The Japanese blues/jazz band Seatbelts is led by composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno. The group (sometimes referred to as Seat Belts or SEATBELTS) was described in the show Cowboy Bebop as choosing that name because the performers (purportedly) wear seat belts to be safe while in the midst of their hardcore jam sessions. They performed the entire soundtrack to the series (Cowboy Bebop, that is — if you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out) and their sound runs the gamut from jazz to blues, hard rock, country, funk and hip-hop. Loads of international artists have sat in with Seatbelts through the years.
The most recognizable song in the series is probably Tank! which was the opening song for Cowboy Bebop. The song is a big band jazz piece in a Latin-infused hard bop style with a rhythm portion that combines a double bass and bongo drums. “Tank!” is primarily an instrumental piece, though it does feature some spoken male vocals (provided by long-time collaborator with Kanno, Tim Jensen) in the introductory portion of the song, thematically jazz in style. The vocal portion provides a lead-in to the instrumental portion, and its final lyrics, “I think it’s time to blow this scene. Get everybody and the stuff together. Ok, three, two, one let’s jam,” signal the beginning bursts of the majority, purely instrumental end of the song.
The rest of the soundtrack? SICK. A *must* for any fans of the anime series, and for those who haven’t seen it, check out the tunes and maybe you’ll be inspired to see what the show’s all about. Like I said above, you’re missing out if you haven’t seen it.
Seatbelts
Cowboy Bebop
(Victor, 1998)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Tank!
02. Rush
03. Spokey Dokey
04. Bad Dog No Biscuits [MP3]
05. Cat Blues
06. Cosmos
07. Space Lion
08. Waltz For Zizi
09. Piano Black
10. Pot City
11. Too Good Too Bad
12. Car 24
13. The Egg And I
14. Felt Tip Pen
15. Rain
16. Digging My Potato
17. Memory
