Music review: Wild At Heart and B-sides (and PV)
Okay so!
I haven't done a PV+B-side review for a while, I missed Meikuu, sorry. It didn't make such a big impression on me, although I did enjoy it. But this is a whole different order of magnitude, so I really want to review it.
This one's gonna be tough, since I'm still in flail-mode from watching the PV and the performance a LOT these past... wait how long has it been? It feels like a long time already, I just keep listening. Ok, we'll try this. So here goes:
~~~
Wild At Heart
I loved this one from the moment I heard it, even in shitty-quality radio rip version. And then even more in slightly-less-shitty radio rip version. And like BURNING when it finally became available in delicious HQ. This song has an amazing energy to it- you can practically see them bouncing in the recording studio with this thing, before they've received any choreography or PV concepts or anything. I love the four part harmony in the intro (three if you don't count the octaves), I love Jun's persistent lower harmony- it's been showing up a lot this past year or two, and it really gives Arashi's music a unique feel. I think I heard Nino creeping in for an upper harmony a few times also, which means that we finally got my wish- three part harmonies in Arashi music!
I want to stop and draw a parralel for a second to Happiness- if you listen closely it's nearly the same speed. Not really the same kind of rhythm or beat and not remotely the same structure, so it's hard to notice at first. That just highlights the amazing vibe I'm getting from this song- Happiness is far and away my favorite PV (until now anyway, more on that later) and it's up there on my list of favorite songs. That Wild At Heart reminds me of it is an indication that this one has serious staying power for me.
How Can I Love
The obligatory ballad. A disclaimer: I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, so a song like this has to be really extraordinary for me to single it out as a song I'll love. (For example, listen to "Let Me Be Your Star" from Smash as a shining example. Maybe it's power ballads, then? Or maybe I'm just pimping Smash because I love it so much.) That having been said, I do like this song. It's got a nice ambiance to it, the melody is good, the harmonies are interesting. Arashi's singing is a good complement to this song- they always pack their singing with emotion, so even if the song itself is kind of uninspired, they make it work. As a critique, it strikes me as a bit lazy- there's nothing about it that's very memorable or original. It's just a song.
ついておいで
This one starts off strong- it's got an intro that immediately catches your attention and a good hook. I can see this one being a concert staple for the parts without choreography, when they just walk around and wave at the audience. Also I could see the furi for this one being fun. The modulations before the chorus strike me as a little 70's-ish, but maybe they were going for a retro feel. I think the song could have done fine without it, or with a different modulation, but overall it does work. Also- it's short, but I like the guitar solo before the hook to the final chorus.
ふたりのカタチ
This is an interesting case. It feels to me like this song was a collection of parts of other songs that they couldn't fit anywhere, and they just threw them all together without really trying to make them fit. It fails where Lotus succeeded- it tries to do interesting things with the tonality and instead of coming together as a whole like Lotus did, it just loses cohesion. A good song needs a buildup of tension, and you can't build tension if you switch what you're building up to six times before you get there. It kind of wanders aimlessly without delivering. This song just doesn't really work for me.
Overall impression
None of the B-sides really come up to the (admittedly very high) standard set by the A-side in this set. The other three songs just seem like... well, like typical Arashi songs. None of them are bad but none of them are spectacular. I'll probably listen to ついておいで most out of all the B-sides, but odds are if I'm building a playlist the only one of these that'll end up going in is Wild at Heart.
~~~
Wild At Heart PV
And here we encounter a problem. You see. I have trouble expressing my love for this PV in words, so maybe...
I JUST.
You know how this goes. I was going to single out a screencap or two just to express my joy at the PV. But I'm me.
As it happens, phrenk posted a challenge for people to make a picspam of this PV in under 30 caps. Clocking in at 21 caps total, it turns out I qualify. Because I took one or two caps to demonstrate a point. Turns out I just demonstrated a point, the point I ended up demonstrating is that I am physically incapable of taking just two caps.
Ah well, here goes:
Sho is a BOSS. He's the BOSS OF EVERYTHING.
Ohno is the BOSS'S BOSS'S BOSS'S BOSS OF ALL THE UNIVERSE
HE IS EVEN THE BOSS OF THIS WALL
Nino is the wall's bitch though (wall, are you willing to share? can he be my bitch too?)
Aiba did get the memo that this is a funny pv, and then he said FUCK THAT IMMA JUST BE STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS RIGHT HERE
And we are okay with that.
Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? SPARKLY SILLY DORKINESS EVERYWHERE AND STILL STUNNING
And of course it's a Jun-centric PV, so I forgot to take enough Jun-centric caps. I always thought I took them and then I forgot. I suppose cutting corners was inevitable with 20 caps :/
WORRY NOT, JUN IS JUST AS EPIC OF EPICNESS AS EVERYONE
I JUST LOVE ARASHI SO MUCH SO VERY VERY VERY MUCH OKAY? *sobbing*
I MEAN HOW CAN YOU NOT
THEY ARE JUST SO MUCH TO TAKE IN
WE NOW INTERRUPT THIS MUSIC REVIEW INTERRUPTION FOR ANOTHER "FUCK THIS I'M JUST PRETTY" MOMENT
SPARKLES I NEED SPARKLES STAT SOMEONE GIVE ME SPARKLES
SPARKLESSSSSSS
I'm turning this one into a macro with the caption: "EVERYONE CHILL THE FUCK OUT, I GOT THIS"
CHOREOGRAPHER, BE MY VALENTINE
BECAUSE WHO NEEDS JACKETS? I DON'T NEED JACKETS
SO INTO IT
I love this because: Ohno pretending to be serious/soulful boyband face in the closeup and it's SO OBVIOUS THAT HE'S NOT BECAUSE HIS FACE LOOK AT HIS FACE. oh wait this was gonna be a no-capslock caption. oops.
HAVE I MENTIONED TODAY HOW MUCH I LOVE ARASHI? ALLOW ME TO MENTION IT AGAIN: I LOVE ARASHI
*hyperventilating*
Okay, just some quick words: I think this PV is the spiritual child of Happiness, both in tone and in quality. I was trying to explain to someone why I could never do a picspam of this episode, and here's what I said: "So you know how I ended up making five picspams out of happiness becuase I just couldn't fit all of my love into one? Here's the problem- these PVs are shot at what, 30 frames per second? And the video is over four minutes long? That's what, 250 seconds or so? Times 30? Can you imagine how many picspams this PV will take to do justice??" Because this is exactly what I want out of a PV- a good hefty dose of pretty and a heaping bowl of dork and so, so, so, so, so much love between members. And so much detail that you keep coming back and seeing new things.
So yeah. Now I have two favorite PVs.
~~~
Just one last thing before I sign off for the night: Some of you already heard, but I'm planning to do a giveaway for Arashi-themed bracelets that I made soon. I'm still working out a couple of the details on my end, so it'll probably go up sometime later this week. You don't have to be friends with me to enter, and the winners will be chosen at random, so don't worry about me playing favorites. Keep your eyes peeled :D
And now I am awake wayyyyy too late at night because this is how my days go. I gotta get to sleep. And I gotta do it without watching the PV, because I know if I succumb to temptation I'll just be looping it all night.
SWEET DREAMS!
I haven't done a PV+B-side review for a while, I missed Meikuu, sorry. It didn't make such a big impression on me, although I did enjoy it. But this is a whole different order of magnitude, so I really want to review it.
This one's gonna be tough, since I'm still in flail-mode from watching the PV and the performance a LOT these past... wait how long has it been? It feels like a long time already, I just keep listening. Ok, we'll try this. So here goes:
~~~
Wild At Heart
I loved this one from the moment I heard it, even in shitty-quality radio rip version. And then even more in slightly-less-shitty radio rip version. And like BURNING when it finally became available in delicious HQ. This song has an amazing energy to it- you can practically see them bouncing in the recording studio with this thing, before they've received any choreography or PV concepts or anything. I love the four part harmony in the intro (three if you don't count the octaves), I love Jun's persistent lower harmony- it's been showing up a lot this past year or two, and it really gives Arashi's music a unique feel. I think I heard Nino creeping in for an upper harmony a few times also, which means that we finally got my wish- three part harmonies in Arashi music!
I want to stop and draw a parralel for a second to Happiness- if you listen closely it's nearly the same speed. Not really the same kind of rhythm or beat and not remotely the same structure, so it's hard to notice at first. That just highlights the amazing vibe I'm getting from this song- Happiness is far and away my favorite PV (until now anyway, more on that later) and it's up there on my list of favorite songs. That Wild At Heart reminds me of it is an indication that this one has serious staying power for me.
How Can I Love
The obligatory ballad. A disclaimer: I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, so a song like this has to be really extraordinary for me to single it out as a song I'll love. (For example, listen to "Let Me Be Your Star" from Smash as a shining example. Maybe it's power ballads, then? Or maybe I'm just pimping Smash because I love it so much.) That having been said, I do like this song. It's got a nice ambiance to it, the melody is good, the harmonies are interesting. Arashi's singing is a good complement to this song- they always pack their singing with emotion, so even if the song itself is kind of uninspired, they make it work. As a critique, it strikes me as a bit lazy- there's nothing about it that's very memorable or original. It's just a song.
ついておいで
This one starts off strong- it's got an intro that immediately catches your attention and a good hook. I can see this one being a concert staple for the parts without choreography, when they just walk around and wave at the audience. Also I could see the furi for this one being fun. The modulations before the chorus strike me as a little 70's-ish, but maybe they were going for a retro feel. I think the song could have done fine without it, or with a different modulation, but overall it does work. Also- it's short, but I like the guitar solo before the hook to the final chorus.
