Top 10 Arashi Singles
I decided to do another ranking type post, this time of Arashi's top 10 (in my opinion) best singles! I don't think this needs much explaining, so...
10) Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi (4th single) - This is definitely one of the the songs I first think of when I think Arashi. It's not even necessarily one of my favorites (though I do like it a lot), but I think it's an important one in Arashi's history. It's also really great live.
9) Love So Sweet (18th single) - I don't remember liking this song too much, but it's really grown on me. It's another one that's great to watch live, and I really like the PV. It's also been stuck in my head a lot ever since I saw the first Arashi human beatbox thing, and the chorus makes me want to dance along.
8) Pikanchi/Pikanchi Double (9th and 12th singles) - Yes I'm totally cheating here to get an extra song in the top ten by lumping these together. These two are pretty epic songs, in my opinion...not only are they great songs and concert favorites, but they also of course go along with their respective movies. And I could go on and on about how awesome those are. These two singles also have great b-sides - the two versions of Michi, which I think are really pretty, and Gori Muchuu, which is the song they performed during the infamous rain-water-sliding around bit on the AAA08 DVD. I also wanna say it was the opener for D no Arashi at some point, but I might be really wrong on that.
7) Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy/Hero (13th single) - I honestly didn't expect this to show up on here when I started making my list, but it did anyway. I never payed much attention to either of these songs at first, but after seeing them performed live (on the Iza Now and Time concert DVDs, respectively) I started to really like them. Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy is just a really pretty song, and the video seems nice (though I honestly haven't seen the PVs for either of these songs). Hero is a nice song too, and really fun to sing. I definitely think this single deserves a place here.
6) Believe/Kumorinochi Kaisei (25th single) - This one had to be on here for a lot of reasons. One, Believe is a damn awesome song, I've been listening to it a lot lately. Two, Kumorinochi Kaisei is a solo by my favorite member, so of course I love it. It's like having an extra Oh-chan solo on Dream "A" Live, but even better because we get a non-concert video to go with it. Three, it's currently the best selling single of 2009 and Arashi's second best selling single (I think, correct me if I'm wrong), so it's a big achievement for them. All in all, a great single.
5) Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono (11th single) - Like the Pikanchi songs, these two are concert favorites, and two of my favorite Arashi songs. The PVs are a lot of fun, and I love the little dance thing for the chorus of Hadashi no Mirai. Also, Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono has quite a few of my favorite Arashi moments going for it - the mic thing in AAA08, Meguro-niiyan dancing in D no Arashi, etc.
4) We Can Make It (19th single) - This song is one of my absolute favorite Arashi songs for the simple fact that it's the one that got me into Arashi. The first two Arashi PVs I watched were this and Crazy Moon ~Kimi wa Muteki~. Crazy Moon is a great song and I love the PV, but I think that if I had just seen that I wouldn't have become nearly as obsessed with Arashi as I am. I may have still listened to their music, but it would be more like how I am with KAT-TUN, where I only know a few songs and don't pay them much mind. Fortunately, I also saw We Can Make It, and it totally reeled me in. It's probably my favorite Arashi PV...it has almost everything that I love about Arashi - dorkiness, pretty, member-ai, Sakurap, an awesome dance section - the list goes on. It also has one of my favorite groups of Arashi hairstyles.
3) Kitto Daijoubu (16th single) - I love, love, love this single. First off, it's a really awesome song. I love all of the rapping, with such Sho!English classics as "weekend gonna make luv". The PV is also great; like We Can Make It, it showcases all of the things I love about Arashi. It's also decidedly more rainbow-y and gay than We Can Make It, which might actually make Kitto Daijoubu my favorite PV over We Can Make It. Except this is also the one PV that defies the "Aiba is always pretty" rule (if you don't know what I mean, check out this - http://www.ore-sama.ca/weissthursday/aeps.htm - I stole the term from there), so I might have to dock points for that.
2) Sakura Sake (14th single) - This is another one of those songs that's just really really fun, and great to see performed in concert. It's one of the few songs I think that the more casual Arashi fans listen to, and for good reason. I also love the rap in this one, and the PV is hilarious. It would probably be my third favorite, after the two songs above this.
1) What else could this be but A.RA.SHI, the debut single of our favorite boys? I kind of love this song just for the fact that "WE ARE COOL" is in the lyrics, right after "Super boy". This is definitely the one song that every Arashi fan should know, casual or otherwise. I love the PV too, even though if you think about it, it really isn't that great. They have those terrible 90's hairstyles, and being their first PV it's a little awkward. But that kind of just makes me love it more. You know, I keep talking about the PVs here...maybe I should make a separate PV ranking? Anyway, that's my top 10!
Also, two "Honorable Mentions" that didn't quite make the list:
Jidai (6th single) - I just really, really like this song. I based this list partly on personal preference, and partly on what songs I think are popular at concerts or with the fans or are just important songs, and this song just didn't fit in there. But I almost put it in anyway because I love it so much, so it gets HM.
Beautiful Days (24th single) - I'm honestly not even really sure why this didn't make the list. It's such a pretty song, and the PV is amazing. I don't even really listen to it often, I don't think I even have the mp3 on my computer, but it's still one of my favorites. By the way, anyone else have this song ruined for them by that radio clip or whatever it was asking if they were saying Bananaman? Because that's now what I hear when I get to that part of the song, and I can't help but laugh every time. The sad part is I came across that radio thing or wherever it came from in my early days as a fan, before I had ever even heard of Beautiful Days. So I essentially ruined the song for myself before I ever knew what it was XD
And that's my top 10! Thanks to anyone who reads this, I hope to make more posts like this soon. <3
10) Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi (4th single) - This is definitely one of the the songs I first think of when I think Arashi. It's not even necessarily one of my favorites (though I do like it a lot), but I think it's an important one in Arashi's history. It's also really great live.
