Yoko Kanno online.
Yoko Kanno’s original “Blue” plays out over the surreal finale of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that has aged better than most shows reduced to your high school’s ex-boyfriend’s Hot Topic trash pile. (Remember when Creed sucked?) The Cowboy Bebop soundtrack (still great) might still be what most people know Yoko Kanno by. Now, for whatever reason, she has rereleased “Blue” with Maya, someone whom I had to Google only to learn that she is big on TikTok. Good for her. Too bad her bland Billie Eillish impression immediately dates this new version of “Blue” to the early 2020s when teens could whisper their way to pop stardom. I get that “Blue” was rewritten for a Honda commercial, but still: Why does this need to exist? The original “Blue,” ironically, sounds more relevant to today’s modern music fan who read that one Pitchfork Parannoul review and is too busy getting into Ozu to bother with rockism or poptimism. Lofi hip hop anime yawns to meh/bleh to.
-Brady Gerber
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