The music I mentioned
Aug. 5th, 2004 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petroniaWent out and had a nice mopey psychogeographic ramble this evening (I suppose I was vaguely affected by those spoilers XD). Got out at Lionel-Groulx, wandered in a several-block circle around the metro station in the sunset, past churches and community vegetable gardens and 3,884 greasy-spoon diners, bought a Jamaican beef patty, got back in the metro, got out at Snowdon and ate a spicy tofu/seafood/miso soup thing at Korean House. Essentially vegetarian and by my standards ridiculously healthy. The nice thing about Korean restaurants is that they give you all these neat veggie preserves and cold salads for free, whereas a Japanese restaurant would charge you 6$ for a rough equivalent. (And a bowl of rice. Nowadays rice isn't even complementary at Chinese restaurants.) I was totally stuffed at the time, but now it's half past midnight and my stomach is reminding me that veggie preserves do not contain a lot of calories for their bulk. ^^;
Anyway, the music! The ramble-mope mood shows in the choices.
Zazie - J'envoie valser
I keep reminding myself that I should buy one of Zazie's albums, and I keep forgetting. ^^; One of her other songs, "My vie en rose", is one of the very few songcalls I associate with Utena, in terms of lyrics and mood (Faye Wong's "Ashura" is another). This is a simple little minor-key waltz, that would feel very old-fashioned if there weren't that bit of dissonant electronic stutter.
Luna - Mermaid Eyes
Have to buy this album too; I think I'm afraid it won't live up to this song. It has this perfect sad-happy, summer-gloaming feel, like sitting on the curved branch of a weeping willow that extends over the dark water of the lake, watching fireflies weave through the boughs. Waiting for a lover who may or may not come. (It also kind of reminds me of barley-tea summer days in NYC. *g* The bassist for the band who sings the girl's part in this is... the VA for Jem, in the 80s cartoon. I had it on a mix CD I played for Jae and Fio, and Jae was like, "She doesn't sound cheesy enough!")
Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
Joan Baez's "Famous Blue Raincoat", I suppose this would be, though rather than cough out some sort of half-baked analytical retread I'll just say that the two songs remind me of each other. I'm a sucker for beautiful poems that read like literary prose confessionals, or is it the other way around? In the Cohen interview I linked in the earlier entry he talked about how the universal is achieved through the particular. Cufflinks, a booth in the Midwest, a raincoat torn at the shoulder, Washington Square or Clinton Street. The love and resentment and regret could be anyone.
Matsu Takako - Sakura Fuwari (Acoustic Live)
Tracked this one down entirely by accident. Figuring out the song title was even harder: I first heard this from a burnt copy of her album lent to me by the friend of a friend, marked only with the word "JPOP". This was back when I'd heard very little contemporary Asian pop, and spoke only first-year Japanese, so I listened to it obsessively even though the album as a whole was shite. XD In retrospect I don't think the problem was with the songs but the production, which was generic early 90s mass-produced jpop idoru synth ballad horribility. "Sakura Fuwari" was a single, and one of the best three cuts off that seminal CD. Thus I was really happy to find this version, which is acoustic-guitar-accompanied and a million times classier. It has that nostalgic, folk-tinged, 和風 feel to it.
Suede - Everthing Will Flow
I don't actually like Suede very much *is sporked by all and sundry*, but I get the feeling it's one of those Belle & Sebastian situations, where it's a matter of listening to more of them until I've separated the wheat I like from the chaff I don't. Except I haven't gotten around to bothering. The listener-band relationship got off on the entirely wrong foot, because I expected them to sound like this song, and they basically don't. XD
I really like this song, though. I like it enough for one whole band. If I had a top ten pop songs list this would be on it, maybe #7 or #8. (#1 is New Order's "Regret". #2 is Southern All Stars' "Manatsu no kajitsu". #3 is a platonic ideal of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" that bounces between Pet Shop Boys and Tommy February6, and whatever forgotten cover version of it I first heard as a kindergartener in China.) It... sounds like drugs to me, always has, but in a good way. XD;;; The words he's singing and what the music does, there, that's what people take drugs for.
P.S. You don't have to comment to download, but it's nice if you do - especially if you haven't yet, so I can get an idea of what you like. ^_^
Anyway, the music! The ramble-mope mood shows in the choices.
