Why it Works: The B-52's and "The Chosen One"

The B-52's eclectic body of work made them a great choice to record a song for the Pokemon 2000 soundtrack. Find out why here:

Transcript:

You wouldn't hire just any band to do a song based on the legend from Pokémon 2000, as not many acts would have the talent to give it just the right balance of seriousness and humor. Thankfully, the B-52's were willing and able to provide their services for the soundtrack. Sure, "The Chosen One" might not be as off-the-wall as "Rock Lobster", but it does capture the sense of fun the band is known for, and with its surf rock influence, it fits in nicely with the movie's tropical island setting. If you want to draw parallels to the characters of the movie, well, Fred's voice does remind me of the island elder, and Kate and Cindy could represent Melody, but it's more likely you would simply attribute it to a musical group performing during the festival-I suppose that's an idea if this movie ever gets a remake. In any case, do you think they made the right decision tapping this group for this song? Be sure to let us know. Thanks.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 36-The music of "Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution" (Part 2)

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the music of Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution. Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me analyze the absence of "Brother My Brother", the score of the remake, and the opening sequence. After that, we review some social media comments and messages from the chat. If you want to know what we thought of the movie itself, we'll have that discussion in an upcoming episode.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast
Neil Jason Interview

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 35-The music of "Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution" (Part 1)

This episode features the first part of a discussion of the music of Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution. Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me analyze both "Keep Evolving" and a new rendition of "Together With The Wind". After that, we begin talking about music that's not in this remake by going over "We’re A Miracle". If you want to hear even more about that song, be sure to listen after the outro:



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
PCN Event Info
First Movie Music Discussion

"The Journey Starts Today" single releases June 12th

iTunes recently posted a listing for "The Journey Starts Today", the opening theme for the latest season of the Pokemon anime dub. Performed by Canadian band Walk off the Earth, the single is set to be released on June 12th, the same day the season debuts on Netflix in the US.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 34-Discussing the Music of Pokemon TCG for Game Boy

In this episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops in to talk about the music of Pokemon Trading Card Game for Game Boy. Released years before the online version, this oddity mimics some of the structure of the regular games, but the tunes are original. Between the area themes, battle music, and a song for a real-world character, it produced a very interesting discussion. As usual, listen after the outro to find out what we thought of the game itself:



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
PCN Event Info
Pokemon TCG for Game Boy Walkthrough

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 33-Discussing the music of Pokemon Stadium

In this episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast joins me to talk about the music of Pokémon Stadium for the N64. While most of the songs are pulled from the original gen one Game Boy games, it still manages to do a number of interesting things with them. We also discuss the announcer, and explain what's up with the shouting guy in the sushi minigame. To find out what we thought of the game itself, be sure to listen after the outro.


 Links:
Pikapi Podcast

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 32-Pokemon Snap Music/Anime Milwaukee 2020

In the first segment (0:29-37:28), Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops in to talk about the music of Pokémon Snap for the N64. Despite being somewhat different from most other Pokémon games, we were able to make some interesting observations about its soundtrack and voice acting. As for the game itself, listen after the outro for that conversation.

Our second segment (38:46-43:03) is an interview with Erica Lindbeck from Anime Milwaukee 2020*-you might remember her from episode 7. Since then, she’s done some additional work for Pokémon, this time for the Pokémon Masters mobile game. You’ll find out about that, as well as other projects she’s been involved in.

*A press pass was provided for this event.



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
First Movie music discussion
Anime Milwaukee

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 31-Pokemon Pinball/Adam Elk

In the first segment (1:10-40:50), Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me discuss the music of Pokemon Pinball for the Game Boy Color. The soundtrack for this one has a variety of sources, so we had some interesting things to talk about. To find out what we thought of the game, keep listening after the outro.

The second segment (42:05-47:50) is an archival interview with Adam Elk, who performed “We Will Carry On” back in 2010. We talk about his work on that song, as well as doing music for commercials, Yu-gi-oh, and a few other things.



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
Poke Casters Network

Why it Works: Lullaby

No, you're not mistaken, the "Bad Girl of Pop" really did a Pokemon song before evolving (?) into her current form. The track she contributed, "Lullaby", very clearly indicates which character it's intended for, but I decided to dive a bit deeper:

Transcript:

“Lullaby” by Willa Fo-er, I mean Mandah, probably didn’t need those Jigglypuff samples to indicate what character prompted its inclusion, as the lyrics match quite well. The puffball isn’t the largest, strongest, or most intimidating Pokémon out there, but it does have another trick up its sleeves that it’s more than willing to share, and the first verse summarizes that pretty accurately. As for the second verse, the primary Jigglypuff from the anime does appear many times throughout the series, making the term “déjà vu” very appropriate.  Even the chorus manages to provide a good parallel, as the repeated use of the song’s title mimics how most Pokémon say their name when talking. Finally, the inclusion of the word “capture” in the bridge hints-unintentionally of course-that sleeping Pokémon are easier to catch. As for the musical aspects, while the Latin influence might seem more appropriate for a singing and dancing mythical Pokémon that would come many years later, it is still fitting for our cheery pink balloon. In any event, what do you think of this adopted character song? Be sure to let us know. Thanks.

Poke Press Digest Podcast: Episode 30-The Music of "Hoopa and the Clash of Ages"

In this episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast comes over to talk about the music of the 18th Pokemon film, "Hoopa and the Clash of Ages". We compare "Tweedia" and "Every Side Of Me" as end themes, and also do a fair bit of discussion on the movie's scores. If you want to know what we thought of the film itself, be sure to listen after the outro:



Links:
Pikapi Podcast
Gated Reverb Information