Yikes – it's been a fortnight since the last one of these! My usual shower of medical appointments has been partially to blame, but so has my general disorganisation. Anyway, let's get on. Once again, these are songs that charted (on the Equestrian Trot 100) in 2014. Some were released earlier. As ever, here are the criteria for a song's inclusion:
Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion.
I'm delighted to say that every one of this edition's songs is still available on its creator's YouTube channel, and that means no skipping is needed. Yay! Here's what's coming your way:
65: TAPS ft. Nexgen & Rhyme Flow – Another Mare
64: Sim Gretina – Make a Wish (remix)
63: AcoustiMandoBrony ft. EileMonty – Generosity
62: Aviators – Ashes
61: P1K ft. Turquoise Splash – Crystal Heart
Past
the jump break, you'll find YouTube embeds of this edition's five tracks, as well as a short paragraph with information and a few thoughts of my own. Here goes...
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 22 Jun 2014
We start off with a song I had frankly never heard of before – and it's a Mare Do Well piece! TAPS uploaded a track to their YT account less than a year ago, but their MLP fandom days seem to be long past now. This song is described as experimental, but it's kind of electronic/chill/rap, I suppose. The singing/rapping is in the hands of NexGen, who featured on a slew of fandom tracks a decade ago but has now disappeared, and Rhyme Flow, who's still active but not in the MLP orbit. "Another Mare" isn't my favourite Pony song, as I find it too repetitive, but an interesting experiment it certainly is. Find it in high quality for $1 on TAPS' Bandcamp.
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 9 Apr 2014
What is there left to say about Sim Gretina's MLP remixes? This interpretation of the maybe slightly unpromising source material is in my view not one of the all-time SG greats, but it's perfectly acceptable listening. Perhaps a little bit repetitive compared with some of their other remixes, meaning that 4:28 feels slightly too long – but then I'm not massively fond of the original show song either, at least compared with some other S4 FiM tunes. Since Sim Gretina's Bandcamp has been wiped, there's sadly no official high-quality version of this song available. Boo!
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 13 Aug 2013
I doubt this one will need too much introduction! For this entry in what came to be known as the Elements series, AcoustiMandoBrony (ie Acoustic Brony and MandoPony) teamed up with EileMonty (yes, that channel is blank now...) to create something of a Pony supergroup. The track has special memories for me, as I heard it for the first time when Acoustic Brony played it live in a special acoustic version at BUCK 2013 – my first convention. I don't think it's the best Elements song, with its lyrics maybe slightly uninspired at times, but EileMonty is always worth hearing. There's a WAV download link in the video description, though the revised version (minus both MandoPony and, sadly, EileMonty) is available for £1.50 on Re:Make's Bandcamp.
Another great track here from the mighty Aviators. This is based on his headcanon about the origin of the Elements of Harmony that was compatible with 2013-era knowledge: that "Celestia was surrounded with five partners, all of which she lost due to her immortality. She watched the world burn to ashes, as she stood unable to die." Yes, five: Aviators states that the Element of Honesty existed but is omitted for a reason (which I don't know). This is a solemn, dark and rather chilling track, albeit with Aviators' trademark synths. Although I feel it's just a smidge too long (7:08) I nevertheless like it a good deal. You can find an HQ version of the track for $1 on Aviators' Bandcamp.
This song seems really to have slipped out of the fandom's consciousness, despite being a collab between two still well-known musicians in P1K (most things) and Turquoise Splash (acoustic guitar). It's an alt-rock track about uncertainty, inspired by P1K's personal history of relationships. Although the cover art features a pony, this is one of those tracks that could quite easily stand apart from Pony as unless you know the meaning of "crystal heart" there are no obvious references to the show. There's a 320k MP3 link in the video description, or you can find the song for 50¢ on P1K's Bandcamp.
Some decent stuff.
ReplyDeleteFun fact about that first track, that vocal line has been chopped and reused in a number of pony songs. I don't know if that's the original version, but said original is "Lights" by System featuring Veela, a Youtube vocalist I've been following for probably well over a decade now. :D
According to a comment on the YT upload of the song you mention, the original was on the hdmusicnexus YT channel but has long since been deleted. I have no more information than that.
Deleteyou can find it at a place called NCS? No Copyright Sounds, that is, explains why it's used so many places :B
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