that present (2014)

I'm gonna get you that present. Give me all your money, baby.

On the one hand, fleeting moodpieces. On the other, atmosphere (pulling that one out, lazily explaining why something appeals as being more than just the sum of its parts without having to put anything into words) and thematic coherence as flow (again...).

Which might describe the movie quite well, actually. Maybe it's secretly a musical!

Less about the presence of silence than the last JVW record I heard, more about the layering of cacophony into something pissed off, indifferent, and thoroughly felt. Cynics snort at rockist + Romantic clichés, but it's nice to think that if it's all gone to shit then what remains is love. And if that's too gooey, we've still got the Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light series for those who like their drones mortal.

try
stream
buy

M|O|O|N - MOON EP (2011)

The debut release from the confusing-named M|O|O|N. Gained popularity after being included in the game Hotline Miami, which is 50% off on Steam for the next 40 hours. Buy it, it's IDCAS-approved.

Download (320)

M|O|O|N - The Remixes (2012)

Bonus: remix EP!

Download (320)

Paul Giovanni - The Wicker Man (1973)

Giovanni's beautiful score full of poppish folk songs which capture the still unsettling atmosphere of the cult classic film.The folk song Willow's Song is so perfect that I figured it was a standard or a popular single, but I was wrong! It actually managed to get me into Current 93.. A cover of it appeared on Nature and Organisation's underrated Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude so I listened to that hoping that the pagan/pro-white bullshit that makes its way into some neofolk wouldn't come up, given that the film pushes pagans against celibate conservatives and only really concludes what a waste! It manages to be both melancholy and appealingly melodic, maybe in order to demonstrate the conflict going on in our prudish protagonist's head: he's drawn to the pleasure presented and is about to give in but doing so requires he give up on salvation. The cheery songs are even more disturbing 'cause the film argues that a certain sacrifice needs to be made for society's happiness

I liked it all before seeing the film and got scared appropriately and went oooooo appropriately, but watching it elevated the soundtrack as one of my favourite folk albums

A

buy

Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas (1989)

1. Paris, Texas 2:57

2. Brothers 2:07

3. Nothing Out There 1:35

4. Canción Mixteca 4:17

5. No Safety Zone 1:55

6. Houston in Two Seconds 2:07

7. She's Leaving the Bank 6:02

8. On the Couch 1:32

9. I Knew These People 8:43

10. Dark Was the Night 2:52

Last one for the night! That feeling when you click that one of your favourite movies (top 5, I think!) has an incredible soundtrack

Based on Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground by Blind Willie Johnson, Cooder's acoustic score I dunno feels around (Nothing Out There), sometimes finding something (Canción Mixteca) and when it does so still feels because the lost pieces are moving and the movie is just so sad. I think if I found it without having seen the movie I'd still love it because it just conveys all that, although the spoken part (I Knew These People) would probably confuse me. The movie's cool 'cause everything's aimless and inconsequential for a while and then it's nostalgic but then it looks underneath that confused nostalgia and the whole thing unravels into a mess. I saw it when I was real young and didn't get slow films but I still found it moving! Although melodies come together and it feels like there's a purpose for a bit, you can sense things unravelling a few tracks in but it's still sad when it does that and it makes you glare at the nice songs like they lied to you- Canción Mixteca makes me kinda sad now. Also I like having the spoken part 'cause it's one of my favourite movie scenes ever


I love this record but man it bums me out


A+

spotify

George Gershwin - Manhattan (1979)

More and more awesome soundtracks. This one is for Woody Allen's Manhattan

A+

256

Tom Waits - One from the Heart (1982)

Nearing his artistic peak (a year away from Swordfishtrombones), Tom Waits did the music to One from the Heart- a decidedly un-fucked up collection of jazzy songs with Crystal Gale

I like it and all but it's one of the few Tom Waits albums you could call background music

I suppose then it's perfect as a soundtrack

B

320

Prince - Purple Rain (1984)

1. Let's Go Crazy 4:39

2. Take Me With U 3:55

3. The Beautiful Ones 5:15

4. Computer Blue 3:59

5. Darling Nikki 4:15

6. When Doves Cry 5:52

7. I Would Die 4 U 2:51

8. Baby I'm a Star 4:20

9. Purple Rain 8:45

The album where Prince managed to fully break into the mainstream and also get a white audience. His musicianship is insane, his songs are catchy, and Purple Rain is consistent and passionate. Great record by a guy who made it big through nothing other than hard work and talent

A+

320

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa - Mac & Devin Go to High School (2011)

