Here we are in February, then. Almost spring in these parts, at least in theory if usually a bit less so in practice. It doesn't seem all that long since I began on "Sounds of 2015", and yet here we are, rapidly closing in on halfway in the Equestrian Trot 100 music charts for that year. Before we go any further, here's the usual reminder of the rules. At leat one of the first three needs to happen to trigger inclusion; rule 4 is an additional one that's rarely used.
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.
In terms of inclusion this time, it's another week when there's a full set! The days of 2011 and 2012, when I had to skip at least one track on many occasions, seem a long way away now. Having said that, they'll probably come back to bite me next time, but that's Future Logan's problem! The list today:
60: OhPonyBoy – Only Pony
59: oodorato2 – Halloween Rocks!
58: Aviators – Dragonheart
57: Aurelleah – Forever
56: 4everfreebrony ft. Chi-Chi & Relative Pitch – Chant of Mirth
The introductory formalities out of the way, we can now proceed to the meat of the post: the actual songs! Here goes...
French creator OhPonyBoy's songs are generally a combination of music and self-made animation, and that's the case here as well. Electronic sounds, show vocal chops, dubstep beats and the artist's distinctive stylised pony graphics. You may notice the OCs of several prominent fandom name at the time, Crowne Prince and Animated James among them, but I'm mostly here to talk about the music. It inevitably does lose a little without the visuals to go with it, but I think it's still a solid enough example of this genre. The track's available in HQ for the unusual price of €0.90 from OhPonyBoy's Bandcamp.
Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 26 Oct 2014
France a minute ago, Japan this time, as the long-departed-from-the-fandom oodorato2 produces one of the shortest entries in this part of the chart at just two minutes 16 seconds. It makes very heavy use of vocal chops as well as the "Stop the Bats!" song that was still quite new at the time the song came out. Listen carefully, though, and you'll hear the "Hush Now Lullaby", as well as the main show theme going on deeper in the mix. I like this one: it's bouncy and fun and the electronics don't get in the way of the melody. No Bandcamp version unfortunately, but the artist placed this on their official Soundcloud, and it's still there. :)
Did I ever tell you that I liked Aviators? Maybe not, as I rarely speak of it. Ahem. Anyway, this is unsurprisingly a Spike song! It was the first MLP song Aviators had written for a while on its release, and it even opens up with a reminder of that early classic, "Friendship". To be honest, I think the YouTube upload of this song sounds a bit on the thin side, which is a pity as although rockier than his then-usual synthpop, it's still in the mode that most fandom Aviators fans enjoy so much – me included! Fortunately, the HQ version avoids this technical issue, and it's available for $1 on Aviators' Bandcamp.
It's always exciting when a well-known name makes their debut in these series, and I think "Forever" is the first appearance of the excellent Aurelleah in the Top 100 charts. I haven't looked ahead, but I doubt it'll be the last! This song is melodic dubstep, which they say in the description is (or at least was in 2015) a real favourite genre of theirs. Although it's not immediately clear from the title, it's a remix of "B.B.B.F.F." and consciously echoes the sound of some of WoodenToaster's "massive patches" from the 2012 era when the show song itself was made. If you want the higher quality version of this track, buy it for $1 on Aurelleah's Bandcamp.
I doubt there are many people reading this series who don't recognise 4everfreebrony's name – but if you don't, perhaps because you're new to the Pony music scene, go and listen to lots of it! It's great! Anyway, here he continues his remarkable "Chant" series with a piece dedicated to Pinkie Pie, with Chi-Chi handling female vocals and Relative Pitch responsible for the violin part. The track appeared last year as well, up at no. 18, but I doubt many will complain about this reprise. It's such a departure from the mainstream of MLP fandom music, but done so well that it's very satisfying to listen to. You can get it for $1 from 4everfreebrony's Bandcamp.
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