Sounds of 2016, nos. 30 to 26

Getting quite exciting now, isn't it? Remember, I don't know what's going to top this chart, so no spoilers please! I do however know what's in today's mix. As ever, here's the reminder of the inclusion criteria:

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. 

Here's today's list of songs. All five today! :D

30: JoinedTheHerd – The Pony I Want To Be (remix)
29: Animated James – Brony Polka
28: BassBeastJD – The Magic Inside (instrumental cover)
27: Silva Hound ft. BlackGryph0n – Egomania
26: JoinedTheHerd – The Magic Inside (remix)

And now on to the bit that I imagine most readers look at first!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 35 to 31

Into the top third of the Equestrian Trot 100's chart of Pony music for 2016 we go! (Okay, strictly it's roughly December 2015 to November 2016, but close enough.) While songs right at the top of the chart will be featured come what may, we're still low enough in the rankings for me to go by my usual inclusion rules:

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. 

Here's the list of songs. As you'll see, there's one absent this week, which is a pity but unavoidable. The other four make a pretty good selection, though:

35: Sayonara Maxwell ft. MiatriSs – Magic Everywhere
34: Spectra – Luna's Future (remix)
33: PrinceWhateverer – Spectacular
32: Aurelleah – The Magic Inside (remix)
31: skipped

All right, enough with the yattering and on with the music!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 45 to 41

It's time once more to head back into the mists of time, to see what was making waves in the MLP fandom's musical scene nearly a decade ago. As ever, here are the inclusion criteria:

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. 

For the last two weeks running, I've had to skip one of the five tracks as it didn't meet the above criteria. This time, all five are there! The last one took a little bit of finding before I could be sure it complied with the rules, but comply it does. A remix-heavy week this time. Here we go:

45: Archie – Legacy
44: JoinedTheHerd – Friends are Always There for You (remix)
43: JoinedTheHerd – Pinkie's Present (remix)
42: µThunder – We'll Make Our Mark (remix)
41: Notion – Song of the Sirens II (remix)

That's the end of the intro, so let's have a look at the actual music. Or listen, really. While some of these tracks are associated with visuals such as animations or PMVs – and hasn't "For Kids" and having no YouTube comments ruined the PMV experience? :( –  here at least we're much more concerned with the actual music. Go!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 50 to 46

We're into the top half of the chart, yay! The Equestrian Trot 100 for 2016 has already thrown up plenty of interest, so I'm looking forward – as I hope are you – to finding out what we'll get this week. Here's the usual reminder of my inclusion rules:

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 had to skip one track last week – and I'm sorry to have to say that I had to do the same this week. It's frustrating, but what can you do? Here are the four songs I am able to feature today:

50: PrinceWhateverer ft. Wubcake & NRGPony – So Long
49: The Wasteland Wailers – Broken Wing Recital
48: oodorato2 – トワイライト Sunshine Remix
47: PrinceWhateverer ft. Milkymomo – Frailty
46: skipped

I missed out on the waffle here last time, so I'm going to indulge myself a little bit more this week. I really do think the music scene for this fandom should be more appreciated outside it than it is. While plenty of fandoms have a few great songs created by fans, this fandom has well over a decade of them. That's quite remarkable. Anyway, let's continue...

Sounds of 2016, nos. 55 to 51

Some big news from UK PonyCon: Weekend and Saturday tickets are sold out already! The lower capacity of this year's venue (which was not the con's first choice) has been a major factor. Sadly the early sell-out of full-weekend tickets (not since 2018 has this happened in July) has caught out a couple of my friends, who just weren't able to buy in time. As I type, Friday-only and Sunday-only tickets are still on sale, but even they probably won't last that much longer.

Returning to music, today we round off the lower half of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart for 2016. As usual, I'll give a quick reminder of my inclusion criteria, of which Rule 1 is always the most important:

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. 

Last week I was able to feature everything. Not this time, sadly.

55: Foozogz – Acceptance
54: The Wasteland Wailers – Dare Master
53: skipped
52: JoinedTheHerd – Out On My Own (remix)
51: Metajoker & Respin – Become

You know what? No waffle here this time. Music awaits!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 60 to 56

The heatwave I mentioned last week did come to pass, peaking at 34 °C in my neck of the woods (in Worcestershire). Things have now cooled off significantly, with a high today of just 18 °C; and as I look out of the window a few hours before this post goes up, it's overcast and lightly raining. A good day for sitting indoors and listening to Pony music, therefore. The inclusion rules:

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. 

Last week I could only feature four of the five charting tracks. No such problems this week, and all five are present and correct. They are:

60: 4EverfreeBrony – Bound with Time
59: µThunder & FritzyBeat – Luna's Swing
58: Jyc Row ft. Aloma Steele – Luna's Future (remix)
57: YourEnigma ft. EileMonty – Are We Insane?
56: Pinkie Rose et al – Friendship Through the Ages (cover)

Okay, now that you know what you're facing this week, let's get moving to the tracks themselves. As ever, YouTube embeds here where possible.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 65 to 61

We seem to be facing another heatwave here in Britain – which, don't laugh if you're from Miami or somewhere, means temperatures nudging into the low 30s °C. I'm not really looking forward to it, especially not the warm nights that are humid and uncomfortable for sleeping. (Only about 5% of British homes have air-con.) What I am looking forward to is bringing you all a bit more of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart from 2016! Here's the usual refresher regarding inclusion rules:

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. 

For two weeks now, I've been able to feature all five of the tracks in the relevant segment of the chart. I'm sorry to have to tell you that I can't make it three weeks on the trot. Ah well. Here's what I do have:

65: Aurelleah – Harmony
64: Vylet Pony – Little Dreams
63: skipped
62: Eurobeat Brony – Discord 2015
61: Silva Hound & UndreamedPanic ft. Synthis – The Storm

Time for us to get on to the part of this post that, I suspect, quite a lot of you scroll straight forward to anyway: the music itself!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 70 to 66

Welcome to July, everypony. It's been quite warm and summery here in ol' Blighty, although as I type this the weather has gone cloudy and muggy, which isn't my favourite kind of weather. Anyway, it's time once more to see what the Equestrian Trot 100 chart brought back in 2016. Remember, these are songs that were popular that year; they don't necessarily have to have been first released then. Inclusion criteria:

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. 

Last time, I was able to feature all five of the featured tracks. Same again this week! I love it when a plan comes together.

70: 174UDSI – Sweeeeeep (remix)
69: Archie – Back Again
68: 4EverfreeBrony – Stay
67: OhPonyBoy – The Blob Pad !
66: Aurelleah  ft. Joan Silentio – My Wings Aria

There we go, then. It's about time we moved on to the important part of this post: the songs themselves. Onward!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 75 to 71

It's time once again to return to the Equestrian Trot 100 for 2016, which as you may remember actually runs (in terms of voting period) from December 2015 to November 2016. It's the best you're going to get from me, though! Comforming to my usual custom, here are the inclusion rules:

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. 

It's always nice when I can feature all five songs in a week's selection, but it doesn't always work out that way. This time, though, it absolutely did! Huzzah! How many tracks do I receive? [Five. That's kind of the point. —Ed.]

75: Spectra – Welcome to the Show (remix)
74: JoinedTheHerd – I Can Do It On My Own (remix)
73: Forest Rain ft. Luna Jax – Let the Magic Fill Your Soul (cover)
72: Crusader! – Power Ponies GO!
71: Aurelleah & Kadenza ft. PegasYs – Firelight

You can make up your own pre-break waffle here. I'm going straight to the tunes!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 80 to 76

Back to 2016 again now, and today it's the final part of the bottom quarter of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart. Look, I have to say something up here, all right? :P Let's start with the usual reminder of the inclusion criteria:

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. 

