Category Archives: Music

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Big City Nights (dir. by Spike Jonze)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

After I saw Tron: Legacy, I couldn’t get the Daft Punk soundtrack out of my head and, of course, any time I think about Daft Punk, I end up thinking about the plight of lonely dog named Charles, trying to make it on his own in the big city.

I’m referring, of course, to Spike Jonze’s brilliant short film, Big City Nights.  Often mistakenly considered to merely be a music video, it is instead a satire of the conventions of pop culture that also works as an affectionate homage to every fish (or dog) out of water story ever told.  Daft Punk’s Da Funk just happens to be playing in the background.

I think I was either 11 or 12 when I first saw it, at which time I think I just thought it was kind of funny and kind of weird and not much else.  Fortunately, I was able to rediscover it when I bought a wonderful little DVD called The Works of Director Spike Jonze.

Anyway, like most works of brilliance, the art speaks for itself…

(Sorry, clicking on the embedded video here will cause another link — leading to the actual video on Youtube — to come up.  Which sucks!  But the link is safe and the video is worth watching.)

Song of the Day: Whiskey in the Jar (by Thin Lizzy)

Posted on by Arleigh

For our latest song of the day we go old school rock. We go to a popular little tune from the rock band who call the Land of Eire their home. I am talking about Thin Lizzy’s “Whiskey in the Jar”.

This song is a traditional Irish ballad which some have dated its origin as the 17th-century. Though the song has been sung and covered by many bands through the last hundred years many today are more familiar of the cover done by Thin Lizzy and it’s legend bass guitarist/lead vocalist Phil Lynott. They released their cover of “Whiskey in the Jar” in 1972. The song became a major hit for the band and has remained one of the most beloved rock songs of the past 30 or so years.

The interesting thing about this song is the fact that Thin Lizzy were quite angry that the song was released as a single since they thought the song didn’t really show the band’s true image and sound. They have seen accepted it one of their many songs which would be a strong legacy for the band long after it’s long gone.

Whiskey in the Jar

As I was goin’ over the Cork and Kerry mountains
I saw captain Farrell and his money he was countin’
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier
I said stand o’er and deliver or the devil he may take ya

Musha ring dum a do dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

I took all of his money and it was a pretty penny
I took all of his money and I brought it home to Molly
She swore that she’d love me, never would she leave me
But the devil take that woman for you know she tricked me easy

Musha ring dum a do dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

Being drunk and weary I went to Molly’s chamber
Takin’ my money with me and I never knew the danger
For about six or maybe seven in walked captain Farrell
I jumped up, fired off my pistols and I shot him with both barrels

Musha ring dum a do dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

Now some men like the fishin’ and some men like the fowlin’
And some men like to hear a cannon ball a roarin’
Me, I like sleepin’ specially in my Molly’s chamber
But here I am in prison, here I am with a ball and chain, yeah

Musha ring dum a do dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o

And I got drunk on whiskey-o
And I love, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love my Molly-o….

41 Songs But No End Credits

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Academy has released a list of the 41 songs that they have determined are “eligible” for an Oscar nomination next year.  Considering how this year has gone, I shouldn’t be surprised that the songs that I really liked (like “Kick Ass” from Kick Ass and “End Credits” from Harry Brown) have not been deemed eligible.

Anyway, via Awards Daily, here’s the complete list of the eligible songs:

“Alice” from “Alice in Wonderland”
“Forever One Love” from “Black Tulip”
“Freedom Song” from “Black Tulip”
“Bound to You” from “Burlesque”
“Welcome to Burlesque” from “Burlesque”
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”
“There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
“Me and Tennessee” from “Country Strong”
“Despicable Me” from “Despicable Me”
“Prettiest Girls” from “Despicable Me”
“Dear Laughing Doubters” from “Dinner for Schmucks”
“Better Days” from “Eat Pray Love”
“If You Run” from “Going the Distance”
“Darkness before the Dawn” from “Holy Rollers”
“Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon”
“Le Gris” from “Idiots and Angels”
“Chanson Illusionist” from “The Illusionist”
“Never Say Never” from “The Karate Kid”
“To the Sky” from “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”
“What If” from “Letters to Juliet”
“Life during Wartime” from “Life during Wartime”
“Made in Dagenham” from “Made in Dagenham”
“Little One” from “Mother and Child”
“Be the One” from “The Next Three Days”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
“When You See Forever” from “The Perfect Game”
“I Remain” from “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
“Dream Big” from “Pure Country 2: The Gift”
“How I Love You” from “Ramona and Beezus”
“Darling I Do” from “Shrek Forever After”
“Noka Oi” from “Six Days in Paradise”
“This Is a Low” from “Tamara Drewe”
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
“Rise” from “3 Billion and Counting”
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″
“Eclipse: All Yours” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”
“Nothing” from “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too”
“A Better Life” from “Unbeaten”
“Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman’”
“The Reasons Why” from “Wretches & Jabberers”

