For me it was the RayForce / Layer Section Soundtrack last night. The song "Cracking!" really grew on me. It's like fast-paced ambient techno.

Feel free to post something. Doesn't need to be VGM only.

Edit: http://dl1.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/dl/ … cking!.mp3

Marty Friedman - Loudspeaker

Melodic shredfest at its' best. Marty's Japanophile side shows in spades...So much of this album is so much like oldschool melodic VGM, it's scary (one track could pass for a rock arrange of Robo's Theme from Chrono Trigger...Track 5, which ironically, is even written in Japanese, despite being a domestic release!), but it never lets up on performance and hard hitting stuff at any point. I'm in the process of unearthing Friedman's other works (I also have "Music for Speeding" of his, which I have to listen to as well), but they'll be hard-pressed to top the melodies and performances on this CD. My favorite album released this year, by a ridiculous margin (US release)

Megadeth - Rust in Peace/Countdown to Destruction

Did I mention Marty Friedman is a god? I had heard some earlier Megadeth stuff and didn't think much of it, but even Mustaine's singing seems to improve on these and going forward.

Motley Crue/Poison/Skid Row/Cinderella/Guns N'Roses/Night Ranger/Vixen

I regret not getting into any of these guys earlier. I'm actually looking forward to getting to see a Poison concert in a couple weeks....

Crash Diet/Wig Wam/Wolfmother

Retro metal movement indeed...I haven't found anything not to love about any of these up and coming groups (outside of the Crash Diet singer committing suicide).

And, uh, this. One of those songs that gradually eats its' way into your mind and poisons it from the inside:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2HpAE-QcQA

Not much VGM of note recently (or at least nothing particularly new and noteworthy). Alphabet Planet is probably the most noteworthy thing recently and uh...Yeah, not much to get excited about.

Scriabin, Debussy, and Steroid Maximus.

VGM:

Rockman X1~6 Box
Einhander
All Sounds of FF 1&2 (sucker for the two arranged tunes)
Lost Child Sides A & B
Rockman Zero Physis
Chom Studio: iwao (a doujin album of the original Mega Man score)
...and other misc. fan remixes of MM/MMX tunes

I have lots of non-VGM metal CDs as well but I haven't been listing to them that much lately.

I've been in nerd rock mode ever since i got the 'No More Kings' album.  It's really good actually. The missing link between Maroon 5 and Ben Folds (5)..hmm. 

http://www.amazon.com/No-More-Kings/dp/ … 117&sr=8-1

There's an extended play of the song "Leaving Lilliput" (A song about Gulliver's travels) on my myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/brandonpfn (check out the player under the muzack section   The band also has a myspace site...

That's some good stuff right there, man. Pre-RIP is a little too garage-thrash for me, and after Countdown things simmer down and lose that great metal edge that those two albums have. The last band I was in covered "Take No Prisoners"... talk about a great tune. Three minutes of non-stop ass kicking.

I've been listening to some "classic" VGM and some new acquisitions recently:

Black Mages
Eternal Darkness OST
Final Fantasy XI (Mizuta's tracks)
Shadow Hearts OST plus 1
Silent Hill 4 LE CD
The Silver #01 STRUCTURE / #02 DESTRUCTOR / #02+ PARADE
Tomb Raider Anniversary (game rip)
Vagrant Story OST
Valkyrie Profile Arrange Album
Viewtiful Joe OST

How is the music for Anniversary? Do they revist any of Nathan McCree's compositions from the original?

It's really good. There are some reprises of the recognizable themes, like Lara's and the fast paced action music that I can think of off-hand, but there are probably more that I haven't picked up on yet. Some of it is a little too cinematic for my tastes at times, but it's a good listen. I think I prefer the original stuff, though.

Last night and today, pulled Castlevania ~ Nocturne in the Moonlight / Symphony of the Night back out. It was good back then, it's still good now.

Also finished making playlists for Devil May Cry 3 and Vagrant Story. The punk rock vocals on the battle themes on DMC3 are awexome, and Vagrant Story is some good classical/industrial hybrid meld Sakimoto. I don't care what anyone says; VS is Sakimoto's definitive work, and you can hear things he employed in his later works, he employed in his earlier work in Vagrant Story.

