This month we’re super-psyched about the release of the first few chapters of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on Pottermore! To celebrate, we offer this new mixtape of our favorite COS-flavored wizard rock. The tracks are even in semi-chronological order!

The tracks:

“The Burrow” by RiddleTM feat. the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
“I Heart Weasleys” by Ministry of Magic
“Your Flying Car” by the Whomping Willows
“My Dad is Rich” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Colin Creevey” by the Quaffle Kids
“Deathday Party ‘92” by Stephanie and the Quaffles
“Deathday” by Crookshank
“And Then I Died” by the Moaning Myrtles
“Writing on the Wall” by Essence of Dittany
“She a Mudblood” by Danny Dementor
“Polyjuice Problems” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“The Valentine Song” by Ginny and the Weasleys
“Potions, Dancing, Hexing, and Romancing” by Justin Finch-Fletchley & the Sugar Quills
“Potions Yesterday” by Draco and the Malfoys
“The Art of Parseltongue” by Hawthorn & Holly
“Don’t Throw That Book” by the Moaning Myrtles
“Squib” by Hawthorn & Holly
“Aragog Tonight” by Bella’s Love 
“Let’s Drink to Aragog” by Harry and the Potters
“Basilisssssk” by Alas Earwax!
“Dear Tom” by Ginny and the Weasleys
“Save Ginny Weasley” by Harry and the Potters
“The Ballad of Dobby, A Free Elf” by Narcissa Black 

Celebrating 10 years of Harry and the Potters, our first summer mixtape comes on the same day that the boys are playing a sweet show in a castle on a hill. Or something like that. We tried to select a wide range of both classics and obscurities. We’re also proud to introduce a number of tunes NEVER BEFORE played by The Witching Hour! (Because, hey, there’s a lot of music out there by these dudes.) So enjoy the summer, enjoy wizard rock, and SEE YOU AT LEAKY CON!

All songs (but one!) by Harry and the Potters

“It Ain’t Easy” from Priori Incantatem
 ”I am a Wizard” from Harry and the Potters 
 ”New Wizard Anthem (Club Mix)” from Priori Incantatem
“The Firebolt (2010)” from A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry
“Expulsion During Disapparation” from In the Cupboard
“Rocking at Hogwarts” from The Enchanted Ceiling
“Let’s Drink to Aragog” From Priori Incantatem
“Stick it to Dolores” from Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock!
“Flesh, Blood, and Bone” from … and the Power of Love
“Haircut” from The Enchanted Ceiling
“The Hogwarts Tonsil Hockey Team” from Priori Incantatem
“Wizard Chess” from Harry and the Potters
“Never Going to the Bathroom Again” from The Enchanted Ceiling
“Snowy Owl” from Jingle Spells 2
“The Weasle” from Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock!
“Ted” from In the Cupboard
“Maybe Kreacher Will Bring Me A Sandwich” from Wizards and Muggles Rock for Social Justice
“The Blood of a Prince” from Scarred for Life
“Problem Solving Skillz” from Harry and the Potters
… plus a surprise tune to celebrate this summer’s tour!
 

Sadly, Claire is not with us this week as she has a nasty cold. Covering for her place will be Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts!! lol jk we wish. This week we bring you all our favorite songs about magical creatures in the Potterverse, as well as a few of the wizards who had particular attachments to them. We have Newt Scamander’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on hand, so we’ve read excerpts from some of our favorite animals’ entries. From Acromantulas to Unicorns, Grindelows to Pixies, Nifflers to Trolls, from Owls to Thestrals—we’ve got you covered! Like the saying goes… Hagrid the giant has a posse. A posse of dangerous but awesome critters.

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Care of Magical Creatures 2

“Animals That Have Left Me” by the Mudbloods
“Help Me Hagrid” by Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
“Accio Hagrid” by Harry and the Potters
“Follow the Spiders” by Harry and the Potters
“Eulogy for Aragog” by the Mudbloods
“Aragog Tonight” by Bella’s Love
“ARAGOG” by 25 Hour Unicorn Diner
“Hippogriffs Deserve to Die” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Freedom is Only a Hippogriff Away” by the Mudbloods
“Flight of the Hippogriff” by Danny Dementor
“Dobby” by Draco and the Malfoys
“S.P.E.W.” by Harry and the Potters
“Two House Elves” by Harry Potter and the Magic of Music
“House Elf” by Dreary Inferi
“Evanesco Dobby” by Ministry of Magic
“Grindelow’s Garden” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Pixie Funk” by Blibbering Humdingers
“Sniffle My Niffle” by the Nifflers
“Basilisk and the Halloween Feast” by the Seven Potters
“I Believe in Nargles” by the Whomping Willows 
“Underwater” by the Giant Squidstravaganza
“On Thestral We Ride” Hermione Crook
“Thestrals in Heat” by DM
“Thestrals” by RiddleTM
“Trollin’ for Love” by Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
“Troll in the Dungeons” by Stephanie and the Quaffles
“Snowy Owl” by Harry and the Potters
“Owl Post Strike” by the Owl Post and the Mudbloods
“Fluffy” by Harry and the Potters
“Fred and George” by Harry and the Potters
“The Real Story of Aberforth’s Goat” by the First Task is Dragons
“Expecto Patronum” by the Remus Lupins 

