Monday, February 13, 2006

Women of Sound
All right, today I was listening to my music while working on an extra credit assignnment for my biology class. Normally I just tone out my music when I'm working, so I'm not really sure why i still play it, but today was different. For some reason I was taken in by the music and realized how incredibly beautiful and amazing it was. I was listening to an iTunes playlist of mine which I have dubbed Women of Sound. This playlist consists of the various works of three outstanding female musicians; Imogen Heap, Dido, and Origa. I absolutely love their music and they are three of my favorite musicians, one of them actually is my favorite...currently. I have to confess my musical tastes do change slightly as time goes on. But, below I thought I would type out why I love these three women and their work. Also, if you click on their pictures, it will take you to their websites where you can learn anything you need to about them. I suggest purchasing at least some of their music. Enjoy!

---

Imogen Heap
Currently, Imogen Heap is my very favorite musical artist. She is so incredibly good! It's kind of hard for me to put her in a specivic genre because she has such a unique sound. I guess the best place to put her is in the genre of "electronic". She started out as a solo artist and released one album entitled I Megaphone which, if I got my facts straight, wasn't that big of a hit. It doesn't in any way embody the style of her later works. When listening to bits and pieces of the songs off of the album on iTunes it's hard for me to imagine that this is the same artist. She went on in her career to form a partnership with Guy Sigsworth and together they became the band Frou Frou. This is the point at which I first head Imogen. I was astounded with the style of Frou Frou. It was ulike anything I had heard before. But, what really captured me about the group was Imogen's vocal talents. I simply loved her voice. Don't get me wrong, Guy and his synthesized sounds are extraordinary, but Imogen, in my opinion, is who made the group what it was. Unfortunately, Frou Frou was also an unsuccessful band to start out with, dispite their numerous attempts to promote themselves. They landed two very coveted spots in the soundtracks of Shrek 2 and Garden State. But, even through that, the group broke up. Both partners went off to do solo careers. I have yet to find an album done by Guy Sigsworth, but Imogen has recently released a new album entitled Speak For Yourself. This album follows much of the same style as Frou Frou; very toned down, electronic, flowing, incredibly unique. Although, you can still hear remnants of her original, very British rock inspired, style. Since her split from Frou Frou, she has landed spots in the soundtracks of a few different movies and television shows including The O.C., Six Feet Under, Just Like Heaven, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For the latter three of those she wrote original songs which can only be found on those soundtrack albums. She has also released a single entitled Cumulus. So, by those findings I am assuming that she is having quite a bit of success in her new solo career, at least in her native Great Britain, even though I don't know anyone else who had ever heard of her before I introduced them to her music. She continues to amaze me and I have yet to tire of hearing her music and I look forward to her next album with great anticipation. She is simply incredible. I recommend greatly you go out an purchase her second solo CD as well as the CD she did with Frou Frou. You will definitely enjoy it. And, if you don't take my word for it, go and listen to the samples of the songs on iTunes.

Dido
Dido is another artist whose musical talent blows me away. I love her style and Iover her voice. I actually have some very fond memories associated with one of her songs called "Thank You" which was a big hit off her first album and was later sung in duet with Eminem. The first time I heard that song, and the first time I heard Dido, was on my trip to Australia and New Zealand with an organization called People to People Student Ambassadors. It was basically an educational trip. You go with a group of about 15 students and 2 teachers to foreign countries and tour. You go to all the educational sites, learn about the culture, and get the chance to live with a family in one of the countries you visit. It's really an amazing trip and I was extremely privileged to have been able to go on it. Getting back to how Dido fits into this, our tour guide in Australia would play "Thank You" every time we would leave a town in which we stayed for more than a day. A good idea and a rather appropriate song for it. But, unlike that song, most of the songs on Dido's first song are quite depressing. All are very slow songs, not too upbeat, and many carry a message of failed relationships and saying goodbye. Dispite the depressing message of her original CD, it was a great success. Her second album did not do as well as the first, which surprised me. Her second album follows the same musical style as the first with one exception, the lyrics are much happier. Although the songs are still mostly very slow the lyrics convey a message of hope and reconcilliation. And yet, the album wasn't as big of a success as her first. Go figure. I actually like her second more, but that's just my perosnal taste. Either way, you should go and purchase both of her albums. There is no way you can be disappointed with this astounding musician.