1. Smokin' On (feat. Juicy J) 4:28

2. I Get Lifted (feat. LaToiya Williams) 4:52

3. You Can Put It in a Zag, I’mma Put It in a Blunt 3:19

4. 6:30 4:10

5. Talent Show 4:35

6. Let's Go Study 4:05

7. Young, Wild & Free (feat. Bruno Mars) 3:27

8. OG (feat. Curren$y) 4:58

9. French Inhale (feat. Mike Posner) 2:39

10. It Could Be Easy 4:48

11. World Class 3:30

12. That Good 3:48

Keeping in with the awesome soundtrack thing that hopefully people will jump on soon

Mac & Devin Go to High School will never be considered one of the greatest soundtracks of all time, or even the best Snoop Dogg album of 2011 (most would consider that Doggumentary). It's also got Wiz who in 2011 largely abandoned Kush & OJ's laid back clean stoner aesthetic for the sake of critically panned pop-rock-rap party anthems on Rolling Papers

But it's insanely likable. The most likable hip hop album of 2011, or even in recent memory. The production is nice, the hooks are nice, the quality is consistent, and you can tell that Snoop and Wiz are having a great time taking turns rapping about pussy and weed. Like The Throne but more consistent and without the pretense of making any sort of statement- artistic or otherwise

B+

Try it

V/A - Waiting to Exhale (1995)

1. Whitney Houston - Exhale (Shoop Shoop) 3:25

2. Whitney Houston - Why Does It Hurt So Bad 4:37

3. Toni Braxton - Let It Flow 4:27

4. Aretha Franklin - It Hurts Like Hell 4:18

5. Brandy - Sittin' Up in My Room 4:52

6. TLC - This Is How It Works 5:00

7. Mary J. Blige - Not Gon' Cry 4:58

8. Chaka Khan - My Funny Valentine 4:06

9. Sonja Marie - And I Gave My Love to You 4:48

10. SWV - All Night Long 4:31

11. Chanté Moore - Wey U 4:32

12. Patti LaBelle - My Love, Sweet Love 4:21

13. Faith Evans - Kissing You 3:23

14. For Real - Love Will Be Waiting at Home 5:59

15. Shana - How Could You Call Her Baby 5:09

16. Whitney Houston and Cece Winans - Count on Me 4:26

This is gonna be the start of a thing where we all post our favourite soundtracks

I thought I'd start it with Waiting to Exhale. The film is famous for featuring an all African American cast, but the soundtrack is much more highly regarded than the film

Babyface wrote every song except for My Funny Valentine and then picked all the best singers of the day to sing them. Highlights include Whitney Houston's Exhale (Shoop Shoop) and Brandy's Sittin' Up in My Room


The link below isn't mine, but I've checked it and it's legit. Unfortunately I'm losing my internet collection whenever I try to download or upload anything


A+

320

Super - Soundtrack

1. Calling All Destroyers – Tsar 2. Two Perfect Moments – Tyler Bates 3. It Hurts Too Much – Eric Carmen 4. I Do – Lo-def Dollz 5. The Prayer – Tyler Bates 6. If You Want My Love – Cheap Trick 7. God Knows My Name ’11 – Moneybrother 8. Finger Of God – Tyler Bates 9. Holy Avenger’s Advice – Tyler Bates 10. Nobody Knows You Anymore – Terra Naomi 11. What It Was – Aceyalone 12. The Second Prayer – Tyler Bates 13. Born Under a Bad Sign – Moneybrother 14. Let Your Body Decide – The Ark 15. Libby Goes Down – Tyler Bates 16. Aftermath And Resolution – Tyler Bates 17. Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White – The Nomads

This movie is so good and I like the soundtrack too. Tyler Bates knows what's up (obviously - Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen etc.). Two Perfect Moments score is so bad ass in my opinion, bouncy and soft, nice poppy sound. Check out the movie if you want something that's like Kick Ass but edgier and without any watered down hollywood buzz.

Download

BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Paddy Kingsland) - Fourth Dimension (1973)

Early electronic music (with some acoustic accompaniment; guitar, drums, etc.) that sounds melodic rather than consisting primarily of unstructured or atonal noise. This compilation covers some of Paddy Kingsland's contributions to the music of various BBC radio and TV shows. Because every post I make is doomed to be related to video games, I first discovered a couple of these tunes due to their inclusion in surreal indie RPG Space Funeral, which I also recommend.

Download (256)
Recording courtesy of Dinosaur Gardens.

Mazedude - The American Album (2006)

Happy belated New Year! For the final day of Weaboo Week I'm uploading something that barely fits the theme at all... in fact, this tribute to American video game composers came about partially as a reaction to the abundance of tributes to Japanese composers being released at the time. This pretty much ended up being video game music week, huh? Oh well!

