The only Nishino Kana I've ever heard until now was her "Kimitte" PV, and although she's not someone that I'd pick out to buy, her music is pretty good sythny pop. "If" is a pretty typical offering, as far as I can tell, progressing from the pop ballad "If" to the energetic "Beautiful."
"If" is a pop ballad with a decent sound - there's an interesting variety of instruments, including some that aren't very common: in addition to the usual drum machines, synthesizers, and chimes, there are also hand bells and a choir! If you listen carefully to your music at all, "If" makes for an interesting listen. But not necessary a good one: among the synth are gross synth strings. (As a violin player, I can smell those fake strings from all the way across the Pacific, and if GLAY can't get away with it, neither can Kana.) Other than that, though, the song is pleasant enough. A pretty good A-side, but not a standout song.
"I'll be there" is a basic R&B-pop fusion, and my least favorite. Even more gratuitous synth strings! Pardon my third-grade French, but barf! There are also come cutely hilarious parts, like her backup lyrics of "Freva! Freva!" for "Forever! Forever!"*
"Beautiful" is easily the best song on the single, and in my opinion sounds more like an A-side than the A-side! It's fun, bassy, and has a good dance vibe. Also, good pronunciation on this one! (Weird but welcome.) It's a song good enough that I'd be happy to add to a playlist. (Watch the PV!)
*I'm not above making fun of performers' pronunciation.** There's no excuse for blatantly bad pronunciation. There are enough foreigners in Japan and they're rich enough that they can either get language coaching or fluent backup singers. Besides which, even if they don't have a good grasp on how big their Western fanbase is, I'm pretty sure that they know it exists and should be trying to add to that fanbase. Good pronunciation is a good foundation on which to expand into the West.
**I'm hard on them because I love them. It's called "tough love," people!
Showing posts with label sore ha nihon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sore ha nihon. Show all posts
Jan 16, 2011
Jan 12, 2011
Day 3 - AKB48 - Beginner, Type B
Second verse, same as the first.
I don't know if I should even be writing a second entry for Type B. There's literally only one song different between the two of them. (Instead of "Kimi ni Tsuite," Type B has "Nakeru Basho.") I didn't realize this when I made the schedule, though, and dammit, I'm determined to post everyday!
I have a pretty big problem with this single, and there's no nice way to put it, so I'll just go ahead and say it: I just couldn't tell the different between the two of them. No, not like that - they do sound different. I mean, for one thing, the two songs that are different have different lyrics. But they're both slow songs, and it doesn't create that big of a difference on the single as a whole. I mean, for gods' sake, I had to listen to each song again just now to remember which was which. And when I listened to "Nakeru Basho" I literally couldn't remember ever having heard it before. At least with "Kimi ni Tsuite" I remembered hearing it, and that I thought it was a pretty okay song. Sorry Type B - you fail. But that's Japan for you: the Japanese music money-making machine is all about selling gullible consumers things that they already own but with slightly altered features. And I guess if it works for them, more power to them. Just don't expect me to buy any of that shit.
I don't know if I should even be writing a second entry for Type B. There's literally only one song different between the two of them. (Instead of "Kimi ni Tsuite," Type B has "Nakeru Basho.") I didn't realize this when I made the schedule, though, and dammit, I'm determined to post everyday!
I have a pretty big problem with this single, and there's no nice way to put it, so I'll just go ahead and say it: I just couldn't tell the different between the two of them. No, not like that - they do sound different. I mean, for one thing, the two songs that are different have different lyrics. But they're both slow songs, and it doesn't create that big of a difference on the single as a whole. I mean, for gods' sake, I had to listen to each song again just now to remember which was which. And when I listened to "Nakeru Basho" I literally couldn't remember ever having heard it before. At least with "Kimi ni Tsuite" I remembered hearing it, and that I thought it was a pretty okay song. Sorry Type B - you fail. But that's Japan for you: the Japanese music money-making machine is all about selling gullible consumers things that they already own but with slightly altered features. And I guess if it works for them, more power to them. Just don't expect me to buy any of that shit.
Jan 8, 2011
Sore ha Nihon
Just took a look at the Oricon daily singles chart, and guess what's beating out three different AKB48 singles to take #1? A CD called "Toire no Kami-sama." Translation: "God of the Toilet."
It's by a woman name Uemura Kana, and it looks like she only just debuted this year. Beating out AKB48 is no small feat, but I can see why it happened. The Japanese are suckers for anything toilet-related, and anything nostalgic. Mix the two, and you apparently have musical gold.
It's by a woman name Uemura Kana, and it looks like she only just debuted this year. Beating out AKB48 is no small feat, but I can see why it happened. The Japanese are suckers for anything toilet-related, and anything nostalgic. Mix the two, and you apparently have musical gold.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)