Music (in No Particular Order)
Alright, so I'm making my own post of music I like, perhaps in hopes that someone else will, too. Each is probably quite different from the next. These are really as I think of them.
Susumu Hirasawa - The Girl in Byakkoya
An instrumental version of this song was done for the opening of Paprika; it annoys me a little that the person who made this vid put talking in the middle, but the sequence at the beginning, which is the opening one, is just so cool. This is the song I was listening to when I conceived my QAF fanfic, "Dream Boy." "Parade," another song that he did for dreams sequences in the movie, and which sounds much more off than this one, is really a string of nonsense lyrics (Energy in my heart is of chemical foam /A street of taxies, worn tires, blood and flesh / Behold all that is liberty is a parody of utopia / A shining boulevard of buyers and giga-movies...) layered on top of other layers of music. It was all very overwhelming for me the first time I heard it (which I'm fairly sure is the point), but the more I listened, the more I realized how brilliant it is.
Tom Waits - Reeperbahn
All of Tom Waits' music is so different, and it's impossible to choose one song that represents him, and his music certainly an acquired taste. (And the first thing that people seem say when we mention his name is, "Oh, he's an old alcoholic." As if that defines him...) I have clear memories of this from when I was fifteen or so, and it meant a lot to me at the time. He's also really into writing about mental or physical abnormalities, or just a darker side of the world.
Within Temptation - Jillian
I've been listening to a lot of symphonic metal lately, namely Within Temptation. It's something that I listen to full-blast to get the full effect.
Cat Stevens
...who I might hate, if he weren't so indescribably sincere in every thing he preached in his music. He went on to dedicate his life to ending poverty and promoting world peace and understand. And this is a double-pimp, as his music makes up the soundtrack to Harold and Maude, which is one of my favorite movies.
Ballad of Ned Divine/Witches Reel
Yeah, another song that was used in a movie, this time actually written for it. (And if you know Waking Ned Divine, you're starting to see my dark humor...) I love Irish music. And Irish humor. (Cause if you can't laugh about life, you'll just end up crying.)
The Pierces - Sticks and Stones
I love when people can't hide their roots. It shows something of who they are. And the Pierces are a pair of sisters from Alabama, whose music truly began to shine in the album "Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge." They realized that it was their last chance, and decided to just go all out and have fun with it. And things are much better when you're doing that, rather just giving what you think people want.
Allison Kraus and Gillian Welch
I'm very picky about bluegrass, and I then I only like it in moderation. However, Allison Kraus has such a sweet voice.
Gorillaz
The Gorillaz aren't technically a real band--they're an animated band that a British guy dreamed up. But whatever
Speaking of Brits...
Muse
And the fact that they sued Nestle for $500,000 because they used Feeling Good in a commercial, then gave all of the money of Oxfam makes them that much cooler.
Rufus Wainwright
He's one of the artists that seems a little fluffy, but really all of his music is very personal (The song Go or Go Ahead" for example is, quite literally, his realization that he needed to get help for a meth addiction.). I love the operatic influence in his music--I love the way he sings the lines, "but when I know / you're naked lying on the bed while I'm at the piano / all I can say / is I can't fake it"--although it seems like lately his music has gotten a little...well...boring. Like he's separated the pop from the opera, and it's not necessarily a good thing.
Swan Lake
Because, really, Tschiakovsky was one of the greatest drama queen to write music.
Radezky March
Or, really, anything by Johan Strauss II. I'm the loser that likes the dance all alone to this kind of thing. (Btw, the New Year's Concert in Vienna is a dream trip of mine...)
I have spent way too much time on this now...
---
Susumu Hirasawa - The Girl in Byakkoya
An instrumental version of this song was done for the opening of Paprika; it annoys me a little that the person who made this vid put talking in the middle, but the sequence at the beginning, which is the opening one, is just so cool. This is the song I was listening to when I conceived my QAF fanfic, "Dream Boy." "Parade," another song that he did for dreams sequences in the movie, and which sounds much more off than this one, is really a string of nonsense lyrics (Energy in my heart is of chemical foam /A street of taxies, worn tires, blood and flesh / Behold all that is liberty is a parody of utopia / A shining boulevard of buyers and giga-movies...) layered on top of other layers of music. It was all very overwhelming for me the first time I heard it (which I'm fairly sure is the point), but the more I listened, the more I realized how brilliant it is.
Click to viewTom Waits - Reeperbahn
All of Tom Waits' music is so different, and it's impossible to choose one song that represents him, and his music certainly an acquired taste. (And the first thing that people seem say when we mention his name is, "Oh, he's an old alcoholic." As if that defines him...) I have clear memories of this from when I was fifteen or so, and it meant a lot to me at the time. He's also really into writing about mental or physical abnormalities, or just a darker side of the world.
Within Temptation - Jillian
I've been listening to a lot of symphonic metal lately, namely Within Temptation. It's something that I listen to full-blast to get the full effect.
Cat Stevens
...who I might hate, if he weren't so indescribably sincere in every thing he preached in his music. He went on to dedicate his life to ending poverty and promoting world peace and understand. And this is a double-pimp, as his music makes up the soundtrack to Harold and Maude, which is one of my favorite movies.
Ballad of Ned Divine/Witches Reel
Yeah, another song that was used in a movie, this time actually written for it. (And if you know Waking Ned Divine, you're starting to see my dark humor...) I love Irish music. And Irish humor. (Cause if you can't laugh about life, you'll just end up crying.)
The Pierces - Sticks and Stones
I love when people can't hide their roots. It shows something of who they are. And the Pierces are a pair of sisters from Alabama, whose music truly began to shine in the album "Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge." They realized that it was their last chance, and decided to just go all out and have fun with it. And things are much better when you're doing that, rather just giving what you think people want.
Allison Kraus and Gillian Welch
I'm very picky about bluegrass, and I then I only like it in moderation. However, Allison Kraus has such a sweet voice.
Gorillaz
The Gorillaz aren't technically a real band--they're an animated band that a British guy dreamed up. But whatever
Speaking of Brits...
Muse
And the fact that they sued Nestle for $500,000 because they used Feeling Good in a commercial, then gave all of the money of Oxfam makes them that much cooler.
Rufus Wainwright
He's one of the artists that seems a little fluffy, but really all of his music is very personal (The song Go or Go Ahead" for example is, quite literally, his realization that he needed to get help for a meth addiction.). I love the operatic influence in his music--I love the way he sings the lines, "but when I know / you're naked lying on the bed while I'm at the piano / all I can say / is I can't fake it"--although it seems like lately his music has gotten a little...well...boring. Like he's separated the pop from the opera, and it's not necessarily a good thing.
Swan Lake
Because, really, Tschiakovsky was one of the greatest drama queen to write music.
Radezky March
Or, really, anything by Johan Strauss II. I'm the loser that likes the dance all alone to this kind of thing. (Btw, the New Year's Concert in Vienna is a dream trip of mine...)
I have spent way too much time on this now...
---