6 posts from 2007

Like the title implies, I'll now introduce you to 10 Japanese bands or artists that I feel will - if you start listening to them - make you lead a much happier and better life in every possible way. Yep. These are all aside from H!P groups of course. This post is, by the way, a complete ripoff from fellow blogger HarimaKenji's recent post, I got his permission however, so it's ok. :) At least I don't bring up any of the same bands as he did!
None of them are "underground" or "indie" really, I'd say they are all quite well known at least in their respective genres and you should be able to find their releases from your Japanese music retail store of choice, or if you are like me and want to "try before you buy", Jpopsuki and such torrent sites. Still, maybe you don't know or listen to quite everything in this list, and thus I'd be happy if I can get even one person to listen to one or two of these artists.

 

Acid Black Cherry

Starting off with this great newcomer. Since I wrote some about them in my previous post already, I'll just shamelessly go ahead and paste it here (with a couple of changes):

If you didn't know already, Acid Black Cherry is the solo project of yasu from Janne Da Arc, however that's not how I got to know them; I got introduced to them through Yuki, a guitarist who is a guest in this project (he plays guitar for them live and also on the Black Cherry single) and it just so happens that Yuki was also the guitar player of what is probably my favorite j-rock band (check the last band on this list) and he's also the guitar player of DUSTAR-3 (also featured on this list).

In any case, this band is just excellent. Very original stuff and yasu is a pretty unique sounding singer, though arguably annoying sounding to some. Well, love him or hate him, he's a talented vocalist all the same. So far they only have 3 singles out; their 4th one called Fuyu no Maboroshi is coming out in January and their debut album on February 13th. Can't wait.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Black Cherry
Recommended album to check out: None yet. Look forward to their debut album!

 

Ikimono Gakari

You've probably heard of these guys before. They got known very quickly for having a couple of their songs featured in the hit anime Bleach. However, if you're not into the sort of anime sound, worry not; personally I find nothing anime-ish about any of their songs aside from the whole catchiness aspect. They have a healthy dose of masterfully crafted pop songs, both ballads as well as more lively songs, with an excellent female vocalist. Somehow they just manage to retain their originality even in the way overcrowded j-pop realm and simply ooze this sound of freshness and youth. Awesome band.

Like you might know if you've read my blog, I'm a firm believer of not listening to bands just for the looks of their particularly good-looking members, and as you've just read, Ikimono Gakari luckily has other traits to keep me interested in them. However (you just had to know there was a 'however' coming here...), the lead singer of Ikimono Gakari just might be the cutest thing ever. Seriously, the cutest thing EVER. Pic spam, pic spam!

I mean, come on! What a cutie! I'd like to play with her and imagine she was my baby or something and feed her baby food and stuff (I can just imagine her cute expression after having to taste something like that, aww!). I swear I don't even feel anything sexual towards her, I couldn't have sex with her even if she begged me to, it'd just feel wrong to do something like that with someone so cute. Instead I'd offer to just pinch her cheeks all day long. Well, ok, maybe if she BEGGED me to have sex with her... I mean, it's not like I'd have any choice, right? Right? I mean, she'd be begging! She might get mad at me if I didn't do it and I wouldn't want that! Or wait, would I?! Just think how cute she would look while all angry and going "セックス！おねがいします！　>_<"! Argh, I'll have to ponder further on what to do in a situation like this...

They have a new album coming out in February (same date as the new Acid Black Cherry). If it's as awesome as Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari, needless to say, I'll be one happy fan.

Recommended song(s) to check out: KIRA KIRA TRAIN and Uruwashiki Hito
Recommended album to check out: Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari

 

The Back Horn

Another great j-rock band, occasionally wandering into pop territory, too. They possess a most excellent vocalist if I may say, and surprisingly original sounding material. They have an extensive and varied discography, though none of it ever failing to be good stuff. The Back Horn have been a major label artist for years now, but they still have that kind of indie-sound I can't really put my finger on... It's not really that it sounds lo-fi, they just kinda have that "feel" of an indie band, if you know what I mean.

For some reason, several fans say they've been getting worse since the last couple of albums now. I personally can't see why at all, and actually much prefer their newer albums to their older material. So don't believe the lies of these silly people. My favorite album by them is Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu, but for some reason, many of said fans seem to not dig this album much. Maybe you should go for Headphone Children instead which seems to be a favorite among most, I guess. Well, whichever you go for, I hope you end up liking them.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Chaos Diver and White Noise
Recommended album to check out: Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu or Headphone Children

 

Chihiro Onitsuka

Everyone knows Chihiro already, right? Chii-chan? Well, if you don't, I'll introduce you.

This pretty lady does ballads almost exclusively, everything else is kept to a bare minimum. That's alright though; with her wonderful voice suited for it, ballads are all I need from her. Not boring ballads either, mind you, the importance of quality songwriting is never forgotten. She recently just made her return to the music business after her long hiatus of a couple of years due to health reasons. Well, I'm very glad she's back indeed, as her new comeback album LAS VEGAS, offering a nice serving of Chii-chan ballads just like we love 'em, doesn't disappoint fans of Chihiro.

Oh, almost forgot! Her voice is absolutely heavenly. Seriously. I can't put into words how awesome it is. What are you doing not listening to her music already?! You can start with the attached video, which is maybe the most awesome thing ever. Maybe.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Gekkou
Recommended album to check out: Insomnia

 

Sigh

The only band you can find on this list that one could consider metal, it's everyone's favorite avant-garde black metal band, originating from Tokyo, Japan; Sigh! Hmm, where to start, where to start...

Really, listening to the album Hail Horror Hail again so as to think of something to say about them, I can't help but smile. The first time listening to this, you will most likely laugh, but it's definitely in a good way. Basically, this is just a mish-mash of so many different genres slapped together... you will find all kinds of stuff thrown in this. This is just so distinctly Japanese, just absolutely crazy stuff, and I mean that in the best way possible. I mean, damn... Alright, to give you an idea of what your Sigh listening experience might be like, I randomly chose a song from Hail Horror Hail and got the one called 12 Souls. I'll do a run-through of it.

It starts off with a movie soundtrack-esque, orchestral bit that creates a vision of a nice green field on a warm summer day. After 10 seconds of that though, it is harshly interrupted by a brass instrument of some sort, followed by ambient noises, including someone walking on a wooden platform, sounds of a dog and a creeking door. Then we get some strings and random piano chords that create a strangely suspenseful, even a scary atmosphere... until it winds up and fades away. Finally, the song starts with the band kicking in, playing in a rather slow-tempo creating a doomy feel, the vocalist Mirai doing his trademark screechy vocals, all along while the usual keyboard-choir is playing in the background. After a bit of that, though, you are treated to your first "WHAT in the fuck am I hearing right now?" moment, as the band stops and instantly a piano and another brass instrument come in, playing a smooth melody one could only expect to hear in a rather sleazy, 80's porn movie. Not long after that, we are again brought back to the doomy riff from before. After a while, it escalates into a new, heavier riff which is served with a healthy dose crazy sounds in the background. An alright guitar solo next. After this, the song just goes absolutely crazy. The song takes a different turn as we are treated to a scary sounding orchestral part with plenty of those "orchestra hits", if you know what I'm talking about. Then I guess what we're hearing next is the piano from the earlier porn movie bit, however this time mixed with sounds such as the feedback of a guitar, a brass section, nice runs on the piano... followed by something I could only describe as something you could hear at a carnival or circus, interweaved by another relaxing orchestral bit that could've come from a romantic scene in some movie. It all just sounds relaxing, suspenseful, scary, funny and most of all, too damn crazy, all at the same time. But, not long after, we are once more taken back to the doomy riff from the start, if only for a short while. For the last minute or so, we are treated to my favorite part of the song; an absolutely beautiful and simple melody played by a piano alone at first, but then joined by strings that succeed in making it even more beautiful. The song finally ends.
And hell, I personally think this song isn't even all that good, at least in Sigh's standards!

