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Re: Soundtracks








>From: "Peter T. Chattaway" <petert at interchange_ubc.ca>
>
>I posted a list of all the soundtracks in my CD collection to another
>listserv a few months ago; you can check it out at:

I checked this out, and this is a Daniel Amos list.  So tell me, what does 
"Kalhoun" mean?  Please?

>Of those, I would say my favorites, perfect or otherwise, grouped by
>composer, would include:
>
>    Ryiuchi Sakamoto -- The Last Emperor (with David Byrne and Cong Su),
>       Little Buddha

I've noticed that you aren't adverse to animated film, so allow me to make a 
suggestion.  Sakamoto also composed the music to an animated film from his 
native Japan, "Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force" (Honneamise No 
Tsubasa)  that is quite excellent.  It is also available domestically.  The 
U.S. pressing of the DVD (Manga Entertainment) contains a lengthy gallery of 
watercolor and production art used in the film, set to the complete 
soundtrack, by way of an extra!  Quite artsy!

The actual movie is a generation X piece that is set in a completely alien 
world wherein everything was designed from scratch- utensils, cars, clothes, 
and even religion.  (In fact, one of the more memorable sequences involves 
the creation story of the world's Bible.)  It draws parallels between the 
gen X main character's quest to find his way in the world and said world's 
quest to find it's way into space- he's the first astronaut.  Political 
power struggles, social commentary, and the role of faith are all explored 
along the way.

When the film toured US art houses, it was criticized for a sequence wherein 
the quasi-Christian girl takes responsibility for the protagonist's 
attempted rape of her.  Fortunately, this is only in the English script.  
Switching to subtitles remedies this problem.

The only reason I can't unequivocally recommend this DVD is the fact that it 
is, in fact, defective.  The picture is not up to par with typical DVDs, due 
to the different source materials used, though it still beats VHS.  Manga 
denies the defect, and will not be reissuing it in the immediate future.  
(Info @ http://www.animeondvd.com )

The soundtrack is available from numerous US anime retailers, all of which 
should be accessible from http://www.anipike.com  You should also be able to 
find a list of web sites giving further information about the film.  Look 
for Carl Gustav Horn's analysis if you can find it.

Other anime soundtracks of interest: Boa's "Dream of a thousand Camels" 
contains the song "Duvet" from "Serial Experiments Lain."  Boa are a British 
band with a half-Japanese female singer.  Some of their material is a bit 
Led Zeppelin, and some of it a bit Over The Rhine.  They have signed to 
Pioneer for an eventual US release.

Yoko Kanno is a diminutive cutie-pie who writes the coolest music, 
soundtrack or otherwise, you'll ever hear.  The "Cowboy Bebop" soundtracks 
combine jazz and blues effortlessly.  (See also: Macross Plus, Escaflowne)

Kitaro's "Millenium" is actually the soundtrack for "Queen Millenia", for 
new age fans.

That's it for now,

Matt
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