Cover Songs from the Work of Tezuka Osamu

Atom Kids: Tribute to the King “O.T.” is a really interesting compilation album featuring covers of songs from the vast realm of works by artist and animator Tezuka Osamu (手塚治虫). The album is packed with some high-profile artists. Highlights for me are track #2, which features a favorite singer of mine, Imawano Kiyoshiro, who has one of the most interesting voices of any singer and is a rather interesting character. I also like hip hop pioneer Takagi Kan’s Space Giants Theme. I hadn’t heard Takagi’s work before, but this turned out to be one of my favorite songs on the album. A quick search reveals that he has some music on his MySpace page, which I recommend. I also like the covers of the Astro Boy theme by Shonen Knife and Sean Lennon. Cibo Matto’s version of the Fushigi-na Melmo theme is also catchy and fits right in with their trademark sound.

Here’s a track listing:

1. ワンダー (YOU+高木郁乃+人見元基+難波弘之)
Wandaa 3 (YOU+TAKAGI Ikuno+GENKI Hitomi+NANBA Hiroyuki)

2. 少年マルス (コーザ・ノストラ フィーチャリング・忌野清志郎)
Boy Mars (Cosa Nostra feat. IMAWANO Kiyoshiro)

3. 鉄腕アトム(少年ナイフ)
Mighty Atom (Shonen Knife)

4. わたしはﾍメルモ(野宮真貴+ディミトリ・フロム・パリ)
I, Melmo (NOMIYA Maki + Dimitri from Paris)

5. スペースジャイアンツのテーマ(高木完)
Space Giants Theme (TAKAGI Kan)

6. ふしぎなﾈメルモ(チボ・マット)
Marvelous Melmo (Chibo Matto)

7. Omukae de gonsu(細野晴臣)
Omukae de gonsu (HOSONO Haruomi)

8. カノン(宮沢和史j)
Cannon (MIYAZAWA Kazufumi)

9. ジャングOル大帝(ボアダムス)
Jungle Taitei (Boredoms)

10. 名も知らぬ星 浅野忠信+ブuラッドサースティー・ブッチャーズ)
Na mo dareshirame (ASANO Tadanobu+bloodthirsty butchers)

11. アドルフtの子守歌(エル・マロ)
Adolf’s Lullabye (EL-MALO)

12. 海のトリトン 80年代の筋肉少女帯)
Triton of the Sea (1980s Kinniku Shojo Tai)

13. リボンのマーチ(あんじ)
Ribbon’s March (Anji)

14. あの日君はたｽった1人で(西脇唯)
Ano hi kimi wa tatta hitori de (NISHIWAKI Yui)

15. The Astro Boy Theme Song(ショーン・レノン)
The Astro Boy Theme Song (Sean Lennon)

16. 永遠の物語(ショコラ)
Eternal Story (Chocolat)

17. 僕は愚かな人l類の子供だった(佐野元春)
Boku wa oroka-na jinrui no kodomo datta (SANO Motoharu)

Beautiful Katamari – The Xbox 360 Demo

I’ve long been interested in the series of Katamari games, but I’ve never gotten around to getting my own copy. So I finally downloaded the X-Box Live demo for Beautiful Katamari, and I just might be hooked. Basically, it presents one quick, three-minute level, in which you get to roll up a katamari ball from a wee size to a few meters. It’s a basic taste of the gameplay, but the demo is surprisingly re-playable. I have found myself logging on multiple times to just replay that same small level, trying for larger sizes. I’ve based four meters, and I’m aiming for five, a record that has eluded me thus far. The controls take some getting used to… Maybe Katamari experts will be fine, but for me, sometimes they are unwieldy and a bit frustrating. However, that obviously hasn’t halted my enthusiasm, so I continue to play on; gradually, I’m getting the hang of the controls. While a mere demo probably won’t be able to hold my attention forever, I have extracted quite a bit of fun out of it. I’d say I’ve likely played it more than 10 times, maybe around 15 or so, which would mean (for a three-minute game), at least a half hour. My point is, whether or not one wants to chuck out the cash for the full version, it might well be worth it to download and play the demo a bunch of times.

By the way, once one finishes the three-minute demo game, there’s this little sound effect that sounds like something from the effect-laden album The Who Sell Out. It kind of sounds like “ree-out” or whatnot, and seems like it’d fit right into the world of that 1967 record.

“The Enchanted Forest: Melodies of Japan” and Hiro Fujikake

Speaking of presents, I gave my wife the James Galway CD entitled The Enchanted Forest: Melodies of Japan. I didn’t know much about Mr. Galway before and only really bought the album because it had a bunch of original compositions by Hiroyuki Fujikake (藤掛廣幸). Mr. Fujikake is a really wonderful composer who blends traditional Japanese stylings with traditional Western classical music. I’m not overly familiar with all his works, but pieces such as Pastoral Fantasy are most excellent. When shopping in Japan, I was surprised to find that his music is not readily available in stores. I guess after hearing his work, I just assumed that he must be pretty popular. Taking another approach, English-language Internet searches generally find him in cahoots with Galway, which led me to this particular CD. Although it seems tricky to find comprehensive resources on Fujikake, its well worth it if you do. On to The Enchanted Forest, though. Galway proves to present some enjoyable, and very relaxing flute-playing, and Fujikake’s music does not disappoint. In addition, there’s some non-Fujikake pieces on the album, which I like, such as “Sakura.” I loaded the CD up on the old X-Box 360, and its been played frequently since Christmas. I might add that my wife seems to like the CD, too; it is her present after all, though I am happy to listen in as well.

Either I didn’t notice this site before, or its just been recently updated, but Muse Factory seems to be the place to go to buy more of Fujikake’s stuff. You can hear a sample of his work, “Wings of Eternity” on the page as it loads. It seems to give a good indication of his style of music with strong Japanese and Western influences.