A few months ago, my nana gave me her Nintendo 64 along with a few of the video games my cousins used to play on it back when Wiis and XBOXs didn't exist. The problem was, though, that she didn't have the controllers to use it anymore. They're most likely currently shoved way in the back of one of my older cousins' closets. A few days ago, though, my parents bought me Nintendo 64 controllers as one of my Christmas gifts. I don't usually play video games, but I'd heard a lot about the "Zelda" games and I was really excited to play "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." After a few days of playing the game, I must say that it's absolutely amazing.
There was one song that I found to be extremely catchy in the game called "Saria's Song" which plays when you are in the Lost Woods. After I exited the Lost Woods, I found that I wanted to continue to listen to the tune so I went on YouTube to look it up. As one of my search results, I found this awesome cover of "Saria's Song" played on beer bottles!
Sp0ntanius posted this video of himself covering the song and it seriously sounds just like it. I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been to figure out how to make the correct sounds on the bottles. By blowing into the bottles and tapping on them, this YouTuber has successfully managed to cover this tune from the game that you can play on your ocarina to talk to Saria from anywhere. This cover is seriously fantastic, so you should definitely check it out. If you're a fan of the "Legend of Zelda" games, Sp0ntanius also has other "Zelda" cover on YouTube that are equally fantastic.
For the past two summers, I have gone to the annual Vans Warped Tour. I must say those two experiences at Warped are a couple of my fondest memories. For those of you unfamiliar with the tour, Vans Warped Tour is a summer-long event that crosses America, stopping in many different towns for one day only. The tour usually hosts about fifty bands (my rough estimate) and about seven stages are set up so these groups can play at the same time. Watching all these bands perform is only half the fun, though. So many tents are set up for non-profit organizations, to sell band merchandise, etc. Honestly, even if you don't like any of the bands playing, you're still going to have a fantastic time. Last year, I dragged one of my best friends with me to Warped. This friend loves pop music and dislikes most of the music that I listen to (One time she even said "Ew, turn that off" when I started playing the Beatles....) so she wasn't sure if the tour was for her. She ended up having a great time and we're planning on going together again next year. She even found a few bands that she liked there, since so many groups of all different music genres play. This tour is seriously for everybody.
On the Warped website, some of the bands set to play in 2013 have been announced! Some of the bands were on the tour last year and others are entirely new. I'm already really excited for this coming summer so I can check out some new music, watch great performances, and buy merch at the tents.
Here's a list of the bands announced so far: http://vanswarpedtour.com/bands
As summer approaches, I'll definitely be writing more about the tour, talk about my experience after I attend in 2013, and give tips on what you'll need to bring/know before you go.
I know it's been a while since I wrote the first half of "Foreign Music" and I had promised to write this long ago...sorry. Here it is now, though. In case you haven't read the first part, these are posts about music groups or artists from other countries whose songs I listen to. And, once again, I'm leaving out England from the list because there are too many good English musical groups and artists.
JAPANESE: The GazettE and Suga Shikao
I'm not going to lie - I'm obsessed with Japan. So when I found the song "Red" by the visual kei band, The GazettE, I fell in love with it. "Red" is hard and beautiful with striking lyrics (when you translate them into English). Although some people don't like not being able to understand what is being said in songs, I absolutely love listening to the Japanese language, and really any language at all. It's so complex and fascinating, I have no doubt that you will at least find "Red" somewhat interesting. I also have to mention that the members of GazettE can do their makeup so well....I'm jealous.
The only song I've ever heard by Suga Shikao, a Japanese singer-songwriter, is "Juukyuusai." I found the song, which translates to "Nineteen years old," because it's the opening theme to the anime series xxxholic, a show about a young man who works at a magical wish-granting shop. "19sai" is catchy and dark, talking about how much the vocalist, or at least a character he may be pretending to be, hates himself and his life at this point and just wants to get away "like a black swallowtail butterfly." Just like the culture of Japan, the song can be rather contradictory. Its self-hate filled lyrics somehow compliment the beauty of the song, even though hate and beauty don't usually work well together. All in all, this song is genius and I love it.
