Masked, Ash Like Snow

Okay, one of the vids that had lost/broke or had it's link pulled was the one for "Ash Like Snow" by the The Brilliant Green. In finding a replacement link I stumbled on to this one - - all I can say is damn, they're good. If you can't make it past the mask, just minimize your browser window and listen. . .

Nessun Dorma

I'm finding my tastes in music ever spinning out, becoming more eclectic and varied - I very rarely look at entire segments such as Pop, Rock or Classical, but have begun to look at songs on an almost individual basis.

A good example of this are the aria from Turandot. Personally I'm not a big opera fan but I like Nessun Dorma (translation to follow, or you can click on the link to the left - either way enjoy.)

The Prince
Nessun dorma, nessun dorma ... Tu pure, o Principessa, Nella tua fredda stanza, Guardi le stelle Che tremano d'amore E di speranza.	No one sleeps, no one sleeps... Even you, o Princess, In your cold room, Watch the stars, That tremble with love And with hope.
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, Il nome mio nessun saprà, no, no, Sulla tua bocca lo dirò Quando la luce splenderà, Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio Che ti fa mia.	But my secret is hidden within me; My name no one shall know, no, no, On your mouth I will speak it When the light shines, And my kiss will dissolve the silence That makes you mine.
Chorus
Il nome suo nessun saprà E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir.	No one will know his name And we must, alas, die.
The Prince
Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò!	Vanish, o night! Set, stars! At daybreak, I shall conquer!

Ash Like Snow

Okay it's a little cheezy on the video side, but try as I might the current selection isn't all that great, and all I can ask is that you forget the sniper pandas and enjoy the music :P



found a site for translation though like all off site links I can never promise how long it will be good for. . . "Ash Like Snow" by The Brilliant Green

Mythos of Lament

The original "hook" to WoW (World of Warcraft) for me was the mythos. The history of a world that only exists in the shared will of those who created it. Unlike many other games where the realm exists only in a brief paragraph of introduction, usually on the back of the box, there is so much more here to be explored.

This is one of the major examples of how deep the mythos can go with an on-line MMORPG world can be:

"The exact origins of "Lament of the Highborne" have been lost to antiquity. Certainly the melody pre-dates the War of the Ancients, in which the song served as a lament for the fallen: a tribute to their steadfast bravery against overwhelming odds. Millennia later, the high elves of Quel'Thalas sang the lament, largely unaltered, in the Troll Wars. Here, too, the elves ultimately proved victorious, but they would not remain so. A plague of undeath swept through the human nation of Lordaeron in the Third War and converted many citizens into mindless undead minions of the Lich King. This army--the Scourge--invaded elven lands and decimated the populace, some of whom were raised into undeath and forced to join the Scourge."

"As leader of the last elven defenders of Quel’Thalas, Sylvanas Windrunner suffered a terrible fate: her spirit was ripped from her body and transformed into a banshee. When the Lich King's power faltered, however, she and other undead were freed of Scourge control. She has since reclaimed her body and become queen of these undead rebels, the Forsaken. Although her heart is full of bitterness, she cannot forget the people she once loved... "

Thalassian Version: Anar'alah, anar'alah belore, Sin'dorei, Shindu fallah na. Sin'dorei, Anar'alah, Shindu sin'dorei, Shindu fallah na. Sin'dorei, Anar'alah belore. Shindu sin'dorei, Shindu fallah na. Sin'dorei, Anar'alah belore, Belore.

Loosely translated version: By the light, by the light of the sun, Children of the blood, Our enemies are breaking through. Children of the blood, By the light, Failing children of the blood, They are breaking through. O children of the blood, By the light of the sun. Failing children of the blood, They are breaking through. O children of the blood, By the light of the sun, The sun.

http://www.wow-europe.com/en/downloads/movies.html#lament

Island Song - Shima Uta

I'm slowly becoming a YouTube addict - - wandering the site finding memories of days gone by while stumbling onto new discoveries.

