William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Animation Beck Soundtrack ; Year: 2005; Genre: Rock Recently I've been watching Beck: The Mongolian Chop Squad again; this is among my favourite songs that can be heard throughout. It's actually quite a pretty tune with quite heavy and emotional lyrics. Hear Moon on the Water from the soundtrack on YouTube. Watch the music video clip to Moon on the Water on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses My song pick two years ago today: Rammstein - Haifisch My song pick three years ago today: Tanya Tucker - What's Your Mama's Name? My song pick four years ago today: Bad Company - Bad Company My song pick five years ago today: The Highwaymen - The Highwayman

From: KEITH: Animation Beck Original Soundtrack ; Year: 2005; Genre: Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad has been one of the animés I've enjoyed the most in a while. For those unaware of it, it's a 'making of a band' animé about a fictitious band from its inception to making it big. One aspect of the show I really find interesting is how most of the band members' characters are based off of real-world musicians like Jimmy Page, Liam Gallagher, and Flea to name a few. They also pay tribute to many other musical acts throughout the show, mostly through the music being played. This song, Spice of Life , was done in the style of Rage Against the Machine and is somewhat similar to their song Bulls on Parade . Actually, from what I've read the lead singer character, Tsunemi Chiba , was loosely based on their lead singer Zach de la Rocha. Anyway, this track has ended up being one of my favourites from the show, mostly due to the kick arse bass line, which is actually no...

From: P.O.A.: Pop on Arrival ; Year: 2005; Genre: Rock We were up later last night and had a very busy morning to boot, so I'm getting my pick in a wee bit little later. Anyway, last night we finished watching the Animé Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad , which was an excellent show. This rather upbeat track from the Japanese Rock band Beat Crusaders was used as the show's theme and I thought it would be a fun song for today's pick. Here is the music video on YouTube. Watch the full opening from the Animé on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: ABBA - Thank You for the Music My song pick two years ago today: Genesis - Home By The Sea My song pick three years ago today: Alannah Myles - Black Velvet My song pick four years ago today: Alice Cooper - Poison +

1439 Rin' - Fuhen From: Jikū , Year: 2004 Genre: Traditional Japanese/J-Pop I had the melody of this extremely beautiful song running through my mind this morning and I knew I had to make it my pick for today. I first heard this song playing on the ending credits of the Animé Samurai 7 , which was an adaptation of the Akira Kurosawa masterpiece film The Seven Samuari . I immediately fell in love with this song upon hearing it for the first time; it is kind of a fusion of Traditional Japanese and modern Pop/Rock music. The three members of the band played traditional Japanese instruments and in this song in particular both the Koto and Biwa are very prominent; I've always loved the sound of the Koto. Hear Fuhen on YouTube. Watch a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Cream - Badge My song pick two years ago today: Steeleye Span - Seven Hundred Elves My song pick three years ago today: Billy Joel - Prelude/Angry Young Man +

1266 Yoko Takahashi - Zankoku na Tenshi no These (A Cruel Angel's Thesis) I heard some of the music from the soundtrack to the animé Neon Genesis Evangelion sometime during my travels today and thought this one would make a nice song for this late evening pick. This song was written for and used as the opening theme music for the series' episodes; it's a rather nice, upbeat track from a great show. Hear Zankoku na Tenshi no These on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Aphrodite's Child - Hic et Nunc My song pick two years ago today: Elton John - All The Girls Love Alice My song pick three years ago today: Rush - The Body Electric +

1252 Fire Bomber (Humming Bird) - My Soul For You Making a pick at the end of a rather busy day again; I heard this one while out and about today and thought it would be a rather nice pick. This is another song that comes from the animé Macross 7 , which featured music performed by the Japanese Metal band Humming Bird; the band in the show that Humming Bird put their sound to was known as 'Fire Bomber.' Anyway, this is a rather mellow tune in comparison to the other songs featured on the animé. I love Yoshiki Fukuyama's vocals and guitar work throughout, especially in the acoustic version. Hear My Soul For You on YouTube. Hear the acoustic version of My Soul For You on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Hawkwind - D-Rider My song pick two years ago today: Duran Duran - Rio My song pick three years ago today: Rare Earth - (I Know) I'm Losing You +

1175 Yoshiki Fukuyama - Angel's Voice Making another one just under the wire for tonight; this is one I heard whilst out and about today and seemed like a nice pick to end this day. The song comes from the animé Macross Dynamite 7 ; it was one of the main themes to the film. Again, as with the series itself, Yoshiki Fukuyama lent his vocals and his guitar playing to the music. Hear Angel's Voice on YouTube. Watch an excellent live performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Kinks - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman My song pick two years ago today: The Allman Brother's Band - Ain't Waistin' Time No More My song pick three years ago today: Red Sovine - Phantom 309 +