Origa
Last, but not least of the three women is Origa. Origa is a native of Russia who, in 1992 was invited to Japan to attend Sapporo University. While there she was discovered by a Japanese recording company and has since been releasing albums under a Japanese label. She has a completely and totally unique style unlike anything I have ever heard before in my life. Some of her songs are incredible and beautiful, and some of them aren't quite as good. I don't know how I would classify Origa as far as genres go. She's that unique. She has done quite a bit of work with the incridible Yoko Kanno. Her vocal talents are displayed in the soundtrack of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex composed by Kanno-san. This is where I first heard her. I was quite impressed, not necessarily with her vocal talent, but the style of the songs. This was misleading. The style of the songs in Ghost in the Shell is not Origa'sbut Kanno-san's. This I discovered only after listening to Origa's latest album entitled Aurora. There is really no way to discribe the style to you, you just have to listen to it. Although Origa is one of my favorit artists, and does manage to squeeze into this trio of female artists, not all of her music appeals to me. Some of it is just a little too odd. Some of it can get quite annoying at times. But, then in contrast, there are some of her songs that I just want to play over and over again. She has that much of a range. Each album is an experience all of it's own. None of them are quite the same. I'm not sure if this is due to Origa not really having a style of her own or just that her style is very flexible. Maybe I just can't perceive the style. I'm not sure. In any case, her music is amazing and I recommend her, but with a small amount of hesitation. Since her music is so unique, it doesn't really fit everyone's tastes. So, since you can't listen to her on iTunes, if you want to hear some of her songs before deciding to buy an album, contact me and I will send you a relatively good sampling of her music.

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Beck, Black Lagoon, Blame!, Blood the Last Vampire, Bokurano, Burst Angel, Castle in the Sky, Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, Last Exile, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Midori?s Days, Milennium Actress, Mushi-shi, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Naruto: The Movie, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth, Ninja Scroll: The Movie, Other Worlds, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Pet Shop of Horrors, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, Prétear, Princess Mononoke, Read Or Die, Read Or Die: The TV, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven, Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

Anime I've Seen - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - .hack//Sign - 5 Centimeters per Second - Air - Air: The Movie - Akira - The Animatrix - Appleseed - Aquatic Language - Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror - Baby Blue - Beck - Black Lagoon - Blame! - Blood the Last Vampire - Bokurano - Burst Angel - Castle in the Sky - Cowboy Bebop - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express - Doorbell - Egao - FLCL - Fullmetal Alchemist - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala - Gankutsuou - Gatekeepers - Genius Party - Genshiken - Genshiken OAV - Ghost in the Shell - Ghost in the Shell: Innocence - Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society - Gin-iro no Kami no Agito - The Gokusen - Grave of the Fireflies - Grenadier - Haibane Renmei - Happy Machine - Hellsing - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Hikaru no Go - Howl's Moving Castle - Innocent Venus - Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Jyu Oh Sei - Karas: The Prophecy - Karas: The Revelation - Last Exile - Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Midori?s Days - Milennium Actress - Mushi-shi - My Neighbor Totoro - Naruto - Naruto: The Movie - Nausicaa - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth - Ninja Scroll: The Movie - Other Worlds - Ouran High School Host Club - Paprika - Perfect Blue - Pet Shop of Horrors - The Place Promised In Our Early Days - Prétear - Princess Mononoke - Read Or Die - Read Or Die: The TV - Samurai Champloo - Samurai Seven - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - Serial Experiments Lain - Shanghai Dragon - She and Her Cat - Spirited Away - Steamboy - Tekkonkinkreet - Tide-Line Blue - Tokyo Babylon - Tokyo Godfathers - Trigun - Trinity Blood - Vampire Hunter D - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Voices of a Distant Star - Witch Hunter Robin - Wolf's Rain - Wonderful Days - Wrath of the Ninja - X Total: 93

