2008 in Review – 1st Quarter

Since Megumi has taken a liking to creating random lists, I felt I had to have a random post of my own (especially with my lack of reviews lately). Seeing as I had no interesting lists to create, I decided to revive my little project of articles that seemingly never receive any follow ups. XD For this time, I’ll be giving my thoughts on Jpop scene up until the end of March (so, that would make this entry a bit early).

The ‘IT’ Factor
Whoever said Amuro Namie’s career was long gone, was horribly, horribly wrong. 2008 seems to be treating this popstar well, with her successes running across Rekochoku charts and ORICON. When I thought she finally brought her career back into the light with ‘Queen of Hip-Pop’ 2 years ago, I thought she would taper off. Of course, Amuro being Amuro, she proves me wrong by building more momentum up until the release of ‘PLAY’, and fooled me once again with the release of ’60s 70s 80s’. Sounds like it will be the year of Amuro Namie once again.

Making History
Jero has been the talk of J-music scene since his debut not too long ago. At first glance, we all know why he gets attention in Japan, but when he sings, he proves there’s more to him than just his looks. He has a voice that will give anybody a run for their money, and he’s using it to re-invent a traditional style, in his own way. With his massive success on ORICON, I wonder what else he’ll come up with before the year ends.

Still In Command
With her struggles to dominate the singles chart, it seems as if Utada Hikaru would be quickly losing her fanbase and hold over the music community, but she quickly silences the doubts with her latest album, ‘HEART STATION’. While her singles may not necessarily be fairing well, her album sales remain strong and dominating, showing off her musical prowess in the process. Besides, if you wonder where her singles sales went, you might want to check out the online charts.

Tsuki’s Top 3 Anticipated Events (2nd Quarter)
1) YUI (I LOVED YESTERDAY) – Some might say it’s too soon for her 3rd studio album, but nobody can argue over her secure place as one of the current top female artists.

2) Sakamoto Maaya (Triangler) – She has a lot of buzz around her, due to the Macross tie-in for casual fans, but for more hardcore fans, it’s all about the return of Kanno Yoko. Kanno has brought the best out of Sakamoto in the past, and we’re expecting nothing less than that for this collaboration.

3) Tamaki Nami (Don’t Stay) – Mostly a personal thing, but it’s been nearly 2 years since her last studio album, and I’m curious over what she’ll decide to put out, seeing as she’s been trying new styles lately.

– Written by Tsuki

Meg’s List: Recommended Albums

Looking for something new to listen to? Don’t know where to start? Here are some of the albums Megumi recommends out of the albums we’ve already reviewed. I only put my favourite of each artist’s albums here, with other suggested albums after it .

(Updated regularly as more reviews come in)

