1. 20 years old, from 感情エフェクト (Kanjou Effect)
2. 努努-ゆめゆめ- (Yume Yume), second single
3. 皆無 (Kaimu), from 感情エフェクト
4. Liar, from Niche シンドローム (Niche Syndrome)
5. 恋ノアイボウ心ノクピド (Koi no Aibou Kokoro no Cupido), from 感情エフェクト
6. じぶんROCK (Jibun Rock), from Niche シンドローム
7. Melody Lineの死亡率 (Melody Line no Shibouritsu), from BEAM OF LIGHT
8. 完全感覚Dreamer (Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer), fourth single
9. ROSE BLOOD, from ONE OK ROCK
10. Never Let This Go, from Niche シンドローム
11. Keep it real, from Keep it real
12. エトセトラ, third single

1. The Sun Sank by LITE. This song introduced me to both post-rock and LITE, and it was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. I’ve since fallen completely in love with their music, and they’re by far my favorite post-rock band. ♥
2. 愛も信仰も同じ様に日々のささやかな勤行でのみ『維持』される。 (Also love and faith keep up by a daily small deed) by té. Last.fm recommended this artist to me for months before I got the chance to listen to them, but once I did was blown away by how much I liked them.
3. mass gymnastics display by sleepy.ab. This is probably my second favorite post-rock band, and I love all of the different sounds in this song.
4. 最後の晩餐 (Saigo no Bansan) by Mouse on the Keys. It starts out with piano and more instruments come in as it goes, coming together beautifully.
5. whitenoise snowfall by Presence of soul. It’s a long, dreamy track that gets better and better as it goes on.
6. Our Next Movement by toe. Another very, very good band, and one I was also long recommended. They’re a great band to check out if you’re interested in hearing more post-rock.
7. Destroy The Galaxy, Create The Power Plant by sgt..Don’t let the track length scare you away — every single second of this fantastic song is worth listening to, and I very highly recommend it (and the band).

So take a listen! Starting with the next rotation, I’m going to have single-artist playlists every other week to profile artists I love, though there’ll still be plenty of mixes to enjoy.

1. The Promised Land by Risa Ohki, from FFII (Main Theme). This is from the first Final Fantasy Vocal Collections album and is a gorgeous song; FFII has some lovely tracks that are often forgotten.
2. The Sunleth Waterscape by Masashi Hamauzu, from FFXIII. A dreamy track that goes very well with the gorgeous enviroment it plays in.
3. A Lone Prayer by Shoji Meguro, from SMT: Persona. This is the trippy battle music — yes, battle music, not the opening theme. This game has a fantastic OST.
4. Turn Over a New Leaf (Rhythm Version) by Motoi Sakuraba, from Valkyrie Profile. I’m incredibly biased towards the VP OST, and this is one of my favorite tracks on it.
5. Vamo’ alla Flamenco by Nobuo Uematsu, from FFIX. I still need to finish playing FFIX, but this song is fantastic. But then I have a terrible weakness for Spanish guitar.
6. Dear Friend by Takeharu Ishimoto, from Before Crisis/Last Order -FFVII-. Gorgeous song from this underrated album. Or maybe I just have strange tastes.
7. To The Eternal Land by Motoi Sakuraba, from Valkyrie Profile 2. This is one of the first tracks that plays in the game, and it does a wonderful job of setting the stage.
8. Blue Fields by Nobuo Uematsu, from FFVIII Piano Collections. This is one of my favorite main themes in the series, and this version in particular is beautiful.
9. SEBEC by Shoji Meguro, from SMT: Persona. Another trippy song — but again, this OST is full of awesome tracks like this.
10. Musica Machina by Nobuo Uematsu, from FFV. This game’s music is also underrated (so is the game, for that matter), but it’s awesome.
11. Rebirth by Takeharu Ishimoto, from Before Crisis/Last Order -FFVII-. This track might be short, but it captures the sound of the OST perfectly.
12. At the Bottom of Hell is Distortion by Motoi Sakuraba, from Valkyrie Profile Arrange. Have I mentioned how much I love VP’s music?
13. Dancing Mad by Nobuo Uematsu, from FFVI (Distant Worlds II version). This is the greatest final battle music ever, and nothing can make me change my opinion of it. I’m ridiculously excited to see this performed live this week ♥

So what are you waiting for? Go listen!

1. BLUE BIRD by Ayumi Hamasaki. Ayu has a lot of summer singles, but this is by far my favorite. I love the PV, too.
2. WHAT A FEELING by Namie Amuro. All of 60s 70s 80s is fabulous, but this song is my favorite by just a little.
3. Through my eyes by SNoW. I discovered SNoW last summer and fell in love with all of her music; it’s really a shame she’s not releasing anything anymore.
4. Voice by Rie fu. This was actually one of the first Rie fu songs I ever heard, and it’s remained one of my favorite songs by her.
5. Real voice by ayaka. Can this woman sing or what? One of my favorite songs by her.
6. Play Ball by Utada Hikaru. I’m not really into Hikki, but I love everything on Deep River.
7. How crazy by YUI. YUI is usually a hit or miss with me, and this is one of those songs of hers I just love.
8. 2Bfree by Tommy heavenly⁶. I’m not really into any of Tommy’s personas (whether it’s the brilliant green or otherwise), but this song is awesome.
9. MY LULLABY by Anna Tsuchiya. I like most of Anna’s music across the years, but my favorite release of hers has to be Taste My Beat, all of which is just fantastic.
10. Fake Flowers by OLIVIA. This has been my favorite OLIVIA song since about the time I discovered her, despite the bizarre lyrics (which I always mishear).
11. ヒトヒラのハナビラ (Hitohira no Hanabira) by Stereopony. I got to see them in concert a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic, so here’s my favorite song of theirs to finish this up.

Enjoy!

1. Keep it real by ONE OK ROCK. Opening track to their mini-album Keep it real and a perfect introduction to the band.
2. 迷子犬と雨のビート (Maigoinu to Ame no Beat) by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. I’ve been loving their recent singles, and this one is especially awesome. It’s not like their usual music, but in a good way. A very good way.
3. へっくしゅん (Hekkushun) by RADWIMPS. I actually discovered this song through this fan video of Godot’s story in the game Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations (so hi, spoiler warning) and fell in love with it.
4. 存在証明 (Sonzai Shoumei) by ONE OK ROCK. As one of the songs on their album 感情エフェクト (Kanjou Effect), it’s automatically an awesome song in my book, but I especially loved their performance of it found on the DVD that came with 完全感覚Dreamer (Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer).
5. おしゃかしゃま (Oshakashama) by RADWIMPS. I love the lyrics to this song (the video is subbed here, and yes, this is where the title for this mix comes from) and how it captures all of RADWIMPS’s brilliance and eccentricity in it.
6. ラストシーン (Last Scene) by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. I love pretty much every track on ソルファ (Sol-fa), but especially Last Scene.
7. エトセトラ (Etcetera) by ONE OK ROCK. I can never pick a favorite OOR song, but this is definitely a top contender. This is the recording from their awesome performance of it on the 世の中シュレッダー (Yo no Naka Shredder) DVD.
8. バグパイプ (Bagpipe) by RADWIMPS. One of the things I really like about RADWIMPS is that they can actually pull off songs in English on account of Noda’s time in the US, and this song definitely shows it.
9. 独り言ロンリーナ (Hitori goto Lonely na) by ONE OK ROCK. This was one of the b-sides on their recent single (Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer, and I love the way it opens with a piano before it goes into awesome rock.
10. 君の街まで (Kimi no Machi Made) by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. The song is great by itself, but the thing that makes it unforgettable is its bizarre PV. Giant crayfish really have no business in synchronized swimming competitions. (No, really.)
11. And I know by ONE OK ROCK. Final track off Keep it real, and another one of my favorite OOR songs. Taka can pull off great rock ballads.
12. オーダーメイド (Order Made) by RADWIMPS. This is another song that’s great to just listen to, but takes an entirely new meaning when you read the lyrics or watch the PV.
13. ソラニン (Solanin) by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION . Like “Maigoinu to Ame no Beat,” this one of their newer and more different songs, but it’s a great track, and I could think of nothing better to finish off this mix with.

That’s all! Go listen and enjoy.

1. Re:Re: by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. If you’ve never heard the song this rotation is named after, you’re missing out.
2. OVER THE BORDER by Stereopony. Their eponymous second album just came out and it’s a great pop album for the summer.
3. Last Links by Ayumi Hamasaki. Her recent album Rock’n'Roll Circus is fantastic, but this was by far my favorite track off it.
4. The Walk by Imogen Heap. I tend to associate this song with a pairing I love, and I’ve been playing it a lot lately.
5. 君という花 (Kimi to Iu Hana) by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. This is a fantastic acoustic version of it from the performance on their ワールド ワールド ワールド (WORLD WORLD WORLD) tour.
6. Let Go by Frou Frou. This goes along with “The Walk” in my mind (it is the same singer, after all). Somehow I always feel like I should be driving when I hear it.
7. じぶんROCK (Jibun Rock) by ONE OK ROCK. I’ve loved this song since it came out as a preview for OOR’s new album, Nicheシンドローム (Niche Syndrome), and I think it’s one of the best songs they’ve ever put out.
8. The World Is Yours by UNCHAIN. This song is awesome, and I also really recommend the music video—it’s one continous shot and awesome to watch.
9. Liar by ONE OK ROCK. This is my other favorite track off of Niche Syndrome. I actually can’t pick between it and “Jibun Rock” as my favorite.
10. line by school food punishment. Their first full-length album, amp-reflection, is incredible, but “line” was the most standout track to me. The last time I had had that “sit up straight, stop what you’re doing, and listen to this awesome song” feeling was when I first heard “you may crawl.” Well worth the listen.
11. inside by sleepy.ab. A quieter post-rock song to finish things up. It was hard to pick; sleepy.ab’s music is great.

So what are you waiting for? Go listen, and I hope you enjoy!