snare" by Into the Pensieve
"Underwater" by the Giant Squidstravaganza
"Bravest Man I Ever Knew" by Ministry of Magic
"The Burrow" by RiddleTM feat. the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
"I Am A Wizard" by Harry and the Potters

Monday, June 27, 2011

Pottermore

Have you heard? Jo has released the news on her exciting new project, "Pottermore."

We recommend the links below to get the full details.
Are you planning to sign up? What do you think of the name—weird? fitting? awesome? Share with us @ thewitchinghour.kwcw@gmail.com!

Friday, June 24, 2011

These Days are Dark

Courtesy of Mugglenet Screencaps
Grab some tissues before you listen to this episode, dear listeners. Finally, we present the second-to-last podcast of Season 3: The Deathly Hallows revisited, a heavy dose of the Butterbeer Experience, the Hermione Crookshanks Experience, Ministry of Magic and more. A reflection on the books and the first movie, it prepares you (and the DJs!) for the July 15 film release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Deathly Hallows Part 2

Before anyone starts weeping, let's get to the tracks:

"For Jo" by RiddleTM
"Needlessly Complicated" by the Butterbeer Experience
"These Days are Dark" by Harry and the Potters
"Goodbye Privet Drive" by Ministry of Magic
"So Long and Goodbye" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"The Seven Potters" by the Remus Lupins
"Falling Sidecar" by Ministry of Magic
"The Ministry is Fallen" by Ministry of Magic
"At the Ministry" by the Butterbeer Experience
"Voldemort Controls the Media" by Roonil Wazlib
"Don't Leave" by Ministry of Magic
"So This is It... (Take Off This Locket)" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"Godric's Hollow" by Romilda Vane and the Chocolate Cauldrons
"The Peverell Story" by the Butterbeer Experience
"In Which I am Wrong" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"Potterwatch" by the Basilisk in Your Pasta
"Penelope" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"This Town" by Ministry of Magic
"The Rebel Call" by the Whomping
"Call to Arms" by Ministry of Magic
"The Second War" by Into the Pensieve
"Confessions of the Half-Blood Prince" by Into the Pensieve
"Open at the Close" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
"Harry Potter is Dead" by Ministry of Magic
"Expelliarmus Kid" by Peeved
"The Phoenix Lament/Epilogue" by Ministry of Magic

Monday, June 20, 2011

Adventures with Harry P

This time last month, Sara took a journey to some of the key places in the cities of Edinburgh, Oxford and London—key places in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. This is her account of her adventures there.

A book series that has played a profound role in my childhood and that continues to impact my life today, Harry Potter, as we all know, is like none other. Thus I wanted to take some time to reflect on the places I visited. I've already collected the photos in a Flickr set here.

In Edinburgh

The Elephant House

First up was the so-called birthplace of Harry, of course. It was in this cafe that JK Rowling sat for long hours, writing out the first draft of the book. According to interviews, Jo was on a train when the idea of Harry first came to her, but I was on more of a pilgrimage, not an attempt to recreate her life, so lunching at the Elephant House was more than exciting enough. The food was really great and the cafe itself was overwhelmingly unaffected by its literary claim to fame. That was, until you got to the toilets. They were fantastic. Someone seemed to have pasted magazine cut-outs of all the HP actors on every inch of them, and fans who came to the Elephant House for the same reason as I had scrawled their affections for JKR all over the walls and door. Some thanked Jo for changing their lives, others wrote their favorite quotes or moments from the books, yet others wrote their own names and date of visit. I knew immediately what I wanted to add: ϟ THE WITCHING HOUR ϟ WROCK ON, HARRY!





Greyfriars Kirkyard

Located directly behind the Elephant House, this graveyard provided Jo many names for her books—Potter, Granger, Moody, McGonagall, and most notably, Tom Riddle. My friend Michaela also has a habit of borrowing names from the deceased and employing them in her plays, and I thought of her as I wove through the rows of headstones.


City Hall

The next stop was city hall, to appreciate the Edinburgh Award, a prestigious civic achievement award given to JKR in 2008, 17 years after moving to the city and 11 years since the publication of the Philosopher's Stone. The same award has been presented to the likes of Annie Lennox and Ian Rankin.

As it turns out, she actually has quite small hands.


The Balmoral Hotel

The final destination in Edinburgh was, fittingly, where Jo completed the final words of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and later left a note in Sharpie on the marble bust in her hotel room. It was crazy to go from the beginning—the modest Elephant House—to the end—glitzy Balmoral Hotel—in two days. It was crazy to think how Jo's life, not just her fans', was revolutionized by the publication of her books.

