🎶 MUSIC

This is the first song from PinocchioP that I was recommended. It is insanely catchy -- I couldn't get it out of my head for days after first listening to it. I think the song has something to do about online friends, too, which is interesting. Not that I would really know what it's talking about -- it's in Japanese and I haven't analyzed the English lyrics. 🥹

If you've ever played Yume 2kki Online even a little bit before, you probably know how much people want to visit Lavender Waters. I haven't logged into it for a while by now ... but I hope people still want to visit this place. It's peaceful. It's like paradise. But really pink. Someone find the pixel artist of that place and reward them, please.

Getting recommended this song was what ultimately persuaded me to try Neon Genesis Evangelion. Of course, catching wind of angelic and Kabbalistic imagery (all esoteric stuff I'm weak for) helped as well, but this song -- isn't it just magnificient? The linked video is also a montage of many important events in the anime. It's arranged in a way so that it's pretty much impossible to get spoiled watching the video, but watching it now, knowing how everything ends up ... it really just makes the song hit that much harder.

This is basically a slower piano + violin rendition of Cruel Angel's Thesis. So, why did I put it here? Aside from being a pretty good change of tone from the epicness of the intro theme, it is also the song that plays during the very end of the show: Episode 26. The ending to the show was controversial, but I truly loved it; it was a beautiful, happy ending, and I think, to really appreciate this song, you should watch the show and see how it ends. I suppose the ending could have been clearer with the plot ... but ahhh, come on, this isn't an Evangelion blog post. Just listen to the music and enjoy. ^_^

This is a very nostalgic-sounding song I found in, oddly enough, a Lain playlist. I love the recognizable ever-present guitar strumming of this song. A very chill and happy song, great to walk down a sparsely populated afternoon street to.

The song's title translates directly to "chasing fish", which must have contributed to somebody's decision to put it in the playlist I found it: A Shimeji Simulation Fan OST. To me, at least, the singer has an unconventional vocal style, but that by itself invokes a certain charm, like a child-like, fun, amateur, or nevertheless genuine charm. The general tune of the song is very catchy and quite evocative of the underground internet subculture this song was birthed in, somehow. I particularly enjoy the guitar pattern and the chorus. The band is Super Social Sandals (renamed from Anti Social Sandals) and has apparently only existed for 4 years as of the time of writing, according to this article. Generally very cool to see underground music that sounds as good as this.