ふたりのカタチ
This is an interesting case. It feels to me like this song was a collection of parts of other songs that they couldn't fit anywhere, and they just threw them all together without really trying to make them fit. It fails where Lotus succeeded- it tries to do interesting things with the tonality and instead of coming together as a whole like Lotus did, it just loses cohesion. A good song needs a buildup of tension, and you can't build tension if you switch what you're building up to six times before you get there. It kind of wanders aimlessly without delivering. This song just doesn't really work for me.
Overall impression
None of the B-sides really come up to the (admittedly very high) standard set by the A-side in this set. The other three songs just seem like... well, like typical Arashi songs. None of them are bad but none of them are spectacular. I'll probably listen to ついておいで most out of all the B-sides, but odds are if I'm building a playlist the only one of these that'll end up going in is Wild at Heart.
~~~
Wild At Heart PV
And here we encounter a problem. You see. I have trouble expressing my love for this PV in words, so maybe...
I JUST.
You know how this goes. I was going to single out a screencap or two just to express my joy at the PV. But I'm me.
As it happens, phrenk posted a challenge for people to make a picspam of this PV in under 30 caps. Clocking in at 21 caps total, it turns out I qualify. Because I took one or two caps to demonstrate a point. Turns out I just demonstrated a point, the point I ended up demonstrating is that I am physically incapable of taking just two caps.
Ah well, here goes:
Sho is a BOSS. He's the BOSS OF EVERYTHING.
Ohno is the BOSS'S BOSS'S BOSS'S BOSS OF ALL THE UNIVERSE
HE IS EVEN THE BOSS OF THIS WALL
Nino is the wall's bitch though (wall, are you willing to share? can he be my bitch too?)
Aiba did get the memo that this is a funny pv, and then he said FUCK THAT IMMA JUST BE STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS RIGHT HERE
And we are okay with that.
Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? SPARKLY SILLY DORKINESS EVERYWHERE AND STILL STUNNING
And of course it's a Jun-centric PV, so I forgot to take enough Jun-centric caps. I always thought I took them and then I forgot. I suppose cutting corners was inevitable with 20 caps :/
WORRY NOT, JUN IS JUST AS EPIC OF EPICNESS AS EVERYONE
I JUST LOVE ARASHI SO MUCH SO VERY VERY VERY MUCH OKAY? *sobbing*
I MEAN HOW CAN YOU NOT
THEY ARE JUST SO MUCH TO TAKE IN
WE NOW INTERRUPT THIS MUSIC REVIEW INTERRUPTION FOR ANOTHER "FUCK THIS I'M JUST PRETTY" MOMENT
SPARKLES I NEED SPARKLES STAT SOMEONE GIVE ME SPARKLES
SPARKLESSSSSSS
I'm turning this one into a macro with the caption: "EVERYONE CHILL THE FUCK OUT, I GOT THIS"
CHOREOGRAPHER, BE MY VALENTINE
BECAUSE WHO NEEDS JACKETS? I DON'T NEED JACKETS
SO INTO IT
I love this because: Ohno pretending to be serious/soulful boyband face in the closeup and it's SO OBVIOUS THAT HE'S NOT BECAUSE HIS FACE LOOK AT HIS FACE. oh wait this was gonna be a no-capslock caption. oops.
HAVE I MENTIONED TODAY HOW MUCH I LOVE ARASHI? ALLOW ME TO MENTION IT AGAIN: I LOVE ARASHI
*hyperventilating*
Okay, just some quick words: I think this PV is the spiritual child of Happiness, both in tone and in quality. I was trying to explain to someone why I could never do a picspam of this episode, and here's what I said: "So you know how I ended up making five picspams out of happiness becuase I just couldn't fit all of my love into one? Here's the problem- these PVs are shot at what, 30 frames per second? And the video is over four minutes long? That's what, 250 seconds or so? Times 30? Can you imagine how many picspams this PV will take to do justice??" Because this is exactly what I want out of a PV- a good hefty dose of pretty and a heaping bowl of dork and so, so, so, so, so much love between members. And so much detail that you keep coming back and seeing new things.
So yeah. Now I have two favorite PVs.
~~~
Just one last thing before I sign off for the night: Some of you already heard, but I'm planning to do a giveaway for Arashi-themed bracelets that I made soon. I'm still working out a couple of the details on my end, so it'll probably go up sometime later this week. You don't have to be friends with me to enter, and the winners will be chosen at random, so don't worry about me playing favorites. Keep your eyes peeled :D
And now I am awake wayyyyy too late at night because this is how my days go. I gotta get to sleep. And I gotta do it without watching the PV, because I know if I succumb to temptation I'll just be looping it all night.
SWEET DREAMS!