Monday, March 14, 2005
Dear Friends
This is actually something I wrote last week, but am only posting now.
Yesterday I went to an awesome event, the Final Fantasy Dear Friends concert in San Francisco. To anyone who has a chance go to go one of these, I highly recommend it. The music was outstanding and the song selection was almost perfect. This was what they played:
Liberi Fatali (FF VIII)
Zanarkand (FF X)
Tina (FF VI)
Theme of Love (FF IV)
Dear Friends (FF V)
Vamo alla Flamenco (FF IX)
Love Grows (FF VIII)
Intermission
Aerith's Theme (FF VII)
Not Alone (FF IX)
Ronfaure (FF XI)
Final Fantasy I-III Medley
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Medley
Final Fantasy (aka "The Prologue")
There was also an excellent encore, which I won't spoil (although most reviews do, so it's not hard to find if you're curious).
When they were announcing the songs beforehand, the one that got by far the most applause was Aerith's Theme, which the one I was most excited about too. (Tina was second both in amount of cheering and in my own interest level). But it turned out that some of the best songs were the ones I had the least expectations for: Love Grows and Liberi Fatali in the first half, and the FF I-III medley in the second half. The FF I-III medley started with the Prelude on a harp, which was great, and later on it included the Chocobo Theme, which got some cheers and laughs. Of course, whenever I hear the Chocobo Theme now I think of the lyrics from this flash video, which added to my amusement. So I would call those three songs the highlights, along with the encore. While nothing was bad, I thought some of the other arrangements were weaker than other versions I've heard (Tina, especially, was a lot weaker than the near-flawless Piano Collections version).
During some the songs they showed clips from the corresponding games on screens above the stage. Some of those were cool, but some weren't. (The clip for "To Zanarkand" was the best one). Overall, I would have been happy just watching the performers, and most of the time that's what they showed.
Despite all the great music, I think the highlight of the night for me was when Nobuo went up on stage and talked for a while. He was really funny and knew how to play to the crowd. It was great to see him, and the rest of the crowd clearly thought so too - the response he got was bigger than the one Yo-Yo Ma got when I saw him at Davies (a much bigger venue, but a much older crowd). It sounds like Nobuo wants to do more concerts, and I hope he does, because I definitely want to see more.
This is actually something I wrote last week, but am only posting now.
Yesterday I went to an awesome event, the Final Fantasy Dear Friends concert in San Francisco. To anyone who has a chance go to go one of these, I highly recommend it. The music was outstanding and the song selection was almost perfect. This was what they played:
Liberi Fatali (FF VIII)
Zanarkand (FF X)
Tina (FF VI)
Theme of Love (FF IV)
Dear Friends (FF V)
Vamo alla Flamenco (FF IX)
Love Grows (FF VIII)
Intermission
Aerith's Theme (FF VII)
Not Alone (FF IX)
Ronfaure (FF XI)
Final Fantasy I-III Medley
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Medley
Final Fantasy (aka "The Prologue")
There was also an excellent encore, which I won't spoil (although most reviews do, so it's not hard to find if you're curious).
When they were announcing the songs beforehand, the one that got by far the most applause was Aerith's Theme, which the one I was most excited about too. (Tina was second both in amount of cheering and in my own interest level). But it turned out that some of the best songs were the ones I had the least expectations for: Love Grows and Liberi Fatali in the first half, and the FF I-III medley in the second half. The FF I-III medley started with the Prelude on a harp, which was great, and later on it included the Chocobo Theme, which got some cheers and laughs. Of course, whenever I hear the Chocobo Theme now I think of the lyrics from this flash video, which added to my amusement. So I would call those three songs the highlights, along with the encore. While nothing was bad, I thought some of the other arrangements were weaker than other versions I've heard (Tina, especially, was a lot weaker than the near-flawless Piano Collections version).
During some the songs they showed clips from the corresponding games on screens above the stage. Some of those were cool, but some weren't. (The clip for "To Zanarkand" was the best one). Overall, I would have been happy just watching the performers, and most of the time that's what they showed.
