Time
Tom Waits
A beautiful, slow, quiet song. Not as oddball and clanging as some of his other songs.
Song of the Day
Archived Posts from this Category
March 4, 2008
January 21, 2008
Maps
by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I know this song came out a while ago, and I’ve listened to it at least fifty times, but it’s only now that I’ve realized that in the second chorus, Karen O sings “they don’t love me like I love you” instead of “they don’t love you like I love you.” Like Crimson and Clover, which I blogged about earlier, this song has a repetitive chorus and sparse lyrics, but somehow, at least to me, because they repeat so much, they take on more emotional heft, so that I really enjoy it.
Compared to the rest of the album Fever to Tell, this song sounds lighter and looser and dreamier. The other ones are harder and louder. I recommend Y Control.
December 30, 2007
Belle from Notre Dame de Paris
My friend introduced me to this French musical during finals when I was hooked on Disney movies, including The Little Mermaid and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In this song, Quasimodo, Frollo, and Phoebus sing about their practically sinful love for Esmeralda. The singers are excellent, the lyrics are admittedly kinda dirty, lol. Probably my favorite part is at the end, when all three men sing. The different qualities of their voices are so interesting, from Quasimodo’s harsh one, to Frollo’s old man’s timbre, and Phoebus’ young, almost wimpy wailing (haha). I found the YouTube vid for it, so I recommend watching it.
December 2, 2007
Jay Chou
A touching song that will have you singing “fa ru xue” even if you don’t know what that means. It has kind of the pentatonic scale thing going on, and some soft rapping at parts. I wish I had a better way to describe it, other than I definitely recommend it.
November 13, 2007
Crimson and Clover
Tommy James and the Shondells
This song’s lyrics:
Crimson And Clover
(T. James/P. Lucia)
Ah, now I don’t hardly know her
But I think I could love her
Crimson and clover
Ah when she comes walking over
Now I’ve been waitin’ to show her
Crimson and clover over and over
Yeah, my, my such a sweet thing
I wanna do everything
What a beautiful feeling
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
Crimson and clover over and over
I don’t really understand what “crimson and clover” means…um… but I found this site with a suggestion – the quote about it being Tommy James’s favorite color and flower makes sense.
It’s such a pretty song, and the lyrics are so simple. The way they’re sung, though, is what makes it so beautiful – a little pained, a little passionate. The song changes mood so often – from longing to pumped to just plain trippy…
October 23, 2007
Quote of the Day #1 and Song of the Day #10
Posted by hiswizardeyes under Quote of the Day, Song of the DayLeave a Comment
Just as I’ve been picking up songs that inspire me, usually aesthetically, I’m going to start picking up quotes that do the same for me, and hopefully will for you, too. Some may be lyrics, others just may be from dialogue.
Today’s quote is a piece from that Red Hot Chili Peppers song Easily:
“the creature that I am is only going to destroy”
I love this quote. Makes me think of Wander and the Colossus. This song itself is awesome, which makes it
Song of the Day #10
Listen to the lovely, lyrical guitar. The delicate notes, the pain…
October 4, 2007
The Rider Song
by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
This comes from the soundtrack to The Proposition, and as I have yet to watch the movie – even though my brother owns two copies of it – I can’t comment on the song’s meaning in relation to the movie and how it is used.
Still, what is amazing about Nick Cave is how much meaning he can convey with mere inflection. The lyrics to The Rider Song are simple, though indeed they have that melancholy sense of death, but Nick Cave’s voice really captures it and quavers just enough on the sad parts. It has the taking up of the gun, and the laying down of the gun, and to me, that implies a sense of purpose, and then a – possibly sad – end to that purpose, particularly because so many things seem sad to see the Rider go.
A lovely song. It seems possibly too short, but I can imagine that if it had been longer, I might have tired of the one-word exchanges between the Rider and nature.
If you enjoy this song, then I recommend listening to Time by Tom Waits.
September 30, 2007
A Far Cry
from the Escaflowne OST
Maybe I’m completely off base in thinking that anime today doesn’t have music as good as it used to. In fact, I probably I am, because I was exposed to such a limited amount of anime when I first got into it (1998?), and when the market was small and it was easy to be exposed to good anime – like Escaflowne and Trigun – whereas today the range of anime is goes from horrible, I-want-my-money-back to superb, I’m-glad-I-lived-to-see-that. Thus, perhaps my true impression is that it’s hard to find the good anime OSTs because there are so many. And even some that have good songs also have bad ones on them. For example, I love Gackt’s ending theme for Texhnolyze, but that’s all I love about the soundtrack.
Now, in the good old days, we had priceless soundtracks like the Trigun OSTs, which still amaze me (and even the ending theme finally won me over), and of course Yoko Kanno’s gold. I’ve heard that the Escaflowne OSTs rip off Carmina Burana – which made me buy the CD for Carmina Burana to see for myself, and I loved it – but I can’t say for sure how much is ripped of Carmina Burana; to me, some songs just seem similar.
In any case, A Far Cry is a lyrical, sad song, with the sound of distant thunder opening the beginning (drums, I assume) and the doleful cello carrying the nostalgic, sometimes pained melody line. It’s beautiful, and I can’t even remember what scenes this song was played in. That’s the beauty of it – an anime song that doesn’t require watching the anime to appreciate it.
Perfect to play on a rainy day if you feel like staying mellow and even brooding a bit, although it has some lighter touches, as when some piano keys clink away as if in conversation, going up octaves as they answer each other. I wish there were words to this, but it doesn’t really need any.
Also, if you like A Far Cry, I recommend listening to B.T. from .hack//SIGN; the violin is exquisite.
Note: When I mention an instrument, there is a chance it might be synthesized. But it sounds real to me!
September 28, 2007
I feel so bad right now it’s not even funny. But alas, I still laughed at the Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Harvey Birdman. But I still feel bad.
Anyway, new song!
Niji
From the Eureka 7 soundtrack Singles and Strikes
An electronica song, very light and fluffy. A girl and guy sing on it, and while it’s nice to have the lower guy’s voice in there, it doesn’t work quite so well as it might, but I love this song, and definitely recommend it. Colors galore!
September 21, 2007
Ornament
by Trans Siberian Orchestra
A strong Christmas song sung, of course since it’s the Trans Siberian Orchestra, in a rock style. It is quite easy to sing along with since the lyrics are clear, and certain lines like “I just know you’re far away/On this Christmas Day” are sung with just the right somber emphasis.
And there’s a guitar solo.
What more could you ask for?
