Western music in anime

Gia on Anime News Network posted a list of intriguing uses of Western music in anime.  She mentioned a couple of my favorites.

• Definitely my favorite by far was "The Light Before We Land" in Gunslinger Girl.  That song was just haunting in context.  
• "Sore Feet Song" by Ally Kerr was mellow and lovely, and I could not for the life of me figure out if it was sung by a tenor or a true alto.  
• "We Were Lovers" by Jean-Jacques Burnel wasn't on their list (they chose the creepy and awesome Gankutsuou ending theme by the same artist), and I know lots of people who hate its French sentimental folk song guts, but I found its melancholy nostalgia perfect in context.
• INTERSTELLA 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem Soundtrack by Daft Punk was also pretty great.
• I'd probably also mention that Paradise Kiss song by Franz Ferdinand, too. It was a hoot.
• "PARANOID ANDROID" by RADIOHEAD from Ergo Proxy was also very nice and wins the award for the song technically in English that I still can't understand at all sometimes.

Got any to add to the list?

Where's my website? Princess Tutu edition

I love Princess Tutu.  What's not to love?  Killer classical score, engaging plot, intrigue, killer moves (also ballet, but fighting with ballet), heroes and villains, true love, unrequited love, lots more fighting, and ballet.

Anyway, the one thing that would make my Tutu experience perfect would be if somebody made a simple website that listed by episode, chronologically, all of the gorgeous music from the show with a little summary of which ballet/scene each piece came from and any trivia bits that show the cleverness of Tutu's creators in picking those pieces for each specific Tutu scene.  Princess Tutu for Armchair Fans or something.  If that fan were particularly dedicated/obsessive, they could recommend similar recordings to the ones used in the anime.

Anyone interested?  Or do you know if such a site exists?

Music, anime, and you

Have you ever gotten into a musician because of an anime?  Maybe it was a theme song or an entire soundtrack, but because you heard it in an anime, you actually went out and tracked this person's music down. 

I almost did that with "Paranoid Android" after hearing it in Ergo Proxy, but that was mostly because I really wanted to find out what the lyrics were since I was pretty sure "unborn chicken voices" were not among them, but I decided to let it remain a mystery.

A lot of us have been introduced to people like Kenji Kawai, Yuki Kajiura, Yoko Kanno, and Ko Otani through anime, but some of us have also stumbled on other, more obscure treasures.

I am about to say something akin to heresy.  I got into Bowling for Soup after hearing their theme song on the TV version of a certain anime.  If you know which one I'm talking about, you are amazing and should admit it, so that I may admire you.  Anyway, there was so ridiculously much energy in that song that I had to find it, and I loved the CD it was on. 

In case you're wondering where this is coming from, I'm cleaning my apartment and listening to music, and one of their songs came up, prompting me to listen to the whole album again.  If you're not familiar with them, Bowling for Soup is a gleefully offensive and sophomoric punk-y band.  I find it easiest to describe them as a cruder, more vulgar Relient K.  They make me laugh with well-timed inappropriate comments, and there's something great about certain immature lyrics in four part, layered harmony . . .

So, what composers, groups, or singers have you found through anime?

The value of a good opening theme song

Have you ever seen an anime where the intro song is so perfect that it captures the tone and content of the anime itself and is enjoyable no matter how many times you hear it?  Which ones stick with you even now?

Gad Guard: For me, it's all about the music

In all the recent reviews I've read about Gad Guard's re-release, not one has even mentioned the thing I liked best about it.  This series made me want to listen to jazz music 24 hours a day.  It made me want to go to the library and check out every jazz CD they had.  I may not have paid much attention to the parts of the show that were repetetive and dragged on, but even if I was cleaning the bathroom or washing dishes while it played, I loved every minute of the music. 

If only the show had been as awesome as the soundtrack!  I did like the art design, too.  To be fair, I don't seem to think the show was quite as abysmal as other reviewers, but it's been a couple of years since I saw it, so nothing's fresh in my mind except that music.  Where's my John Coltrane CD?


What anime series can you recommend for one aspect of the production that grabbed you (whether music or backgrounds or animation or character design or whatever else) enough to make you not mind the parts that were sub-par?