Despite all the great music, I think the highlight of the night for me was when Nobuo went up on stage and talked for a while. He was really funny and knew how to play to the crowd. It was great to see him, and the rest of the crowd clearly thought so too - the response he got was bigger than the one Yo-Yo Ma got when I saw him at Davies (a much bigger venue, but a much older crowd). It sounds like Nobuo wants to do more concerts, and I hope he does, because I definitely want to see more.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Lyrics Quiz
Continuing my pattern of ripping off all my posting ideas from Matt Bruce, here's my version of the lyrics shuffle meme. See if you can figure out what songs these lines are from without using any references. I was supposed to take lines from the first 25 songs that came up when I randomly shuffled my playlist; since I wasn't listening to a playlist I shuffled all my music instead. Why post one of these on a blog that's received two total comments in its lifetime? Good question.
It looks like the shuffle function gave a pretty representative cross-section of my listening habits... circa 1996. Here we go - no cheating.
1. "I heard a song and turned away, as piece by piece you performed your story."
2. "At each and every show there's this groupie. Honest knows what she wants to do to me."
3. "And you care, and no one told you tried, and your heart is left out from the side, and the rain beats down, and the shame goes down"
4. "When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone... When you're sure you've had enough of this life."
5. "Sittin' in my window, I'm thinking of you, all the fun things we used to do."
6. "We need heroes like the Lone Ranger, when Tonto came pronto, when there was danger."
7. "Have you ever loved someone so much you thought you'd die? Giving so much of yourself, it seems the only way."
8. "One night I was coolin', sitting in the tub, and I wanted to go out and go to a club."
9. "Tell me that want me, tell me that you love me. I'll be your dream, you be my fantasy."
10. "What was that sound ringing around your brain? Today was just a blur, you gotta head like a ghost train."
11. "Big and black the clouds may be, time will pass away. If you put your trust in me I'll make bright your day."
12. "A gunshot rings out at the station, another urchin snaps & left dead on his own. It makes me wonder why I'm still here, for some strange reason it's now feelin like my home."
13. "Keeping my eyes open, I cannot afford to sleep. Giving away promises I know that I can't keep."
14. "Do my shit undercover, now it's time for the blubba blabba to watch that belly get fatter."
15. "The two of us together again, but it's just the same, a stupid game."
16. "Well I've finally found what I'm a looking for, but if they get their chance they'll end it for sure... surely would."
17. "The sun's still shining in the big blue sky, but it don't mean nothing to me."
18. "It's okay, had a bad day. Hands are bruised from breaking rocks all day."
19. "The butterfly, uh-uh that's old."
20. "We're just like old friends, we just can't pretend that lovers make amends."
21. "Don't get sentimental, it always ends up drivel."
22. "Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof. My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof."
23. "They got paid for their sound bites, and sold their TV movie rights."
24. "And you know I see right through you, when the world gets in your way. What's the point in all this screaming? You're not listening anyway."
25. "I give you my destiny. I'm giving you all of me. I want your symphony, singing in all that I am."
Continuing my pattern of ripping off all my posting ideas from Matt Bruce, here's my version of the lyrics shuffle meme. See if you can figure out what songs these lines are from without using any references. I was supposed to take lines from the first 25 songs that came up when I randomly shuffled my playlist; since I wasn't listening to a playlist I shuffled all my music instead. Why post one of these on a blog that's received two total comments in its lifetime? Good question.
It looks like the shuffle function gave a pretty representative cross-section of my listening habits... circa 1996. Here we go - no cheating.
1. "I heard a song and turned away, as piece by piece you performed your story."
2. "At each and every show there's this groupie. Honest knows what she wants to do to me."
3. "And you care, and no one told you tried, and your heart is left out from the side, and the rain beats down, and the shame goes down"
4. "When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone... When you're sure you've had enough of this life."
5. "Sittin' in my window, I'm thinking of you, all the fun things we used to do."
6. "We need heroes like the Lone Ranger, when Tonto came pronto, when there was danger."
7. "Have you ever loved someone so much you thought you'd die? Giving so much of yourself, it seems the only way."
8. "One night I was coolin', sitting in the tub, and I wanted to go out and go to a club."
9. "Tell me that want me, tell me that you love me. I'll be your dream, you be my fantasy."
10. "What was that sound ringing around your brain? Today was just a blur, you gotta head like a ghost train."
11. "Big and black the clouds may be, time will pass away. If you put your trust in me I'll make bright your day."
12. "A gunshot rings out at the station, another urchin snaps & left dead on his own. It makes me wonder why I'm still here, for some strange reason it's now feelin like my home."
13. "Keeping my eyes open, I cannot afford to sleep. Giving away promises I know that I can't keep."
14. "Do my shit undercover, now it's time for the blubba blabba to watch that belly get fatter."
15. "The two of us together again, but it's just the same, a stupid game."