I saw Burlesque with my friend Evelyn earlier tonight (hi, Evelyn!) and even though the movie was pretty silly, we ended up singing our own version of “Bound to You” for three hours afterward. 

I also thought that “Better Days” from Eat Pray Love and “Dear Laughing Doubters” from Dinner For Schmucks were both perfect examples of good songs written for rather disappointing movies.

Still, I’m sad to see that “Pimps Don’t Cry” won’t be getting a chance to bring The Other Guys some Oscar glory.

Song of the Day: Transcending Love (by Michiru Yamane, Takashi Yoshida, Masahiko Kimura, Keiko Fukami)

Posted on by Arleigh

I am what you would call an avid gamer. I’ve been playing video games since I was a wee lad and marveled at the Atari 2600. I moved from that system through the many systems after it to my current one which is my Xbox 360.

I’m an equal opportunity gamer in that I will play any type of game at least once no matter the genre. In the end, the one  genre which I will always gravitate towards and I consider my first gaming love are role-playing games. I especially have a special place in my heart for Japanese role-playing games. It’s music from one of those Japanese role-playing games where I have chosen the latest “song of the day”.

The latest song chosen is from the Konami-published role-playing game series called Suikoden. This particular song comes from the third game in the main series, Suikoden III, and is the opening theme for the game. The song’s title is “Transcending Love” and is one of my favorite piece of game music ever produced. The song even gets a well-animated anime opening sequence which shows characters and events from the  game but doesn’t show too much about who they are and what the plot of the game is all about.

The song is part of a soundtrack which includes several Japanese game music composer that figuring out who was responsible for this particular song would be difficult to do. I’ve decided to just credit all of them for what I consider one of the best game opening themes and music ever composed.

70,000 Tons of… wait what?

Posted on by necromoonyeti

Hell died and went to Miami.

I know how to smell a scam, and this thing reeks. But I couldn’t write it off so easily, because I found it through a band’s official tour schedule. So I started looking around at a bunch of different band sites, a bunch of reputable music magazines, everything I could think of, and sure enough, it appears to be legit. If it is a scam, it’s about the most well played one I’ve ever encountered. I honestly think this is real.

So you probably figure, ok, cruises are for yuppies and old people, it’s probably going to be a lot of cheesy hair metal, washed up gimmicks, and no name bands. It certainly isn’t going to be the most impressive names in metal, all playing at least two sets a piece, chilling on the deck getting hammered with the fans between performances, right? …Right?…

Blind Guardian, Týr, Finntroll, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Amon Amarth, and Iced Earth top the lineup. I’m not fucking kidding. This cruise includes Nevermore, Marduk, Sonata Arctica, Moonspell, Rage, Epica, Dark Tranquility, Testament, Obituary, Exodus, Fear Factory, Gamma Ray, Unleashed, and a Bathory cover band consisting of members of Mayhem, Einherjer, Dimmu Borgir, Thyrfing, and Primordial.

On a cruise ship.

I think I just crapped my pants.

According to the creator of all this, “I live in Vancouver, BC, very close to the cruise ship terminal. So one day about three years ago I was sitting with my friends on my balcony having a few beers. Obviously we had one too many, because I remember asking those guys, hey, wouldn’t that be cool to charter one of these and put a heavy metal festival on? That was when 70000TONS OF METAL was born.”

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: The Host of Seraphim (performed by Dead Can Dance)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, out there!

Okay, for those of you who haven’t been following along, on Monday, Arleigh posted an entry about Frank Darabont firing the Walking Dead’s writing staff and how this might indicate that Darabont is planning on being the show’s sole writer.

So, of course, me being the little contrarian that I am, I had to stick my big Italian nose into it all and comment about how much I hate The Shawshank Redemption and about how Stephen King is an insecure whore.  And this, of course, led to all of the boys fighting over whether or not The Mist had a good ending.

