tobydodgen

Curl up on the bed and wrap yourself in a blanket of angsty 90s rock, softened by floating violin and cello. Give in to the weight of Staley and Cantrell’s harmonies. Let everything out. Finally, feel hope in the harmonica on Don’t Follow. Tomorrow can be better, and today can be what it is.
Feel free to skip Swing On This

This has been in my study time rotation for months now. It never goes too hard or reaches too far, but is just delightful to have in the atmosphere, like a fresh rain smell. No skips.

Megatech Body is a seriously banging electronica compilation that also happens to come with a Ghost In The Shell video game, in certain configurations. The game is a stylish, serviceable action adventure that takes a couple hours to complete, but its soundtrack rises above, especially with the title track Ghost In The Shell, as well as Firecracker, which feels engineered to ramp at exactly the climactic moment of a well-timed run.

Super Adventure Island has long been one of my favorite soundtracks, and only recently I learned it was composed by the great Yuzo Koshiro. His style is on full display here, along with an early mastery of the Super Famicom's sample-based sound chip. Koshiro expertly works around and through the echoey nature of the Super Famicom sound to bring smoothness and mystery to an otherwise bright, tropical beat. Contrast The Island of Everlasting Summer with the title screen track Gently Sun, or my favorite, Blue Blue Moon. Yuzo Koshiro's work for the Mega Drive is certainly his biggest, but Super Adventure Island is a gem.

This EP from Sharon Apple, Macross Plus' in-fiction pop star, is a bit more of a mood-setter for the film than a standalone collection, but each track brings a certain something. INFORMATION HIGH is an extended Eurodance track. Idol Talk (my favorite) is some vintage trash pop that I think could still slip into the mix at a Palm Springs pool party. The Borderline is loungy and seductive, it's sort of reaching toward Portishead. SANTI-U backs the film's finale, starting slow and dreamy, then transitioning to techno scatting, all reminding me a bit of the Akira soundtrack.

Worth it for Idol Talk, that's a damn bop.