Category Archives: Music

Song of the Day: Voices (by Yoko Kanno)

Posted on by Arleigh

The song of the day is one which I consider one of my favorite pieces of music ever composed and played. I speak of “Voices” from the Japanese OVA/film Macross Plus. The song was composed by Japanese composer Yoko Kanno and originally sung by singer-musician Akino Arai.

Anime has become of one my major hobbies and interests and during the early 90’s Macross Plus dominated my viewing rotation and it was partly due to this song. The moment I started the VHS tape (yes that’s how far this song goes back) and heard the very first verse of this song and the techno-tinged Japanese sound of the song I was hooked. I listen to it almost as much as I did when I first heard it 16 years back.

One of the best memories of this song just happened recently as Yoko Kanno made a surprise appearance at this past Anime Expo 2010 in Los Angeles. While sitting in the Nokia Theater for the May’n and Megumi Nakajima concert Ms. Kanno appeared on-stage to play the grand piano and started playing this particular song w/ J-pop singer and seiyuu Megumi Nakajima performing the lyrics. To say that this was the highlight of the Expo for me would be a huge understatement. Listening to the song done live showed me why I love this song and why it’s my pick for song of the day.

Acoustic Ver.

Cello Instrumental

Voices (Japanese)

Hitotsume no kotoba wa yume
Nemuri no naka kara
Mune no oku no kurayami wo
Sotto tsuredasu no

Futatsume no kotoba wa kaze
Yukute wo oshiete
Kamisama no ude no naka e
Tsubasa wo aoru no

Tokete itta kanashii koto wo
Kazoeru you ni
Kin’iro no ringo ga
Mata hitotsu ochiru

Mita koto mo nai fuukei
Soko ga kaeru basho
Tatta hitotsu no inochi ni
Tadoritsuku basho

Furui
Maho no hon
Tsuki no
Shizuku yoru no
Tobari itsuka
Aeru yokan
Dake…

We can fly…
We have wings…
We can touch…
Floating dreams…
Call me from…
So far…
Through the wind…
In the light…

Mittsume no kotoba wa “hum”
Mimi wo sumashitara
Anata no fureru ude wo
Sotto tokihanatsu

Voices (English)

The first word in my dreams
I could clearly see
Planet Eden high beyond the skies

Beautiful and sad
is this story I’ll tell
of the winged travellers eager

’twas one day
the wind guided him where to go
like an eagle high above he flew

Waving from down below
he flew out of sight
into the mystical darkness

Neither a smile nor a cry
I gave when he left
feeling my spleen decline
And hoping
one day we’d fly over
back to the places we once shared

Where vessels glide
in silky waves and of gold
deep in the gulf such planet lies

Surrounded by this universe
of love and hate
confusion breaks through and dwells

Cast a spell
from the old magic book
set a path
in the black magic box
something strange will happen
it will take you so far
So try…

We can fly
We have wings
We can touch floating dreams
Call me from
so far
Through the wind
And the light…

Someone came from the dark
over from the stars
protecting my heart from crying

Taken back by surprise
my traveller returned
What went wrong? Why did he change.

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Death Disco a.k.a. Swan Lake (by Public Image, Ltd.)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Recently, I’ve been reading Clinton Heylin’s history of punk rock, Babylon’s Burning: From Punk To Grunge.  Not surprisingly, one of the main characters in this book is John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten).  Along with detailing Lydon’s time as the lead singer for the Sex Pistols, the book also examines Lydon’s subsequent career as the frontman for Public Image, Ltd.  The book also inspired me to track down and listen to one of PIL’s earliest efforts, a song that was originally called Death Disco (though it was also released under the name Swan Lake for reasons that become obvious once you listen to the song).

Death Disco was written after and in response to the death of Lydon’s mother.  Though the song is now over 30 years old, it remains a powerful and cathartic cry of pain and loss.

As an added bonus, here’s two interviews with Lydon, one from the late 70s that was recorded shortly before he formed Public Image, Ltd. (and in which he looks so incredibly young and, dare I say it, rather adorable in his bratty way) and one from 2007 in which he discusses the meaning of life.

A Quickie From Lisa Marie: Hurt Feelings/Tears of A Rapper (by Flight of the Conchords)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I sit here frustrated by my attempts to write about how great a movie Winter’s Bone is and feeling depressed for the usual sordid, personal reasons, I realize that I’m still in a Flight of the Conchords type of mood. 

Here’s Bret and Jermaine performing my all-time favorite Conchords song, Hurt Feelings.

