So this week's MDM is a little dark. Not like "UZA is a dark song" kind of dark, but in actual lyrics and themes lol. It's just the type of songs that first came to mind for this week.
Track #1: Within Temptation - Angels
This isn't an unknown song by any meaning of the word, but because it's over 10 years old I think it's okay to put here lol. I remember being in late elementary/early middle school & a good friend of mine showed me this song. I was into rock music at the time and this was really the first symphonic rock track I'd heard and it just blew me away. Even though I'm not too into rock nowadays, symphonic rock will always be something I go back to. It's just beautifully powerful music.
Track #2: Halsey - Control
I had been hearing about Halsey for the past few weeks and hadn't had any reason to check her out until a couple days ago. The reason is kind of stupid I guess but any reason to find a new song is a good one lol. I follow a certain Dragon Age blog on Tumblr & they posted a text graphic gif thing with some lyrics from this song and I thought that the lyrics were cool so I looked them up. I wasn't too sure what I thought of the song at first but now I really like it. It's composed in a way that you feel what the mind of the singer is going through. So cool.
Track #3: Akina Nakamori - Jukkai
I've been looking around everywhere for 80s Jpop playlists & videos because I find myself so interested in exploring lately. Came across this song last week on a playlist on 8Tracks & I really like it. I don't know if it's "dark" like the other songs as I can't speak Japanese, but it does have that UZA feel to it. I've read good things about Akina Nakamori before so I definitely need to check out more of her material. Anyone got any suggestions?
For the longest time I ignored the other Up-Front groups. Not because I was intentionally avoiding them, but because everything that I had heard from groups like Up Up Girls & The Possible were just bland. Then came Bijou no Yajuu. I was hearing good things about it on forums and decided to check it out. I couldn't believe that a group that seemed so bland before had gotten SO good. I bought the album as soon as I could because I was shocked. I don't very often buy things on whims but this was an exception. I was hoping that the album would be as good as Bijou, and I wasn't disappointed.
Track #1, Beautiful Dreamer: This isn't the strongest song to start out an album with personally. The verses skirt the lines between typical idol track and not which is an interesting combination; however, the chorus just dives straight into the usual guitar driven idol pop stuff. The rap is also very out of place with the music of the track. It's a grab bag of a song and doesn't really come together for me. 3/5.
Track #2, Kira Kira Mirai: I don't really like rock music much anymore beyond a few songs. Now, this song isn't really rock, it's more of an idol pop/rock fushion thing, but it's just not my style of music. I do like how the vocals are layered in the chorus though. I will say that it does the idol pop/rock thing better than most others. 3.5/5.
Track #3, Up & Up!: This is the first of several EDM tracks on the album. What I love about this track is that it sounds like it would fit in extremely well on American radio....well, at least it would if they were singing in English and were a solo singer (as girl groups don't tend to do well in the States). It's a very fun track. I love how it goes from the hard electro beat into the electric piano led verses. It's really quite neat. Up Up Girls does best with hard EDM tracks like this. 5/5.
Track #4, Enjoy!! Enjo(y)!: This is a great song to follow Up & Up. It's another EDM track, but it's more on the electronic side than the pop side like Up & Up is. It just feels like a good flow between the songs. However, I'm not the biggest fan of the song. I like the music of it, but the way it's sung bothers me. It's not the autotune, it just sounds like in some parts they were trying to make their voices sound a certain way with the music and it just sounds really disconnected. I don't know how to describe it better than that. 3.5/5.
Track #5: Nijiiro Mosaic: Whenever I see the word 'mosaic' anymore I can't help but think of Dragon Age Inquisition lol. I know that probably doesn't mean anything to most, but it's amusing to me lol. If you enjoyed Beautiful Dreamer, it's likely you'll enjoy this song as well. They both have the typical idol track sound with a slight amount of the Up Up Girls style. I think this is better than Beautiful Dreamer, but my issue with the songs are the same. 3.5/5.
Track #6: Zenryoku! Pump Up!!: Did I say that Bijou no Yajuu first piqued my interest in Up Up Girls in the intro? Well I was kinda half lying. Bijou no Yajuu was the first song to really make me want to look into more Up Up Girls music and was the catalyst behind buying this album, but Zenryoku was the first song that made me think that Up Up Girls could possibly be interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't follow up on my original curiosity. Zenryoku is a good example of the EDM I'd like to see Morning Musume tackle. 5/5.
