Flash Flash Revolution - View Single Post - An Album A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

EzExZeRo7497 · 05-6-2014, 09:42 AM

May 6th, 2014
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1996 by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a profilic musician, responsible for the film scores for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor. His music is very diverse in terms of genres, spanning from contemporary classical to ambient to glitch. He's also a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, which is an influential innovator in the field of popular electronic music.

A lot of these pieces remind me very strongly of JRPGs and even some classic anime series. 1919, for example, is incredibly reminiscent of the Final Fantasy games (X specifically), at least for me. It's very cinematic despite the instrumentation being subtle, which is great. Although I don't personally enjoy it so much, it's still really interesting that Sakamoto was able to create such tension with so little.

The shining star here is of course, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. It is based on the original track, a mellow yet sombre piece of music which is... tear-jerking to say the least. While I don't think this arrangement has done the original justice, it is still really good.

While it is certainly magical, I just can't get into it. Its presence is not strong enough, and at its strongest, it only lasts for very brief. A Day A Gorilla Gives A Banana shows this issue the most. Although there are a few moments that are brilliant, it becomes something completely different within seconds. Variance is nice of course, but switching that often is just ridiculous.

Although the pieces are all over the emotional spectrum, none of these pieces create much of a dent for me to experience these emotions first-hand. I could see that Sakamoto is trying to convey this, I just don't feel it. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence seems to be the only exception, but I think it was mainly because the original is incredibly powerful to begin with.

Interestingly enough, I've thought 88 by Kashiwa Daisuke (another modern classical album, but more minimal) is also not strong enough at first. It grew a lot on me since then, so perhaps this one might too. I doubt it though, I think the album is a bit too unfocused, long-winded and generally too vibrant for me to really enjoy.

Album Highlights: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky Theme
Track Average Rating: 2.88/5
Overall Rating: 5.5/10
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Body Riddle by Clark (recommended by AlexDest)
First time listening to Clark, although I've heard his name being thrown around here and there. Body Riddle is an IDM album with downtempo and nu-jazz elements.

This album baffles me. As much as I'm into IDM in general, this album is really something that I can't put my finger on. In some moments the album reminds me of a far rougher Flashbulb and Boards of Canada, but it's hard to give an actual comparison. I'd say the best way of describing it would be the playfulness of Aphex Twin with some warmth from BoC occasionally, but that's still not necessarily correct. But still, they're both artists that... I'm not fond of at all.

I think the album is a little bit too ambitious. While it is filled with complex rhythms and is very colourful, I can't really see any base. The sound is incredibly dense, filled with tons of twists and turns. Exciting? Absolutely. Engaging? Not really. Tracks like Ted which are slightly less ambitious turned out to be some of my favourite parts of the album. It is a pretty good mixture of dense sound and accessibility, which makes it a fantastic tune. Can't quite say the same for the other tracks though.

The album has some tranquil tunes (Matthew Unburdened) to tracks that I could barely understand (Frau Wav). I tend to prefer the ones that are in between, they're either too hollow to really cause an emotional effect or too dense for me to appreciate otherwise. Most of the tracks seem to lean towards one side of the spectrum though, so I can't really like them to large extents.

I think I would've enjoyed this a lot more years ago, during the phase when I was mainly into breakcore and IDM. I still like those genres, but I really don't like them as much as I used to. This album, although a wonderful effort, just doesn't do it for me at all. I can't quite see it as a grower too, so I don't think I'll listen to this again. Anyway, I don't think the album is bad. Just something that I don't think I'd have any interest in listening to again. I could imagine people who are into more experimental electronic music (or at least into BoC/Aphex Twin) to enjoy this more than I did.

Album Highlights: Ted
Track Average Rating: 2.55/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/10

Also reduced Pop's rating to 8.0. As much as I find the tracks fantastic, they're really too rich for me to listen to all at once a second time. I really have to be the right mood for an album like that - otherwise I wouldn't enjoy it so much and just stop halfway through.

