OLIVIA - Alone in Our Castle

Wahhh, her voice is so pretty and high! I think I discovered this Japanese artist years ago through an mp3 rotation site. In fact, I think this song was among the ones by her I got from mp3 rotation sites, although I have since heard a lot more songs by her. I guess she’s considerably more famous now than when I first found her music.

OLIVIA - Alone in Our Castle:

Mehrab - Ey Baby

I don't know why I like this song. I just do. It's mesmerizingly catchy, even though there's really nothing ostensibly special about it. Amazingly, I can now understand more or less what he's saying (which means, surprise: it's not very deep). It's basically just like, "OMG YOU'RE SO HOT I LIKE YOU." This isn’t much better than most of the stuff you hear on American radio, but for some reason I just find it unusually catchy.

Mehrab - Ey Baby:

Sarah McLachlan - When She Loved Me

It's not often that a song can make me view it as heartbreaking due to the lyrics, but congratulations, Sarah McLachlan, you have done it. This is from the soundtrack of the Pixar film Toy Story 2, and is about a doll being outgrown by her friend/owner. One time I was playing this on the piano and, in a very weird moment, it suddenly hit me how incredibly sad it was. SO SAD.
Note: Video has HD.

Sarah McLachlan - When She Loved Me:


Here’s the part from the movie with the song. Prepare to be depressed:

Hajime Mizoguchi feat. Gabriela Robin - Grace~Omega

This is the theme song of the anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. It's so exquisite and haunting. Rumor (now practically confirmed) has it that Gabriela Robin is the vocalist/lyricist pseudonym of the famous composer Yoko Kanno, whose music I’ve posted a couple times already. This would make sense, since at the time of this track’s release Yoko Kanno was married to this song’s composer/cellist, Hajime Mizoguchi. This is one of my absolute favorite pieces of music ever.
Note: Listen in HD! You won’t regret it.

Hajime Mizoguchi A.K.A. 溝口 肇 feat. Gabriela Robin - Grace~Omega:

Lindsay Lohan - Rumors

Soooo this artist is back in the news again. Is it weird that I'm posting a song by LiLo? Yes, it is. I heard this song playing on the speakers when I was at Pizza My Heart and really liked the instrumental and melody. I had no idea it was by this rather controversial actress, but once I found out it didn’t stop me from liking the instrumental. Don't hate me! (Even if you dislike this celebrity, you may find this song interesting/entertaining.)

Lindsay Lohan - Rumors:

Park Hyo Shin - Lost

I heard about this Korean ballad singer I think through an mp3 rotation site. After I acquired the album this song is on, I found myself liking this song the most.
Note: I try to find videos without images of the artist, but it looks like this time that’s just not gonna happen. But hey! There are English subtitles!

Park Hyo Shin A.K.A. 박효신 - Lost:

Amber Riley - Hell to the No

I’ve been on a Glee binge lately, in anticipation of the new episodes of season 3 after a break. This singer/actress is, in my opinion, THE BEST singer on the series, and should have way more solos on the show than she does. Her voice is amazing and powerful; my friend even said she gets goosebumps when she hears it. This song is from the show, but is not a cover because it's from the "Original Song" episode. The lyrics are humorous, but I also think it’s one of the catchiest-sounding songs they’ve ever done on the show, and I especially love Amber’s voice in this one.
Note: Unfortunately, some of the lyrics in the video are wrong, but the song’s in HD.

Amber Riley - Hell to the No:


Here’s the part from the show in which the abridged version of the song is performed. I particularly like this clip because Amber has some major swagger goin’ on.  (You might want to click the link instead of watching the embedded video, because for me the embedded video shows up in really low quality for some reason.)
http://mundofox.com/la/videos/glee/hell-to-the-no/897594826001/

Protoje - Take Control

I found this on YouTube somehow when surfing for reggae. I just like it. It's calling for social reform, and it's catchy.  End of story.
Note:  I found it in HD.

Protoje - Take Control:

Sade - Pearls

This singer is pretty famous, but I'm not sure about the fame of the song itself. I knew about this artist since I was little, because I saw her music video on TV and my mom had one of her albums, but I wasn’t aware of this song until a few years ago. It's one of the few (non-hip hop) songs whose lyrics I listen to, and I think they're beautifully-crafted. I love this song in all its mournfulness, in meaning as well as sound; it puts things in perspective. Every time I see a spoiled American kid complaining about how his/her life is uniquely horrible, I am tempted to send him/her this song.
Note: Listen in HD!

Sade - Pearls:

Jacob Groth feat. Misen Groth - Would Anybody Die for Me

This song is the ending theme of the Swedish movie The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is how I heard it. It sounds sad and ominous, so it fits the tone of the movie pretty well. I *think* the song’s composer is the brother of the song’s vocalist. Even though the film the music was used for is Swedish, the composer (and, I assume, the vocalist) is Danish.

