Anglo-Saxons in Music...

I recently (re)found and (re)started listening to a band that I've listened to on and off for a while now, known as The Mountain Goats, and in doing so I got a few more of their albums. On the albums, I found a few songs that may be of interest, titled "The Anglo-Saxons" and "Grendel's Mother." While I was listening and thinking about the intersection of medieval and our contemporary music, I also remembered that in the Anglo-Saxon course with MLP he compared a song by Bob Dylan to the Old English poem "The Wanderer"--mostly for some of their similarities in elegiac style and thematic elements.

I'm posting the lyrics to the songs by The Mountain Goats (below), but I also want to ask a few questions and get some reactions and ruminations:
What are your reactions to these songs, especially in their content and connection to the Anglo-Saxons and their culture, as well as Beowulf (in the case of "Grendel's Mother")?
Where else are their connections and intersections of the medieval and popular music--a la Bob Dylan, etc.--that we can point to and discuss? Any thoughts on these intersections? I would hazard a guess that this whole idea connects to our discussions of neomedievalism (such as medieval concepts in postmodern popular literature and movies), but what other reactions and thoughts might you have about these? Furthermore, what sort of concepts do these musical connections to the Middle Ages present about oral transmission, oral art, and poetry in culture? Any thoughts are welcome!

Here are the lyrics by The Mountain Goats:

The Anglo-Saxons

[Spoken:] "We'd like to dedicate this song to our friends, the former inhabitants of the British isles!"

[Sung:] They used to paint their bodies blue,
A couple of them might be distantly related to you.
According to Caesar they shaved their entire bodies,
Except for the upper lip and the head.

Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!
Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!

A sub-literate bunch of guys,
Though some sources say otherwise.
Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!

Yeah, they were men on a mission,
Preserving their poetry by oral tradition.
Yeah, oral tradition is all you get
Until Saint Augustine brought in the alphabet.

Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!
Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!
In 1065 they were ragin',
But 1066 brought the Norman Invasion.
Yeah, the Anglo-Saxons!

Grendel's Mother

The cave mouth shines
By pure force of will.
I look down on the world
From the top of this lonesome hill.
And you can run, and run some more
From here all the way to Singapore,
But I will carry you home in my teeth.

In the great hall you drink red wine,
You chew meat off the bone.
I beat down the new path to the castle,
I come naked and alone.
I laid my son on the bier; I burned the wreath,
Fire overhead, water underneath.
You can stand up, or you can run,
You and I both know what you've done,
And I will carry you home.
I will carry you home.
I will carry you home in my teeth.

Redirection to Medieval Sheep...

Several months ago, I mentioned Michael Drout's research in comparing the DNA of medieval ms vellum, which he talked about over at Wormtalk and Slugspeak. In his latest post, he's expounded a few more details and given an update on how the research is going so far. It's fascinating, and looks to lend quite an innovative aspect to interdisciplinary work and the field of medieval studies. Go check out the post for more information.

ITM Book Club...

Some of you may be interested in this post and this post over at ITM (if you don't get to regularly check it out)--announcing an online book club & discussion focused on various aspects of the Middle Ages. I just received the first book in the mail (which I found more than 50% reduced from a seller over at Amazon--perhaps you can find as good a deal if you hurry!), and it's already fascinating reading. Even if you're not into cannibalism (but, really, who wouldn't be?), keep your eyes out for future books, as some of the suggestions look like great reads.