Anime I Haven't Completed - .hack//Roots - Ah! My Goddess - Angelic Layer - Avenger - Baccano! - Bamboo Blade - Basilisk - Binchou-tan - Black Cat - Bleach - Blood+ - Boogiepop Phantom - Case Closed - Le Chevalier d'Eon - Chobits - Chrono Crusade - Code Geass - Coyote Ragtime Show - D.Gray-Man - D.N.Angel - DearS - Death Note - Dennou Coil - Desert Punk - Digimon - Dragon Ball Z - Ergo Proxy - Eureka Seven - Excel Saga - Fighting Beauty Wulong - Final Fantasy Unlimited - Flag - Freedom - Full Moon - Gantz - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Gintama - Glass Fleet - Great Teacher Onizuka - Gundam Seed - Gundam Wing - Hayate the Combat Butler - Hellsing OVA - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Ikki Tousen - InuYasha - Jigoku Shojo - Kage Kara Mamoru - Karin - Kino's Journey - Love Hina - Loveless - Lovely Complex - Lucky Star - Makai Senki Disgaea - Marchen Awakens Romance - Meine Liebe - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Mononoke - Monster - Moon Phase - Mr Stain on Junk Alley - Naruto Shippuuden - Negima?! - Negima! - Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Nerima Daikon Brothers - NHK ni Youkoso - Night Walker - Ninja Nonsense - Noir - Peacemaker Kurogane - Pokemon - Prince of Tennis - R.G. Veda - Ragnarok - Rec - Red Garden - Robotech - Romeo x Juliet - Rosen Maiden - Rurouni Kenshin - Saikano - Sailor Moon - Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sci-fi Harry - School Rumble - Scrapped Princess - Shin-chan - Shingu - Shion no Oh - Shuffle! - Shrine of the Morning Mist - So Long, Mr. Despair - Solty Rei - Sousei no Aquarion - Speed Grapher - Spice and Wolf - Super Milk Chan - Tales of Phantasia - Tenchi Muyo - Tenjhou Tenge - Texnolyze - The Third - Tsubasa Chronicles - Urusei Yatsura - Venus Versus Virus - Welcome to the N.H.K. - Winter Cicada - X-1999 - Xenosaga - XxxHolic - Yu Yu Hakushou - Yume Tsukai - Zero no Tsukaima - Zipang Total: 116

Manga I've Completed - Cowboy Bebop - FLCL - Manga Messiah - Manga Metamorphosis - Q*Ko-chan - Saiyuki - Shirahime-Syo Total: 7 Manga I Haven't Completed - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - Black Cat - Blame! - Chobits - D.Gray-man - Darkside Blues - Death Note - The Demon Ororon - Desert Coral - Disgaea - Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl - Fruits Basket - Getbackers - Hayate the Combat Butler - Kamunagara - Legal Drug - Love Hina - Loveless - Megatokyo - Naruto - Negima - Read Or Die - Rurouni Kenshin - Tactics - Trigun Maximum - XXXHolic Total: 26

Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist

Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, InuYasha, Jigoku Shojo, Kage Kara Mamoru, Karin, Kino?s Journey, Love Hina, Loveless, Lovely Complex, Lucky Star, Makai Senki Disgaea, Marchen Awakens Romance, Meine Liebe, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mononoke, Monster, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, Peacemaker Kurogane, Pokemon, Prince of Tennis, R.G. Veda, Ragnarok, Rec, Red Garden, Robotech, Romeo x Juliet, Rosen Maiden, Rurouni Kenshin, Saikano, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sci-fi Harry, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

Comments (1)