You decide if what I just described sounds good to you or not. It is also up to everyone to decide for themselves whether Mirai, the mastermind behind this whole band, is a musical genius or just severely messed up. This is most certainly not everyone's cup of tea, in fact it's probably not most people's cup of tea. However, if you want to hear something very, VERY different, give Sigh a listen.

Check out their newest album Hangman's Hymn for more accessible material. It's really quite cool, while still retaining the trademark Sigh-sound. If you're really a masochistic bastard, go straight for Hail Horror Hail for the REALLY Sigh-esque, weird and unique stuff... or should I say, the batshit-insane stuff.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Introitus/Kyrie and Overture/Rex Tremendae/I Saw The World's End. Or if you want a sample of the crazy shit, try 42 49.
Recommended album to check out: Go for Hangman's Hymn so you don't shit your pants right away.

 

Ruins

 

And here's one more band representing the "crazy shit" category which we all know and love the Japanese people for. Well, maybe one could call them something like avant-garde prog or so. You know, crazy shit, to put it simply.

This is an interesting group for a couple of reasons. First of all, the band only features a drummer and a bassist, both of whom do vocals also. And ah, the vocals... basically, they're just crazy noises and I guess are in their own language, they certainly aren't in English, Japanese or any other known language at least; just random gibberish basically. Musically, they are just insane, as I previously mentioned. Incredibly technical stuff with mostly short songs, most of which are going at full blast all the time. Even for the more experienced listeners of such.. genre, this might be too much in larger doses. However, like with Sigh, if you're looking for something very different from the usual stuff, give this a try.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Djubatczegromm
Recommended album to check out: You think you could actually listen to this for a whole album straight? Craziness! Well, check out the album Tzomborgha.

 

DUSTAR-3

Damn, I guess this is the third crazy band in a row. This isn't crazy like the past two though, don't worry. Perhaps surprisingly, I've found that this is a rather unknown band for some reason, even though it features two ex-SEX MACHINEGUNS members Noisy and Himawari, though this not really metal. I've no idea how they aren't more known among people.

This 3-piece band plays fun punk rock, which is not really my cup of tea at all. Actually, they're one of the only punk bands I listen to aside from G.G. Allin and early Offspring, if that counts. But in any case, when I say "fun" punk rock, I don't mean pop-punk in the vein of Blink 182 or anything like that. Make no mistake, they play (what I think is) "traditional", catchy punk rock, with occasional pop melodies and hard rock/old school metal riffs thrown in for good measure. The "fun" part comes from the lyrics, which deal, from my experience, mostly with topics like underwear. Yep, underwear. Underwear, toilet paper, beer, ramen... manly stuff like that, you know. In any case, they're great, go check them out.

Recommended song(s) to check out: try Toilet Paper and Mckeekee. Fuck, Mckeekee is awesome. That first riff is just... gnarly!
Recommended album to check out: PANTS NOT BEST

 

Ai Otsuka

I admit, I don't listen to Ai nearly enough even though I should. Actually I'm contemplating on buying her new live DVD from CDJapan just to force myself to get into her more because I can just HEAR from her music that she could be one of my absolute favorites if I listened more. But yeah, I've heard enough to be able to recommend her to you.

Another female artist with a beautiful voice and beautiful looks to go with it, gotta love 'em. A versatile artist, capable of releasing both pretty ballads and more poppy songs while making both work for her perfectly. But I gotta say, recently I've started to appreciate her livelier songs more, such as CHU-LIP and PEACH. Also, from what I understand, Ai seems to write most of her songs herself; in this day and age of j-pop, that's a huge plus in my books.

Also, call me crazy but sometimes especially in her earlier songs her voice reminds me of Makoto Kawamoto. *shrug*

Recommended song(s) to check out: Sakuranbo, CHU-LIP and Planetarium
Recommended album to check out: It's a tie between LOVE PUNCH and LOVE PiECE. You choose.

 

Nobuo Uematsu

I'm sure some of you know him already. Nobuo "the fucking man" Uematsu is the man behind the soundtracks to the majority of the Final Fantasy games. "Game music? Come on, give me a break, Henkka" I can almost hear you say. Well, you obviously haven't heard Nobuo then! True, it is game music; it's just that he creates simply the best, most atmospheric game music ever, and many gamers will agree with me here (*looks at HarimaKenji*). While it definitely helps to appreciate it, I do not think you need to play the games to be able to enjoy his music. Actually, to many, Nobuo's music is one of the most important aspects of the Final Fantasy games; it really serves as a major mood-maker, and many feel that after he stopped doing the music for the newer games, the atmosphere heavily suffered due to it. Honestly, even though I'm just throwing this title out way too much I think, Nobuo is truly a musical genius. You won't believe this is just "game music" if you hear this stuff, it's THAT good.

Seriously, you should give him a chance. Overall, I think the very best of his released works is the album Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec, featuring orchestral versions of a selection of Final Fantasy VIII songs. Beautiful. Or if you want to get an entire soundtrack, get the one for Final Fantasy IX. Another good option is to check out the band The Black Mages who have two albums and a third one coming out next year. Nobuo plays the keyboards in said band, and they play hard rock renditions of Final Fantasy songs. A damn awesome band, simply put.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Liberi Fatali and The Castle (Final Fantasy VIII), Terra, Vivi's Theme, Moogle (Mogri)'s Theme and Messenger of Ruin (Final Fantasy IX), At Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X)
Recommended album to check out: Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec (Final Fantasy VIII)

 

Aucifer

I feel I definitely saved the best for last here. This is a band I would currently consider my absolute favorite among Japanese rock bands, and have done so far a while now actually. Coincidentally, if there is one group in this post you people have never heard of, this is probably it. Also, if you're only going to check out one band from this post, make it this one. If you want, you could read the Wiki.ThePPN article on them that I wrote about 95% of. But I'll sum it up for you.

The wildly popular Kaikan Phrase manga by the known mangaka Mayu Shinjo got made into an anime in 1999. If you didn't know, it centers around a rock band that goes by the name of Aucifer. And so to promote the anime, a real-life version of Aucifer was formed as well, but the rather well-liked real-life version went on even after the anime ended in early 2000, finally calling it quits in January of 2003. They released 4 albums including a best-of and 9 singles.

