Hindsight

Last week I received my order from CDJapan. Some of you may not know that CDs in Japan can be pretty expensive: a full album might be, say, 2900 yen.. that’s over $20 for one CD. Thankfully I chose wisely. I’ve been wanting the middle two albums for quite sometime. The first and last albums were icing on the cake…

Joze to Tora to Sakana-tachi (Original Soundtrack)

Artist: Quruli

Although I’ve not seen the film, the soundtrack stands on it’s own. With bits of what are probably dialogues/monologues from the film, the soundtrack to “Joze…” is very relaxed. There is a piano solo which reminded me of solitude. A few of their vocal tracks brought a “road trip”-esque feeling. It’s a wonderful piece of work, easily playable on loop. Highly recommended.

All About Lily Chou-Chou
Original Soundtracks “Arabesque”

Artist: Takeshi Kobayashi

I thought “All About Lily Chou-Chou” (Lily Shou-Shou no Subete) was a raw, amazing film. The tracks on this disc are original compositions for the film as well as a spattering of DeBussy tracks as well. Feelings to best describe this album: despair, exploration, reflection, helplessness, hope, deviancy. Not in that particular order, though. It’s certainly not upbeat - I think of it as something for introspection.

Lily Chou-Chou “Kokyu (Breathe)”

Artist: Takeshi Kobayashi

This is the other soundtrack to the film. However, this features all the vocal tracks that feature the fictional “Lily Chou-Chou” that is portrayed in the film. The first song “Arabesque”, is also the first song that plays as the film begins. This is some very soft but haunting stuff.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T.2

Artist: Yoko Kanno, et. al.

I’ve been following Yoko Kanno’s work for quite sometime now. She is probably the only artist whose music is something I’ll actually buy on impulse. I’ve done this for awhile now, and I’ve never really been disappointed. Stand Alone Complex is a science fiction, cyberpunk series of sorts that’s airing in Japan pay per view. So my favorite musician and my favorite subject make for good music. There’s a little bit of everything here: an opening song that injects energy, some edgy electronic songs, ambient music and vocal tracks that almost seem like they don’t belong into the science-fiction theme/mold. I didn’t think too much about this album at first. But I’ve listened to it the most out of the above CDs.

I suppose my iPod is happy. And the four albums above are really quite good, so that makes me happy, too.