Category: Music

  • Olena Usenko’s Vazhil (Leverage)

    I am an old person that still browses channels, though with channel rotation on cable provider, it is hard to keep up with what was taken offline and what new channels they come up with. I recently mourned the taking of MTV’s 00, which I’m guessing was the Euro-based version of MTV’s music rotation. The channel used to feature a number of mid-2000s music that I used to listen to, as well as mid-2000s songs I only heard in Canada, and mid-2000s Euro music hits I had never heard before.

    So while browsing channels today, I stumbled upon Kids Stars (channel) that feature music done by kids. To my surprise, many of the songs that were featured were also Armenian (Betty’s People of the Sun), Belarusian (Zina Bless’s Towards the Wind Навстречу ветру), and even Hindi? I stuck around because I heard a song that reminded me of Christina Aguilera’s Hurt [MV] and gave me overall Aguilera vocal vibes. The problem? The channel only displayed the word “Lever” with a string numerical code that I couldn’t use.

    7693327254339e1c6d90bad672904c93

    In case anyone is doing the searching the old school way.

    Picking up random lyrics to google? No such luck.

    The song, of course, ended up being Ukrainian singer Олена Усенко Olena Usenko’s Vazhil (Важіль), which does translate to “Lever,” but as per Eurovision Jr. translation, it’s “Leverage.” The song is, however, mostly promoted with its Ukrainian transliteration of Vazhil.

    Thanks to SongFinder.gg for making my search nightmare easier, I guess.

    Olena Usenko was a participant in the 5th season of Ukraine’s The Voice Kids, though she didn’t make it through the blind audition stage.

  • Two Decades with Linda Linda!

    Like a rat/mouse, I want to be beautiful ♫ too, you guys. I love you so much.

    The last couple of weeks (?) [about a month and a half ago?], the Linda Linda Linda movie team has been hyping the twentieth anniversary of the movie, which includes a gorgeous 4K restoration which some lucky people might have gotten the chance to watch on a big screen. The re-release, of course, included a very much luckier event with the cast (ALL THE CAST) and director Nobuhiro Yamashita in Japan, where even Kenichi Matsuyama recreated his love confession to Doona.

    The class of Actors to Watch [2][2] from almost 15 years ago aged well.

    To celebrate even more, because this is a pan-East-Asia geek event, Marie Claire Korea included a photoshoot with the Linda Linda girls.

    Paranmaum desu.

  • Demon Slayer 1980s–1990s Retro Edition by GlitchVerse

    I stumbled upon this re-imagined look for Demon Slayer in the ornate style of 1980’s and 1990’s anime, and it’s a dream. I enjoy Demon Slayer fine, but younger generations really have no idea what beauty they missed from old anime. Producers should really really look into making OVAs in this style.

    [for some reason, I’m unable to embed?]

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bbVo7sDQ4w

    According to GlitchVerse comment, the song used in the video was done with AI and it’s titled Endless Struggle; featured on their channel. It is not mentioned what tools they used for generating the graphics.

  • Lettres de Krakovie by Clavel

    I figured I should post this music video that I discovered about a month ago while working on data for this year’s Annecy =D

    Set to French composer Arnold Turboust’s Lettres de Krakovie, it’s a stunning animation done by French collective Clavel, formed by Antoine Dahan, Clément Delaby and Rayan Takhedmit; who did this equally gorgeous short for Annecy 2023.

    The video is also available on Les Monstres’s Vimeo channel.

    From what I could find, it doesn’t seem to be a single from any current Arnold Turboust album, though it might be the first single of a yet-to-be announced one.

    Music by Arnold Turboust
    Music video directed by Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit
    Produced by : Les Monstres (Nicolas Mongin, Hélène Orjebin)

    Storyboard : Rayan Takhedmit
    Concept Art : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit
    Character design : Antoine Dahan
    Layout Posing : Antoine Dahan, Clement Delaby, Étienne Faivre
    Layout Background : Rayan Rayan Takhedmit
    Colorscript and Layout painting : Clement Delaby
    Animation : Antoine Dahan, Sixtine Dano, Clément Delaby, Étienne Faivre, Camille Lherminier, Juliette Navarro, Chloé Niquet, Pierre Rougemont, Rayan Takhedmit, Nicolas Verdier
    Clean / Colo : Sam Bellanger, Amy Calohard, Antoine Dahan, Chloé Niquet, Rayan Takhedmit
    Compositing / Edit : Clément Delaby, Rayan Takhedmit

    Lyrics : Edith Fambuena
    Music PRoducer : Nicolas Borne
    Music mastering : Louis Mc Guire
    Publishing : Adelaide Pop Music

  • If there ever was a reason for ScreenX

    It has to be concert films, no?

