Happy, er, Blasphemy Rights Day

Weird. The right to blaspheme against a religion in which you don't believe seems to me kind of pointless--freedom of speech is a precious right, but surely there are more meaningful things to do with it. But then, I come from a country where the church has been kept firmly under control, not set free to sack and pillage at whim, so insulting it isn't nearly as important to us as it seems to be to others.

Anyway, in the spirit of blasphemy, I thought I'd share some thoughts that came to me at Vera's funeral.

( On Christianity. If the existence of Christianity offends you, please skip this. )

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The Filk Of Human Kindness, Zander Nyrond's first album, is back after twenty years in limbo, and it's even stranger. (Surely "stronger"? Ed. (No, I know what I'm talking about.)) Zander says "This 'reimagined' version has all new recordings, some new arrangements, one new lyric, one brand new song, and nobody on it but me. Awl mi oan werk (and a shedload of technology, of course; you don't think I've learned to play anything in twenty years, do you?)

"Here is One!, bigger and whizzier than ever, City of Masks as you've never heard it before, None Question almost exactly as you've heard it before (except for the vocals), and of course Sir Jock Of The Sword. Here is Blue Madonna un-rushed, Tweaking the Stardrive un-ambienced, and the Nyrond Song as I always heard it in my head. For those who've heard the original, this will be a fresh new perspective on some old songs; for those who haven't, this album will combine the best of where I started out and the best of where I am now, and serve as a gateway drug--sorry, I mean an appetiser--for my all-new album Owls, coming out next year with a following wind. Was that all right?"

The Filk Of Human Kindness (Futeurised) goes live on Bandcamp (http://zandernyrond.bandcamp.com) on Saturday night (UK time), 1st October, and it can be yours to download for ten quid.

EDIT: and we're live, at 21:15 BST. The picture should get you to the album page.