Work is crazy, so I destress by being random
So I was reading the je_secrets comm, and the comments because I am masochistic perhaps, it's interesting to see the kind of wankery that people get up to.
And I realized, I am That Kind of Fan. That got into Arashi because of the music.
I wrote about my fannish history leading to Arashi a bit before (it's linked in the side panel), where on two completely separate paths I discovered the live action version of Hanadan and Arashi fanfiction. Then the paths crossed, and I spent a lot of time on crunchyroll.com watching streamed Arashi music videos and concerts.
I, I actually downloaded a really nice quality version of the 2006 AAA Taipei concert (my first Arashi-related download! Over 1GB of stuff! *weeps*) just so I could understand what was going on in Five Times Ohno Enjoyed Being Captain and You Can't Help But Grow Hot by mousapelli. And I fell in love with the music (but not with the costumes. I still don't get Ohno's swooshiness in Hadashi no Mirai or Jun's horrific purple monstrosity.)
Now, I know that Arashi, being part of an idol stable, likely doesn't have much in the way of control over what kind of music they do, and from what I understand don't even get much of a sense of what their new songs are like as a whole when they first get them, because they record separately and hear it like us after it's all been mixed together. But they get to choose their setlists in the concerts, and what they decide to perform for us and how says a lot about them and their relationship with the fans, I think. I'm not sure where this is going, but most of my favorite songs come from hearing them performed in the concert dvds, not the cd versions.
I watched the One concert and the Iza, Now concert on crunchyroll, the versions where a Chinese subber put the Chinese title of the songs, and that was it. Several songs struck a chord in me, and all I had to go on was the Chinese title, so I had to listen carefully to what they were singing and then searched for the title and what I guessed the lyrics were. :P But that's how I found songs and translations, and knowing the songs' meanings really added to the attraction.
I actually really love their music. It's not that cutesy bubblegum pop that seems really popular, but more reminiscent of the '90s soft rock that I listened to on the radio growing up. Plus there's influences that I don't have enough music experience to identify, but the styles feel....older, somehow. Once in a while it reminds me of those '50s doowop-y stuff that plays on public television every so often. :P The melody lines are fun and easy to sing (I'm an alto, so the fact that they are all singing (whether they like it or not :P) tenor makes it easy for me) and usually have some....twist to it that tickles my musical sense. I love that they're not all love songs, but a lot of "life is hard, but keep on plowing ahead", "don't give up, you can do it!" or friendship songs. Sho's rapping is a joy to listen to, because he changes it up, going with different pitches, and sometimes it's more singing, and his sense of flow and rhythm is awesome.
So a list of my favorite songs and why in no particular order! Just because I can! :D
--Pikanchi Double will always, always top my list though. One of the songs I looked up kanji and English translations, and wrote them down to learn the lyrics. I love the message of the song, the interweaving melody lines. Sho's part with the members in the back, oh my heart. ♥
--Sakura Sake is so much fun to sing! When it comes on my mp3 when I'm driving, I'm totally drumming on the steering wheel and hollering at the top of my lungs. XD The message is great for that on, though I have no hope of being fast enough to do the Sho rap part. :P Another of the first songs I learned, looking up and writing down lyrics.
--We Can Make It! I got into fandom a month or so after that came out (darkeyedwolf's post killed me) and it is my ganbare song when I'm feeling low. It's...surprisingly short, and was really easy to learn the words to. Wrote this one.
--Natsu no Owari ni Omou Koto is a song that I first heard in a fanvid. Something about the melody line, especially the chorus struck me. And the bridge, with Ohno's "Nakidashi sou na sora no hi ni mo, zutto~ ah~" *sighs* Wrote this one to learn it. ^_^
--Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy. The MV is kind of weird, with the puppets. But the melody, chorus and bridge all flow so well, it made me want to learn it. Actually, I liked this song so much that I was searching through lyric translations, and decided to try to rewrite the song in English so that I could sing something easily understandable to me. So I looked through different translations to check their interpretations and nuances, and ended up putting together new lyrics that use the meanings but having it flow in more or less proper English grammar. :P I had to get a bit creative with pacing and syncopation sometimes, but it kinda works! :P Recording it was kind of a mess though, hehe. I need to learn Audacity.
