Hmm..you know, I like Rush, but have never actually heard that song before, not that I can recall anyway. I'll have to check that out; it sounds interesting. Thanks!

I've been listening to Blind Guardian's "Nightfall in Middle Earth" a lot lately. This album is devoted soley to the stories in the Silmarillion and it just rocks. There's this great song called "Into the Storm" that tells the story of Ungoliant and Melkor that is great. Well, all of the songs are great, actually.

I've always found the band, Summoning captures the feeling of Middle Earth very well. Some people may be turned of by the harsh vocals, but if you like that sort of thing it is beautiful music. When I listen to any of their songs I always feel like marching into battle!

A Tolkien Ensemble sings Tolkiens songs from the books with a more operatic sound. Good music to listen to while stuck in the house on a rainy day, or with headphones on a hike through the woods. The Lament for Boromir gives me chills.

Johann de Meij (not positive about the spelling) did a classical piece inspired by the Lord of the Rings. It's not my favorite Tolkien music, but does have some nice moments.

Has anyone ever played the collectable card game: Middle Earth: the Wizards? My friend and I used to play this for hours and hours. It's a very deep game with good strategic elements. Magic: the Gathering can be a very strategic game too, but with Middle Earth there are so many different ways to accomplish your goals.

What kind of music does David Arkenstone do?

Gotta disagree with you on Hildebrandt Brothers. Sometimes they just missed the point or cheapened that meaning of the books. Not real keen on satire either. Clever destruction is still destruction and so adds fuel to the geek haters. Likewise, I'm not very keen on Rock-N-Roll (AKA the New Country Music) retellings of Tolkien's stories. All that electrical business goes against his naturalist messages....though I'll give Led Zeppelin lots of credit for "The Battle of Evermore." It may be the most eloquent musical homage to the War of the Ring so far.

And I also must disagree with you about Mr. Jackson's movies. They couldn't have been better and you won't see a better film adaptation in our lifetimes.

I'm not saying they were perfect but I know how Hollywood works and it is a miracle that they were ever made at all. And sure, we all have our pet gripes about the things that we didn't see or things that were changed. For me, the first film missed the most often. But considering the monumental challenge of bringing such a huge story to the screen, and the time-limitations of movie-making, I don't fault Mr. Jackson too much for his alterations. Ultimately, he caught the spirit of Middle Earth better than Rush or Led Zeppelin or the Brothers Hildebrandt all combined.

It was worth it to hear Sindarin spoken, to see Rivendell and the Dimrill Dale and Orthanc, to watch the siege of Helm's Deep and see Eowyn face the lord of the Nazgul. It was worth it to witness the death of Boromir and the re-forging of the sword that was broken, the flowering of the White Tree and Sam's fight with Shelob and Smeagol's arguments with himself. If you can find me a better cinematic representation, I'd love to watch it, but if your only comparison is the picture in your mind then you are only hurting yourself with your criticism.