tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91438244664159961292024-03-13T01:20:59.763-07:00Stream of SyncopationA.K.A. Aural ElitismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1825125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-69561743915190919692015-12-31T17:23:00.000-08:002015-12-31T17:23:59.235-08:00Luella and the Sun - We Got To Meet Death One DayHappy New Year’s Eve! As this year draws to a close, so does this music blog, which I’ve maintained for a solid 5 years. I think that’s a good number to end on. This song is tonally perfect for Halloween season, but seeing as this is the last post of the music blog there’s no point in saving it until next October. It’s sad to have to end it, but it had to meet its death one day!
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Note: The final post has an HD upload!
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Luella and the Sun - We Got To Meet Death One Day:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eTbDhBoIkAQ?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-14326057513327663052015-12-30T18:42:00.000-08:002015-12-30T18:42:22.022-08:00Apocalyptica - In the Hall of the Mountain KingEdvard Grieg’s famous piece could have been posted in its original classical orchestra form, as I like that version too, but I should have posted this Finnish artist more often. Their originals are pretty nice. Alas, we are down to the wire, so I am left with this! I’m not sure why this piece reminds me of winter, but it does.<br />
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Apocalyptica - In the Hall of the Mountain King:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VWEmsUiQELU?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-54125086860585381612015-12-29T17:27:00.002-08:002015-12-29T17:27:34.285-08:00IU - Cruel Fairy TaleSounds like a waltz, I suppose like one would find in a typical fairy tale. People compare it to "Once Upon a December" from <i>Anastasia</i>, which I’ve posted in the past. I heard of this K-pop artist numerous times over the past few years, but none of her songs compelled me as much as this one. What's kinda cool about her, according to what I read, is that she is largely the author of her own music, in both lyrics and production.<br />
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IU - Cruel Fairy Tale:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/woVHudwCTEs?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-29079799453425454992015-12-28T18:49:00.000-08:002015-12-28T18:49:42.939-08:00Vidoll - 舞夢 ~マイム~So weird… A sizeable catalogue of gothic music from this visual kei artist and this chipper-sounding song is the one by them that I end up especially liking. I’m throwing it in here because I noticed that the lyrics mention Christmas. Other than that, it’s not really the theme. In fact, I think the lyrical meaning is neither upbeat nor Christmasy, but rather something to do with a lost love, and from the point of view of a woman.<br />
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Vidoll - 舞夢 ~マイム~ [Maimu - Mime]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AaEzzd9IAUA?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-56571349595601537532015-12-27T19:02:00.002-08:002015-12-27T19:02:36.229-08:00Loreena McKennitt - Noël Nouvelet!I grew up listening to this artist, but didn’t have any of her Christmas-themed music. It wasn’t until I looked over her discography that I realized that Christmas was a primary and recurrent theme of her songs. Last night I heard the Irish-imbued instrumentation and dulcet tones of Loreena’s voice drifting from the speakers at a public Christmas display, so it seems I’m not the only one who’s noticed she’s a good go-to for such occasions. Breaking from her tendency toward Gaelic sounds, this song is a cover of a French carol.<br />
Note: It’s HD!
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Loreena McKennitt - Noël Nouvelet! [Christmas Comes Anew!]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZpgvydDs9Bo?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-74033853330136141982015-12-26T18:03:00.000-08:002015-12-26T18:03:21.577-08:00Seo Taiji - Christmalo.winOh, Seo Taiji. Such an envelope-pusher. Christmas is establishment dictatorship, and Halloween, the holiday for weirdos and freaks, is where freedom is at. I kind of love the creepy keyboardist. This would have been appropriate for October when my posts were all somehow connected to Halloween, but its Christmas-relevance qualifies it for December too I suppose. The lyrics turn common refrains of Christmas (“You better watch out; you better not cry!”) on their head, representing a fascist society. If you think about it, it makes sense: Christmas rhetoric encourages quiet obedience, whereas Halloween encourages nonconformity and rebelliousness.
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Note: This is the official music video, and it has HD!