--Check no Muffler from Iza, Now is so old school in style, it's perfect for me. Incredibly doowop-y, and very sweet. And it's the perfect winter song, makes me think of snuggling up in a blanket and reading with a cup of hot tea. ^__^ Wrote this one.
--Still... from the Happiness single. I wrote this one down, the beat and flow of this song is so positive. Sho's rap/singing part blew me away, no lie.
--Hanasanai! hee, that one's just fun. There's something about the '70s falsettos, and Aiba's delicious voice in the "we can, we can shake it, love it, baby" part. :D Hah, they must have been so tiny when they sang this. XDDD
--Sketch. "You are my sunshine, and you are my soul soul." First time I heard this, I got kinda teary, no lie. My Arashi anthem. Aiba's laughter in the background near the end makes me happy. It makes me wonder if they're going to write a song for their 10th anniversary.
--Cool & Soul. First time I heard this was the 2006 AAA Taipei version. The leopard print outfits and Jun doing his big glasses sticking his tongue out thing was a turnoff (oh Jun, you are so much sexier when you AREN'T TRYING SO HARD *pets*), but the flow of it was amazing. And the AAA+ In Dome version is SO COOL. *_* I love that version so much, when they reach near the end and they all come down the steps trading places with the rapping from earlier, the intensity and rising urgency of it was amazing. I actually thought they were all pretty hot and kakkoi in that song. :P flange5 was a dear and ripped the music off the dvd, so music GET! T_Tb
--Fuyu no Nioi from the 5x5 Best Selection. This is one of those songs where the execution isn't super, but I definitely get the sense of how the song should flow, and I'm in love with the...potential of it. As it is, you can tell they recorded it separately because the harmony areas are kind of dissonant and I have a hard time telling if it's intentional (likely not). I would love for another (more musical, haha) group to do this song, because the harmonies could be great. Yeah, I know I'm weird. :P
--Paretto (Palette?) from How's It Going. It's so pretty, and the style of this one's kind of old too. Jun's not too terribly ducky here. >P Sho's rap is verrrry nice on the ears.
--Practically everything from Iza, Now and One concerts. Tochuugesha is one of those I searched for and wrote down, the way it flows is wonderful. Dear My Friend is adorable, and I like the chorus a lot, especially the A part with harmony. Kazamidori is the perfect summer song for me, and feels almost traditional. It's kind of like the old school Chinese songs my mom listens to.
--Caramel Song is another one I wrote down. I like the style of it, how it's kind of wistful. It feels like it could be an anime theme song. Also, how hilarious is it to have Nino singing this with a teeny bit of flailing while Aiba and Sho backdance for him? :D
--You know what's interesting? Time as a concert rocked so hardcore. But there wasn't any song in particular that stuck with me. On the other hand, Dream-A-Live concert was kind of weird, from what I gather from fan reports and what I saw on youtube. But I like several of the non-main songs on that album. Do My Best is my favorite from that one, hands down. The bridge just...*mmmm* I wrote down the lyrics to learn it, and I don't know if it's just me, or wouldn't this make for an awesome anime theme song? I kept picturing some sports anime (like Eyeshield 21? :D), it's a very ganbare song. I also enjoy Flashback a lot, again something stylistic that tickles me. That older feel.
--Truth is the song I flailed a lot over, because the style and kind of depressing/negative feel is very different from their usual stuff. I liked the interweaving vocal lines, and everyone sounds really good in this. Ohno's voice, mmm. And the bit of harmony, the intensity/drive in the music pulls me along. And the piano and strings!
--And Believe is the current song on repeat. It's so cool! I love that there's a zillion little different melody bits that weave together in an interestingly coherent whole. The electronica/techno-y sounds are kinda neat. Jun sounds like he's been getting some vocal practice in, because I don't know how tech that's designed to nudge a voice on key could affect timbre so that he sounds...fuller and nicer like in his solo line. I'm glad they're finally getting songs that fit their range better, less squawking. XD The bridge rocks my socks, it makes me sad that they had to cut it out for the music program performances.