There is not much I can say to persuade you to listen or let alone like them, to be honest. They aren't really visual kei so they probably won't appeal to that kind of audience and their music isn't really anything special per se. Hell, according to Oricon, they didn't even sell that much even though they were a promotional tool!
It's simply just that the compositions they made/that were made for them are just so god damn solid. That's really all there is to it, pretty much. It might not even sound that way when you listen to it now after this whole praise speech I've given them. Most likely, it will sound very ordinary to your ears at first. It is with repeated listens that you start to "get it"; the songs made for them are really, really top notch and very memorable; quality songwriting, I say. This is something I've discovered to happen with both myself and with several friends who I got brainwashed into Aucifer. And even though the band was put together by the people behind the anime, meaning all the members are all hired guns so to say, they had an undeniable stage presence together and are naturally all professional musicians, meaning they were talented at their respective instruments (very little showing off or musical wankery to be found in their music though, sorry :)) Oh, and Makoto, the vocalist, is God. Really, he just might be! You'll love his voice, at least after a while. Aucifer really wouldn't sound the same without Makoto. Kind of like what Eddie Vedder is to Pearl Jam, you know? Irreplaceable. (you just can't find a better man, har har)

Well, maybe there is one thing I can say to persuade you. Like the band Penicillin? Chisato from Penicillin wrote songs for them. Like the band FEEL? IPPEI and TAIZO also wrote songs for them. Like the band JUDY AND MARY? Takuya wrote a shitload of songs for them!

In any case, I can't recommend them to you enough. Try to listen to them without any prejudices and see if you like them. They just might be the best j-rock band you've never heard of, I urge you to check them out.

Recommended song(s) to check out: Datenshi BLUE and TOKYO Illusion
Recommended album to check out: Limit Control

 

I chose not to link to downloads straight from this post, but if you really can't find material from these groups, please don't feel afraid to leave a comment; I'd be very glad to hook you up with some stuff from any of these bands! If you decide to check out any of these bands introduced and you like what you hear, leave a comment and let me know, it'll make me really happy to know it was worth writing this post after all. :)

As I've seen many others do, I think from now on I'll also make these sort of bragging posts of new J-music items I receive, if you can call it that. :) I think I'll do mini-reviews of everything I get unless I've already reviewed them properly or plan to.

Before I start, I apologize in advance for the shitty quality of the pictures. They were taken with my cellphone's poor camera (which is kind of old), in poor lighting and with shaky hands. You'll just have to get used to it as I have no good camera and I've no plans to buy one either, heh. Oh, and after taking these pics I dropped my Mr. Moonlight single and the case got absolutely destroyed, so you better appreciate it, damn you!

So, here are some self-bought Christmas presents I got for myself. Starting with my order from CDJapan:

On the left is Makoto Koshinaka's debut full-length album which came out in September, flair. Makoto was the vocalist of the now defunct band Λucifer which I will surely write more about when I do my "favorite j-music bands aside from H!P" post, but for now you can check the Wiki.ThePPN article of them (that I wrote about 95% of) and just know that they are probably my favorite j-rock band overall. Not quite sure if I like the album yet as I've only listened to it a few times, just kind of shocked to hear something so different from the usual Aucifer sound.

On the right are Acid Black Cherry's first two singles, SPELL MAGIC and Black Cherry. If you didn't know already, Acid Black Cherry is the solo project of yasu from Janne Da Arc, however that's not how I got to know them; I got introduced to them through Yuki, a guitarist who is a guest in this project (he plays guitar for them live and also on the Black Cherry single) and it just so happens that Yuki was also the guitar player of aforementioned Aucifer (oh, and he's also the guitar player of DUSTAR-3, a fun punk band also featuring Noisy and Himawari from SEX MACHINEGUNS). Like I always do with Aucifer's ex-members, I try to keep up with their recent activities and download everything they are involved in. Most of the stuff is usually nothing too special, but this band, I found, is quite excellent. Very original stuff and yasu is a pretty unique sounding singer, though arguably annoying sounding to some. Well, love him or hate him, he's a talented vocalist all the same. So far they only have 3 singles out (these two and Aishitenai); their 4th one called Fuyu no Maboroshi is coming out in January and their debut album in February. Can't wait.

And yeah, like I said, I didn't get introduced to them through Janne Da Arc; in fact, I've never heard one song from them! After enjoying ABC so much though, I'll definitely have to hear their stuff, too. Any recommendations? Doesn't matter if it sounds the same as ABC or not, I'm open to hear new stuff and would say I'm quite open-minded (you are reading "The H!P Opinions of a Metalhead" here after all!)

 

And then stuff I received from eBay:

 

From left to right, up to down, that's:

• Morning Musume - Koko ni Iruzee! and AS FOR ONE DAY
• Tanpopo - All of Tanpopo
• °C-ute - Tokaikko Junjou
• Country Musume - BYE BYE Saigo no Yoru, Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan, Shining Itoshiki Anata and Hajimete no Happy Birthday!

I always like to buy my H!P stuff used from eBay. I get off cheaper that way, and cheap is good for a poor student like me. The only thing not used in this batch is Tokaikko Junjou, which just so happens to be my first H!P item I've bought as new. Hooray.

Koko ni Iruzee! is not really one of my favorites of Momusu's singles but it's not bad and I do enjoy the "chorus" immensely (the "minna lonely boys and girls" one) and if I can get it for like $1.99, I'd be crazy not to buy it. AS FOR ONE DAY on the other hand I find awesome and I'm very happy to own it now. Both came with the limited edition stickers, though I gotta say I don't really care for that stuff as I'll never use it for anything anyway. But whatever, I'd rather have them than not!

All of Tanpopo. Usually I don't support best of albums at all, but since this compilation really has almost all of Tanpopo's tracks I care about and it comes with a nice box/outer sleeve and a photobook, I had to get it. I'm a huge fan of early Tanpopo stuff, so of course I'm very happy to own this now as well.

I really wanted to own something by °C-ute, so when I noticed the same guy I was buying all this other stuff from also had their newest single unused and that I could probably get it a few dollars cheaper than from anywhere else, I was naturally quite happy. I don't remember now what I said about this song in my °C-ute Top 7 songs post and I have no idea how it didn't make the list, but forget it whatever it was; this song seriously kicks ass.

First I wasn't really into them aside for their first single Futari no Hokkaido, but recently I've gotten very into the irresistibly cute and cheery pop of later Country Musume and I started eyeing all these items in the first place with my main objective being these singles. BYE BYE Saigo no Yoru I don't care so much about, but all of the other ones are just absolutely amazing songs. Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan is probably my favorite Country Musume song altogether. Just so very cutesy. One of the rare cases when I even love Ishikawa. Shining Itoshiki Anata might be one of the best H!P ballads, too, if you can call it one. The tempo might be a bit too high for it to count. Whatever, it's still great and Mikitty absolutely owns the song as she often has the tendency to. Just awesome, her vocal abilities.

I'd like to take this chance now to say that I love Rinne, by the way. She's got a rather odd but unique voice, she did two of Country Musume's singles all by herself, she was featured on the most singles out of everyone (7 out of 11!) and also, she's extremely lovely and cute. She's way too underrated, you should all love her.

 

I also took this chance to take a picture of every H!P item I have besides these introduced just now. My collection's not very big, but keep in mind that I've only started buying H!P items since this Summer and, like I mentioned, I'm a rather poor student. Anyway, here goes:

Alright, what I have here is, again from left to right, up to down:

• Minimoni - Minimoni Jankenpyon! and Minimoni Telephone! RIN RIN RIN
• 7nin Matsuri - Summer Reggae! Rainbow
• Odoru 11 - Shiawase Kyoryuu Ondo
• Morning Musume - Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~, Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT, Renai Revolution 21, Happy Summer Wedding, Souda! We're ALIVE, The Peace!, Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA (Tanjou 10nen Kinentai) and Morning Musume First Live at Budokan ~Dancing Love Site 2000 Haru~ (which is so far the only H!P DVD I own)
• Aya Matsuura - Yeah! Meccha Holiday, Ki ga Tsukeba Anata, Sougen no Hito and GOOD BYE Natsuo
• Natsumi Abe - 22sai no Watashi and Koi no Hana
• Berryz Koubou - Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND

And one more item:

The Early Single Box. Included and pictured here are the first 8 singles, a CD with just instrumentals from the first three albums (this is something that to this day remains an exclusive to this box), a special Morning Musume history photobook and the actual box.

Of all the H!P items I own, this to me is the most special one. At first I had a tough time deciding whether I should get this or just invest in invidual singles of the first eight singles. While it is definitely cool to have the first 8cm singles, I decided on this because, while it's not really rare at all, it IS at least a limited item and something not everyone might have. I was really tempted by some of the bonus tracks included in the versions here, too, and the actual box (and to a lesser extent, the photobook) really appealed to me. What also makes it special is that it's actually the FIRST H!P item I bought,  and the first purchase I made in eBay in general, too. I still remember the day I bought it, too. Stop reading right now if you don't want to read about semi-personal stuff dealing with unhealthy obsessions with Hello! Project. :)

July 19th 2007. I had registered to eBay some time earlier and my H!P fandom was REALLY starting to kick in at that point and I was just looking desperately for something to buy. I noticed this item, the two Minimoni singles and the Budokan live DVD. I didn't even know the Early Singles Box existed at that point and was like "holy shit, I HAVE TO HAVE THIS." I had no idea how much it usually went for, and had to beg my dad to borrow and transfer some money to my bank account (poor student, remember!) and I was prepared to pay up to $100 for it (I was slightly crazy and desperate). I told my girlfriend at the time who was there that I'd have to stay up to bid for it (the auction would close at around 5 to 6 a.m. my time) and she was naturally not very happy as it was a long-distance relationship and the rare times we did get to see each other, she would've of course much preferred to sleep next to me and not alone with me on the computer. However, it was useless for her to beg me to come sleep with her; basically this was a matter of life and death. So, she of course got mad at me and went to sleep angry, but right then I had better things to care about than her happiness (sorry for sounding like an asshole :)). Well, she wouldn't have understood anyway! Restlessly I awaited for hours, watching random H!P-related videos to get in the mood. I managed to easily win the Minimoni and Budokan DVD for $1.99 each for the singles and $6.99 for the DVD, but the main item itself was still up.

The hours passed sickeningly slowly, and at around 4am I had stayed awake so long I just couldn't fight it anymore and went to lie next to my sleeping girlfriend, tired and exhausted. This was very dangerous and could've easily proved to be a lethal mistake (I didn't want to miss my precious auction due to sleeping after all), but thankfully it didn't. Even though I kept reminding myself that I had to get up very soon to bid, I found myself inevitably dozing off to sleep. Still, somehow I managed to wake up around 15 minutes before the bidding would close. I nervously got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I got on the computer and was feeling tired, hopeless and like a total nervous wreck as the last stressful few minutes passed by. I wasn't confident at all as I had no idea what people would be bidding for this thing; even though I was prepared to spend around a hundred dollars on it, I still thought there had to be someone even crazier than me out there. I felt a little physically sick even and my heart was beating like crazy. Finally the last minuted rolled around. I was covered in cold sweat and I nervously I clicked to make my bid, this close to having a heart-attack. Once it was done, I prayed to who-knows-what as I don't believe in any higher power and nervously refreshed the page every second without fail.

But I won it, damn it, I won! YES! I only paid $46 for the thing. 46 dollars for such an awesome limited item that originally costs $92 as new! Needless to say, it felt awesome and I'll never forget the feeling of pure bliss. And yeah, that is why this item is so special to me. :)

 

So yeah, this last bit was a bit off-topic and has little to do with my Christmas presents, but whatever. Thanks to anyone who had the patience to read all that. :) I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you get some cool j-music items as presents as well!

And to anyone wondering: no, the reasons my girlfriend and I went our separate ways had nothing to do with the events of that night, heh. :)

Alright, I'll just do this now even though Koharu's new album hasn't been released yet. Let's hope it won't have anything awesome enough that could've made it to this list.
I'm just gonna skip all the obligatory "this was so hard to do I almost killed myself blah blah blah" stuff since you already know, and start right off with the track at the 15th place. However, before I do, I'd just like to share this screencap of Sayumi with you that I found over at Your Opinion Doesn't Count. Why? Because it, uh, motivated me to keep writing this list; maybe it'll motivate you to read it, too? Hell, it might even be fake for all I know, but I'd like to stay under the belief that it isn't.

Alright, after clicking that and taking a close look, get some tissues for that nosebleed of yours (or for any other needs dealing with other bodily fluids) and I'll get started:

 

15th: °C-ute - Shiritsu Kyougaku: I've already delved quite deep into this Beatles-y track in an earlier post, so see that post instead.

 

14th: Kira☆Pika - Hana wo Pu~n: Ah, Hana wo Pu~n. If there was one H!P track this past year you either loved deeply or hated more than anything, this is it. I must admit, at first I was immediately in the latter group of people. However, like many H!P songs tend to, it grew on me. This one quite immensely, too. It's just too crazy for me not to appreciate it, it's too... Jankenpyon! What I find interesting about this track is that I'm still not bored by it in the least, not even after listening to it way too much since this summer; something I can't quite say about some of this year's other top tracks that I'll write about next. I'd say this is largely due to how different this is compared to your standard H!P song, let alone a song done for a kids' anime. Maybe it'd be going too far to call it progressive, so I'll just call it very eclectic, for lack of a better term.

 

13th: Athena & Robikerottsu - Shouri no BIG WAVE!!!: Like the previous track, this one too was made to serve as a kids' anime theme. However, unlike Hana wo Pu~n, I find that this track really sounds like one, too. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I'm not quite sure what the hell this track is doing on this list in the first place. What can I say really? Like I mentioned in my first post of this blog, this is one case where extreme cuteness just completely defeated my normally so sensible metal-philosophy, heh. It's just way too addictive, I can't help but listen to it. Damn you, Tsunku.

Sometimes I wish it'd be possible to not have to do anything else ever again except listen to this song on repeat alone in a small room. Nothing but this track, ever again. I'd sit there, quietly listening, just sometimes randomly yelling out "okkee!" or "ok desu!". I believe this is the closest one could get to being in paradise. I think...

 

12th: Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai - Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA: This is a track that will always have a special place in my heart. If you read the introductory post of my blog, you'll know that this was some of the very first Morning Musume music I ever heard. Well, almost anyway. It was either the Music Station or Music Fighter performance that I saw and was instantly thinking how cute Risa was and how good the girls sounded together, and that's how my Morning Musume fandom began, basically. It's yet another great, melodic ballad we all love Tsunku for crafting. Even Koharu doesn't sound awful here! (though of course she's still nothing compared to Nacchi or Maki)

Also, I have to add here that I think this is one of the most beautiful H!P PV's ever, visually. All that beautiful scenery, the whole Japanese feel of it, the elegant light blue dresses, the scenes with the wooden window thing with the tree leaves and those incredibly beautiful close-up slow-motions near the end make for simply a mind-blowing PV.

 

11th: Morning Musume - Egao YES Nude: This was the first single release by Momusu I heard when already being a fan. Admittedly not a very big fan at that point in time yet, but a fan nevertheless. At the time of its release, I couldn't really have cared less for this track really; at that time I still thought Morning Musume was all about that sweetness heard in Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA, so naturally I was disappointed. Now looking back on it though, I can appreciate it much more.

The song, as you all know, is a catchy disco-influenced one, reminiscent of some older Momusu singles and also a song by another group that came out some months after this which you'll also find on this list (can you guess which song I mean? :)). However, whereas time has only made Hana wo Pu~n better for me if anything, I can't say the same for this song. I'm pretty sure if this song had come later in the year, I would've surely ranked it higher than this. I wouldn't say ruined, but too many repeated listens have definitely taken their toll on this song for me. Time sure is a bitch sometimes, eh? But in any case, it is still a very solid song, failing to reach the top 10 just barely.

 

10th: Berryz Koubou - Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba: Listening to this track, I just can't help but feel I should've placed it even higher, but looking at all the tracks following this one, I can't bring myself to put it before any of those. So wow, 10th it is, and when first listening to this I was so sure this was definitely going to be in the top 3 of 2007, IF not the very best song altogether! Interesting.

Anyways, this single continued in the vein of the sort of mid-tempo, ballad-y goodness of the previous single, VERY BEAUTY. Still, it's very different, and it seems there are lots of people who love this single but absolutely hate VERY BEAUTY (and the other way around, too) for some reason, though I myself am a fan of both. A slightly eastern sound, occasional twangy electric guitar, interesting percussion, perhaps a slightly mysterious atmosphere the female background vocals in the pre-chorus create, that whole "60's" feel and the simple but enjoyable "anata ga suki / mune ga itai" type lyrics; all are points that make me love this song. I thought the PV for this one was quite boring to watch really (even if Miyabi did look more adorable than ever), however, like I promised in my introductory post, none of that affects my overall opinion... which is that this song stands at position number 10. However, Berryz did do a couple songs that were even better than this in 2007...

 

9th: °C-ute - JUMP: Like with Shiritsu Kyougaku, I already reviewed this song in an earlier post. Don't ask me how this can be HIGHER on this list even if it was lower than Shiritsu Kyougaku in the previous one, I honestly have no clue. Weird stuff.

 

8th: Ongaku Gatas - Narihajimeta Koi no BELL: To me, this group is made of pure concentrated awesome. One of my all-time favorites of Musume, Yossie, the one with the squeaky but lovable voice, Country Musume Satoda, the slightly smaller-cheeked sweetheart Konno (boo for smaller cheeks!) and very promising up and coming Eggs such as Noto Arisa, Korenaga Miki and Mano Erina. With an otherwise great line-up like this and Tsunku writing awesome songs for them, not even Rika can spoil this group for me!

This was the song I made a reference to when writing about Egao YES Nude. As many people have noted, they share some similarities. I think this song is much better, though; it takes what's good about Egao YES Nude and takes it one step further, adding in several more ounces of awesomeness, or whatever the unit of measure for awesomeness is.

 

7th: GAM - Ichaicha Summer: When listening to GAM's debut album Amai Yuuwaku, I wasn't really expecting anything special; I had only liked Melodies a lot before hearing it, the other singles didn't really appeal to me yet. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. This album turned out to be one of the absolute best of 2007, and probably one of the more solid albums of H!P altogether!

The song itself is great. While it doesn't really sound summery at least for me (actually it sounds more like a Christmas song to me!), it's still a very "feel good", cheery kind of song. Maybe not one of the most musically sophisticated or varied songs, but I absolutely love that happy, Miki-dominant chorus. "Zenbu, ze-n-bu!" A lovely song, never failing to get me into a good mood.

 

6th: Berryz Koubou - Sakura Nyuugakushiki: Last track on their newest album. I was surprised to find something this good as an album track, but then again I can't really imagine this being released as a single, either. Hmm, now that I think about it, it's THIS song rather than Semi that reminds me of °C-ute's Shiritsu Kyougaku.

This is also definitely the better of the two "sakura songs". While you won't find the other one even near this list, this one is excellent and is only barely not making its way into my top 5. What I like the best about this song are the highly original and maybe even slightly unusual vocal melodies, wildly going from the lower to upper vocal register and back. I just admire Tsunku for still being able to come up with stuff that sounds so fresh like that, even after so many years of non-stop songwriting. How the hell does he do it?

 

Entering the top 5...

 

5th: Morning Musume - Kanashimi Twilight: Ah, Kanashimi Twilight. You just had to know this was going to be on the list. The most rocking of all Momusu singles, past or present. This song is indeed awesome, but like with LOVE Machine, it's gotten to the point with me where too much listening has kind of ruined it a little for me already.

Still, even if I'm listening to it for the umpteenth time and maybe I thus can't recognize all its greatness anymore, I can still see it for what it is; probably the closest thing to anything even remotely "metal" they will ever do, the single with most units sold in its first week since 2005's Iroppoi Jirettai and not to mention a hell of a way for Yossie (and Miki) to bid farewell to Morning Musume. Oh, and that solo line by Mittsi? Probably the best thing in the whole song. Well, it would be, if it wasn't for Yossie (who just owns this song) and her solo part after that awesome guitar solo.

Attached is the Music Station performance with Yossie looking cooler than perhaps ever before.

 

4th: GAM - Aijou Oasis: Discovered at the same time as Ichaicha Summer when listening to GAM's debut album, but I didn't learn to love it until after seeing the DVD recording of their first tour. Really I'm kind of lost for words on what to say about this one. Just watch the attached video and maybe you'll "get it", too, if you haven't already. One thing I can point out is that I love how simplistic and quiet the verses are compared to the loud chorus. It creates almost a magical feeling during the verses. I'll just say that this is by far my favorite performance from the DVD, and possibly my favorite GAM song altogether (only rivaled by the piano version of Melodies). It's THAT good. Really, considering how this group has probably the two single most talented vocalists of the whole Hello! Project thing, all I can do is ask myself how there are still some people out there who AREN'T fans of this group yet. Puzzling.

 

3rd: Ongaku Gatas - Yattarouze!: Yeah, DANCE☆MAN is BACK, and hopefully for good! I just don't understand people who don't love this song (not to mention how it sold LESS than Narihajimeta Koi no BELL). It's got that trademark DANCE☆MAN sound we all love and a damn solid composition behind it. Catchy as hell, too! While the PV might be cheap looking, it is still very visually pleasing (save for Yossie's hair...), at least to my eyes.

And ok, I need to say something here I thought I'd never say about any dance ever, as I basically consider the idea of dancing itself to be retarded. So if you keep that in mind, this should have some extra weight to it when I say it: the dance is fucking awesome. Don't you think? Much like the song, it really reminds me of the old Golden Age era Morning Musume dances such as Renai Revolution 21. Goofy as hell, but fun. Actually, in my opinion this song along with its dance is a huge hark back to the Golden Era, much more so than for example Mikan, which many hailed as sounding very Golden Age-ish. Well, they might both be going for that sound, but in my opinion this is how Golden Age pt. 2 SHOULD be done. Although maybe the general public doesn't agree with me, what with only about seven thousand copies of this being sold in its first week. Ah well, that's besides the point anyway, I don't care about the general public. I just hope the low sales don't discourage Tsunku or anything, I wish he knows deep inside that he made an awesome song, it's just the people who didn't get it.

 

2nd: Berryz Koubou - VERY BEAUTY: The very first song I heard from Berryz Koubou and one that to this day remains godly good in my books. Even though I guess I'm in the minority preferring this over Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba, there's just this undeniable charm in this song for me. While the PV is maybe a bit in the same league as Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba's PV which I found boring, this one is much, much better and very visually pleasing, too. I love it. One of my favorite H!P PV's, I think. And while I can't really identify myself with the lyrics of the song (I rarely can when it comes to H!P, heh), I really enjoy them. Or maybe it's not so much the lyrics themselves I enjoy, but how fantastic they sound when sung by these girls. And as for the song itself? Sorry, but I do not even know where to begin, I have no words. It's just perfect. I wouldn't change a thing in it musically.

So, it's one of the most memorable and beautiful H!P ballads ever, with an excellent PV & lyrics, the girls all looking adorable and to top it off, the first song I ever heard from Berryz; thus, a totally spot-on release. You'd think this would definitely take the number one spot, right?

Nope, there was one song to come out in 2007 that I can and will rank even higher than this one...

 

 

1st: Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai - Itoshiki Tomo e: My number one pick from all of Hello! Project's songs in 2007. That alone should say something about how I feel about this track.

I got into a sort of writers' block now as I reached this song. My tactic was to listen to the song on repeat and let the words come to me. I've listened to it several times now and watched the PV a couple of times too, but I still have no idea how to properly put my feelings about this song into words. But I'll try anyway.

It's beautiful. Utterly beautiful.

All the vocals are. All the instrumentation. That instrument reminiscent of a sitar in the beginning, the acoustic guitar, the soothing keyboards, that bass... The chorus is beautiful, as are the verses. The way Kaori and especially Maki sing their respective "Nee Kirei ni / Natta ne / Watashi mo makerarenai / Jinsei ni suru wa" lines after the chorus is not only beautiful, but also fucking awesome. One of Maki's best vocal performances? You bet. The PV is beautiful, even more beautiful than the one for Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA. Risa, Nacchi, Maki, Kaori and Koharu are. No need to fix or add any more make-up there, girls; you already look perfect as it is. Nacchi walking on water is, too. This song is beautiful and perfect in pretty much every way. Overall a very fitting song to be released by the 10th anniversary commemoration unit. Oh, and last, but definitely not least, all their smiles are beautiful:

 

 

So yeah, there you have it. Needless to say, I thought it was an excellent year for H!P in 2007. I can't wait to hear what Tsunku brings us in 2008.

I wasn't sure what I should kick off my blog with; first I thought to steal HarimaKenji's idea and do a "favorite J-music acts besides H!P" but I wanted my blog to start with something H!P-related, it's too early to do my planned "best of H!P 2007" post yet, as there are still numerous releases to come (album from Koharu, mini-album from Melon Kinenbi and new GAM song (awesome!)) and a simple review of Yattarouze! would be too boring (look forward to that next, though). So then I thought of this idea that seems to be quite popular in the H!P blogosphere today: mindlessly listing your top songs from your favorite groups! Simple, harmless fun, so I'll go for it. As for why a "top 7"? Well, °C-ute only has 20 songs. 10 would've been too much and 5 would've been too little, so 7 it is!

 

7th: Bishoujo Shinri: Starting at 7th place, Bishoujo Shinri. Creates a nice contrast with Meguru Koi no Kisetsu as it's b-side and it's very different from anything °C-ute has ever put out before. The reason this made it onto the list is basically because I love that vocal melody during the chorus. I guess I'm mainstream in the sense that Airi is definitely my favorite °C-utie, so it's great being able to hear so much of her in this. And you people who complain there's too much of her in °C-ute's songs, shush; there can never be too much Airi in any song. :)
Oh, and the guitar solo is quite awesome, too (note to self: it didn't sound too hard at all, remember to learn it after writing this post!)

 

6th: JUMP: Now, out of all the songs on this list, this is the one song I'm a bit unsure about. See, it was only recently that I learned to appreciate this one. I do know that I'm not really a fan of the "JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP" parts of the song, but the chorus and its vocal melody are excellent, especially when they do it the second last time after the guitar solo. Major eargasm. And damn, the verses with that distorted guitar and the palm-muting.. ahh. If I was at a °C-ute concert and they performed this, that's it, I'd come to my metal senses, open my hair and start headbanging to that shit HARD, no matter how many wotas wouldn't like it.

What the hell would they be doing watching me and not headbanging themselves anyway?! Crazy wotas...

 

5th: Shiritsu Kyougaku: Shiritsu Kyougaku, the C/W or b-side track of °C-ute's newest single, Tokaikko Junjou. Like Bishoujo Shinri, this is a song unlike anything °C-ute has done before. What I love the most about this song is easily the instrumentation, the mellotron-sounding instrument is just pure heaven for my ears (the one that enters the song at about 0:45). I'm not the first person to note this (I remember someone on Vox mentioning this too, maybe MorningBerryz?) but one can hear a very clear Beatles influence in this song; and, needless to say since I acknowledge that The Beatles is pretty much the best band ever, this is a very good thing. To me, this song sounds like a mix of the Beatles songs You Won't See Me, Strawberry Fields Forever and the one released in 1995 after John Lennon's death, Free as a Bird. Those three slapped together, mixed with a healthy dose of originality, °C-ute and the, uh, essence of Japan, and you have this song.
As a side-note, this song for me has some strange little resemblance with the Berryz Koubou track from their first album, Semi.

 

4th: Soku Dakishimete: This song, °C-ute's 2nd indie single, is just pure gold. Honestly that's about as much as I'm able to write about it for some reason, even after listening to it literally for like ten times just now. Maybe that's all there is to say about it? Well, vocally, everyone did great and Tsunku's instrumentals are spot-on, like they always tend to be. Personally I'm just happy I can hear so much Megumi in this. By the way, like everyone else, I also miss her so much. Please come back already. :(
I really like the PV for this one too, just because Megumi is the "star" of it.