On tap this week is ancient magic, that is, magic of a most powerful sort! We discuss (and ultimately, ask a lot of unanswerable questions about) the kinds of magic that are either extremely old, extremely powerful, performed without wands or all of the above. We touch on ancient beasts like dragons and basilisks, as well as enchantments such as blood sacrifice, life debts, Dumbledore’s protections over Harry while he lives at the Dursley’s and more! It’s a really diverse bunch of music, so enjoy. Unfortunately we ran out of time at the end and couldn’t fully discuss Unbreakable Vows, Hallows or Horcruxes, so maybe we’ll have to save those for another time.

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Ancient Magic~*~*~*

“History of Magic” by Gred and Forge
“It’s Dragons! It’s Mermaids! It’s a Maze!!!” by the Mudbloods
“Dragons and Beasts” by Ginny and the Heartbreakers
“The Art of Parseltongue” by Hawthorn & Holly
“Basilisssssk” by Alas Earwax!
“Fawkes’ Lament” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“Phoenix Tears” by Harry and the Potters
“Follow the Red Sparks” by the Weasel King
“Keeping Secrets from Me” by Harry and the Potters
“Petunia” by Obliviate!
“Petunia” by RiddleTM
“Petunia in September (1981)” by the First Task is Dragons
“Lily and You” by 2 Animagi and a Werewolf
“Lily” by Ministry of Magic
“It Burns” by Halfblood Princess
“Open at the Close” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Sacrifice” by Stephanie and the Quaffles
“The Weapon” by Harry and the Potters
“Peter Pettigrew (That Rat)” by Catchlove
“Ballad of Wormtail” by Tom Riddle and Friends
“Unbreakable Vow” by the Purebloods
“The Hallows” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“So This is It (Taking Off This Locket)” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience 
“Seven Shadows” by Ministry of Magic 

The episode in which we discover Drapple. Draco + Apple. Talk about true love! For our Valentine’s show we chose our favorite wizard rock love songs. So, yeah, guys, that means a lot of Ministry of Magic. A lot of Harry/Ginny. A lot of Ron/Hermione. 

Season 5 - Episode 4 - LOVE

“The Weapon” by Harry and the Potters
“Love (Intro)” by the Weasel King
“Portkey to your Heart” by Into the Pensieve
“Catalyst for Love” by Ministry of Magic
“Secret Kisses” by 142 Staircases
“I’ve Just Seen a Witch” by Madame Pince and the Librarians
“Caught in your Devil’s Snare” by Into the Pensieve
“The Valentine’s Song” by Ginny and the Weasleys
“Meet Me on Diagon Alley” by MOM
“Oh Ginny” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Love, Ginny” by Obliviate! 
“Ginny Gets Around” by Gred and Forge
“Save Ginny Weasley from Dean Thomas” by Harry and the Potters
“Orchideous Symphony” by Ministry of Magic
“Won Won” by Ode to Lav Lav
“Smoochey Smoochey Pukey Pukey” by Harry and the Potters
“Hermione’s Birds & Boys” by Harry and the Potters
“Broken Hearted” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“Hermione’s Song (You & Me)” by Oliver Boyd and the Rememberalls
“Whatever You Like” by DJ Ronald B
“Accio Love” by Ministry of Magic 
“Sonorous Love” by Ministry of Magic
“Bill’s Hot Girlfriend” by Gred and Forge
“No Matter How Far (I’ll Still Love You)” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“Great, I’m in Love with a Flower” by Padfoot & Prongs
“Lily” by Ministry of Magic
“A Pensieve Full of Unrequited Love” by the Mudbloods
“Werewolf Love” by Tonks and the Aurors
“For Those Who Are Desperate, For Those Who Are Lost, For Those Who Have Acne” by Bella’s Love
“I Believe in Nargles” by the Whomping Willows
“Lovegood” by Ministry of Magic

It’s SEASON FIVE! And we’re back! The Witching Hour will now air live on KWCW 90.5 FM Walla Walla Mondays 8-10 pm. It’s almost full-circle for Mehera and Sara, as Monday 10-11 was our first-ever time slot. Ah, those were the days.

