Catalyst Castle

My friend Kristen sent me a link to this video, telling me this was my theme song. I was quite amused, and hopefully you will be too.

Anime Music Videos (AMVs) are a cool fusion of two things I like - anime and music. AMVs are quite popular among anime enthusiasts. You can find a lot of them on YouTube and similar sites. AMV contests are rather popular at anime conventions, and my cousin even won a prize last year at a convention for an AMV she made. For no particular reason, I want to share some of the AMVs that have really touched me.


WARNING: These are very sad, at least to me. If you're not in the mood to cry I suggest you skip this video feature.


The first one is an AMV done with the anime 5 Centimeters per Second and the song From Where You Are by Lifehouse. I think it really captures very well the theme of the movie. This is a great joining of a beautiful song with a beautiful anime (one of my favorites, in fact).





This next one is done with the anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (another favorite) and the song She is the Sunlight by Trading Yesterday.





This last one uses an anime called Rumbling Hearts and the song Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch. I've never seen this anime, but the AMV makes me curious to watch it. This video also made me realize just how much more dramatic impact the word "sayonara" has than "goodbye". The Japanese language is awesome. ^_^





I hope you enjoyed them, even if they did make you a little sad. Personally, I think they're beautifully done. If you've got an AMV you really enjoy, post a link in a comment to this article. Thanks!

I really like the song Half of My Heart by John Mayer with Taylor Swift. I know it's been on the radio for a while, but it was just recently that I really payed attention to it and something about it struck a cord with me.

The music video is pretty cool as well. I'll admit it doesn't quiet match up with my own thoughts on the song, but I still like it.

Here is the video for those unfamiliar with either the song or the video. Enjoy!

I think my favorite passage from the song is this one:


Are there any new songs that have really caught your attention lately?

A little while ago I picked up some songs by an English folk band called Mumford and Sons. Their music has a nice acoustic sound, but their lyrics are what really capture my interest. They are very insightful and thought provoking. I'll share 3 songs here from their album "Sigh no More" that I find particularly cool. You can click on the links below to listen to them on lala.com. I find them pleasantly uplifting to listen to.

Sigh No More

After the Storm

Timshel

I find that I often find inspiration for writing in songs. For example, I once wrote a short story called “The Old Man’s Bar” inspired by the song “Broadway” from The Goo Goo Dolls.

A while ago I started writing a short story inspired by the song “The World at Large” by Modest Mouse. I haven’t finished the story yet, because I got stuck on an important detail, but hopefully I’ll be able to complete it soon.

Recently, I was listening to the song “Dust Bowl Dance” by Mumford & Sons and thought there was a really powerful story in that song. Actually, I could see it as the seed of a great scenario for the role-playing game Dogs in the Vineyard.

Do you ever find inspiration for writing in music? Which songs have inspired you?

A couple of weeks ago I went to a music and art show in Deltona. Most of the artists and performers were people I knew, so that was really cool. The art on display varied in style and medium but it was all very interesting. Likewise, the music was a mixed bag of styles, but it was all entertaining. My only complaint about the musical performances is that the lyrics were often drowned out by the music. That seems to be a common problem with live music, however. I tried to take some pictures of the art and performers, but the lighting in the building was not conducive to producing good photos. I really wish my camera had flash. Here are a few of the better looking ones:

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a short musical film about a super villain’s rise to power. The film consists of three acts, each about 14 minutes long, which were originally released online before being compiled for the DVD release. Dr Horrible was created by Joss Whedon, creator of several popular television shows including Firefly. The story focuses on Dr. Horrible’s efforts to be accepted into the elite criminal organization called the Evil League of Evil, and on the love triangle involving himself, a social worker named Penny, and Captain Hammer – his superhero nemesis.

This film is pure comedic genius from concept to execution. The songs are clever and well written. This film was produced independently, but looks professional. The writing team penned the musical during the WGA writers' strike. The idea was to create something small and inexpensive, yet professionally done, in a way that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike. This effort was a success, and Joss Whedon has announced that a sequel is in the works.


Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

Playing Villains: Dr. Horrible presents a villain who is relatable and appealing as a character. It would definitely not become the norm for me, but it makes me think it might be amusing to play a game where all of the player characters are villains. Necessary Evil, a setting for the Savage World RPG does this. Another fun idea would be to play a Star Wars campaign where all of the player characters are Sith in the Old Republic or Legacy Era.

Sing-Along Session: OK. Just once this has to happen. For one session of an ongoing game, everyone has to sing. Minor bits of dialog can be spoken, but the majority of it must be sung. That would be very entertaining.

I wanted to share some music videos I enjoyed recently. Both of them are from artists I'm not really familiar with, I just happened to see the videos and I thought they were very well done. The songs aren't too bad either.

This first one is for a song called Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. This is an interesting take on stop-motion photography. I like how they use clothes, pillow, blankets, etc. to depict clouds and things.



The next video is for the song Get Up and Go by Broadcast 2000. This combines a couple of things I like. Free running is always fun to watch. I enjoy their use of black and white visuals with isolated objects in color. Their use of reverse, slow-motion, and fast-motion effects are cool too.



Did you enjoy these videos? Seen any good ones lately? Please share your comments below.

I recently bought the album Koi Tegami (translation: “Love Letter”) by Oku Hanako, a singer, songwriter, and pianist famous in her native Japan for her piano ballads. My first introduction to Oku Hanako was through her song “Garnet” which was written and produced for the anime film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. After seeing the film I was interested in hearing some more of her music, so I picked up Koi Tegami on Amazon.com.

Oku Hanako has a beautiful singing voice, and her music is very pretty. It’s easy listening and makes pleasant background music for writing, drawing, etc. without being obtrusive. The only problem is that there isn’t a lot of variety in the sound, and not being able to understand the lyrics I have a hard time telling one song from the next. I’m sure if I knew the language better I would enjoy her songs even more.

Here is a sample of her music. This song is from Koi Tegami.

I enjoyed the soundtrack to the anime Noir so much that I bought both volumes of it on CD. The musical score was composed mostly by Yuki Kajiura and is very unique in my experience with anime soundtracks. The music has a very international flavor that fits the style of the show. It features some interesting choices of instruments including woodwinds, accordions, Spanish guitar, and bagpipes. Some of the tracks are accompanied with lyrics which are sung in several languages including Japanese, English, Italian, and Latin. The musical score blends elements of techno, opera, and Paris street music to produce a unique sound.

The most recognizable tracks are on the first volume, including the songs Canta Per Me and Salva Nos, which are heard in one form or another in nearly every episode of the show. Another notable track from the first volume is Mélodie, which starts out with the simple tune of the music box stopwatch that is important to the show, and then expands the tune into a fast-paced techno track. Two noteworthy tracks from the second volume are Salva Nos II and Beautiful Emotions. The first is a foreboding reprise of the popular theme with an industrial sound, and the second is a piano version of the song from the ending credits without the lyrics.

Click on the links above to hear these tracks on YouTube.

Hear any good music lately? Please share!