1.Akira Terao-Habana Express
2.Tomita Lab.-プラシーボ・セシボン feat.高橋幸宏+大貫妙子
3.Juicy Fruits-Come On Swing
4.Kirinji-ニュータウン (New City)
5.Original Love-サンシャイン・ロマンス
6.Cymbals-Highway Star
7.Yoichi Aoyama-Bonanza Boogie
8.Shogun-時の線路
9.Kisugi Takao-Slow Motion
10.Shiho Nanba-プールの青は嘘の青
11.Toki Asako-Fantasia
12.YMO-Perspective
Download:
Deleted due Copyright Complains
ENJOY!!!
P.S.If YOU like to contribute a Guestmix and support your favourite Artists & Songs, please contact me.We will work something out.
Posts
That a great cover; I never would've thought of something like that.
AntwortenLöschenHope everybody enjoys.
Goodness gracious, there are _so_ many things that were infinitely appealing about this mix, that I run the risk of running off at the mouth(..or typing my fingers off, in this case..?) to list them all, so! A rough summation. ..Which I'll probably still get carried away with, but, you know. It happens: Really liked that this mix was named "Sophistication" and it was a finely executed, concrete idea/feeling of exactly That.. Such a pleasant, relaxed swing of a mood this has.. And the songs chosen seemed to revolve around the general area of City Pop(and to a lesser extent Shibuya-kei, I suppose, which I hear evolved from City Pop a little, so they can kind of be the same thing in some respects, perhaps?), and that is directly where my own mind goes when I hear the term "Sophisticated" applied to music from Japan~ Love this type of music myself, so it was great to make new discoveries through the artists I wasn't already familiar with :)(Akira Terao, Yoichi Aoyama, Kisugi Takao.. was really cool that the song "Slow Motion" was put on here, by the way, because I'd heard a very nice New Wave-esque cover of that song done before, but never heard the original.. well, I'm assuming "Slow Motion" originally belonged to Kisugi Takao, anyway..)
AntwortenLöschenAnd the SuperDork in me has to point out that not only was I overjoyed to see some of my favorite artists represented on here(YMO!!! Kirinji!!! Shiho Nanba!!!!!!), but I'm loving the multiple levels of Kirinji and Yellow Magic Orchestra connections that can be made through the songs selected as well(not to mention the three tiered Cymbals connections too..), aside from the obvious fact there was a song used from each.. Like, there was also a Tomita Lab. song which happens to feature YMO's Yukihiro Takahashi as guest vocalist(so an additional YMO connection.. _fantastic_ song too.. definitely one of my favorite from "Shiplaunching"..), and Tomita Lab. = Keiichi Tomita, who has produced most of Kirinji's albums(additional Kirinji connection), _and_ the Shiho Nanba song used was written by one of Kirinji's Horigome Brothers :) (Takaki Horigome, in this case) And I tell you, I live for Dorky Connection Finding/Making like that, and have put together mixes in that very way with that exact intention.. deliberately picking artists that were related to one another in one way or another.. And even if no one else picked up on the Innerconnectedness, I knew it was there, at least, so I become nerdily self-satisfied at that kind of display of dorkery XDD So, yeah! I really do admire that kind of thought process for mix assemblage, whether you just happen in to it or if it's completely intentional :)
_Terrific_ mix, honestly. Thank you very much for submitting it and making your presence and taste in music(which is Ultrafine, if you don't mind my saying~) known, Mike.. It's so good to see people willingly become active participants in broadening our little community and affecting the landscape of Pachinko Overdrive again~ Here's to many more ♥
Heh, somebody besides myself who clearly understood what my intentions were! Yes, there are so many nice connections thgroughout. Yoichi Aoyama has worked with Kirinji, Kirinji has covered Akira Terao (who was a popular actor/singer in the 80's), and so forth. However, most important was to get a good composite sound going to give off a polished, refined feel. I've always had a special affinity for Takaki Horigome -- his composing style, choice of melodic/harmonic structure, et al. is very much in line with my tastes. Even when he writes music for other artists, such as Shiho Nanba, his style is pervasive. Another great artist is Kisugi Takao whom you may recall did the end credits theme for the first season of 'Maison Ikkoku' which was a wonderful series. I'm pretty sure that 'Slow Motion' was one of his original compositions, but I'll need to look in the liner notes in the CD booklet to confirm. Original Love has always had a great following. YMO was huge worldwide, of course. Juicy Fruits is most well-known for their seminal, off-beat 80's hit 'Jenny is in a Bad Mood'; there must be a hundred covers of that tune. You're already familiar with Tomita Lab, Kirinji, etc.
