Song title: Tank!
Artist: Seatbelts
Year: 1998
Why I like this song:
Do I really need to explain this song? Its the opening to Cowboy Bebop. It's intro music that one dare not skip. It's a statement of intent. It never gets old no matter how many times I hear it (and believe you me there have been many times I've heard this). It can easily work without it's parent anime. Its masterfully executed.
That a song can pull off all of the above, no easy task, makes it a triumph.
Song title: Yakitori
Artist: Yoko Kanno
Year: 2003
Why I like this song:
Another standout track to the Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex OST and a firm reminder of how the damn thing went hard as. Indeed, I recall nicknaming this as 'the seven minute guitar solo'.
Not much else to say really: it rocks hard and features some stunning dynamics.
Song title: Run Rabbit Junk
Artist: HIDE
Year: 2003
Why I like this song:
Its the first track on the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtrack and a firm statement of intent. I recall back in 2003, a friend gifted me the soundtrack and I played it to death.
In fact, I found I could put this on in the company of friends and no one could tell the difference - proving that music can cross barriers in an effective manner.
Original video located here. Accessed 23rd November 2019
Song title: Inner Universe
Artist: Origa
Year: 2002
Why I like this song:
Yoko Kanno tries her hand at industrial. Why not? She's tried many other genres.
This is the opening to the Ghost in the Shell TV series Stand Alone Complex. And whereas the movie opened with a hymn sung in Bulgarian, this does a similar trick with it being sung in Russian.
Also helps that the hits like a truck with the synths and beats. Having a child soprano doesn't hurt either.
Keep in mind, it had been years since the movie and many people had been crying out for a follow up since. And when it did, it was after the cinematic landscape had been changed by The Matrix, one of Ghost in the Shell's disciples. Thus the use of industrial suggests some degree of cross-pollination.
No matter, it still works a treat.
Original video located here. Accessed 10th August 2020
Song title: What Planet is This?!
Artist: Seatbelts
Year: 2001
Why I like this song:
All right, can't keep putting it off any longer: Lets talk about the soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop.
But really there's not much I can say that hasn't been said before: Its an anime that has a show-stopper of a soundtrack covering snappy tunes across a variety of genres. Why, such intent is spelled out in the title, utilising a reference to a form of jazz.
And whilst I'm spoilt for choice, I went for this gem from the movie. Seems the quintessential track to the anime and it's soundtrack. Its also just the thing to have an aircraft dogfight to.
Original video located here. Accessed 22nd August 2019
Song title: Lithium Flower
Artist: Scott Matthews
Year: 2002
Why I like this song:
I love the soundtrack to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. There's some great pieces throughout but what can one expect from composer Yoko Kanno?
It is interesting that there are a number of tracks in the soundtrack that are sung in English - such as this one. Clearly there is an eye for an international audience but who cares? This is a rockin' end credits theme and one I will gladly sing along even if the words seem very random.
Song title: Yakusoku wa Iranai
Artist: Maaya Sakamoto
Year: 1996
Why I like this song:
It's a no brainer to say that all of the soundtrack to Vision of Escaflowne is magnificent. And what better way to announce one's self than with this.
Its big, it's grand, its sweeping and it's a statement of intent if ever there was one.