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Seo Taiji A.K.A. 서태지 - Christmalo.win:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LcP7D-Ao-os?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-15681153071645988992015-12-25T19:11:00.001-08:002015-12-25T19:11:22.582-08:00BoA - 메리-크리Years ago, my mom asked for a mixtape from me for Christmas, so in a “be careful what you wish for” move I made a Christmas/winter-themed compilation CD for her that included the Japanese version of this song, as well as other unconventional choices. This artist is a star in both Japan and Korea, with hits in both languages, but Korea is her native country so I went with the Korean version of the song for this post. I just learned that the American band Weezer has a cover of the Japanese version of this song, which I find pretty weird. Merry Christmas!<br />
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BoA - 메리-크리 [Meri-K’euri - Merry Chri]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/acgu_FCtpQw?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-50641857846742108792015-12-24T11:17:00.001-08:002015-12-24T11:17:33.600-08:00Pentatonix - Dance of the Sugar Plum FairyThis a cappella group has had a great year, and I’m pleased to be a somewhat early adopter so I could gleefully watch their recent rise to prominence. Sometimes I think this artist is at their best when they’re getting their creep on. (See their brilliant LIVE cover of Imogen Heap’s “Aha!” for reference.) This song and even more so this video are an example of that. This piece has a special significance to me because it used to be somewhat of a family tradition for my mother to take me to a ballet performance of <i>The Nutcracker</i> around Christmastime. Oh, and Mitch’s high note? That’s real. I’ve heard him do it live a number of times and it’s breathtaking every time.
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Note: Bless this video for having HD!
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Pentatonix - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jt3oAyK_IG8?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-19852489187104662822015-12-23T19:43:00.001-08:002015-12-23T19:43:12.537-08:00Alina Baraz & Galimatias - UnfoldSometimes I wake up with a craving for Banks-ish music. This fits the profile! I heard a song by these artists in a boba restaurant a few months ago, where they had a playlist or something of similar music playing.
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Note: It’s recent, so it’s HD!<br />
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Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Unfold:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hI5Q8kzsb8w?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-11014685411394189132015-12-22T18:32:00.002-08:002015-12-22T18:32:49.893-08:00The Cinematic Orchestra feat. Patrick Watson - To Build a HomeI can’t for the life of me remember where I heard this song first, but I feel pretty certain it was in a commercial or PSA or something. It sounds SO familiar. I’ve been listening to albums by the main artist lately (for the first time) and when this song started I already recognized it. This track sounds to me like Cascadeur.
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Note: This upload has HD, so you can ogle the gorgeous picture while you listen!
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The Cinematic Orchestra feat. Patrick Watson - To Build a Home:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cG2bTlOcLnE?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-35829575971442645162015-12-21T22:21:00.000-08:002015-12-21T22:21:17.398-08:00Gilme - Success (Don’t Kill My Vibe)Uh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, potential new obsession… The title is a pretty obvious bite off Kendrick, but eh. It’s hop hop; lots of borrowing happens. Another very hip hop thing: obligatory song about loving music. I found this artist through YouTube surfing, but she was a contestant on the reality competition show <i>Unpretty Rap Star</i>, a Korean show featuring all female emcees as competitors. (It sounds awesome, but I barely made it through 15 minutes. It was atrocious.)
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Note: This is the official music video, with HD AND English subtitles!
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Gilme A.K.A. 길미 - Success (Don’t Kill My Vibe):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEurmA1sABU?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-75973539834128380702015-12-20T23:05:00.001-08:002015-12-20T23:05:47.598-08:00Tribalistas - Um a UmOne more from this Brazilian artist! I found many of the songs on their one album write pleasing to the ear, especially because of the interesting way their voices harmonize. This song is one of the best examples of the unique sound, and the disparity between the high and lower registers almost makes it sound a little eerie to me.<br />
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Tribalistas - Um a Um [Separately]:
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VX0OKs6KGFk?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-45925998849718569802015-12-19T23:54:00.001-08:002015-12-19T23:54:22.839-08:00Röyksopp & Robyn - MonumentBoth of these artists are pretty famous, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this song is pretty well-known, but I came across it through YouTube surfing. Neither of them consistently makes a kind of music I’m really into (although I don’t hate it either), but this song I liked from the first listen. It’s just plain aurally pleasing. I like the chilled-out vibe that somehow doesn’t strike me as boring.