Sometimes I have the tendency to watch it in my room by myself at night with no lights on and cry silently, shedding a few tears for my little Megumi.
Naked.
While wondering if she's naked at that very moment, too.

 

3rd: Ooki na Ai de Motenashite: Ah, at third place we have this song. Ooki na Ai de Motenashite. How can anyone REALLY hate this song? I mean, really? This song, to me, represents what °C-ute is all about. It's simply just too cute for anyone to hate, what with that way too high-pitched singing in the chorus and that annoying as hell chicken-dance move in the PV. I love it.

 

2nd: Massara Blue Jeans: Was anyone really surprised to find this song so high up in my list? This song seems to be in nearly everyone's favorites, no matter what kind of music they otherwise enjoy. I think everything there is to say about this song has already been said by plenty of people before me, so I'm not sure I have anything to add. Uh, it's fucking awesome, that's what it is. But you all know that already, don't you? I love how the chorus feels like an assault on my my ears with all those words crammed in the space of just a few seconds. "Dotabata shitete mo LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME LOVE ME, mechakucha shitai no LOVE ME DO!" Hell yes, this must be something like the death metal of Hello! Project. Or maybe grindcore would be more logical. Hmm. Oh, now I got it, this is the Cryptopsy of Hello! Project! Though not with the new line-up, fuck that new vocalist, I want back my Lord Worm! And don't even get me started on bringing a KEYBOARD PLAYER of all things to Cryptopsy. Who do they think they are all of a sudden, Hello! Project?!

Er, moving on then. Finally:

 

1st: As ONE: Some of you might be disappointed by my "obscure" pick for the number one spot, but for me it was clear from the very beginning that this was going to be my first pick. The seventh track from °C-ute's first album, a gem hidden between the ultra-cute Everyday Yeah! Kataomoi and the two slightly lackluster Taiyou to Ciscomoon covers, this to me is simply the best song °C-ute have released to date. I love every single second of it, from that excellent, screaming synth line in the beginning (that I like to mimic with my own keyboards... poorly) to all the rest of the instrumentation, not to mention one of the best vocal performances the °C-uties have ever given. I have nothing much to say on the lyrics as they are always secondary to music for me in any song, but with that said, I will say that I quite like the positive and uplifting message they possess and feel that the girls can convey that quite well.

By the way, as much as I would sometimes like to listen to said °C-uties giving their best in this song, I often find myself just following that extremely addictive synth bass working its magic in the background, not to mention all the other instrumentation. While some uninformed listener not used to j-pop could dismiss this and other songs as just something a couple of guys bored of their jobs made, just to score some more money for the company, they'd be dead wrong.
It is songs like these that remind me why I'm not embarrassed to be a fan of H!P at all; Tsunku works his ass off making these magnificent and intricate compositions for these girls. He doesn't slack around with this stuff, just listening to the little details in this song should give you a little hint on how much time Tsunku and his arranger of choice spent working on it (and this isn't even one of his more complex songs!) Then, when he's finally done making the best song he can, he takes those girls to the studio to record it, and, if you've watched any old Momusu ASAYAN episodes and seen how he is in the studio, you'll know that he settles for no less than a perfect performance by the girls, even at the risk of making all of them cry from frustration. Anything less won't do, nothing but perfection is acceptable for Tsunku.

And, while listening to these songs as a fan of °C-ute and H!P, I must say I'm quite pleased with that policy of his, and I'm sure the girls are, too.

 

Honorary mentions:

Wakkyanai (Z): Only one of the 4 indie-singles that didn't make the list. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome song, just not quite as good as the other 3.
Tokaikko Junjou: While I loved the new direction °C-ute took with this single as much as the next guy, after listening to it way too much, I noted that it does get quite repetitive. Still, a strong number but it's not getting into the top 7.
Sakura Chirari: It gets an honorary mention because it's the first one by °C-ute I remember liking. Again, not quite good enough to get in the top 7 though.

 

Damn all of that took a long time to write. This blogging thing sure is time-consuming, huh?

In any case, huge props to Tsunku for all these songs, the man never fails to impress me. I just hope that even with the waning sales of H!P, Tsunku still somehow knows that there are people who appreciate how much effort he puts into these songs.

By the way, if anyone shares my love for As ONE, please do leave a comment, it'd be great to hear about it. :)

So hey. While this won't be a blog dealing with my life at all, do you want to read some personal info on me to better know what kind of a guy is writing this, so as to better appreciate my posts or so? Great! (If you have any more questions you've always wanted to ask a Finnish metalhead j-pop fan, feel free to ask. If there's enough questions, I guess I'll make an introductory post pt. 3!)　

But yeah, after this post, you won't have to read more about me; instead I'll focus on the much more interesting world of H!P and j-pop. よろしく。

First off, some basic info:

Name: Henkka.
Age: 18.
Nationality: Finnish.

What, a picture of me you say? Fine then, this is me on a normal day, commuting by bus:

Even though I might look all angry at the world and like I hate people, there's a good chance I'm actually listening to Jankenpyon right at that very moment. :) That doesn't mean I don't hate people, though. :)

Then something a bit different:

So hey, you're Finnish. Do you drink hard liquor every day just to keep warm in that -50°C temperature?: Of course. That reminds me though, where do people get all these weird beliefs about Finns? I mean, I get this liquor one, it's not THAT far off from the truth after all, but I've heard some really.. interesting ones. Why does everyone, for example, think that we Finns all carry knives all the time? :o And also, no, polar bears don't walk on the streets here in Finland, you're confusing us with Siberia. Oh, and it's not THAT cold in Finland all year around. It does get pretty cold during the winters here in southern Finland, maybe around 20 to 25°C at worst, but it also does get quite hot in the summers, easily around 25°C or up.

So hey, you're a metalhead. Do you worship Satan?: Nope, can't say I do. Actually, as of right now, I'm still a member of the same Christian church I've been in for the past 18 years!... Though, admittedly, that's only because I've been too lazy to send in my, uh, "letter of resignation". I thought I might do it this Christmas while listening to Burzum or so, it would get me in a happy Christmasy mood. :) No, but seriously, I do not believe in God, Satan or whichever gods you might think of, and I don't identify myself with any religion as I basically think all of them suck. However, if you do, that's fine with me. To each his own, right? Right.

So hey, you like j-pop. Are you an annoying, obsessed japanophile?: Truthfully, right now I'd guess I'm as into Japan as I've ever been. I enjoy the music, I'm studying the language (although just by myself, very slowly and not very seriously), I do read manga/watch anime/j-drama and I am interested in pretty much all aspects of Japan and its culture. While I don't think that "everything is better in Japan", I have a strong urge to live there in the future, at least for a year or two, IF not longer. As for the annoying part... I TRY not to be, but I'll leave that for others to decide. However, I won't use this blog to talk about this either, so worry not. And while the temptation to use what little Japanese I know might arise, I promise to keep it to an absolute minimum, perhaps just some very basic stuff everyone knows.

So hey, you look like a damn hippie, just shut up and cut your hair already!: No.