I dig Marty's current musical direction, although I prefer the darker vibes of his first solo album, Dragon's Kiss. Music for Speeding is a lot like Loudspeaker so you'll probably enjoy it. The original version of the Loudspeaker song "Street Demon" can be found on the D1 GRAND PRIX OFFICIAL SOUND COLLECTION. His musical stylings vary quite a bit in his catalog of album releases but make no mistake... they're always melodic. The album Scenes is a new age record on which he worked with Kitaro. Just letting you know that there are a few surprises in there. Of course, stuff he recorded with his bands Cacophony and Hawaii will simply rock your balls off!

I still don't understand this question.

-Joshua

VGM
Ibara
God damn, where the hell was I when this was first released? Now I'm feeling it because trying to track down a copy has been a pain in the ass.

Lost Child A, B, X, Z
Scored all 4 about a month ago. Found a Lost Child Special CD as well, but I'm waiting for it to ship.

Then some campy/happy stuff:
Klonoa 2
The Very Best of Kirby
Mr. Driller (GameCube Rip)
Mr. Driller Game Soundtracks (ftw!)

Non-VGM
All this damn synth rock got me listening to more of my metal

Pitch Black Progress (Scar Symmetry)
Timeless Departure (Skyfire)
Swamp Song (Kalmah)

and then teh heavy...

Xenosapien (Cephalic Carnage)
Remote (Gadget)
Phantom Limb (Pig Destroyer)
Nightmares Made Flesh (Bloodbath)

Oh, damn! What's on that album? I have A/B/X/Z, but haven't heard of the special CD.

Right now I've been listening to the Shiny Toy Guns album and Blaqk Audio.  Good stuff.

*applause* I didn't know anyone who listened to them besides myself!  One of my favourite albums of 2006 BY FAR.

Metal:  As for myself, Sikth is getting alot of playtime, as well as Amoral (their new album is fantastic).  Soilwork, Mnemic, and Threat Signal never leave the ipod, and I'm developing a taste for Machinemadegod. 

Rock:  Black Lab independently put out another stellar album a while ago, and that's about it.  (I have to plug 'em.  They rock!)

VGM:  FFXII, BoF:V, and Legaia Duel Saga (what can I say?  I'm on a Sakimoto kick).  Vielen Dank for some good ol' Hamauzu as well.

A Last.fm link comes in handy in situations like this.

I'm currently listening to FF12, Disc 3, Track 7.  Oh, I took too long writing this.  Now I'm on Track 8. ;-)

It was a rainy, misty day today, so I pulled out Chrono Trigger ~ Brink of Time (Jazz Arrange). It's the sort of, echoing and vinyl effects that remind me of how sound travels through the air on rainy days, and that's why I've associated it with that kind of weather. Not to mention, the first time I ever listened to it, it was raining in the background, so I believe the sound of rain complements the music rather well.

Kim K:
That's fine assuming you always use the same computer. Most of my music is on an external drive sitting next to my dev box (which I keep offline).

Zane:
I don't know what's on it yet. I spotted it on Y!J for 1000 Yen and watched it for awhile and no one bid on it. Once it ships I'll let you know more.

allyourbaseare:
Yeah, PBP was a great Sophmore album. Definitely would have topped my '06 list if not for Cult of Luna's Somewhere Along the Highway. I'm a fan of Soilwork (the old stuff) and Mnemic as well.

Looks like I'm in for a string of rainy days.

Aside from Brink of Time, Castlevania IV, and Symphony of the Night, the rainy weather has been particularly accommodating of moody stuff such as Kinema in the Hall.

For those who don't know, Kinema in the Hall is an original album by instrumentalist Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts), and Rekka Katakiri provides unusually haunting vocals, that contrast with the brighter, light-hearted songs she sings for series like Atelier Iris.

"Kinema in the Hall" (Track 02) and "Trees in the Southern Skies" (Track 03) are some great, booming alternative rock, as is "Gun of Revenge" (Track 04). "Hakamagaoka" (Track 06) has a good pop beat, "Fallen Angels" provides a joyful vocal melody, supported by organ, which seems to contrast with the rest of the album, including its own song title. "Man Who Saw the Pit of Evil" (Track 09) provides something reminiscent of Hirota's battle themes in his work in the Shadow Hearts series. "Grand Guignol" (Track 12) provides a closing theme reminiscent of the closing vocal themes of the Shadow Hearts series.

Throughout the album is the theme of cinema, and that of horror movies. In at least two tracks, you can hear a film projector running in the background. Indeed, the title of the album may include an intentional misspelling of the word "Cinema" for artistic effect, to give you the notion that something isn't quite right. For that matter, Hirota employs his trademark distortion of string instruments in a number of pieces.

