The Driving Mixmania Surprise

After sending bonus discs to my Summer Mixmania match as my way of making up for the discs not getting there on time, I decided that I would send a bonus of some kind to my match for this Mixmania. I got a lot of different ideas (I won't reveal them because I could use them in the future) but ultimately I settled on something.

The bonus I sent for my Mixmania match was a three-volume set of mixes. The mixes featured a grand total of 52 songs and over 3 ½ hours of music. I did not send song lists to go with these mixes, so there was a bit of mystery about what was on each mix, like the Mixmania. In addition, all three mixes have something in common.

Now, the link between the mixes is...














(SPOILER SPACE for Jim)

















Yoko Kanno!

Okay, I guess I'll explain. Every song on those mixes was composed and/or produced by Yoko Kanno. Yoko Kanno is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) composers working in anime and she is also one of my favorite artists. Most recently, it was announced that she will be composing music for the online RPG Ragnarok Online 2. I've given her praise quite a few times on this blog (I recently re-reviewed the second GITS:SAC OST by her) and given that she has produced a ton of music, it seemed like a good idea to send compilations of her work to my match and maybe (just maybe) turn someone else into a fan. In making the mixes, I tried to put a variety of songs. I have a lot of her work but I'm still lacking in some areas (I don't have a lot of her non-anime work). Nonetheless, I think this is a very good mix of music that will give an idea of the versatility this woman has.

Now, I present you with the song lists from each of the mixes. I won't go into detail about these songs because if I did, this post would be 20 pages long. There are 52 songs across these mixes, you know. I will list the order of the songs and where each song came from. If an asterisk appears next to the anime (or album) where the song came from, it means that the particular disc (as in album) it came from is available domestically. Otherwise, you will have to turn to the Internet for downloads or various sites like CD Japan for import copies.

Volume 1

1. "Inner Universe"-Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex* (will be referred to in the future as GITS:SAC)
2. "Idol Talk"-Macross Plus*
3. "Tank!"-Cowboy Bebop TV
4. "Strangers"-Wolf's Rain*
5. "Shadow Of Doubt"-Escaflowne TV
6. "Saigo no Mameshiba"-Arjuna
7. "Christmas In The Silent Forest"-GITS:SAC
8. "Fantasie Sign"-Cowboy Bebop TV
9. "Shiro, Long Tail's"-Wolf's Rain
10. "2nd Life"-Arjuna*
11. "Dance Of Curse"-Escaflowne TV
12. "What Planet Is This (Long Version)"-Cowboy Bebop Movie
13. "Torukia"-GITS:SAC
14. "The Man In The Desert"-Song To Fly
15. "Wanna Be An Angel"-Macross Plus
16. "Time To Know~Be Waltz"-Cowboy Bebop Movie
17. "Blue"-Cowboy Bebop TV

Volume 2

1. "Cyberbird"-GITS:SAC*
2. "Valse de la lune"-Wolf's Rain*
3. "Ask DNA"-Cowboy Bebop Movie
4. "Blaze"-Escaflowne TV
5. "Nowhere & Everywhere"-Song To Fly
6. "Mameshiba"-Arjuna*
7. "Bad Dog No Biscuits"-Cowboy Bebop TV
8. "Angel"-Escaflowne TV
9. "I Can't Be Cool"-GITS:SAC*
10. "The Real Folk Blues (alternate)"-Cowboy Bebop TV
11. "Light Of Love"-Brain Powerd
12. "Medicine Eater"-Escaflowne TV
13. "Monochrome"-GITS:SAC*
14. "Atomic Bird"-Song To Fly
15. "Sora"-Escaflowne Movie*
16. "Surf"-GITS:SAC*
17. "Gotta Knock A Little Harder"-Cowboy Bebop Movie

Volume 3

1. "Hemisphere"-RahXephon*
2. "Piano Black"-Cowboy Bebop TV
3. "Bike"-Arjuna*
4. "Where Does The Ocean Go?"-GITS:SAC*
5. "Cubic"-Escaflowne TV
6. "Powder"-Cowboy Bebop Movie
7. "Omega Blue"-Arjuna*
8. "Dear John"-GITS:SAC
9. "Yo Pumpkin Head"-Cowboy Bebop Movie
10. "Horse Ride"-Escaflowne Movie*
11. "The Garden Of Everything"-Rahxephon (sort of)
12. "The Ship"-Song To Fly
13. "Spotter"-GITS:SAC*
14. "Sanctuary"-Arjuna
15. "Space Lion"-Cowboy Bebop TV
16. "Gravity"-Wolf's Rain*
17. "Living Inside The Shell"-GITS:SAC*
18. "Dew"-GITS:SAC

P.S. Sorry about putting this out "technically" on the 16th. However, cut me some slack...you see how long this post is?