Recess! Media

The new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie opened last weekend, but you won’t be hearing this “Phoenix Song” in the film.

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It’s from the CD, Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love, and it’s a power anthem, about the rag-tag army that Harry assembles to fight the dark lord Voldemort. But the song is also about the power of the fandom that the continuing cultural event called Harry Potter has created. The group Harry and the Potters is just one, public, musical manifestation of that extraordinary movement that promises to go on and on and on, no matter what may be the conclusion of the final volume of the story, which will be published this weekend. There is plenty of information about the Boston-based Harry and the Potters online, including youtube music videos of songs like the hooky “Save Ginny Weasley From Dean Thomas” that is sung from the unrequited Harry’s point of view.

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Their do-it-yourself aesthetic is the very spirit of punk rock, and they put on one of the most dynamic and engaging concerts I have ever attended. High-concept, that’s for sure — all their songs are inspired by the characters, scenes, and sensibilities of the Potter books, of course. But there’s something more to this group, something passionately original about them — nerdy and over-the-top as they are. Despite their sometimes wobbly production values (their three CDs are self-produced), their deliberate silliness and dedicated euphoria are not just impressive, they are perfectly in tune with the imaginative energy that the Potter books have released:

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Books 

Music 

Listen to Harry and the Potter’s song “Save Ginny Weasley” (2003).

Further Reading