Zazie - J'envoie valser
I keep reminding myself that I should buy one of Zazie's albums, and I keep forgetting. ^^; One of her other songs, "My vie en rose", is one of the very few songcalls I associate with Utena, in terms of lyrics and mood (Faye Wong's "Ashura" is another). This is a simple little minor-key waltz, that would feel very old-fashioned if there weren't that bit of dissonant electronic stutter.
Luna - Mermaid Eyes
Have to buy this album too; I think I'm afraid it won't live up to this song. It has this perfect sad-happy, summer-gloaming feel, like sitting on the curved branch of a weeping willow that extends over the dark water of the lake, watching fireflies weave through the boughs. Waiting for a lover who may or may not come. (It also kind of reminds me of barley-tea summer days in NYC. *g* The bassist for the band who sings the girl's part in this is... the VA for Jem, in the 80s cartoon. I had it on a mix CD I played for Jae and Fio, and Jae was like, "She doesn't sound cheesy enough!")
Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
Joan Baez's "Famous Blue Raincoat", I suppose this would be, though rather than cough out some sort of half-baked analytical retread I'll just say that the two songs remind me of each other. I'm a sucker for beautiful poems that read like literary prose confessionals, or is it the other way around? In the Cohen interview I linked in the earlier entry he talked about how the universal is achieved through the particular. Cufflinks, a booth in the Midwest, a raincoat torn at the shoulder, Washington Square or Clinton Street. The love and resentment and regret could be anyone.
Matsu Takako - Sakura Fuwari (Acoustic Live)
Tracked this one down entirely by accident. Figuring out the song title was even harder: I first heard this from a burnt copy of her album lent to me by the friend of a friend, marked only with the word "JPOP". This was back when I'd heard very little contemporary Asian pop, and spoke only first-year Japanese, so I listened to it obsessively even though the album as a whole was shite. XD In retrospect I don't think the problem was with the songs but the production, which was generic early 90s mass-produced jpop idoru synth ballad horribility. "Sakura Fuwari" was a single, and one of the best three cuts off that seminal CD. Thus I was really happy to find this version, which is acoustic-guitar-accompanied and a million times classier. It has that nostalgic, folk-tinged, 和風 feel to it.
Suede - Everthing Will Flow
I don't actually like Suede very much *is sporked by all and sundry*, but I get the feeling it's one of those Belle & Sebastian situations, where it's a matter of listening to more of them until I've separated the wheat I like from the chaff I don't. Except I haven't gotten around to bothering. The listener-band relationship got off on the entirely wrong foot, because I expected them to sound like this song, and they basically don't. XD
I really like this song, though. I like it enough for one whole band. If I had a top ten pop songs list this would be on it, maybe #7 or #8. (#1 is New Order's "Regret". #2 is Southern All Stars' "Manatsu no kajitsu". #3 is a platonic ideal of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" that bounces between Pet Shop Boys and Tommy February6, and whatever forgotten cover version of it I first heard as a kindergartener in China.) It... sounds like drugs to me, always has, but in a good way. XD;;; The words he's singing and what the music does, there, that's what people take drugs for.
P.S. You don't have to comment to download, but it's nice if you do - especially if you haven't yet, so I can get an idea of what you like. ^_^
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 12:22 am (UTC)About the last batch of mp3s you posted, the DJ Ran mix? I wanted to say I really liked the Lux, the Lali Puna and the Karunesh. I bought a Lali Puna CD (and will likely buy more, uh, later) but was sort of curious if you had any recommendations as to what CDs are best out of the other two bands? (Same with Cocteau Twins, actually.) Or any other bands that have similar sounds or you'd like to pimp.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:13 am (UTC)OTOH there's more Cocteau Twins (http://www.discogs.com/artist/Cocteau+Twins) than you can shake a stick at. XD Their sound is pretty distinctive, and not always my cup of tea, but they have the greatest titles. They also wrote a lot of songs for Faye Wong.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 02:24 am (UTC)Sorry, sorry; I must've leeched half a hard drive's worth of songs off you by now and...maybe commented once? XD;; It's just that it takes a few listens for me to get any sense of a song, and by that time you've already moved so far on ahead to other things. Q_Q
But I can tell you that you're responsible for about three-fourths of the music on my MP3 player -- I'm pretty sure I've already expressed my love for Mylene Farmer and 'Dessine Moi Un Mouton', Faye Wong's 'Leave Nothing' and Sophia Zelmani's 'Going Home'; Belle & Sebastian's 'I Fought in a War' always makes me shiver, while 'Breathe' by Telepopmusik is completely incredible. (I did, by the way, try to write D1 to 'Smile', failing miserably. I blame you for a month of mental agony.) 'Waking Up' by Elastica is one of the few 'upbeat' songs remaining on my playlist and always great for lifting spirits, and the same goes for B&S's 'Your Cover's Blown', which is also completely hilarious when compared to 'I Fought in a War'.
