music news update?
So just to prove that I am actually in Japan and not just making up all this stuff about insects and substandard English... I've been listening to the radio. As usual. And there are a few things that I feel I must pick up.
1.) Hamasaki Ayumi's ayu-mix 3
Gone are the days when I mocked people just for mentioning this girl in conversation- especially since Hanabi became one of my karaoke standards. I am slightly chagrinned at just how addictively well-mixed her stuff generally is. I'd also like to get the new single forgiveness, but I'll probably wait until her next album comes out instead.
2.) Double's Destiny
If you haven't heard much Japanese R&B lately, you've missed out. Skip Rip-Slyme and Soul'd Out and head for the female vocalists, especially Double and Minmi. (Avoid Aki-la. Please.) This single is a nice combination of synth-pop and R&B, so it's accessible even to regular J-pop fans while retaining a certain groove mentality. Those more interested in traditional R&B should check out the album she released last year.
3.) Moriyama Naotarou's Natsu no Owari
Really poignant, sweet, perhaps a little overwhelmingly emotional ballad with appealingly simple instrumental backup. Moriyama first gained public recognition with his debut single Sakura last spring, and has gained a reputation for seasonally themed ballads that seem to speak to the ambient sentimentalism here. Recommended for sunsets and farewells.
Aaaaand in terms of non-Japanese music:
1.) Dido's Life For Rent
As much as I'd like to pretend that I'm over the whole Lilith Fair female singer-songwriter thing, I'm not. As a matter of fact, I still think it's cool- or at least cooler than this whole selling-out-and-getting-political-at-the-same-time trend that Jewel and Christina Aguilera seem to be hopping on. Please.
2.) David Bowie's Reality
I don't think I need to explain this one... at least not to anyone who's heard it.
3.) Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing, Remixed and Afterglow
See above. I could try to excuse this as early-90's nostalgia, but the truth is that to this day there is not a single SM song I wouldn't sing raucously along with. Especially 'Heaven' and 'I Love You' from Surfacing make one freeze and burn and sigh and scream, all at once.
Yeah... Hm. Yeah. In other news, I've rediscovered e-bay and am currently searching for a nice vintage wool coat for winter. :D Wheeee, cheap.
1.) Hamasaki Ayumi's ayu-mix 3
Gone are the days when I mocked people just for mentioning this girl in conversation- especially since Hanabi became one of my karaoke standards. I am slightly chagrinned at just how addictively well-mixed her stuff generally is. I'd also like to get the new single forgiveness, but I'll probably wait until her next album comes out instead.
2.) Double's Destiny
If you haven't heard much Japanese R&B lately, you've missed out. Skip Rip-Slyme and Soul'd Out and head for the female vocalists, especially Double and Minmi. (Avoid Aki-la. Please.) This single is a nice combination of synth-pop and R&B, so it's accessible even to regular J-pop fans while retaining a certain groove mentality. Those more interested in traditional R&B should check out the album she released last year.
3.) Moriyama Naotarou's Natsu no Owari
Really poignant, sweet, perhaps a little overwhelmingly emotional ballad with appealingly simple instrumental backup. Moriyama first gained public recognition with his debut single Sakura last spring, and has gained a reputation for seasonally themed ballads that seem to speak to the ambient sentimentalism here. Recommended for sunsets and farewells.
Aaaaand in terms of non-Japanese music:
1.) Dido's Life For Rent
As much as I'd like to pretend that I'm over the whole Lilith Fair female singer-songwriter thing, I'm not. As a matter of fact, I still think it's cool- or at least cooler than this whole selling-out-and-getting-political-at-the-same-time trend that Jewel and Christina Aguilera seem to be hopping on. Please.
2.) David Bowie's Reality
I don't think I need to explain this one... at least not to anyone who's heard it.
3.) Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing, Remixed and Afterglow
See above. I could try to excuse this as early-90's nostalgia, but the truth is that to this day there is not a single SM song I wouldn't sing raucously along with. Especially 'Heaven' and 'I Love You' from Surfacing make one freeze and burn and sigh and scream, all at once.
Yeah... Hm. Yeah. In other news, I've rediscovered e-bay and am currently searching for a nice vintage wool coat for winter. :D Wheeee, cheap.