2 posts from May 2008

I found it was rather difficult sometimes to tell apart the cute and happy songs (which I've already ranked a while ago). Some careful consideration was necessary in order to determine what was really cute and what was happy (and what was neither – cute girls can be deceiving!). I think I've managed to pick out 5 pretty darn cute songs, but do let me know if you disagree.

 

Firstly I want to say I truly wanted to include Ayaya's Momoiro Kataomoi but there just wasn't any room. Sorry, HarimaKenji! Another one I quite wanted to have here is Natsu Wakame by Berryz Koubou. Ah well.

 

5th: Natsumi Abe - Koi no Telephone GOAL: Well, there's the childish kind of cute and the mature kind of cute. The rest here are going to be of the childish kind, so it's good to have one of the mature type for variety's sake.

Have you seen the PV for this song? Have you? Have a look:

 

 

After seeing the PV, I don't even feel the need to know what the lyrics are about. It's possibly the cutest (and most insane!) PV to come out of H!P. Ahhh, this is the Nacchi I love. The one with the moustache, that is.

Listening to the instrumental of this reveals it's a very playful but interesting song and arrangement. You can tell Tsunku had lots of fun with this one. The simple verses stick to a nice groovy beat with minimal instrumentation, but then during the brassy choruses enters what sounds like a whirlwind of different instruments, all naturally overlapping while of course doing their own thing, rarely resorting to doing simply the most expected thing; a quality standard of Tsunku's. I think it's excellent. Compositions like this remind me again why I think Tsunku is a genius of a composer. It sounds like it's nothing too special, but when I sit down and listen to the instrumental with thought, I can but sit in awe and just hope I will some day be able to do something as great as this myself. This is simply inspiring as music to me.

 

4th: Minimoni - Minihamuzu no Ai no Uta: Really, it could've been pretty much any Minimoni song on here. Mini Strawberry Pie was another strong competitor for this spot but I ended up choosing this one. Both of the two songs sound equally cute, but it was the lyrics that made me decide on this one. While mini strawberry pies (and don't forget apple pies!) are an immensely cute topic for a song to be about, man, a theme of love combined with mini hamsters is even cuter.

I just wish Mika would shut up. Permanently.

"LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE I LOVE YOU, AI AI AI AI MINIHAMUZU!"

 

3rd: Berryz Koubou - Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai: As I've mentioned before, I hardly care to know what the lyrics in songs deal with. Most of the rankings I've done so far have been based on just the musical qualities of the songs. However, for this ranking, I felt it was important to do some research on the lyrics too; it seems essential to know them for all of the cuteness to come across properly. This song is one whose full cuteness I didn't realize until after seeing the lyrics; I love the honesty of them! Being THIS honest is just way too cute to be ignored:

"I love you
Did you say you loved me?
Tell me whether you love me or not
(Do you love me?)

You won't say it
You won't say it to me
I want you to say it

Do something
about your way with words
Gotta fix it (You must!)

Even after 5 years, link arms with me
Even after 10 years, flirt, flirt!
More than anything, this moment
I love it best in the world
I love you the best, too?
I love you? I love you!"

(credits for translation to ProjectHello as always)

 

Oh, and also, "No nyu. NO NYU!!!"

 

2nd: Country Musume - Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan: Now THIS is where Rika truly belonged. Sure, she sounds annoying and squeaky, but annoying and squeaky pretty much equals cute so hey! One can only hope Tsunku comes to his senses after the end of Biyuuden and puts Rika back into Country Musume with Mai. Give Mikitty something meaningful to do by putting her back in too, maybe throw in a Kid or two (I'm thinking Chinami for some reason) and to finish it off, get Rinne back in there and damn, what a solid line-up we'd have in our hands. Honestly I just miss my Rinne. My sweet, sweet Rinne... :(

And yeah, this is by far my favorite Country Musume song. I think dancing is a retarded, useless activity, but for once it manages to actually enhance the cuteness here; the choreography here is very loveable with all the handclaps and other miscellaneous silly movements. Cute cute cute!

Best just to watch the PV again:

 

 

Have I told you how much I miss Rinne yet?

 

1st: °C-ute - Ooki na Ai de Motenashite: This song is deserving of the top spot. The chorus is... both the cutest and at the same time the most annoying thing to ever come out of H!P. I have almost daily struggles with myself as to whether it's even in good taste to listen to something this saccharine and over-the-top cute.

 

 

That's when Megumi's sweet face reminds me though that I can not possibly be in the wrong here, and I happily continue enjoying this... this... beast of a song.

