Big Fire Orchestral: The Best of Giant Robo

It's been about 10 years now since that day. I was an anime/videogame dork (sophmore in highschool) and after school I stopped in at a local haven that catered particularly to such persons. Without spending a dime, it was still a cool place to hang out. I was that annoying kid that would come into the game store every week and ask when a certain game would be available. I bet they wish they had internet back then. So on this particular day everybody was watching some anime I never heard of. I was very narrowminded on my anime... I liked what I liked. But I glanced over for a second and I couldn't look away. The characters were so cool, the animation so retro, and then there's the music... it was amazing. So I asked the name of it and bought that exact tape only to find out it was the end of the series. It was called Giant Robo and I knew it was something special.

The Magnificent Ten (mostly)
For one, it took quite a few years for "them" to make only 7 episodes. Each episode was like a mini movie and each had its own soundtrack. So I looked all over and eventually got them all. I then tracked down the OSTs which were rare even then. I managed to get 3 via online shopping and I found the rest on Napster. To this day... aside from Shaw Bros music... this is still the best music I've ever heard. I was working on Underscoreology No2 and naturally I wanted to use some GR tracks (I have about 100), but as the comp started coming together the more I realized nothing else would compare. It would be too out of place. I've used some GR in Underscoreology No1 and A Turn for the Worst, but I was really holding back. It's good stuff but negligible compared to the whole collection. I've included those previous tracks anyway.

I haven't been into anime for a long time (about 7 years), but when I look back, I still love Giant Robo. I've always had a thing for villains and it's interesting that among the villains there were good ones and bad ones. To top it off, most of them wore business suits. HOW COOL IS THAT!? The robots really played a small part in the series, it was mostly the characters who drove the story.


Organization Big Fire (minus a few people) Click for fullsize.

And by the way this is my scan/edit. I actually started typing this post 2 weeks ago and I got so hyped up I ordered the new art book which is even better than the old one I always wanted. The kid, Lord Big Fire is the leader and the most dangerous. I think he can kill people just by thinking about it... or something like that lol. These characters are dangerous overall, only a handful of them actual did any fighting in the whole series. And 1 was dead before the series started... Cervantes here.



The Best of Giant Robo

01. Taiso's Counterattack (extended)
02. Lord Alberto's Attack
03. Big Group Parading Around
04. Line of Death - Kenji Murasame
05. The Inversion
06. Suppress Manhood! Experts Battle Above!
07. Battle of the Snowy Mountains
08. Dr. Shizuma's Compensation
09. Phantom Night's Ambition
10. Magnificent Ten Attack!
11. Big Fire Appears
12. Symphonic Action Time
13. Cataclysm Over Paris
14. The Truth About Bashtarlle
15. Darkness Covers the Beijing Sky
16. The Eye of Volger
17. Emmanuelle and Famelle
18. Shizuma Drive's 10th Year Balance Sheet
19. Suppress Manhood! Girder Mountain Sight
20. Train Chase
21. Big Production's Decision

All tracks are composed by Masamichi Amano and performed by The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. These tracks have more variation than you can handle. I assure you.

The Best of Erotic Lounge

I came across this full series of CDs in my search for something funky. It's not quite what I expected, but I did find one monster track and I've already used this one in Unravel. I'm talking Smood vs Natascha Grin - Principle of Love. There were some others that struck me right away, but this was what I needed. Recently I've gone through all the volumes and taken another listen. While this isn't my thing, there's no reason it can't be. As my search for good library music dries up, I can see myself transitioning into this lounge stuff.

Also, it doesn't really come off as "erotic" to me. Maybe I set the bar too high, but either way it's good music. The series spans 7 volumes and most have 2 CDs so it was hard to narrow it down to what I thought was the best. It's full of smooth worldly music. Some have lyrics, some have just scat vocals, and some sound like "too sexy for my shirt." I steered clear of anything that sounds too much like a fashion runway. And there are some cool "covers" of past hits too. And like I used to do, my faves are bolded.

Every cover is maaaaad sexeh. If this were pre-Internet times, these would sell out on packaging alone.

The Best of Erotic Lounge...

01. Naoki Kenji and Asheni - Tonight
02. Kieser Velten featuring Jen - Together
03. Roberto Sol and Chris Le Blanc featuring Ines - Sueno De Amor
04. Fous De La Mer featuring Sol - Never Stop Loving
05. Ian Pooley featuring Marcos Valie - Sentimento
06. Riovolt - It Ain't Over til It's Over
07. Dj Monique vs Stephen Le Coque - You're Like an Angel
08. Solar Moon featuring Jen - Inside Out
09. Funkorama - Funkachild
10. Trinah - Let's Stay Together
11. Thievery Corporation - It Takes a Thief
12. Trüby Trio featuring Marcus Begg - Universal Love (Arme Rootdown Round Midnite Mix)
13. Farida - Entao Eu Vou
14. Shakedown - At Night (Afterlife Remix)
15. S-Tone Inc. - In the Mood for Love
16. Audio Lotion - Jacuzzi Jazz (DJ Mix)

This cover of Al Green's Let's Stay Together (by Trinah) is amazing! I would LOVE to see this performed live. It's the best cover I've ever heard. If I hadn't have forgotten about it at first, it probably would have been on Unravel with Principle of Love. Also, I cut the midsection of Principle of Love to fit more stuff on the menagerie. Here is the full version. And my favorite disque of the series by far is Volume 5 - Secret Affairs. I honestly forget where I found them (I may have gotten them from the Russians), but I'm sure Google will turn them up with no problem if you're interested after hearing this small comp.

I would think that those of you who have stuck by me this long have confidence in my taste, and that even if it isn't library you'll still enjoy it (given it isn't hardcore underground rap lol.)

Adventures on Ebay! No2

So I have this friend who really has a thing for Transformers. He's not net savvy in the slightest. If he sees something he wants on Ebay, he fronts the money and I get it. This time he wanted the original Optimus Prime in excellent condition. We picked out 2, I lost the auction (the other was subpar), and I thought that was that. The winner actually flaked out and I was given a second chance offer (unless I fell for the oldschool hustle... and I don't think I did because the price is in range of others). So we ran with it. I paid up and he paid me soon after.

The item is 1 state over. It should have taken a day or 2 to arrive. 16 days later I get the item. How did that happen? The dealer gave me a tracking number, but it didn't budge in 2 weeks. I didn't want to assume the worst so I called my local post office. They said it never left the post office it was first scanned at. So I call the other post office (in NY) and they made it seem like the person never brought the item in. Before I made the call to the post office I emailed the dealer and asked what was going on? By the time I was done on the phone, the dealer replied to my email (later on) and said that the item had moved. What happened? The guy at the NY post office said that the dealer sent a tracking number and that's it. Now if I was an unreasonable person, I would have suspected foul play. Depending on their reply, I may have been able to catch them in a lie. They maintained that the item had been sent and that Ebay was at fault. So I didn't rush to a judgment and I got my item. If anything, the dealer deserves a refund or shipping credit from their post office. I understand the post office is going through turbulent times right now, but that's no excuse.

This must be what it feels like to be a celebrity. Make 1 phone call and things go my way.