The Gothic Archies

Read on only if you have an affinity for wickedness, wretchedness, and woe. You’re still reading? You are a sick person. But that’s not all! You’re also a prime candidate for the books popularly known as A Series of Unfortunate Events. As some of you may know, particularly if you’re sick, this set follows the nasty, nefarious Count Olaf as he schemes to get his grubby, greedy hands on the fortune of the kindly, caring Baudelaire children, who have been cast out into the cold, cruel world after the mysterious death of their parents.

Over the past two years, I have been reading Unfortunate Events to my grade-school son (see how sick I am?), and we have taken great joy in the misery, moroseness, and mistreatment of the Baudelaires.

The series recently concluded with book thirteen (ha!), which was released on Friday the thirteenth (double ha!). At the same time, a band known as the Gothic Archies (actually Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields fame, along with Unfortunate Events author Lemony Snicket on accordion and John Woo on electric sitar) unveiled The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events. Each track on the disc brings tunefully (in most cases) to life one of the dark, tragic tales.

Well, as you can imagine, my son and I immediately started scheming to get our grubby, greedy hands on the CD. Fortunately, our schemes met with greater success than those of Count Olaf. Which is why I’m sharing the following three tracks with you. Of course, to get the fullest pleasure from these songs, you should read the books. And you can do just that by clicking here and buying them. Though keep in my that the CD sleeve posts this warning to potential readers: “Books by Lemony Snicket are even more miserable than the music they inspire.”

[MP3] The Gothic Archies – “Scream and Run Away (from The Bad Beginnings) EXPIRED
[MP3] The Gothic Archies – “In the Reptile Room (from The Reptile Room)” EXPIRED
[MP3] The Gothic Archies – “Freakshow (from The Carnivorous Carnival)” EXPIRED

Spend some of your fortune on the Gothic Archies