Jacob Groth feat. Misen Groth - Would Anybody Die for Me:

Mandy Moore - Only Hope

I heard this song in the American movie A Walk to Remember. Even though the movie was not my cup o' tea, I instantly fell in love with the song that this pop star-turned-actress sang in it--this one. So PAINFULLY pretty! I'm pretty sure this was intended to be a Christian song.  It's also one of my favorite songs to sing.

Mandy Moore - Only Hope:


If you wanna see the part of the movie with the song, it's here:

Sage Francis - The Best of Times

This song is about reflecting on one's childhood. I already listened to this hip hop artist before this song was released, but I didn't hear this song until a friend posted it on FB last year. I like the music video for this track, so I'm posting it.  The line about technology gives me goosebumps.  0_0
Note: Available in HD!

Sage Francis - The Best of Times:

Dixie Chicks - Goodbye Earl

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of country music as a genre. However, I have always liked this country artist—even before they were ostracized from the country music community for publicly dissing George Bush. This darkly comical song is a large part of why I liked them from the start. Even when I was a little kid, I knew all the words to this song and thought it was clever and funny. And now you know my violent tendencies and appreciation of dark humor started early. :-P I don’t think I even saw the great music video until a few years ago, but once I did I added it to my list of favorite music videos, so naturally I have to include it here.

Dixie Chicks - Goodbye Earl:


And the music video:

Andrea Guerra - Children Found

I heard this song first when my friend used it as the music that played when you visited her blog. She said it was from the soundtrack of the American film Hotel Rwanda, which I saw later. I think it’s my favorite piece from the soundtrack.

Andrea Guerra - Children Found:

Harrys Gym - Old Man

I found out about this Norwegian artist through a music column on a blog. I appreciate the creepiness of this song, which I feel makes it appropriate for this wonderful month of Halloween. Even the picture in the video kinda freaks me out.

Harrys Gym - Old Man:

Miyavi - 死んでもBoogie-Woogie

Ahh, it’s time for more of this artist’s very special, very awesome brand of crazy. This time it’s a single, though, so it’s a little more… palatable? Anyway, as I’ve said before, he’s first and foremost a guitarist/songwriter and his voice can take some getting used to, but I love the weird sound effects he makes, and he’s a very talented musician. I believe he played all the instruments on his first album, and this single is from that time period so I highly suspect that applies to this song as well.
Note: OK, so normally I try to avoid posting videos that show the artist if I think people’s perception of the artist’s appearance will get in the way of the listener’s perception of the music, and in the case of Miyavi this is especially true since it’s jarring that that scratchy voice comes out of his freakishly pretty face, but I really can’t resist posting the MV this time because it lets the wackiness shine through. I used to watch this to put myself in a good mood because I found it so funny.

Miyavi - 死んでもBoogie-Woogie [Despite Death Boogie Woogie]:


And the highly amusing MV:

Kelly Rowland - Stole

I knew about this artist from her days in Destiny's Child. I think this was the first song I heard by her as a solo artist (not counting her guest features in other artists’ songs), back when it was playing on the radio. This was a surprisingly conscious song to be playing on pop/hip hop/R&B radio stations.

Kelly Rowland - Stole:

Sliimy - Womanizer

This French artist covers the Britney Spears song by the same name, and it’s just about the cutest cover of this song I can imagine. I don’t remember exactly how I found this artist, but I think it was through a music column on a blog. I’m posting the official MV for two reasons. One, it’s hard to find another upload of the song on YT. Two, it’s pretty frickin’ cool.

Sliimy - Womanizer:

Han Hong - 浪拉山情

I found this artist years ago when my friend sent me this song. There was no decipherable label on the file, and all my friend could tell me was that he heard from his sister that the singer was Tibetan. Based on that, I somehow Googled my way into the information for this song and discovered who the artist was. As I understand it, she’s quite famous in China and excels in singing traditional Tibetan style. I think her voice is incredibly beautiful.
Note: I honestly am not sure how to translate the title. I did what I could; please correct if you can!

Han Hong A.K.A. 韩红 - 浪拉山情 [Lang La Shan Qing - Feeling of Waves Pulling the Mountain]:

Mumford & Sons - I Gave You All

Even though I heard this artist’s name come up a lot over the past year, and saw them get nominated for awards at the Grammys, I didn’t look this artist up because it seemed like they didn’t make my kind of music. However, when this song was used in a recent episode of the German soap opera I was following, it just about killed me (which in this case is a very good thing, because it was storytelling at its most poignant).  Then I listened to the song in its entirety and found it even more moving.

