Still the festive season it may be, but I'm back up and running here on Louder Yay. I mentioned last time round that this edition would feature one of my favourite ever fandom tracks. It still does, but there has been a small bump in the road, which I'll explain when I get to it. Also, Pony Music Library will return in the next week or so, assuming I actually remember for once! We move into the top half of the Everfree Radio 2011 chart during this post, so let's go.
From the artist now to be found under the name Mumble Etc. comes this catchily gets-under-your-skin piece of accessible electronica. It's inspired by the S2 episode "Secret of My Excess" and was originally written for ZIQ17. I have no idea where that name come from, but it was a music contest run by Toastbeard. There's a link to a 320k MP3 in the video description; the Bandcamp link doesn't seem to be useful for this particular song any more. I can't quite place the source of the "Spike!" voice sample – anyone?
No. 51 doesn't meet my inclusion criteria, so I'm skipping it.
This, right here, is the personal favourite I mentioned earlier. A song I heard very early on after joining the fandom and one I've never stopped loving. A truly gorgeous example of PPS's skill in chopping vocals, in this case from "So Many Wonders". The accompanying video is very basic by modern standards, but who cares? It's fabulous, and it's about Fluttershy too. Now... I was going to celebrate the fact that PPS had made his Pony songs public again earlier this year. However, just in the last few days it appears that he's had a change of heart, and "Flutterwonder" is now private once again.
I don't know his reasons of course, but it's still sad. I'm including this song nevertheless, partly because it meets Criterion 3 – it's still so famous that it really would be pointless omitting it. But as it happens, it also meets Criterion 1, as it is still officially available direct from the artist. Just not on YouTube – you have to go to PinkiePieSwear's Bandcamp and hand over a US dollar for HQ downloads. The song itself was released under a Creative Commons licence (by 3.0) in any case, so it surely won't disappear regardless of the state of PPS's YouTube originals. Deep Wide Bell Wonder indeed!
Oddly enough, this track has a similar status to "Flutterwonder", though at least MandoPony's YouTube account itself is still accessible. This song, however, has disappeared from his YT; I'm therefore embedding a PMV by LadyTamika499, who got permission from MandoPony to use the song (see video description). It's a fun, light-toned guitar'n'vocals piece from Spike's perspective, talking about how well he gets on with Twilight. (I can't be the only one who thought of The Descendant...) As with "Flutterwonder", this song is still available (in HQ, too) from the artist's Bandcamp – it costs just 50 cents.
Next time: the return of Eurobeat Brony, plus the original of a song I love in a newer incarnation.
Sunday, 30 December 2018
Tuesday, 25 December 2018
Happy Hearth's Warming!
( Text link )
Merry Christmas from Rainbow Dash! And from me, of course.
See you in a couple of days! :)
Monday, 24 December 2018
Non-pony: Watership Down (BBC/Netflix)
Just before I shut up shop for a few days over Hearth's Warming, have one of my very occasional non-Pony posts. In this case, it's indirectly linked with MLP anyway, as joining the Watership Down fandom back around 2002 started the process that eventually led to my becoming a brony. So, past the cut you can have a brief, scattergun and very spoilery review of this adaptation of WD.
Friday, 21 December 2018
Sounds of 2011, nos. 56 to 53: Beyond Her Beautiful Winter
About time I got back to this! For music lovers, I hope to have another Pony Music Library induction before the end of the festive period, but don't hold your breath. For now, it's time to return to Everfree Radio's fan-voted chart of the best brony songs of 2011. I said last time there'd be two huge names – I was understating the case. There are three, plus another who used to be really big.
Here we have one of The Living Tombstone's early productions for the MLP fandom. Although it's not as polished as some of his later tracks, the essentials of his style are present and correct in this six-minute presentation. I'm not sure about the almost two minutes it takes before the drop hits, as this does seem to drag a little, but after that it's okay. Not especially thrilling, but okay. There's a Mediafire link in the video description, although the quality is just 165 kbps.
Yet another Chain Algorithm song now. He was clearly extremely popular back in 2011, though I suspect that many people who've joined the fandom in the last five years won't be familiar with him as he's released nothing Pony since 2012. This song is quite openly (see the video description) a ship between the artist's OC (well, he calls it a "ponytar") and Rainbow Dash. How you feel about that may affect whether you like the song, which majors on distorted lyrics and repetitive beats. Chain Algorithm's site no longer exists and this song isn't on his Bandcamp, sadly.
