What song are you listening to right now?

[milkanannan]

Thanks for the leads my dudes.

I've been listening to Rioji Ikeda a lot these days, since I'm working on a "clicks and cuts" type of playlist:

Yeah that one in particular was totally worth digging the headphones out for. That's equal parts relaxing and unnerving, I love it. I listened through a few other of their tracks and they almost sort of massage/disturb your ear drums in a weird way. For example (headphones needed):

Maybe it is the abstract clicking, but it reminded me of one of those old Pleix vids:

[Laura Hunt]

Yeah that one in particular was totally worth digging the headphones out for. That's equal parts relaxing and unnerving, I love it. I listened through a few other of their tracks and they almost sort of massage/disturb your ear drums in a weird way.

I know right? It's like ASMR for robots

[Racoon]

Can anyone share a cool track that's actually by a Japanese artist? I've already beat you to Pon Pon Pon, so something else please 

That is a japanese guy that I really cheered for back when I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I still think he is pretty awesome

A song that I recently discovered and like a lot is this one:

And something entirely different that runs on repeat for me at the moment is this song from Frozen2 even though I did not see the movie. It´s just so calming and nice.

[milkanannan]

Cheers Racoon. That slap guitar intro on the Minyavi track is crazy. 

Another unreal talent is Victor Wooten (wait until he gets going):

[TheFrighter]

Yesterday this song won the Festival della Canzone Italiana 2020:

_

[Snarky]

I need a bit of relaxation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_sJVazqw58

[milkanannan]

Nice! I didn't look at the name before pressing play. Nice surprise 

Here's another one you might also appreciate:

[milkanannan]

Yesterday this song won the Festival della Canzone Italiana 2020:

_

Cool thanks for sharing!

[dactylopus]

Nice - apparently that video is Tokyo (according to the comments).

Air's Lost in Kyoto:

There's also a background/study/work version 

Can anyone share a cool track that's actually by a Japanese artist? I've already beat you to Pon Pon Pon, so something else please 

Nice chill track as always from Air.  The other version, a little too chill.

And Pon Pon Pon was entertaining, to say the least.

I don't listen to a lot of Japanese stuff. Just a few bands or artists that I trust. One such group is Ogre You Asshole. I fell in love with them when I saw them support Polysics in 2007.

Some nice shoegaze jam stuff there.

I've been listening to Rioji Ikeda a lot these days, since I'm working on a "clicks and cuts" type of playlist:

If that's too cold, maybe try some DJ Krush: (beat enters at 0:50 if long intros bore you):

Even more chill is Nujabes. Not quite my thing, but...:

On the other hand, if you're in a fuck you kind of mood, Merzbow is your friend:

Boris are very, very, VERY cool. "Pink" is their all-time classic and less experimental that what they're doing now, but it's still a trip:

And of course... Babymetal:

That first Rioji Ikeda one sounds like someone fiddling with the audio cable in their amplifier.

I like DJ Krush.  Reminds me of Kid Koala, or DJ Shadow's fantastic Endtroducing..... album (which is made up almost entirely of samples):

I really enjoyed the chill Nujabes, thanks for posting it!

Merzbow was pretty chaotic.  A bit too much for me.

Boris is a bit noisy / fuzzy.  Pink is a good tune underneath it all, and they are definitely talented musicians.  I feel like I would enjoy a cover more.  Perhaps this version would interest classic gamers:

I liked the production value on Absolutego more, but Pink is a better song.  Absolutego reminds me of a slightly heavier Sevendust with less pop sensibilities.

And someone had to post Babymetal.  I work with a guy who is damn near obsessed with them.  I don't listen to much metal anymore, but this is a pretty good, catchy track.

Thanks for the leads my dudes.

Maybe it is the abstract clicking, but it reminded me of one of those old Pleix vids:

That was only slightly unnerving and quite glitchy, but interesting to watch.

That is a japanese guy that I really cheered for back when I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I still think he is pretty awesome

A song that I recently discovered and like a lot is this one:

And something entirely different that runs on repeat for me at the moment is this song from Frozen2 even though I did not see the movie. It´s just so calming and nice.

The Miyavi track is very cool.  That's an interesting skill set in the intro.

As a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan, it's hard not to enjoy The Raven.  And Alan Parsons Project are great as well, so this checks a couple of boxes quite nicely.  As is often the case with me, I checked out the demo version and like it a bit more in some ways.

The song from Frozen 2 is good stuff.  It reminds me of Civilization 4's intro music:

Cheers Racoon. That slap guitar intro on the Minyavi track is crazy. 

Another unreal talent is Victor Wooten (wait until he gets going):

Yes.  Wooten is ridiculously talented.

Yesterday this song won the Festival della Canzone Italiana 2020:

That was really pretty.  I can see how it won an award.

I need a bit of relaxation...

One of Radiohead's best songs.  This version was really cool and jazzy.  I love the vocal part in the middle, but after that when they rock out the ending was even better.  Good find!

