Archives for category: Music

I just finished watching episode 6 of Macross Frontier, after looping some of Macross Frontier’s songs. One of the reason why I’m enjoying M.F. is because I adore Yoko Kanno, and I think anything she touches is made of gold and win. I can’t say I’m as big of a fan of Macross Frontier’s soundtrack as some of her other OSTs though, partially because the story calls for a lot of pop and there’s only so many ways to make pop sound innovative/awesome.

This is not to say I hate the songs… I’m looping “What ’bout my star” right now, especially the beginning; the other songs will probably really grow on me in time too. The background orchestral tracks though hasn’t blown me away as much as usual. Also, one of the tracks used in episode 6 really reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme. It was another one of those moments (like the V for Vendetta-like scene in Code Geass) that became rather distracting, because I couldn’t stop thinking “zomg, Pirates, seriously!”

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I’m currently addicted to OneRepublic’s “Prodigal”. Actually, I’ve been addicted to my OneRepublic Pandora station; I love all of their songs (“Apologize” remains one of my favorite songs ever). I had heard “Prodigal” on Pandora before, but for some reason today it prompted YouTubing and continuous non-stop looping. I should invest in some more of OneRepublic’s songs on iTunes ; -;

Here’s a Nodame Cantabile playlist… some of my favorite pieces from Lesson 106 to Lesson 118 :)

Lesson 106 – The second half of Nodame’s salon concert

Liszt – Legendes, “St Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds”

Lesson 112 – Tanya’s first preliminary performances for the Canton International Competition

Bach – Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue no. 22 in B flat minor

Lesson 118 – One of Nodame’s lesson pieces for Auclair sensei
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat, op.110 1st movement

I did a bit of internal screaming when Vampire Knight ended at episode 13. I’m not sure if the anime ended as strongly as it started, but I was still hooked enough to hunt down the manga and marathon it until about 4AM on a workday. I couldn’t believe they broke the anime up into two seasons Dx I guess it’s mainly because the manga hadn’t finished yet. The manga definitely grew on me a lot more than when I first flipped through vol. 1 at Borders; I also really enjoyed the big twist-reveal about Yuuki and am dying to find out about what happens next.

So with Vampire Knight temporarily done I was at a bit of a loss about what to watch/read next. Not to say that I don’t have a full watch/readlist right now, but I wanted to pick up something that can really hold my attention like Vampire Knight did. So I picked up Nodame Cantabile manga from where I dropped off, and it’s STILL AWESOME. Most people who know me knows that I freaking love this series to death, having watched anime, manga, and live action – I just can’t get enough of this series, it’s definitely an absolute favorite. I’ve forgotten some of the finer details of the story since I took a pretty long hiatus from the manga, but the plot is still going strong with quite a few threads creeping in with the appearance of Chiaki’s father. I’ve had so many laugh-out-loud moments reading the manga… usually whenever characters go into blank-eyed angsty/moody mode… or when Chiaki (fondly) imagines Nodame in weirdo forest mode… seriously FTW stuff.

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The past two weeks have been the longest and probably the most miserable of my life so far due to a family medical emergency. I don’t feel particularly inclined to go into details, but it’s been insane. All of a sudden though I’ve found myself nearing the end of the tunnel with a bright light at the end. Things can only get better from here! I spent most of the day walking around being deliriously happy and just appreciating some of the little things I do on a day-to-day basis, but have just completely ignored and/or haven’t been able to enjoy. Like listening to music on my iPod or singing while I’m walking. The ordeal isn’t completely over, but I think my family have come out stronger and better, if not wholly in body (yet) then at least in spirit.

Two days ago Ilaria Graziano’s “I Do” came up on my Pandora station and I found myself clinging it like second skin. I’ve loved this song ever since crap gave it to me, not only because it’s beautiful, but also because I thought Ilaria Graziano just sounded like an angel singing this song. Senior year in college whenever I got stressed I’d put on this song and another PlanetES song that crap gave me, and I’d immediately feel calmer and somehow soothed. Listening to “I Do” two days ago had the same effect on me if not more, just thinking about the lyrics and such… I’ve been looping it uncontrollably since. I ended up MySpace-stalking Ilaria yesterday, and I seriously hope that she does more collaborations with Yoko Kanno because that combination is just pure win.

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I was browsing walls and came across Tama’s new FMA wall, with an intriguing “This wallpaper brought to you by too much Ellegarden” line in the description. So I did a quick Google/YouTube search and promptly fell in love. My sister listened in on me looping them and was really surprised when I told her it was a Japanese band. I was pretty surprised myself when I first heard one of their songs – perfect English pronunciation! They basically sounded like your average punk-rock American band. Well, more than just average to be exact. They’ve got some sweet tunes and good sound; I went through a Jimmy Eat World phase and I’m still looping a lot of this kind of pop punk that I stole from my sister, so ELLEGARDEN is right down my alley. I’ve also been looking for some new songs to add to my collection so I’ll probably be shelling out to iTunes for some of their songs soon. Kinda sad to see that they’re currently on hiatus though :|

Listen to ELLEGARDEN on MySpace

I deleted Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” off my ipod today. I like her melodies, but I’m not a huge fan of her voice – I generally prefer female vocalists with sweeter tones. My favorite song from her is probably “River,” again because the tune is great, but also mostly because one of my college friends sang the song with her acappella group every year for the Christmas organ concert, and she had the sweetest voice. I did like parts of the lyrics to “Blue” though.

Blue songs are like tattoos
You know I’ve been to sea before
Crown and anchor me
Or let me sail away
Hey Blue, here is a song for you
Ink on a pin
Underneath the skin
An empty space to fill in
Well there’re so many sinking now
You’ve got to keep thinking
You can make it thru these waves…

…Blue here is a shell for you
Inside you’ll hear a sigh
A foggy lullaby
There is your song from me

- from jonimitchell.com