How do you become aware of an artist because they release a crowd-funded cat sample version of their latest album, find out the cat version is really damn good, that the original is far better, and end up having your interest in hip hop rekindled?

Sometimes things are quite ok here in the stupid future

Maybe using magic involves travelling to and learning to navigate another, even more fantastical place? Such as spirit magic, or dream magic, or travelling to the land of the dead? I think it would be interesting if learning magic also involved getting to know the people of this other domain (such as acquiring a "spirit guide", or making bargains, or learning a language even). Anything from Spirited Away to Hellraiser could serve as an inspiration

The Moomin series, perhaps? Went over the head of my children, but I thoroughly enjoy them myself. Especially the later ones, which are rather melancholic

Gastronomicon by Slugdge, the mollusc-themed death metal band that is far, far better than it has any right to be

The Trouble With Peace, by Joe Abercrombie. Glad to be in a mood where I enjoy his cheerful cynicism again. Curious to see if any good deed in the whole long tale (this is book 7, depending on how you count) will remain unpunished though.

Lemmies, please, and let's keep the other Lemmy in our thoughts whenever we say it

Sleep and (old) Grand Magus, heck yeah! What do you think of Electric Wizard, if I might ask? Dopethrone is the heaviest album of all time, in my unimportant opinion.

That's really interesting, thanks for sharing!

To each their own, I love it though!

It's a good one for sure! I'll put a link too in the hope of luring some more people in Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

Also, I forgot to mention Acoustic Wizard, the equally awesome EW cover band

How experimental do you want? Einstuerzende Neubauten made some interesting records in the eighties (and later as well). I enjoy Five on the open-ended Richter Scale.

All Bitches Die by Lingua Ignota is absolutely terrifying, in a good way (if you enjoy unhinged screaming and beautiful melody, and who doesn't?). It's not a crappy hip hop album, but deals with artist's experience of abuse and with revenge, hence the title.

Thanks, I hates it (no I don't actually but come on dude, isn't being a snake enough already? You got to have tentacles, too?)

For a long, long time it was Darkest Dungeons. Nothing so comforting as that gloomy, pessimistic narrator ...

Grumpy old men FTW! Together we will be less grumpy... I hope

Agree! I'm kind of stuck as I don't want to build anymore and I'm just not good enough to kill Moder... sailing disconsolately around and waiting for fish to jump into my longship

I love small shows. I hope I get to see Hamell on Trial live before I die. That guy would put on am absolute kick-ass performance even if the audience was just me and my 76 year old aunt,

Jeez I'm envious of that, I would love to have seen them live, but I'm on the wrong continent

Boooo!

I'm working myself backwards from Valheim to Minecraft...

Precisely, and I still fall for it all the time...