Nice! I didn't look at the name before pressing play. Nice surprise 

Here's another one you might also appreciate:

Nice relaxing piano cover.  It really brings out how pretty the song is, and shows off this guy's very impressive talents.

My favorite take on this track is the Easy Star All-Stars reggae version featuring Toots and The Maytals.  I just love how intense he gets in the vocal and how uplifting this feels, especially in the second verse:

As for my own Japanese music recommendations, try these:

Shibuya Morning by Supercar

Behind the Mask by Yellow Magic Orchestra

Michael Jackson did a 'cover' of this song (basically used it as a jumping-off point for a song of his own of the same name), and it's not bad.  Clapton has covered that version, too.  Good track.

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding a link to one of my favorites, the Pizzicato Five song 「買物王」のテーマ (or "Kaimono-O" Theme, which Google translate tells me means "Shopping King", but another source says "Shopping Queen") from their 1996 album Great White Wonder.  I heard it on a local college radio station a couple years ago and used Shazam to tell me what it was.

Anyways, here's some Katamari music (because it's similar):

It's absurd how good the Katamari Damacy soundtrack is.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, but there was so much to respond to!

After all that, here is what I'm listening to right now:

[milkanannan]

Sweet - our weekend here in Arabia (Fri-Sat) starts in about four hours. Going to be balcony, beer and these tracks...

[dactylopus]

Sweet - our weekend here in Arabia (Fri-Sat) starts in about four hours. Going to be balcony, beer and these tracks...

Hope that worked out well for you!

[milkanannan]

Sent me down so many rabbit holes there. We listened to the whole playlist of Radiodread's OK Computer cover, which was surprisingly amazing. I wouldn't have thought those tracks would crossover to reggae at all.

Thanks for the introduction to Yellow Magic Orchestra ~ love it! Daft Punk are clearly a degree of creative iteration on sounds of the YMO era.

In turn, maybe YMO took some influence from jazz fusion of the era:

I love that dated digital sound:

[dactylopus]

Sent me down so many rabbit holes there. We listened to the whole playlist of Radiodread's OK Computer cover, which was surprisingly amazing. I wouldn't have thought those tracks would crossover to reggae at all.

Thanks for the introduction to Yellow Magic Orchestra ~ love it! Daft Punk are clearly a degree of creative iteration on sounds of the YMO era.

In turn, maybe YMO took some influence from jazz fusion of the era:

I love that dated digital sound:

Thanks for posting some tracks.  I hadn't heard too much of Yellow Magic Orchestra, and love what you posted above.  And Chick Corea is such a great talent.  That's some good jazz.  Here's another Return to Forever / Chick Corea tune that I'm particularly fond of (from an album that reminds me of early King Crimson):

Radiodread is really cool, and I was surprised at first as well.  They also do the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  This is my favorite from the Beatles album (mostly because of what's different):

I'd check out Lovely Rita as well, if you have a chance.  They also have a full album cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon that matches the tempo all the way through so that you can do the Dark Side of Oz synchronicity with their album as the soundtrack.

And here are some tracks I was listening to as I composed this response:

You're Dead by Norma Tanega (heard this in What We Do in the Shadows)

H34T RISES by Nilüfer Yanya

808 State of Mind by Honey Dijon (featuring Shaun J Wright and Alinka)

[Snarky]

How good was (is?) The Cure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjvfIJstWeg

So good!

[Jack]

[dactylopus]

How good was (is?) The Cure?

So good!

Indeed.  Great pick.  There's a cover by the Get Up Kids that I really enjoy, though I'll never say it's better than the original.  Just great in a different way:

I'm listening to this:

Lustral - Everytime (Way Out West Sunrise Mix)

[Creamy]

I didn't know YMO. Very nice mix of funk and early electronic music   

My parents love that stuff:

The reggae cover of Mr Kite is great too.

A melodious song from the Residents (for once):

[lorenzo]

I like some of Jarre's early albums (Oxygène, Équinoxe).


Jean-Luc Ponty - Mirage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKkMvBvyqvE

[Laura Hunt]

The new King Krule album came out a few days ago and I'm still trying to make sense of it, if it even makes sense to try to make sense. "The OOZ" was already abstract, disjointed and fragmentary, but there was some kind of magic holding it all together, some brilliant creative spark that managed to shine through its broken surface.

"Man Alive!", however, feels like someone who has entirely given up on trying to communicate, locked up in his own concrete cell, mumbling fragments of fleeting thoughts that may or may not have any meaning whatsoever, and if they do, he doesn't care whether we understand them or not.

I absolutely love difficult, twisted, creative art, but with this album, King Krule might have committed a totally different sin: he might have created something boring.

I quite like the song embedded above and the one here below, but as to the rest of the album... I'm still not sure what to feel. I guess a few more spins are in order.

[milkanannan]

Some cool tracks there. Speaking of The Cure, Robert Smith and Crystal Castles covered this number once upon a time: