The latest AMV I’ve chosen for the regular “AMV of the Day” comes from one of the anime hit series from 2010. It combines the horror and ecchi (softcore) themes and images from that series with one of Rob Zombie’s most popular songs to date in “Dragula”. The video is plainly and simply titled, “Instinct”.
Highschool of the Dead (Gakuen Mokushiroku in Japan) was one of the major anime hits of 2010. It was the anime adaptation of the wildly popular manga series of the same name. It was a series which successfully combined the horror aspects that a zombie apocalypse brings to any story and the softcore elements that ecchi brought to the table. Simply put it was a series that was about sex, violence and horror. So, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that someone decided what better song to merge scenes from this series than Rob Zombie’s very own “Dragula”.
The editing work on this video was actually excellent. The creator, StarSapphire26, didn’t just edit and splice together scenes to match the tone and tempo of the song, but added some visual touches which made it stand out from most AMVs. This is one reason why this video stood out for me beyond just being one of the better and rare good AMVs which uses Highschool of the Dead as the foundation.
Anime: Highschool of the Dead (Gakuen Mokushiroku)
When I came across this particular AMV I knew that I had to post it as the latest in the long line of “AMV of the Day” for the site. Like a previous AMV posted months earlier this one uses the excellent mahou shoujo anime Princess Tutu. The AMV I speak of is called “Hold Me Now”.
This particular anime music video takes the ballet-themed mahou shoujo (magical girl) of Princess Tutu and combines it with the song “Håll om mig” by Swedish singer-songwriter Nanne Grönvall. The end result of this combination makes for what consider one of the best AMV’s I’ve seen since I’ve been watching them for the past couple years. It’s on par with the previous Princess Tutu AMV posted in March (Danse de Raven).
While that previous AMV had a much more seductive tone to the video this latest Princess Tutu music video settles on some heavy dramatics to give a sense to the story of the anime. I particular like how the amv’s creator, Marissa Panaccio, was able to deftly time the beats of the song to the action on the video (or is it vice versa). I’ve been watching this video for the last couple days and I’m still not tired of it. That in itself is a mark of an AMV that’s done well.
Here I sit in my room watching on Encore HD a running of Guillermo Del Toro’s sequel to Blade. As awesome as this film was it was the soundtrack to Blade II that continues to impress. It’s from this soundtrack that I picked the latest “Song of the Day”. That choice happens to be the collaboration between electronica/trip-hop duo Massive Attack with hip-hop artist Mos Def.
“I Against I” is the latest song of the day and I consider the best song in the Blade II soundtrack which was all about electronica artists and band collaborating with hip-hop artists. This song occurs early in the film where Blade and his crew joined by a vampire kill-team called the Bloodpack does their slo-mo march towardsa a vampire underground club. It’s a scene that needs to be seen to be appreciated. The massive and clear bass beat by Massive Attack lends itself well to Mos Def’s smooth lyrical flow even as electronic melodies and beats accompanies the rest.
This song could be listened to in it’s instrumental version and it would sound very good. Mos Def could rap it’s lyrics accapella style and he would also sound good, but it’s when the two combines that the song becomes great. It’s one of a few reasons why I consider Blade II the best in the trilogy and why I continue to watch it whenever it comes on cable.
I Against I
I-ya, I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive, My images reflect in the enemies eye, And his images reflect in mine the same time,
I-ya, I-ya, I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive,
Right here is where the end gon’ start at, Conflict, contact ‘n’ combat, Fighters stand where the land is marked at, Settle the dispute about who the livest, 3 word answer, Whoever survive this, Only one of us can ride forever, So you and I cant ride together, Can’t live or cant die together, All we can do is collide together, So I skillfully apply the pressure, Won’t stop until I’m forever… One!
A door step where death never come, Spread across time til my time never done, And I’m never done, Walk tall, why ever run? When they move if I ever come? Bad man never fret the war, tell’em come General we have the stock, the mad fire burn
I-ya, I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive, My images reflect in the enemies eye, And his images reflect in mine the same time,
I-ya, I-ya, I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive, Survive (x16)
Reign supreme in your U-N-I, V-E-R-S-E with the sharpness, Narrow row building no space for partners, No space for drivers, no space for walkers, No space regardless, Your on my path then get off it, Hardheaded and unresponsive, Get they lives put on target with harshness, Come with the canons sparkin’ they darken, Who am i? One man squadron, Ma stir the fire this time that’d snatch your tomorrow, The thousand yard spear that’ll pierce through your armor, You can get it on right now if you want to, But when ya front 9 get marched through, I warned you, You know who forever belong to,
I-ya, I-ya I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive, My images reflect in the enemies eye, And his images reflect in mine the same time,
I-ya, I-ya, I against I, Flesh of my flesh, And mind of my mind, Two of a kind but one won’t survive, My images reflect in the enemies eye, And his images reflect in mine, survive Survive (x16)
Today, I couldn’t make up my mind which amv to pick for the latest “AMV of the Day” so being the co-founder of the site I decided to use my God-like powers and picked the two which caught my eye. I mean if I couldn’t abuse my God-like powers over the site then why have them…right? So, instead of one AMV we have two and they’re from the same creator and definitely have the same vibe and feel to them. I guarantee that like these AMV’s or not you’re feet will tap to the beat or maybe your head begin to bob to it.
