Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 25: Air's Moon Safari (+ Ben Folds Five results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, August 29 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to a user cycle for after we finish the queue; once we get through the last planned album, the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. The order of the user cycle will be randomly determined, but users will first be sorted into tiers by how many of their nominations have been covered during the early nominations period.

Air's Moon Safari track list:
1. La femme d'argent
2. Sexy Boy
3. All I Need
4. Kelly Watch the Stars
5. Talisman
6. Remember
7. You Make It Easy
8. Ce matin l
9. New Star in the Sky
10. Le voyage de Pnlope

Schedule:
8/29: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced (Johnbobb)
9/5: Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (Steiner)
9/12: The Knife - Silent Shout (CasanovaZelos)
9/19: Billy Joel - The Stranger (Seanchan)
9/26: Spice Girls - Spice (SpikeSetsFire)
10/3: Iron Maiden - Powerslave (TheArkOfTurus)
10/10: Rancid - ...And Out Come the Wolves (Snake5555555555)
10/17: OutKast - Aquemini (Giggsalot)
10/24: Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is an Animal (Jesse_Custer)
10/31: Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Snake5555555555)
11/7: The Avalanches - Since I Left You (SpikeSetsFire)
11/14: Moby - Play (SpikeSetsFire)
11/21: Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill (Seginustemple)

User Cycle sign-ups:
11/28: MetalmindStats
12/5: TheArkOfTurus
12/12: Snake5555555555
12/19: Jesse_Custer
12/26: ZaziGuado
1/2: SpikeSetsFire
1/9: Johnbobb
1/16: VeryInsane
1/23: CasanovaZelos
1/30: Seanchan
2/6: Giggsalot
2/13: RyoCaliente
2/20: darkx
2/27: neonreaper
3/6: Great_Paul

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Ben Folds Five's self-titled results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
jcgamer107 (22)
MetalmindStats (22)
Seginustemple (24)
Jesse_Custer (28)
CasanovaZelos (28)
Seanchan (28)
Raetsel_Lapin (30)
Johnbobb (36)
SpikeSetsFire (38)
HBJDubs (44)
Snake5555555555 (54)

General Album Comments

Jesse_Custer: Not my favorite BFF album, but this one definitely brings back some memories...Ever since listening to this again earlier, Ive had The Last Polka running through my head repeatedly. I had forgotten how catchy some of these songs are.

Seanchan: First listen and this one really didn't do much of anything for me. I guess I liked some of the piano bits but other than that... I didn't particularly enjoy Mr. Folds singing at all.

Snake5555555555: This album wavers for me somewhere between "this is enjoyable" to "ugh this track is way too long in the tooth". My experience with Ben Folds Five is limited to the biggest singles, or Folds' much more enjoyable solo work. Ben Folds' vocals are always sung with tongue firmly pressed in cheek, and that's both an aid and a hindrance. It makes for some fun listens, but when it comes to brass tacks, I have difficulty concerting the level of seriousness I'm supposed to take some of these. By the time the album's closer, "Boxing", comes around, I just end up feeling nothing because I'm so exhausted by the constant levels of sarcasm on the display in the album. Much like the lyrics and vocals, the instruments settle into a comfort zone of alt.-jazz arrangements with Ben Folds' signature piano-styled rock replacing parts that would typically feature guitar work. I definitely enjoyed some songs on this project, "Alice Childress" feels like the most genuine song on the album, a wistful ditty about separation in love and the cruelty of the world. "Jackson Cannery" offers an up-beat opening to the album that is a much traditional pop rock song than anything else on the album. "Underground", the album's most famous song, is a track that lampoons underground music culture just as pays loving homage to the scene, a humorous song about finding happiness in niche corners while still laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I have nothing really remarkable to say about the rest; it's a perfectly serviceable 90s' alt rock record, which sees a new band trying to finds it footing and ultimately slipping into a pit of mediocrity, with mass potential just out of reach.

Johnbobb: Listened to the album for the first time today

There are two thoughts that came to mind while listening:
The jazzy, sometimes experimental instrumentals are fantastic
Nobody in this band can sing, especially Ben Folds
this sounded like an amateur karaoke night featuring someone that doesn't know what is and isn't in their range being done overtop of ecstatic cabaret piano and a powerful bass guitar. The backup vocals only made things worse.

