Tower of the Hand

Game of Thrones Live Concert Sweepstakes. Since its debut five years ago, the Game of Thrones main theme song has become one of television's most recognizable pieces of music. I bet everyone here can easily call to mind some of the show's other notable compositions, too: the stringed theme of House Stark, the drum beats of the Dothraki, the piano of the Light of the Seven, the foreboding Rains of Castamere. Next year, fans will have a unique chance to listen to these songs live in an immersive music and visual experience that will bring the Seven Kingdoms to life using state-of-the-art technology, featuring Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi, a full orchestra, and a choir.

The concert will be touring in 28 cities throughout the United States and Canada, from February to April 2017. Better still, one lucky fan will have a chance to win two free tickets to see the concert live in Los Angeles on March 23, 2017 (airfare, hotel accommodations and and additional prizes included). Enter the sweepstakes here by November 30, 12 PM PT.

Anyone planning on getting tickets to the concert? What song from the Game of Thrones soundtrack would you most like to see performed?

Tyrion Lannister's Man Cave. Get a glimpse of "Tyrion Lannister's Man Cave" through this unique, interactive model of Tyrion's bed chambers. Find all the objects within that speak of his more significant moments throughout the series. Thanks, Sebastian, for sharing this with us; we hope you're thinking about other characters and locales that might get the same treatment.

Catch the Throne: The Mixtape Vol. 2. HBO has released Catch the Thrones: The Mixtape Vol. 2 a little bit earlier than expected. The special mixtape, with music inspired by Game of Thrones, features fifteen original songs from popular artists like Method Man, Snoop Dogg, Yandel, Anthrax, Killswitch Engage, and more. It's available on iTunes now for free. It should be available next week as scheduled on SoundCloud, where you can also find Vol. 1. Read on for the press release and full track listing.

Last season, HBO invited various artists to produce ten original songs for a special mixtape called "Catch the Throne." The Game of Thrones inspired album was such a big hit that HBO has commissioned another one for this year. Volume 2's lineup will include Method Man, Snoop Dogg, Yandel, Anthrax, Killswitch Engage, and more. The new album will be released next month, free of charge. Read on for the full press release.

Game of Thrones: The Compendium. Throughout the years, Tower of the Hand has been privileged to showcase some of your talents, whether they be essays or artwork or some other clever inspirations. Today HBO opens up an official resource where fans can share their work, too: Game of Thrones: The Compendium. On this new site, artists, craftsmen, musicians, foodies and more are invited to literally write the book on Westeros; a few notable VIPs will handpick selected contributions to be curated into a printed book. Learn more about the collaborative project in the press release below and check out the site to see how you can submit your work.

Be the Hound for Halloween. Halloween is just three weeks away, so it's time to start considering which Game of Thrones character to dress like this year. If you're feeling desperate (or cheap), may I suggest Jon Snow: dress all in black and wear a name sticker that says, "Hi, I'm Jon Snow. Ask me about nothing." But if you're looking for something more authentic-- and perhaps something more genuinely frightening-- HalloweenCostumes.com has put together a great article on a do-it-yourself Hound outfit, particularly detailing the makeup to get Sandor's burned face just right. If the Hound isn't your thing, there are also instructions for the Night's King. What do you think? Are you dressing up this year, Game of Thrones themed or otherwise?

Play the 8-bit Game of Thrones game. In the past, CollegeHumor demonstrated what Game of Thrones video games would look like in the style popularized by the 8-bit era. Now it's no longer a proof of concept-- Spanish artist Abel Alves has gone ahead and produced an actual Game of Thrones game. In the game, you play one of four different characters from the show in a platforming adventure. The game is freeware, so download it and check it out for yourselves.

Halloween Costumes the Red Wedding. Not to be outdone by last week's selection of outfits, Halloween Costumes lists instructions and materials for dressing like characters from a very specific scene of a very specific episode of Game of Thrones, namely the Red Wedding of "The Rains of Castamere." Ignore this link unless you enjoy seeing spoilers and other atrocities, heh.