The first AMV is titled “SugardanSen” and takes the “Caramelldansen” meme to a new level through creator Chiikaboom’s editing of scenes from 50 different anime to create one of the most catchy and sugary AMVs I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch and listen to. The part of the video that comes on at the 1:03 mark always brings about a huge grin to my face. It’s really not needed for me to describe this video other than those prone to seizures due to extreme flashes of light and rapid image editing should avoid it.
The same goes for the second AMV which also shares the same happy and pop sugary tempo and tone. It only includes scenes from three anime series but what it lacks in numbers it more than makes up for less seizure inducing video (though not by much). This video uses the “The Game Of Love (E=MC2 Mix)” by Jenny Rom (yeah, never heard of her either but she sings a catchy tune) and Chiikaboom has done a better job of editing the scenes to match the lyrics.
Both AMVs must been seen one right after the other. I always end up watching both whenever I feel down and on the way to depress mode. It’s hard to not feel better (at least by a bit) once I’ve these AMVs.
Attack of the Otaku
Anime: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky*Star, Ouran High School Host Club
Well, for the latest AMV of the Day I have picked one which includes one of my favorite anime of late (also a favorite manga) and a song that I didn’t care for to be honest. But when combined together they make for an awesome anime music video. I’m talking about the mashup that is “Fairy Tail Teenage Dream”.
Fairy Tail is one of those anime that one just ends up loving whether they want to or not. It shares similar character designs as the long-running and uber-popular anime series, One Piece, and they even share similar-sounding storylines. The song “Teenage Dreams” by Katy Perry I’ve always caught on the radion or used in some ad campaign, but it’s always been too sugary pop for my taste. It’s very catchy to listen to and I can understand why it’s become so popular. It only took pairing that song to this anime and how the creator of said AMV edited the whole video for me to actually like the song.
Will I listen to “Teenage Dream” when not in this AMV form? Most likely not, but at least I’ve come to appreciate said song and not completely dismissed it. Another reason why when AMV’s are done well they open up the viewer to a whole new realm of music possibilities not to mention anime ones.
Okay, two quick confessions. First off, I really wanted to write this post in Spanish because it’s Cinco De Mayo but unfortunately, other than a few phrases I picked up from my mom, I don’t speak Spanish. Secondly, I’ve done some research and I’ve discovered that the band featured here (Santa Esmeralda) is actually a French group. So, despite the fact that Santa Esmeralda’s cover of Don’t Let Me Misunderstood is obviously influenced by Latin music, it’s still not exactly ideal for Cinco De Mayo.
But you know what? When I first heard this song on the soundtrack for Kill Bill Volume One, I immediately fell in love with it and I forced my mom to listen to all 10 minutes of it and she loved it too. And unlike me, my mom grew up speaking Spanish and actually had a very pretty singing voice. She was also very proud of her heritage. So, if this song was good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.
I have to admit, as well, that when I first heard Santa Esmeralda’s version, I assumed that the cover had been recorded specifically for the Kill Bill soundtrack. Well, turns out I was not only wrong, I was way wrong. This cover version was actually recorded way back in 1977.
I also thought, before I started writing this post, that the song was originally performed by the Animals. Wrong again. The song was first written in 1964 by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, and Sol Marcus and it was originally performed by Nina Simone. Then, in 1965, the Animals did their famous cover. The Animals’ version of the song is the one that got stuck in my head when I was dating this guy who worked at Mervyn’s because, oh my God, it was playing all the freaking time in that store!
But the Santa Esmeralda version is my favorite and it is today’s song of the day.
The latest “Song of the Day” was inspired by having witnessed on April 23, 2011 at the Hynes Convention Center during Anime Boston 2011 a performance by the Odaiko New England (ONE). This traditional taiko drum group performed both traditional taiko set numbers and more modern compositions. To say that the experience was quite primal would be an understatement. Since then I’ve searched and listened to many other taiko drum groups and I’ve come to realize that the band Kodo really shows the Japanese art of taiko drumming at its best. I chose their song “O-Daiko” as the latest song of the day.
“O-Daiko” by Kodo is traditional taiko drumming at its finest. It begins quite subtly and gradually builds up to the booming, heart-pumping bass beats that could only come from taiko drummers playing their instruments in perfect tempo. It’s difficult to listen to any taiko music and not have oneself brought back to a simpler time. Taiko drum music has been a mainstay with Shinto shrine rituals, but they’ve also been instrumental in warfare during the warring period of Feudal Japan. The drum beats would be used to signal coded information to allies and friendly forces. They could also be used to demoralize opposing enemy forces.