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Röyksopp & Robyn - Monument:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XS3VURswRUY?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-50144019031309810202015-12-18T22:18:00.001-08:002015-12-18T22:18:54.492-08:00CunninLynguists feat. Anetra - Brain CellEarlier this year, this hip hop song started playing in my head for no apparent reason, and I haven’t even listened to this artist’s excellent album <i>A Piece of Strange</i> in years. I like the various usages of the word “cell” the song refers to. It’s about being trapped at various points in life.
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Note: HD listening is available!
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CunninLynguists feat. Anetra - Brain Cell:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="306" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mUNeJtYcB2c?rel=0" width="408"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-54480602496334704072015-12-17T22:07:00.000-08:002015-12-17T22:07:37.846-08:00Joey Yung - 我的驕傲I’m SO CONFUSED. I could have sworn I posted this song years ago. WTHHHHH? This simple little ditty is not my favorite song by this artist, but it is very likely to have been the first Cantonese song I was exposed to enough to know it. Even though Mandopop is much bigger than Cantopop, I discovered this song around the same time—even the same night—I first discovered Mandarin songs.
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Note: Fwahhhh, HD upload!
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Joey Yung A.K.A. 容祖兒 - 我的驕傲 [Ngo Dik Kiu Ngou - My Pride]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k5_zjym6MdU?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-59155566721748139012015-12-16T18:16:00.000-08:002015-12-16T18:16:22.586-08:00Miyavi - 一匹狼論There is a story behind how I got into this artist’s stuff. Oh yes. One night in 2005 or so I was surfing a message board for Korean pop culture, and saw a banner in someone's profile that had a gothy-looking picture of someone in heavy black makeup and with many-a-facial-piercing, and, being the shallow creature I am, I went, "Ooooh, who's that pretty person!?" So I looked him up and ended up staying up ALL NIGHT listening to his music. I became a fan literally overnight. What can I say? The quirkiness of the music hooked me and has never let go.
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Note: Wow, despite how notoriously difficult it is to find Japanese music uploaded in good quality, I found this in HD!
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Miyavi A.K.A. 雅 - 一匹狼論 [Ippiki Ookami Ron - The Lone Wolf Theory]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FRYTn8j5Pfw?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-56399779244695444612015-12-15T17:16:00.000-08:002015-12-15T17:16:28.309-08:00Lascivious Biddies - You Don’t Own MeI heard this modern-but-retro-sounding cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit on a German soap opera. I searched pretty extensively for this track back in October because I thought it’d make a nice Halloweenish post, but for all my Internet scouring it did not come up. Given that I fruitlessly searched for it a number of times before that over the past few years, I had resigned myself to the probably reality that, like many songs I haven’t been able to find or upload in good quality, I would never be able to post this, but on a whim I decided to briefly check again, and this immediately popped up!
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Note: I straight-up GASPED when I saw this song uploaded to YouTube, and in HD no less!
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Lascivious Biddies - You Don’t Own Me:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdAhrwo4LAc?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-5531013593635132392015-12-14T19:04:00.003-08:002015-12-14T19:04:38.017-08:00Nitin Sawhney feat. Ojos de Brujo - ShadowlandI think I heard music by this artist at a restaurant and Shazamed it, but I must have heard his music years before that because I watched part of <i>The Namesake</i>, a movie for which he composed the soundtrack. Much of what he makes is classified as world music, which could really mean anything but usually refers to non-Western-sounding music marketed to a Western audience. He also makes some cool trip-hop, which I wish I’d discovered earlier.<br />
Note: Found an upload in HD!