• Amuro Namie – PLAY
  This album is seriously awesome and never once does it lose my attention with its infectious beats and melodies. If you haven’t listened to this album yet, I highly suggest you do! Amuro has some pretty awesome upbeat R&B-pop music.
  Other albums of note: Queen of Hip-Pop
• Angela Aki – HOME
  Angela Aki writes some really beautiful music. I know a lot of people find her music boring, but I find there’s so much sincerity in the way she presents her music vocally and musically. There’s not much difference between her two albums, but I enjoy classic Angela Aki a bit more than her recent stuff.
  Other albums of note: TODAY
• ayaka – First Message
  ayaka has an amazing, powerful voice and she always put so much into her music. While the music isn’t amazing, ayaka has a way making it spectacular with her vocals. She also has some pretty amazing ballads in this album. They are some of the highlights and shows off the power in this lady’s voice.
  Other albums of note: N/A
• Lee Hyori – Dark Angel
  I like to describe this girl as Britney Spears, but better. She has some of the general upbeat sound of Spears, but with a more enthusiastic vocal that makes her music absolutely infectious. One of my friends was actually really surprised that I loved this album since I’m not usually into this kind of music, but Lee Hyori pulls it off well. Tsuki also makes fun of me for liking her . She’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, I admit.
  Other albums of note: N/A
• Nakashima Mika – Oborodzukiyo ~Inori (Mini Album)
  Yes, this is a mini-album, but it’s definitely my favourite from Mika’s collection. It has one of the most gorgeous folk songs from Mika (the title song), and the other tracks on the mini album are equally as strong. Have you ever heard the instrumental of Oborodzukiyo~Inori? Gorgeous. Mika tends to sound a bit bored at times, but I adore her deep, resonant voice.
  Other albums of note: LOVE, MUSIC, YES
• OLIVIA – OLIVIA inspi’ REIRA (TRAPNEST)
  I love the music that OLIVIA wrote as REIRA. A lot of it is very gorgeous and in my opinion, some of OLIVIA’s best works. Some of her older stuff didn’t appeal to me as much (although they aren’t bad), but I fell in love with this album after I listened to it. I adore OLIVIA’s unique voice and how it can handle both ballads and rock music at the same time. There’s a kind of unearthly beauty to it (especially if you listen to “Space Halo”)
  Other albums of note: The Lost Lolli
• Onitsuka Chihiro – Insomnia
  Chihiro’s debut album is my favourite from her. It has the most consistently beautifully written, sung and played songs out of Chihiro’s discography. While her later albums aren’t bad, they just don’t have the same amount of consistent passion throughout the album. I adore Chihiro’s piano ballads, and she has a way of grabbing your (figurative) heart and not letting go.
  Other albums of note: Sugar High, This Armor
• Rie fu – Rie fu
  Rie fu has a way of effortlessly weaving English and Japanese lyrics together. Her music is also consistently heartwarming and charming. There’s something in her voice that I really like: it has charm and has a light, down-to-earth quality about it. Her music never feels overwhelming or over-the-top. Her music is very similar throughout the three albums, so I would recommend starting with her first one.
  Other albums of note: ROSE ALBUM, Tobira Album
• Theresa Sokyrka – These Old Charms
  Theresa Sokyrka is the product of the evil of the Idol franchise; however, unlike many of her colleagues, when she left (she was second in the second season of Canadian Idol), she signed instead to an indie label, and made this cover album of jazzy and folk tunes along with some of her own songs. She’s personally one of the best people ever to be on any of the North American Idol franchises as she never has to sing a glory note to catch our attention. She’s amazing at scatting as well.
  Other albums of note: Something is Expected (But I haven’t reviewed it yet XD)
• Tommy february 6 – Tommy february6
  This album is by far the best solo album Kawase Tomoko has released thus far. It has a pretty solid repertoire of catchy, 80’s pop tracks. This stuff is cute is ridiculously addictive.
  Other albums of note: N/A
• Utada Hikaru – DEEP RIVER
  Admittedly, this is my favourite album because it’s in between her electronica-experimental phase and her R&B phase. It has a little of both worlds. In addition, it has DEEP RIVER, which is one of her prettiest ballads. Utada starts to show some of the creative ideas she has up her sleeve in this album, and I love it.
  Other albums of note: Distance, ULTRA BLUE, HEART STATION
• Vienna Teng – Warm Strangers
  I have a hard time choosing which Vienna Teng album I like the most, but since was the first one I heard to its entirety, I’ll suggest this one =). Vienna Teng has one of the most warming voices I’ve ever heard. It’s not technically excellent, but she has a way of expressing her music that just tugs at your heart. It’s haunting, yet heartwarming at the same time. She’s extremely musical in the way she performs on vocals and the piano. Her lyrics are poetic and effortless.
  Other albums of note: Waking Hour, Dreaming Through the Noise
• YUI – CAN’T BUY MY LOVE
  As if her first album wasn’t addictive enough, YUI comes out with a stronger album the second time around (mostly because her ballads this time around wasn’t as blantantly boring). Her Happy Birthday to you you is adorable. YUI doesn’t have the best voice, but she knows how to perform her music with what she has.
  Other albums of note: From me to you

Meg’s List: ANNOYING SONGS TO BLAST

This list has been the result of sleep deprivation, the aftermath of two essays, and a way to make myself feel better through five days of stomach flu-like symptoms and the beginnings of a cold. Go me.

Note: Just because I find them annoying doesn’t mean that they aren’t awesome XD. In fact, I love most of these songs. XD

And yes, according to Tsuki, if you blast anything, it will be annoying.

Tsuki contributed to this!

I present to you:
Annoying songs to blast when people in your dorm/apartment/house/neighbourhood are being loud and obnoxious.

• Amuro Namie – ALARM
  “TICK TACK BABY. TICK TACK LADY.” From the filtered voice at the beginning, to the ridiculous chorus of this song, to the “words up!” line… this song is pretty annoying if you want it to be.
• Amuro Namie – Violet Sauce
  “DIP IT IN THE SAUCE. DIP IT IN THE SAUCE.” Any version, although the “Spicy” one is pretty awesome.
• Amuro Namie – WHAT A FEELING (So Remix Web Edit)
  I LOVE TO DANCE. DANCE. DANCE. Seriously, even Tsuki finds this song pretty annoying (although she loves the original XD). The repeated “Oo” bits gets really annoying after awhile. This song is just loud with a whole lot of experimental repeated lines over and over again.
• Amuro Namie – WoWa
  *waves pom poms* This song can be pretty annoying (although it amuses me — especially after watching the PV). Afterall, the chorus mainly consists of someone whistling and namie going WOO WOO WAA WAA. Tsuki and I had fun making a duet out of this once when we were walking around. Our friends thought we were weird.
• Amuro Namie – WANT ME, WANT ME
  The hilarity of blasting this song is obvious if you pay attention the lyrics. Anyways, the opening background accompaniment is kind of obnoxious. The pure repetitiveness is pretty annoying after awhile.
• BoA – 抱きしめる (Dakishimeru)
  The bass for this song is ridiculously annoying and catchy. I think Tsuki tried blasting this one once in second year when people below her were being idiots and were blasting music in the morning.
• capsule – MUZiC
  The incessant four note progression in the background can really get on your nerves, especially if you’re studying (hey, it worked on my boyfriend quite well! — although I wasn’t looking to annoy him XD)
• Hamasaki Ayumi – Bold & Delicious
  “YAYAYAYAGAGAGAGADADADADAWOWOWOWO.”
• Hirai Ken – POP STAR
  Falsetto = win. The verses aren’t that annoying, but once he gets into the falsetto… XD
• Lee Hyori – Dark Angel
  YOU. YOU. YOU.
  Honestly, anything from her Dark Angel album is pretty awesome to blast, especially since a lot of her music sounds really obnoxious.
• Lee Hyori – E.M.M.M.
  Seriously, the way Hyori does the vocals on this song is really annoying (in the verses anyways). EENIE MEENIE MIENIE MO.
• Matsuura Aya – Ne~e
  The “HYPER BUNNIES JUMPING AROUND” song. I sent this song to my friend when she was stressed out with all her assignments. It made her laugh for hours. But seriously, if you can’t handle this type of cute music, it will drive you crazy.
• Otsuka Ai – Happy Days
  Otsuka with a filtered voice. Otsuka yelling “Happy Days!” like a crazy person. Yup.
• Otsuka Ai – PEACH
  OTSUKA. PLEASE TO BE NOT SINGING LIKE THIS EVER AGAIN.
• Tamaki Nami – 大胆にいきましょう↑Heart&Soul↑ (Daitan ni Ikimashou)
  This was one of the first songs Tsuki sent to me from Tamaki. It is also one of the more amusing songs from her XD.
• Utada – Easy Breezy
  SHE’S GOT A NEW MICROPHONE. Seriously, this song is hilarious.
• WaT – Hava Rava
  This song amuses Tsuki. The way they say “Hava Rava” at the end of the chorus is pretty amusing though.

To be edited when Meg finds more songs to add, because she’s bound to forget a bunch.

This has been a pointless post by yours truly.