So, if you ever learn that a taiko drum group is going to be performing in your area I highly recommend that you attend said performance. It’s an experience everyone should have at least once in their life.
The latest AMV of the Day continues my current obsession over a great mahou shoujo (magical girl) by the name of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This amv is called “Repeat”.
“Repeat” uses the song “Sleep Now” by Hugh Hall and it’s atmospheric sound goes hand in hand with the dark, almost gothic sensibilities, of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I’m none too familiar with Hugh Hall’s music, but the song that creator Chiikaboom used to highlight the dark nature of this anime series really makes this amv seem like a well-made trailer for the series. In fact, if I didn’t know that this video was an anime music video I would’ve thought it was a professionally done teaser trailer for the anime series.
This amv once again shows just how engaging an anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica really is. Yes, the animation and character designs are quite cute, but that lighthearted aspect of the show doesn’t last very long. This video shows just how mature, dramatic and tragic this series ends up becoming.
The latest “song of the day” comes in just in time to show that my major bout with the cold/flu last week and this weekend hasn’t taken me out. It’s also a proper choice with the release of Portal 2, Valve’s sequel to their very popular puzzle-shooter Portal. What better way to send me off to Anime Boston this weekend but with the very geeky and otaku anthem of “Still Alive”.
“Still Alive” is the end credits song which plays once the player has completed Portal. The voice who sings the song (written by songwriter Jonathan Coulton) is one Ellen McClain and she is suppose to be the AI-computer GLaDOS lamenting the player’s success and escape. The song became as big of a hit with gamers as the game it was part of. Pretty much a whole cottage industry of all things geek-culture sprung up around this song. Shirts were made, youtube videos of varying quality using the song were uploaded and comic book, gaming and anime convention goers worldwide adopted the song as their unofficial anthem.
The song is pretty cute and catchy. The way the lyrics were sung with such sweetness by singer Ellen McClain makes it such a happy ditty. But when stepping back from singing along one really has to look at the lyrics and see how dark and twisted “Still Alive” truly was and still is. And on that note, catch you allafter Anime Boston.
Still Alive
This was a triumph I’m making a note here HUGE SUCCESS It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction Aperture Science
we do what we must because we can for the good of all of us except for the ones who are dead but there’s no sense crying over every mistake you just keep on trying until you run out of cake and the science gets done and you make a neat gun for the people who are still alive
I’m not even angry I’m being so sincere right now even though you broke my heart and killed me and torn into pieces and threw every piece into a fire as they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you! Now these points of data make a wonderful line and we’re out of beta, we’re releasing on time so I’m glad I got burned Think of all the things we learned for the people that are still alive
go ahead and leave me I think I prefer to stay inside maybe you’ll find someone else to help you maybe black mesa that was a joke, haha, fat chance anyway this cake is great, it’s so delicious and moist look at me still talking, when there’s science to do when I look out there it makes me glad I’m not you I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done on the people who are still alive
and believe me I am still alive I’m doing science and I’m still alive I feel FANTASTIC and I’m still alive While you are dying I’ll be still alive and when you’re dead I’ll be still alive STILL ALIVE, still alive…
To cap off the day I decided to take a lead from my favorite spring and summer past-time (baseball) and give everyone a double-header. The latest song of the day is actually two of them. While they’re really a single melody they’re done in two diverging ways that fit in with Joe Wright’s modern fairy tale action film, Hanna.
Once again these songs are from The Chemical Brothers who everyone by now have heard composed the score for Hanna. They did such a magnificent job scoring this film that I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re asked to do more of it in the future. I will admit that I actually like they’re work on Hanna than what Daft Punk did for Tron: Legacy. The songs I picked are called “The Devil Is In The Details” and “The Devil Is In The Beats” respectively.
The first song is a charming little melody that sounds like it’s being played on a calliope. It really underscores the fairy tale aspect of the film and Hanna’s own Grimm’s fairy tale like journey from the frozen wilderness of Finland to the rundown carnival (looking like something out of Bizarro World Grimm’s fairy tale) to end the film. This melody also becomes a sort of leitmotif for whenever Hanna became endangered from the assassins hired by her nemesis, Marissa Veigler, to chase her down. The leader of this group will begin to whistle this tune when they’ve caught onto Hanna’s trail.
The second song is a more aggressive version of this fairy tale melody done in the only way The Chemical Brothers know how. “The Devil Is In The Beats” is twists, distorts, remixes and adds a funky bassline to the original “The Devil Is In The Details” but without losing the original calliope tone. This version I liken to a fairy tale story seen through the eyes of someone tripping out on acid or LSD.
Both songs fit in well in the scenes they complement and just shows how well both filmmaker Joe Wright and The Chemical Brothers were on the same wavelength when it came to telling the story of Hanna.
Through the Shattered Lens 