Best of 2008

I realize that this is almost 8 months too late. Shush.

My favourite albums of 2008 (i.e. released in 2008), of course. I’ve been too lazy to build this list for the past few months. For srs. xD Done in alphabetical order.

ayaka – Sing to the Sky

ayaka is undoubtedly one of the best vocalists in mainstream Jpop music right now. I’ve been a big fan of her ever since she released “First Message” (which, yes, I did love). She continues the trend with this awesome album, her usual solid songwriting skills and her expressive, soulful but powerful voice. If you haven’t listened to this girl yet, you should because she’s a really good vocalist. Her songs aren’t avant-garde or anything (she writes solid upbeat pop-rock and ballads), but they’re enjoyable and ayaka delivers them with excellence.

Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete -

Winding Road (with Kobukuro)

Carly Rae Jepsen – Tug of War

Carly Rae Jepsen is an indie pop singer-songwriter from Mission, BC (Canada) and is mostly known for placing third in the second last season of Canadian Idol. To be honest, I was kind of expecting disaster after listening to “Bucket” on her myspace but was pleasantly surprised at the rest of the songs on her short album. Her music is mostly laid-back acoustic stuff and has kind of cute voice to go with it. To be honest, I don’t like her singles off this album as much as some of the other tracks on the album.

Sour Candy -

Money and the Ego

G.E.M. – G.E.M.

There’s usually very few Cantonese pop singers that I tend to like in the Hong Kong music business, simply because a lot of them either can’t sing, make really bad pop music or make the same kind of cheesy pop music. Granted, G.E.M. still makes pop music, but I enjoy it a lot more than a lot of the stuff I’ve heard in Cantonese. Her hit “Where did u go” is what made her popular and was the song that caught my attention. The rest of the songs on this EP are also quite good.Not to mention she has a really good voice and sings with a lot of emotion.

Where did U Go-

I’ll Be There (live cover *not on the EP*) -

JYONGRI – Love Forever

JYONGRI’s second album attempt is so much better than her first mediocre album. Not only that, she’s improved a quite a bit on her singing, and it’s very evident in all the ballads on this album. The album is a bit too ballad heavy at times, but it’s still very well sung and her music is really quite pretty. Her ballads are quite better than the ones on her first album, although her upbeat songs are nowhere near what “Possession” was, but are still cute and fun.

Lullaby for you -

Kissing Me -

KOKIA – Fairy Dance ~KOKIA meets Ireland~

So what if this was released the same year as The VOICE? I’ll go out on a limb and say that I liked this album so much better as a whole. This is KOKIA doing celtic music and she is fantastic in the genre. I am a big fan of celtic music and of KOKIA, but she just excels at this genre and I’m far from being surprised. She has the voice for it.

Lydia~Fairy Dance

Black is the Colour

Younha – Someday

Unfortunately, as much as I like Younha’s voice, this is probably the only really good release from her so far. The rest is rather lackluster or bland. This brings out Younha’s energetic singing more effectively, although being a bit more idol-y in some of her single releases (I’m talking about you, Gossip Boy — although the song’s still really catchy ;D). It covers a good range of genres in the one album quite well as well. It’s pretty much a strong effort from start to finish.

Memory (ft. Tablo)

Strawberry Days

Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete

Last.fm Charts July 2008-09

1. Vienna Teng — 601
Attributed with my ongoing obsession with this woman, the Japanese presentation I did about her (when I practiced along with her music over and over again), and Inland Territory coming out during this year.

2. 絢香 (ayaka) — 495
Attributed to my Sing to the Sky spam.

3. Kalafina — 389
Attributed to my general Kalafina spam.

4. BONNIE PINK — 348
Attributed to my 10+ album review spree on Lost Wing. And general spam after listening to the albums.

5. capsule — 344
Same as above, except I spammed capsule a little less than I did BONNIE PINK.

6. Aira Mitsuki — 300
I like Aira enough to spam her this much? XD

7. Rie fu — 276
I’ve always liked Rie fu, and Urban Romantic came out this year. Spammed a little less since I’m not quite as enthusiastic about this release as some of the past ones. Still a good album, though. Oh, and I probably spammed a lot of her old songs when UR first came out.

7. JYONGRI — 276
Love Love Forever, but it’s not something that I can repeat for a long, long time (although I spammed it quite a bit when it first came out.

9. Angela Aki — 269
Again, wasn’t too, too fond of ANSWER, but I apparently spammed her enough. Oh, and I really liked Tegami, and that got played on repeat A LOT.

10. 福原美穂 (Fukuhara Miho) — 231
I loved CHANGE. A lot. And I spammed it. Oh, and she had her album Rainbow out this year, too. I couldn’t find a link to her PV on youtube though =(.

ayaka x Hiromi: SQUEE.

I’m still dying from schoolwork, so I’m leaving you guys with this:

It’s a live of ayaka with a new arrangement by Hiromi (the jazz pianist). Hiromi does eventually go into her crazy fury of notes, but it’s short. It’s out of place in Okaeri, but it would be cool in her usual piano  tracks. In any case, the rest of it sounds really pretty, and Hiromi’s more laid-back jazzy sound is nice to hear after listening to too many of her super-fast jazz pieces.

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