Below is one of the first songs I heard while in Nippon by a JRock group. Done in a soup'd up folk style it's stuck with me longer than most current.

Shima Uta - The Boom

What is it about nostalgia that makes everything feel a little better?

Cells and The Art of Suicide

Sin City - Cells by Servant

Moulin Rouge - The Art of Suicide by Emilie Autumn

I just stumbled onto Emilie Autumn recently, not real big on all her stuff, but love her violin playing, anyway this video using Moulin Rouge caught my eye - I guess at the moment these two videos just seem to fit.

Must be soemething about mocking reality with sarcasim to that seems to fit my world at the moment - makes me want to go find a nice quiet place in the Myst. . .

Bitter:Sweet Pink Martini - Dead Like Me

The scary thing is that this Bitter:Sweet song reminded me of this Pink Martini song from Dead Like Me -- not sure if my subliminal system is working correctly :P

Just one of those moments where you look at a graveling staring at you and wonder just what's going on and if that is really a light at the end of the tunnel or that train that's running late.

/evil smirk of the graveling

I dare to say the hardest thing to do in this life is just enduring it til the next one comes along :P

The Faun's Soundtrack

A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning...

Faun

It is eerie, slightly haunting and one of the better soundtracks for a movie I've heard in a long time. I don't remember why I went to find El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), but when I found the site I discovered a treat that one rarely finds.

The ability to listen to the entire soundtrack of Pan's Labyrinth on line. Written by Spanish composer, Javier Navarrete, I don't know how long it will last but felt the link was definitely worth a post, if for no other reason to make it easier to find :)

It's not very often I listen to a sound track multiple times, usually due to a lack of being unable to find them. This one though seems to have a unique quality unlike many others - I think it is those songs that have the 'Lullaby' theme through them that seem to stick with me the most.

MixedLinks

Just a quick note - added a couple of links to the side.

The first is Sushicam.com - there is a lot of stuff here with mulitple authors, and for those who know me and my love of the asian culture it definately deserves a look. If you just like pictures you'll definately want to check out the picture of the day :) may have to add that one as a link of it's own later.

The second is another Streaming Audio site - I orginally found StreamingSoundtracks.com on 365live.com they have since split-off and moved on. To listen odds are you'll need Orban aacPlus plug-in, but so far it has been well worth the install.

New Links for an Old Blog

A quick thanks to Mr. the Tiger for telling me about 365live it's one massive steaming audio site that seems to have just about everything I search for and is not just limited to English radio stations.

Another thanks to Andrew at 4th Avenue Blues for the link to The Therapist Mumbles

And finally to Ctrl+Alt+Del for the link to LFG Comic. (Seems like the older I get the darker my sense of humor becomes - and although I may not be as naive on a PVP realm when playing WoW I'd rather have the power to end the fight someone else picked with me than to pick the fight in the first place.)

Vendetta of Confusion

Warning: this video contains Violence of a Graphic Nature

I have a friend who has yet to hear this remake of the Genesis classic that was done by Disturbed. I told them I'd try to track it down and over the past week or so this has been the best I can do without purchasing the entire album - which I'm not really sure I want to do yet.

Anyway, it's not very often a remake is worth listening too, due to the need of the re-makers to usually screw the song up turning it into something new.

Congrats to Disturbed in keeping true to the original tune and material.

Oh, as to why this is a music video that uses V for Vendetta - I really didn't care much for the original video and it's takes some time to find a worthy version that didn't involve Final Fantasy - I've never played the games but I think I've seen enough regurgitated segments over and over again to keep me from ever breaking down and buying the game :P

B'z - Itsuka no Merry Christmas

It's been a while since I've listened to this song - but the memories it brings back still seems closer than the lifetime away they have become.

Grey Monday

Fall's colors did not last long before the wind pushed its way in. What little color is left seems to either be tightly stuck to the tree or matted down to the ground in a tightly packed brick of oranges and yellows from the recent rainstorms.

I've been wandering the web recently, and bumped into a couple of nice surprises. The first is that some nice folks have started to post B'z and X Japan on YouTube.