Mumford & Sons - I Gave You All:

Lucy Love - Who You Are

I found this hip hop artist through a music column on a blog. I like her very audible dialect, which sounds British to me, although she's from Denmark. I love her attitude and the themes of her music. This is the first track I heard by this artist, and it sold me. Since then I have listened to some of her other tracks, and I like that the themes seem to be about her being a good lyricist and, as is the case with this song, about the value of NOT being famous. At first I was like, “Meh, pretty good,” but this song ended up getting stuck in my head and I had to keep replaying it. Now I find it kinda addictive. This has some profanity. (Interestingly, this is the second song with this title I’ve posted on this blog, the first being by Jessie J.)

Lucy Love - Who You Are:

Jason Mraz - Plane

This is another of my favorite songs by this popular artist. GOD, I love his voice. It’s so clear and pretty. His happy songs, which I don’t care for as much, always are the ones that get popular (and that he performed when I saw him in concert), but I prefer his sad-sounding ones.

Jason Mraz - Plane:

Narsha - 삐리빠빠

This artist is a member of the group Brown Eyed Girls, whose music I planned on posting at some point in the future. I found this song (and MV) a couple months ago and I just like something about how it sounds. I heard that some people in Korea freaked out over the music video due to its religious (Christian) imagery, so of course that means I gotta post it too. I personally find its edginess pretty refreshing coming from the Korean pop music industry. Plus, I’m quite fond of the imagery because it’s prettiful and full of red & black.

Narsha - 삐리빠빠 [Bbi Ri Bba Bba]:


And the MV, which has HD:

Breaking Benjamin - So Cold

I think this was the first song by this American band I heard, and although I’ve heard other songs by them, this one regularly plays in my head.
Note: HD available, yo.

Breaking Benjamin - So Cold:

Kelly Sweet - We Are One

Quite pretty! I heard this song in a fanvideo a little while ago... I don’t even remember what for, but I made a note of the song so I could find it later. It reminds me of Sarah McLachlan’s music. Outside of this song, I haven’t heard anything by this artist, but I like the clarity of her voice based on this one song.
Note: Hi-def video!

Kelly Sweet - We Are One:

Fredy Massamba - Zonza

I found this Congolese artist and song a couple days ago through a compilation album of African music on a site for international music. This is probably my favorite song on the album. It has a nice combination of instruments, and I like the guy’s voice.
Note: This is the official music video, which I normally try to evade posting, but it’s one of the few uploads of the song I could find on YT, and it’s in SUPER hi-def.  (And besides, this music video's actually quite nice, and brimming with African pride, which is cool.)  So enjoy!

Fredy Massamba - Zonza [Words]:

Hikaru Nanase feat. Black Lily Sisters - Messiah

I read some pretty negative reviews about the anime adaptation of the Angel Sanctuary manga, so I've never watched it, but this song from the soundtrack is pretty darn cool. (I also like the manga series.) I like how dark and epic it sounds! It suits the series very well.

Hikaru Nanase A.K.A. 七瀬 光 feat. Black Lily Sisters - Messiah:

Blackstreet feat. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen - No Diggity

I heard this song on a compilation album of R&B hits--which is ironic, considering I'd never heard it on the radio--that someone burned for me. I don’t think I'd even heard of this group before, but this ended up being one of my favorite tracks on the CD because this song just sounds good!

Blackstreet feat. Dr. Dre & Queen Pen - No Diggity:

Madonna - Frozen

Everyone knows this artist, so no explanation needed there, I assume. Although I’m not a fan of all of her music, I like this song and her other songs from this album because they’re on the new agey/trip-hoppish side. I actually really like this music video; it’s preeeeeeetty.

Madonna - Frozen:


I can't embed the MV, but you can watch it here:
http://youtu.be/XS088Opj9o0

Chukiat Sakwirakul & August Band - Ticket (Day Trip)

This soothing song is from the soundtrack of the Thai movie Love of Siam. If I'm not mistaken, the singer of this song is also the director AND screenwriter of the film. Talk about ambitious (and his ambition apparently paid off, because the film was phenomenally successful in Thailand). And the band providing the instrumentation is the supposedly the band featured in the movie... which was created FOR the movie, and then ended up becoming successful in real life.

Chukiat Sakwirakul A.K.A. ชูเกียรติ ศักดิ์วีระกุล & August Band - Ticket (Day Trip):

Utada Hikaru - Colors

Again I am posting music by the first Japanese music artist whose CD I ever bought. This is one of my first Utada songs, too, and the first one that I liked enough to memorize the lyrics of back in the day. Even back then, I was impressed by her vocal range, which I think is one of her primary claims to fame. She has so many popular songs, but this remains one of my favorites by her.

Utada Hikaru A.K.A. 宇多田 ヒカル - Colors: