FEATURE - Cowboy Bebop Tunes We Hope Make It to Netflix
Sometime in the near future, Shinichiro Watanabe's action-packed space classic Cowboy Bebop will be making the jump to Netflix as a live-action series. We've got lots of questions (though not about John Cho as Spike Spiegel — A+ choice there!), our primary one being "How much of our favorite soundtrack will survive?"
We know Watanabe will be a consultant on the series, and we've heard music from the original anime used in what little promotional footage there's been so far. So there are good odds we'll hear at least a few of Yoko Kanno's big hits in the adaptation. While we're not expecting a complete soundtrack lift — and honestly, we'd love some brand new Cowboy Bebop tunes to add to our playlist — we do have a few we'd like to see survive the jump.
Tank!
This one's a no-brainer! Cowboy Bebop's iconic opening feels like an integral part of the series... so much so that there are even attacks mimicking it in the latest installment of Super Robot Wars. By now, it's possibly one of the best-known anime openings outside the anime fandom. And you're humming it right now, aren't you?
We've got our fingers crossed that, just as with the anime, "Tank!" will lead off the action for every episode of the live-action iteration. It sets the mood perfectly for the jazzy space action to come.
"Ask DNA"
Speaking of openings, this tune led off the Cowboy Bebop film, Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Another hit from SEATBELTS, this one leads the audience into the action with a much more laid-back vibe.
The lyrics are a bit all over the place, and somewhat open to interpretation. But it seems to boil down to looking inward to find answers. Either way, we just love the chill sound of this, and would love to hear it make an appearance in the Netflix series.
"Call Me, Call Me"
No actress has yet been cast for Radical Edward at the time of this writing, but that's not stopping us from eyeing (earing?) tunes that relate back to her directly. One of them is "Call Me, Call Me," with vocals by Steve Conte. The tune plays late in the series, in the midst of a series of major changes and discoveries for several of our lead characters.
As opposed to much of Cowboy Bebop's jazz score, this is a much more modern rock piece. Its lyrics also lend it to a lot of different situations, meaning it could serve as an insert song either for the recreations of these scenes, or anywhere a bit of emotion is needed.
"Wo Qui Non Coin"
Originally sung by Edward's voice actress Aoi Tada, "Wo Qui Non Coin" is one of the more Yoko Kanno-esque songs on the soundtrack. It sports a Casio keyboard percussion track and gentle guitar, with lyrics about a lost puppy. And midway through, the lyrics switch from Japanese to (largely nonsense) French.
As with "Call Me, Call Me," "Wo Qui Non Coin" would make a great insert song for a lower-key scene. And, assuming Ed does make the cut, it would be nice to see the character and the song paired up again.
"The Real Folk Blues"
Opening with the opening and ending with the ending feels appropriate... but also, we love "The Real Folk Blues" and would love to hear it make even a small appearance.
We remembered just how much we love this tune thanks to a special performance of it last May. The cover brought together fans around the world, as well as Yoko Kanno, Steve Blum, Beau Billingslea, and many more. Even if the song doesn't make it into the show itself, we'll always have this version to come back to.
Eventually, we'll find out for ourselves what tunes make the cut in the Netflix Cowboy Bebop. In the meantime, any excuse is a good excuse to put the soundtrack back on.