B'z has been around for ages, but it's hard to get here in Celephais with out going through the import process. I'll post one of the videos below for anyone who may be interested in watching.

The other group, X Japan, was introduced to by by Kauri in what seems like another lifetime ago, it is unique to say the least. As they play the gambit between Hard Rock and Classical I found the interplay between the two music styles very addicting.

Below is one of the more classical styled songs I heard by them:

sadly X Japan is no longer together due to the tragic loss of a band member what what they leave behind is still pretty impressive.

Well life beckons, or at least the laundry does.

Ja, ato de ne.

Pandora

Thanks to Bogomip for the link - this site is actually quite impressive - the only catch I've found so far is in finding some of the more eclectic tastes of the world that I've come to enjoy. (Some Japanese Rock, Scottish Folk, and Classical names like Mozart seem to be missing. )

Even though it may be limited the songs that are available are fairly high quality and the features list on the player seem fairly intuitive. Not to mention the selection it does come up with a fairly nice selection of variations on a theme based on the single name you put in at the beginning to create individual 'stations'.

Pandora's definitely worth a link on the side and maybe an account.

Still Preoccupied With 1985

Azumanga Daioh AMV by Suberunker (Kevin Chiou) For those who know Azumanga Daioh this should be rather enjoyable, almost makes me wonder if you can ever really forget those highschool adventures. Either way one of the better manga/music videos I've seen in a long time :)

Kino's Pachelbel

I'm not sure why this song seems to linger in my mind - - I may never fully understand it and to tell you the truth there are much worse songs to have crammed in my cranium.

For some reason though I went to the tune tonight and felt the need to copy down the English lyrics - - hopefully I'll be able to track down the Japanese version, but so far I've had no luck - - may just pull what I can from the show it's self but I can only how badly I screw that up.

Anyway here's what I was able to get so far from episode 4: Land of Adults

Opening:

Far off memories of birds flying through the air
My desires fly on wings of my dreams
All thoughts from the heart of a spring day
I send to the other side of that rainbow

I can see the world's reflection in your smile

Later when Kino sings while working on Hermes and later as the episode ends:

Your eyes are a mirror in which
I can see the world's reflection
Without ever forgetting your kindness
Even if my heart is full of sad words
I will stare long and hard at the stars

Pachelbel has always been haunting, I guess the lyrics (especially when heard in the original Nihongo). This song also added a strong anchor for the series for me - a reality cross over so to speak :)

This is also the episode that the following quote comes from:

Though I did not know the place,
I set out for the land of my dreams.
Having arrived at the land of my dreams,
I found I did not know the place.

And that quote alone could easily become a posting of its own - - but that is a different story.

9/11

It's been a while since I've thought of this song, but it seems rather fitting at the moment. For those unfamiliar with the tune - it's an old Scottish song, of the many versions I've come across this one is my favorite, sung by The Corries .

The chorus of you take the high road and I'll take the low one has been around the world for a long time - - hopefully long enough to prep those vocal cords for the "blog" singers out there.

Loch Lomond

O Wither away my bonnie may
Sae late an' sae far in the gloamin'
The mist gather grey o'er moorland and brae
O wither sae far are ye roamin'?

Chorus:
O ye'll take the high road an' I'll take the low
I'll be in Scottland afore ye
For me and my true love will never meet again
By the bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond

I trusted my ain love last night in the broom
My Donald wha' loves me sae dearly
For the marrow he will march for Edinburgh toon
Tae fecht for his King and Prince Charlie

O well may I weep for yestreen in my sleep
We stood bride and bridegroom together
But his arms and his breath were as cold as the death
And his heart's blood ran red in the heather

Chorus:

As dauntless in battle as tender in love
He'd yield ne'er a foor toe the foeman
But never again frae the field o' the slain
Tae his Moria will he come by Loch Lomond

The thistle may bloom, the King hae his ain
And fond lovers may meet in the gloamin'
And me and my true love will yet meet again
Far above the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

Chorus:

sung by The Corries