In the American Album, Mazedude (a.k.a. Chris Getman) remixes music from several American video games in a very wide array of styles. Due to his unusual choice of audio software, Mazedude's style has a distinct sample based sound to it which you'll probably either love or hate. A follow-up called American Pixels is due for release later this year. Pre-order it if you're so inclined and in the meantime you'll also get a bonus EP of progressive chiptune remixes.

Because this is one of my favourite albums ever, I also put together a 'companion' download filled with bonus items. Download that too if you'd like to hear the original compositions behind every remix on the album, pieces of music that served as stylistic inspiration for the remixes, unfinished 'sketches' for tracks that never made it onto the album, source files in .IT format for three of the songs... and more.

Download (320)
Download The American Album Companion

Jake 'virt' Kaufman

Jake Kaufman (a.k.a. virt) is an American video game composer responsible for the amazing soundtracks to games such as Shantae, Shantae: Risky's Revenge and BloodRayne: Betrayal. He has also released a vast quantity of original music and arrangements, many of which are freely available on his website. A highlight of his oeuvre is his series of fictional video game soundtracks (FX, FX 2.0 and FX3), the first of which you may have encountered in arranged form in an earlier Weaboo Week upload. Four of his notable recent works follow:

Jake Kaufman - Contra Dual Spirits Original Soundtrack (2008)

Contra 4, released in Japan as Contra Dual Spirits, is probably Kaufman's most famous soundtrack. Composing a Contra soundtrack was seemingly Kaufman's dream from a fairly young age, as such this is an extremely developed stylistic homage which even features an updated version of his Contra-style track Vile Red Falcon made for the album FX2 in 2002. Fans of this soundtrack should be sure to check out the remix album, Contra 4: Rocked 'n' Loaded.

Download (320) password: 3ost-com
Download (FLAC) password: 3ost-com

Jake Kaufman - Mighty Milky Way / Mighty Flip Champs OST (2011)

This album opens with one of the best Vocaloid songs I've ever heard (actually, I prefer the extended version that appears later, but they're mostly the same song). This track is distinctly J-pop, even featuring some Japanese lyrics despite its American origins, but other tracks on the album offer completely different styles. Incidentally, Kaufman is also responsible for what is probably my favourite Vocaloid song, Lorem Ipsum.

Free / name your price at Bandcamp

Jake Kaufman - Mighty Switch Force OST (2011)

Self-descibed as "space disco house music", this follow-up features both original music and some familiar tunes from the previous games in the series rearranged as Daft Punk-esque electro. I feel this album exceeds hipster-favourite Glass Swords in its insane happiness, especially the track Love You Love You Love which I've found myself listening to more times than I feel comfortable admitting. Towards the end of the album this track gets remixed by coda in the style of Tree of Knowledge, an album coda worked on which pays tribute to the eroge soundtracks of Ryu Umemoto.

Free / name your price at Bandcamp

Jake Kaufman - Kwakfest (2008)

Last is Kaufman's first physically released album, an anthology of songs made for the speed composing party known as Kwakfest. Every song here was made within a strict 1-hour time limit using the MIDI format. In spite of this (and/or because of it) virtually every track is amazing, with Choppastyle and World's Most Wanted Wiener being my favourites. Also of note is Supabonk, one of only two pieces of synthesised music I've heard that manage to sound pornographic despite being entirely instrumental. The other is Chibi-Tech's Oniichan Dakara Iiyo, which is even worse if you know some Japanese.

Buy the CD
Download (V0)

Ryu Umemoto

Here's a last minute addition for day 5 of Weaboo Week. Ryu Umemoto was a video game composer who worked primarily with FM synthesis and scored mostly shoot 'em ups and eroge (pornographic visual novels). He passed away earlier this year at the tragically young age of 37.

Ryu Umemoto, Ryu Takami - Eclipse "The Album" - Ryu Umemoto Rare Tracks Vol.1 (2007)

Unlike subsequent entries in the Rare Tracks collection, this album offers CD quality audio rather than music created under strict hardware limitations. This definitely results in a greater variety of styles, but I find myself more drawn to Umemoto's pure FM music. Luckily for me, this album features a bonus disc comprised entirely of FM arrangements.

Download V0 (4S)

Ryu Umemoto - Desire "The Origin" - Ryu Umemoto Rare Tracks Vol.2 (2008)

This is probably my favourite Rare Tracks album. I consider it a masterwork of FM synthesis with several amazing tracks. Ishtal and Reflector are two such tracks, and the album even features subtly different renditions of these themes played on alternative sound chips.