05-6-2014, 09:42 AM	#57
EzExZeRo7497 ⠀ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Singapore, SG Age: 26 Posts: 6,858	Re: An Album A Day Keeps The Doctor Away \| 365 Album Challenge May 6th, 2014 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ 1996 by Ryuichi Sakamoto Ryuichi Sakamoto is a profilic musician, responsible for the film scores for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Last Emperor. His music is very diverse in terms of genres, spanning from contemporary classical to ambient to glitch. He's also a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, which is an influential innovator in the field of popular electronic music. A lot of these pieces remind me very strongly of JRPGs and even some classic anime series. 1919, for example, is incredibly reminiscent of the Final Fantasy games (X specifically), at least for me. It's very cinematic despite the instrumentation being subtle, which is great. Although I don't personally enjoy it so much, it's still really interesting that Sakamoto was able to create such tension with so little. The shining star here is of course, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. It is based on the original track, a mellow yet sombre piece of music which is... tear-jerking to say the least. While I don't think this arrangement has done the original justice, it is still really good. While it is certainly magical, I just can't get into it. Its presence is not strong enough, and at its strongest, it only lasts for very brief. A Day A Gorilla Gives A Banana shows this issue the most. Although there are a few moments that are brilliant, it becomes something completely different within seconds. Variance is nice of course, but switching that often is just ridiculous. Although the pieces are all over the emotional spectrum, none of these pieces create much of a dent for me to experience these emotions first-hand. I could see that Sakamoto is trying to convey this, I just don't feel it. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence seems to be the only exception, but I think it was mainly because the original is incredibly powerful to begin with. Interestingly enough, I've thought 88 by Kashiwa Daisuke (another modern classical album, but more minimal) is also not strong enough at first. It grew a lot on me since then, so perhaps this one might too. I doubt it though, I think the album is a bit too unfocused, long-winded and generally too vibrant for me to really enjoy. Album Highlights: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky Theme Track Average Rating: 2.88/5 Overall Rating: 5.5/10 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Body Riddle by Clark (recommended by AlexDest) First time listening to Clark, although I've heard his name being thrown around here and there. Body Riddle is an IDM album with downtempo and nu-jazz elements. This album baffles me. As much as I'm into IDM in general, this album is really something that I can't put my finger on. In some moments the album reminds me of a far rougher Flashbulb and Boards of Canada, but it's hard to give an actual comparison. I'd say the best way of describing it would be the playfulness of Aphex Twin with some warmth from BoC occasionally, but that's still not necessarily correct. But still, they're both artists that... I'm not fond of at all. I think the album is a little bit too ambitious. While it is filled with complex rhythms and is very colourful, I can't really see any base. The sound is incredibly dense, filled with tons of twists and turns. Exciting? Absolutely. Engaging? Not really. Tracks like Ted which are slightly less ambitious turned out to be some of my favourite parts of the album. It is a pretty good mixture of dense sound and accessibility, which makes it a fantastic tune. Can't quite say the same for the other tracks though. The album has some tranquil tunes (Matthew Unburdened) to tracks that I could barely understand (Frau Wav). I tend to prefer the ones that are in between, they're either too hollow to really cause an emotional effect or too dense for me to appreciate otherwise. Most of the tracks seem to lean towards one side of the spectrum though, so I can't really like them to large extents. I think I would've enjoyed this a lot more years ago, during the phase when I was mainly into breakcore and IDM. I still like those genres, but I really don't like them as much as I used to. This album, although a wonderful effort, just doesn't do it for me at all. I can't quite see it as a grower too, so I don't think I'll listen to this again. Anyway, I don't think the album is bad. Just something that I don't think I'd have any interest in listening to again. I could imagine people who are into more experimental electronic music (or at least into BoC/Aphex Twin) to enjoy this more than I did. Album Highlights: Ted Track Average Rating: 2.55/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/10 Also reduced Pop's rating to 8.0. As much as I find the tracks fantastic, they're really too rich for me to listen to all at once a second time. I really have to be the right mood for an album like that - otherwise I wouldn't enjoy it so much and just stop halfway through. Last edited by EzExZeRo7497; 05-29-2014 at 09:06 AM..