    Like- I totally understand these shots.

    They don’t even need to be crowd shots, even. It would be perfectly fine to use concert art. I remember blogging about the concert art and vcrs done for one of Faye Wong’s concerts of the last 15 years. I can’t remember if they were either done by Hi-Organic or Grass Jelly (it was Grass Jelly!), but imagine being surrounded by clouds and mountains while Faye does her electropop sutras.

    Bjork’s Cornucopia felt >small< and constrained in comparison. I always enjoy Bjork’s vocals, however. Technically always there, emotionally present. I will always remember that Hunter moment.

  • Happy Chinese New Year, Zhou Shen and Juan Diego Flores

    Wild things happened at this year’s Spring Gala. Faye Wong awoke from her hibernation for a performance of What the World Gifted Me (世界赠予我的), which CCTV only has in this pre-recorded video presentation. [Edit: CCTV did eventually post the clip.]

    Ni Ni showed up in this segment on Wuxi Scenery and National Feelings (无锡景 家国情), showcasing Jiangsu as a province. Ni Ni, and I suppose everyone involved in the segment, were born in Nanjing or other Jiangsu province cities.

    However, most shocking and most improved was the unexpected collaboration between Chinese vocalist Zhou Shen (周深), Peruvian opera singer Juan Diego Flores and Peruvian multi-instrumentalist Lucho Quequezana for a remix of Lan Hua Hua (兰花花) and the lyric version of El Condor Pasa for The Condor and the Orchid Flower (山鹰和兰花花).

    Many would remember Zhou Shen breaking through pop culture in the 2014 season of The Voice of China (中國好聲音), which led to different hits and numerous inclusions in soundtracks like his first ever Big Fish (大鱼) for the Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) animated film, which is one of my favorite Chinese animation projects.

  • Maria Callas Triple Feature

    A while back I was able to catch a viewing of Tom Volf’s Maria by Callas documentary, which I adored. Some time last year (near my birthday?), I got to catch a special screening of Callas – Paris, 1958, which we got to see alongside a very very very tiny group of people ^^’

    And, of course, I made sure to watch Pablo Larrain’s Maria before the year was over, because why not.

    It’s the perfect Maria Callas triple feature-

    • The divine diva of Callas – Paris, 1958
    • Maria seen through the eyes of Callas in Maria by Callas
    • The human being in Maria.

    My absolute favorite sequence in Larrain’s depiction is probably the whole segment at JFK’s birthday party. Though Maria’s scene with her sister is devastating.

  • The Meenaxi Vinyl We Needed

    I stumbled across a vinyl version of Meenaxi – A Tale of Three Cities, and I’m almost disappointed it’s just a generic pressing of one of A.R. Rahman’s most underrated soundtracks and, of course, one of Tabu’s most underrated gems.

    For a while now, I’ve been lamenting the death of physical media in India. The movie collection is really really suffering from it.

    The world is also suffering from lack of high definition promo materials and HD transfers for M.F. Hussain’s Meenaxi. The world deserves multiple color vinyl editions to play on the Yeh Rishta [MV]/Rang Hai [MV] color palette themes of the movie. Blue, yellow, orange, purple, besides the red one.

  • M2M’s The Better Endings Comeback

    *Insert meme of “It’s been 84 years”*

    After much mysterious drama, Marit and Marion have decided to come back together to make M2M a thing once again. You have no idea about the adrenaline rush I got when I saw Marit’s post, after missing the original posting on- “September 22nd, Sunday, twenty-five after nine.“

    Dorks.

    I love them. I hope they saw A*Teens performing together for their reunion at Melodifestivalen back in February this year and were washed by a feeling of nostalgia that they couldn’t resist. In fact, M2M has already announced The Better Endings Tour (to change the ending of The Day You Went Away, dorks), visiting a number of places in South East Asia were much of their fandom was concentrated, especially in Manila where they are already selling tickets.

    My hope is that maybe, if they would like to increase touring chances in Latin America, they could get together with A*Teens and make it a Scandinavian thing. [Jokes on you! Who’s the dork now?] Thought I wouldn’t mind at all getting the chance to see Marit and Marion up close in more intimate venues, which are my preferred form of performances to witness live, anyway.

    In the meantime, M2M have set up a website where you can join their mailing list, and follow them on their main socials Facebook and Instagram, Tik Tok, and a kinda left over YouTube channel.

  • When you’re on the train, and you Chaiyya Chaiyya~

    I forgot to post this a while back, but this is a total feeling when you’re listening to music and the song comes up.