Saturday, April 25, 2015

Asuka Kuramochi - Itsumo Soba ni

So I don't fully understand why she got a solo debut. From what I know it was some horse race betting....thing? This was before I got into AKB48 and I don't know of such an event nowadays so what exactly WAS this? I can't really find much about the event in English.

The title track of this release is Itsumo Soba ni. To be honest, the only reason I bought this CD was because it was only $4 on a CDJapan sale....not because I particularly liked the release. I don't think I'd even heard the song before purchasing it. I don't regret buying it because I'm trying to collect all of the AKB & AKB-affliated songs out there, but the song doesn't appeal to me very much. It's a standard idol pop midtempo/ballad (it feels inbetween the two to me). What does really stand out though is her voice. It's very nice sounding. I've never viewed many of the AKB girls in a favorable light when it comes to vocal ability, but Asuka isn't bad. Good even I'd say. I can't say that I enjoy the music video (because it's a very typical J-pop MV), but the skyline shots are so pretty. Asuka also really looks like an older version of Ryoha Kitagawa from SKE48 (or I guess, Ryoha looks like a younger version of her xD). 3/5.

Itsumo Soba ni MV

The first of the two coupling tracks is Guuzen no Mikata. Really this song seems like just a continuation from the title track. I'm thinking that I'd never truly enjoy any song done solo by Asuka. Her vocals really do fit this type of music and this is absolutely the direction she should have if she releases any more solo stuff, but it's just not my kind of music. 3/5.

Sorry about this not being the full actual track....Japanese songs aren't easy to find to listen to on the internet.

Guuzen no Mikata Instrumental

The second of the coupling tracks is actually an AKB48 cover, Himawari. It's a little sad that the most upbeat song of the single is just a cover. Her vocals fit very well with it though. 3.5/5.

Again, couldn't find her version online, but here is the AKB48 version.

Himawari (AKB48 Boku no Taiyou stage)

Honestly, this single isn't for me. I don't regret the purchase cause it was cheap and goes toward my collection, but if it wasn't AKB related I would never have given any of the songs a passing glance. If you're really into the slower, more mellow J-pop stuff, then this release is for you. 3/5.

Teen Top - Teen Top Class Addition

I don't think I've mentioned much music by male artists on here have I? In fact, I think this might be my first post dedicated to male artists. I don't know why, but I generally prefer female singers over male ones. Just personal preference. I used to be quite into K-pop male groups (for obvious reasons....grew out of it a few years ago), but I still keep tabs on some of them. Teen Top being one.

Track #1, Lovefool: This is the repackage's lead track. Up to the point of this song's release, I found all of their title tracks pretty spectacular for a boy group. This song doesn't reach those heights for me. The reason is that it's just not really my kind of song. It's a sweet midtempo of the generic K-pop variety. I just think it's boring honestly. 3/5.

Track #2, Rocking: As this album came out the year after I stopped following K-pop passionately, I didn't listen to their title track from this album until a little while after it was released. I regretted that decision to let it sit in my 'Watch Later' list on YouTube. I really love this track and it's probably my second favorite Teen Top song (most favorite being Miss Right). It reminded me a lot of the EDM-Kpop stuff of 2010-2012 that I got into Kpop for. 5/5.

Track #3, Don't I: This was like the pre-release single right? It sounds like it was but I can't remember at the moment. Not certain if it's just my speakers/headphones or the fact that I'm really tired & not fully focused, but does the song sound quiet to anyone else? It sounds like someone forgot to boost the volume of the studio track before sending the CD into production. The song is catchy, but not in a way that will make you remember it after it's over. It's one of those songs that you'll sing/dance along to while it's playing, but then you'll wonder why you were so into it. 3.5/5.

Track #4, Oh! Good: Another song very much like Rocking. You'd assume that because I enjoy Rocking so much, that I'd like this. But that's not the case. Like the song before it, the vocals seem a little muddled. This song also sounds like an updated version of U-Kiss's Binggeul Binggeul...right down to the vocal styles. It's a little annoying to me because U-Kiss used to be one of my all time favorite groups & I overplayed that song to death so I can't separate that song and this one. 3.5/5.

Track #5, Date: Ah, finally got to the token boring K-pop ballad found on every K-pop CD. I don't think there's a K-pop ballad (besides 2NE1 and maybe Chocolat) that I can stand to listen to & enjoy. They all sound the same. Really, they do. 3/5.

Track #6, Rock Star (ft. Maboos): Not a big fan of the style of the verses. The autotuned pieces remind me way too much of T-Pain. The chorus on the other hand was handled well with this type of style. The anthemic style of the chorus is really sing-along. The dubstep-ish bridge doesn't work at all with this song either. I thought that that crazy dubstep trend had subsided in K-pop by the time this was released but I guess not. Their image doesn't really fit the lyrics though...I think at this point in their career they need a name change because Teen Top just sounds silly as the artist for this song. 4/5.

Track #7, Teen Top Class: Pretty much only an outro.

Teen Top Class Addition (Audio):

Even the CDs that I personally own don't help me to think that K-pop hasn't gone down in quality significantly in the past few years. Maybe that's true, maybe K-pop is bad now, maybe I just grew out of my addiction to it besides a song here and there. I don't know. What I do know is that this album is really just one good song surrounding by all mediocre ones. If you are a huge K-pop lover, you'll enjoy this CD. No doubt in my mind. But other than that, it's really just an average album. 3.5/5.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Song Recommendations (April 22, 2015 Edition)

Hi everyone! I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm in the middle of doing presentations, finishing up papers, and all the crazy work that goes along with being in college. I'm guessing that I won't be able to do any actual posts until May so I thought a recommendation post would be fun to do!

David Hasselhoff - True Survivor

Don't judge me for this one lol. I watched it expecting to get a good laugh (which I did), but the song is so awesome. Really excited to see Kung Fury.

Perfume - Pick Me Up

Perfume's always been pretty hit or miss for me, but this is definitely a hit.

EXID - Ah Yeah

I guess K-pop hasn't been completely dire this year. EXID's really been blowing away my expectations.

Bakusute Sotokanda Iccome - Yoropiku Pikuyoro!

I'm not certain if this is the full song or not but it's so catchy and fun.

Emii - Heart In A Box

Just came across this today. I remember loving her song Magic back in....2009-ish? I think. It was awhile ago lol. Pretty catchy song.

Adam Lambert - Ghost Town

So I have a friend that is absolutely OBSESSED with Adam Lambert and I figure I should at least give him a mention for her sake lol. Not 100% sold on the song yet. It's pretty different than what you'll find on his albums, but the beat of the chorus is pretty addicting.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Girls' Generation-TTS (Taetiseo) - Twinkle

I kind of wish that Girls' Generation would do more subgroups. It would be interesting. As for this subgroup, I always had found it curious that they chose Seohyun over Jessica. When I was really into K-pop, they were the three that seemed to be at the forefront of the group. Although, now I guess the exclusion of Jessica makes a little more sense. I also always figured this was going to be a one-off subgroup, until they came back last year to my surprise.

Track #1, Twinkle: Surprisingly, the best song on the album is actually the lead track. Usually for me there is a song on the album that is miles better than what was chosen as the single, but this album certainly features the best choice for the lead track. It's catchy and it really showcases the girls' vocals. One criticism I do have is that this song and the album don't really deviate from the main group's style. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, I personally prefer subgroups to have something about them that really showcases something different than what the main group has to offer. For example, Orange Caramel and After School. After School tends to showcase more mature, sexy tracks while Orange Caramel does funky and crazy. 5/5.

Track #2, Baby Steps: As much as I think their vocals are very nice in this song, it's just a standard K-pop ballad. It's nothing interesting to me. 3/5.

Track #3, OMG (Oh My God): This song is very close to the sound of Twinkle. It's got that jazzy pop sound to it. What I do like about it is that their vocals change key in the second chorus and it really makes the song for me. It doesn't stay in the predictable Twinkle sound, but deviates enough to make it really stand out as its own song. 5/5.

Track #4, Library: Ugh. Songs about libraries (not really but yeah xD).....if I ever have to deal with a library again it'll be too soon. I have five large papers due at the end of the semester (of which three are 10+ pages) and I've been spending so much time on the university library's website requesting articles and researching. Blah. Avoiding it with this xD Even though the song is reminding me off all of the work I'm putting off, it's a very nice song. It still sounds exactly like something the full group would release, but that doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable song. Taeyeon's voice really carries this subunit's songs. It's just very pleasant to listen to. 4/5.

Track #5, Good-Bye Hello: I swear I've heard this song before. I'm also pretty sure that I have the other song that reminds me of it, but I can't remember the name. The music of the song is from something but I just can't place it. I think it's an old song. In SNSD's discography, it reminds me a of a mix between Lazy Girl and Vitamin. It's a really feel good song. 4/5.

Track #6, Love Sick: Another very standard K-pop ballad. Nothing really stands out about it besides their vocals. 3/5.

Track #7, Checkmate: What I appreciate about this song is that it's an upbeat one without the jazzy pop sound. It's good to have some variety in a mini album like this. That being said, it's not as great as either Twinkle or OMG. It does serve as a great ending track though. Especially with the cheering parts in the song. 4/5.

Twinkle (Audio):

For the subgroup's first offering, it's very good. Again, I still would have liked to see a deviation from the SNSD style in at least one song on the album. To me, these songs sound like they would fit perfectly on any SNSD album. 4/5.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Song Recommendations (April 11, 2015 Edition)

Who's ready for some new music to discover! I know I am. If anyone knows any good songs that I haven't covered at all feel free to leave them in the comments & I might feature them! :)

EXO - El Dorado

When I heard everyone gushing over this track, I was positive that it wasn't as good as people were saying. I generally don't trust K-pop fans (especially boy group fans) on the quality of a group because being a fan of something can really blind you (case in point: me & H!P xD). So I was bored and looked this up for the heck of it and fell in love. I haven't been impressed with EXO since their debut and this is just so much better than that.

GEM - Oh Boy

This is actually kind of older, but I was going through my liked videos a couple days ago and came across this. It reminded me how wonderful of a song this is. This is Chinese pop.

Alyson Stoner - Pretty Girls

Not really sold on the lyrical content, but wow she really stepped it up with this single. The beat is awesome and her voice sounds so much better than it did in Dragon.

X21 - Shoujo X

I really wish that the full video of this would be uploaded on YouTube....Jpopsuki is too slow to use on a regular basis. Absolutely stunning song though. Wasn't expecting it from them.

Fairies - Kiss Me Babe

Love these girls. Hope they put out another album this year.

Enjoy!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Chocolat - I Like It

This review hurts a little bit to write. I'm still devastated that Chocolat is gone. I'm almost positive that they've disbanded even though I'd like to hold out a little hope that their company might surprise us, but I doubt it. I very rarely get super attached to any group because I realize that it isn't forever and I actually find it pretty exciting when groups lose members/disband (I'm weird, I know....but it's also one of the reasons that I like the graduation system of J-pop....the first thing I do everyday is see if any girls announced a graduation xD), but I really grew to love this group and it's so sad that they never released a lot of music. The music industry is a cruel place.

For those who might not know who Chocolat is, they were a K-pop group that debuted in 2011 with the concept of having some members being half-Korean. Their original members for their first digital single "Syndrome" were Min Soa, Jaeyoon, Julianne, Melanie, and Tia. Julianne, Melanie, and Tia are all half Korean with Min Soa and Jayoon being fully Korean. After the release of their first single, Jaeyoon left the group; leaving them as a four piece. They came back with this mini album at the end of 2011. In early 2012 they re-released one of the songs on this CD as a single and recorded a video for it. It wasn't until 2013 that they released another single, Black Tinkerbell, and haven't been heard from since. They were supposed to be adding another girl, Lori, to the group, but I don't know if that was ever official.

Track #1, I Like It: The absolute best song of their small discography. I had enjoyed Syndrome when it first came out, but when I heard the live performance of this song, I fell in love with a group for the first time. For me, loving a group means that I have to get every release as soon as it comes out. I hadn't been like that with any group before (this was before I really got into Hello! Project/48G). It's still probably one of the greatest K-pop songs of all time. Too great to be ignored like it is. I do listen to the English version more often though (for obvious reasons). 5/5.

Track #2, Haruman Deo (Same Thing To Her/One More Day): Now this is the type of midtempo/ballad I love. It's sung well and you can feel the emotion in their vocals. Even the random rap in the middle fits. I really like how they got a male rapper to feature in the song. Still tragic that they didn't get any recognition when this song was re-released. This is the type of song that would be huge today, especially with the video and choreography. 5/5.

Track #3, Shireo Shireo (World Domination/Hate Hate): Another really fantastic song. It's got the attitude of the title track but isn't as electro-Kpop (making up subgenres here xD). Not really certain why the company calls it "World Domination" though. I've always wondered about that. 5/5.

Neomaneul Bogo Neomaneul Geurineun (In A Heartbeat/Only See You, Only Think Of You): Probably my least favorite song in their discography. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great song, but when you have a discography as strong as Chocolat does, even good songs can feel mediocre. It's very well sung. I still find it difficult to believe that Melanie and Tia were only about 15 when this was released. Their vocals are stellar. 4/5.

I Like It (English Verson): I adore that this song is in English. When I was in high school I used to imagine myself performing this song in front of my school as kind of a "screw you" kind of thing xD I know, I'm a dork lol. The English lyrics actually aren't horrible. Sometimes when there's English versions of K-pop songs the lyrics are kind of wonky in some places. 5/5.

I Like It (Audio):

To be honest, I'm probably really overselling this mini album. I'm incredibly biased towards this group and to be fair a lot of what is on the album is your typical K-pop fare. I do recommend checking them out for yourself though so you can decide if I'm crazy or join me in my fangirlism xD 5/5.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

C-ute - Meguru Koi no Kisetsu

I was so positive I did a post on this before. I'm still confused that I didn't see it while looking back. I know I couldn't have done it on the old blog because I didn't own the CD then. I don't know....well, if for some reason I'm THAT tired that I completely missed it even after searching the title and turning up no results, just tell me & I'll delete one.

I believe I've mentioned before how to me early C-ute was very average. Most of their songs from their early stage are meh, but this one is an exception. It's really not one of the kinds of songs I would attach to, but the chorus is so catchy that it's hard not to love it. Sometimes I just sing the song title in my head because it's that much of an earworm. It'a also crazy how good Airi's voice is even back then. H!P really struck talent gold with her. And Maimi's annoying voice wasn't that difficult to listen to back then! I don't dislike Maimi, but her vocals are grating. She has a very unpleasant tone and every live I've seen of them she seems very off on the notes she's supposed to hit. With the video, I'm surprised that people complain about the videos we get NOW. At least they're attempting to do different sets and colors and other stuff, but this video is pretty much just them dancing in front of badly painted backdrops in a white room. I guess you could kind of argue that the different props and stuff back then change the feel of the video, but at least nowadays the videos don't look extremely tacky. 4.5/5.

The coupling track for this single is Bishoujo Shinri. For a B-side back then, this is really an incredible track. Maybe that's why I was so confused about writing this up before because I tend to never listen to the B-sides of older H!P singles unless I'm writing a review for them. But this song is very awesome. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but the music reminds me a lot of their newer music. You could take this song, put it on an album in 2015 with updated vocals and it'd still fit their image. 5/5.

For an early C-ute single, this is a pretty stellar package. A very catchy A-side and an incredible B-side as a compliment. 4.5/5.

S/mileage - Samui ne.

I'm so incredibly tired so this might be a very unintelligible post....just a warning. I'm trying to not fall asleep so I'm hoping that this will help, although staring at the white screen is making it worse lol. Can you believe that in November this single will be three years old already? I can't. It's insane. I still kind of miss the name S/mileage. I've gotten very used to calling them by Angerme now though, especially because I pronounce it as "Ange-lume" even though I know that's not correct. I just think it sounds pretty that way.

I used to really dislike this song. I was upset that the music sounded so awesome but the way they were singing ruined it for me. It's no secret that high pitched vocals really annoy me. It's still a little difficult to listen to the song because of the way that they sing, but I like it now. The reason for the turn around? I really started to like Ayaka. I don't know why, but one day I just noticed her & was like "Woah she's such a great asset to the group!" and now she's my second favorite member lol. I've also noticed a major improvement in her vocals (or at least a change in the way she sings) in the past few years. What is truly attractive about the song is the electro beats through it, especially in the dance break bridge. It's so incredible. Probably one of my favorite Tsunku productions. The music video is really nice as well. The only thing I dislike about it is that weird effect with the camera....I can't really explain it but it looks like it's...jumpy? in some parts. Like imagine when you put a VHS on rewind and sometimes the picture flickers...like that....if anyone reading this still knows what VHS tapes are. I'm not sure if it's just a glitch in the upload or if it was intentional, but it's bothersome. 5/5.

The coupling track for this single is Watashi, Choito Kawaii Urabanchou. It translates to "I'm a slightly cute, gang leader in secret" (according to Generasia), and I just find that so adorable. I love that for a title so much. Not the biggest fan of the song itself unfortunately. It's very high energy and cute. It's like a more mediocre Uchouten Love. Though seeing as how it's an H!P song I'll probably end up loving it at some point. It always seems to happen. 3.5/5.

Even with my original hatred of the song, this is now one of my favorite S/mileage singles. I would like if H!P would do a song like this again sometime. 4/5.

AKB48 - Green Flash

I'm very surprised that I'm able to do a review on this already. Usually my newest CDs get buried under the older ones and that's why I review older singles and albums more often. This is AKB's first single of 2015. The "Sakura single" as it has been called. Usually these are my least favorites of the AKB singles. They tend to be slower and uninteresting to me.

The title track of the single is Green Flash. I love the title of this single. It's so unique. From what I know of it, it's some type of weather phenomenon that is fairly rare. My first thoughts on this single was that it was nothing special at all. From the low quality concert rip all I could think of was how slow it was and how the "rap" sounded hilarious. After listening to it again when the video came out, I really began to like it. Even though it's slow, it's not your typical ballad. I won't call the fast talking parts "rapping" because it's really not, but I like how it adds some variety to the song. The violins also really add a nice feeling to the song. For the video, I'll echo the sentiments of everyone else in wondering where the screen time is for Yuki & Haruna. I don't care what the concept is, your centers should be given a nice spotlight in the video. Oh, and running girls for the 10949834857389475x time in a 48G video? I'll pass. 4.5/5.

Green Flash MV

The first B-side from the Type A version is Majisuka Fight. I'm pretty sure there's more B-sides on this single than Kibouteki...it's really starting to get ridiculous. I'm not sure how much longer Oricon's going to let them get away with releasing practically an album full of songs for each single. They've been tightening up restrictions for their charts this year and I'm wondering which will die next: the bazillion versions or the handshake tickets. As for this song, it certainly has nothing on Majisuka Rock N Roll. In fact, I don't think this song sounds like it fits the Majisuka theme at all. It sounds like your typical J-pop song. I assume that the lyrics are more what you'd expect it should be, but I don't know. The music video has the same issue that the video for Majisuka Rock N Roll has. The girls do not suit the concept AT ALL. Almost all of them besides maybe Minami Takahashi & Sayaka Yamamoto look ridiculous and Sakura absolutely does not fit the concept. 3/5.

Majisuka Fight MV

The second B-side of Type A is Haru no Hikari Chikazuita Natsu sung by AKB48. I bought the Type A version specifically for this song. It's really catchy. It kind of reminds me of idol pop mixed with 90s dance music. It's so bright and happy. The video really suits the song. It's so happy and the random people that dance behind them in some scenes are so funny. One thing I've noticed with the past couple of releases is how much screen time Haruka Shimazaki is getting now. Especially with her being summer center single, they must be really pushing for the newer gen girls to lead the group. 5/5.

Haru no Hikari Chikazuita Natsu MV

The third B-side is Yankee Rock found on Type S. Now this song fits the Majisuka theme much better than Majisuka Fight. It's a lot like Majisuka Rock N Roll which is great because I love that song. I still think the girls look absolutely ridiculous in the video though. And I'm pretty sure that there's no school in the world that would be allowed to look like that unless it was in a warzone or something. There's one girl in the video that looks like Meimi Tamura and she's not in enough clips for me to get a good look at her to see who she is. 4/5.

Yankee Rock MV

The fourth B-side is Sekai ga Naiteru Nara by SKE48 and is found on Type B of the single. This song could be so much more than it is. The intro is stunning. On par with the instrumental of Kataomoi Finally....but then going into the sung part of the verse, it just falls flat. The chorus is more like what I was expecting from the song but it's still falls flat. Then again, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about for Kataomoi Finally (the song, not the video...I get why it made an impact with that xD) until I listened to it more, then I fell in love with the song. This has the potential to do that. The video I don't fully understand. Did she murder someone and was placed in a mental institution? Is this like Sucker Punch where she's in the institution the whole time & is imagining everything else? Not sure. Very cool concept though. 4/5.

Sekai ga Naiteru Nara MV

The fifth B-side is Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari and is on the Type N & Theater editions of the single. The song is incredibly boring to me. I may have mentioned before that I rarely like ballads from idol groups and the reason is that I never feel any type of emotion with them. It's like the song is just there. Even with a language barrier you should expect to feel some emotion from the singer. The video on the other hand is just beautiful. I admit I cried. Whoever thought of the concept needs a pay raise. Absolutely beautiful. I don't ever give ratings to videos but this is a special case. 3/5 (for the song) 5/5 (for the video).

Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari MV

The sixth B-side is Punkish by NMB48 and is on the Type N version of the single. Does the song sounds like a punk song? Sure. Is it possible to take it seriously? No. No it's not. I guess that's a little unfair....Sayaka can pull off practically anything. She is one of the most talented of the current 48G girls and sounds/looks incredible in this song. I would love it if it was a Sayaka solo song. The 16 girls singing in unison doesn't work for the song because their vocals mixed together sound too idol for this kind of song. The video has the same problem as the Majisuka videos. Very few of the girls can pull off the concept well enough to make them not look silly. Props to them trying something like this though I guess. 4/5.

Punkish MV

The seventh (!) B-side is Aisatsu Kara Hajimeyou sung by Team 8 and found on the Type H edition of the single. I still find it interesting that they've Kennin'd girls from Team 8 into the main teams. I can't imagine that they're going to keep Team 8 together as a sort of pseudo-sister group. I believe this is more the start of their integration into the normal teams for after they lose the Toyota contract and are forced to back Team 8 smaller. So far Team 8 hasn't interested me with any of their songs. They're the extremely generic idol pop team. This song is no different. It's happy & sugary sweet. Not really my type of song. I really enjoy the video though. I like the concept of using YouTube videos and showcasing little pieces of each prefecture the girls are from. 3.5/5.

Aisatsu Kara Hajimeyou MV

The eighth B-side is Otona Ressha by HKT48 found on the Type H version of the single. The song is a pretty typical HKT48 song. Nothing special, just another generic idol pop track. I admit that I didn't make it through all of the music video. Ten minutes for a music video is just too much. It's supposed to a promotion for your song, not a glorified mini-drama. Honestly, they should just do mini dramas for their DVDs instead of having the music videos so freaking long. It'd probably sell more with both a mini drama and a music video anyway. 3/5.

Otona Ressha MV

The ninth and final B-side of this single is Hatsukoi no Oshibe which is on the theater edition. This single seriously has almost enough songs to make a full album. Ten songs is pretty average for a full length album. The amount of B-sides they have is ridiculous. I love that we get so much music, but it really is cheating the system and I can't afford all of the CD editions so it just has gotten to be a real pain within the past two years. Much like with most of the theater edition tracks, I don't much care for this one. In my experience, theater edition songs tend to be either generic idol pop or ballads. At least it's not completely boring. 3/5.

