Day 11 - Arashi - TO BE FREE

*Note: I'm an idiot, and listened to Arashi twice and even 95% wrote the review before I realized that I was supposed to be reviewing karasu today. (It's really been one of those days.) Since all the work for it is pretty much done, I'm leaving Arashi in today, and will be returning tomorrow with karasu. Sorry for the mix-up!

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Before I get to far into this review, I have a confession to make: I'm one of those people who doesn't want to like the things that are popular. I like to think that popular music is bad before I've listened to it, and then don't listen to it, because it's bad. Yep, you caught me. Take me to the firing squad - I'm a pretentious ass. But before you shoot me, know this: I'm also the kind of person that likes all different kinds of music, and I tend to forget that things become popular for a reason. All the marketing in the world won't make crap sell. (Case in point: the conspicuous lack of crazy Japanese inventions among actual Japanese consumers.) And although what's popular might not be my favorite genre or my favorite band or the most artistic work or the most intelligent, that doesn't make it bad.

Arashi perfectly illustrates both these points: I'd never heard anything by boy band Arashi, and I never wanted to. They and AKB48 literally held all ten of the Top 10 Oricon Singles spots for 2010, and that was enough to tell me that their music had to be terrible. But in the spirit of listening across genres (and, frankly, because Loki recommended it - he tends to like the music I do), I listened to this single. And it's good! Loki's right: it's just fun and easy to listen to. Much like AKB48, it has the "overvoice" ("WE ARE ARASHI. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.") which is a particular pet peeve of mine concerning modern Japanese music, but other than that, there's not a lot wrong with it. It has some rock elements, some pop elements, some synth, some real instruments, and just a good sound. There's even a xylophone, for god's sake, and a delicious lack of chimes. Even the "karaoke" track isn't that bad. It's not as good as, say, the instrumental tracks for HALCALI's "ENDLESS NIGHT" or Kuroki Meisa's "5 FIVE," but it's not something I'd skip in a playlist if it came up, or turn off at a party; it can stand on it's own two feet. My biggest problem with this single is that it didn't come with any other songs, and when you consider that the list price on this is 1100 yen (about $13.42, at the moment) that's just a rip off, I don't care how good the song is. Sadly, right now that's the only way that you're likely to get it.