Last week I had to skip the very last song of the quintet. This time, I'm delighted to say that we're back up to a full complement of five! Here's the full list of tracks:

80: OhPonyBoy – You are Wonderful
79: Silva Hound – Diamonds
78: µThunder – Lost on the Moon (remix)
77: AwkwardMarina – Open Your Eyes (a cappella cover)
76: Aviators – Dragonheart

After the jump break, if you're using a computer to view this page, I'll post the songs and some waffly waffling about them.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 85 to 81

Now we return to the Equestrian Trot 100 chart for 2016. I haven't really got anything much else to say up here this time, so it's a pretty short introductory section today. Here's the usual reminder of my inclusion criteria:

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. 

We've had two weeks of being able to feature all five tracks in the relevant portion of the chart, but unfortunately the very last song this time wasn't one I could find anywhere online from the actual artist. It's not super-famous, so it has to be skipped. Sorry! Here's what I can feature:

85: FritzyBeat hugs Port Blue – Seagulls
84: GhostXb ft. Wubcake and many more – Unleash the Magic (remix)
83: Aurelleah – Rainbow Factory (remix)
82: Exiark & Chi-Chi – Life Still Left in Me (Club Mix)
81: skipped

All right, now you know what songs await you, let's get to them!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 90 to 86

It's time we paid another visit to the Equestrian Trot 100 chart for 2016 – though, as I noted last time, it's not quite the full calendar year as its voting period ran from December 2015 to November 2016. Close enough, though! Certainly the closest you're going to get in these parts. Here's the usual reminder of my inclusion criteria:

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 was able to feature all five songs last week, and this time around I can do that again! This is always the best-case scenario, all the more so when – as has happened this week – all the songs remain on their creators' YouTubes and discoverable without much effort. The five this time are:

90: WeimTime – Rainbow Factory (orchestral arrangement)
89: StrachAttack – The Spectacle (remix)
88: OhPonyBoy – Mox Super Jupiter
87: Synthis – Hold Me Close
86: PON3 – Secrets

There we go; now you know what's on the way! Talking of which...

Sounds of 2016, nos. 95 to 91

Ready to join me again on a trip into the dim and distant world of, er, nine years ago? At this point in 2016, the last two FiM episodes had been "A Hearth's Warming Tail" and "The Saddle Row Review", so there was a fair degree of optimism around regarding the show. It's the fandom music scene I'm interested in here, though. As usual, the ratings come from the Equestrian Trot 100 chart, whose voting period ran from December 2015 through to November 2016. Here's the usual reminder of my inclusion criteria:

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. 

Last week, I had to skip the very first song (ie no. 100) but the other four could be included. This week, on the other hoof, it's plain sailing all the way, since I can feature all five songs. Woo-hoo!

95: Synthis – Into the Everfree
94: WoodLore – Flowers
93: 4EverfreeBrony ft. Joaftheloaf & Relative1Pitch – Without Me
92: The Wasteland Wailers ft. Brittany Church – When the Sun Comes Back
91: Eurobeat Brony ft. Odyssey – Luna's Future (Euro Cast Mix)

As ever, that marks the end of the introductory waffle. Now it's on to the songs themselves. Woo-hoo again!

Sounds of 2016, nos. 100 to 96

It's now time to set off on another journey into the past, with "Sounds of 2016". As for the 2015 series, I will be taking chart positions from the Equestria Trot 100. I should note right at the start that this does not quite use the calendar year: it is based on "chart points" from 5th December 2015 to 26th November 2016. These were based on monthly votes, weekly views and weekly likes, but I don't know the precise formula. I assume the eligibility period was so that they could do a big Hearth's Warming special with the list, but I don't know for sure. Anyway, my criteria for inclusion remain as they were:

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. 

It's often the case that some of the songs down in the lower reaches of these charts have disappeared into the ether with the passing of the years, and so it is today. Somewhat disappointingly, the very first song I would have liked to have featured today is one I have to skip. Still, I've managed to find official uploads of the other four, so we're not too badly off! Here we go:

100: skipped
99: PrinceWhateverer ft. CookieSoup – A Place That We Call Home
98: PON3 – We Can Fly
97: Synthis ft. Sora – Insane
96: PON3 – Proxy

The four tracks I can feature will be past the jump break (if you're on a computer) and as ever will include a YouTube embed of the song, a few brief details and if possible a place to buy a high-quality version of the tune. Off we go!