What song are you listening to NOW? (Redux, bitches.)

[jonhammstein]

Sakura Wars is such a weird thing, because I'm sure you remember as well as I do how ubiquitous it was in the mid-to-late '90s/early 2000s with all the shows/movies, video games, and other assorted merchandise. It was very heavily marketed, possibly on par with Evangelion during that same time period, but looking back now it kind of feels like it disappeared overnight.

Maybe people just grew bored with the setting? It's basically Taishō mixed with steampunk, right? I never liked the mecha designs. Pressure-cooker-ass-lookin' motherfuckers.

I'm sure I've linked to that one several times over the years. For me it will always be the perfect encapsulation of existing as a shitty little '80s kid.

[B E C K]

No! Merla's second-hand PTSD at Jayce never finding his father! Argh.

Now that you mention it, the mechs or whatever in Sakura Taisen kinda remind me of rice cookers. Since I'm not really a mech person to begin with, that's not a deterrent. Although I can see how it'd have zero appeal to the mech-crowd.

I actually don't recall it being heavily marketed any more than most other properties at the time. I didn't even realize it was a game first until I looked it up.

That said, I recall that I wanted to love this but found it incredibly forgettable. Even back then.

[Rama]

This over and over again, because I have to sing this on stage come May.

[B E C K]

[jonhammstein]

Oh my God, I can't get over how fucking good Frieren is. And how does it have any business being that way? Tropey JRPG characters doing tropey JRPG shit, and yet... pure gold. In the most recent episode I watched, she nuked this giant monster and it gave me goosebumps. I don't remember the last time an anime gave me any kind of visceral reaction like that.

[B E C K]

I love how people are latching onto the concept ideas for this flick and running with them. This would've been boss if this had been in the actual movie. We wanted villain-couple and hot star guy. It was easy money, you stupid mouse.

[jonhammstein]

I like the idea, but that's just some straight Vivziepop music. Not that I can't tolerate a little Vivziepop, I just can't see that style ever making it into a Disney production.

[B E C K]

I think the song could be adapted to sound more Broadway like 90's Disney. What makes something Vivziepop anyway? Is it the fact that it's using an animatic in order to illustrate the song?

[jonhammstein]

Sorry, I'm just talking my shit again. I really don't know much about musicals. This just immediately reminded me of the kind of songs that constantly show up in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, which are created by Vivienne Medrano aka Vivziepop.

I'm guessing it's actually a much wider cultural phenomenon, and I've simply had a very narrow view of it.

[jonhammstein]

RIP to a legend.

[B E C K]

RIP Eric Cartman.

[jonhammstein]

[B E C K]

X-men '97 has me listening to this gem:

[jonhammstein]

SHOCK!!!

I always forget about that rad anime intro they did for the Japanese broadcast.

[B E C K]

Both openings. The second opening was pretty good, too. Same group: Ambience.

[jonhammstein]

That second one reminds me so much of the Beast Wars Neo opening. Anime really loves to marry high-energy visuals with wistful/melancholy vocals.

[jonhammstein]

[B E C K]

Random, but that's because I always circle back this entire album at least once a year. Except the talking tracks. I didn't like the talking tracks back when I was 7 and still don't like them now. They are the stupidest thing I've ever heard on a mainstream album.

[jonhammstein]

This is apparently someone training an AI to make music from the 1990s/2000s sound like it was instead from the 1980s. If you just listen to a handful of songs, they can be pretty amusing, but more than that and it all starts to sound a little too samey. Good for a quick laugh, though.

[B E C K]

Nice try if they were going for "rejected demo of an early 80's sitcom opening credit sequence."

Ever since I listened to that track about gluing your balls to your butthole or whatever, I keep getting obscurest vinyl recommends. I don't mind them tho'...

[jonhammstein]

I think I prefer the Obscurest Vinyl ones, because having that scratchy old record player filter kind of normalizes the AI-ness of the vocals somehow. When I originally posted the balls/butthole song, I didn't know that it was AI music, I just thought some talented individuals decided they'd emulate Motown with bonus crass lyrical content.

[B E C K]

Eivor has such a fantastic voice. So it annoys me more that this new song of her's has her doing some weird shit with her voice and filters.

[B E C K]

So "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant was playing on the radio and Schmoo was all "who is this?" I was all "Eddy Grant" and she's all "but WHO is he?" Like, damn, woman, people can perform songs without being anything other than a singer/musician. So I looked him up and he was part of this band called The Equals that had the below hit song. It's kinda catchy but she doesn't recall it in the least. I mean, it came out in 1967, she shouldn't expect me to remember it:

[jonhammstein]

I mean, the fact that he's the Electric Avenue guy pretty much secures his place in history, right? That song is an all-timer.

I've been going back and rewatching some older anime that I remember liking just to see if it still holds up, and I started Texhnolyze last night. Totally forgot it had a non-Japanese OP. I recall being familiar with the song already at that point, thought I couldn't say from where, but when it popped up here I was all like that DiCaprio pointing meme.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

I was working off-site today in a once-a-year account all on my lonesome, so I had no co-workers/employees to break my monotony with their tales of woe and pleas for remediation (or who I could regale with my typical everyday bullshit). Therefore I was reduced to listening to music, and since I'm allergic to most streaming music providers I just mainlined Youtube music videos most of the day. This one caught my fancy, because I love Mega Man music, and the Spark Man theme from III has always been a favorite.

[jonhammstein]