Whew, that was long! ^_^;;; So I'm curious. Which are your favorite Arashi songs, and why? I still haven't worked my way through all of Arashi's discography, I think, though I downloaded a lot back when arashianfiles was still up. Discuss! :D
And I realized, I am That Kind of Fan. That got into Arashi because of the music.
I wrote about my fannish history leading to Arashi a bit before (it's linked in the side panel), where on two completely separate paths I discovered the live action version of Hanadan and Arashi fanfiction. Then the paths crossed, and I spent a lot of time on crunchyroll.com watching streamed Arashi music videos and concerts.
I, I actually downloaded a really nice quality version of the 2006 AAA Taipei concert (my first Arashi-related download! Over 1GB of stuff! *weeps*) just so I could understand what was going on in Five Times Ohno Enjoyed Being Captain and You Can't Help But Grow Hot by mousapelli. And I fell in love with the music (but not with the costumes. I still don't get Ohno's swooshiness in Hadashi no Mirai or Jun's horrific purple monstrosity.)
Now, I know that Arashi, being part of an idol stable, likely doesn't have much in the way of control over what kind of music they do, and from what I understand don't even get much of a sense of what their new songs are like as a whole when they first get them, because they record separately and hear it like us after it's all been mixed together. But they get to choose their setlists in the concerts, and what they decide to perform for us and how says a lot about them and their relationship with the fans, I think. I'm not sure where this is going, but most of my favorite songs come from hearing them performed in the concert dvds, not the cd versions.
I watched the One concert and the Iza, Now concert on crunchyroll, the versions where a Chinese subber put the Chinese title of the songs, and that was it. Several songs struck a chord in me, and all I had to go on was the Chinese title, so I had to listen carefully to what they were singing and then searched for the title and what I guessed the lyrics were. :P But that's how I found songs and translations, and knowing the songs' meanings really added to the attraction.
I actually really love their music. It's not that cutesy bubblegum pop that seems really popular, but more reminiscent of the '90s soft rock that I listened to on the radio growing up. Plus there's influences that I don't have enough music experience to identify, but the styles feel....older, somehow. Once in a while it reminds me of those '50s doowop-y stuff that plays on public television every so often. :P The melody lines are fun and easy to sing (I'm an alto, so the fact that they are all singing (whether they like it or not :P) tenor makes it easy for me) and usually have some....twist to it that tickles my musical sense. I love that they're not all love songs, but a lot of "life is hard, but keep on plowing ahead", "don't give up, you can do it!" or friendship songs. Sho's rapping is a joy to listen to, because he changes it up, going with different pitches, and sometimes it's more singing, and his sense of flow and rhythm is awesome.
So a list of my favorite songs and why in no particular order! Just because I can! :D
--Pikanchi Double will always, always top my list though. One of the songs I looked up kanji and English translations, and wrote them down to learn the lyrics. I love the message of the song, the interweaving melody lines. Sho's part with the members in the back, oh my heart. ♥
--Sakura Sake is so much fun to sing! When it comes on my mp3 when I'm driving, I'm totally drumming on the steering wheel and hollering at the top of my lungs. XD The message is great for that on, though I have no hope of being fast enough to do the Sho rap part. :P Another of the first songs I learned, looking up and writing down lyrics.
--We Can Make It! I got into fandom a month or so after that came out (darkeyedwolf's post killed me) and it is my ganbare song when I'm feeling low. It's...surprisingly short, and was really easy to learn the words to. Wrote this one.
--Natsu no Owari ni Omou Koto is a song that I first heard in a fanvid. Something about the melody line, especially the chorus struck me. And the bridge, with Ohno's "Nakidashi sou na sora no hi ni mo, zutto~ ah~" *sighs* Wrote this one to learn it. ^_^
--Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy. The MV is kind of weird, with the puppets. But the melody, chorus and bridge all flow so well, it made me want to learn it. Actually, I liked this song so much that I was searching through lyric translations, and decided to try to rewrite the song in English so that I could sing something easily understandable to me. So I looked through different translations to check their interpretations and nuances, and ended up putting together new lyrics that use the meanings but having it flow in more or less proper English grammar. :P I had to get a bit creative with pacing and syncopation sometimes, but it kinda works! :P Recording it was kind of a mess though, hehe. I need to learn Audacity.