Seginustemple: Ben's voice is in full amateur slacker mode here but his songwriting palette and piano skills indicate a serious academic musician, convincingly blending idioms of classical, jazz, rockabilly, soul, and musical theater into a pop record that attempts sincerity as much as sarcasm. The rhythm section is raw compared to their later releases, grounded in a lo-fi garage band zone that doesn't let you forget how 90's it is - nostalgia mileage may vary. It's a decent debut, never really dips into 'bad' territory. The better half showcases Ben's ambition and pop sensibilities, the lesser is average to forgettable pop rock.

SpikeSetsFire: The piano was beautiful.
The singing was questionable.

Jesse_Custer: I do think Bens vocals improved significantly with his later work. For instance, on the song Narcolepsy off the bands third album (their best imo), Ben showed a lot of range and vocal control.

jcgamer107: According to Ben, the band had originally recorded 15 tracks for their self-titled debut album, but later trimmed it down to 12 after their management informed them that "15 songs is a big ask for a first album." Had these 3 songs (Emaline, Eddie Walker and Tom & Mary) - which later appeared on the album Naked Baby Photos - been included here, I would have considered this possibly the greatest album of all-time. As it stands it's still top 25 for me, one that really set the bar for piano rock at the time.

There is some serious musicianship on display here, with all the tracks (to my knowledge) being recorded live. Ben's unpolished singing voice is polarizing, but to me it really works, maybe in part because I feel like *I* could sing like that lol. Actually my top 3 solo artists - Ben Folds, Jack White and Elliott Smith - all have singing voices that are pretty rough around the edges, but the songwriting is so strong and unique that I think they pull it off. Something about that makes the music more appealing - knowing that the musician feels a need to sing the words they wrote, regardless of "traditional" singing talent. Gives the songs more character and honesty.

There are no bad songs here. Even my last-place track is like a 7/10. Ben Folds really got me back into playing piano as an adult, and this is by far the album I learned the most songs off of, having half of them memorized at one point.

Raetsel_Lapin: I was surprised how much I enjoyed this album. I can't really find anything I want to say, but I at least want to be on record as quite liking this.

Seanchan: Second listen...and yes, this is entirely listenable. Still blows my mind the dichotomy between the instruments and the vocals, but now knowing that I can somewhat mentally move past that.

Seanchan: This one grew one me quite a bit on re-listens. I just wish the singing didn't feel so damn amateur hour. As I said previously, you can most get past it but there's also that little voice in my head going "but imagine if the singing was better...".

Really interested in seeing the ranking for this though. There doesn't appear to be any major consensus; a lot of different songs at #1.

MetalmindStats: Relatedly, I've also found the album itself quite impressive all three times even if it never really wowed me, enough so that I'll consider checking out future BFF albums without a topic to convince me. It's sufficiently outside my musical wheelhouse that I have nothing of even potential substance to say about it, though.

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Ben Folds Five track ranking

12. Julianne (Track #3)
Score: 42 (Average Rank: 9.18/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seginustemple, jcgamer107 (#12)

jcgamer107: not terrible but a little too lo-fi garage rock for me. Featuring Ben barely enunciating some of the lyrics, and bags of empty bottles being dropped on a hard floor.

11. Video (Track #10)
Score: 50 (Average Rank: 8.45/12)
Biggest Fan(s): SpikeSetsFire (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seginustemple, Raetsel_Lapin, CasanovaZelos (#11)

jcgamer107: quite a mature and dark song, considering Ben supposedly wrote it at 16. Very epic bridge, and lyrics that are becoming even more relevant as time goes on.

10. Uncle Walter (Track #8)
Score: 53 (Average Rank: 8.55/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Jesse_Custer, Raetsel_Lapin, HBJDubs, Seanchan (#12)

jcgamer107: Awesome fuzz bass and closing piano solo. More tongue-in-cheek lyrics about that rambling elderly relative everyone has.

9. Sports & Wine (Track #7)
Score: 66 (Average Rank: 7.55/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, MetalmindStats (#12)

jcgamer107: not the most memorable track, but a lot of fun and doesn't overstay its welcome. Impressively fast piano.