Track #7, Itadaki wo Mesazu!: When I started this song, I wondered why I had only played it once. It's the type of song I adore, a catchy EDM track. It's problem is in the placement. Right after Zenryoku & right before Be Your Soul & Bijou no Yajuu. Now that I'm reminded of it's existence I'll have to play it more lol. The song is a nice blend of the EDM from the album and songs like Beautiful Dreamer which are more on the pop side. 4.5/5.
Track #8, (Kakko Kari) wa Kaesuze Be Your Soul: When I first got the album, I figured that Bijou no Yajuu would be the song I'd play the most, but it wasn't. Somehow, this song beat it out. It's only weird to me because I had played this song on YouTube out of curiosity when it was released and didn't think anything of it. I must have not been paying attention because this is the best song on the album. It's very catchy and another kind of song I'd like to hear MM do. If you don't have time to listen to an entire album, I recommend at least checking this one out. 5/5.
Track #9, Bijou no Yajuu: It's not often I find Japanese music "powerful". Not powerful as in moving, but powerful as in how Demi Lovato's Confident is powerful. A certain feeling of the song that just hits you when you first listen to it. Maybe the better word I'm thinking of is instant but that doesn't fully describe what's in my head either. Any way, this song is just under Be Your Soul in how amazing it is. I'm sure at this point in the album for some people, they're a little tired because it is pretty much one hard hitting EDM track after another; but for me, even nine songs into the album songs like this keep me pumping. Too many albums crowd their ballads and weaker tracks near the end so this album is a welcome change. 5/5.
Track #10, Jumper!: My first thought when hearing this song was DDR. It reminds me a lot of some of the older DDR stuff my friend used to show me (I've never played it xD) It's almost like an updated version of some of those songs which makes it a lot of fun to listen to. There's a lot of energy in this song and I bet that it's a concert favorite. 4.5/5.
Track #11, Runway: Out of all of the songs on the album, I think this is the most "Western" EDM style. I could really imagine it being on American radio. If it was by Calvin Harris or Zedd with someone like Ellie Goulding no one would think of it being from a Japanese idol group. Of the EDM tracks on the album, this isn't one of my favorites, but it's definitely a good track. 4/5.
Track #12, Kono Melody wo Kimi to: Is it just me or does this sound like a rehash of Beautiful Dreamer? Maybe it's just me but I was positive I'd heard this earlier in the album. With that said, it is among my least favorite songs on the album. It's too idoly of an EDM track for my taste. Although I said that about Ima Koko Kara & now I love it. Well everyone by now should know that I rate music extremely subjectively (really that's everyone...you can't rate music objectively xD) and am biased towards certain styles/groups/whatever lol. 3/5.
Track #13, Party! Party!: For a song called Party Party, I don't think this is much of a party song though lol. It is a good way to end the album. It's a happy song that leaves a good impression on the listener when finishing up the last of the actual songs. My only real gripe about the song is that it's much too long. 5 minutes for a happy dance pop song is a little overkill. 4/5.
Track #14, Zenryoku! Pump Up! (Ultra Mix): Just a remix
Track #15, Starry Night (y0c1e Remix): Just a remix. The original song was released as a single & is on their previous album.
Whenever I listen to this album in full I always regret not looking into Up Up Girls earlier. Prior to this year (well, really prior to my liking of Galette), I tended to view everything not from H!P or the 48s as not worthy to check out besides a small few (idol groups/singers, not people like Namie or Utada, I'd listened to them before the 48s) and I was wrong. Yes there's a lot of boring idol pop crap stuff out there (including in the 48s), but there's also a lot of stuff that's interesting to at least check out. For an EDM fan like myself, Up Up Girls' album is perfect and I hope they continue to release such great material. 4/5.
I think I was right about the past couple weeks being a lull in releases because this week was back to form with lots of new stuff!
Track #1: Demi Lovato - Confident
Unfortunately there's no video of this on YouTube so it's just a Spotify link. Sorry to those of you who don't use Spotify! This is a promo song from Demi's upcoming album of the same name. It is a powerful track with a lot of attitude and very catchy. I personally think it's better than Cool For The Summer. Demi's new album, Confident, releases October 16th.
