Category: video

Kenji Kawai, Inner Universe, Ghost in the Shell

Kenji Kawai, Inner Universe, “Ghost in the Shell”

The Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku Kidotai) is a 1995 animation film based on the manga series of the same name. It was directed by Mamoru Oshii, written by Kazunori Ito and Masamune Shirow who wrote the comic series. It starred Atsuko Tanaka and Iemasa Kayumi.

It was later redone as a live actor movie in 2017 directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, and Juliette Binoche. It was filmed at locations in New Zealand and China.

In this post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks. The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a cyborg.

The main character of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required that she use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The Avener, “To Let Myself Go” Featuring Ane Brun

The Avener, “To Let Myself Go” Featuring Ane Brun, From the Album “The Wanderings of the Avener”

Ane Brun is a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami origin. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2001, where she writes, records, and runs her own label.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Grizzly Bear, “Two Weeks”

Grizzly Bear, “Two Weeks”, from the Veckatimest Album, Live on MTVuk

Grizzly Bear, a Brooklyn, New York rock band,  began as a moniker for songwriter Ed Droste’s music in the early 2000s. Regarding the band’s origins as a solo project, Droste noted, “It was just like doing a little home project, and I thought “oh, this is fun, I’m just going to call this stuff Grizzly Bear. […] Our name was actually just a nickname for an old boyfriend of mine.”

Veckatimest was released in May 2009 and was named “after a tiny, uninhabited island on Cape Cod that the band visited and was inspired by, particularly liking its Native American name.” Upon release the album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and met with widespread critical acclaim.

Compared to Yellow House, the band’s 2009 release, Veckatimest is more of an accessible pop record with traditional and electronic instruments mixed with the use of vocal harmonies . Veckatimest made many Top Album lists for 2009 (#1 Wall Street Journal, No. 6 Pitchfork, No. 6 New York Times, No. 8 Time).

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Bloc Party, “Kreuzberg”

 

Bloc Party, “Kreuzberg” from the Album “A Weekend in the City”

Video by Ricco Buitink, January 2011.
This video was partly shot in Berlin (district Kreuzberg) in winter 2009. The other parts are taken from a video of Bloc Party live at Bristol Academy. The scenes in the U-Bahn are from the short movie “U-Bahn”, directed by Hendrik Hölzemann.

Kyle Okereke, the openly gay lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, wrote the lyrics for the band’s second album, “A Weekend In The City”, partially in response to the death of London bartender David Morley who was beaten to death in a possibly homophobic “happy slapping.” The song “Kreuzberg” is about unfulfilling promiscuity.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Bloc Party, “I Still Remember”

Bloc Party, “I Still Remember” from the Album “A Weekend in the City”

Bloc Party are an English indie rock band, currently composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums).  Their brand of music, whilst rooted in rock, retains elements of other genres such as electronica and house music. The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack.

With the release of “Flux”, Bloc Party’s style became even more diverse with the inclusion of electronic music. “Mercury” saw Bloc Party distance themselves even further from the traditional guitar band set-up by experimenting with dark electronic sounds and a brass section inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band’s third album Intimacy also features synths, processed drum beats and loops, vocal manipulation, and choral arrangements. Even though the album was influenced by electronic music, the band still had not lost their feel for guitar music.

Kyle Okereke, the openly gay lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, wrote the lyrics for the band’s second album, “A Weekend In The City”, partially in response to the death of London bartender David Morley who was beaten to death in a possibly homophobic “happy slapping.” The song “I Still Remember” is about an unspoken attraction between guys.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Jimmy Scott, “I’ll Be Around”

Jimmy Scott, “I’ll Be Around”

“This man is all about feeling. He defined what ‘soul’ is all about in singing long before anyone was using that word!”- Ray Charles

He first rose to prominence as “Little Jimmy Scott” in the Lionel Hampton Band when he sang lead on the late 1940s hit “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”, recorded in December 1949, and which became a top ten R&B hit in 1950. Credit on the label, however, went to “Lionel Hampton and vocalists”, so the singer’s name did not appear on any of the songs.

This omission of credit was not only a slight to Scott’s talent but a big blow to his career. A similar professional insult occurred several years later when his vocal on “Embraceable You” with Charlie Parker, on the album One Night in Birdland, was credited to female vocalist Chubby Newsome.

Lionel Hampton gave him the stage name of “Little Jimmy Scott” because he looked so young, and was short and of slight build. However, it was his extraordinary phrasing and romantic feeling that made him a favorite singer of fellow artists such as Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Lust for Youth, “Better Looking Brother”

Lust for Youth, “Better Looking Brother”

“Compassion restates beauty for a time of crisis and clickbait. Judgement, design, form, and opinion: to what end will we refine our world if we can’t also make an anthem of our lives? This is the tender conspiracy: I’m on twitter; I have an anthem. Do we have an anthem? We have lust. Let’s meet IRL.

Compassion’s first single, “Better Looking Brother” was streamed over 50k times in its first month, capping off a highly successful 2015 of worldwide tours and critical social media updates. Lust For Youth are affectionately vicious, and vulnerably sharp. They are the anticipation of the comedown as you come up on the best you’ve ever been offered from a bathroom stall. This is the spectrum: a low you know, and a dizzy new height.” -Sacred Bones Records