When You Wish Upon a Star - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
Now we come to the end of the week and since it is Wish Upon a Star Friday and since we have been listening to READYMADE DIGS DISNEY all week I will be posting the PIZZICATO FIVE cover of When You Wish Upon a Star.

A lot of the time I find that mainstream Japanese artists are way more open to experimenting with their music than mainstream artists in North America. This is the case with Pizzicato Five. About half way through this cute little song, we get two instruments playing the same melody but a semitone apart making it sound very dissonant. But for some reason, I don't hate it. It just follows through with the rest of the album.

Thanks for being part of this week and I'm sorry if you don't like this album. I'll be back on Monday with something other than Pizzicato Five.

When You Wish Upon a Star Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: pinocchio, pizzicato five, pop, readymade digs disney, when you wish upon a star, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 7:30 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Part of Your World - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
Continuing on our week long look at READYMADE DIGS DINEY, here is Part of Your World by YASHUHARU KONISHI & PIZZICATO FIVE.

This track features MAKI NOMIYA, Pizzicato Five's lead singer. Nomiya, a recording artist since the early 80s with the New Wave band Portible Rock, joined Pizzicato Five in 1991 as lead singer and stayed with the group until they broke up. She has since continued on as a solo artist and is still active today.

Part of Your World Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: little mermaid, Part of Your World, pizzicato five, pop, readymade digs disney, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 3:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Supercalifraigilsitcexpialidocious - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
With beats that sound like they're straight outta the Powerpuff Girls, YASHUHARU KONISHI takes this classic Mary Poppins song and combines the electronic beats we heard on Monday and and jazz we heard yesterday and creates a wonderful cover song.

I can't stress enough how much I like the creativity that these guys bring to the table. The PIZZICATO FIVE was a group that Konishi formed in the late 80s. The group went through many different musical evolutions and eventually came to a style that sound quite similar to what you hear on this album. Pizzicato Five recorded over a dozen albums before breaking up in 2002. This album was released a year later by Konishi, probably as a way to get a couple more bucks out of the Pizzicato Five.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: electronic, mary poppins, pizzicato five, readymade digs disney, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 7:29 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Winnie the Pooh - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
Now we go to the other end of musical styles and take a listen to a jazzy rendition of Winnie the Pooh. I know it sound completely different than yesterday's track but when listening to the album as a whole it's not really a shock to hear it.

This album sort of reminds me of the soundtrack to the anime Cowboy Bebop by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts which switches from jazz to country to techno to rock in a heartbeat but for some reason all seems to fit together. That is what a well produced album sounds like and I believe READYMADE DIGS DISNEY to be just that.

Winnie the Pooh Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: jazz, many adventures of winnie the pooh, pizzicato five, readymade digs disney, winnie the pooh, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 3:28 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

  Main Street Electrical Parade - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
A few weeks ago, I posted a track from the wonderful album READYMADE DIGS DISNEY, a whole album of covers by YASUHARU KONISHI, founder of Readymade Entertainment. I was so impressed by this album when I heard it that I knew I wanted to devote a whole week of Covering the Mouse dedicated to it.

Now, the best way to listen to this album is from start to finish because the transitions between some of the songs are quite fun. But I have decided to pick a few choice tracks for this week and forgo the whole order thing.

This track is the Baroque Hoedown, the main theme for the Main Street Electrical Parade. The MSEP no longer runs at Disneyland but the music lives on forever on albums just like this. You will be able to hear a sample of the Unbirthday Song from Alice in Wonderland, another featured melody in the parade.

Main Street Electrical Parade Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: baroque hoedown, electronic, main street electrical parade, pizzicato five, readymade digs disney, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 3:26 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Mickey Mouse Club March - Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five
Happy birthday to Mouseketeer DARLENE GILLESPIE who is 67 today! Darlene was an original and faithful member of the Mickey Mouse Club during it original run from 1955-1959. We are celebrating her birthday today with a Japanese cover of the Mickey Mouse March from the album READYMADE DIGS DISNEY.

Readymade Digs Disney was produced by YASUHARU KONISHI, founder of Readymade Entertainment. This album features the music of PIZZACATO FIVE, a band that Konishi founded in 1985. However, since this album was released in 2003 and Pizzacato Five broke up in 2002, I'm assuming that Konishi, who is a well known arranger and remixer, took the recorded tracks and turned it into this album.

READYMADE DIGS DISNEY is one of the best Disney cover albums I have heard. It is unique and interesting to listen to, it has a great variety of songs and styles and is just really well produced. I will be planning a Readymade Digs Disney week in May so be prepared to hear some more from this album!

Mickey Mouse Club March Yasuharu Konishi & Pizzicato Five 2003

Labels: electronic, mickey mouse club, mickey mouse march, pizzicato five, readymade digs disney, yasuharu konishi

  ¶ 12:01 PM 0 Comments Links to this post