Sounds of 2015, nos. 10 to 6

It's been quite a ride, but here we are at the penultimate "Sounds of 2015" entry! Yes, I absolutely will be doing the same for 2016 when the time comes, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. As a reminder, this is based on the chart given in the Equestrian Trot 100 for that year, as voted by users – sadly I'm not certain of the precise voting mechanism. My usual inclusion criteria follow:

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. 

We're into the top ten now, everyone! I was going to think about whether I should invoke Rule 3 as a blanket thing at this point in the chart, or just for the top five next time, but in fact that's not an issue as all today's songs are still officially available. Yay for people making my job here easier!

10: Pinkie Rose et al – Friendship Through the Ages (cover)
9: Michelle Creber, Black Gryph0n & Baasik – Getting Stronger
8: Sayonara Maxwell – Cupcakes (remix)
7: Wasteland Wailers – Fly Like You
6: SquareHead – Under Our Spell (remix)

Well, there you are. Usual intro bit over with, so let's get into the music...

10: Pinkie Rose et al – Friendship Through the Ages (cover)

 

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 6 Jun 2015
There was a big craze for doing covers of "Friendship Through the Ages" back in 2015, often (as here) as multi-artist collaborations. This one was labelled "Giant Group Collab" and I'm treating it as a Pinkie Rose track as the video is on her YouTube account.¹ The Top 100 list credits it to its instrumental composer, BassBeastJD. As to the singers, Pinkie Rose herself sings Pinkie's part, while Mica is Twilight, Carmen (Mary Medley) sings Fluttershy, Itsannacholem plays Rarity, PurpleRoselyn does Rainbow, GloryOfTheRainWings covers Applejack, and RarityFangirl31VA sings Sunset. Phew! Happily, it all works out pretty well, and this is definitely one of the better covers of this excellent song I've come across. No Bandcamp, but this cover is on Pinkie Rose's Soundcloud.
¹ Fun fact: Pinkie Rose joined YouTube on 10 October 2010. Quite a date, that. ;)

9: Michelle Creber, Black Gryph0n & Baasik – Getting Stronger

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 5 Sep 2015
Not only do we get the hugely successful partnership of Black Gryph0n and Baasik once again here, but this time around they're joined by none other than Michelle Creber. A villain song this time, which as that thumbnail will give away is about three of MLP's most memorable villains: Chrysalis, Tirek and Sombra. As Black Gryph0n notes in the YouTube descriptions, these three were chosen because all had been beaten in the past but came back stronger during the show's run. The chiptune intro is quite distinctive, but it's slightly misleading as we then go straight into Michelle Creber's modern-pop singing. Black Gryph0n comes in a little after, and of course the two duet from then on as the song gets rockier. The title song of the album of the same name, this is available in HQ for $1 on Black Gryph0n's Bandcamp.

8: Sayonara Maxwell – Cupcakes (remix)

 

Rule 1: Uploaded to YouTube 1 Mar 2015
Not all of Sayonara Maxwell's (now known as SayMaxWell) fandom creations are still officially available, but happily this one is! There's always a bit of a sense of trepidation whenever I see "Cupcakes" attached to something, and in this case that's partly justified. The song itself is simply a version of the song from "Call of the Cutie", albeit remixed to sound a lot creepier and frightening. The iffiness comes only if you look at the accompanying SFM animation, which is clearly inspired by that fanfic. (The animation was a test; the video didn't reach the huge number of likes Maxwell requested for a full animation to be made.) The Bandcamp link in the video description is long dead, but at least the song's on SayMaxWell's Soundcloud.

 

7: Wasteland Wailers – Fly Like You

 

Rule 1: Uploaded to Bandcamp 6 Dec 2014
Now this is really great. Yes, it's based on the world of Fallout: Equestria, but you don't need to be familiar with that to enjoy this jazz number. One of Overmare Studios' finest creations, with Brittany Church (YouTube dead) putting on a fantastic performance as singer Velvet Remedy. Her voice is both powerful and nuanced, and she gets over the atmosphere of the setting extremely well. The song's lyrics are both sharp and witty, and the instrumentation is perfectly judged as well. Have you twigged yet that I like this one? ;) To get it in HQ, you'll need to grab the Ponies at Dawn: Recollections album, which is available as a name-your-price record on P@D's Bandcamp. The song isn't available there separately.

 

6: SquareHead – Under Our Spell (remix)

 

Rule 1: Uploaded to Bandcamp 13 Oct 2014
It's been a little while since we saw a SquareHead track featured in this series, but this dance remix of the popular song from Rainbow Rocks shoots into the rarefied reaches of the 2015 chart. It's very smoothly made indeed, too, with the essential feel of the original maintained despite the changes. In particular, there are some excellent instrumental synth-and-drum sections which enhance the "club" feel of this remix. Loads of energy and a nice touch with the evil laughter at the end. It's a name-your-price download on SquareHead's Bandcamp.