Download V0 (4S)

Ryu Umemoto, Ryu Takami - Xenon "The Origin" - Ryu Umemoto Rare Tracks Vol.3 (2008)

Xenon "The Origin" takes the multiple renditions theme of the previous volume even further by offering the complete soundtrack as recorded on both the YM2203 (OPN) and YM3438 (OPN2C) sound chips. Some of these tracks have an intriguing lo-fi techno sound that's not the sort of thing I expect to encounter on a video game soundtrack.

Download V0 (4S)

Ryu Umemoto, Ryu Takami - EVE burst error "The Perfect" - Ryu Umemoto Rare Tracks Vol.4 (2009)

This marks the end of the Rare Tracks series, with the exception of a special volume only attainable by purchasing the first three together. I considered getting this shortly after learning of Umemoto's passing, but the cost of about $100 was just too much for me. It appears to be out of stock currently... for now you'll have to settle for Vol.4 which contains about 2 hours of sweet FM tunes.

Download V0 (4S)

Ryu Umemoto - Konoyo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo: YU-NO (YM2608 rip)

This is probably Umemoto's most famous soundtrack and spans an impressive 5 hours. There's a little debate as to whether Ryu Takami, Umemoto's close collaborator, also worked on this, so don't deem my attribution of this solely to Umemoto definitive. As far as I know, official recordings of the soundtrack in its original FM format were never released (in spite of its popularity) so provided here is an excellent rip by Knurek in direct link form. Hopefully this won't crash anyone's server...

Download VBR
(Source)

Ryu Umemoto - Akai Katana Original Soundtrack (2010)

Another CD quality audio soundtrack, with some FM thrown in for good measure (it's what Umemoto does best, after all). Tracks 15 and up are voice samples from the game. I don't recommend listening to them, but decided not to exclude them for completion's sake.

Download V0 (MF)

Ryu Umemoto - NIN2-JUMP Sound Track / Akai Katana FM Sound Collection (2011)

The first half of this album covers NIN2-JUMP, which I believe was Umemoto's final solo soundtrack. It's a neat mix of FM with more modern samples and sounds. The second half of the album remixes the Akai Katana soundtrack in a similar FM fusion style.

Download V0 (MF)
Download FLAC (4S): Part 1 Part 2

Kanar - Steppes III (2007)

Kanar is Yann van der Cruyssen (a.k.a. Nurykabe, Morusque) and Léo Mathieu, the former of whom contributed to the soundtracks of indie games such as Knytt Stories, Blocks That Matter and Saira along with the controversial remixed score for the Steam / Mac App Store / WiiWare version of Cave Story.

This album features arrangements from not only these games' soundtracks, but others such as Chrono Cross, Grim Fandango and Monkey Island. Also included in the MP3 upload is a great cover of Song of Storms (the Windmill Hut music from Ocarina of Time) which appeared on Steppes II.

Download (VBR)
FLAC version available on Nurykabe's website

P.S. I'm pretty sure the attribution of track 15 to Yasunori Mitsuda on Tracklist.png is a typo which should say track 11.

Studio Ghibli Arrangements

Day 3 of Weaboo Week and I apologise in advance for utterly failing as a weaboo in this instance. Although I've seen several Studio Ghibli films, I haven't listened to the soundtracks in isolation and the only piece of Ghibli music I especially remember is the opening to My Neighbour Totoro. Nonetheless, there was some interest in Studio Ghibli music, so I've decided to irresponsibly post a bunch of arrangement albums I've barely listened to. Note: most of these didn't survive the great Megaupload purge of 2012 and have been removed.

Various Artists - Ghibli meets Bossa Nova (2009)

This was an impulse buy based solely on the cute cover. To this day, my regrets are minimal.

Download (V0)

Lisa Nakazono - Chopin de Ghibli (2009)

These piano arrangements do a pretty stellar job of emulating Chopin, so if that's what you're looking for I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Download (V0)

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Studio Ghibli Symphonic Collection (2005)

A collection of straight orchestral covers.

Download (V0)

Mega Man 9 Mega Post

Day 2 of Weaboo Week brings a plethora of Mega Man Downloads. Most Mega Man games have pretty great music (with Mega Man 2 probably being the fan favourite) but my main focus here is on Mega Man 9, a fairly recent entry in the series.

TSSF - RockMan (Mega Man) 9 NES Retro Soundtrack (2008)

The soundtrack of Mega Man 9 ostensibly emulates the 8-bit style of its NES predecessors, but ignores some of the subtle technical limitations of the console. This download is not the OST itself, but almost perfect recreations of every song using the NES sound format that have then been recorded using NES hardware.

