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Comments
An even better example: an official tie-in to a published role-playing game, not just to a fanmade scenario.
I've been listening to Nana's SCARLET NIGHT a lot lady, the B-side is called HIGH-STEPPER. HIGH STEPPER is amazing. I've also been listening to the second StarMu character single (Tenka no Hana/Limited sky). Limited sky is pretty great.
I heard this a few months ago and I keep wanting your opinion on it (especially since I think you've mentioned it before).
so, one of Omega's founding members has recently died. He was hardly a Cobain (the band started in 1962), but it still saddened me. I have a soft spot for the band, even though I can't really say I know its output well. (With like twenty albums at least, it would require plenty of dedication, but still.) I guess a few classics and a positive memory is enough to develop it.
I really like its chord progression.
Well I'm a sucker for IV V I any day, basically.
Though I kinda ran out of things to buy anyway. That said I hadn't added anything since roughly the pandemic began and I just ignored it for a while lol.
Now this is curious. It's like what would happen if a black metaller wanted to compose a football song. "Spring metal", yeah, it's a pretty good description.
(edited to insert a fresh link)
Rules: 4 top songs from each year, brief explanations.
2011
LAMA - Fantasy
Ending theme to UN-GO, by a band with very close relations to bones over the years right from the Eureka Seven era. Was a great ending theme to a great anime that I'll always remember. Not many can master the pseudo-psychologist's office lounge sound like Koji Nakamura.
AZU - With You
From AZU's single Woman. An R&B song that evokes the feeling of a light summer rain. Like, when the ground is only just slightly wet. Lyrics are very simple and honest. Heartwarming.
Shimizu Shota - When You Cry
From the single Fuyu ga Owaru Mae ni. That single and Sugawara Sayuri's Asu ni Naru mae ni made my Christmas that year.
JUNO - CRY
From the single FATE. There was no K-pop-turned-C-pop-turned-J-pop, for me, like JUNO. I followed his entire career with bean counting fervor and I regret nothing. I wish he'd been more famous, or at least had a longer career.
2012
ChouCho - flyleaf
I would have picked Yasashisa no Riyuu, which really endeared me to ChouCho, but this song is when she really showed off how serious she was about her "Classical" x "Alternative Rock" style. I remember thinking about it a lot in my first year of university.
Aoi Eir - INNOCENCE
Freaking goodness, this song. It's sweeping and strong and everything Eir has stood for all of these years. The visuals in both the music video and Sword Art Online opening sequence captured my heart in ways I still can't fully comprehend to this day.
FLOW - Brave Blue
The opening notes of this song made me believe in FLOW once again, and I still do till this day. Coming hot off the heels of Hemenway's brillinant Eureka Seven AO OP is this soulful rock melody that catches every emotion you'd expect. Even the nostalgia and call-backs to DAYS combine to make this a special effort all it's own.
Mizuki Nana - Syncrogazer
After a lull in my focus on Nana's career, this song really brought me back into being a giant fan. Oddly enough, what I believed would become indicative of the Symphogear series quickly exposed itself as a unique venture, which makes it all the more memorable. Every note from the piano and synths is embedded in my brain.
Originally, I was going to have Nana's Kiseki no Melodia rather than FLOW's Brave Blue, but I thought better of it.
2013
BACK-ON - Nibun no Ichi
This song is so intensely deliberate, yet never does the passion behind it evaporate. I can't help but be drawn into it every single time. It stands upright on it's own, but when combined with my memories of the first Gundam Build Fighters series it's easy to call it amazing.
LiSA - träumerei
This song was attached to an anime I am still yet to finish despite many tries (I stopped right before the last episode) but it speaks to so much. It's an amazing effort on LiSA's part, breaking into the unabashed rock feel just as she is. One of her best.
Tamaki Nami - REAL
As a dedicated Tamaki Nami fan, it's always great to get new releases from her. This one is a departure from most of her other songs. No electro, no synths, just guitars and her unforgettable vocals, evolved from her Gundam days and a stark 180 from her Avant Garde pop days just a year earlier. Kind of sad it was her last effort with her dancing posse, but glad to see that her career trucks on till this day.
fripSide - eternal reality
Despite what people say, I cannot think of a better fripSide To Aru OP that eternal reality. The emotions it carries over what feel like miles and miles is inescapable, and it's one of the few fripSide songs that features sat taking a shot at "vocals" at a vital moment that just takes the whole thing over the top.
