Macross Frontier Hard Choices Medley
Random talking points incoming:
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Regarding the ending, one thing about the ending that few liked is how it’s not conclusive in terms of the relationships. I think regardless how we feel about it, the show can use an epilogue. The way I see it, we really could use more excuses to release more music from this damn show. A movie, OAV, concert live, whatever. More is all good, to be precise.
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While people are trying hard to figure out who will Alto choose, I was having a hard time choosing which songs to include in a mixed CD. I suppose back in the mixed-tape days I can fit 90 to 120 minutes on the average cassette, and even today I’m using some kind of PMP that can store the whole thing anyways, most of the time. But the exercise is not just an inertial tradition, but one of honing one’s mind and instinct by getting rid of excess and forcing yourself to make good, hard choices.
How would you mix up a Macross Frontier vocal collection on CD?
Here’s mine. Annotated with [] for extra geekness:
- Aimo [Honestly, this is the easiest way to fit this song, and it has to be this version; and it is quite the vital song in the show so there’s no way to leave it out. I actually like the beefed up evil Ranka version but listening to it reminds me how much better it could be if someone, like, Origa, was singing it GITS-style.]
- Welcome to My Fanclub’s Night (Sheryl On Stage) [I like this super cheesy song. Sue me. It is also a good picker-upper, if you use it like how OST1 uses it]
- What ’bout my Star? (Sheryl On Stage) [Because you know you want to burn it gapless, plus I can’t decide if I like Sheryl ver or Ranka ver more.]
- Anata no oto [I think this is the best track on OST2, even if Ao no Ether and Yousei give it a run for its money]
- Triangler [To remind you someone like Maaya Sakamoto is out there, making music that pwns May’n and Nakajima any day.]
- Seikan Hikou [I like the main melody and the lead in, plus it’s got the KIRA \m/]
- Northern Cross [Beats Lion any day. <3 Sheryl. Also like how it is the ending song, it works as a transition to the slower part of the CD. I guess if you want to squeeze in Lion or something you can dump it in front of this track.]
- Yousei [The best Sheryl song on OST2, I guess; didn’t expect it but I was plesantly surprised. Especially because it doesn’t grow on you at first yet it is quite durable to listen to repeatedly. We need that.]
- Ao no Ether [This song was a bit of a surprise like Yousei. They used it in the show but the full arrangement was impressive. Reminds me of all those progessive rhythm ballad songs Kanno wrote for her mecha show ending songs]
- Ninjin Loves you yeah [I can spare a minute for some LULZ…]
- “Super Dimension Chinese Restaurant Nyan Nyan” CM Song (Ranka Version) […let alone 25 seconds]
- Neko Nikki [I really like this track for some reason; probably my sole reason in buying the Seikan Hikou single, but it also works as a slower way to ease back to the more dramatic part of the CD]
- Ai Oboeteimasuka? ~ bless the little queen [When the word on the street was that Kanno is going to get her hands dirty with some classic Macross tracks, I got a little (more) excited. This is her “final product” so to speak and it does not disappoint (unlike the others). Plus, you gotta have that one old track tuck into the ultimate mix somewhere.]
- What ’bout my Star @Formo [Like I said, I can’t choose. Plus this was probably my favorite track from OST1. It ramps up the tempo on the album arrangement for the final stretch.]
- Infinity [This song deserves a lot more attention; but at the same time it reminds me how a lot of May’n tracks blur together after a while because they are similarly arranged.]
- Nyan Nyan Service Medley [To me, this song is the same as a REALLY LONG version of Lion with added parts. And it works well to round things out, just like on OST2.]
- Diamond Crevasse [Best May’n song in the show IMO. Plus, it sounds tailored to her in terms of just how everything flows together, the notes she has to hit, etc. As much as it would be neat to see a Megumi Nakajima version, I don’t think she can come even close to how well May’n did it. It’s slightly more preferrable than the Shinkuu version due to flow on the mix, but also the Shinkuu version is pretty much the same as this version.]
…looks like I even arranged the mix like how OST1 and OST2 did flow-wise. Sigh. It’s not even on purpose!
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Those of us who do not subscribe to the concept that ignorance is bliss may dig too deep and find this fairly epic adventure, Yoko On Stage, as I put it. When Yoko Kanno takes the stage you can bet your collective arses that it will be a memorable time. A memorable time that I’m not a part of. DVDBRD please?
I guess the consolation prize is this AFA08 thing that is happening over at Singapore. Singapore is a nice place to visit, so I’m sure it will improve Japanese-Singapore relationship as a bunch of 20-30yo makes their way from the ‘burbs of Tokyo to the land of delicious crabs and other Indochina delicacies. It would be wise to leave that almond tofu at home and bring some indigestion meds.
Funny… I just burned a Macross F mix for listening to in the car. Here’s what I ended up with (sans the geekness and a few songs):
1. Seikan Hikou
2. What ’bout My Star @Formo
3. Infinity
4. Azure Ether
5. Diamond Crevasse
6. Anata no Oto
7. Lion
8. Northern Cross
9. Yousei
10. Triangler
11. Neko Nikki
12. Ai Aboete Imasu ka ~ bless the little queen
13. Aimo ~ Tori no Hito
14. Empty Diamond Crevasse
(Empty Diamond Crevasse kind of fills the “hidden track” role)
Two Diamond Crevasse, neat.
I’ll try out your mix, as it is not like I’m not going to listen to those same songs any time soon…
On Aimo:
This; in fact, I’d probably melt if Origa was doing it Turn A-style. And if the original version, or at least the original melody/harmony was extended somehow (though we have plenty elongated versions).
While vocals are nice, I prefer the instrumentals, so I’d probably make a mixtape of those.
NOW THIS IS MY KIND OF POST!
Seriously I fail at this. My Macross playlist has 52 tracks (FAIAAAAHH! BAMAAAA!!!). I like everything. Northern Cross is the most awesome, though @Folmo has dominated my iPod forever.
The thing about Macross Frontier is that it is evocative of the whole franchise. I can’t help but line up 4 versions of Watashi no kare wo pairotto one after the other.
@ Jeff (and omo)
I noticed that except for Bless the little queen, no covers were included. This is no surprise to me, because the covers are too similar to (and not as good as) the covers in Mylene Jenius sings Lynn Minmei album. I wish YK really put more effort in those covers. Anyway, I’m still hoping for Tenshi no Enogu for the movie.
Well, hopefully OST3 will have some stuffs. At this point tho it should be BGM heavy since OST2 was rather devoid of it.