LMB Book Club, The Hobbit Ch. 8: Flies and Spiders

[Lennidhren]

So much happening in this chapter! But then it does take them from one side of Mirkwood to the other, very nearly...

Suggested Silmarillion readings: In ch. 22 "Of the Ruin of Doriath" you can find the full story of the elf-king "of ancient days", that is, Thingol of Doriath, and the origins of the enmity between dwarves and elves due to the whole necklace-forging thing. Oh, those pesky Silmarils...
*edit* Also recommended, with thanks to Andeon for reminding me of it, ch. 8 "Of the Darkening of Valinor" introduces the ur-Spider herself, foul Ungoliant!

Topics for discussion this week are:

(1) The dwarves' newfound respect for Bilbo: he has luck, wits, and a magic ring! But more than that, how do we see him growing into his own skin, so to speak, as the burglar of the party?

(2) Enchantment, Faerie, and the Wood-Elves. The atmosphere of Mirkwood is oppressive, eerie, and totally unlike anything we have seen before this chapter. What makes it so?

(3) Oh yes...more Elves! The Mirkwood Elves vs. the Rivendell Elves. Compare and contrast.

(4) Spiders! I guess they are our new race/creature for the week. Everyone loves to hate 'em, especially if everyone is Andeon. :-) And Bilbo seems to have found the perfect foe against which his wits, luck, and magic ring - oh, and elven sword - can shine!

And we have Spider Songs! Music please? That latter one (Lazy Lob and Crazy Cob), I was hearing the tune of "Jack and Jill went up the hill" in my head reading it... :-) Anyone have a better suggestion? Please?

[Andeon]

slash and stab, weave and web, kill those spiders, kill them dead!

not much for the poetry, but dedicated to the killing of all of Ungoliant's brood am I! speaking of which, is there a section somewhere in the Silmarillion about the arrival of Ungoliant, and her (it's) effect/place in the world of middle earth?

I've also wondered extensively, as the presence of Ungoliant as essentially, an "outsider", hearkens rather closely to many of the strange cosmic creatures found in H.P. Lovecraft's writing...

anyway, I've got a soft spot for weird, nefarious spiders and said spider killing - I'll see if I can't wrangle a couple of early saturday hours (or sunday, depending on when you decide upon) and see if I can't show up

[Andeon]

addendum - my vote was for the saturday time...just so you know

[Lennidhren]

Oh yes! There is a Silmarillion passage about Ungoliant, to be sure. I'll look it up and add to the references for this chapter.

[Lennidhren]

Here it is! Chapter 8, "Of the Darkening of Valinor."

[Meneladan]

Don't know how to enter the vote, but I vote for Sunday afternoon

[Andeon]

actually, i just realized the suggested times are EST - making it about 1pm my time, which might just be doable...I'll see what I can wrangle (assuming I can get myself out of bed early enough to eat and show up)

[Lindorieh]

I will definitely not be able to come to a Sunday meeting due to a RL commitment. ((Go Packers!))

Lindorieh

[Meneladan]

LOL!

If I wear green and yellow, it's for John Deere. :-)

[Lennidhren]

I am leaning toward Saturday myself...is there anyone who can't make it Saturday?

[Lennidhren]

Actually, I see we are having a kin meeting Sunday - so Book Club will definitely be Saturday! 3pm EST. Suggestions for location? Something with lowbie spiders? Quarry in Scary? Anyone got a better idea?

[Andeon]

theres that web-strewn little wood somewhere near the north end of the shire...can't remember its name...

and theres that set of barricades near thorin's hall, with one section filled with a ton of wandering spiders, and that old shard dropper

and lastly, and possibly most relevant, there's atli spider bane, and the spider infested tunnels near Archet.

those are my three lowbie spider locations that I can think of...think all 3 of them should be about lvl 10-ish or lower...but, as mentioned in previous posts, my memory is terrible

[gaiagil]

That's Lob's Grove just above the Bindbole Wood. It's very nicely creepy.

Gaiagil

[gaiagil]

Here's my stab... or shall I say sting.... at the Spider song. I picked a taunting little song called "The Hills of Connemara" for the tune. This version was transcribed beautifully by Laerlenn (aka Lindorieh). I think it is just sing-songy enough. We'll need at least four for this one: harp, two lutes, and a theorbo. We could probably throw a drum in with the theorbo part and have it sound fabulous. Here are the bits:

Harp:

Code: Select all

X: 1
T: Spider Song -- harp(1:25)
Z: Transcribed by Laerlenn with LotRO MIDI Player: http://lotro.acasylum.com/midi
%  Original file: connmar.mid
%  Transpose: -6
L: 1/4
Q: 104
K: C

z7/2 g/4 f/4 ^d/2 ^d/2 ^a/2 g/2 f ^d ^A/4 c/4 ^d/4 f/4 g/2 g/4 g/4
^g/2 ^g/2 =g3/4 ^d/4 ^A3/4 ^d/4 g3/4 ^d/4 f/4 f/4 ^d/4 ^d/4 =d ^A/2
^d/4 ^d/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 c'/2 ^g/2 =g/2 ^d/4 ^A/4 G/2 g/2 ^d/2 ^A/2
^G =G z55/4 z25/4 ^a/4 ^a/4 ^a/4 ^a/4 ^a/2 ^a/2 c'/4 c'/4 c'/4 c'/4
^a3/4 g/4 ^d/2 g/2 ^a/2 g/2 ^g/2 =g/2 f ^d/4 f/4 g/4 ^g/4 ^a/2 ^a/4
^a/4 ^d/2 c'/2 ^a/2 =g/4 f/4 ^d/2 ^d/2 ^a/2 g/2 f ^d ^A/4 c/4 ^d/4
f/4 g/2 g/4 g/4 ^g/2 ^g/2 =g3/4 ^d/4 ^A3/4 ^d/4 g3/4 ^d/4 f/4 f/4
^d/4 ^d/4 =d ^A/2 ^d/4 ^d/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 c'/2 ^g/2 =g/2 ^d/4 ^A/4
G/2 g/2 ^d/2 ^A/2 ^G =G ^d/2 ^d/2 ^a/2 g/2 f ^d z55/4 z55/4 z9/2 ^A/4
c/4 ^d/4 f/4 g/2 g/4 g/4 ^g/2 ^g/2 =g3/4 ^d/4 ^A3/4 ^d/4 g3/4 ^d/4
f/4 f/4 ^d/4 ^d/4 =d ^A/2 ^d/4 ^d/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 c'/2 ^g/2 =g/2
^d/4 ^A/4 G/2 g/2 ^d/2 ^A/2 ^G =G ^A/4 c/4 ^d/4 f/4 g/2 g/4 g/4 ^g/2
^g/2 =g3/4 ^d/4 ^A3/4 ^d/4 g3/4 ^d/4 f/4 f/4 ^d/4 ^d/4 =d ^A/2 ^d/4
^d/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 g/4 c'/2 ^g/2 =g/2 ^d/4 ^A/4 G/2 g/2 ^d/2 ^A/2 ^G
=G/2 ^A/4 ^G/4 =G/2 g/2 ^d/2 ^A/2 ^G =G

Lute 1:

Code: Select all

X: 1
T: Spider Song -- Lute 1 (1:25)
Z: Transcribed by Laerlenn with LotRO MIDI Player: http://lotro.acasylum.com/midi
%  Original file: connmar.mid
%  Transpose: -6
L: 1/4
Q: 104
K: C