Download (V0)

Random - Mega Ran 9 (2009)

Mega Ran 9 is a hip hop concept album that features backing tracks based on the game's music and an ongoing narrative inspired by the game's story. Absent from the download I've posted is the Splash Woman instrumental which was added for the digital release. If you really want it, head to Random's Bandcamp page, where the other two entries in the Mega Ran series are also available.

Download (VBR)

Various Artists - Chiptuned Rockman (2009)

Chiptune remixes of chiptunes. Lots of people thought this was a dumb idea, but not me! Some of these arrangements showcase ridiculous talent and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in getting into chipmusic. The source tracks for this span the entire franchise. Don't be put off if you don't know the original versions, but one track I think seriously benefits from familiarity with the original is virt's take on Tornado Man, so consider checking that track out in the Mega Man 9 soundtrack above before listening.

Download (V0)

OverClocked ReMix - Mega Man 9: Back in Blue (2011)

This fan-made remix album covers a wide variety of styles and genres. I don't adore everything on offer, but it outdoes the official Mega Man 9 arrange album massively. One track I think will appeal especially to readers of this blog is Morricone Man, which references Ennio Morricone's style along with some of his most famous melodies. Mazedude even includes some sneaky samples from the previously posted Morricone RMX (in fact, he was the one who introduced me to that album).

Download free from the official site. MP3 and FLAC and torrents, oh my!

OverClocked ReMix - Rockin' Sockin' Cinder Blockin' (A Concrete Man Remix EP) (2011)

This one's a mixed bag in terms of quality, which is understandable given that it was proposed, produced and released in the space of two weeks to address the absence of a Concrete Man remix in Back in Blue. The standout track for me is probably Concrete Heart.

Download (mostly 192)

LSD - Uptime (2007)

Merry belated Christmas! Today marks the beginning of what I'm calling 'Weaboo Week' even though that title barely applies to most of the stuff I'll be posting. I plan to make 7 posts over 7 days with vague recurring themes of covers, music originating from Japan or music I consider generally nerdy.

Today it's Uptime by LSD, a jazz trio led by Sam Ascher-Weiss (a.k.a. Shnabubula) who I've posted about here twice before. Sam performs piano solo on the first three tracks but is later joined by Dustin Kaufman on drums and Lenwood Turner on trumpet (performing only briefly due to the effects of wisdom teeth removal). My favourite track is an arrangement of the main theme of Chrono Trigger, which is embedded above.

Uptime isn't technically an album, the name simply refers to the studio it was recorded at. Unfortunately it doesn't serve as a very good advertisement for the studio; the tracks feature low bitrates, questionable volume levels and occasionally audio glitches. Still, I recommend this release wholeheartedly on the strength of these arrangements alone. Also, do yourself a favour and check out Sam's other performances on YouTube and Bandcamp.

Download

Various Artists - Morricone RMX (2001)

Here is something that will hopefully sate uani73's request for "more Morricone": a compilation of remixes devoted to his work.

Tracklist:

The Man With The Harmonica (Apollo 440 Remix)	5:57
For A Few Dollars More (Terranova Remix)	4:44
Here's To You (Copasetic Con Vivi E Selda Remix)	4:17
Belinda May (Fantastic Plastic Machine Edit)	6:48
Clan Of The Sicilians (Amok Sicilian Remix)	6:48
Chi Mai (Nightmares on Wax Remix)	5:21
Il Grande Silencio (Thievery Corporation Remix)	4:14
Un Bacio (Un Bacio è Un Bacio è Un Bacio Remix)	6:16
Doricamente (Tommy Hools Remix)	4:22
Giocoso, Gioioso (Groove Corporation Remix)	5:04
La Bambola/Come Maddalena (Sofa Surfers Remix)	3:52
La Lucertola (De-Phazz Dub Mix)	3:51
Clan Of The Sicilians (Clone Of The Sicilians Mix)	8:21

I love the first track. Others sound like they've just chucked a drumbeat on top of the original song. Nevertheless, if you are a Morricone fan I'd say this is worth listening to.

Download MP3 @MediaFire

Samuel Ascher-Weiss - Ender's Game (2006) [320]

A symphonic suite by Samuel Ascher-Weiss (a.k.a. Shnabubula) based on the novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Owners of the book may be interested to know the the name of each movement corresponds to the names of the chapter it begins with and the chapter it ends in... I doubt it would be feasible to read the book in time with this 41 minute long composition, but to anyone who wants to try I wish you luck.

There's an incredibly interesting soundscape here consisting of somewhat standard orchestral fare, but augmented with 'ethnic' instruments and strange electronic noise. Recommended for anyone interested in listening to something unique.

Download

P.S. There's no official cover art that I know of, the image above is just something I whipped up.