In Oxford

Christ College

By which I mean HOGWARTS! One of the many colleges at Oxford University, Christ College is where C.S. Lewis once taught mathematics, and where the Great Hall and other parts of Hogwarts Castle were set and filmed for the Harry Potter movies. Although now occupied by non-magical students and decorated rather differently, it was a very overwhelming feeling to be in a place that felt simultaneously so significant and yet so familiar. I did not shed a silent, happy tear while there, in case you were wondering. We came just after lunch, and the tables were all set just like at a Great Hall feast. There was even a head table for the professors. The old guard standing there even asked me if I saw any of the paintings move.

As it turns out, many other sets of the film were at Oxford, including the Hospital Wing and library, but I only had a bit of time and couldn't participate in a tour that took visitors to sights such as these. Alas, next time.











In London

Cecil Court and Leadenhall Market

An entire day was devoted in London to seeing Potterish things.

Top on the list were two areas, Cecil Court and Leadenhall Market, which JKR used to visit and inspired the idea of Diagon Alley. Indeed, both were very peculiar places full of dusty, old shops selling vintage prints, wine-filled chocolates, old-fashioned clothes and ancient-looking books. Sadly, I didn't find any treasures worth buying, mostly because the shopkeepers on Cecil Court were about as friendly as someone from Knockturn Alley—not Diagon Alley. We ran away rather quickly.


Movie locations: King's Cross, Gringotts, the Ministry of Magic and the Millenium Bridge

Next on the list was a number of top London movie spots. My train from Edinburgh came in to King's Cross, and I about died twice. The first time, because I was in King's Cross. The second time, because I learned that construction at the train station had closed all platforms between 8 and 11. That includes platform 9 and 3/4, in case you were wondering. Instead, it had been relocated to outside King's Cross station, simply a giant poster attached to half a trolley cart. Nonetheless I got the photo...

I also visited the Australia House, where Gringotts interior shots were done, although it was a Saturday so I couldn't get in, alas.

Slightly more exciting were the exterior shots for the Ministry of Magic, taken at Great Scotland Yard near Trafalgar Square. Yah know, where the trio abducts ministry officials and Mr. Weasley takes Harry to his trial.

After that was the Millenium Bridge, which is epically destroyed by Death Eaters in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It's a beautiful bridge, dedicated (unsurprisingly) in 2000, and quite sturdy if you ask me. I checked.



And so ended my UK adventures with Harry P. It was amazing to see in person many of these places that had occupied my imagination for so long, but at the same time, it helped me realize that, despite my fascination with British culture as a kid, it is very much an ordinary place and Edinburgh and London cities with many ordinary features. They have shops and people and restaurants and places of employment and schools and streets and government just like anywhere else.

Well, and wizards, too. That will always be special.


*************

Look for another podcast later this week!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Have Yourself a Harry Little Christmas... in June

Happy anniversary of the end of the Second Wizarding War! Well, not quite. That day was May 2, 1998 and this podcast is coming out in June. Blame DJ Sara——Mehera and Claire recorded the show on May 2 but it is only now being released. Perhaps it is for the best. You might be a bit more emotional right now if it truly were the 13th anniversary of the death of so many of our favorite HP characters. Although, as Mehera notes, it's only six more years till the epilogue occurs... if you do the math, some of our new favorites (*cough*ALBUSSEVERUS*cough*) have already been born. But I digress.

This week is our bi-annual holiday show, featuring songs from charity wrock compilation albums. There are some really great songs packed in here, so don't miss out!

Season 3 - Episode 11 - A Very Harry Christmas

"Drop the Needle, It's Christmas" by Dumbledore
"It's Not Christmas" by the Moaning Myrtles
"Have Yourself a Harry Little Christmas" by Gred and Forge
"Light the Castle Up" by the Remus Lupins
"House Elf Party" by the Blibbering Humdingers
"My Wish List" by MC Kreacher
"Christmas Shopping for Dobby" by Harry and the Potters
"All I Want for Christmas" by Draco and the Malfoys
"An Epic Christmas Tale, Chapter 3: We Lift Each Other Up" by the Mudbloods
"Decorate Me" by the Whomping Willows
"Yuletide Anthem" by Kwikspell
"Money for Christmas" by the Gringotts Goblin Choir
"Hogwarts Lullaby" by the Veelas
"The 12 Days of Wizard Christmas" by Gred and Forge
"Nothing to Fear" by Ministry of Magic
"Seasonal Depression" by the Whomping Willows
"The Sweater Song" by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
"Wizard Chess" by Harry and the Potters
"Christmas with the Weasleys" by the Remus Lupins
"The Cold, Wild Yonder" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
"Celebrate the Day" RiddleTM
"It's Snowing" by Catchlove
"Spread the Pureblood Cheer" by the Purebloods
"Voldemort's Secret Santa" by Seen and Unforseen
"When Bellatrix Came Over for Christmas/What?!" by Harry and the Potters
"Help Me, Hagrid" by Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
"Magical Christmas" by House of Black
"X-mas Rules, Voldemort Drools" by Harry and the Potters
"Happy Christmas Day" by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Happee Birthdae TWH blog!