(I’m joking a little here — it’s actually been a pretty interesting discussion.)

Anyway, I’ve already taken my side in the argument, which is that The Mist had a terrible ending but that terrible ending was scored with a really good and haunting song.

And here that song is : The Host of Seraphim by Dead Can Dance.

…And Christmas For All!

Posted on by necromoonyeti

You probably haven’t heard of Michael Armstrong, but you might have heard of his musical project, Rockabye Baby. Armstrong (not to be confused with the Christian pop singer of the same name) has made his claim to fame by taking music by the likes of Radiohead, Tool, and Nirvana, and, through copius glockenspiel, converting their best hits into lullabies. But don’t roll your eyes at another Richard Cheese just yet. The Rockabye Baby albums are actually pleasant to listen to in their own right.

I suppose Christmas music was the logical next step.

It’s hard to give credit where credit is due concerning these; I’ve seen a number of different names associated with the Rockabye Baby series, but Armstrong’s definitely pops up the most. Individual credits for each album are difficult to come by. I’m pretty sure he is the composer of this holiday absurdity, but don’t quote me on it.

Happy holidays?

Song of the Day: War (by Poets of the Fall)

Posted on by Arleigh

Since I had already chosen the latest AMV of the Day to feature the Finnish rock band, Poets of the Fall, I thought it only appropriate that the latest Song of the Day make it a double-billing. This latest chosen song for this music feature is “War” by Poets of the Fall.

The song features heavily in the psychological-thriller game, Alan Wake, on the Xbox 360. It’s not surprising to find Poets of the Fall as part of this game’s soundtrack since the groups past relationship with Remedy who developed the game and who also happen to be Finnish themselves. “War” was used as the score for the end of Episode Five in the game. Even the official music video shot by the band used the basic plot of the game for it’s visuals.

In years past the band’s albums were typically labeled as alternative rock which is probably why I never really heard about them until I heard them on Alan Wake. This particular song is the second track on their latest album, Twilight Theater, and moves the band from their alternative roots to a more symphonic rock sound. This symphonic sound actually gives the band a much more classic hard rock vibe than their previous albums and is probably why I’ve finally gotten into their music. And I shall continue to listen to them and their future musical endeavors if they continue on this new musical style.

War

Do you remember standing on a broken field
White crippled wings beating the sky
The harbingers of war with their nature revealed
And our chances flowing by?

If I can let the memory heal
I will remember you with me on that field

When I thought that I fought this war alone
You were there by my side on the frontline
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me a reason to try

Turn the page I need to see something new
For now my innocence is torn
We cannot linger on this stunted view
Like rabid dogs of war

I will let the memory heal
I will remember you with me on that field

When I thought that I fought this war alone
You were there by my side on the front line
And we fought to believe the impossible
When I thought that I fought this war alone
We were one with our destinies entwined
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me the reason why

With no-one wearing their real face
It’s a whiteout of emotion
And I’ve only got my brittle bones to break the fall

When the love in letters fade
It’s like moving in slow motion
And we’re already too late if we arrive at all

And then we’re caught up in the arms race
An involuntary addiction
And we’re shedding every value our mothers taught

So will you please show me your real face
Draw the line in the horizon
‘Cause I only need your name to call the reasons why I fought

When I thought that I fought this war alone
You were there by my side on the front line
And we fought to believe the impossible
When I thought that I fought this war alone
We were one with our destinies entwined
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me the reason why

A Quickie With Lisa Marie: Hey Boy Hey Girl (performed by the Chemical Brothers)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Some day, I’m going to make and publish a list that will entitled “Top Ten Songs To Dance To While Wasted.”  Until I get around to that, I’ll just take a few minutes to highlight the song that would probably come in at number 3 — Hey Boy Hey Girl by the Chemical Brothers.

I really wanted to put up the music video that features the kids in the museum and the skeletons having sex in the public restroom.  However, every version of that to be found on YouTube comes with one of those really annoying “embedding disabled by request” tags.  Bleh on that.

So, I’m including two videos.  The first one is simply the song as it appears on 1999’s Surrender.  The second is a clip of the Chemical Brothers doing the song live at Glastonbury in 2007.  Personally, I love the 2nd clip.  If you ever get a chance to see the Chemical Brothers live, you must take it as surely as you must breathe oxygen to live.