Song of the Day: Home Sweet Home (by Mötley Crüe)

Posted on by Arleigh

For the latest song of the day I go back to my teenage years growing up in the 80’s when hair metal ruled the world. While my heart still resided with thrash metal and heavy metal I still got caught up in the power ballad which defined the mid-to-late 80’s. It was this power ballad in all it’s cheesiness which to this day is still quite catchy to listen to. I mean Mötley Crüe in one’s playlist at the time meant getting tail instead of chasing them away.

“Home Sweet Home” is one of the few Crüe songs that seem to have survived the test of time. Chappelle may think Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorns” was the power ballad of the 80’s, but he is wrong. This song is and shall always be. Plus, it has that awesome slow-mo sequence near the end where the band dances to the beat. Yeah, cheesy like I said earlier.

Another reason I picked this as the latest song of the day is what will be posted afterwards.

Home Sweet Home

You know I’m a dreamer
But my heart’s of gold
I had to run away high
So I wouldn’t come home low
Just when things went right
It doesn’t mean they were always wrong
Just take this song and you’ll never feel
Left all alone

Take me to your heart
Feel me in your bones
Just one more night
And I’m comin’ off this
Long & winding road

I’m on my way
Well I’m on my way
Home sweet home
Tonight tonight
I’m on my way
I’m on my way
Home sweet home You know that I seem
To make romantic dreams
Up in lights, fallin’ off
The silver screen

My heart’s like an open book
For the whole world to read
Sometimes nothing-keeps me together
At the seams

I’m on my way
Well I’m on my way
Home sweet home
Tonight tonight
I’m on my way
Just set me free
Home sweet home

Song of the Day: Suteki Da Ne (by Uematsu Nobuo)

Posted on by Arleigh

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The newest Song of the Day is a favorite piece of video game music of mine.

“Suteki Da Ne” is the love theme to Square-Enix’s very popular and long-running rpg series Final Fantasy. The song would mark the point in the game when the lead male and female characters finally realize their love for each other. It’s become a favorite of many game score aficionados and especially those of Japanese game soundtracks. Some consider it one of the best pieces of video game music there is, but that would be going a tad too hyperbolic.

The song is composed by well-renowned game music composer Uematsu Nobuo. He had been instrumental in composing the music for most of the Final Fantasy games until he left Square-Enix in 2004. “Suteki Da Ne” also had other collaborators outside of Uematsu. The lyrics for the song was written by Final Fantasy X scenario writer Nojima Kazushige while the arrangement for the song was done by Hamaguchi Shiro. In the end, most of the credit for the song really belongs to Uematsu-san. He was able to compose a song that worked to not just score a lovely and emotional scene between the two leads in the game but also convey their feelings very clearly through the music.

The lyrics below includes both the original Japanese version as sung by Japanese pop-idol RIKKI and the English translation.

Suteki Da Ne (Isn’t It Wonderful)

Kaze ga yoseta kotoba ni
Oyoida kokoro
Kumo ga hakobu ashita ni
Hazunda koe

(My heart, swimming
In the words the wind has borne
A voice, bouncing
On a tomorrow carried by clouds)

Tsuki ga yureru kagami ni
Furueta kokoro
Hoshi ga nagare, koboreta Yawarakai namida

(A heart, trembling
On a mirror where the moon quivers
A star falls, spills
Gentle teardrops)

Suteki da ne
Futari te o tori aruketa nara
Ikitai yo
Kimi no machi, ie, ude no naka

(Isn’t it wonderful
If we could walk, holding hands
I’d want to go
To your town, your house, into your arms)

Sono mune
Karada azuke
Yoi ni magire
Yume miru

(To your heart
I leave my body
Mixed into the night
I dream)

Kaze wa tomari; kotoba wa
Yasashii maboroshi
Kumo wa yabure; ashita wa
Tooku no koe

(The wind stops; your words
Are a kind illusion
The clouds break apart; tomorrow
Is a distant voice)

Tsuki ga nijimu kagami o
Nagareta kokoro
Hoshi ga yurete, koboreta
Kakusenai namida

(A heart flowing
In a mirror where the moon has seeped in
A star wavers, spills
Tears you can’t hide)

(kurikaeshi)(repeat)

Sono kao
Sotto furete
Asa ni tokeru
Yume miru

(That face
Touch it, just so
And dream a dream
That melts in the morning)

Found on YouTube: Dean Miller — Zombie Exterminator

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Nearly a year ago, I was searching YouTube for the trailer to Umberto Lenzi’s 1980 zombie film Nightmare City and I ended up coming across a tribute to the film’s main character, the virile and bearded TV news anchorman Dean Miller (played, with a notable lack of enthusiasm, by Hugo Stiglitz.)

The video artfully takes Lenzi’s overlong film and reduces it down to 3 and a half minutes of Dean Miller killing people.  Interestingly, not a hint of nuance or plot is lost in the process.  Anyway, the video has always made me smile so I figured why not share it?  I should clarify that I have no idea who actually put this together beyond the fact that I had nothing to do with it.