The Witching Hour's blog is one year old today! Just like Harry when ol' Voldie killed his parents! Okay, perhaps not an appropriate simile. But you get the picture—our little radio show has grown so fast. It seems only yesterday that The Witching Hour was only a dream, and here we are about to interview Harry and the Potters, the founders of the genre for which we exist to promote.

A million heartfelt thanks to everyone who's read the blog, listened to the podcast, supported us and encouraged us.

xoxo

Sara, Mehera & Claire

Friday, June 10, 2011

Interview of the century

Hey dear listeners, remember that time we told you Harry and the Potters were coming to Portland?

WELL GUESS WHAT!

THEY AGREED TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR THE SHOW!

Harry and the Potters is the greatest band of all time.

If you have any questions for them, please send them along to thewitchinghour.kwcw@gmail.com or post them on our Facebook group! You've only got about a week and a half to do so.... so get on it!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Wrock wrenditions, upcoming cons, and more!

This week on the Witching Hour we play some new and old wrock "wrendition" favorites—coupled with some wrock that focuses specifically on the wizard wrock genre and a discussion on Harry Potter conferences. If they intrigue you, the next Wrockstock is this Halloween in Missouri, LeakyCon 2011 is over the weekend of the release of Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 in Orlando, and next year is Ascendio, also in Orlando. Interested? It's never too late to get involved in an online Harry Potter community! (Except maybe in the case of this year's LeakyCon, as conference tickets are starting to sell out!)

Season 3 - Episode 10 - Wrock Wrenditions & Meta-Wrock #3

But to get to the music.... this week's songs are:

"99 Deatheaters" by Draco and the Malfoys
"Weasley Family" by the Holyhead Harpies feat. Catchlove
"Eulogy, Book VI" by Philosopherock
"We're the Students at Hogwarts" by Catchlove
"I'll Follow their Son" by the Remus Lupins
"Whatever You Like" by DJ Ronald B
"Like It's Quidditch" by the Station
"Ginny is a Punk Rocker" by the Whomping Willows
"I've Just Seen a Witch" by Madam Pince and the Librarians
"Hey Remus" by the Whomping Willows
"This Book is So Awesome" by Harry and the Potters
"This Book is So Awesome" by Ministry of Magic
"In Which Draco and Harry Secretly Want to Make Out" by the Whomping Willows
"Draco and Harry" by Into the Pensieve
"Wrock Fangirl" by House of Black
"This is Never Going to End" by the Parselmouths
"Rock with a W" by Buckbeak's Flight
"Big Magic Wreggae Party" by Mimbulus Mimbletonia
"I'm Bringin' Sneakoscopes" by the Sneakoscopes
"Bring Back Richard Harris" by Harry Potter and the Magic of Music
"Wizard Rock Heartthrob" by the Whomping Willows
"Thanks for the Potter Puppet Pals" by Harry Potter and the Magic of Music
"Potter Addict" by House of Black
"For Jo" by RiddleTM
"Wizard Rock Twist" by the Remus Lupins
"Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock" by Harry and the Potters


Edit: Sorry guys, it looks like I accidentally published the "raw" version of Wrock Wrenditions & Meta-wrock #3. You may need to re-download it if you want to hear the pretty-fied, quality version in iTunes or above. (I've fixed the link so it plays the right one!)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Harry and the Potters: SUMMER TOUR!

Courtesy of Harry and the Potters.


Good news, dear listeners!

Harry and the Potters are going on a summer tour! At times they will be joined with their friends Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Whomping Willows, and Lauren Fairweather, as well as others along the way. Mehera, Sara and Claire will be attending their June 21 show at Backspace in Portland, and Mehera will be at the Seattle Public Library show on June 24, too. Join us and RIDE THE LIGHTNING!!!!!!

For exact details, dates and tickets, visit their website.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

... And we're back.

Sorry for the delay on the podcasts, friends. TWH's resident podcaster, Sara, was travelling extensively, moving into a new apartment, blah dee dah, but now she's back, and ready to share the latest and greatest of this spring's wizard rock! Look for a new episode this week!

And in other news, we've updated our Facebook group. You should be able to see it on the left side of your newsfeed, hurrah!