So wild, nostrils flare, wind streaming through their hair,
Depicted in latter-day mythology
So fair of face, in a horse race.
But they were sent by Odin into the fray
To select warriors who were blown away
And take valiants of valor off to Valhalla.

Valkyries, Wagnery; Wagnery Valkyries.
He put Norse gals on horse and nixed lycanthropy.

His songs still cause fright, though, and Bobby Duvall
"Scared the sh!t out of Slopes," with choppers flying,
Wagner's air blasting through a pair
Of speakers spraying "Ride of the Valkyries"
Over jungles--Spectoresque wall of dBs.*
Can't induce fear's pallor with Schubert or Mahler.

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Meister slingers of ax are jazzed as they play
Music maniacally, fast, molto forte. . .
Resounds through the halls, shakes the ceilings and walls.**


*Producer Phil Spector's trademark was the Wall of Sound, a production technique yielding a dense, layered effect. To attain this signature sound, Spector assembled large groups of musicians (playing some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars) playing orchestrated parts--often using many instruments playing in unison--for a fuller sound. Spector called his technique "a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll: little symphonies for the kids."
**A recent Epiphone TV campaign featured various musicians whaling on their guitars and shaking the building with "Ride of the Valkyries," which the Robert Duvall character blasted from his helicopters in "Apocalypse Now."

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