--Check no Muffler from Iza, Now is so old school in style, it's perfect for me. Incredibly doowop-y, and very sweet. And it's the perfect winter song, makes me think of snuggling up in a blanket and reading with a cup of hot tea. ^__^ Wrote this one.
--Still... from the Happiness single. I wrote this one down, the beat and flow of this song is so positive. Sho's rap/singing part blew me away, no lie.
--Hanasanai! hee, that one's just fun. There's something about the '70s falsettos, and Aiba's delicious voice in the "we can, we can shake it, love it, baby" part. :D Hah, they must have been so tiny when they sang this. XDDD
--Sketch. "You are my sunshine, and you are my soul soul." First time I heard this, I got kinda teary, no lie. My Arashi anthem. Aiba's laughter in the background near the end makes me happy. It makes me wonder if they're going to write a song for their 10th anniversary.
--Cool & Soul. First time I heard this was the 2006 AAA Taipei version. The leopard print outfits and Jun doing his big glasses sticking his tongue out thing was a turnoff (oh Jun, you are so much sexier when you AREN'T TRYING SO HARD *pets*), but the flow of it was amazing. And the AAA+ In Dome version is SO COOL. *_* I love that version so much, when they reach near the end and they all come down the steps trading places with the rapping from earlier, the intensity and rising urgency of it was amazing. I actually thought they were all pretty hot and kakkoi in that song. :P flange5 was a dear and ripped the music off the dvd, so music GET! T_Tb
--Fuyu no Nioi from the 5x5 Best Selection. This is one of those songs where the execution isn't super, but I definitely get the sense of how the song should flow, and I'm in love with the...potential of it. As it is, you can tell they recorded it separately because the harmony areas are kind of dissonant and I have a hard time telling if it's intentional (likely not). I would love for another (more musical, haha) group to do this song, because the harmonies could be great. Yeah, I know I'm weird. :P
--Paretto (Palette?) from How's It Going. It's so pretty, and the style of this one's kind of old too. Jun's not too terribly ducky here. >P Sho's rap is verrrry nice on the ears.
--Practically everything from Iza, Now and One concerts. Tochuugesha is one of those I searched for and wrote down, the way it flows is wonderful. Dear My Friend is adorable, and I like the chorus a lot, especially the A part with harmony. Kazamidori is the perfect summer song for me, and feels almost traditional. It's kind of like the old school Chinese songs my mom listens to.
--Caramel Song is another one I wrote down. I like the style of it, how it's kind of wistful. It feels like it could be an anime theme song. Also, how hilarious is it to have Nino singing this with a teeny bit of flailing while Aiba and Sho backdance for him? :D
--You know what's interesting? Time as a concert rocked so hardcore. But there wasn't any song in particular that stuck with me. On the other hand, Dream-A-Live concert was kind of weird, from what I gather from fan reports and what I saw on youtube. But I like several of the non-main songs on that album. Do My Best is my favorite from that one, hands down. The bridge just...*mmmm* I wrote down the lyrics to learn it, and I don't know if it's just me, or wouldn't this make for an awesome anime theme song? I kept picturing some sports anime (like Eyeshield 21? :D), it's a very ganbare song. I also enjoy Flashback a lot, again something stylistic that tickles me. That older feel.
--Truth is the song I flailed a lot over, because the style and kind of depressing/negative feel is very different from their usual stuff. I liked the interweaving vocal lines, and everyone sounds really good in this. Ohno's voice, mmm. And the bit of harmony, the intensity/drive in the music pulls me along. And the piano and strings!
--And Believe is the current song on repeat. It's so cool! I love that there's a zillion little different melody bits that weave together in an interestingly coherent whole. The electronica/techno-y sounds are kinda neat. Jun sounds like he's been getting some vocal practice in, because I don't know how tech that's designed to nudge a voice on key could affect timbre so that he sounds...fuller and nicer like in his solo line. I'm glad they're finally getting songs that fit their range better, less squawking. XD The bridge rocks my socks, it makes me sad that they had to cut it out for the music program performances.
Whew, that was long! ^_^;;; So I'm curious. Which are your favorite Arashi songs, and why? I still haven't worked my way through all of Arashi's discography, I think, though I downloaded a lot back when arashianfiles was still up. Discuss! :D