2014
nano - PARALYZE:D
This was the year I was super into looking up Otome games on the Vita, and there are no songs that signifiy that era more than this effort from nano. I watched the Re:ViCE[D] opening movie so often I think it was my most watched YouTube video of that year. It's so nano on every level, especially the sudden, quiet breakdown towards the end.
Shimizu Shota - DREAM
This song was great in it's own right, but it makes this list out of a very obvious sense of nostalgia for the unfiltered, honest Shimizu Shota. After this, he was replaced by a hip-hop autotune maniac who seemed like he'd become very acquainted with a certain white powder. It's a soft, slow ballad that I think is timeless, but very simple.
LEGO BIG MORL - RAINBOW
This was my introduction to LEGO BIG MORL, and it was absolutely deserving of more than being the ending theme to an anime I only watched 3/4ths of. This song is extremely special in the realm of rock for me, and I love the soft, yet commanding vocals that lead it.
Amuro Namie - BRIGHTER DAY
Apparently, this song was after Namie's best years, but this was when I first ever really noticed her myself. The violins and cellos combined with the straight rhythm/blues sound feel like they should be heavier, but Namie carries a light tone through the whole song. A true talent.
2015
Scenarioart - Nanahitsuji
My first experience with Scenarioart came in the form of the Subete ga F ni Naru ED, and it capped off a year of great mystery anime for me. The band's shoegaze rock combined with demanding strings really worked.
Aoi Eir - Lapis Lazuli
Hey, it's Aoi Eir again! This song was the start, for me, of Aoi Eir's "Bollywood style" that continues to this day. Though her inspirations always strive to draw from old Eurasia, I find that once in a while an Eir song strikes the right balance to be the central part of a sweeping Bollywood movie sequence with massive set pieces. Frankly, I love this song.
EXO - Playboy
Another K-pop moment. I first discovered this song via a very racy (and I do mean this) performance from an EXO concert DVD I watched that year. Man, I was really religious about concert DVDs in the past. It's a simplistic song that has a lot in common with Western songs, but surprisingly enough not too much, since it's still from an era when K-Pop wasn't trying as hard as it does now. It's fun to remember all the eras of K-pop that I've gone through despite it not being my main focus.
Sayuri - Mikazuki
Another song from the great year of mystery anime, and Sayuri's debut. In this case, it was the ED to Ranpo Kitan -Game of Laplace-, which was my favorite anime of 2015 as well. I don't think this song had much to do with the anime, but it's sweeping notes combined with Sayuri's vocals make this quite the memorable song.
Analysis
Anime OPs/EDs: 10/20
Note: I have not seen Arslan Senki, the anime Lapis Lazuli is an ED for. Neither have I seen whichever To Aru anime eternal reality was an OP for. I also haven't finished Blade & Soul (RAINBOW) or Gen'ei wo Kakeru Taiyou (träumerei), but I have watched a bit more Sword Art Online (INNOCENCE) since 2012 (not much though).
B-Sides: 4/20
The rest are album songs and lead tracks. flyleaf was the lead track to an album, and PLAYBOY is just a normal album song. PARALYZE:D is counted as a B-side since it's the sole game OP on the list anyways.
...wait a minute...
Gee, I wonder.
Didn't I mention the metal-archives.com database is a gold mine?
Let's see...
I sense a theme.
TIL: the origin of the pomeranian breed
is this arpeggio of blue steel
I presume it can do pitch-shifting of different segments of music, so if you want to do the stereotypically silly thing where you turn all the major key stuff into minor key stuff, you could probably do it there.
edit: would you agree to hear out the result so far and compare it to original in the context of the intended effect?
FWIW the usual tactic I was referring to is to figure out what the "mi" is like if you try to sort the notes in the music into the order "do re mi fa so la ti", and a "mi" that's closer to the "re" is the minor key and it's generally considered "sad" or otherwise more associated with pathos than the major key (where the "mi" is closer to the "fa").
So if you can take something in a major key, and lower all the "mi" notes, that would be the most basic (albeit a relatively silly) way to turn a happy song into a sad song.
I look forward to it.
(Actually it seems to be a cover of the original song, but close to the original version.)
