Sounds of 2015, nos. 80 to 76

Good news, everyone! After being mightily obstructive for several days, Blogger is now back to normal and will let me make long posts and use formatting. That means that the Spotlight review of iisaw's The Cadenza Prophecies will be posted at some point on Wednesday as I previously trailed, and that I can first provide this week's edition of "Sounds of 2015". Well, vive to that and an éclair for both of us! Anyway, 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 was an interesting one, with some tracks I liked more than others, but it was a full house of five included songs. This time, I can say the same again! To my mind, today's crop is a particularly fine one. Here's the list:

80: PonyFireStone – Battle of the Bands (remix)
79: Foozogz – Together
78: JoinedTheHerd – The Pony I Want To Be (JTH Remix)
77: Rarity ft. Lady Aria – Alone in the Dark
76: Wasteland Wailers – Mail It In

Here comes the choo-choo train jump break, if you happen to be on a device that recognises those things. Beyond that is the usual mixture, so off we go!

80: PonyFireStone – Battle of the Bands (remix)

 

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 3 Nov 2014
Of all the Equestria Girls films, Rainbow Rocks as the most music-focused understandably brought plenty of interest from fandom musicians. PonyFireStone now goes by the shorter and more generic PFS, but in the last few months has uploaded an update so after a two-year break he is definitely still around. Returning to a decade ago, other than the interesting singling out of Adagio's lead vocals this is a fairly straightforward remix of "Battle of the Bands" without much in the way of startling turns, but it's all done very smoothly. I like it rather a lot. In spite of how it might sound, PonyFireStone did not get hold of Kazumi Evans' vocal stems, instead creating them himself. No Bandcamp link, but there is a 320k MP3 download link in the YouTube description, or you can head for PFS's Soundcloud.

79: Foozogz – Together

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 9 Aug 2014
Like the previous entry, this characteristic Foozogz track actually dates from 2014, when it hit no. 66 on the chart. A slightly lower ranking this time, but clearly still a popular song in 2015. Introduced with a Twilight line from the S3 finale and drawing significantly on several official songs, notably "A True True Friend" and "Let the Rainbow Remind You", the message of this piece is fairly obvious. That's not a complaint, as the whole song is put together very competently and the trademark Foozogz sound works extremely well. There's a strongly upbeat message to "Together", and that's something I find very appealing in these sometimes difficult times. The track is available as a name-your-price download on Foozogz' Bandcamp.

78: JoinedTheHerd – The Pony I Want To Be (JTH Remix)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 12 Oct 2015
It's hardly surprising that the songs from "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" got such wide attention, not only for the CMC's achievements but for the culmination of Diamond Tiara's own arc. The still occasionally fandom-productive JoinedTheHerd was one of a number of fandom artists to remix this particular song, giving it his usual cheerful spin and nice vocal chop use. This is definitely a track that celebrates Diamond's realisation that she couldn't go on as she was, even though it's a remix of a song that in the episode came before her final reformation. The ending mirrors the opening, being more reflective and thoughtful than what comes in the bulk of the track. Get the HQ version as a name-your-price download on JoinedTheHerd's Bandcamp.

77: Rarity ft. Lady Aria – Alone in the Dark

 

Rule 1: Re-uploaded to Lady Aria's YouTube 2 Sep 2020
There are quite a few Chrysalis songs out there, but this one is – perhaps a little unfairly – little played nowadays. Rarity is better known as Jeff Burgess, and now uses the name Just Fern. Meanwhile, Lady Aria collaborated on two songs, YourEnigma's much better remembered "I'll Come Running"... and this one. It's a pity there weren't more, as she has a wonderful, powerful voice that I think works superbly for this piece. In it, Chrysalis laments what has happened to her, to the extent of pleading, "Please save me, Twilight!" The whole number feels like it could have come from a rock opera, and apart perhaps from some slightly overdone drums I can't really fault it.  Lady Aria, who performed live (though not this song) at Big Apple PonyCon 2014, is quite correct on her YouTube: this does still hold up. It's available as a name-your-price download on Jeff Burgess's Bandcamp.

76: Wasteland Wailers – Mail It In

 

Rule 1: Re-uploaded to YouTube 14 Jul 2015
The Fallout: Equestria themed band Wasteland Wailers (whose songs are posted on the Overmare Studios YouTube account) span quite a few genres, mostly from the pre-pop era. With "Mail It In" they turn their hooves very successfully to country. This is a classic example of "stealth Pony", in that you could very easily hear this come on the radio and not find it out of the ordinary. The organ solo is perfectly judged, too. The HQ version on Bandcamp can't be downloaded on its own, but it's available as a track on the Ponies at Dawn album Echoes, which is name-your-price, so that isn't a big deal. The band have it as a free single track on their Soundcloud, in any case.