Music Spotlight - Meine Meinung / moonbowmusicmovie
It's time again for something a little bit different, but also somehow still a little bit the same. I didn't purposely set out to write about so many video game-related things on this blog, but today it really can't be helped after I fondly remembered the YouTube channel for a band of musicians that have given me a lot of joy!
Meine Meinung is a Japanese alternative pop band, with many of their performances available on their YouTube channel "moonbowmusicmovie". The band members and their occasional guests are collectively skilled in many musical talents, generally leaning more acoustic in sound with instruments like acoustic guitar and double bass featuring often. Vocals, violin, ocarina, and other delightful musical elements also make frequent appearances. Alongside lovely original compositions (their track "Colorful" is probably my favourite of their original songs), the band has performed a lot of original arrangements of various iconic video game music on their channel. These video game music covers are how I (and probably many of their other international fans) first stumbled upon them. A lot of classic JRPG music arrangements, especially Final Fantasy, show up on their channel, so they're a great listen for anyone who loves those games.
Random fun fact: I once stayed up through the middle of the night/early morning from my timezone just so that I could catch a performance that the band livestreamed from their channel. I still remember the experience with a lot of warmth, even daring to type along in the live chat at the time with other online fans of Meine Meinung from around the world. It was worth it.
Watching any videos of Meine Meinung's performances is always a treat. They display a lot of skill and passion for their respective musical crafts, both in how focused they are when they perform yet also in how much fun it seems to be for them. Some of their videos have them dressed up or playing with humorously low-budget decoration in the background in accordance with whatever video game they're playing music from. A lot of their videos very charmingly include silly outtakes at the end, where a mistake in their playing causes them to all burst out in laughter. Those bits in particular bring me back to what feels like an older era of YouTube, where it was more about posting and sharing silly or cool clips you maybe randomly recorded with your friends. Basically, they take the music very seriously but have no problem not taking themselves too seriously. Their energy is so infectiously sincere that I can't help but smile every time I revisit their stuff, and it renews my appreciation for earnestly immersing yourself in mastering a craft (like being able to play awesome music) and also in just having a blast with your buddies while doing something you love together. Thanks, Meine Meinung!