If you enjoyed the haunting vocals and conclusive ending vocal songs from the Shadow Hearts series, as well as Hirota's crooked string instruments, you should enjoy this album.

Zorbfish: sounds good. I'm really curious.

Bernhardt, I was never able to get into Kinema in the Hall, and I love Hirota. I think the vocals turned me off completely. Did you dig the album from the beginning? Or did you have to listen to it a lot to get used to it? That happened to me with iFuturelist... I didn't care for it much at first, but now it's one of my favorite albums.

I'll admit it wasn't easy for me to get into, either. In all seriousness, it's something you need to be in the mood for...because it's pretty moody. Try waiting for a rainy day, and then listen to it.

I've been rediscovering albums from my collection.  The problem with having all these CDs is that I have quite a few get lost in the shuffle  So every once in a while, I go back to some of my older albums that I haven't listened to in a very long time.  Some recent examples:

MIDI Power Pro 2 (Salamander 2, Twinbee Yahho!)
Tokimeki Memorial 2 Music Collections
BeForU II and BeForU III
Ys III Perfect Collection
Falcom Vocal Collections I and II
Fire Emblem-GSM Nintendo 3

I also got a load of stuff from Jerold this week that begs to be listened to (Dracula New Classic, the Phantasy Star Collections, Devil's Crush, Popful Mail Sound Box '94, and a slew of Cyber Trance and Dancemania Speed albums).  That will occupy my time for the next few days.

Did he snag you a good deal on that Dracula New Classic?

new An Cafe for me...   
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OiGgg1dawjA

although they were better before Bou left in april...

Well they're all very pretty. And there was me thinking you were still clinging desperately to the 80s, Mike.

I thought it was pretty decent.  It was somewhere in the $100 range on a BIN auction, which I was comfortable with.  No obi, but I don't really care about that.

"Pursuit Begins When This Potrayl of Life Ends" - Evans Blue
"Kingdom Come" - Jay-Z
"Come Now Sleep" - As Cities Burn - Pales to their first album
"Defined by Struggle" - Nodes of Ranvier
Gykauten Saiban 3 OST
Legend of Xanadu SAV

Albums:
Information Society - Oscillator EP
Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots
Blaqk Audio - CexCells
Tears for Fears - The Hurting
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

*looks up at the list*
Hoo boy.
Reliving my high school years in the form of music encouraging questionable emotion, no doubt. ;)
Enjoying every second of it.

*stares at you*
*applauds loudly* :D

Still have this year's movie score soundtracks on constant rotation, including At World's End, The Simpsons Movie, Pan's Labyrinth, and Ratatouille.  I picked up Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust and The Rising which brings my collection up to date, but his upcoming "Magic" album is the one I'm looking forward to most.  Also picked up two Regina Belle CDs, Passion and Lazy Afternoon, both extremely lovely jazz-R&B outings.

On the VGM front, I've been digging Jets 'n Guns and the redbook audio Battle Arena Toshinden 1 & 2 again.  I'm also going through the paces of recording the Gyakuten Saiban 3 DS score, and I have a custom-made Shoko Minami-only Falcom vocal CD I frequent often.

Favorite VGM fan-arranged song at the moment: Shane Barnes' "Shadow Warrior Showdown: Where Dragons Dare"

I always listen to the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack a lot during the autumn months, the weather goes perfectly with it.

I still have to give more of a listen to the 'new' Junior Senior lp/ep

And I'm very impressed by that new trance/rave-infused Kanye West song, the crossover in musical styles might be the latest trend and it might work out very well for both.

Is that "Stronger"? The backing music to that is a take-off of a Daft Punk tune.

Yeah man, that's the one alright. I just heard it last night and was like 'whoa'. I haven't been a big enough Kanye fan to get College Dropout or Late Registration, but if this is the first single from 'Graduation' I'll definitely be picking it up this month.

I hope this trend continues, if someone does a song like this with an Einhander or Shin Contra sample, I'm going to go Mr. Nutz..

I can see the headline now, 'Fujimori and Hibino Co-Signed to Roc-A-Fella Records!!'
( ;

I'm listening too...

Common - "Finding Forever"
Wise Intelligent - "The Talented Timothy Taylor"
Talib Kweli - "Eardrum"  <---- this doesn't leave my CD player right now

Anticipating Kanye West's "Graduation"