So hey, you're a fat asshole, aren't you?: What can I say, I enjoy pizza and everything unhealthy way more than one should. :)

And finally, some H!P questions:

Favorite H!P member: Yossie and Yaguchi. Maybe I'll elaborate on this later.

Least favorite H!P member: Possibly Ishikawa. Same as above.

Favorite H!P group/artist: Honestly, I don't have one; I listen to pretty much everything H!P puts out and enjoy it. The only ones I'm not really all that into are some of the older H!P acts, such as Sheki-Dol, Chinatsu Miyoshi and Taiyou to Ciscomoon.

When did you become a H!P fan?: In early 2007, around February.

How did you become a H!P fan?: First I saw W's Robokiss (the Happy version) ages ago and thought it was really, really cute so I downloded the song, but for some reason, nothing more came of it. Then, later, when I saw some H!P artists on Japanese music shows I had started watching (yellow fever...), I liked Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA and Sakura Chirari a lot and thought Niigaki looked really cute, so I investigated further. I probably just typed in "Morning Musume" at YouTube and checked to see the most viewed PV which happened to be a subbed version of Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari and that's when I started getting hooked. Initially I thought it was all too saccharine and just plain too girly for my tastes, like most fans of extreme metal would, but it was after hearing the b-side of Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT, Dekiru Onna, that I really started appreciating Momusu more. After hearing that song, which greatly reminded me of Queen, I thought to myself "wow, this guy Tsunku sure knows how to write a song, huh?" and after that I found that even the "girlier" songs were, well, more or less fucking awesome.

Best H!P-related idea: Tsunku should hire me as someone who corrects all his numerous English fuck-ups in lyrics and titles in all future releases, no more damn VERY BEAUTYs or stuff like that that. I wouldn't even ask for a whole lot in exchange, something modest... I was thinking like, a nice, small apartment somewhere around central Tokyo, maybe around 3000€ to spend monthly, of course (naturally) access to the backstage area of all H!P concerts with a chance to talk to all the girls (I believe Mikitty would be my best friend) and maybe the opportunity to sing some backup vocals on future singles if Tsunku wouldn't be feeling well... Little stuff like that.
Oh, and I almost forgot; let's say... two H!P performers of my choice per week, in my Tokyo apartment, for one hour, condoms provided by UFA, no questions asked. Haha, not that I'd use something silly like a condom with my favorite H!P idols, those crazy UFA people.

Err, sorry for that last perverted bit in there, I swear it was just the metal side of my brain talking. 

 

So, where do I begin? How do people usually start up their new blogs anyway?

Right, so the name of my blog is "H!P Opinions of a Metalhead." (how about, HPOM for short?)

Correct, I'm both a metalhead and a fan of H!P/J-pop at the same time. It might sound odd, but it's actually not really all that rare of a combination, you know; after reading the forums at H!O, I came to the conclusion that it actually might be one of the most common types of H!P-fans out there besides the whole H!P-only/obsessed fans. Or I might be way off here too, but it's not nearly as rare as you might think. I'm surely not the first person to notice that it can be really refreshing to be listening to music on shuffle and getting Happy Summer Wedding by Morning Musume after Antichristian Phenomenon by Behemoth, and that there's nothing quite like hearing Hana wo Puun by Kira☆Pika after Omnious Bloodvomit by Bloodbath. Or hey, how about the sweet, sweet sounds of that Ooki na Ai de Motenashite by °C-ute before Entrails Ripped From a Virgin's Cunt by Cannibal Corpse? :)

I wouldn't say I'm your "typical metalhead" in the sense that I only listen to metal and nothing else. I can basically listen to most things out there and find something enjoyable in it. And before you ask, no, I do not listen to rap much, but I would if I found some out there that seemed worth my while. (the closest thing to that that I found was some Brotha Lynch Hung and some old Wu-Tang Clan and NWA stuff, that didn't seem all that bad!) So in essence, I'm not a pure metalhead at all. :( But yeah, I decided on this title for the blog because I would say my main two favorite genres these days are metal (mainly the death/black type) and J-pop, especially Hello! Project's offerings.

And as to why I made this blog? Mainly for two reasons;

1) I thought it might be interesting for people to read the opinions of a H!P-fan other than the usual 14 year old girl type. No offense to all the 14yo girl H!P-bloggers of course, it's not like I don't read your blogs every day anyway. ;( But yeah, I can let you know right now that my H!P reviews will not be quite the same as normal H!P reviews (that is, at least I hope so).

• Before I continue, let me just say this: don't worry, I will not be making any references to random trve kvlt Norwegian underground black metal bands in my H!P reviews or anything like that, it won't be THAT different from a normal H!P-fan's blog, the difference will be much more subtle; consider it just a slight difference in my perspective. 
• While I MIGHT comment something on their outfits or dances in certain PV's, at the end of the day, I just don't give a shit about what they're wearing or how they're dancing. It doesn't make a difference to me. I mean, I listen to metal, music known for how fat, hairy and ugly the musicians are, so I'm kind of looking at all music with that metal outlook and I'm happy with that. It might not be the smartest way to look at all things Hello! Project, but that's ok. To put it simply: the only aspect I really care about in all genres of music is the music, man, the music!
• ...Still, I won't deny that H!P does have a bunch of extremely cute girls with interesting personalities, and, I admit, sometimes cute enough to thorougly defeat my metalness; there are times when even I can't help but listen to something as annoying as Everyday Yeah! Kataomoi just because little Maimai forces me to. :( In any case, if I even feel the need to say something about their looks or so, it's usually just something positive; a bad hair-do, shitty music video or an ugly outfit will not make any song worse for me in the least.

2) I have no friends wise enough to see the awesomeness of H!P, and thus I feel that I have to... get it all out of my system through this blog. Fear not that you'd have to read about metal if that's not your thing as I already have an outlet for that stuff. Maybe if it's Japanese metal... (I love the band Sigh, by the way!)

And also, I was bored.

I'm not entirely sure yet on what I'm going to be blogging about in the future. I do know that I'll start off with a "H!P best of 2007" post soon-ish, and I guess I'll do write-ups on new H!P releases as they come out. What do you people want me to blog about? Should I make a detailed H!P favorite members/groups/songs/singles/albums/whatever post? Do you want me to blog more about my other j-pop/rock fandoms? Or would you rather have me blog about metal? Heh.

Anyway, to sum it up, my main hope is that I'll get at least a couple readers for my blog. That'd be awesome. Hopefully someone at International Wota will like this blog and link to it. This is, by the way, my first ever blog, personal, music or otherwise, so I'm sorry that it doesn't look very pretty and forgive me if I make any typical blogger-newbie mistakes, etc. Oh, and I'll try and make a nice H!P-related header picture soon enough. Done! Let me know if you know of someone who already uses this one as their banner and I'll remove it.

But yeah, if any of you people are watching over this blog or plan to, feel free to comment as it'll make me happy to know someone's actually reading this. I'll try to make it entertaining for you people. :)

I made a little questionnaire thing for myself to fill out, but I'll make another post for that one. Look forward to pt. 2 of this introductory post soon!