For this first episode, we’ve decided to take it allllllll the way back to the true origin point of the Harry Potter series: Trelawney’s prediction to Dumbledore about You-Know-Who and the wizard that would challenge him. 

As we all know, that wizard could have been two boys: Harry Potter, or Neville Longbottom. This week we talk about the prophecy, how it might have turned out, how it did, and also pay tribute to both Harry and Neville with some wrockin’ tunes.

Season 5 - Episode 1 - The Chosen One

But on to the tunes…

“Finding the Prophecy” by the First Task is Dragons
“Sybill Trelawney” by Catchlove
“Trelawney Predicted That I’d Die 10 Times” by the Quaffle Kids
“Prophecies are for my Lovers” by Bella’s Love
“My Prophecy” by the Butterbeer Experience
“The Chosen One” by the 8th Horcrux
“The Boy Who Lived” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“I’ll Follow Their Son” by the Remus Lupins
“Hallelujah (The Boy Who Lived)” by Talons & Tea Leaves
“You Wanna Rock at Quidditch?” by the 8th Horcrux
“The Year Harry Went Emo” by Peeved
“Ascendio” by Ministry of Magic
“I Can Stop Voldemort” by the 8th Horcrux
“The Weapon” by Harry and the Potters
“Sacrifice” by Stephanie and the Quaffles
“Open at the Close” by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls
“The Longbottom Legacy” by Ministry of Magic
“Messing with a Passed-Out Neville” by Draco and the Malfoys
“I Need Some Mistletoe” by Neville Longbottom
“Neville” by Imperiused! At the Broomsticks
“Neville” by MC Chris

Wow—a lot of characters in HP die. This week on TWH, we discuss the important role that death plays in the Potterverse. For a while we discuss this article about who “deserved” to die and who didn’t, we tangent about LOTR and Twilight, and—shockingly!—we acknowledge one passing that we’ve been denying for years.

In retrospect, we should have talked about thestrals. The concept of “seeing death” is fascinating. Ah well, there’s always next time!

Season 4 - Episode 12 - And then I died

“The Avada Kedavara song” by the 8th Horcrux
“And Then I Died” by the Moaning Myrtles
“The Dark Lord Lament” by Harry and the Potters
“Bring my Body Back” by the Cedric Diggorys
“Remember Cedric Diggory” by the Cedric Diggorys
“Bridge to the Other Side” by Oliver Boyd & the Rememberalls
“The Godfather” by Harry and the Potters
“Ode to Sirius Black” by the 8th Horcrux
“Aragog Tonight” by Bella’s Love
“APWBD” by the Remus Lupins
“Dumbledore” by Harry and the Potters
“Legacy of the Fallen Wizard” by Catchlove
“Through and Through” by the Weasel King
“Fawkes’ Lament” by Talons and Tea Leaves
“Falling Sidecar” by Ministry of Magic
“Here Lies Dobby” by Fred Lives
“Evanesco Dobby” by Ministry of Magic
“Fred’s Dead” by Gred and Forge
“Werewolf Love” by Tonks and the Aurors
“More than Just a Werewolf” by RiddleTM
“Bravest Man I Ever Knew” by Ministry of Magic

AKA, The Episode Wherein We’re Obsessed with the 8th Horcrux. It’s our semi-annual wrock wrendition episode! This time ‘round, we came across the Kansas-based duo The 8th Horcrux. As obsessed as we are with what we’ve termed “wrock wrenditions”—that is, wizard versions of popular muggle songs—we were delighted to discover that they exclusively perform these sorts of covers. And they’re damn good at it, too!

But of course, we couldn’t ignore our other old favorites, so you can catch some of the All You Need is (Wizard) Love album as well as tracks from DATM, Catchlove and ALL CAPS.

Season 4 - Episode 11 - MORE Wrock Wrenditions!