Rules: 4 top songs from each year, brief explanations. Since the 2020 list is wholly new, it'll be expanded to 8 songs.
2016
Mutsuki Hijiri (CV: KENN) - old revelation
This song was the ending theme to the anime Sca-red Rider XechS, but I'm surprised at how much it spoke to me and continues to play on my mind. It's quite the simple song, with KENN's vocals backed up by a few guitars, but it plays on it's simplicity with such finesse that it becomes memorable.
FLOW - Kaze no Uta
Ah, FLOW, back with a serious hum-dinger of a tune. The guitars and drums in this song yell out a sense of vitality that is easy to grasp but hard to fully comprehend, which makes it one worth a repeat listen. Opening theme to the first part of the Tales of Zestiria the X anime.
Suzuki Konomi - Love is MY RAIL
When Suzuki Konomi gets serious, you will danged know, and this is one of those times. The electronically boosted violins that mark the beginning of this song really capture your heart, and they set the stage for a song that moves in a bevy of directions that all play in perfect harmony.
Fiima - No. 1
Yet another simple rhythm/blues song. Fiima aren't known for much, and I'm pretty sure they've since broken up, but this song and it's music video featuring a visual spectacle in city sights and athleisure looks (complete with tights, because I had to go for the rhyme) are something special indeed. Fiima also covered Renegades by The X Ambassador's once, and it was surprisingly good.
I can't go past 2016 without mentioning that it was the year of Utada Hikaru's comeback. Of course, since her hiatus in 2010, she had released one single for the third Eva movie (Sakura Nagashi), but this was her real non-obligation musical comeback with the album Fantôme.
Fantôme is a good album, with great songs like Michi, Nijikan dake no Vacance and Tomodachi, but it didn't truly rise above it's contemporaries to seal itself in my mind. A surprisingly big impediment to me enjoying this album all that much was that I was getting into the band LUCKLIFE at the time, and 2016 was a great year for LUCKLIFE with singles like their debut Namae wo Yobu yo, Hajime no Ippo, and Kaze ga Fuku Machi, and songs like Braver (from Namae wo Yobu yo).
I don't know why, but whenever I try to think of my memories of Fantôme, I think of LUCKLIFE's Namae wo Yobu yo too, but more prominently.
Past that year, I haven't put much stock into LUCKLIFE, but those songs remain with me.
2017
WEBER - Taisetsu na Hito, Taisetsu datta Hito
I had gotten into WEBER in 2016, but this was the year that they transferred from Victor Entertainment to Universal and they had a big push (unfortunately, the whole project didn't work out and they had to move labels again). The melding of their vocals and the heavy electronica sounds reminiscent of a light touch by R.O.N. of STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION really cemented my love for this song.
ChouCho - Shippuumoku
This song was the B-side to ChouCho's Elemental World, which was the ED to Masamune-kun's Revenge. This song is very strong, I'd say, and I admire that despite the music's strength ChouCho still sings with her enduring tenor in calm. The contrast makes this one of my favorite songs by her.
lol - hanauta
Ah, lol. If you need a fun dance song, albeit somewhat throwaway, lol are your go-to. This song, from their long-awaited first album, saw what I think was the first sign of their growth as a dance-vocal unit, showing that they could be more than fun. This ballad is entirely calm, playing on a sense of nostalgia to create something that only lol could pull off, showing everybody that they too could have a unique stamp.
Mizuki Nana - Phantasm
If I told you that Nana's discography included a song that began with a spoken world intro that made it clear the setting of the song was a mysterious futuristing full-dive virtual world you couldn't escape from, you probably wouldn't buy it unless I showed you the work, which is Phantasm. Gimmick aside, this song is another quiet piece with nothing but brilliant vocals and simple instruments that weaves it's tale in a style that can only be described as spellbinding.
2018
OLDCODEX - Clean out
This song was the B-side to OLDCODEX's Free -Dive to the Future- OP. If there's a great band I don't really pay attention to, it's OLDCODEX. I mostly know them from their work on Free!, but they're really a band that should be appreciated for their work as a whole, not just their great contributions to anime. This ballad evokes a sense of calm you'd never typically expect from such a rough-and-tumble group, showing that a band's style can always contribute to what new challenges it takes on.
