It’s taking longer than expected to get through the 1959 The Untouchable series. At thirty episodes per season and fifty minutes her episodes, it’s a lot of Robert Stack to watch. I should have something ready next week for the series. Today, though, I want to go back to something I touched upon in April, an eternity ago.

Back in April, Lost in Translation discussed creativity during the pandemic. People are coming together by staying apart to create performances. Redditors came together to perform a full orchestral version of ABBA’s “Mamma Mia“, recording separately and then engineered together. But a new form of music has come out as well. Described by the Guardian as the pandemic’s musical genre, Bardcore came out of nowhere and has spread through YouTube. Also known as “Medieval Style”, Bardcore takes modern music and takes it back a thousand years or so.

Most of Bardcore is instrumental, using older instruments or their electronic equivalent to their replace modern counterparts. There have been a few songs that have had lyrics included, translating the ideas to the medieval era. A good example is Hildegard von Blingin’s version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, keeping to the meaning of the song while using fanciful lyrics that wouldn’t be out of place a thousand years ago.

However, for some, that’s too easy. There have been people who have taken the extra step of using the correct language. The_miracle_aligner used Old English for his version of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks“, then switched to Old French for his version of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun“. Not satisfied, he then went to Classical Latin for his version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

Not all Bardcore is based on rock or country music. There are some classical songs, music from film scores. music from video games, something for everyone. Not everyone song will be a favourite, but there’s enough to pick and choose from. Relive the Black Plague during the current plague!