Will probably be able to comment on the current batch in, uh, a month or so. XD;;; But thank you, thank you for all the wonderful music; all my playlist are belong to you. ♥♥♥
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:58 am (UTC)I think everyone in the world found hilarious brainbreakage in "Your Cover's Blown". XD
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 04:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:36 am (UTC)I don't remember the Korean name of the dish, sorry (I think I'm going to learn Hangul so I can at least read menus. Plus it warms my logical algorithm-loving robot heart XD). Basically they had a bunch of spicy soup bowls of various sorts, oxtail or dumpling or whatnot, and this one was "tofu and fermented bean". And seafood, but they crossed out the seafood part. XD
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:41 am (UTC)So you had lots of chigaes, i.e. stews and/or soups. XD Daengjang chigae is usually just made with dangjang, which is fermented soybean, and a bit of tofu, but not really seafood. Maybe some anchovies, but we use anchovies as a base for soup in everything XD
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 08:44 am (UTC)(English Summer Rain does work well for Harry. It's one of Placebo's songs that I like more.)
no subject
Date: 2004-08-05 06:33 pm (UTC)1) Maaya Sakamoto - Kaze Ga Fuku Hi
2) Chiba Saeko - snow
3) The Poozies - All I Want
4) Tori Amos - Lovesong (Cure Cover)
5) Fukami Rika - Voices (Ethereal Version)
6) Happy End - Kaze Wo Atsumete
7) Hajime Mizoguchi - Sora
8) Utada Hikaru - Deep River
9) Lali Puna - Together In Electric Dreams
10) Parokya Ni Edgar - Gising Na
As you can see, I like your Lali Puna rec, and I really like the Nana FST. After listening to it a few times I went and downloaded a bunch of Elastica, Killers and Sex Pistols songs.
Am listening to the music as I write...Zazie sounds like it should be in Japanese, for some weird reason...perhaps it's my conditioned reaction to "cute" breathy female voices. I'd like an album of this artist too.
Oh, Mermaid Eyes is a duet! Cool! Haven't heard any of those lately. I think that rather dissipates the loneliness suggested by your images. At least for me....
Diamonds and Rust isn't really my thing, although the lyrics are beautiful. For some reason, I keep thinking of Kill Bill V.1.
Fuwari is so shoujo-anime it makes my brain sparkle, like walking by the river at sunset with my boi. ^_^
And you're right; dammit, why doesn't Suede sound like that? It should! It sounds properly Suede-y around the chorus, but I much prefer the music between verses.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 01:47 pm (UTC)I don't find my images (which are vividly conjured in my head) to be lonely, for Mermaid Eyes? Though I guess it might come off that way. *g* The words of the song are sad. But there's something hopeful about the feel of it at the same time, and that's what I like best in music - a certain juxtaposition of joy and melancholy, like when people are so happy that they start crying. Or the opposite, like "Stand By Me":
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Ot the mountain
Should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
which is about finding something freeing, something joyful, in the middle of tragedy and disaster. /ramble
no subject
Date: 2004-08-07 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 10:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 12:02 pm (UTC)Joan Baez is the stand-out for me. "Diamonds and Rust" is one of those songs that just clicks with me in a sudden moment of revelation. It's a little too painful to listen to very often, at least at the moment, but I'm cautiously in love.
The Suede song isn't doing much for me, I'm afraid.
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 01:55 pm (UTC)Joan Baez is really, really amazing. One of those 60's icons. And the song is supposedly about Dylan. ^^;
no subject
Date: 2004-08-06 02:25 pm (UTC)I suppose I'm a bit bothered by the Suede song because I can't quite put my finger on why I went "meh" at it. I actually quite like the way it opens, but the vocals turned me off.