Saturday 22 October 2011

Another one of my biggest inspirations is the legendary composer, Joe Hisaishi-san.
If you don't know him, look him up. Seriously. He's incredible, and I love him.
I got to know him through his partnership with the  director, Hayao Miyazaki-san, who is equally as awesome.
I've posted a composition of his, before, called "Sixth Stop" from the movie, Spirited Away. It is among my top ten favourites of his, and I'd like to show you some of the others here!

This is called "The Boy Who Drank Stars" from the movie, Howl's Moving Castle.
There are absolutely no words that can describe it.
Listen, and cry.



I bet you think you can't dance to a classical song. Well, think again. This is called "A Town with an Ocean View" from the movie, Kiki's Delivery Service.



An absolute classic of his would have to be "Summer".
It's hard to contain the unexplainable energy that this song gives you.
This is a song that can plaster a goofy grin on my face wherever and whenever I hear it. Please, thank me later.


That's all I have to share with you today from Hisaishi-san, but there will be more, I'm sure.
Now, I know you'll all be wanting more after hearing these songs, so don't hesitate to look for the movies:  NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
I can recommend them all for you, and safely guarantee their epic soundtracks!
Enjoy!
There's a few new songs to post, so let's start with some more of my favourite 80s singer - you guessed it - Suzanne Vega.
She is just so amazing, I love to sing all of her songs.
Here's two of my favourites at the moment-


Slightly intense, effortlessly captivating - with a beat that anyone could dance to - Suzanne and her band are brilliant at making something deep and different.
I really like the lyrics to this song, too - they're like poetry.

Solitude stands by the window
She turns her head as I walk in the room
I can see by her eyes she's been waiting
Standing in the slant of the late afternoon

And she turns to me with her hand extended
Her palm is split with a flower with a flame


Here's another that I like to identify with - you understand just by the name of the song, don't you?



Nobody can deny it - she's got style.
I think that she is very inspiring - instead of conforming - making her music similar to others at the time (a trait very common in the music industry nowadays), she does the opposite.
Rather, her producer told her to make it as "alive and spontaneous as possible".
This is what I like about Suzanne - it's her difference which makes her popular.


(quotation from Retrospective- the best of Suzanne Vega introduction by Lenny Kaye 2003)