9) Love So Sweet (18th single) - I don't remember liking this song too much, but it's really grown on me. It's another one that's great to watch live, and I really like the PV. It's also been stuck in my head a lot ever since I saw the first Arashi human beatbox thing, and the chorus makes me want to dance along.
8) Pikanchi/Pikanchi Double (9th and 12th singles) - Yes I'm totally cheating here to get an extra song in the top ten by lumping these together. These two are pretty epic songs, in my opinion...not only are they great songs and concert favorites, but they also of course go along with their respective movies. And I could go on and on about how awesome those are. These two singles also have great b-sides - the two versions of Michi, which I think are really pretty, and Gori Muchuu, which is the song they performed during the infamous rain-water-sliding around bit on the AAA08 DVD. I also wanna say it was the opener for D no Arashi at some point, but I might be really wrong on that.
7) Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy/Hero (13th single) - I honestly didn't expect this to show up on here when I started making my list, but it did anyway. I never payed much attention to either of these songs at first, but after seeing them performed live (on the Iza Now and Time concert DVDs, respectively) I started to really like them. Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy is just a really pretty song, and the video seems nice (though I honestly haven't seen the PVs for either of these songs). Hero is a nice song too, and really fun to sing. I definitely think this single deserves a place here.
6) Believe/Kumorinochi Kaisei (25th single) - This one had to be on here for a lot of reasons. One, Believe is a damn awesome song, I've been listening to it a lot lately. Two, Kumorinochi Kaisei is a solo by my favorite member, so of course I love it. It's like having an extra Oh-chan solo on Dream "A" Live, but even better because we get a non-concert video to go with it. Three, it's currently the best selling single of 2009 and Arashi's second best selling single (I think, correct me if I'm wrong), so it's a big achievement for them. All in all, a great single.
5) Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono (11th single) - Like the Pikanchi songs, these two are concert favorites, and two of my favorite Arashi songs. The PVs are a lot of fun, and I love the little dance thing for the chorus of Hadashi no Mirai. Also, Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono has quite a few of my favorite Arashi moments going for it - the mic thing in AAA08, Meguro-niiyan dancing in D no Arashi, etc.
4) We Can Make It (19th single) - This song is one of my absolute favorite Arashi songs for the simple fact that it's the one that got me into Arashi. The first two Arashi PVs I watched were this and Crazy Moon ~Kimi wa Muteki~. Crazy Moon is a great song and I love the PV, but I think that if I had just seen that I wouldn't have become nearly as obsessed with Arashi as I am. I may have still listened to their music, but it would be more like how I am with KAT-TUN, where I only know a few songs and don't pay them much mind. Fortunately, I also saw We Can Make It, and it totally reeled me in. It's probably my favorite Arashi PV...it has almost everything that I love about Arashi - dorkiness, pretty, member-ai, Sakurap, an awesome dance section - the list goes on. It also has one of my favorite groups of Arashi hairstyles.
3) Kitto Daijoubu (16th single) - I love, love, love this single. First off, it's a really awesome song. I love all of the rapping, with such Sho!English classics as "weekend gonna make luv". The PV is also great; like We Can Make It, it showcases all of the things I love about Arashi. It's also decidedly more rainbow-y and gay than We Can Make It, which might actually make Kitto Daijoubu my favorite PV over We Can Make It. Except this is also the one PV that defies the "Aiba is always pretty" rule (if you don't know what I mean, check out this - http://www.ore-sama.ca/weissthursday/aeps.htm - I stole the term from there), so I might have to dock points for that.
2) Sakura Sake (14th single) - This is another one of those songs that's just really really fun, and great to see performed in concert. It's one of the few songs I think that the more casual Arashi fans listen to, and for good reason. I also love the rap in this one, and the PV is hilarious. It would probably be my third favorite, after the two songs above this.
1) What else could this be but A.RA.SHI, the debut single of our favorite boys? I kind of love this song just for the fact that "WE ARE COOL" is in the lyrics, right after "Super boy". This is definitely the one song that every Arashi fan should know, casual or otherwise. I love the PV too, even though if you think about it, it really isn't that great. They have those terrible 90's hairstyles, and being their first PV it's a little awkward. But that kind of just makes me love it more. You know, I keep talking about the PVs here...maybe I should make a separate PV ranking? Anyway, that's my top 10!
Also, two "Honorable Mentions" that didn't quite make the list:
Jidai (6th single) - I just really, really like this song. I based this list partly on personal preference, and partly on what songs I think are popular at concerts or with the fans or are just important songs, and this song just didn't fit in there. But I almost put it in anyway because I love it so much, so it gets HM.
Beautiful Days (24th single) - I'm honestly not even really sure why this didn't make the list. It's such a pretty song, and the PV is amazing. I don't even really listen to it often, I don't think I even have the mp3 on my computer, but it's still one of my favorites. By the way, anyone else have this song ruined for them by that radio clip or whatever it was asking if they were saying Bananaman? Because that's now what I hear when I get to that part of the song, and I can't help but laugh every time. The sad part is I came across that radio thing or wherever it came from in my early days as a fan, before I had ever even heard of Beautiful Days. So I essentially ruined the song for myself before I ever knew what it was XD
And that's my top 10! Thanks to anyone who reads this, I hope to make more posts like this soon. <3