Hatsukoi no Oshibe (Audio)

All together I'd say this single is a mixed bag of pretty good songs and generic idol pop. Like I've said before, generic idol pop can be great, but most of these sound like the 100th iteration of everything you've heard before. 3.5/5.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Nelly Furtado - Loose

Well this review is way out of left field isn't it haha. Told everyone I was going to review all the CDs I own and gosh darn it I'm going to do it....even if it's a CD I picked up at a thrift store for one particular song and haven't listened to the full CD. Nelly Furtado first came on my radar when this album was already a massive hit. I remember hearing Promiscuous on the radio and having no real idea of what it actually meant. I got that it was about a guy & a girl, but I didn't know what the word meant so obviously the meaning was over my head. This will be another of those really rambling posts as I've never listened to this album before.

Track #1, Afraid (ft. Attitude): The verses really reminded me of another song that I can't place at the moment. Not a big fan of that kind of structure on the verses. The pre-chorus and chorus is good. Also not a big fan of the random rap feature. The song would have been fine without it as the rapper didn't really add anything. Listening to her music again reminds me of how much I love her vocal tone. It's pretty unique. 3/5.

Track #2, Maneater: This is the song I bought the CD for. It's crazy how fresh this song still sounds 9 years after the CD was released. It's just so fantastic. Really the highlight of her career in my opinion. 5/5.

Track #3, Promiscuous (ft. Timbaland): I remember this song being EVERYWHERE in 2006-2007. I also remember how Timbaland used to be a massive star and produced everything. Not the biggest rap fan, but I do quite like his features and productions. There's just something about him that works for me. Maybe it's just because these songs were my middle school years and it's kind of nostalgic. I wouldn't mind if this type of song made a comeback into the mainstream. 4/5.

Track #4, Glow: The song sounds quite a lot like something Gwen Stefani would have put on Love Angel Music Baby. In fact, she really sounds like Gwen here. I actually thought I might be accidentally playing the wrong album. As with the majority of LAMB, this song has the same qualities to it that makes me very 'meh' towards it. It's just really not my type of song. 3/5.

Track #5, Showtime: Not a big fan of all the little talking pieces in the beginnings and ends of these songs. I know it was a trend to do that then, but it really takes away from the songs. Much like Glow, this is a nice R&B track, but not my type of thing. I do really like the faint synth-piano? sound in the chorus. It's too bad it wasn't more featured. It stands out in the run-of-the-mill R&B of the song. 3/5.

Track #6, No Hay Igual: Really surprised that this song is almost fully in Spanish. I like it. Very Shakira to me, and not because it's sung in Spanish. It has that very distinct Latin flair to it that Shakira uses in her music. I like how this album was a huge smash and it's bilingual (even if only for a couple of songs). I think we'd all benefit from being exposed to more than just our first language on a regular basis. 4/5.

Track #7, Te Busque (ft. Juanes): Ooh is this one in Spanish too? Aw, I guess not. She sounds a lot like Gwen again in this song. Oh wait! It's half in Spanish. Juanes' voice is so nice. The verses of this song are more your typical ballad verses, but the duet of the chorus really works. They should have done the entire song together. Not a huge fan of spoken bridges, but this one isn't really out of place. 4/5.

Track #8, Say It Right: I used to have a really REALLY irrational hate for this song. I remember whenever it came on the radio I either changed the channel immediately, or cursed it out in my head. Half of the reason was that it was ALWAYS on the radio, the other half of the reason was that for some reason I thought it was a bad song. Like really morally bad. Not as in a random sex reference or double entendre or something like that, but I just felt like it was really really wrong to listen to. Which is weird because you'd think that twelve year old me would have gotten the same vibe from Promiscuous. But I didn't. I'm guessing that it has to do with the feel of the song. It's so....ethereal? Is that the correct word? It's just so incredibly different from most things that were on the radio at that point and to a twelve year old that's probably enough to make it stand out in the wrong way. It's actually a little difficult to listen to know even though I actually know what the lyrics are now. I don't think that will ever stop. Still a pretty good song musically and lyrically though. 4/5.

