Tag: music

Music that I listen to in my daily adventures.

What the World Needs Now

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This Is Your Song – Take a line from a song that you love or connect with. Turn that line into the title of your post.

My favorite song “What the World Needs Now” written by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

Lord, we don’t need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some but for everyone.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some, oh, but just for
Every, every, everyone.

I often think these days that we have an overabundance of everything… so much clutter and everything tries to demand our attention. It would be nice if we could all focus on the simple things that matter and shut out the rest.

Give a listen to this version with Burt Bacharach and The Posies from the movie Austin Powers. It’s wonderful:

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Ukulele day

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO500
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How are you doing? Keeping warm? It’s cold here in Texas, but at least it is not snowing like it is on the East Coast of the US! In fact, today was sunny and it was nice to go out for a bit to get some fresh air.

Right now, my fingers are really sore because I spent some time today playing my ukulele. 🎸 I haven’t played in a while but I decided to learn the theme song to Asa ga Kita. I can now play the chords, but I’d like to work some of the melody into the tune as well. Something to work on! It’s a lot of fun learning… I also learned some strumming patterns and things are making more sense to me now. 😆

Here’s a nice ukulele version of the theme song:

Today’s photo is of Koa’s lunch. Like I mentioned, the weather is cold, so a nice hot bowl of ramen looks good, doesn’t it?

Well, Saturday was good, but it’s almost over. Time to read my book and get some rest.

Take care and おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Bowie

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I posted this last October, but thought I would post it again. RIP David Bowie 😢 🎵

I’ve nothing much to offer
There’s nothing much to take
I’m an absolute beginner
But I’m absolutely sane
As long as we’re together
The rest can go to hell
I absolutely love you
But we’re absolute beginners
With eyes completely open
But nervous all the same

If our love song
Could fly over mountains
Could laugh at the ocean
Just like the films
There’s no reason
To feel all the hard times
To lay down the hard lines
It’s absolutely true

Nothing much could happen
Nothing we can’t shake
Oh, we’re absolute beginners
With nothing much at stake
As long as you’re still smiling
There’s nothing more I need
I absolutely love you
But we’re absolute beginners
But if my love is your love
We’re certain to succeed

If our love song
Could fly over mountains
Sail over heartaches
Just like the films
If there’s reason
To feel all the hard times
To lay down the hard lines
It’s absolutely true

My Favorite Selections from the Star Wars Soundtracks

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I am still on a Star Wars high from seeing The Force Awakens for the second time, and spent Saturday night and some of today listening to the epic Star Wars soundtracks by John Williams. Of course the Main Theme, Cantina Band, and Imperial March are amazing, but here are the other memorable parts of the soundtracks to me:

  • Yoda’ Theme / Yoda and the Force – A melody that perfectly exemplifies the Jedi master to me. It’s filled with wonder and beauty, but also conveys the mystery of the Force, a perfect accompaniment as we learn more about a mystical new world when Yoda is teaching Luke on Dagobah.
  • Han Solo and the Princess – It’s amazing that Han and Leia’s feelings towards each other could be established so strongly in just a few scenes, and with so much left unsaid. It’s a great contrast to the multiple forced scenes and cheesy dialog between Anakin and Padme in Episode II.
  • Princess Leia’s Theme – John Williams really hits it out of the park with Leia’s Theme. The melody is beautiful and delicate, but noble and sad at the same time.
  • Binary Sunset – This one and Tales of a Jedi Knight (below) are the classic “Luke’s theme” to me. I think it may be everyone’s favorite scene in Star Wars – Luke gazing out towards the double suns over the horizon.
  • Tales of a Jedi Knight – Another part of the soundtrack that gives me chills. It’s where the mystery of the Force begins for us viewers.
  • Rey’s Theme – The most memorable theme from The Force Awakens for me. Starts small but builds wonderfully into a complex and soaring theme.
  • Across the Stars – I think this is the only piece from the prequels that I thought was memorable (besides the standards). I think the melody is great… it’s too bad my memory is marred by the cheesy and forced romance scenes and dialog.
  • The Rebel Fleet/End Title (Episode V) – This is my favorite of all the Star Wars themes/medleys. It’s because the end scene in Empire was so memorable and sad, but you can tell the movie is wrapping up. Then when it cuts to the credits and the triumphant theme kicks in… When I first saw it in the theaters, I was left thinking “Wow, that was the best movie ever!” It will always give me chills!
  • The Jedi Steps and Finale – Bringing the series up-to-date, this ending scene had almost the same effect on me as the ending of Empire… and then seeing Luke… chills! When the main theme kicks in, it’s the same feeling of “That was fantastic!!! When can we see it again?”

Click the links above to listen to the songs, or you can check out a playlist I’ve created:

🎵 Barron’s Star Wars Favorites 🎵

And here is a photo of an Instax pic of Rey and my BB-8 Google Cardboard.

"Rey and BB-8" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/18 sec, ISO6400
 “Rey and BB-8” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

’80s music

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I’ve been listening to some ’80s New Wave music using Google Music (got the family plan!) and it’s interesting that although I still love many of those songs and bands, there are others where I hit the skip button immediately. Some of the bands I still like: Simple Minds, Siousxie &the Banshees, Haircut 100, Flock of Seagulls (I know right?), Men at Work. Just to name a few.

But surprisingly, I don’t like Depeche Mode any longer. To tell the truth, I never liked Dave Gahan’s singing even though they were one of my favorite bands during my high school days. Browsing the record shops, part of my routine was to check “D” for any cool Depeche Mode imports. But wow, no longer! Funny how tastes change selectively over time.

Here’s the playlist I am listening to relive my high school years! 🎵

365日の紙飛行機

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So… NHK’s asadora “Asa ga Kita” is in full swing, and I am 3 weeks into the story. So far, it’s very good! But what I really like is that the theme song (sung by AKB48) is really good compared to the most recent asadora songs. Since we hear it every morning, a main requirement is that it doesn’t get too annoying. But I think this song is great!

Take a listen to the original, and then below that is a nice fingerstyle version on acoustic guitar. Reminds me of the ending song from Kiki’s Delivery Service! (One of my favorite songs)

Enjoy!

Inside the piano 🎹

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"Kawai Piano" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2015.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/12 sec, ISO3200
 “Kawai Piano” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2015.

Last month we got a beautiful piano! It sounds amazing. Bay has been practicing more these days for a contest he entered, and the house is filled with music every day. The Kawai is a huge upgrade from the electronic piano he used to play on. We love it!

I think it is pretty cool to have music as a part of the family. When we were little, my brother and I took organ lessons and our family had really amazing Yamaha D85 organ. (My parents still have it, but it’s broken) I’m really happy we got that exposure to the world of music. These days I enjoy playing my bass guitar and learning chords on my electric guitar. Koa has started band this year and is practicing percussion. Every evening there is music coming from all corners of our house! It’s so fun!