“I Love Hogwarts” by the 8th Horcrux
“99 Death Eaters” by Draco and the Malfoys
“Reading” by the 8th Horcrux
“We’re the Kids at Hogwarts” by Catchlove
“Ron’s Woeful Christmas (The Sweater Song Parody)” by the 8th Horcrux
“Lumos Flies” by ALL CAPS
“Into the Pensive” by the 8th Horcrux
“Ginny is a Punk Rocker” by The Whomping Willows
“Cho Chang” by the 8th Horcrux
“I’ll Follow Their Son” by The Remus Lupins
“All My Magic” by Creevey Crisis
“Ten Crimes” by Into the Pensive
“Yule Ball” by the 8th Horcrux
“Why Don’t We Do It In the Burrow?” by Tonks and the Auors
“Hey Remus” by The Whomping Willows
“Privet Drive” by the 8th Horcrux
“Whatever You Like” by DJ Ronald B
“Like It’s Quidditch” by The Station
“Socks!” by the 8th Horcrux
“Eulogy Book Four” by Philosopherock
“Ginny’s Love Story” by the 8th Horcrux
“Hallows” by Andy with an M
“Eulogy Book Six” by Philosopherock
“Viva La Voldemort” by the 8th Horcrux
“I’ve Just Seen a Witch” by Madam Pince and the Librarians
“This Book is so Awesome” by Harry and the Potters
“This Book is so Awesome” by Ministry of Magic
“In Which Draco and Harry Secretly Want to Make Out” by The Whomping Willows
“Draco and Harry” by Into the Pensieve
“Mean Mr. Filch/Lavender Brown/She Died in an Upstairs Bathroom” by Gred and Forge
“The Avada Kedavra Song” by the 8th Horcrux

 Happy Christmas everyone!

Also, a few announcements: As our closest followers may notice, this posting is out of order. Sara’s way behind on the podcasts (as usual) so we’re gifting you all this episode as it is, after all, Christmas.

After that, there will be some big changes coming to TWH! We’re switching podcast hosts, and we’ll soon be moving our blog to tumblr. Look for that, and the rest of the episodes from season 4 in the next few weeks.

Season 4 - Episode 14 - And a Partridge in the Whomping Willow Tree

“The Cold Wild Yonder” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls
“Xmas Rules, Voldemort Drools” by Harry & the Potters
“Christmas at Hogwarts” by Hungry Hungry Hippogriffs
“My Wish List” by MC Kreacher
“Help Me Hagrid” by Justin Finch-Fletchley & the Sugar Quills
“Have Yourself a Harry Little Christmas” by Gred & Forge
“Drop the Needle, it’s Christmas” by Dumbledore
“Yuletide Anthem” by Kwikspell
“Seasonal Depression” by the Whomping WIllows
“A Ministry-Approved Christmas” by Peeved
“So Much Love” by Snidget
“I Need Some Mistletoe” by Neville Longbottom
“The Twelve Days of Wizard Christmas” by Gred & Forge
“The Sweater Song” by the Hermione Crookshanks Experience
“Happy Christmas Day” by Oliver Boyd & the Remembralls

Dear listeners,

Finally!! Our special one-hour episode with Harry and the Potters is now available here, and on iTunes!

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Harry and the Potters take over TWH

Backstory: The guys came to Whitman and performed on Saturday, Oct. 29. After the show, we snuck up to the KWCW station and did a special show from midnight to 1 am. They picked the tracks, told some jokes about Walla Walla, took some calls, and generally had a blast.

In fact, they had such fun that we should offer our apologies for the poor audio quality at points—the guys were just super excited and making the levels crazy. I did a bit of editing, but c’est la vie. ENJOY!

This is so terribly belated, I knoooooow! Sorry, dear listeners! (My computer crashed. Sympathy plz?) But finally, we present to you our special episode devoted to Dear Mr. Potter, the book that collected fan letters written to the characters who changed their lives—Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna and the others. In the episode we read a few of the letters, talk about role that HP and the fan culture has played in our own lives, and play some sweet meta-wrock (that is, wizard rock about wizard rock and wizard culture!) Speaking of which….

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Dear Mr. Potter

“The Leaky Con Theme Song” by the House of Black & Swish and Flick
“Potter Addict” by the House of Black
“Wizard Rock Heart Throb” by the Whomping Willows
“I’m Bringin’ Sneakoscopes” by the Sneakoscopes
“Wizard Rock Twist” by the Remus Lupins
“This is Never Going to End” by the Parselmouths
“Post Potter Depression” by Lauren Fairweather
“Rock with a W” by Buckbeak’s Flight
“Big Magic Wreggae Party” by Mimbulus Mimbletonia
“For Jo” by RiddleTM
“Open Letter to the Entire Wizarding Community” by the Whomping Willows
“Wrock Fan Girl” by the House of Black
“My Parents are Muggles” by Seen and Unforeseen
“Like It’s Quidditch” by the Station
“Book 6 Made Me Cry” by Danny Dementor
“Bring Back Richard Harris” by Harry Potter and the Magic of Music
“Needlessly Complicated” by the Butterbeer Experience
“House Song” by Ministry of Magic

Another week, another podcast. And this week Sara and Claire cover all the angsty-est topics that ever were whined about.

“Angsty Wizard Summer” by Bella’s Love