ChouCho - still
Yet another B-side to a KyoAni anime theme, but this time the ED to TSURU-NE -Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou-bu- (ie discount archery Free!). The lead single, Orange-iro, is one of those ChouCho songs that doesn't disappoint entirely because it's ChouCho so she's always good, but it lacks any real sense of import in her catalogue. However, this B-side, with it's usage of simple verses combined with an abrasive chorus shows exactly what ChouCho can achieve when she really puts her mind to it.
FLOW - Ne-iro
Hey, it's FLOW again, back with an OP to a dorama this time! I didn't think this song would amount to much, but FLOW really play with a neo-world-music sense of rhythm in this song that just makes it extremely hard to put down.
ReoNa - Oyasumi no Uta
Making the decision to leave off a certain seiyuu who I've stuck with for a long time was hard, but ReoNa deserves this spot more than anybody else. This was the mini rock-icon's debut single, after a bout of singing as an SAO character. ReoNa is just an amazing artist who seems to have a wealth of melancholic rock just waiting to be shared with the universe, and this was her first real foray into that space. Surprisingly enough, I would have probably missed the ReoNa train if I had heard the lead single this song is a B-side to if I had listened to the lead track before pre-ordering it because SWEET HURT is nowhere near the best representation of her and her skill. However, the rest of the single (including the C-side Canaria) really showed off why ReoNa beat out a whole bevy of budding artists to secure a spot in SACRA's new artist's gallery.
Special mention goes to Hatano Wataru's realize, which is a song I'll always hold close to my heart.
2019
(K)NoW_Name - Stay Gold
The collective (K)NoW_Name is good, and that's probably helped by their relationship with the studio P.A.Works. Unfortunately, I don't have the best track record with P.A.Works anime. However, a YouTube lark led me to this song, which is the ending theme to the second cour of Fairy gone. This song is, frankly amazing. A rock ballad that has very little competition in terms of energy and feeling. Though this doesn't mean I'm suddenly on the (K)NoW_Name train, I will keep looking out for their stuff from now on.
Aoi Eir - Hoshi ga Furu Yume
Another hit for the Bollywood Eir family, this ending theme to the latest Fate/Grand Order TV anime had me hooked from the very first moment I heard it. Though as Aoi Eir's career continues, her forays into new territory tend to hit or miss, this more traditional formula really worked for me.
Mizuki Nana - Born Free
When Nana goes simple, she's very hard to beat. This song, off one of her two EPs that year (the name escapes me) was a fitting song for what ended up being the second-to-last Million Arthur game of all time. It's beautiful, simple, features lots of guitars, and has a choir to round it all off at the end. What's not to like?
TAEMIN - Colors
I'm not much of a SHINee fan, so they're not on my radar much. However, when I first heard the lead track to K-Pop megastar TAEMIN's latest Japanese mini-album, I knew I'd be having another major K-pop moment. Though the lead track is fun and epic in it's own right, this simple ballad that references traditional Japanese instruments and vocal-work makes it clear that sometimes great work comes from where you'd least expect it.
2020
ChouCho - hide and seek
Ah, it's a ChouCho B-side, how unexpected! ChouCho hasn't played around with rhythm and blues for quite a while. The last time I really remember her going after the sound is 7th heaven from her first album flyleaf, and that was in a subtle neo-Vocaloid way. This time around, she really, really went for it, creating a song that dabbled in different forms of R&B with a somewhat gritty underlining that she manages to polish with her no-nonsense vocals.
Ishizaki Huwie - Sekai no Owaru no Love Song
This song was the B-side to Ishizaki Huwie's Parade, ED for the secon cour of the anime Kabukichou Sherlock. It opens with ascending violins and once the piano picks up it's just out of the park as a ballad of epic proportions. I'm not exactly a Huwie convert yet, but if his next release is anywhere near as good I might become one.
FLOW - Shinsekai
Hey, it's FLOW! Back with yet another extremely energetic piece! This time, it's the OP to the second half of the Shadowverse TV anime, and their first song after their shift to SACRA Music! Even with the change, FLOW show off their amazing skills that allow them to pull off a powerful, happy, and inspiring message about taking on a new future all through the simple medium of song.
STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION - PULSE
When I heard that SDF was finally, finally releasing an album (forgetting for a moment that this meant R.O.N. was continuing on as SDF, which is amazing news all it's own), I couldn't wait. As expected, the wait was worth it, resulting in album of amazing electronic, industrial hits that could each be a single in their own right. Personally, I love PULSE with it's ripping snares and pumping pseudo-vocals that appear and disappear without a trace as they back up one of anison's best vocalists and producers.
FANTASTICS from EXILE TRIBE - Keep On Moving
I didn't used to be an EXILE guy. I mean, of course they're nice to look at, but that didn't mean I sought out their music, especially with how often they try to emulate Western R&B artists and pop stars (which oddly enough gets them accused of copying K-pop stars who don't do similar things at all). However, I've always loved Kiyokiba Shunsuke, and that told me that eventually an EXILE group born of his DNA would come about. Of course that turned out to be SOLIDEMO, who aren't related EXILE at all, but FANTASTICS also brought a new, soothing sound to the EXILE landscape and nowadays I actually look forward to their releases. This song, from their latest single High Fever, is a brilliant, soft, remarkable song that really utilizes the best in the vocalists' ranges.
lol - sign
Hey, it's lol again! Though I don't frequently think of lol's songs as being the best of any given year, I'm almost always listening to them (barring the lolli-lolli debackle). sign, which is one of their new digital singles, hits on the same notes that lol will pull on when they want to invoke emotion, but that doesn't mean it's not unique or standout in it's own right. It's a really beautiful song that shows lol are always growing and evolving.
FAKY - Darlin'
Ah, FAKY. When this group first started out, I was excited. Then I heard their music, and decided to avoid them like the plague. The few times they popped up on my radar were their anime and game appearances (FAKY made a big game splash with New Style Boutique 3: Styling Star). However, when the "New FAKY" era came about with songs like ANTIDOTE and half-moon, I realized I liked them! Now, I look forward to their releases, and this is the best so far hands down. A ballad that seeks out simple answers, with no fuss or mess, this is certainly their best work.
Kurosaki Maon - Kimi wo Sukueru nara Boku wa nani ni demo naru
This song is 8 minutes long, and the first 1.5 minutes sound nothing like the rest until the last minute, but by George is it beautiful all throughout. Maon is an artist who is almost never on my radar, especially after her ALTIMA days, but putting out a giant piece of art like this is certainly a way to get noticed by everyone.
TrySail - Utsuroi
Frankly, I am still in a feud with Amamiya Sora whether she knows it or not, and TrySail are still discount ClariS, but in their dual representation for the Magia Record portion of the Madoka franchise, TrySail come out on top, albeit marginally (Alicia by ClariS is a great song). I didn't even initially buy this single, which predominantly featured the OP of the Magia Record anime, until I heard Utsuroi, which uses a rock base to TrySail's advantage to a ridiculous extent. I love it, and though I'll still make my occasional "discount ClariS" joke, it's hard not to respect a unit that has grown this much.
Analysis
Anime OPs/EDs: 7/24
Anime OPs/EDs from anime I have not seen: 2/24; Hoshi ga Furu Yume and Stay Gold.
B-Sides: 8/24
Most Appearances: ChouCho and FLOW.
I have to say, a lot of this list is expected, but there are some surprises. The limit per year really showed me how paring down could reveal things even I'd put to the wayside slightly.
Hawkwind - Paradox
Tank - W.M.L.A. (Wasting My Life Away)
Blaze Bayley - Waiting For My Life To Begin
Pink Floyd - Have a Cigar
Uriah Heep - Lady in Black
These are only
four songs, some twenty minutes altogetherfive songs, so I guess I should call it work in progress. (I'm keeping "Lady in Black" as the vaguely optimistic ending.)And to think I was just binging on this:
I remember a wonderful time when I didn't know the specifics of "pilling" or "[]oomers".
I think if I made a doomer playlist it'd all just be Sayuri. Possibly some ReoNa.
I really appreciate the way that toku has dropped his interest in EDM that sort of began during the Violet Cry era and manifested more openly (and excessively) during the Error/G.R.N.D. era.
I think there are one or two ballads that, with a few more listens, could prove to be as powerful as further, MIRAI, Violet Cry, and Angel's ladder. star trail is pretty great, but I don't think it's on the level of the Grade SS+ GARNiDELiA ballads.