Actually, I’m being a little bit too hard on Nightmare City.  For a Lenzi film, its actually fairly entertaining and it does feature one of the abosolute worst endings in the history of cinema.  If a hurricane ever hits North Texas and I find myself having to stay inside for a few days, my survival plan is to pass the time writing up a review of Nightmare City.

As previously stated, Miller was played by actor Hugo Stiglitz.  Quentin Tarantino, of course, later borrowed Stiglitz’s name for Inglorious Basterds.  Tarantino’s Stiglitz, it must be said, was a bit more interesting than the actual Stiglitz.

A Quickie From Lisa Marie: The Best Freakin’ Commercial Ever!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you follow me on twitter then you can probably guess what I consider to be “the best freakin’ commercial ever.”  It premiered (in its full form) during the last Super Bowl and it made me smile whenever I saw it on come on TV.  It was a commercial that I loved so much that it took me a few times to realize it was actually selling something (a car, in this instance).  Up until then, I just thought the commercial was a showcase for Sockmonkey and his friend, the freaky little red thing.

I’m speaking, of course, of the Kia Sorrento “How You Like Me Now” ad campaign.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying you should buy a Kia and this commercial left me with absolutely no desire to trade in my beloved Chrysler Sebring convertible but it did inspire me to order sockmonkeys for myself, my older sister Erin, and my niece Shannon. 

As great as the song (How You Like Me Now, performed by Heavy) is and as much charisma as that little red monster thingee displays, Sockmonkey really is the star of the commercial.  Seriously, I might actually watch the Daily Show if they fired smug, aging badly, oddly devoted to Stephen Colbert, old Jon Stewart and replaced him with tattooed, fast-driving, water-skiing, mad dancing, fast driving Sockmonkey.

(Yes, I said fast driving twice!  Because that monkey really drives fast!  And, uhmm, not because — as some people claim — I have a five-second attention span…)

The last time I saw this commercial, my friend Jeff commented, “I bet that monkey gets a lot of tail.”

“Silly!” I replied, “He’s already got a tail!”

Later, I realized I may have misunderstood his meaning.

(True story)

But anyway, it’s a fun little commercial whether it makes you want to drive a Kia or not.  And, a definite plus, it’s not half as disturbing as those old Calvin Klein jean commercials.

Song of the Day: Turn the Page (by Bob Seger)

Posted on by Arleigh

The latest song of the day is one of the best example of 1970’s classic rock. It’s “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger and was originally released in 1973 as part of Seger’s rock album, Back in ’72.

The song really didn’t enjoy very early success once it was released. It wasn’t until he performed the song live for his 1976 live album, Live Bullet. His performance of the song for that live recording and future live performances at concerts made it a favorite for classic rock stations which continues to give the song consistent radio airplay. Seger’s performance has been called a mixture of mournful and soul-shattering as he sang about the hard and difficult life of the on-the-road musician. It has been quite the influential song for other musicians down the years.

Metallica even covered the song for their 1998 cover album, Garage Inc. It is this Metallica cover of Seger’s song which introduced me to it. The Metallica cover pretty much stays along the same pacing and keep the lyrics intact, but giving the whole production a decidedly heavy metal tone.

Turn the Page

On a long and lonesome highway
East of Omaha
You can listen to the engine
Moanin’ out his one note song
You can think about the woman
Or the girl you knew the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When you’re ridin’ sixteen hours
And there’s nothin’ much to do
And you don’t feel much like ridin’,
You just wish the trip was through

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page

Well you walk into a restaurant,
Strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
As you’re shakin’ off the cold
You pretend it doesn’t bother you
But you just want to explode

Most times you can’t hear ’em talk,
Other times you can
All the same old cliches,
“Is that a woman or a man?”
And you always seem outnumbered,
You don’t dare make a stand

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page

Out there in the spotlight
You’re a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
You try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body
Like the music that you play

Later in the evening
As you lie awake in bed
With the echoes from the amplifiers
Ringin’ in your head
You smoke the day’s last cigarette,
Rememberin’ what she said

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page
There I go
There I go

A Quickie From Lisa Marie: Running Out Of Empty (by The Spaceship Martini)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

One of my favorite songs from 2009 was the Spaceship Martini’s Running Out Of Empty.  The song was written for Lymelife, a flawed but still oddly effective little movie that featured excellent performances from Rory Culkin, Emma Roberts, Alec Baldwin, and especially Timothy Hutton.

Running Out Of Empty is used to score the film’s final scenes and it brings the perfect melancholy touch to the entire movie.  I could devote a lot of space to everything that didn’t work in Lymelife but it does have an absolutely perfect ending and this song and its use in the film has a lot to do with that perfection.