FRENCH: Stereo Total
A couple months ago, I was watching the Polish movie, Sala Samobójców, when a song played in the film that completely caught my attention. "C'est La Mort" by Stereo Total, a half-German and half-French duo, is upbeat and, when you translate the lyrics, doesn't make any sense. To me, not making any sense is not always a bad thing, and it definitely works in this song, mostly because I can't speak French so I don't understand it anyway.
POLISH: UnSun
Just like Suga Shikao and Stereo Total, I'm only familiar with one song by the Polish band, UnSun. "Whispers," from their 2008 album The End of Life, is the only song on this list not sung in the band's native language. The vocalist, Aya's, accent is lovely, though, and adds a very special element to the song. My favorite lyrics from this dark song are "You are my sun is the darkness of the night / And be my eyes when I lost my sight" and
Like moonlight, you're showing me the way
Like heroine, you course in my veins
I like your whispering in the dark
There are whispers of the past
You are hiding deep inside my dreams
Dreaming the final dream, the last.
I completely agree with band's MySpace page that had labeled their sound as "something incorporating day and night, light and darkness," since the singer's high voice offsets and compliments the darkness of the rest of the song.
I don't play a lot of video games, but when the original XBOX came out when I was a kid, I became obsessed with the game Jet Set Radio Future. This amazing video game came free with the purchase of the console. In the game, you roller skate around different locations in Tokyo (like Shibuya!) and spraypaint and defeat the corrupt cops of futuristic Japan. I've been in love with JSRF for years and years, but the actual game isn't the only great thing about it - its music is just perfect. All throughout the game, you listen to a radio station that plays insanely cool music, while DJ Professor K clues you in on all the secrets of this Tokyo of the future.
The first JSRF song that I want to write about is "Like It Like This Like That" by Hideki Naganuma. Its lyrics are repetitive and some may say it's kind of simple, but I think that it's a masterpiece. Although I normally don't like uncomplicated lyrics, the simplicity of them in this song only enhances its quality, in my opinion. All I have to say, really, is Hideki Naganuma knows how to make really good music.
Another song from JSRF that I love is "Statement of Intent" by Bis. For some reason, this song always reminds me of my favorite location in the game, 99th Street. Maybe it's because they're both so damn awesome. "Statement of Intent" is the most rock song in the game, I think, so I've always been really interested in it. The guitar is really cool, the vocals are unique, and the drum beats are perfectly simple. Since the lyrics aren't easy to hear while listening to the song, I just looked them up and I found that they're confusing and awesome. My favorite lines would have to be:
'
"If we're your misplaced youth
And your lies are the truth,
Then mistakes are illusions.
A simple yes is confusion."
What I love about the lyrics is that they're really rebellious, especially the line "Careless children never die."
Being obsessed with Japan, especially Tokyo and, more specifically, Shibuya, I loved the game and the Japanese music in it like "Baby-T" by Guitar Vader. The song is so cute and catchy, so it's really fun to listen to while playing JSRF or just walking down the hallways at school. It's also mysterious in a way, since I can't find the lyrics for it ANYWHERE. It seems that no one knows what it being sung in the singer's high and one-of-a-kind voice. It's super-addictive and I love how some of the lyrics are in Japanese.
Also by Guitar Vader is "I Love Love You", another super catchy and adorable song from the soundtrack. It's so complex, with all of its interesting electronic aspects and insanely cool vocals. I have to say that I've never heard anything like these two songs by Guitar Vader. They're truly unique. The drums in "I Love Love You" are especially enjoyable to listen to because of their complex, yet repetitive beat.
The last song from Jet Set Radio Future that I'll be posting is Cibo Matto's "Birthday Cake." From the moment I began playing this game, I was instantly attracted to this song. With its screechy vocals and weird lyrics, it's perfect for anyone who likes one-of-a-kind music. I don't understand this song at all and that's one of the many reasons why I love it. Also, an interesting fact about Cibo Matto is that Sean Lennon, John Lennon's son, played bass with them for a while.
So I hope you enjoyed listening to the music of Jet Set Radio Future for the original XBOX as much as I do. If you liked these songs, check out the rest of the soundtrack and, whether you liked the music or not, I definitely recommend trying out the video game, which you can probably buy on ebay. And, to conclude my post, here's Gum, the marvelous character that I always play on JSRF:
