The Big Persimmon » Music

NPR: Best Music of 2008

Michelle — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:50:43 +0000

NPR listeners submitted what they thought were the best songs of the year, and NPR compiled the results here: NPR Listeners Pick The Year’s Best Music. You can also see the complete poll results.

Maybe I’m just out of touch with pop culture, but I actually hadn’t heard of a fair number of the songs on this list. Or maybe it’s just that I’m one of those annoying people who contentedly listen to the same ten tracks day in and day out. I have a car mix I’ve been cycling through for the past two months or so — just add or subtract a song every now and and…

Oh, and if you need a little holiday fun, here’s a great rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas from the a capella group Straight No Chaser. Nice.

Vocaloid Sings in English

Michelle — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:12:56 +0000

The Vocaloid program sounds best in Japanese (what else would you expect from a singing synthesizer from Yamaha?), but it’s actually pretty entertaining to hear it sing in English. It definitely sings English with a classically Japanese accent. The clip above is from the song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”

Fast Food Rockers

Michelle — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:26:37 +0000

I’m constantly amazed with what you can find (by accident) on YouTube. Here is the “The Fast Food Song” by British pop group the Fast Food Rockers. Can you believe the song managed to reach #2 in the UK charts in June 2003? I think it’s hilarious.

Second Course

Michelle — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:14:27 +0000

Yesterday I wrote on the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute that’s currently driving a wedge between Japan and South Korea. If the US had any sense it would keep the mess at arms-length — but no. Perhaps in response to the ROK’s vehement objection to a decision by the US Board of Geographic Names to change the islands’ listing from South Korean to “nondesignated sovereignty,” President Bush ordered the designation to be reverted back to South Korean territory.

Of course, it’s probably only a calculated gesture to win goodwill before his visit to the ROK and Thailand ahead of the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing. This visit to the ROK, originally scheduled to take place after the G8 in July, was postponed in part to the beef riots that filled the streets of Seoul this summer.

On another Japan-related note, rumors abound that prime minister Yasuo Fukuda will finally reshuffle his cabinet on Monday after two ministers return to Japan from the WTO talks in Geneva. There are other rumors that the announcement may come as late as August 18th.

And finally, I’ve rediscovered the wonderful music of Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) who composed the scores to some of my favorite Miyazai films. He really is amazing.

“Summer” from Kikujiru (菊次郎の夏)

My Neighbor Tottoro (隣のトットロ)