Tag: music

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[The JukeBox] #88 – Can You Feel The Sunshine – Richard Jacques (Sonic R)

Sonic R has gone down as one of the very few games where the score is better than the game itself.

Released back in 1997, Sonic R was Sega’s third racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise after Sonic Drift’s 1994 Japan-only release with Sonic Drift Racing being released internationally 13 months after.

This would also be the first 3D Sonic Game, second overall after Sonic 3D Blast.

The game received mixed reviews with GameSpot giving it 5.6 out of 10. CVG however gave it a 4 out of 5.

After the release of the game in 1997, Sega would not release another Sonic racing game until 2006 with the release of Sonic Riders. These days, Sega released Team Sonic Racing back in 2019.

The song ‘Can You Feel The Sunshine’ is one of the first tracks that you hear once you get into a race. Performed by British singer TJ Davis, the song has become gained a resurgence with many older Sonic fans rediscovering a timeless classic.

YouTube:

Spotify:

Lyrics:

Can you see? The sun is shinin’ on me
It makes me feel so free, so alive
It makes me want to survive

And the sky, it makes me feel so high
The bad times pass me by
‘Cause today is gonna be a brighter day

Can you feel the sunshine?
Does it brighten up your day?
Don’t you feel that sometimes
You just need to run away?
Reach out for the sunshine
Forget about the rain
Just think about the good times
And they will come back again
Feel the sunshine…

Without you, there’s nothing for me to do
Can you feel the sunshine, too?
It’s comin’ through; it makes me feel brand new

When you’re here, I wish you were always near
‘Cause everything’s so clear
And today is gonna be a brighter day

Can you feel the sunshine?
Does it brighten up your day?
Don’t you feel that sometimes
You just need to run away?
Reach out for the sunshine
Forget about the rain
Just think about the good times
And they will come back again

When the sun goes down
I feel like I am waiting
For another day
When the clouds go away

Can you feel it?
Ooh-hoo…
Can you feel it?
Oh…

Can you feel it?
Oh…
Can you feel it?

Can you feel the sunshine?
Does it brighten up your day?
Brighten up your day…
Don’t you feel that sometimes
We just need to run away?
Reach out for the sunshine
Forget about the rain
Just think about the good times
And they will come back again

Can you feel the sunshine?
Does it brighten up your day?
Brighten up your day…
Don’t you feel that sometimes
You just need to run away?
You just need to run away…
Reach out for the sunshine
Forget about the rain
Just think about the good times
And they will come back again

Can you feel the sunshine?
Can you feel it?
Does it brighten up your day?
Brighten up your day…
Don’t you feel that sometimes
We just need to run away?
Need to run away…
Reach out for the sunshine

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[The JukeBox] #87 – Macross 82-99 – Aogashima Island!

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Macross 82-99 released Sailorwave II back in 2018 as a EP after the successful release of the album Sailorwave back in 2013.

Aogashima Island! is one of those songs that has always been in my playlists but never really took a liking to. But recently, something about the song changed my perpective on it and now I have fallen in love with it.

So what is Aogashima Island? It is a volcanic island that is nearly 400km (~250 miles) from Tokyo. As of 2014, there are less than 200 people living on the island.

Aogashima Island

Previous JukeBoxes featuring Macross 82-99

YouTube:

MACROSS 82-99 – Aogashima Island! – Artzie Music

Spotify:

Bandcamp

Previous JukeBox

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[The JukeBox] #85 – Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

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In 1967, Belfast-born Sir Van Morrison released the hit single ‘Brown Eyed Girl’.

The instantly recognisable bass notes and the bright guitar chords really pieced this song together. With the recognisable tones of Morrison’s voice accompanying, it really is one of those songs that you don’t skip if it comes up in a playlist.

The track had success in America reaching Number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasting 16 weeks in the charts. In 2011, the song was played 10 million times on US Radio.

A timeless classic for all to enjoy.

YouTube
Spotify

Lyrics:

Hey, where did we go?
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow
Playin’ a new game
Laughin’ and a-runnin’, hey, hey
Skippin’ and a-jumpin’
In the misty morning fog with
Our, our hearts a-thumping and you

My brown-eyed girl
And you, my brown-eyed girl

And whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow?
Going down the old mine with a
Transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hiding ‘hind a rainbow’s wall
Slipping and sliding
All along the waterfall with you

My brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing?
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da
Just like that
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da, la-tee-da

So hard to find my way
Now that I’m all on my own
I saw you just the other day
My, how you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometimes I’m overcome thinking ’bout it
Making love in the green grass
Behind the stadium with you

My brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl

Do you remember when we used to sing?
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da
Sha-la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la-la tee-da

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[The JukeBox] #83 – Dee Dee – Forever

Let’s travel back to 2001 with a dance classic from Dee Dee with Forever.

