We really are getting to the sharp end of the 2014 Equestrian Trot 100 chart now! Only a few more editions of "Sounds of 2014" to go before we find out who made the top spot. Since I'm deliberately not looking ahead, even I don't know at this point! Anyway, for the moment, let's get back to the usual quick summary of the criteria songs need to fulfil to be included here. Any one of these is sufficient:
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.
As it happens, I can feature all five songs anyway, so vive to that and an éclair for both of us! Here's the list:
20: YourEnigma ft. Lady Aria – I'll Come Running
19: 4EverfreeBrony ft. Chi-Chi – Chant of Immortality
18: 4EverfreeBrony ft. Chi-Chi & Relative1Pitch – Chant of Mirth
17: Glaze – I'm an Asshunter, Gimme That Booty
16: Black Gryph0n & Baasik – Set in Stone
Come
with me to the casb—er, past the jump break and there'll be the usual
embedded YouTube videos and thankfully brief rambling from yours truly.
YourEnigma is an artist whose popularity has continued right down to the present day despite having published nothing Pony for nearly a decade, and this Octavia/Vinyl song is a significant part of why. I'm too old to call songs bangers, I suspect, but what the hay? It's a banger. The creator describes this as an internal monologue for Octavia, displaying a more vulnerable yet vehemently emotional side of her nature. Note the "I left you on hold? / So untrue" near the start, a response to YourEnigma's "On Hold" which is from Vinyl's perspective. I don't really know anything about Lady Aria, who provides compelling, powerful vocals here, but apparently she performed live at Big Apple Ponycon back in 2014. "I'll Come Running" is available in HQ for $1 on YourEnigma's Bandcamp.
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 20 Nov 2013
This is of course part of 4EverfreeBrony's emotional and distinctive "Chant" series, each song concentrating on a different character. This is Twilight's song, focusing on her responsibilities after taking over rule from Celestia. Additional female vocals are provided by Chi-Chi, and the harmonies between her and 4EB are particularly beautiful. The whole thing is absolutely lovely, though. 4EB has returned to "Chant of Immortality" several times, releasing a concert version in 2018 and a rock version just last year. The one embedded here is, as usual, the original. Pick up the HQ track for $1 on 4EverfreeBrony's Bandcamp.
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 1 Jun 2014
Well, would you look at that? A second successive "Chant" song, with 4EverfreeBrony and Chi-Chi joined this time by Relative1Pitch, who wrote the violin part that gives the song its particular texture. This is of course Pinkie Pie's song, and I find it immensely satisfying that it goes well beneath the skin of her character. Happiness, as Pinkie would say, is serious business. Wait for the very end, by the way. You'll see – or rather, hear. This song too has been revisited by 4EB a few times (eg 2020 acoustic, 2023 rock) but this original is available for $1 from 4EverfreeBrony's Bandcamp.
A bit of a lower-brow track now! Glaze, aka WoodenToaster, offers up one of his trademark bloopy, electronic instrumental tracks. Well, I say "instrumental"... this one does have lyrics in fact, kind of, but they're so ultra-distorted that it's close to impossible to decipher the actual words of the multiply repeated line! The song was made for Basshunter's challenge (hence the punny track name) which required tracks to me made using only specific provided samples. I'll be honest, despite a catchy melody this one doesn't appeal all that much: the title is a tad off-putting and I find the song just too repetitive for my liking. Given Glaze's pro status, there's no downloadable HQ version that I can find, but the song is around on streaming services, such as here on Deezer.
Not for the first time recently, we have a BlackGryp0n and Baasik song featured today. Oddly, this one hasn't remained as famous as some of their others, but it was clearly very popular a decade ago. As the cover image and lyrics (including opening show dialogue) make clear, this is a song about Discord! In quite a distinctive style that's a little bit of a departure from their more usual, more straightforward rock, there's a heavier bass here. Somebody once told me
I don't even need to listen to "I'll Come Running", I heard it a few weeks ago in my friend's car. Lady Aria's vocals still hit me directly in the chest with the full force of a battleship. It's an all-time favorite.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed Chant of Immortality didn't score higher, but given that it's right behind another (lesser, imo) Chant, this is probably where it naturally ended up.
And despite owning a physical copy of IMmortal, I don't remember ever hearing that last track before. XD
From memory, I think "I'll Come Running" was a song I didn't really listen to (at least, not properly) until years later. I'm very glad I got there eventually, though!
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