Spotify playlists, for some variety

[dexeron]

So, this is dumb, but hey, maybe you're looking for something different to listen to.

Here's links to the various playlists I created on Spotify. Maybe you'll find something you like:

: I am a weeb. Anyway, here's the stuff in recent (and not-so-recent) JPop that's really grabbed my attention. It's my biggest playlist, over 4 hours of music so far. I keep adding to it as I discover new stuff.

: If you're not familiar with Van Paugam, the dude's a DJ who ran a Youtube channel that played 24/7 City Pop Japanese music (that's that early-mid 80s music that came out during the Japanese economic boom before the "miracle" ended.) He's been banned on Youtube for copyright reasons, but he still streams on Twitch and elsewhere, and also does live DJ shows at events. He's got a massive library of stuff and it's all fantastic and really broadened my exposure to this era of Japanese music that I'd not been familiar with beforehand. Not every awesome City Pop track I like is on Spotify (there's a big lack of some big names like Tatsuro Yamashita, for example) but what I've been able to find I've put on this playlist. Try it for a different kind of "JPop" sound than what you might be used to.

: All the songs here are relatively upbeat in tempo, and in my opinion sound "good" as background music for online games (like battle royales, MMOs, etc.) It's a mix of current and past U.S. and JPop hits. The playlist was originally intended for me to be able to have nice background music while streaming (like a lot of the big streamers have) but then Twitch started cracking down on that, so it's lost it's purpose. But it's still some good stuff to have on in the background while working.

: There was this old two cassette set my family had while I was growing up put out by Reader's Digest of a bunch of awesome Willie Nelson stuff. I recreated the tracklist in order on Spotify, so here it is. If you like Willie, this is the ultimate playlist for him. If you're unfamiliar with Willie, this is the perfect set to dive in with.

: This one's still in progress and doesn't have a lot of content yet, but I'm a fan of 80s heavy metal - but not the glam or even really a lot of the stuff represented by Metallica and Megadeth. I also have some 70s, 90s and even 2000s stuff here. My metal tastes are kind of hard to nail down, but you might get a hint by perusing this.

: I make no apologies for my love of 70s soft rock. But it's not sufficient that's it's just "soft" or "mellow." It's got to be smooth, and preferably have something more in there: maybe some funk, or brilliant guitar fingerwork, or kick-ass harmonies and chord progressions. Whatever it is, this is the stuff that stands out to me in the massive landscape that is the "soft rock" genre.

In addition, here's something I listen to a lot while I'm working: it's a station in Taipei, Taiwan that plays a lot of Chinese hit music, but also a lot of other stuff too: a bunch of American stuff and even some Jpop from time to time. It's a really good station for me to stay focused at work with. Here's a link to their Youtube channel, which always has a livestream of the station running 24/7: .

[Ventilator]

Proposal: We expand this thread to include Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube links ...etc. for music we listen to and feel like sharing.

I'd like to drop some VG/Nerdcore music I've been listening to for the last five or so years that I've never linked here. I'm sure at least some of y'all probably know about these, but if you haven’t heard them before here goes:

The Megas. They're like The Protomen if they were a bit more literal with the story, and used the music from the games they are based on. They turned the games Megaman 2 and 3 into operas, applying personality and adding drama to enhance an otherwise simple story. They've started in more recent albums doing the same with Castlevania.
https://themegas.bandcamp.com/

The Plasmas. They're more like The Minibosses or Powerglove where they're doing straight covers. I like that their sound is very full. A lot of VG Cover artists feel empty or underproduced. I dont get that feeling from The Plasmas.
https://theplasmasvgm.bandcamp.com/

Megaran. Probably the most famous of the artists I'm linking today. He's a very talented Nerdcore Rap artist. The only act I'm linking right now that I have seen live in concert. Highly recommended!
https://soundcloud.com/megaranmusic
He also covered an Offspring song because it was in Crazy Taxi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOE6NaV_dB8

That's it for now. I might drop some different styles into the thread next time if it gets more participation.

[dexeron]

Hell yeah. I'm always looking for new stuff to listen to, especially if it's out of my normal wheelhouse. I'll check your stuff out.

[Inferno]

I pretty much only listen to Florence + The Machine and Tegan and Sara these days.

Sometimes Daft Punk.

[Samurai]

He mostly posts commentary and meme videos these days, but I'd recommend trawling back through Davie504's earlier stuff on YouTube if you in any way like bass guitar music (or bass ukelele). He and Charles Berthoud (also on YT) are ridiculously skilled, and Davie's original stuff has a really nice blues-funk feel to it that I like a lot. The 0 strings bass solo is pretty cool, too. :)

[Ventilator]

I think y'all should check out The Real McKenzies. Scottish Celtic Punk. Think Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphies. I found them by accident some years back. I made a digital album purchase for another band and I was sent this one instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r54zvTiZ7a4

Customer service let me keep the album and issued me a credit to get the one I origianlly wanted. I saw them live when my friend's band got to open for them, they are great live. The frontman was working the merch booth, noticed my Misfits shirt and we sang a few bars of Bullet together before I made my purchase. They signed my album after the show before smiling as they told me "Now bugger off!" All in all, they have become one of my favorites.

This one is good too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFLm1b5jsfY