Friday 9 November 2012

S/mileage's great winter single 'Samui ne'

I have never really been too much of a S/mileage fan. I liked plenty of their songs, and the girls were all good fun but as a group I always regarded them as a little too balanced if that makes any sense. All 4 original members were on a fairly level playing ground in terms of talent and personality and the even number of members meant a set formation was difficult to have.

 After the dramatic line-up changes last year I was slightly worried about the group and if it would work but with the fantastic singles 'Suki yo Junjou Hankouki' and now 'Samui ne' I wonder why I ever doubted the new S/mileage at all. These songs are among the group's best in my opinion and although the S/mileage girls aren't the best performers in H!P they are now one of the most diverse groups and I hope that they can regain that possible success that we saw with the earlier line up.


Anyway, back to the single.

The song itself a great, fairly mellow, slightly 'turn of the century' styled affair that utilises synths and piano to create a intriguing sound. 

The video is also fairly pleasing with surprisingly decent use of lighting that manages to integrate the typically S/mileage outfits into the more mature song. Comparisons with C-ute's 'Aitai Lonely Christmas' are easily made but that video was also rather good so I won't be complaining!



In Conclusion, this is a very good release and has become the first S/mileage release I have bought the physical copy of. If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is!

Friday 14 September 2012

The Winning Utahime Oda Sakura


I can't tell you how pleased I am!
The 11th generation audition has officially delivered what it promised to deliver! Sakura is a very talented young girl who i can tell will become an incredible force in the future. While she seems, at the moment, shy when she isn't performing I am not really worried about that as girls like Riho, Fukuchan, Eripon and Masaki have all managed to come out of their shell and develop a character. But hey, since people are already declaring her as a new (but much less fidgety and nervous looking) Aichan maybe that her shy nature is something that will be moulded but not removed. I try not to jump to conclusions but she will make a great front-runner alongside Riho once Reina says tatty bye. All the best lead duos have had a strong contrast. I predict Sakura will be the Nacchi to Riho's Goto, or the Ai to Riho's Reina.

 
Here, get to know the new recruit! 

Thursday 13 September 2012

The Unremarkable '13 Colourful Character'

So, Morning Musume have just released their new album '13 Colourful Character' and after last years very enjoyable, if oddly titled, '12 Smart' I was hoping for something of the same standard. And while this new album is by no means bad, it does not excite me like the last did. At the moment it sits around the middle of my album ranking along with the likes of 'Rainbow 7' and 'First time'. If anyone is curious I would classify albums 2,4,9,10 and 12 as favourites, 1,7,8 and 11 as good but rather "meh" in the grand scale of things and the remainder (3,5 and 6) as albums that have good tracks on them but don't work as a single entity.

The regular edition cover is one i reckon looks better in the flesh (well, plastic) . . .
The limited edition cover meanwhile, is actually one of my favourite Momusu album covers ever.

The album opens with the recent single 'One.Two.Three' which makes sense, given the song's success. It then moves on the the brilliant 'What's Up! Ai wa Dou na no yo' which is an infectious blend of all the things I love about the group recently before arriving at 'Be Alive' which I guess you could regard as this album's 'Loving You Forever' or 'Seishun Collection'. The melody is uplifting and in a way nostalgic but i feel something more could've been done with the arrangement. We then get to hear Sayu's solo song 'Lalala no Bibibi' which is cute and generally ear-pleasing if a bit of a rehash of last year's 'Suki da na Kimi ga'. This is followed by 'Dokkan Capriccio' which is frantic, full of 'crowd noises', and very similar in style to the 2011 album track 'Ok Yeah'. I won't dwell on 'The Mantenrou Show' as it feels we can't get away from it lately . . . So, moving on. While it's nice to hear the non RR member's voices a bit more 'Zero Kara Hajimeru Seishun' is a wee bit of a snooze fest. 'Renai Hunter' is still great and 'Chikyuu ga Naiteru' is not quite what I expected from the title but is passable and some of the vocal melodies in the verses are good fun. I do however feel that we could've done with something slightly less hyper from this particular track. Reina's solo 'Namida Itteki' is in fact very interesting. Despite the r&b styled beats the melody is very 'Japanese' in style and feels like it could've been written decades ago. The 9th and 10th gen song 'Waratte You' is perfectly pleasant but not particularly remarkable and well, 'Pyoko Pyoko Ultra'  . . . is best forgotten.

In conclusion, 'What's Up! Ai wa dou na no yo', 'Lalala no Bibibi' and 'Namida Itteki' are where it's at in terms of new tracks and they are the ones you should be skipping off to itunes to purchase!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

New S/mileage, Morning Musume and Buono!

The past week or so has been fairly exciting, with new music from three of the Hello! Project groups. (Well, there has also been a radio preview of C-ute's new single but it was too short to tell anything from really.)

First up is S/mileage's 'Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki'.


I have too admit, I loved this song as soon as I heard the concert rip. The 'Suki yo, suki yo, suki yo' part of the chorus is just too infectious! The costumes, that we saw way back, are somewhat unrelated to the song but, hey, they are a cute pointer towards the current Olympics. The choreography is actually pretty decent but I think S/mileage have always been fairly fortunate as far as routines go. Also, the main set seems, to me, what High King's 'Cinderella/Complex' should have been. The set is similar in terms of lighting and colour palette to that of 'C/C' but is much larger than that of the former, allowing the dance routine to flow and not seem overcrowded. The lighting of some of the close-ups is, in my opinion, a bit too wishy-washy but all in all I would say that this was a successful music video for a great little song. This also is the first single where I feel the 2nd generation members are placed on the same 'tier' so to speak, as Dawa and Kanyon. I also really appreciate this amount of spotlight on Rina. She is a lovely girl with a sweet voice and it's about time she got to rock some more solos!

Next is two new songs from the upcoming Morning Musume album '13 Colourful Character' that are also being used as audition songs.


First off, Reina's trousers are mightily distracting! Also, I noticed that Sayumi actually dances very well these days.   
The song, titled 'WHAT'S UP? Ai wa douna no yo~ is interesting and experimental. Just in this short clip we already have great synths, rap and speech like lines. It really is something. Opening song?
Part of me wants to know who that is on the chorus now that Ai 'chorus voice' Takahashi is no longer in the group. Whoever it is has done a fine job.
The dance has a sort of 'The Peace'-like move at the beginning and other parts remind me of a much more technically demanding 'Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM'. I am really looking forward to seeing this one live.


The other song is 'Be Alive', a warming ballad. It is a very nice, while not being terribly innovative, song that really sings out 'Morning Musume'. The vocals actually sound fairly pleasant, especially considering that this is now a rather inexperienced group. Overall, I think this creates a rather good impression of the new Momusu.

Last but in no way least is Buono! with 'Never gonna stop!' from their upcoming mini-album 'Sherbet'.


I always like Buono songs but at times I thought some of them were just a bit too musically similar for my tastes, probably due to them being pigeonholed into the sort of pop/rock sound. Of course songs like 'Partenza let's go' were amazing breaths of fresh air and I think that while not going such an extreme again Buono has retained a certain variety this year with 'Hatsukoi Cider', 'DEEP MIND' and now 'Never gonna stop!' all being very differently styled and I really appreciate that.
This time they have gone with a very optimistic and bright style however the vocals and parts of the instrumental have a much heavier edge making this song very fun to listen to.
The music video is very sweet and I love how they included footage from the concert in France as it just shows how far Buono have come as a group and just how they are 'Never gonna stop!'.

Monday 30 July 2012

New blog 'is this love'

I have created a new blog named 'is this love' that will cover a broader range of Japanese pop than the H!P focused 'THE Blogpower'. I will of course continue to write on THE Blogpower as usual.

Please check out the new site!

http://isthislovejpop.blogspot.co.uk/

Here, have a lovely Sayumin.

Tuesday 10 July 2012

'Cha Cha SING' and 100k for Morning Musume


Just the other day, the music video for Berryz Koubou's latest single 'Cha Cha SING' was released.

When I first heard a radio-rip of the song (a cover of a popular Thai song 'Row Mah Sing') I thought it was just plain odd but now, seeing the video, I love it! The tune is insanely catchy and the girls sound great. We should be able to keep this perfect line distribution forever.

The video, while simple, works well. The costumes, dance and set operate around a common theme and really help the viewer to create an image of the song.

I would say that this is looking to be a success for the Berryz.

The regular edition can be purchased here:
Cha Cha Sing / Berryz Kobo
Berryz Kobo

In other news, Morning Musume's new single 'One.Two.Three/The Mantenrou Show' has sold just over 100,000 copies in it's first week, making it the first single to do so since 'Koko ni Iruzee' back in 2002.

Good work girls!!
 

Saturday 16 June 2012

Berryz Koubou x C-ute's 'Chou Happy Song' MV

The MV for 'Chou HAPPY SONG', a mash up of the Berryz Koubou album track 'Because Happiness' and the C-ute album cut 'Shiawase no Tochuu', has been uploaded to the official Mobekimasu channel.

You can watch it here.

Personally, I feel that this is a much better release and is undeniably more interesting than that lame graduation song Berikyuu released last November (talk about weird timing). I've got to give the thumbs up to Tsunku for this one for coming up with such an intriguing idea and for writing the 2/3 songs well. Also, I am pleased with the decision to release it as an actual physical single.

Now, onto the MV.
Although it is simple I found this MV a brilliant watch as it was just great fun from start to finish. It also helped that the oufits are rather cute.

The video starts off with Momoko and Airi taking their respective groups album and playing them in the cd player. Rather clever, I thought.

 
There are many scenes in the middle a bit like this one. C-uteness overload.  Actually watching the whole video, Risako really is getting the girls.
The girls change outfits near the end of the video and reappear in these ones that spell out the name of the song.
This shot wraps up the MV nicely.

Overall, I think that this is a great release for the Berryz and C-ute girls and admire how it was executed. A great way to commemorate their 10 year anniversary.

The regular edition of the single can be bought here:


Friday 8 June 2012

ManoEri's 'Song for the Date' MV released

Just recently I was thinking about how much of a great idol Mano Erina is. There is something about her and her style that fuses all the best bits of older 'classic' idols and the idols of today (the so-called warring idols period).

I first saw this new MV for her new single 'Song for the Date' about a week ago after it was streamed on NicoNico. However, since there seemed to be something weird with the balance on the youtube upload of this streaming, I decided to hold off until the full video was released on Mano's official channel. And now it is!

The video is very interesting and is one of the best h!p videos I have seen, well, ever.
The storyline is intriguing, the colour palette effective, the cinematography good. What's not to like?
Add that to the fact that this is a good song sang by a great idol and we have one of the most well rounded h!p releases so far this year. And another bonus is that the covers are fairly bearable.

 
The Limited A cover is my personal favourite
Overall, another success for for Mano Erina as she performs a hat-trick with 'My Days For You', 'Doki Doki Baby / Tasogare Kousaten' and now 'Song for the Date'.

The single can be bought here:


Saturday 26 May 2012

Morning Musume's 'One.Two.Three' Preview.






The other day Morning Musume performed one of the tracks, namely 'One.Two.Three', off the upcoming double A-side single at fashion event 'Girl's Award'. 
And the day before that I saw some pictures of the jacket shooting (?) from the next episode preview at the end of Hello! Pro Time.

Firstly, the song:
Woah. Electronic-musume is great.
Line distribution not sounding brilliant but remember, we have another song to hope for!

Secondly, the costumes:
Harunaaaaaaa!!!!
When I look at this picture, she is pretty much the only person I see.
Looking more carefully, Sayu looks amazing too and I like the inclusion of members colours.

Let's be looking forward to a double A-side to remember!! 

Edit: Video added.

Thursday 17 May 2012

I love Morning Musume's All Singles Coupling Collection!

Following on from my post on Abe Natsumi's mini album '25 ~Vingt-Cinq~' is this overview style post all about Momusu's delightful b-sides collection.

The front of the box case shows each girl's first photo as a musume. The front of the actual cd case shows their last/most recent photo. Unfortunately I myself forgot to take a photo of this. Oops.
The back of the box has a rather cute picture of everyone's favourite super 9.
The track listing goes like this. From 'Ai no Tane' Morning Musume's demo single and the b-side to their debut 'Morning Coffee' right up to the second b-side of the 40th single 'Nanchatte Rennai', 'Subete wa Ai no Chikara'.

Disc 1
  1. Ai no Tane (愛の種; Seeds of Love)
  2. A MEMORY OF SUMMER '98
  3. Tatoeba (例えば; If)
  4. Happy Night
  5. Never Forget
  6. Koi no Shihatsu Ressha (恋の始発列車; Love's First Train)
  7. Wasurerannai (忘れらんない; I Won't Be Able to Forget)
  8. 21seiki (21世紀; 21st Century)
  9. Koi wa Rock n' Roll (恋はロケンロ-; Love is Rock n' Roll)
  10. Tsuugaku Ressha (通学列車; Commuter Train)
  11. Akogare My Boy (あこがれ My Boy; My Admirable Boy)
  12. Inspiration! (インスピレ-ション!)
  13. Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru (でっかい宇宙に愛がある; There's Love in This Great Big World)
  14. Popcorn Love! (ポップコーンラブ!)
Disc 2 
  1. Morning Coffee (2002 version) (モーニングコーヒー (2002 version))
  2. Chotto Ikashita PURE BOY (ちょっとイカした PURE BOY; Slightly Stylish Pure Boy)
  3. Jun LOVER (純LOVER; Pure Lover)
  4. Housekibako (宝石箱; Jewelry Box)
  5. Never Forget (Rock Ver.)
  6. Namida ni wa Shitakunai (涙にはしたくない; I Don't Want This to Cause Tears)
  7. KoiING (恋ING; Loving)
  8. Dekiru Onna (出来る女; Able Girl)
  9. Fine Emotion! (ファインエモーション!)
  10. Ganbare Nippon Soccer Fight! (がんばれ 日本 サッカー ファイト!; Good Luck, Japan Soccer Fight!)
  11. Nebou Desu. Date na no ni... (寝坊です。デートなのに...; I Slept In. Even Though I Have a Date...)
  12. Love & Pea~ce! HERO ga Yattekita. (ラヴ&ピィ~ス! HEROがやって来たっ。; Love & Peace! The Hero's Arrived.)
  13. NATURE IS GOOD!
  14. Ai to Taiyou ni Tsutsumarete (愛と太陽に包まれて; Enveloped by Love and the Sun)
Disc 3
  1. Koi wa Hassou Do The Hustle! (恋は発想 Do The Hustle!; Love is an Idea, Do the Hustle!)
  2. Chance Chance Boogie (チャンス チャンス ブギ)
  3. Watashi ga Tsuiteru. (わたしがついてる。; I'm With You.)
  4. Odore! Morning Curry (踊れ! モーニングカレー; Dance! Morning Curry)
  5. Sayonara no Kawari ni (サヨナラのかわりに; Instead of Goodbye)
  6. Hand made CITY
  7. Please! Jiyuu no Tobira (Please! 自由の扉; Please! Freedom's Door)
  8. Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! BOMB GIRL (ボン キュッ! ボン キュッ! BOMB GIRL)
  9. Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai jan! (その場面でビビっちゃいけないじゃん!; You Can't Be Surprised Then!)
  10. Romance (ロマンス)
  11. Yowamushi (弱虫; Coward)
  12. 3, 2, 1 BREAKIN' OUT!
  13. Aki Urara (秋麗; Autumn Beauty)
  14. Subete wa Ai no Chikara (すべては愛の力; The Power of Love is Everything
The 3 discs look like this. Sadly, due to the colours the 'B' pattern doesn't really stand out on disc 3

As some of you may already know, the limited edition of this release comes with a rather nice little hardback photobook.

Simple but tasteful cover. Sorry folks, this book was never going to go on the scanner right so you'll have to make do with photos featuring my (not so) lovely hands.
The opening pages inform us that this is 'The Story of Morning Musume.'
Some comprehensible English for once and a great expression courtesy of Koha.
Aichan looking dreamy~
Just to clarify, there is another couple of pics of each member but I am not going to photograph cover to cover.
Riding the train with the first gen.
Eri, Sayu be careful! Sayaka's looking like she might just push you in!
This feels like Goto's died or something.
All aboard H.M.S 4ki.
It surely can't take that much effort to push Renai and a cardboard Miki.
Everyone's together!
Not a great arrangement as far as height goes (putting Koharu in the centre is rather emphasising a certain someones lack of height) but I love these outfits a lot!
'Idols with Craft Knifes'. New horror anyone?
 Following this is a picture of every member in their last single's outfit with info telling us their name, D.O.B. and place of birth. I didn't bother taking any pics of this section.


Finally, the Morning Musume timeline. It's great to see all the member additions and graduations down on paper like this.

Now for Kath's recommended songs!!!

A MEMORY OF SUMMER '98 
The strings, oh the strings. This song is great for an orchestration junkie like myself. 1st gen fans will love this as well as they take all the solos.

Tatoeba 
Great arrangement, sincere melody, raw but pleasant delivery. What more could one want from an early Momusu b-side.

Wasurerannai 
Think a less ballady 'Memory Seishun no Hikari' but just as depressing. Criminally underrated track.

21 Seiki
A great song about dreams for the 21st Century, a perfect b-side for love machine. Most of the vocals are in unison and have a very full sound (I love you Ayappe). The instrumental break is almost eargasm worthy and the girl's dreams are really just too cute.

Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru
I assume most fans will know this one. It's a classic and never fails to put a smile of my face! :D

Never Forget (Rock Version)
This was sung originally by first gen Fukuda Asuka but this version is sung by Yasuda Kei. I apologize to any Asuka fans/first gen purists but I honestly feel Kei does the better job with this song. Asuka has a great voice but she always sounded much stronger in her lower register and so parts of this song were just a bit high for her. Kei has a very versatile voice and pulled this of brilliantly. And as a bonus the re-arrangement is amazing.

Koi ING
Everyting about this song is just to sweet. Read the lyrics if you can.
Anyway, the optimistic melody flows perfectly and Ai, Miki and Eri do a fine job in the vocals department. Also you should check out this version of the song from some AiGaki dinner show a while back. They are both top notch vocally.

Dekiru Onna
Morning Musume at their most Queen-esque. I love Rika's lines in this song. Even though her voice isn't technically great it always leaves my wanting more.

Odore! Morning Curry
This song is bonkers but in a really good way. And I can't be the only one to get a kick out of these lyrics.
"It's fun, but
kind of bitter
It feels good, but
it's definitely painful
Morning Curry (HI!)
Morning Curry (HI!)
Morning Curry Morning Curry
Morning Curry Morning Curry"


Hand Made City
More Queen influence here, this time in the 'We Will Rock You' Style beat. And you know, it's a concert staple this one. Although they might be a bit more challenged with the loss of Ai and her growl. 


Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! BOMB GIRL
I love this song far too much. It sounds like a cheesy old tv theme but the brass, guitar and general energy make it so much more.


Yowamushi
This song is sang by Gaki and Sayu. Odd combination but it kinda works. I was really hoping to hear the two of theme sing it live but I guess the chance is gone. *sigh* I love the old school Momusu song of this song.


3, 2, 1 BREAKIN' OUT 
I wish this could've been an a-side. The combo of that riff and the 8-bit sounds was just too flawless. Luckily, I did get a music video and was theme for the girl's trip to Anime Expo over in the States.


Aki Urara
I really dig the guitar intro and then the transfer into a more synthy sound. The vocal harmonies are pretty nice too.




Overall, I would say this is a must have for any Morning Musume fan. If you're worried about price then find an overseas version. I got the Taiwan version from Yesasia for about £18. Not half bad for 3 cds and a photobook. For the record, I much prefer the presentation of this to the A-sides collection with it's annoying dvd. Four performances of Do it! Now was 3 too many (and two of them were the same!!). If you've made it the far then thanks. Your award shall be in heaven. XD 

The regular edition can be bought here: 

Morning Musume. Coupling Collection / Morning Musume


Saturday 5 May 2012

Mitsui Aika set to graduate

It has been decided that 8th generation member Mitsui Aika will graduate Morning Musume due to health problems with her leg. The original announcement can be read here and a translation can be read here. Mitsui will graduate on the 18th alongside 5th generation member and leader Niigaki Risa.

Aika has never been my favourite Momusu member but I am fairly sure that she has always been in my top 5. The first morning musume music video that I happened to see was 'Nanchatte Renai' and despite not being prominently featured, Aika was captivating. I think most of it was that she was definitely the stand-out rapper in that song.

 
 Here's Aika's solo shot as a little treat.

Another memory I have of Aika is seeing her performing her solo song 'Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito' at the 2009 Spring tour. With a huge bow in her hair and adorable choreography, Aika was the epitome of idol cuteness. With fellow 8th gen members as back-up dancers all three of them shine and you realise just how much of a pity it is that they all had to graduate before their time.



Throughout her time in Morning Musume and Hello! Project Mitsui Aika has proved to be talented and an incredibly hard worker. Unfortunately some 'fans' don't appear to see this and are instead still bitter about Aika getting into Momusu rather than their audition favourite. I am pleased to inform you that I honestly feel that Aika was the most deserving Auditionee. She demonstrated her ability well and never cracked under the pressure. Over the past few years we have seen Aika mature from a cute thirteen year old into an admirable young woman. Despite being disheartened to see Aika graduate at such short notice without any major part in her last single and without any of the typical graduation bonuses such as photobooks and dvds, I am looking forward to see what life brings her in the near future. She deserves a lot.

光井愛佳卒業おめでとう!!

Saturday 21 April 2012

Best version of "Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku" yet . . .?

Well, I think so anyway!

  Today the official C-ute channel uploaded a version titled, "Yajima Maimi Short Movie Totsusen Dance Ver." The video starts off with a film like segment involving Maimi and her friend out eating something on a stick before progressing into what seems to be Maimi on the walk home. At one point she starts quietly singing the song to herself acapella and somehow manages to sound better than she ever does which is odd. Oh well, maybe whisper singing is the way to go. At sometime around 5.48, the music kicks in and the video changes into a sort of dance around the street like you're in a musical kind of affair. Sadly, Maimi's little dance outburst comes to an end when she almost walks backwards into a cyclist. These things happen.

I don't know who this girl is but what's going with her hair?
Have H!P got some sort of promo deal with the Coca-Cola company?


God knows why Maimi thought it was a good idea to leave her bag here.
Don't mess with Maimi. She dances wherever she likes.