16. "Well I've finally found what I'm a looking for, but if they get their chance they'll end it for sure... surely would."
17. "The sun's still shining in the big blue sky, but it don't mean nothing to me."
18. "It's okay, had a bad day. Hands are bruised from breaking rocks all day."
19. "The butterfly, uh-uh that's old."
20. "We're just like old friends, we just can't pretend that lovers make amends."
21. "Don't get sentimental, it always ends up drivel."
22. "Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof. My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof."
23. "They got paid for their sound bites, and sold their TV movie rights."
24. "And you know I see right through you, when the world gets in your way. What's the point in all this screaming? You're not listening anyway."
25. "I give you my destiny. I'm giving you all of me. I want your symphony, singing in all that I am."
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Ignorant Slashdotters
My first thought when I saw this poll was "How can the best pitcher in history be losing to a pair of crappy bench players, an all-defense catcher, and two relief pitchers who only played one season apiece?"
My first thought when I saw this poll was "How can the best pitcher in history be losing to a pair of crappy bench players, an all-defense catcher, and two relief pitchers who only played one season apiece?"
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Buffylog
The final one...
11/23: End Of Days, Chosen
11/22: Dirty Girls, Empty Places, Touched
The final one...
11/23: End Of Days, Chosen
11/22: Dirty Girls, Empty Places, Touched
Monday, November 22, 2004
Buffylog
11/21: The Killer In Me, First Date, Get It Done, Storyteller, Lies My Parents Told Me
11/20: Showtime, Potential
11/19: Never Leave Me, Bring On The Night
11/21: The Killer In Me, First Date, Get It Done, Storyteller, Lies My Parents Told Me
11/20: Showtime, Potential
11/19: Never Leave Me, Bring On The Night
Friday, November 19, 2004
Buffylog
Season 7...
11/18: Conversations With Dead People, Sleeper
11/17: Help, Selfless, Him
11/16: Lessons, Beneath You, "Same Time, Same Place"
Season 7...
11/18: Conversations With Dead People, Sleeper
11/17: Help, Selfless, Him
11/16: Lessons, Beneath You, "Same Time, Same Place"
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Best of the 80's
In counterpoint to last week's 90's list, here are my 32 favorite songs from the 80's, in chronological order.
1. A Reflection - 1980
2. Play For Today - 1980
3. A Forest - 1980
4. M - 1980
5. The Holy Hour - 1981
6. Primary - 1981
7. Other Voices - 1981
8. All Cats Are Grey - 1981
9. Faith - 1981
10. Charlotte Sometimes - 1981
11. The Hanging Garden - 1982
12. The Walk - 1983
13. In-Between Days - 1985
14. Kyoto Song - 1985
15. The Blood - 1985
16. Close To Me - 1985
17. A Night Like This - 1985
18. The Kiss - 1987
19. Catch - 1987
20. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep - 1987
21. Why Can't I Be You - 1987
22. Just Like Heaven - 1987
23. One More Time - 1987
24. Like Cockatoos - 1987
25. A Thousand Hours - 1987
26. Plainsong - 1989
27. Pictures Of You - 1989
28. Closedown - 1989
29. Fascination Street - 1989
30. Lullaby - 1989
31. Disintegration - 1989
32. Untitled - 1989
I'm half kidding.
In counterpoint to last week's 90's list, here are my 32 favorite songs from the 80's, in chronological order.
1. A Reflection - 1980
2. Play For Today - 1980
3. A Forest - 1980
4. M - 1980
5. The Holy Hour - 1981
6. Primary - 1981
7. Other Voices - 1981
8. All Cats Are Grey - 1981
9. Faith - 1981
10. Charlotte Sometimes - 1981
11. The Hanging Garden - 1982
12. The Walk - 1983
13. In-Between Days - 1985
14. Kyoto Song - 1985
15. The Blood - 1985
16. Close To Me - 1985
17. A Night Like This - 1985
18. The Kiss - 1987
19. Catch - 1987
20. If Only Tonight We Could Sleep - 1987
21. Why Can't I Be You - 1987
22. Just Like Heaven - 1987
23. One More Time - 1987
24. Like Cockatoos - 1987
25. A Thousand Hours - 1987
26. Plainsong - 1989
27. Pictures Of You - 1989
28. Closedown - 1989
29. Fascination Street - 1989
30. Lullaby - 1989
31. Disintegration - 1989
32. Untitled - 1989
I'm half kidding.