AntwortenLöschenNice to know I'm not the only informed one. Rest assured, I'll assemble another mix very soon. Thank you.
..I'm not entirely sure if it's Okay to carry on lengthy discussions in the comments section like this(I haven't really had the opportunity before to test whether it could be or not..! always pushing the boundries of allowability though. that's me~), but I have to add..! And then I'm done talking, I swear. ..Unless, of course, more things are said that I feel compelled to reply to, and then.. Thank you for the additional information about more examples of Connectedness within this mix, Mike! I'm very impressed with the depth of your Kirinji/Takaki Horigome Knowledge! Completely understandable that is too, to be so taken with Takaki's approach to songwriting.. I just got my hands on his solo album, _finally_, so I'm a tad bit fanatical over him myself at the moment, because it is Phenomenal.. right on par with proper Kirinji releases, which is more than I can say for 馬の骨(don't mean to sound like a Jerk, since I've only heard "River" and not his first album, but I wasn't.. overly taken with it..).. and that is another reason your guest mix was so appealing, you know.. I spent a good portion of my time last week listening to "Home Ground", so to have an additional Kirinji-related and reminiscent mix to listen to on top of that was doubly sweet~(but don't worry Yasuyuki, even though we are signaling out Takaki for discussion/admiration and I dinged your solo project a little, I still love some of your compositions too, because you're responsible for "You and Me"~ ..and the music for "風を撃て", I'm pretty sure, which is my Top Kirinji Jam~ ..and I think he had the slightly better Shiho Nanba composition.. you've undoubtedly heard the song "サンダル" from her first mini album "はじめまして、私。", right? it's upbeat Country twang is a bit more appealing to me..!)
AntwortenLöschenAnyway, I had no idea Yoichi Aoyama worked with Kirinji, and also that Kirinji covered Akira Terao, but now knowing both of these things will give me all the more reason to check more in to both artists :)
Oh, and can I give you even more props for choosing a song from a YMO album I feel is far too underloved/rated? Because, like, don't get me wrong, I really like all of their albums(even "Technodon", which does have its moments, contrary to popular belief), but I think it's a tad unfair that albums like their self-titled release, "Solid State Survivor" or "BGM" seem to get the lion's share of the attention when "Naughty Boys"(my personal favorite) and "Service" were _just_ as good, if not _better_. "Service" totally would have been as an EP anyway.. If they'd only cut out the drama tracks, I think that album would have fared a lot better in the Court of Public Opinion.. At least you showed it some love though~ And put YMO's music in a context I never really thought about, which is "Sophisticated"(it really can be~)
Looking forward to seeing what other kinds of mixes you have up your proverbial sleeve too :) If they are even a small percentage as good as this one was...! Well. It should go without saying that my ears will be very happy :D
Why would it be problematic to discuss music at length? I'm quite certain that Percy enjoys your patronage.
AntwortenLöschenAs far as 'Takaki vs Yasuyuki' goes, it's all in the listener's tastes. Takaki tends to utilize a sophisticated jazz-pop approach to much of his work, whereas Yasuyuki tends to be rooted in more 'simplistic' folksy pop and country. Though one shouldn't pigeon-hole either because both of them tend to "branch out" and do something apart from the typical every now and then, hence songs like 'You & Me' which one could easily mistaken for a Takaki composition.
As far as 馬の骨 (Bone of the Horse), Yasuyuki's solo project, I felt that his first album was better overall than the second. But you also have to consider that for 'River' he had to come in and create an entire album, then immediately switch gears and compose more music for the new Kirinji album, 'Buoyancy' plus the Shiho Nanba track (which is pretty good). That's a lot of work.
I've been following Kirinji since around 2000 when I first came across their music, hence why I'm so familiar with them. Not to boast but I own everything they've ever done, both solo and as a unit.
'Home Ground' was an excellent first effort by Takaki. Even though he doesn't have the vocal chops of Yasuyuki, his compositions more than hold their own (and I like his voice anyway).
The YMO song 'Perspective' is one of my all-time favorites of theirs. You're right about 'Naughty Boys' and 'Service' not getting the attention they deserve. However, you have to remember that by that time they had already won the acclaim of music lovers across; They'd already explored the electro-pop scene. They decided to branch into a more accessible pop formula and showcase their composition skills moreso than their sound programming & experimenting skills. (*side note* you can clearly hear their influence in Pizzicato 5's early work.)
Of course I'll do more mixes and don't think for a second that they won't live up to this one. Your ears will thank me. :)