z55/4 z55/4 z55/4 z55/4 z55/4 z45/4 [^D,z/2] [G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8
[G,z/2] [^A3/8^D3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [c3/8^D3/8^G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[^D3/8=G3/8^A3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [F,z/2] [^G3/8F3/8C3/8] z/8 ^A,/2
[=D,/2^G3/8^A3/8=D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8=G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^D3/8c3/8^G3/8] z/8 [^A,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8=G3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^A3/8G3/8^D3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 ^A,/2 [=D3/8F3/8^G3/8=D,/2] z/8 [^D,z/2]
[^A3/8^D3/8=G3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [c3/8^D3/8^G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8=G3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [F,z/2] [F3/8^G3/8C3/8] z/8 ^A,/2
[^G3/8=D,/2=D3/8^A3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^G3/8c3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^A,z/2]
[=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 ^A,/2 [F3/8=D3/8^G3/8=D,/2] z/8 [^D,z/2]
[^A3/8=G3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8G3/8^A3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^D3/8c3/8^G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [F,z/2] [F3/8^G3/8C3/8] z/8 ^A,/2
[=D3/8^G3/8^A3/8=D,/2] z/8 [^D,z/2] [=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^G3/8c3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^A,z/2]
[=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 ^A,/2 [=D,/2F3/8^G3/8=D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8=G3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^D3/8c3/8^G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[^D3/8G3/8^A3/8] z/8 [F,z/2] [C3/8^G3/8F3/8] z/8 ^A,/2
[^A3/8^G3/8=D3/8=D,/2] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8=G3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 [^G,z/2] [^D3/8c3/8^G3/8] z/8 [^A,z/2]
[^D3/8=G3/8^A3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8^A3/8G3/8] z/8 [=G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 ^A,/2 [^G3/8F3/8=D,/2=D3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2]
[=G3/8^D3/8^A3/8] z/8 [^D,z/2] [^D3/8G3/8^A3/8] z/8 [G,z/2]
[G3/8^A3/8^D3/8] z/8 ^A,/2 [=D3/8F3/8^G3/8=D,/2] z/8 [^D,z/2]
[=G3/8^A3/8^D3/8]


Lute 2:

Code: Select all

X: 1
T: Spider Song -- lute 2(1:25)
Z: Transcribed by Laerlenn with LotRO MIDI Player: http://lotro.acasylum.com/midi
%  Original file: connmar.mid
%  Transpose: -6
L: 1/4
Q: 104
K: C

z7/2 [g/4G/4] [F/4f/4] [^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^a/2^A/2] [g/2G/2] [Ff] [^D^d]
[^D/4^d/4] [F/4f/4] [g/4G/4] [^g/4^G/4] [^a/2^A/2] [^A/4^a/4]
[^A/4^a/4] [c/2c'/2] [c/2c'/2] [^a3/4^A3/4] [=G/4=g/4] [^D3/4^d3/4]
[G/4g/4] [^a3/4^A3/4] [G/4g/4] [^G/4^g/4] [^g/4^G/4] [=G/4=g/4]
[G/4g/4] [Ff] [^d/2^D/2] [G/4g/4] [G/4g/4] [^a/4^A/4] [^A/4^a/4]
[^A/4^a/4] [^A/4^a/4] ^d/2 [c/2c'/2] [^A/2^a/2] [g/4G/4] [F/4f/4]
[^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^a/2^A/2] [G/2g/2] [Ff] [^d^D] z4 [^a3/4^A3/4]
[^A/4^a/4] [^A/2^a/2] [^a/2^A/2] [c'/2c/2] [c/2c'/2] [^A3/4^a3/4]
[G/4g/4] [^d/2^D/2] [G/2g/2] [^a/2^A/2] [g/2G/2] [^g/2^G/2]
[=G/2=g/2] [fF] [^D3/4^d3/4] [G/4g/4] [^a/2^A/2] [^a/2^A/2] ^d/2
[c/2c'/2] [^a/2^A/2] [G/4g/4] [F/4f/4] [^d/2^D/2] ^d/2 [^A/2^a/2]
[g/2G/2] [fF] [^d^D] z55/4 z9/4 [^d/4^D/4] [F/4f/4] [G/4g/4]
[^G/4^g/4] [^a/2^A/2] [^A/4^a/4] [^a/4^A/4] [c'/2c/2] [c/2c'/2]
[^A3/4^a3/4] [=g/4=G/4] [^D3/4^d3/4] [G/4g/4] [^A3/4^a3/4] [g/4G/4]
[^G/4^g/4] [^G/4^g/4] [=g/4=G/4] [G/4g/4] [Ff] [^D/2^d/2] [g/4G/4]
[G/4g/4] [^A/4^a/4] [^a/4^A/4] [^A/4^a/4] [^a/4^A/4] ^d/2 [c/2c'/2]
[^A/2^a/2] [g/4G/4] [F/4f/4] [^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^a/2^A/2] [G/2g/2] [Ff]
[^d^D] z4 ^d g ^g =g ^d g f ^A ^d g ^g ^a ^d =g ^a/2 ^A/2 ^d ^d g ^g
=g ^d g f ^A ^d g ^g ^a ^d =g ^a/2 ^A/2 ^d [^d/4^D/4] [F/4f/4]
[G/4g/4] [^g/4^G/4] [^A/2^a/2] [^A/4^a/4] [^A/4^a/4] [c'/2c/2]
[c/2c'/2] [^A3/4^a3/4] [=g/4=G/4] [^D3/4^d3/4] [g/4G/4] [^A3/4^a3/4]
[g/4G/4] [^G/4^g/4] [^G/4^g/4] [=g/4=G/4] [G/4g/4] [Ff] [^D/2^d/2]
[g/4G/4] [G/4g/4] [^A/4^a/4] [^a/4^A/4] [^A/4^a/4] [^A/4^a/4] ^d/2
[c/2c'/2] [^A/2^a/2] [g/4G/4] [F/4f/4] [^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^a/2^A/2]
[G/2g/2] [Ff] [^d^D] [^D/4^d/4] [f/4F/4] [G/4g/4] [^g/4^G/4]
[^A/2^a/2] [^A/4^a/4] [^A/4^a/4] [c/2c'/2] [c/2c'/2] [^A3/4^a3/4]
[=g/4=G/4] [^D3/4^d3/4] [G/4g/4] [^a3/4^A3/4] [G/4g/4] [^G/4^g/4]
[^G/4^g/4] [=g/4=G/4] [G/4g/4] [Ff] [^d/2^D/2] [G/4g/4] [g/4G/4]
[^A/4^a/4] [^a/4^A/4] [^A/4^a/4] [^A/4^a/4] ^d/2 [c/2c'/2] [^A/2^a/2]
[G/4g/4] [f/4F/4] [^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^a/2^A/2] [G/2g/2] [Ff] [^d/2^D/2]
[G/4g/4] [f/4F/4] [^D/2^d/2] ^d/2 [^A/2^a/2] [G/2g/2] [fF] ^d/2
[^d/2^D/2]