Here's the second huge name to appear in this edition, and as with the first it's with a remix of "Winter Wrap Up" (dated 2012 on YouTube but obviously not first released then!). I prefer this one by some margin. If you're even slightly familiar with Sim Gretina then it will be instantly recognisable as his work. A musician from Finland, Sim Gretina hasn't really been active in the Pony fandom for three years now, but the combination of infectious beats, carefully-judged vocal chopping and songs that don't overstay their welcome mean several remain classics to this day, if not quite this one. No HQ version that I could find.
Nostalgia time again for me, as this WoodenToaster (aka Glaze) song was one of the first brony tracks I ever heard. By the time I joined the fandom (April 2012) it was pretty well established and it's held up as a classic tune. I can't say I really know what it's about, and I'm not alone in that as the lyrics are pretty bizarre, but if you want a Carrot Top song then this is it. Perhaps a little beep-boopy for my personal taste these days, but still. There's a link in the video description to the song on various streaming services, but I can't find an HQ download to buy anywhere – though Bandcamp offers plenty of covers.
Next time: one of my all-time favourite fandom tracks will feature. Yay!
Here we have one of The Living Tombstone's early productions for the MLP fandom. Although it's not as polished as some of his later tracks, the essentials of his style are present and correct in this six-minute presentation. I'm not sure about the almost two minutes it takes before the drop hits, as this does seem to drag a little, but after that it's okay. Not especially thrilling, but okay. There's a Mediafire link in the video description, although the quality is just 165 kbps.
Yet another Chain Algorithm song now. He was clearly extremely popular back in 2011, though I suspect that many people who've joined the fandom in the last five years won't be familiar with him as he's released nothing Pony since 2012. This song is quite openly (see the video description) a ship between the artist's OC (well, he calls it a "ponytar") and Rainbow Dash. How you feel about that may affect whether you like the song, which majors on distorted lyrics and repetitive beats. Chain Algorithm's site no longer exists and this song isn't on his Bandcamp, sadly.
Here's the second huge name to appear in this edition, and as with the first it's with a remix of "Winter Wrap Up" (dated 2012 on YouTube but obviously not first released then!). I prefer this one by some margin. If you're even slightly familiar with Sim Gretina then it will be instantly recognisable as his work. A musician from Finland, Sim Gretina hasn't really been active in the Pony fandom for three years now, but the combination of infectious beats, carefully-judged vocal chopping and songs that don't overstay their welcome mean several remain classics to this day, if not quite this one. No HQ version that I could find.
Nostalgia time again for me, as this WoodenToaster (aka Glaze) song was one of the first brony tracks I ever heard. By the time I joined the fandom (April 2012) it was pretty well established and it's held up as a classic tune. I can't say I really know what it's about, and I'm not alone in that as the lyrics are pretty bizarre, but if you want a Carrot Top song then this is it. Perhaps a little beep-boopy for my personal taste these days, but still. There's a link in the video description to the song on various streaming services, but I can't find an HQ download to buy anywhere – though Bandcamp offers plenty of covers.
Next time: one of my all-time favourite fandom tracks will feature. Yay!
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Ponyfic Roundup 230: No Matter Where I Go, I'll Never Find a Better Prize
I think I may have found a new record-holder for the number of character tags on a single story. (There wasn't an upper limit in the old days.) That's The Corporate Watering Hole, an unfinished fic written by Rainbowflash way back in December 2011. This story has fifteen character tags. Since it's unfinished, it won't get reviewed here, which saves me the problem of trying to format its headers!
Another pathetic two-story week, but this time I actually have a proper excuse, which is that I've been preparing Christmas presents. Okay, that's not much of a proper excuse, but grasping at straws is pretty much my thing. Here's today's duo, both starring a certain pink Earth pony:
The Wait by xjuggernaughtx
Pinkie Pie's Incredible Interplanetary Super Prank by Cupcakes
★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Read it Later story count: 292 (-3)
Another pathetic two-story week, but this time I actually have a proper excuse, which is that I've been preparing Christmas presents. Okay, that's not much of a proper excuse, but grasping at straws is pretty much my thing. Here's today's duo, both starring a certain pink Earth pony:
The Wait by xjuggernaughtx
Pinkie Pie's Incredible Interplanetary Super Prank by Cupcakes
★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Monday, 17 December 2018
What merchandise is left to offer?