8. Alice Childress (Track #5)
Score: 71 (Average Rank: 7.09/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#12)

jcgamer107: an incredibly poignant track that still shows off quite a bit of musicality, with a bridge that could make you cry. Named after a mental patient who threw water at Ben's ex.

7. Boxing (Track #12)
Score: 71 (Average Rank: 6.91/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Seginustemple (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): SpikeSetsFire, CasanovaZelos (#12)

jcgamer107: featuring perhaps the most powerful lyric on the album: sometimes I punch myself hard as I can, yelling 'nobody cares', hoping someone will tell me how wrong I am. a heartbreaking waltz about the inevitable deterioration of the body.

6. Jackson Cannery (Track #1)
Score: 80 (Average Rank: 5.91/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seginustemple (#10)

jcgamer107: One of the best debut tracks ever, it grabs your attention from the opening chord and sets the tone for the rest of the album with its high energy, reflective bridge and 3-part harmonies.

5. Best Imitation of Myself (Track #9)
Score: 88 (Average Rank: 5.27/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Jesse_Custer (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): SpikeSetsFire (#8)

jcgamer107: I can't believe this isn't even in my top half, but the album's so loaded. Not the most musically complex, but features deeply relatable lyrics for anyone who's felt like they need to appear a certain way socially, sung with real conviction.

4. Where's Summer B.? (Track #4)
Score: 89 (Average Rank: 6/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Jesse_Custer, SpikeSetsFire (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, jcgamer107, Johnbobb (#11)

jcgamer107: simple, fun and catchy; more of a 'standard' pop song compared to the others. Ben's voice sounds great here I think.

3. The Last Polka (Track #11)
Score: 102 (Average Rank: 4.82/12)
Biggest Fan(s): jcgamer107, HBJDubs (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#10)

jcgamer107: Somehow a polka in a minor key is one of the most intense break-up songs ever written. Ben's desperate vocals soar over the band's furiously-paced performance. A bombastic and cathartic portrayal of a doomed relationship.

Here's one of their strongest performances of it, with some extra piano flair. Ben's really putting in work here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXllND_LRf0

2. Underground (Track #6)
Score: 109 (Average Rank: 4.27/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#11)

jcgamer107: Ben is so great at these unlikely music & lyric combinations. Here you have a euphoric, almost honky-tonk dance tune about punk rock posers, that shifts styles multiple times and is arguably making fun of its own fanbase a little. With the falsetto back-up vocals and jazzy outro, it's just way too much fun.

Fun fact - this is the one cover off this album I've recorded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY45CXIxNi0

1. Philosophy (Track #2)
Score: 114 (Average Rank: 4/12)
Biggest Fan(s): CasanovaZelos, MetalmindStats (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, HBJDubs (#9)

jcgamer107: Ben's piano skills and signature moves are on full display here, from the rich opening riff to the closing Rhapsody in Blue homage & fist slams. The band absolutely crushed this on Jools Holland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3kI4MYfCLI

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You Make It Easy
Ce matin l
All I Need
Talisman
La femme d'argent
New Star in the Sky
Le voyage de Pnlope
Kelly Watch the Stars
Sexy Boy
Remember

1. Remember
2. New Star in the Sky
3. La femme d'argent
4. Le voyage de Pnlope
5. Kelly Watch the Stars
6. All I Need
7. Ce matin l
8. Sexy Boy
9. You Make It Easy
10. Talisman

This album is so good holy shit. Ever since the pandemic hit last year I've loved these kind of chill, downtempo ambient albums, but I think this is also a bit more than that as well. Plus I'm currently experiencing a hurricane in my area so playing through this album only felt that much more appropriate and surreal. Much like Vaporwave, there's a prevalent sense of nostalgia that runs through every song, and unlocks feelings you had long tucked away years ago. But it's not a depressing feeling, rather I feel uplifted and quite pleasant, with ethereal soundscapes transporting me to a world of pure imagination & wistful wonder. It's albums like this that make me wish I was more skilled at describing the beautiful musicianship behind it all. Almost all songs on this album are of equal quality, and last place is merely a formality here.

