Today is the day Wasteland, the new Abney Park album, is being released, so I thought it was appropriate to share a few of their songs here for those that may not have heard them. The first track is their rendition of Minnie The Moocher from the new album, with Captain Robert doing an amazing job of channeling Cab Calloway. The next song is Wasteland Warrior, also from the new album. We follow that with a few old favorites, Two Elixirs from the album Nomad, and the extended version of Steampunk Revolution from Ancient World. You can use the link to their home page to hear a lot more, and pick up any of the music you find interesting.
I first came across RIP Slyme as the song Super Shooter embedded in the anime Gantz, and liked them for being brave enough to be associated with it. Of course, the song was perfect for the show, so it made sense they wanted to be part of the project. After about the third other song I heard from them I began to like them as a band. Sadly, it looks like they signed with Warner Music about 5 years ago, and Gantz was done 6 years ago. So far I haven’t found an official version of that song I can include here because of that change of contract. Here are a few tunes for you to check out that I am allowed to post, so you can make your own decision. Let’s start with their latest release JUMP featuring Chay, which came out on September 30th as part of their 10th album. The next track is Star.
Sometimes called Chap Hop, SteamPunk music has quite a few interesting tunes. Tonight we are presenting Lady Has Bustle from the Desert Rose Theatre, and the second tune is the Steampunk Style parody of the famous Psy song. OK, one more I couldn’t resist; the Gentleman Robot VS Iron Man 1889!
Nothing I can say will help you understand how amazing this band is live unless you have seen them for yourself, but at least a few of the videos should give you the general idea. The first one on tonight’s group is The Way Back, the Japanese Version this time. The next is C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h., and the one after that is from their A-Sketch days, Liar. I heard that when they signed with Warner they cut a deal so all their A-Sketch tunes had the rights grandfathered back to that distributor; if true, that indicates an ethical attitude pretty much unmatched these days, and I like it. Finally, the track they still play as their closing song, even after the last decade of changes; No Scared! I will do my best to stop ranting and raving about them now, but I suspect I will not quite succeed. Because they really are that amazing live and in person, as I learned myself this past Tuesday when they played in my town; enjoy!
Bite size Anime (in the 5 to 10 minute long range) is fun when you don’t feel like giving up half an hour but still want to watch a little something, and this season we have several. Miss Monochrome is an android (the humanoid robot, not the operating system) who wants to be a Pop Idol, in a show that pokes fun at the entire Idol business model. About half of each 7 minute episode is Vocaloid-sounding music performed by singer and voice actress Yui Horie, so you don’t end up needing to burn too many brain cells to follow the story line. They are calling this the 3rd series, but only if you count the singer’s Secret Mission Tour in 2012 where the character was first introduced as a series. I do find it somewhat amusing that the android’s house pet is a Roomba. The other short story series this season I am watching is Hackadoll the Animation, about three personal entertainment AIs who don’t have a clue. Their assigned goal is to to improve the efficiency of their clients by filtering the sea of information into the bits important to their human, but these three have no idea how to go about the task. I am sure it will be no surprise that this one is a comedy. So far I only have a single episode of either to base an opinion on, but they both have the potential to entertain if they are done right.
They are touring North America right now, promoting their latest album on their first tour with an American release, 35xxxv (DELUXE EDITION), a best of collection from all their recordings since they formed in 2005. The lyrics are all in English, and the first song posted is Last Dance, the next one here from the same album is Cry Out. Don’t let their initial ballad for the US fool you, this band is all about serious Rock-N-Roll, in a way so many bands wish they could pull off. If you have even the slimmest chance to see them, I urge you to do so; they are truly amazing. The last few tracks here are Mighty Long Fall, Decision, and Be The Light. And yes, while all of their music has been available through iTunes for the last half decade, it is nice to finally have a natively available source for it. And OK, the final track of this set might be just a bit of a ballad again, if you are going to be a stickler about formats.