Track #2: Yuu Kikkawa - Wild Strawberry
When did Kikka get so good? Seriously, the past couple of songs she's put out have been outstanding. This is probably my favorite one yet. It's like the took the good part of Hana and made it into an actual full length song. I hope that the other new songs on her album are as good. Her third album, You the 3rd (Wildflower), releases on October 14th.
Track #3: Tsubaki Factory - Seishun Manmannaka!
This song is finally on YouTube and I'm so happy I could scream. This is Hello! Project's newest group and this is their first indies release, or as I like to call it "the best debut song ever released by anyone in H!P in my completely biased opinion" lol. I do really love this song and it is so sad I can't buy it anywhere. I keep hoping that a copy of the indies single will pop up on ebay or that H!P would be kind and put it on iTunes. I'd even buy it off of E-Lineup & figure out how to use the dang site if they'd put it up, but alas....it hasn't happened yet. I really hope they keep this style. To me it's kind of like an EDM/Nogizaka46 mashup. I love it. Seishun Manmannaka! was released on September 6th in limited venues in Japan.
I apologize that this is a day late....I've been a little busy.
Track #1: Wonder Girls - Loved
I've been wanting to put up another song from Reboot, but I didn't want it to be one that I've seen people constantly fawning over. I think this is a good example of a fantastic song that's overshadowed by other fantastic songs on an album. Just like the other songs on Reboot, this is an 80s-styled track. It's more of a midtempo than an uptempo though, similar to I Feel You.
Track #2: Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku - Kindan no Karma
For those who may not have heard of them before, Shiritsu is a Stardust group, a sister group of Momoiro Clover Z and Team Syachihoko. This is the group of the three that I am least familiar with through no fault but my own. I haven't taken the time to look up their music and actually only own this because of CDJapan having it really cheap during a sale. I love that "dark" feel of the song. I'd like to see more Stardust groups do songs like this.
Track #3: Sanae Yokota - Fantasy Night
I just want to throw this out there: I beg of you. Anyone who might come across this. If you know of anywhere I can get a copy of her Summer Breeze CD PLEASE let me know! I've been trying to delve into 80s Jpop recently (thanks to the 80s stylings of the Wonder Girls' album) and I came across this song and I absolutely adore it. I'm so upset that I can't really find any good information on her/her album. I wonder if the other songs are as good as this. Oh, another thing to throw out there: if anyone knows any great 70s-80s J-pop that they want to share please do! I want to discover more!
Unfortunately there's only one entry this week.....I can't think of anyone else that's even released something this week. If anyone's got some good new releases from this week, please comment!
Track #1: NMB48 - Must Be Now
I'm still shocked that they uploaded this to YouTube lol. I was very iffy on the song when I first heard it. I had been waiting for another EDM track from 48G, but the overuse of autotune (especially on Sayanee's voice....she's too good a singer for it) initially turned me off. However, when they uploaded the full version I became addicted. I love how they're trying something totally different with Senbatsu. I hope the other 48 groups follow suit & switch things up. Must Be Now releases October 7th.
Came across this gem the other day. I know it's not really "unknown", but it only has 7 million views and for a Western artist's video that's pretty low. I absolutely adore this track. It describes the introvert's life at parties perfectly lol. Not to mention her voice is stellar.
This song kept coming up on shuffle while listening to music and it just clicked that it would be the perfect song to feature here. I really have no idea what's going on with this group. They were gone for the longest time, then came back early last year and then fell off the map again. Generasia says they're promoting in China and are down two members but I haven't heard that anywhere else so I don't know if that's true or not. If you've been a K-pop fan for a few years, it's likely you may have heard of this video. It was viewed as a pretty terrible video and it got attention on forums for that, but not for the song itself. The song is one of the greatest K-pop songs released to date and it's disappointing that it didn't receive much attention beyond a silly video mentioned in a couple forums. The song is a super catchy EDM track. If you enjoyed the Swan.B song from a couple of weeks ago, this is in that vein.
If any song from Britney's latest album should have been a single, it's this one. It's always been a little sad to me that Britney Jean flopped like it did. In my opinion it's one of her better albums. The dance breaks in the choruses alone make this song one of my all time favorite Britney tracks.
Is it just me or have the last two weeks been bland for new releases? There's either been nothing or very average songs. I guess this is just the downtime in between periods of massive releases.
Track #1: 2Eyes - Pippi
I feel bad that their company might be facing a lawsuit over this song. Although it was kind of stupid on the company's part that they did make sure that there would be repercussions for using the Pippi name. If they had just done the look there likely wouldn't have been an issue, but I can understand why using the name might cause issues. The song itself is pretty catchy. I didn't like what they had come out with before, and while this doesn't compare to the other girl group songs of this year, it's leaps and bounds ahead of their other material. Pippi was released on August 15th.
SM Entertainment's newest girl group. They seem like a young f(x) with their new comeback, which is totally fine with me because f(x) is the best of the SM groups. This song is a bit scatter-brained but insanely catchy. I've had the "dumbdumbdumbdumb" beat stuck in my head all day. Their first full album, The Red, released September 9th.
Happy Labor Day to all those in the US! I hope everyone who has the day off is enjoying themselves!
Track #1: Wanna.B - Attention
Now these are some girls who really need some Attention! I know...I know...I'm so sorry but I couldn't not write that lol. In all seriousness, Wanna.B is a six member K-pop girl group that debuted in late 2014. They currently have two releases, this song and a single called My Type. This song is a lot like Little Mix's Salute except more dancey than powerful. If I were to compared this song to a K-pop group, I think it would make a great Nine Muses release.
Another case of why hasn't this singer become a thing yet. Her music is so catchy and awesome! It irritates the heck out of me that I can't buy her songs in the US. I don't get why record companies don't release all their stuff everywhere. It's like they're practically begging people to illegally download it because they can't get it legitimately. Ranting on the stupidity of the music industry aside, even though Amelia's discography is super small, I had a hard time picking which of her songs to post here. I settled on this one because it's such a feel good track. The lyrics portray a girl who's lost her man to another woman so it's not really a feel good track, but the sound of the music is just so summery and catchy.
Track #3: Vicci Martinez - Come Along (ft. Cee-lo Green)
If there's any song that I feel should have smashed, this is that song. It's unfortunate that most of the contestants on singing competitions nowadays don't get much recognition. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Her voice & the lyrics just mesh so well with the music. It's not a full on pop song like most of the songs I feature here, but is a slower R&B tinged track. I actually found out a couple of weeks ago that this is actually a cover. It was devastating to hear that (I don't hate covers, but I adore this song so much and was incredibly disappointed that it wasn't an original) and even more devastated when looking up the original track and hearing it. Personally, I think the original is terrible. So, my opinion, ignore the original, and love this.
I'd like to preface this post by saying that I have no idea what happened to K-pop this summer. The past 2 & 1/2 years for K-pop was just dire (except for a couple releases), but all of a sudden this summer, BOOM. The K-pop industry is on fire again & the music is great. It's mind boggling to me. Of course there's still a lot of clunkers, but the amount of good songs this summer far outweigh the bad. I'm curious to see if this will continue through the rest of the year.
Okay. So I wouldn't call MFBTY K-pop necessarily, but this song fits in my whole "wow this summer!" theme for this post. This song is a song for a freaking BASEBALL TEAM. It's essentially a cheer song/advertisement but holy crap is it insanely good or what! Easily one of the best songs of the summer. Even if you're not into K-pop I suggest checking this song out. You won't regret it. Blazing was released on August 12th.
Track #2: Hyuna - Because I'm The Best (Roll Deep) (ft. Ilhoon)
I have a very love/hate relationship with Hyuna. I'm not a big fan of her videos but every lead song she releases is SO good. Every single time she releases a new single, I listen to it once & think that it isn't good, but then I can't stop going back to them. This song was like that. I listened to it at first and didn't care for it at all, but the next time I played it, it hit me. She's one of the very few K-pop stars that I think can actually pull off the whole "sexy" theme. Her new mini album, A+, released on August 21st.
Track #3: Kobushi Factory - Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan
I'm still iffy on my feelings about this song, but I think they deserve a little release week promo! Kobushi Factory is Hello! Project's newest major debuted group & have just released their first single. If you're more into the pop rock type of J-pop, this is right up your alley. Their first single, Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan/Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta/Nen ni wa Nen released on September 2nd.