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Snake5555555555 posted...

Much like Vaporwave, there's a prevalent sense of nostalgia that runs through every song, and unlocks feelings you had long tucked away years ago.

Yes, exactly this. Except the nostalgia is FOR the first time I heard the album. This is peak golden age electronica (if that's even a thing). I love it so much.

I'd like to sign up for the user cycle so I can go again in 6 months

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bump

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1. La femme d'argent
2. Le voyage de Pnlope
3. Talisman
4. New Star in the Sky
5. All I Need
6. Ce matin l
7. Sexy Boy
8. You Make It Easy
9. Remember
10. Kelly Watch the Stars

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Up

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I've been really looking forward to this week's album for months!
This album is one of my favourites. It really takes me back to the early 2000's.
And it's not going to be easy to rank the songs. There's not a bad song on here.


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1. La femme d'argent
2. Ce matin l
3. Le voyage de Pnlope
4. Sexy Boy
5. Talisman
6. Kelly Watch the Stars
7. Remember
8. New Star in the Sky
9. All I Need
10. You Make It Easy

Takes me back, man. This was one of the first albums hyped on board 8 that I listened to as a teenager.

Strange album for this topic series, I don't think of this as being a particularly song-based record at all. It's all good stuff, just pure vibez

(instrumentals are the best here though)

La Femme D'Argent
Talisman
La Voyage de Penelope
You Make it Easy
Sexy Boy
Ce Matin La
All I Need
Kelly Watch the Stars
New Star in the Sky
Remember


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Far out. This was hard to rank.
I look at the songs at the bottom of the list and think to myself... that's so unjust.
But something has to be there.

1. All I Need
2. Sexy Boy
3. Ce matin l
4. Kelly Watch the Stars
5. Le voyage de Pnlope
6. You Make It Easy
7. La femme d'argent
8. Talisman
9. New Star in the Sky
10. Remember

All I Need just gets the #1 spot for me. Really good memories of the days when I smoked weed with my best mate on the balcony in my Brisbane apartment on a summer afternoon, listening to Ministry of Sounds Chillout Sessions, before going to play an 'All-Cup' on Mario Kart Double Dash on GameCube.

Sexy Boy just misses out on 1st. It was the first Air song I ever heard and I just love it to bits. Kelly Watch The Stars had the same kind of vibe for me and I liked the video too. I ranked it high purely on nostalgia value.

Everything else is fantastic. I've listened to this album 6 times already this week.
At one stage, I had Remember and Talisman in my Top 5, but constant re-shuffles sent them down the list.
No disrespect to those songs at all. I just love everything on this album. It's so chill.


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La Femme is just too epic for me not to put it #1. What an achievement for an album that came out in the fucking 90s.

ChainLTTP posted...

La Femme is just too epic for me not to put it #1. What an achievement for an album that came out in the fucking 90s.

i love the song, but this is kind of an odd statement considering it sounds like something from the 70s more than anything else!

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Listened through the album twice today at work, such a chill experience, I love it

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La femme d'argent
Ce matin l
Le voyage de Pnlope
All I Need
Talisman
You Make It Easy
Kelly Watch the Stars
Remember
Sexy Boy
New Star in the Sky

I love this album so very much. It's a 10/10 for me. It's one of those albums that is greater than the sum of its parts, but that in no way knocks the parts because these songs are so tight and I could listen to any of them outside the context of the album. While I consider "La femme d'argent" to be the best song, it somehow doesn't get me discouraged once its over with the rest of the album left to play like a lot of other "best song on the album" songs would. Rather, it gets me excited for what's to come because it's the perfect first course to an album full of chill electronic vibes. That french horn in "Ce matin la" gives me 70s sitcom theme song vibes and might be the most relaxing song on the album. "le voyage de Penelope" is such a fun closer and the way it springs the last bit of the melody on you excites me every time. "All I Need" has such a beautiful breakdown at the end. Sometimes I wish I would've made "You Make It Easy" the first dance at my wedding. "Kelly Watch the Stars" is super bouncy and super fun. "New Star in the Sky" is the only song that never truly gets off the ground for me, but I still respect the hell out of it. There's so much to love throughout this album and it's been exciting seeing the rankings on everybody's list (thus far) be fairly varied.

