Sounds of 2014, nos. 45 to 41

With my G4 movie rewatch post finally up now, along with some very interesting comments covering a wide range of views, I'm getting properly back on track here at Louder Yay. There'll be the next Friendship is Magic episode rewatch in a few days' time, Ponyfic Roundup 500 will go live at some point tomorrow – and right here, right now, it's time to move on with "Sounds of 2014". A reminder of my criteria for 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.

A week ago there was a full house of five songs. This week? Another full house of five songs! I love it when a plan comes together. Admittedly, that does require me actually to have a plan in the first place, but let's skate over that, shall we? Onwards!

45: PrinceWhateverer ft. Dreamchan – Constellations
44: Aviators ft. MandoPony – Someone Like Me (acoustic)
43: 4everfreebrony – Under the Sun
42: Eurobeat Brony – Batty
41: Sim Gretina & donglekumquat – Everypony's Gay for Braeburn

Past the jump break, as usual there'll be embedded YouTube videos of this week's tracks, and perhaps less interestingly my ramblings too. :P

45: PrinceWhateverer ft. Dreamchan – Constellations

Rules 1 and 4: uploaded to YouTube 4 Mar 2014; unlisted (see below)
The absolute fandom music stalwart that is PrinceWhateverer makes an appearance! He's still active all these years on, but this collaboration with Dreamchan, who wrote the lyrics, was a big success back in 2014. It's the energetic rocker you'd expect from the Prince, and it's all about Trixie. Doubtless Sethisto on EQD was happy when it came out! There's a reworked 2017 version that's the better song, I think, certainly with better mixing – and the first song is now unlisted on YouTube – but this series is all about 2014, so the original is what features here today. You can pick it up for £1 on PrinceWhateverer's Bandcamp. (Also there: 2017 version, 2019 version.)

44: Aviators ft. MandoPony – Someone Like Me (acoustic)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 21 Feb 2014
Guess what, guys, it's Aviators time again! I love the original version of "Someone Like Me", but this acoustic collab with MandoPony adds another dimension thanks to the vocal duet. Regardless of Mando's fall from grace in recent years and the consequent unease in some fandom quarters about playing his songs, the two voices go very nicely together and I think the song really works well. As a reminder, it's about Fluttershy's feelings before she met her friends to become part of the Mane Six. She starts out sad, but the song gradually becomes more hopeful. I love both this and the original, and you can get the acoustic version in HQ for $1 from Aviators' Bandcamp.

43: 4everfreebrony – Under the Sun

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 22 Feb 2014
Another fandom huge hitter now in the shape of 4everfreebrony. This slice of summery pop rock is, in the artist's own words, "about learning to not take Celestia's ability to raise the sun for granted". It's a light, breezy number that's likely to put a smile on your face, especially if you're listening to it on a day of sunny intervals and fair-weather clouds. 4everfreebrony remade the song in 2019, and again that's the one to go for if history isn't your priority. Both versions are available for a buck on 4everfreebrony's Bandcamp: 2014 original, 2019 remake.

 

42: Eurobeat Brony – Batty

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 4 Apr 2014
Arriving just a few months after "Bats!" aired, this is one of Eurobeat Brony's (aka Odyssey Eurobeat, among other things) hugely popular Super Ponybeat series. As you can surely tell, this is a Flutterbat song, at least in essence. The artist didn't particularly want to remix "Stop the Bats" so made this excellent, bouncy original instead, still a staple of Nightmare Night musical gatherings I'm sure! The version on Bandcamp is listed as "Extended", but it's the same 4:27 length as this, so I don't know where the "unextended" version went. It's name-your-price on Odyssey's Bandcamp.

41: Sim Gretina & donglekumquat – Everypony's Gay for Braeburn

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 24 Nov 2013
It's interesting: Sim Gretina is still massively popular despite not having made Pony music for years, yet it sometimes seems that donglekumquat is only still noted by those with direct memories of these earlier days of the Pony music fandom, Still, if you recall donglekumquat's 2013 classic "Hoofdachest", you'll immediately recognise the same distinctive sound here. It melds nicely with Sim Gretina's own talents. Sadly there doesn't seem to be any HQ version officially available, on Bandcamp or elsewhere, so you'll have to enjoy Braeburn's doubtless manifold charms on YouTube.