There is nothing notable to say about this other than it reached Number 12 in the UK singles chart in the summer of 2001.

I´m all alone in bed
and I can´t sleep
I´m feeling blue
I try to close my eyes
but all I´m thinking of is You!
Baby, only you!

I cry my eyes out, baby
Wondering what I have to do
I’m looking inside my heart
And know for sure
this love is true

Refr:
Day by day
heart to heart
I hope that we will
ever be together.
Will it be, me and you?
I dream that our love will last, forever.
Hold me tight, in your arms.
I know we have the strength to stay together.
When we meet
In the end
I promise to be there,
forever
forever

I´m all alone in bed,
and I can´t sleep,
I´m feeling blue.
I try to close my eyes,
but all I´m thinking of is You!
Baby, only you!

Refr:
Day by day, heart to heart,
I hope that we will ever be,
together
Will it be, me and you
I dream that our love will last forever
Hold me tight in your arms.
I know we have the strength to stay together
when we meet
in the end
I promise to be there, forever
forever

Forever 4x

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[The JukeBox] #82 – MONDO GROSSO – Labyrinth

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Normally with The JukeBox posts, I discover a song or an album, add it to my Spotify playlist, go back through the playlist at a later stage (Normally 6 months to a couple of years) and then decide whether to create a post for it.

This song, I heard one day and I must have instantly liked it but never added it to any playlist and therefore I forgot about it.

It recently came back up during one of my many City pop listening sessions using the new ‘Enhance’ feature on Spotify.

This song is fantastic. It’s a Japanese song by MONDO GROSSO (Real name: Shinichi Osawa) who is a DJ from Tokyo. I will not lie and say that I haven’t heard any other of MONDO GROSSO’s work!

Here is Labyrinth with Hikari Mitsushima as the dancer.

YouTube

Spotify

Lyrics:

Mitsumenaide kanashii hou wo
Me wo tsubutte kuchizuke shiyou
Amaku tokeru merodii

Hikikomarete
Meikyuu no paradaisu
Deguchi mo naku owari mo naku
Tsutsumarete itai no
Jama shinaide
Mayonaka no paradaisu
Iki mo sezu ni
Mogutte iku
Futari dake no dansu

Sagasanaide
Utsukushii rabirinsu
Kuchizuke shite mou modorenai
Futari dake no dansu

Mayoikonde
Byakuya no you ni
Shibireta mama dochira kara mo
Kaerou to wa sezu ni

Tomaranaide
Yurete itai no
Nanimo iwazu
Kuchizuke shite
Wasuresasete subete

Tomaranaide
Yurete itai no
Nanimo iwazu
Kuchizuke shite
Sora kara ochiru

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[The JukeBox] #81 – Casiopea – Galactic Funk

Casiopea - Cross Point album cover featuring an image of the band.
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Within specific genres of music, there are those ‘staple’ songs. A set of pieces that capture the essence of a genre. Within the City pop genre, you would find some staples, Plastic Love, Dress Down, Stay with Me, and Flyday Chinatown.Jazz Fusion sensation, Casiopea would be a staple band for the genre.

Still going today as Casiopea-P4, (Their 4th iteration) has been around since 1976 and became very popular in the 80’s even having a world tour. With almost 60 albums since its inception, the band focuses on instrumental music with high-energy and high-tempo music.

Over the years, they have had 13 different members come and go with the guitarist Issei Noro being the only member who has been in the band the entire time. The band even disbanded from 2006 until 2012 due to exhaustion.

For more about the history of Casiopea, I would highly recommend checking out T2norway’s video on the band which was uploaded in 2021.

Casiopea: Japan’s Most Energetic Jazz Fusion Band – T2norway

Arguably, the band’s most popular song, Galatic Funk became a staple for City pop fans.

Galactic Funk originally was on the band’s 6th album Cross Point released in 1981 but has been re-arranged and re-recorded over the years.

Live

Casiopea – Galactic Funk – M luminox

Studio

The re-arrangement, re-recorded version from the 1994 album Asian Dreamer
The original release of the song on Cross Point in 1981

For me, this band and their live performances remind me of the Miami Sound Machine with Gloria Estefan with their high-energy, high-tempo music.