If you didn’t know about Kanon or her music, her’s a briefing based on what I know:

She is a classically trained cellist and she is produced by the guy who plays guitar in Malice Mizer. She plays cello in her songs.

Yeah that’s about all I know, but I don’t think knowing about her is important, it’s knowing what kind of music she plays.

There’s not really any way to describe the music as a genre or anything. It’s pop with cello, really, but a lot of her songs are kinda creepy and remind me of Alice in Wonderland or something.

The album starts off with sweet ticket, which, as I said right up there ^, reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.  It’s got no vocals, and it’s got this haunting feeling like you’re in a ballroom by yourself.  There’s some drums and mostly her cello, as well as some string harmony and what sounds like a harpsichord or something. Whatever they use to make the crystal-y sounds in like RPGs. The song isn’t one of my favourites, mostly because it’s just an introduction, but it also kind of ends abruptly, which makes it leaving you to want more.  At least it’s at the beginning of the album, not the end.  If it was at the end I’d get pissed ):

The first vocal song is Shinku no Fatalism, which starts off with some lyrics that kind of give what the feeling of most of her music is like: ‘Dare ni mo Egao wo Misenaide ita’ which means ‘I won’t let anyone see my smile.’ However, the song has an upbeat instrumental which is like the closest to a synthesizer like I’m used to from my pop, but you can tell it’s mostly her cello and some violins and drums and stuff.  I love this song to death and play it all the time (or as much as ‘all the time’ since saturday is). I think it’s safe to say that this is my favourite song on the album.

The third song is Kagami, which definitely has the creepy kind of Alice in Wonderland feeling that I will be describing a lot. It’s like you’ve walked somewhere mystical you really shouldn’t be. Kanon sings in almost a whisper for the choruses and in her regular, unique voice for everything else.  This song definitely reminds me of like, a witch’s castle or something. Not like super creepy but definitely not Glinda the Good Witch.  To be honest I didn’t make the connection between Mirror and Alice in Wonderland earlier, but doesn’t Alice get to wonderland at some point through a mirror (Kagami)?

Next is the first of the two singles in this album: still doll (album ver.). This is the first song from Kanon that I heard, and I still love it. It starts with a chorus, which caught me by surprise, and it has some harpsichord, as well as a glockenspiel. Not 100% sure what the song is about, but it sure is creepy cute.  There’s some kick-ass cello solo in the middle (never thought I’d call a cello solo kickass), and her voice is haunting through the entire song.  To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a regular idol voice if she were to sing a Hello! Project or AKB48 song, but because she’s singing the creepy stuff she is, it gives her voice a unique feeling.
Here’s the PV to still doll:

Next is Maboroshi, which is more lighthearted than some of the other stuff. It’s really pretty, like most of her music, but has a very different feeling than a lot of it.  I’m not sure why, but there’s something about this song that is just happy.  it reminds me of a powder blue color.  Not much to say other than that.

Next up is Ennui Kibun, which I believe is French + Japanese put together. Turns out that ennui is an English word from French which means ‘listless.’  This song does not sound like Wakeshima Kanon at all.  Kind of a random regular pop version with the usual classical twist.  Reminds me of like Wakeshima Kanon feat. capsule if that existed.  This one more than the rest reminds me of a music box. Also, the fact that there’s like shower sounds at the beginning creeps me out a little.

Suna no Oshiro is the second single on the album and holy shit this is some scary shit. It’s a very very dramatic song.  And Kanon’s whispering singing is scary.  Oh god I can definitely feel the goosebumps this is so scary. ._. most of her songs so far have had this creepy feeling but none of them have had me like legitimately scared. Remind me never to listen to this song when I’m walking home at night. It’s an extremely intense song.  I don’t even know what to say about this.
Here’s the PV

Monochrome Frame is the next song on the album.  This is a complete change from what Suna no Oshiro was like.  It’s got a very intense feeling and it’s a lot slower than most of the other songs on her album.  I guess if this was an idol/regular pop album this would be a ballad, but since everything has a slower pace, they’re all kind of ballad-ish.  Parts of this song remind me of Mad Men’s theme song.  There’s parts of the chorus that I absolutely adore.  As you can tell I don’t really have any real opinion on this song.  It’s not something that I go out of my way to listen to, but it’s not my least favourite song.

L’espoir ~Mahou no Akai Ito~ has a cute name. It’s probably a reference to the ‘red string of love’ that is mentioned quite often in Japanese culture: You’re magically connected with an invisible red string to the person you love.  This is another song that has kind of a whisper throughout it, instead of a regular singing voice.  It’s a cute song, and it sounds a lot like it could be an idol or anime song if it had a different instrumental track.  There’s even the change in the beat and pauses after lines in the chorus for wotagei.