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Nitin Sawhney feat. Ojos de Brujo - Shadowland:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/njHy9cNfSfA?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-7605528157104007092015-12-13T19:22:00.001-08:002015-12-13T19:22:49.866-08:00Beth Hart - RunListen to that gritty voice! Stunning. While I don’t believe this artist was among the ones whose albums my mother owned, songs like this are of the genre that my mother played around the house while I was growing up, so it FEELS familiar even though I don’t think I know this song from back then.<br />
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Beth Hart - Run:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7istGPAuFnI?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-85011654682360403092015-12-12T16:32:00.000-08:002015-12-12T16:32:05.283-08:00Vitas - Криком журавлинымI’ve known about this artist a while, but never got around to posting his music or even really delving into it. I’ve seen him in a movie, though (the Chinese, live-action production of <i>Mulan</i>). This speaks to his popularity among the Chinese audience, which for some reason might even match or exceed his popularity among his fellow Russians. His claim to fame is his ability to sing in high registers. If you find the beginning of the song boring, wait until it winds up and you’ll see what people are talking about.
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Note: I found a video with HD (and Romanian subtitles, should you desire them).
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Vitas A.K.A. Витас - Криком журавлиным [Krikom Zhuravalinym - Crane’s Cry]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DGqZE8nkolY?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-22262605711010409012015-12-11T21:56:00.000-08:002015-12-11T21:56:18.966-08:00Yuki Kajiura - Gradus ProhibitusI was just describing this artist’s style to my friend as distinctive and instantly recognizable for a number of reasons, including her tendency to incorporate Middle Eastern influences in her compositions and Latin words into her song titles. Then my friend sent this song to me, which perfectly exemplifies both points I was talking about! When I watched the ultra-popular anime series <i>Puella Magi Madoka Magica</i>, whose soundtrack this piece is from, right off the bat I identified the music as the work of the famed anime composer because it had her trademark sounds all over it.<br />
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Yuki Kajiura A.K.A. 梶浦 由記 - Gradus Prohibitus [Forbidden Steps]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IHyHL_N-rH4?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-23919686997317171222015-12-10T22:31:00.000-08:002015-12-10T22:31:54.188-08:00Akdong Musician - 얼음들 (Melted)I’m positively in love with this song right now. Songs like this help me keep the faith in current Korean music. This artist in particular has songs with meaningful lyrics on top of the sibling duo's beautifully-harmonized voices. The repeated line of English in this one is, “Why are they so cold?” The theme of the track is both a metaphor and a pun, as the Korean word for ice sounds similar to the Korean word for adult—the lyrics question why the world of grown-ups is so lacking in compassion, why people's hearts harden as they age. The music video demonstrates this theme by showing how people can themselves become more jaded and closed off as they grow older and experience the already-cold world around them.
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Note: This official music video has HD quality, and true artistry! It's replete with visual metaphors and I'm still newly noticing poetic flourishes in it despite having watched it numerous times already.<br />
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Akdong Musician A.K.A. 악동뮤지션 - 얼음들 (Melted) [Eoreumdeul (Melted) - Ice (Melted)]:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sUCIzn0mRHc?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-13415634432978254642015-12-09T21:24:00.000-08:002015-12-09T21:24:56.013-08:00Puscifer - Life of Brian (Apparently You Haven't Seen)*sigh* I grasped what this song is about all too quickly, and related all too well. Like yesterday’s track, this one touches on religious (specifically Christian) themes, as Life of Brian is the name of a comedy movie about Biblical times. I attended the concert of this artist last night, at a majorly sold-out show.
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Note: HD upload, boooooooooooom!
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Puscifer - Life of Brian (Apparently You Haven't Seen):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C-m7T94iqvc?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-84330997159715161032015-12-08T17:26:00.000-08:002015-12-08T17:26:23.771-08:00Shawn Mendes - Strings AttachedDang, those verses! So good. I heard the song by this artist that’s currently a hit a few months ago. I liked it and it led me to look up more music by him, which led me to this. It has style, at least in the verses, although it loses some steam for the chorus. It reminds me of Ed Sheeran, which is a favorable comparison.
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Note: This music is fairly new, so it’s uploaded with HD!
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Shawn Mendes - Strings Attached:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o9Z-0v67-tE?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143824466415996129.post-17855984071425834702015-12-07T15:56:00.001-08:002015-12-07T15:56:30.672-08:00Raign - Don't Let Me GoBack into the moody abyss I go! I couldn’t stay away for long. I found this song through YouTube surfing, but I guess it’s been used on some popular TV shows that I’ve never watched.
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Note: This song is available in HD!
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Raign - Don't Let Me Go:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s_rSrHmJGw0?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0