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Giggsalot posted...

i love the song, but this is kind of an odd statement considering it sounds like something from the 70s more than anything else!

I guess I meant that I could just as easily see this coming out now and it wouldn't sound dated at all.

First listen, and you guys are right, this is pretty good! A very easy listen and I'm looking forward to doing the ranking.

I know this is an easy comparison because they're both French but there were quite a few songs here that reminded me of a more chill Daft Punk.

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I love this album and hate that I haven't had time yet (all my music listening is being consumed by finishing the song project)

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Listened 3 times now, haven't even considered how to rank it yet, it's just instantly becoming a go-to chill album. Put it on today to take a bath after work and just kinda drifted

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1: Ce matin l
2: You Make It Easy
3: Sexy Boy
4: New Star in the Sky
5: All I Need
6: Talisman
7: Kelly Watch the Stars
8: La femme d'argent
9: Remember
10: Le voyage de Pnlope
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Johnbobb posted...

Listened 3 times now, haven't even considered how to rank it yet, it's just instantly becoming a go-to chill album. Put it on today to take a bath after work and just kinda drifted

What a great bath album

bump

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Hopefully will get a listen in today once I finish up the last two songs of my project

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1. La femme dargent
2. New Star In The Sky
3. Talisman
4. Sexy Boy
5. All I Need
6. Ce Matin L
7. Le voyage de Pnlope
8. Remember
9. You Make It Easy
10. Kelly Watch The Stars

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These rankings are fascinating to me. If my quick counting on my phone is correct, five different songs have been given the top ranking while nine out of ten have been given a spot in the top 2!

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Bump

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A couple flips from my most recent all-time list; a phenomenal album throughout, even if the opening four take my top spots

All I Need (#955 all-time)
Sexy Boy (#814 all-time)
La femme d'argent (#2738 all-time)
Kelly Watch the Stars (#1936 all-time)
You Make It Easy
Ce matin-la
Talisman
Le Voyage de Penelope
Remember
New Star in the Sky

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Bump

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1. Le voyage de Pnlope
2. Remember
3. La femme d'argent
4. Ce matin l
5. Kelly Watch the Stars
6. You Make It Easy
7. Talisman
8. New Star in the Sky
9. All I Need
10. Sexy Boy

This is a really good album. Other than first and last I think there's a lot of flexibility in my ranking. And I'm going to have to buck trends and say I think the 2nd half is better than the 1st.

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1. La femme d'argent
2. Ce matin l
3. You Make It Easy
4. Sexy Boy
5. Remember
6. Kelly Watch the Stars
7. New Star in the Sky
8. Le voyage de Pnlope
9. Talisman
10. All I Need

Not a bad song on the album. Possibly my favorite album I hadn't already listened to to come out of this group

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Final bump

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1. All I Need
2. You Make It Easy
3. Sexy Boy
4. Kelly Watch the Stars
5. Remember
6. New Star in the Sky
7. Le voyage de Pnlope
8. La femme dargent
9. Ce matin l
10. Talisman

I think I've always remembered music mainly by its lyrics, and the unfortunate result of that here is that I prefer each song with them to every song without them three album listen-throughs in. Still, I enjoy even the instrumentals for what they are here - I just find and have found it difficult to evaluate and fairly compare the intermixture. Paradoxically, I think that all is part of why Moon Safari makes me think of my hopes I can live a fuller future, alongside qualities more inherent to the music itself.

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1. Le voyage de Pnlope
2. Talisman
3. Ce matin l
4. Sexy Boy
5. Remember
6. La femme d'argent
7. You Make It Easy
8. All I Need
9. A New Star in the Sky
10. Kelly Watch the Stars

A lovely blend of R&B, lounge, and easy listening styles with electronic textures and elements to create a romantic retrofuturist voyage. Space is sexy! AIR's music has a cinematic quality and it's fitting that they moved into soundtracks, eventually coming full circle with their last release - a rescore of A Trip To The Moon.

edit: oh fuck I missed the cutoff, oh well. I would just like to say Le voyage de Penelope is the same progression as Just the Two of Us but it works so well
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