Kuroi Torikago was the b-side to still doll.  This song is really scary. Everything about it is kind of aggressive sounding.  I think this is the only song that I would skip overall if it came on shuffle.  It’s just… too aggressive and out of place on the album.

but then skip turn step♪ kind of changes everything around.  This is the other b-side that made it’s way on to the album. It’s really cute, like L’espoir.  Definitely a lot more fun than the last b-side.  I could listen to this song a lot.  In fact since I got the album, I’ve listened to this song on my way to school and stuff.  It puts me in a good mood that makes me want to smile.  I could see this song playing during the credits of some Tim Burton movie or something.

The next track is Shiroi Kokoro.  It has this haunting piano piece at the beginning that kind of reminds me of Moby’s God Moving over the Face of the Waters.  This could definitely be in the more dramatic sad part of some kind of movie.  It just  makes me feel a little floaty. Like I’m not actually awake even though I know I am.  I am sure that the song isn’t quite that powerful (i’m not hallucinating or anything) but the song is really nice and makes me kind of relax while I’m listening to it.

The album ends with sweet dreams, which, like the opening track sweet ticket, is a purely instrumental track, which, instead of featuring Kanon’s trademark cello, is a music box song.  Not much to say here, but it’s a cute way to end such a creepy album.

Overall, I really liked the album. I’m not sure if I’d put any of the tracks on repeat or anything, because they’re not exactly dance tracks, but a lot of the songs are really nice and if I was at a loss to find a something to listen to, I’d throw on some of my favourites like Shinku no Fatalism or still doll.

Best Tracks:

Shinku no Fatalism
still doll
Maboroshi
L’espori ~Mahou no Akai Ito~

So Misa from International Wota has decided she wants to take a swing at AKB48 (Who isn’t these days ._.; ) and she has asked for my opinion on some of their songs. I started wota-ing I guess, and threw titles at her so she told me to put them in a top 10 order, so I sat down and brooded on it for a few days or so, then forgot the list. And then reformulated a list when she jumped into #wotachat this evening. So here goes my top ten, starting with number 10.

A4′s Junai no Crescendo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFL-IAxQu4k

Junai no Crescendo is one of the classic ‘dark’ units. The song is about getting caught in the rain with someone you love or something, but it’s got a more story aspect. I love the chorus, for one, and it’s always been really popular in shuffle concerts. So yeah Next up is . . .

K4′s Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuMySKyYq-A

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou is pretty famous I think. It’s kind of how Ohori Megumi made a name for herself, and it’s also Kasai Tomomi’s second unit with lesbian overtones. The song has harmonies, which are rare in Idol music anymore, and it has strings and stuff. And the chorus has parts where they sing over each other, which makes it a more impressive unit song to me and in the middle there’s a conversation between them, which has been changed for different reasons (why are we wearing swimsuits?!). Plus, the unit has been famous for having random costumes in concerts and even just on stage, from the Kinjirareta Futari costumes to swimsuits.

Next up is B4′s Itoshiki Natasha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAhAbYCTZaE

This song is just all around great. It’s the first time that Tanabe Miku has been given lines in a unit song, and it’s also got a great story. Since I don’t have a video, I won’t talk about the costumes, but the song is just awesome. I love the Team K version from the AKB Budoukan concert I have watched this unit so many times on my iPod I can’t even begin to explain

Coming in at 7 is the single Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou, which also appeared in A3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAnjrkp9Jjg

This song is just epic in every way possible. It’s one of the famous ‘dark’ singles from 2007, having undertones about suicide, with a relatively obvious theme of bullying and depression. It’s got this kind of hypnotic instrumental track, and the snaps during the chorus are awesome. Watching the PV always makes me feel very serious, and the story elements always make me feel sad ): Also, for the record, when Tomo~mi is in bed towards the end of the PV, looking at something small and rectangular shaped, it isn’t a pregnancy test ): It’s a thermometer. It’s okay for idols to commit suicide in a PV, but they CAN NEVER be pregnant in high school.

So next up is Number six. . . TSUNDERE! from A5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjwTP_AYJ90

Tsundere is an odd little unit. for one thing, the ‘lead’ has almost no lines until the 2nd chorus, which means that when the song is performed during big concerts, she gets 2 lines. But it’s still a good song, because it’s a cute song that’s not sickeningly cute like a lot of AKB units can be

A4′s LOVE CHASE is next up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkF3nHnwFc4

This song is just awesome. The chorus is especially awesome I first heard it when I was watching the Budoukan concert, right before AItakatta I think or something. Either way it was a really good medley and it made me really really like this song. So it immediately jumped into my top 5 xD

SHONICHI from B3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zAaqdo0VdA

This is the ultimate feel good song from AKB48. Part of feeling good about it is the entire story behind it. See, Team B was always shafted in AKB48 when they first were introduced. THey only ever had one or two members in senbatsu until just recently, and their first two stages were repeat stages. So when they got this stage, which is generally considered the best AKB48 stage of all time, they got this completely epic song for the opener, which is about working hard to attain your dreams, and the life of an idol. ‘Yume wa ase no naka ni’ in the chorus means ‘the dream is in the sweat’ referring to their hard work and how much blood, sweat and tears were put into their job. Then, on top of that, the song becomes number one in the 2009 Best 100 Setlist Request hour mumbo jumbo that AKB has been doing at Shibuya AX for the last two years. therefore, it is the most awesome heartwarming song ever.

Number 3 is Dakishimeraretara from K5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Vi5wkVMpY

Dakishimeraretara is the song that made me like N Nacchi so much. She’s got a much stronger voice you’d expect (she sings the 2nd chorus). And the song just gives off a chill feeling. I can hear this being played in a movie during a ‘break up’ scene or something, like when the main character and the love interest argue and then end up getting back together about 15 minutes later. I like it because although Tomo~mi is the lead, every member in the song gets a huge part and it’s awesome

Number 2 is the most epic team song of all time, from Himawarigumi’s 2nd stage, Mori e Yukou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71z4zxt4-qo

This song is just epic in so many ways. This song originally cracked me up because it’s like ‘let’s go to the forest’ but when you hear it omg it’s so intense it makes me feel awesome inside. It’s one of the rare gems you don’t know if you’re a casual AKB fan because, i’ll be honest, as a casual AKB fan I didn’t understand how it worked. so as a result, I looked over songs like this and just saw things like Boku no Taiyou and other okay songs. The stages are where it’s at. SO there

and coming in at NUMBER ONE IS Inochi no Tsukaimichi from B3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRXjrRog698

this song is so creepy i love it so much omg. THis song is about a girl who feels like she’s unloved, so she starts dating an old man she met on a train because he showed her affection.  I love this song so much that I did the color code for it on studio48, as a matter of fact. Everything about this song just sends chills down my spine, especially the DAREKA NI AISARETAI parts. I could just curl up and listen to this song and I can assure you i’d have nightmares. Even Mayuyu’s sugarsweet vocals can’t stop how creepy and awesome this song is.

So there you have it. My transitions suck. Those are my top 10 AKB songs, though. 

Some runners up are:

Namida Uri no Shoujo, the b-side to Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou, also from A3
Kagami no Naka no Jean D’arc from B3
Tane, no3b’s 2nd single a-side
Saigo no Seifuku, the b-side to Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008

THERE YOU HAVE IT. You’re welcome, Misa <3

Now, to start off, I really dislike Jurina.  I thinks he looks dirty and I don’t think she deserves the attention she’s getting.  I haven’t watched S2 at the time of this post, so my opinion will most likely change once I’ve seen that stage, but for right now, I’m sticking to my opinions.

So let me start off by saying. . . CONGRATULATIONS TO SATO AMINA, SATO YUKARI, MASUDA YUKA AND URANO KAZUMI!  I think it’s really excited to see some of the underdogs who never really participated get in the top 21, let alone the top 30   I hope that they’ll stay strong for the next week until the election is over and they start working on mysterious single number 13

I think CinDy really deserves it.  She’s been in AKB48 since the beginning, got moved to Team B and then still got the shaft, even after she became an extremely popular member within Team B.  She isn’t the queen of Team B for no reason

I don’t really know much about Team A or K, but I do like Masuda Yuka’s voice, especially in MARIA. So I think she deserves it ):

Honestly, I’m not surprised by who made and didn’t make the election.  It was obvious that Acchan would be first, with the other popular members like Kojiharu, Yuko, and Takamina filling up the rest of the top 5.  I was a little surprised that Mayuyu got first place, because I wasn’t really aware she’s as popular as she is.  I hope that Team B will get a prominent role in the a-side .  Team B also seems to have filled up the b-side nicely, with, at the midpoint, Yonechan, Nacchan(!), Haachan, Sasshi and Lovetan in participating in the b-side.  I’m a little sad that Moeno won’t be participating, as of right now, but I think I’ll survive xD

Another thing I’m not surprised by is that Sayaka isn’t participating in the a-side.  She has surely lost popularity since she wasn’t in the last two singles, not to mention I haven’t seen her on AKBingo! in weeks, plus she’s older for an idol, and isn’t exactly the cute type, like some other older idols.  I don’t know that she’ll graduate right away, since she has a solo song in the K5th stage, but I’m sure she won’t be in wotas faces as much for a while.
I can’t even imagine what the final results will be, but I’m really really anxious and excited to find out.  I hope that there’ll be some upsets (Team B takes the a-side by storm?) but at this point I kinda doubt it.

Also, wow! 104,180 sold in the first week!  Number 2 on the oricon weekly charts!  That’s really exciting   It seems like all the popular idol groups are doing well recently, Morning Musume getting another Number 1 single, AKB48 selling two Gold Singles, and Perfume getting 80,000+the first week with number ones   I’m excited and I hope that this marks the return of Japanese girl groups to the mainstream in Japan.

Once I get an honest to god computer (This is a public library computer that I’m typing this entry on), I’ll probably be posting thoughts on H2 G-Rosso, K5 and eventually A5 and S2 (Maybe even B3 if I’m feeling motivated)  So hopefully this blog will be a little more active in the future!

But since my computer at home is broken, and I’m using wordpress from a school computer, I can’t put any pictures on here D: I’ll add a picture of cake at a later date, when my computer is fixed or I have a new one

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAKAMINA!

I don’t know a whole lot about AKB48, so I’m perfectly glad to take criticism and stuff, especially member corrections. I only know a few members so I won’t exactly review this. I will go through it track by track and give my opinions on it

The stage starts out with Idol no Yoake, a marching band themed song that features Mayuyu playing tuba (lol), CinDy playing Cymbals (SHINBARU SHINDII) and Harugon on snare drums. Oh, and Lovetan spins a baton, but she’s not my favourite so she doesn’t count. Neither does Mayuyu, but I thought it was funny that they’d pick an instrument like tuba for her.

The song is pretty much standard idol music. I mean, it’s got Idol in the title for goodness sake. It’s catchy, and I’ve walked through the halls at school saying READY GO GO GO! READY GO GO GO! before. Yeah I’m lame, but I like the song D: Mostly the song is feel good and perfect for opening something. I must say my biggest gripe for this one is the constumes. It’s not the costumes themselves, exactly, but the fact that there’s two other costumes underneath. It makes them all look pudgy. Well, Yukirin looks at least healthy, but some of them look like they gained 30 pounds before this show.

There’s no real dancing for this song, because they’re all holding instruments. That’s what Lovetan and the other non-instrument players are for. Mostly they do what marching bands do when they ‘dance’ during the half time shows–weave in and out of each other.

Now it moves onto Minna-san mo go isshou ni. This song is great! It’s so spunky and perky and fun. I’m sure that a lot of what is done by the idols during the verses is completely improvised, and that’s part of what makes it fun. The dance to this song is pretty standard Idol, with a cute parapara thing during the interlude and a bunch of spinning and acting goofy, which fits the feeling to the song, so I like it I’m sure that this is pretty much an anthem-y feel good song. They mention AKB being number 1 and they talk about stress and tension to pump the audience up.

Also, during the interlude, they break out the props! I love when they use props during a concert! xD From what I saw, they used these crazy fans and ribbon dancers. Basically even crazier things to add to a crazy song.

After that crazy song it switches moods to a ballad–Haru Ichiban ga Fuku Koro. This song is about graduation and stuff, generally expected from a spring themed song. The song gives kinda a walking to school kinda feeling, at least that’s what I get. Everything about it is at least somewhat calming and after getting pumped up it makes me kinda sleepy, actually.

The Chorus to this song has this infectious dance that I always make sure to watch. It’s really simple, but it’s fun to watch for some reason. ALSO DURING THE SECOND VERSE THERE’S A HARUGON/NACCHAN LINE. That makes me happy since those are my two favourite AKB48 members. So those are basically my thoughts on that song.

Next up is the yankee song, Kobushi no Seigi. Unfortunately, this is plagued by the same thing as Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru–short, weird notes. For a while I associated those kind of notes with AKB48, as they seem to be present in a lot of the songs I heard to begin with. Honestly, I just don’t really like this song for some reason. I think my main problem is that they’re using ‘ore’ as a pronoun, which I hate the sound of alone, let alone used by girls (It’s a ‘male’ pronoun, only guys use it).

After this it’s the member introduction, which I watch for Harugon. She’s got such a little boy voice! Otherwise it’s uniteresting. The performance I have is from the debut night, I believe– February 8th. Two Kenkyuusei participated in that stage, I know one was taking Saeki Mika’s place, but I don’t know who the other one was taking the place of.

Next song is Zannen Shoujou, featuring Mayuyu, Chris and, in this performance, a Research Student (Uchida Mayumi). Chris is a new member to Team B, to replace, probably one to replace Matsuyuki and Gussan who graduated at the end of B3. Midori at Midori’s J-Pop Overanalyzations said that Koharu’s outfit from Happy Happy Sunday was fetish-y, but she obviously hasn’t seen this outfit. The girls are decked out in pink lolita dresses with cell phone pockets and bows and lace and garters and all sorts of stuff.

The song itself is keeping up with the rock theme started by Kobushi no Seigi. And holy crap. That Research Student is much better than Tomochan, who sounds like a whinier version of Nacchan. Not that I mind Nacchan’s voice–she’s my favourite member. It’s just the whiny thing kinda gets to me.

Next is my overall favourite song from the stage: Kuchiutsushi no Chocolate, starring Yukirin, Lovetan and NACCHAN! The song has the dirtiest lyrics I’ve heard out of an idol song for a while, but the song is just so catchy! The song is once again continuing the rock theme, which I don’t mind. It’s certainly a change of pace after the perky B3.

The outfits are similar to the kind of outfit you’d expect Buono! to wear–stylish but still has a kind of ‘rebellious’ look with garters (again…?) and tiny hats (which are win when you’re an idol) and stuff. I like the song and can’t wait to see how popular it is in the future!

Next up is Kataomoi no Taikakusen, featuring Moeno, Yonechan and the pigtail RS (<–that’s what I’m going to call her now. I think she might be taking Saeki Mika’s place while she’s on leave but I’m not sure. It’s Chikano Rina) This is a disco number featuring the gorgeous Moeno as lead. She’s got a ton of butterflies in her hair which I think is kind of interesting, but I guess it wouldn’t be this song without the flowy outfits and a ton of butterflies in moeno’s hair.

The song has a disco feel, which I’m a fan of, and the entire song is really catchy, too. The only problem is that the chorus gets kind of boring, which isn’t fun.

Next song is Tengoku Yarou, featuring Harugon, CinDy, Nakayan and Haruchan. This is a cosplay song, with each member sporting a different outfit. CinDy’s a construction worker, Harugon is a chef, Nakayan is a maid and Haruchan is a policewoman. I’ve seen 2 performances of this song, though, and it seems like they change their outfits every performance.

To me, this song is boring. Basically I know that CinDy ends up singing about drinking lots of alcohol and stuff, but otherwise this seems like a throwaway album song. Also, Harugon only has one line! She definitely deserves more than that! xD Mostly cause she’s my favourite D: Also, they get feather boas halfway through and they end up dropping them, which is hilarious. And Nakayan and CinDy bump into each other.

The last shuffle song is the basically epic Itoshiki Natasha, featuring sasshi, Tanamin and Haachan. This song probably features the best three singers that I’ve heard so far from Team B, and it returns to the rock feel of the rest of the stage. Everything about this song screams ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ or ‘epic.’ The song’s about Russia, but that’s all I got.

The outfits are okay, except for poor Tanamin. She got stuck wearing some fur shorts, which makes it look like she’s wearing a fur diaper. I can’t wait to see this song in the future, too!

Now that the shuffles are over, it’s time for the end-show songs before the encore. The first one is Joshikousei wa Yamerarenai, which has a disco feeling. It’s got a similar feeling to Love Machine by Morning Musume–It’s got the fuwa fuwa’s and the verses have a similar rhythm, but that’s about as similar as they get. It’s a fun song, but usually at this point in stages I get kinda bored, so I was glad that this one is more fun than Two years later from B3.

The song has props, too, in the form of Teddy Bears. I can’t imagine that would be fun, though, holding teddy bears while dancing. I’d probably drop mine if I was performing. It’d go flying into the audience xD

After Joshikousei wa Yamerarenai is Suki to Ieba Yokatta. This song is a lot darker than Joshikousei, and has a really really cool feeling to it. Actually, the first time I watched this stage I was in #wotachat when this was playing so I didn’t watch the performance, so I’m watching it as I’m writing this right now.

The song is sung in pairs, which gives the song a more interesting dance– the members who aren’t singing get to do a bit more difficult than what I’ve seen so far in this stage. Actually now that I’m watching this performance, I really like this song. I hope it gets a lot of other fans

The next song is Sobakasu no Kiss, a fun idol song. This one reminds me a lot of ‘Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku you na Mirai de Are!’ from Morning Musume’s Rainbow 7 album. It’s a very feel-good type song, but it’s unremarkable overall.

The chorus is really nice, and is basically what makes the song, in my opinion. I don’t really know what else to say xD

The MC between this is split into two to let the members change. First, we have Harugon and Lovetan and Yukirin and Nacchan and some other members talking about idols and stuff, like Joshikousei’s ‘fuu fuu’ parts, then talking about the 3 songs they just sang.

Then, Cindy, Mayuyu and Haruchan and a few other talk about Mayuyu, Harugon, Nacchan and Lovetan’s unit Watarirouka Hashiritai. Mayuyu talks about her favourite line ‘LET’S GO!’ and then each of the members does their own LET’S GO! Nothing beats Mayuyu’s, but Haruchan’s is cute and CinDy’s is hilarious. Then they announce the last song.

The last song in the regular stage is Tanpopo no Kesshin, a ballad. Honestly, what’s the point in making all the members wear a brand new outfit for one song, if they’re going to change it again for the encore? We, regardless, I like the outfits. They’re very reminiscent of Koko ni Iruzee! This is basically just your standard ballad, very unremarkable. Ironically I could see Hello! Project’s Tanpopo sing this song, but otherwise it sounds more like a choir song than an idol ballad. Very fitting for an end song, but otherwise it’s not a very exciting song or anything. I do like the hats they’re wearing, though.

Now, after an encore called. by graduated members Matsuoka Yuki (<3) and Noguchi Reina (<333), as well as injured team B member Saeki Mika, Mayuyu comes on stage to play a word game that leads into ‘ANKOORU.’ Looks like it’s time for an encore!

We start out with the new Team B theme song, B Stars. This is a very parapara eurobeat style song that is basically B! chanted over and over again, as well as some mentions of a star filled sky and other stuff like that. The encore outfits are very idol-like, with frills and wispy sleeves and feather-y headbands and all sorts of stuff. This song’s verses don’t feel very Team B, but the chorus definitely enforces that this is a Team B song xD

I like this song a lot. It’s my favourite song from the Encore. It’s very colorful, with flashing colorful lights and all sorts of stuff.

Next is Yokohama– no wait. Yokosuka Curve. CinDy made the same mistake in an MC segment from this performance xD. It’s another cool feeling Rock song, but honestly, while I’m watching it right now I don’t remember hearing this at all. The chorus is really really dramatic, and the verses do a good job of building up as much ‘suspense’ as a song can build up.

The last song is Arigatou, a rather boring ballad that doesn’t really make me feel anything. It’s like idol music, but I guess it is perfect for an encore. Yeah, I don’t have really anything to say about this. During the interlude, CinDy names the entire cast of this performance, including the research students.

So that’s it, that’s B4. I’ll list my favourite songs now xD Here’s the top 5 for me

1. Kuchiutsushi no Chocolate
2. Kataomoi no Taikakusen
3. Itoshiki Natasha
4. Minnasan mo go Isshou ni
5. B Stars

yeah basically this stage is good enough for me, an AKB rookie, to write over 2000 words about my opinions on it. I hope you enjoyed reading my nonsense rambling about it. And as I said earlier, any comments with help or anything about AKB are perfectly welcome! I’m trying to absorb as much knowledge about it as possible right now

YEEEAH

I miss Mendol though… T_T

But that’s okay because this song is awesome and I like the video.

So anyway, in kindergarten or 1st grade, i liked sailor moon.  It was my favourite cartoon and I drew sailor moon all the time.  Eventually, my sister and I liked it enough to do research on the internet and found out that the cartoon was actually Japanese.  It was kind of a shock, but now I guess it doesn’t faze me at all.

Once we found out that it was Japanese, we learned about the differences between the Japanese and American versions, including the music.  When I was in first grade, the first Sailor Moon American OST came out. I loved it, but as far as I can remember, the original OST didn’t have any japanese themes on it.  The second one on the other hand. . . That one came out when I was in 2nd grade.  The second had 2 Japanese songs from the original Sailor Moon soundtrack.  Moonlight Densetsu and another song called Ai no Senshi.  So I guess my entier history with Japanese Music dates back to Sailor freaking Moon, then.  Wow.

Now, in 3rd grade, I was still into sailor moon, still listened to the two Sailor Moon albums all the time (on a mix tape cause I was cool).  In 3rd grade I was also on my school’s chorus.  It was fun and I liked learning to sing the new songs all the time, but for the ‘arts odyssey’ that we do every spring (which was the bane of my existance all through the middle school), we sang the song “Sakura Sakura,” which is a Japanese folk song.  We probably sang it horribly with a bad accent, but the language was fun, as I’ve always been interested in Foreign languages.

After that, in 5th grade, We discovered that the International Channel played the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z without subtitles.  Since it was the Original, the obviously had the play the theme songs from that time, including ‘Cha-La Head-Cha-La.’  Needless to say, that song became a bit of a joke to me and my family.

From then on, I heard bits of japanese music sparingly through anime until 8th grade, when I focused on one anime: Mermaid Melody PichiPichi Pitch.

Yeah, I watched girly anime apparently.

Point of the story, That show is based on its insert songs.  I liked those songs, so as a result I got into Japanese Music again.  I got over Japanese sounding silly or strange and just listened for the music.  It’s sorta how i listen to it now. I’m not like a lot of people who think that if they can’t understand something then it automatically means that they’re against America.

Anyway, shortly after I liked MM:PPP, I became friends with Wendy.  Then I became friends with someone who likes Kingdom Hearts pairings.  They had an AMV made of Roxas and that Olette, and the song that went with it was Love is Forever by Tommy february6, and I fell in love with that song.  Not even kidding, I love that song even today.  That artist is what really got me into Japanese Music as a whole.  I was basically obsessed with Tommy music for a good 5 months, when I made one click.

A click that changed my life, and if it weren’t for that click, I wouldn’t be writing this post here today.  I clicked on Matsu wa by W.  I immediately fell in love with W, and mistook them for twins, originally.  Through them, I was introduced to H!P, Morning Musume and idols.  I can’t imagine where i’d be without all of that.  So, thanks to that song, on December 12, 2006, I became a fan of H!P and idols.

Through these idols I learned about AKB48 and all sorts of other things, and then I learned about International Wota and that crowd. So I started a blog.  AND HERE I AM TODAY.

Interesting, wasn’t it?

~Max

Apparently every AKB48 member I start to genuinely like graduates.  It started back when I was just scratching the surface of the AKB world, and now it’s just kind of. . . it’s too hard to talk about ;-;

It all started with Komatani Hitomi.  I had just delved into the AKB48 world, didn’t understand how it worked, knew nothing about anything.  I knew they released music and that they had a ton of people.  Granted, Hello! Project has quite a few of their own, but the way this worked it just seemed like so much. . . So I decided to just pick a first favourite member out of the sea of faces that was AKB48.  My face happened to be Komatani Hitomi, aka Hiichan. 

Unfortunately for Hiichan, she’d never really been in much; she was only in 2 A-sides and got very few solo lines in stages, as far as I know.  But one thing I did know about her:  she’s drop dead gorgeous, she’s a Morning Musume fan (lol irony) and she looks a helluva lot like Michishige Sayumi (who also happens to be her favourite in MoMusu)  so I liked her D:

When I found out she was going to graduate back in, what, October?  I was heart broken.  I decided it would take me a while to get back into AKB, but when I did I still sought out Hiichan.  She may have left, but she was still my favourite.  Then when I started to get over her, I decided to start my love of AKB in a new way: watch a random team’s stage and pick favourites based on that.  The first stage I watched was B3 ~Pajama Drive~, and from this I picked a new favourite: Matsuoka Yuki aka Matsuyuki

I’m not 100% sure why I picked her as my favourite.  Could it be her looks?  Her straight hair?  Who knows.  I just liked her and she was in my second favourite shuffle song in B3.  As far as I know she didn’t do much, either.  She wasn’t in any A-sides and since she was in Team B she only got 3 stages to show what she was made of.

CK told me, however, that she was going to graduate on February 1st during the last performance of B3, so I decided to pick a second, backup favourite.  That favourite was Noguchi Reina, aka Gussan.

Gussan was my third favourite.  She was in my 3rd favourite song from B3, Tenshi no Shippo, but not much else.  So i figured that she’d stick around for a while, right?  She’s young (only a year younger than me) and I was sure she’d get chances in the future to get on a single A-side or something like that.  Wrong.

I log onto Intl wota and find out that she has graduated from Where’s Natsuki?.  I was so sad D:  3 favourites, gone over the course of a few months.  Now I’ve already picked a new favourite, and she’d better not let me down.

I’m rooting for you, Yukirin!

This isn’t a review, necessarily, but I will be going through the album track by track.  Let’s start at the begining, with Polyrhythm.

Polyrhythm

This song is pretty good, but I’m still deciding where exactly it falls in my favourites for Perfume.  I really like the beginning lines which are slow and lead up to the first chorus.  It gives the song a more climactic and dramatic feel.  Parts of the instrumental make me think of Katamari Damacy music. . . maybe Perfume should do a song on the next Katamari Damacy soundtrack? That game’s notorious for having amazing soundtracks, so Perfume would fit in fine.  But that’s another note >.>

I also really like the repeat parts in the middle of the song, which then lead back into the slow build up bits.

Here’s the PV for your viewing pleasure!

Plastic Smile

this song is is pleasant, but a little repetitive in my opinion.  It doesn’t seem like they go anywhere from the beginning, except adding a stronger bass part.  Unfortunately, the stronger bass also kind of drowns out the vocals, so This song kind of passes through my head when I listen to it.  It’s a pleasant song, overall, and I could definitely see it being played in a movie or something.  Maybe if I ever get around to writing a movie, it’ll be in the soundtrack. . . But that’s for another time.

GAME

This song gave me a headache when I first heard it, but if you listen to it a few more times it gets a little better.  It comes off a little strong after the cutesy feel of plastic smile, and the guitar that starts in the beginning doesn’t really fit the song.  The vocals are a little strange and are a little more scary feeling for Perfume.  Granted, I don’t actually know what they’re saying, but it kind of has the same feel as some of the early Tommy heavenly6 (especially +gothic pink+ ) work with a more techno feel.  Out of the entire album, this is the only song I really dislike, but I’m sure it has it’s fans out there somewhere.

Baby cruising Love

This is where the album really starts to pick up.  The song kind of starts slow, like polyrhythm, but when it picks up, the lyrics stay slow, which kind of gives the song a nice moderate pace that I like.  I also happen to LOVE techno that includes piano, which is only another plus to this album for me.  The PV for this song is great, too, if you haven’t seen it.

I really like the parts where they draw with the lights

Chocolate Disco

When I first started listening to Perfume, this was one of my favourite songs.  It’s very repetitive, but unlike plastic smile, you can actually hear what they’re saying.  The song is almost sickeningly cute, but it’s from a single called ‘Fan Service ~Sweet~’ right? The dance is adorable and sometimes I fake dance along with it.  Usually I just nod my head happily along with the song, though, because I try to avoid looking completely ridiculous in public.

Here’s the PV, for you who haven’t heard the song or seen the PV yet:

Macaroni

This song has almost a funk or jazz feel to it, like some of the earlier Morning Musume; that jazz feel has been known to make me sleepy on several occasions.  The song is pleasant and I guess feels like the standard ballad song for every album.  Usually after I listen to this I can be heard saying ‘ma ma macaroni’ at random points, but the song sticks to you I guess.  It’s a pleasant song like plastic smile, but it’s definitely more memorable.

Ceramic Girl

This song is kind of poppy and wakes you up after the brief slowdown with Macaroni.  My favourite parts of this one are the verses, ironically, as I usually favour the choruses of songs.  The instrumental of this song seems to pop at you, too, which I like.  I can only imagine a PV for this one–all I can think of is the perfume girls in greyscale walking around a world where green and yellow and red and blue paint is being splattered around their footsteps.  That’d be a fun PV!

Take me Take me

This song reminds me of the first few tracks on this Daft Punk album my sister bought when I was really little.  I’m not sure why, but it also reminds me of dark chocolate–like it could be a commercial song for some luxurious dark chocolate bar in Japan.  Do it, perfume! Do it! Now! xD  I like this song, like the rest of them and the vocals remind me of a doll or something.   It’s vaguely creepy but a nice song.

Secret Secret

This song is amazing.  It was my first Perfume song, and I immediately fell in love with it.  The beginning has kind of a ripple feeling and then the chorus is like, the peak, but since the chorus is in there so much, it peaks a lot.  Perfume songs are generally subdued, but this is one of the only Perfume songs that really gets me going and excited and happy; it’d be great for a pick-me-up playlist.

Once again, here’s the PV for those of you who haven’t heard or seen it yet:

Butterfly

When this song first started on my iTunes, I was immediately confused by it.  I think when I first heard the album it was too late for me to be really coherent as to what the song actually was and the music really became just background music, but as I’m listening to this right now, it immediately thought of like, a boss battle from an RPG, particularly one in a jungle setting.  You can hear some tribal instruments and stuff in the actual song, and the vocals add to the feeling othat this song is being played in the jungle or an RPG.  One thing that really confuses me is when they say Butterfly; it sounds like a train is going past or something.  The song picks me up in the same way as Secret Secret, so that’s another reason why I like it.

Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow

TWINKLE SNOW~!  This might just be my favourite song on the album.  Everything about it just oozes cute, especially the name.  I want to be in a store and have this come on the radio, or something.  It’d make me really happy.  I don’t know exactly why this is my favourite song, but it definitely is up there.  It’s like i heard it and it immediatly became my favourite.

Puppy love

When I told Amy of Merry-go-Round I was going to blog about this album, I was afraid why she was so excited for me to hear this, especially after the cracktastic song ‘puppy love’ off of Kusumi Koharu’s recent album, but this song is really nice.  It doesn’t have a similar flow to other perfume songs on the album, but it definitely does have the technopop sound that their other songs have.  The flow seems a little more similar to an album song from Morning Musume or C-ute, but either way I really like it.

After listening to this album, I can say I really hope to see a lot more music from Perfume, especially songs that sound like Puppy love or Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow.

Until next time,
Max

Some non-H!P music I listen to is Otsuka Ai, Perfume, AKB48, etc. There’s others but fuck you I don’t want to list stuff.

Oops. Snark.

ANYWAYS

YEAH

THIS BLOG WILL BE PRETTY BITCHIN HACKIN’ COOL.

Expect cool shit in the future. Or something.

…Max, help me out here.

___________________________

Hey thar it’s Max! ;D

This is Mine and Wendy’s Non-H!P blog, because we do listen to artists other than Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou and C-ute.  Lots of others.

We’ll try to be active and post about groups like AKB48, Perfume, Ikimono Gakari, Otsuka Ai, and everyone we can think of.

Please be sure to follow our blog!

Thanks,

Max + Wendy