Since I can't think of much else to post and don't want to have two "Sounds of 2011" posts in a row, I'll throw open the virtual floor. What Pony merchandise would be worthwhile Hasbro making/licensing as FiM nears the end of its road? I phrased that question quite carefully, as I'm not asking "What do you, personally, want?" Generally that ends up with people suggesting beautiful and expensive collectibles – and ones that often don't make it outside the US, which is no help here!
No, I'm talking about stuff that could be sold in toy shops and supermarkets for a few quid. Personally, I'd like to see some more stationery. The range is much better than it was a few years ago, but it's still lacking. For example, I don't think I've ever seen an MLP-branded calculator, which seems a little odd given how ubiquitous they are. Years ago, Savers sold ponified tissue boxes, but for some odd reason they've not reappeared. And surely a little range of USB sticks with Pony theming could work. (Edit: as pointed out in the comments, there was the Mimobot range. Long since discontinued, though, and never very cheap.)
So, any thoughts in this regard?
No, I'm talking about stuff that could be sold in toy shops and supermarkets for a few quid. Personally, I'd like to see some more stationery. The range is much better than it was a few years ago, but it's still lacking. For example, I don't think I've ever seen an MLP-branded calculator, which seems a little odd given how ubiquitous they are. Years ago, Savers sold ponified tissue boxes, but for some odd reason they've not reappeared. And surely a little range of USB sticks with Pony theming could work. (Edit: as pointed out in the comments, there was the Mimobot range. Long since discontinued, though, and never very cheap.)
So, any thoughts in this regard?
Friday, 14 December 2018
Sounds of 2011, nos. 60 to 57
It's about time I got back to this, otherwise I'm never going to finish it! (As I've said before, if I do something similar for 2012 and 2013, it'll probably be in a rather more concise format.) Anyway, here goes...
Yup, it's yet another bouncy remix by the guy now writing as Odyssey Eurobeat. Since the base tune for this song – Pinkie Pie's little ditty to Apple Bloom way back in "Call of the Cutie" – is so short, there's inevitably a lot of other stuff here, but it all fits together pretty nicely. Perhaps not hugely memorable, but it's solid enough background music. The HQ track is part of the Super Ponybeat Vol. 1 album, which you can get as a name-your-price download on the artist's Bandcamp.
No. 59 doesn't meet my criteria, so I'm skipping it.
There hasn't been an upload of any kind from daks since January 2016, but time was they were one of the more popular remixers in the fandom. The CMCs' song from "The Show Stoppers" lends itself to this treatment pretty well, and though this track is a little on the repetitive side that also gives it a beat that's both catchy and insistent. There's something of an 80s sound to it, fittingly enough given the source. You can pick up this song in HQ on daks' Bandcamp, and you can even name your price for the download.
Now here's a name that hasn't been involved in fandom music for a very long time. In fact, the most recent update on zahqo's YouTube account was back in autumn 2013. Haymaker is the singer, and his voice has that slightly gravelly texture that fits rather well with this story of the tension between Celestia and Luna all those years ago. Maybe a little too long, but you know what I am for complaining about that! There are several links to HQ downloads in the video description, but only the Mediafire one remains accessible.
Next time: the first sighting on this list of two very big names in fandom music back in the ago.
Yup, it's yet another bouncy remix by the guy now writing as Odyssey Eurobeat. Since the base tune for this song – Pinkie Pie's little ditty to Apple Bloom way back in "Call of the Cutie" – is so short, there's inevitably a lot of other stuff here, but it all fits together pretty nicely. Perhaps not hugely memorable, but it's solid enough background music. The HQ track is part of the Super Ponybeat Vol. 1 album, which you can get as a name-your-price download on the artist's Bandcamp.
No. 59 doesn't meet my criteria, so I'm skipping it.
There hasn't been an upload of any kind from daks since January 2016, but time was they were one of the more popular remixers in the fandom. The CMCs' song from "The Show Stoppers" lends itself to this treatment pretty well, and though this track is a little on the repetitive side that also gives it a beat that's both catchy and insistent. There's something of an 80s sound to it, fittingly enough given the source. You can pick up this song in HQ on daks' Bandcamp, and you can even name your price for the download.
Now here's a name that hasn't been involved in fandom music for a very long time. In fact, the most recent update on zahqo's YouTube account was back in autumn 2013. Haymaker is the singer, and his voice has that slightly gravelly texture that fits rather well with this story of the tension between Celestia and Luna all those years ago. Maybe a little too long, but you know what I am for complaining about that! There are several links to HQ downloads in the video description, but only the Mediafire one remains accessible.
Next time: the first sighting on this list of two very big names in fandom music back in the ago.
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