The PV is lovely also. Lots of pink to remind you that it's °C-ute you're watching here. Don't you just miss the times when Maimai had her glasses with her still? The only thing that makes me doubt placing this on the first spot is actually how damn hard-hitting this song is! Sure, it's filled to the brim with cute vocals (and vocal performances way above average, if I may add!) but the arrangement is just awesome and, as I said, very hard-hitting. I'd be constantly getting complaints from my next-door neighbor for the subwoofer noise, but thankfully I'm using a pair of lovely Sennheiser headphones so all is well.

Long story short, this is the song that I feel deserves to be crowned the cutest of H!P's songs. It's that cute!

 

 

Next time it'll be something special. Look forward to it! I'll try to have it finished within the week.

These are my answers to broomhead's survey.

Originally I just sent this to broomhead's email and wasn't going to post it here, but since people like HK and CK posted theirs... might as well. It's very interesting to read others' thoughts about blogging by the way, I can't wait for broomhead to finish his next post on the subject. Oh, and a special shoutout to broomhead: keep going man! Just do what you always do, or hell, do something new if you so wish, just keep going with your blog! You're great! We all love you and your blog! :)

 

Goals:

Why do you blog? - I want my writing and opinions to be read and hopefully commented on.
What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money? - The first three all apply to me. First and foremost though, personal satisfaction, but I would like to gain a large readerbase.
Do you feel that your blog should meet a requirement for amount of entries? Do you feel any particular entry should be a certain length? - The answer to the first question is no. However, about the second one, I guess I could say yes. Sometimes I feel that what I'm saying on my blog is not remarkable or interesting enough and thus I make a conscious choice to try and make my posts longer than (what I perceive to be) the average to hopefully make it seem somehow more worthwhile. I believe I've succeeded in that fairly well thus far. I don't know, it just feels much more satisfying to make longer posts in all respects.
For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts? - The wish for my writing to be read.
Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post? - Occasionally.

Subject Material:

What do you blog about? - Hello! Project and other Japanese music reviews, hoping to expand to drama, anime and possibly manga reviews at some point.
Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn't about the subjects you tend to cover? - No.
Do you write about the material to promote it to others? - No.

Readership:

How much do you care about readership? - Very much. It is very important for me to know there are people reading and especially knowing I might have one or two fans.
Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don't comment? - Yes, but receiving comments is ten times nicer.
What effect does receiving a comment have on you? - I strive on feedback and comments, so usually it always makes me very happy, especially if the person has clearly studied well what I've written. I can't stress this enough; there's exactly two things that keep me going with my blog, and those two are the IW write-up and the comments from my readers. If I get no write-up and zero comments, that feels pretty much like a failed post to me and I'm always discouraged by that.
If there are any lurkers out there reading this who like my blog or like it even occasionally, I sincerely request that you leave me comments sometimes on my posts, no matter how small or big that may be. If anything I say makes you think or want to say something, just say it; you'll make my day for sure. :)

Community: (The International Wota section)

If International Wota didn't exist, would you blog? - Definitely not.
When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less? - Usually more.
When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less? - Neither, but I do feel disappointed.
How often do you read other blogs? - Several times a day.
How often do you comment on other blogs? - A couple of times a week.
If another blog cover a topic that you wanted or wished to cover, do you still blog about that specific topic? Why or why not? - Yes if I still have something meaningful to add about the topic.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun? - While I do not take it a 100% seriously, I must say it does not always feel so fun as it used to. In fact, sometimes it feels like work! That might be the reason why I don't blog as often as I'd like to. This is a little worrying as I haven't even been blogging for that long...
How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog? - I blog maybe three or four times a month. I'd like to blog two or three times a week or so.
What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why? - Not much. Sleep, every once in a while. :)
Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not? - I think I'll still be blogging, but I'm unsure. I think my interest in Hello! Project might be fading a little.* Still, I'm pretty sure I'll still be blogging.

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself? - Yes.
What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in an entry? - It feels good especially if I feel I've created something exceptionally good. It is relative, yes.
Do you consider yourself a writer? - Nah.
Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging? - I'm not very good, but I think I manage to hide it quite well. I have a wish to improve, though, to hopefully one day be thought of as one of the great, known ones in the Int'l Wota community. A pretty ambitious goal, I know; I still have a long way to go. :)
How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out? - Not very much at all. Sometimes a few quick notes here and there, usually for humor. I have no real interest in blogging about my personal life, at least not for the moment. I hardly think my personal life would interest anyone.

 

* = Bleh, I don't know. Maybe that's just my recent France Gall addiction speaking. Life would feel incomplete without France Gall.