Friday, July 18, 2014

Anime Juke Box - Blue - Cowboy Bebop

So I've posted music from Outlaw Star and Trigun, but nothing from Cowboy Bebop yet. Well, it is about time to change that. Yoko Kanno wrote all the music for the series, and most of it was performed by her band The Seatbelts. This jazz combo gave the series a distinctive sound, and one that matches the series perfectly. But Kanno does what she always does best, and that is show off her versatility. Cowboy Bebop boasts some atonal electronic tracks, traditional orchestral and operatic style vocals, and of course pop and rock songs. Blue is played during the final scene of the series, and really fits the scene perfectly. Mai Yamane frequently collaborated with Kanno in the 1990s and her vocal style reminds me of Melissa Etheridge. Here she sings the whole song in English, and does a pretty good job.



4 comments:

  1. I do like Cowboy Bebop, though I haven't seen all the series. You might like watching Chris Stuckman's review of Wolf Children. He's a younger reviewer that I've grown to enjoy, not that I always agree with him, but I just think he presents himself well and seems to have a good handle on things, and I can respect him for that. He's started to incorporate more doing some anime reviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibtuFUslegw

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    1. Bebop is a fun series. Some of the episodes are better than others. My favorite character was Jet, the tough old guy. But hey, Faye Valentine is always welcome to show up in an episode or two. :)

      Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check him out.

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  2. Nice lyrics: "Asked myself what it's all for/You know the funny thing about it/I couldn't answer." Not many of us can. And I wager that those who try likely get it wrong.

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    1. Yep. The lyrics really match the feelings of the "lead" character Spike i that final episode. Not the most uplifting of lyrics, but a perfect fit for a guy who really seems to have lost everything that made his life worth living - at least in his mind.

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