Theorbo/Drum:

Code: Select all

X: 1
T: Spider Song -- theorbo/drum (1:25)
Z: Transcribed by Laerlenn with LotRO MIDI Player: http://lotro.acasylum.com/midi
%  Original file: connmar.mid
%  Transpose: -6
L: 1/4
Q: 104
K: C

z13/2 ^A,/2 C,/2 D,/2 ^D, G, ^G, =G, ^D, G, F, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, G, ^G,
^A, ^D, =G, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D, G, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,
^G, =G, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^D,/2 F,3/4 F,/4 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D,3/4 ^D,/4
G, ^G, ^A, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 =G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D, G, ^G, =G,
^D, G, F, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, G, ^G, ^A, ^D, =G, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D,3/4
^D,/4 G, ^G, =G, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^D,/2 F,3/4 F,/4 ^A,/2 =D,/2
^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G, ^G, ^A, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 =G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D,
^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D, G, ^G, =G, ^D, G, F,
^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, G, ^G, ^A, ^D, =G, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D, G, ^G, =G, ^D,
G, F, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, G, ^G, ^A, ^D, =G, ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4
G, ^G, =G, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^D,/2 F,3/4 F,/4 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D,3/4
^D,/4 G, ^G, ^A, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 =G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D, ^D,3/4
^D,/4 G, ^G, =G, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^D,/2 F,3/4 F,/4 ^A,/2 =D,/2
^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G, ^G, ^A, ^D,3/4 ^D,/4 =G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D,
^D,3/4 ^D,/4 G,/2 ^A,/2 ^A,/2 =D,/2 ^D,


To get ready to play at book club today, just copy the part you want to do (or all of them if you want to keep the song for yourself). Paste it into a text utility like Notepad. Save it as an abc file. When saving, it's best to call the song something you can remember and something simple. For example: spider-lute1.abc. Naming the part also helps in getting the right part up when we play. Make sure the song is in the Music Folder inside the Lord of the Rings Online Folder that resides in your My Documents. Bring your instruments and that's it!

Enjoy!
Gaiagil

[Lennidhren]

Hurray, we have music! Thanks, Gaiagil and Lindorieh!

I think we'll go with Lob's Grove in the Shire for the meeting.