1016 Hiroko Moriguchi - Samurai Heart This song is used as one of the opening themes of the Anime' Yoroiden Samurai Trooper , distributed and probably better known in the U.S. as Ronin Warriors. This is another show that my wife got me into shortly after we were married. The song is heavy guitar driven Rock in the vein of 80's guitar music, which is the era that the Anime hails from. The vocals, musicianship, and arrangement are quite tight; it is a very listenable track, probably even to those who don't like Japanese animation. Here is the full version on the song on YouTube. Here is an alternate remix of the song with English vocals on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: England Dan & John Ford Coley - Simone My song pick two years ago today: Rush - The Way the Wind Blows +

873 ( Ally Kerr - The Sore Feet Song ) Over the weekend my wife and I have been watching an Animé called Mushi-Shi ; this song was used as the intro. This is quite a cute tune from Scottish "singwriter" Ally Kerr and has a wee bit of a Simon & Garfunkel feel to it. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Johnny Cash - Solitary Man My song pick two years ago today: Two-Mix - White Reflection +

I am continuing the moon mini theme again with this often-covered and famous song. I first heard this version of the song from the Anime' Neon Genesis Evangelion , in which they had a many different versions of the song played at the end of various episodes; this one was one of my favorite renditions done. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

This is the opening song to the Anime' Macross 7 ; for some reason it just seemed perfect for a pick today. This song, along with the other music from this Anime' features monster guitarist/vocalist Yoshiki Fukuyama and his Rock/Metal band at the time: Hummingbird. Here is a fan video with the full studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

Last night my wife and I were watching an animé we rented called Solty Rei , this is the opening song. The vocals in this song is incredible, I love the way that she goes effortlessly climbs and drops back down with her vocals in a pentatonic in the chorus. The music in the song is excellent as well, I love the dynamics that they use during the transitions. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. +

This song is one of Yoko Kanno's songs that was used as the theme for the animé Cowboy Bebop; the tune is, as the title of the animé suggests, in the Bop Jazz style and performed by the band "The Seat Belts." Most individuals who do not know who Yoko Kanno is probably have heard her work if they watch animé, play video games, or watch Japanese T.V. or movies because she is very prolific in all of these stages as a composer/songwriter/musician. The musicianship and the songwriting itself in this song are beyond excellent and the song is very fun to listen to and play. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is an awesome live performance on YouTube. +

I was thinking about this song today and chose to pick it. Two-Mix is a Japanese Technoesque Electronic Pop band comprised of two members at the time of this recording; they have since added a third member and re-named the band: II Mix Delta. The band features Minami Takayama, who is the singer/composer, and Shiina Nagano, who is the musician/lyricist; they are now joined by Joe Rinoie on vocals. For those who watch Animé, this band's music has been featured on Animés such as Gundam Wing and Detective Conan . The music in the song is incredible as well as the vocals. While they are not a cup of tea to everyone, they are definitely worth a listen. Watch the music video on YouTube. +

I'm in an odd mood today, so I decided to pick another song from the fictitious band "Fire Bomber." Fire Bomber is the band that is the main focus in the animé Macross 7 ; this song was featured in the movie Dynamite 7 . Hummingbird, a Japanese metal band, was used to perform the songs on the recordings and went under the name "Fire Bomber" for these songs. The whole band is very talented, however the lead guitarist/vocalist, Yoshiki Fukuyama really stands out and is amazing. What I have found odd about a lot of Japanese music is that the artists use English words smattered around in the song, in this one they use English lyrics throughout the choruses and use Japanese in the verses. I am not usually drawn to music from television shows or movies, however they did an excellent job with the music on this one. Here is the studio version in a fan video on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song on YouTube. +

I was in an odd mood today; I decided to choose a song from an animé I like, Macross 7 titled: Remember 16 . The song is done by the fictitious band in the animé called Fire Bomber , the real Japanese Metal band that played under the pseudonym Fire Bomber in the animé was called Humming Bird , fronted by the guitarist/singer/songwriter Yoshiki Fukuyama . This animé cannot really be found easily in America because of the copyright problems with the music, no official translation or distributors can afford to buy the rights for it. I had to buy a Japanese version with non-professional subtitles. This track is played very little in the show and is more of a grooving song in comparison with the Japanese Metal in most of the show. I mostly picked it for the reason that I like it a lot and it is my 16th song pick in my list. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is Yoshiki Fukuyama performing the song live acoustically on YouTube. +