Track #9, Do It: Hm. I thought I'd never heard this song before but I guess it was a single at some point because I know it very well. Guess I never the title. The chorus is very catchy, but it's not a very memorable song. I checked out about half way through it and I don't understand how I'm at the end of it already. 3.5/5.

Track #10, In God's Hands: Does she have an accent? Because if she does, it's very noticeable in this track. And if she doesn't, I don't know why she's singing like this. Beyond that, this is just a really boring song. I guess every album has to have a ballad, but why do album ballads have to make you want to fall asleep? I really can't feel any kind of emotional connection with this song. It's got one of the longest studio speaking at the end of it too. 3/5.

Track #11, Wait For You: This beat is kind of interesting. It's got a slight Indian flair to it. It's too bad the song is extremely repetitive. Oh my gosh....it's over five minutes long? I'm bored of it and I'm only to 2:30. Oh that turn there....sounds like it was attempting to do what Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around Comes Around does...which makes sense because I believe Timbaland produced both. The pounding beat at the end of this really hurts my ears too. 3.5/5.

Track #12, All Good Things (Come To An End): Isn't this know as one of her best tracks? If I'm right in that assumption, I don't get it. The lyrics are all right, but not spectacular. Same way with the music. It's a very mediocre number to close the standard version of the album. The bridge is the highlight of the song and it's way too short. 3/5.

Track #13, Te Busque (Spanish Version): Just the Spanish version.

Track #14, Let My Hair Down: One of the British and Japanese bonus tracks. I can see why this song didn't make the cut for the standard album. It's probably the most urban of all of the songs she has on this, and she also sounds really silly in this song. It's really not a style that suits her at all. And the line "I like sports, but I don't like wearing shorts." Ouch....just....that's really bad. 2.5/5.

Track #15, Somebody To Love: This song is a bonus track on the British, Australian, German, and Japanese editions of the album. With this one, it feels too pop latin for the regular album. I can definitely understand why these were both bonus tracks. This song is not bad though. Probably would have made a good single for an album with a different direction. 3.5/5.

Track #16, What I Want: This is a bonus track on the Japanese version of the album. I'm actually surprised that none of the bonus tracks so far have really fit the original album. Usually there's at least one bonus track that should have been on the album (Taylor Swift's Wonderland for example), but these really are better as bonus tracks. This is your very typical ballad right down to the lyrics. Very boring. Her vocals do sound very nice though. 3/5.

Track #17, Runaway: Pretty sure this is the final of the bonus tracks; off of the International tour edition. Now this is a ballad done correctly. The lyrics are great and you can feel the emotion. Would have loved to have this on standard album. It doesn't really have the R&B/urban feeling of the album and is much more like her I'm Like A Bird era, but I think this is better than the ballads on the standard. 4/5.

Loose (audio) Spotify Link

I'd argue that this is very much a singles album. The singles that were released from the album were fantastic, but the album songs range from somewhat good to mediocre. Slightly disappointed, but I didn't have much expectation going into the album either. 3.5/5.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Song Recommendations (April 1, 2015 Edition)

No April Fool's over here! I actually really dislike this day because it seems like the pranks are getting stupider every year (or maybe I'm just getting older haha). So if you're like me and want to distract yourself from the day with awesome music then here you go!

Country Girls - Koi Dorobou

Tried so hard not like them cause I don't fully care for the more cutesy idol music, but my H!P bias ended up getting the better of me....it's just too catchy and adorable. And congrats to them for selling 45k their first week!

Juice=Juice - Ça va ? Ça va ?

After being very underwhelmed with Wonderful World, they exceeded my expectations with this song. Would actually really like it if they became a group that for their "theme" they explored the musical styles of other countries and worked some of that into mainstream J-pop. That'd be super unique.

Morning Musume - Seishun Kozou ga Naiteiru

I love how much their EDM songs keep improving. This is so close to where I want them to go. I don't care if it's selfish, but I want them to never stop the EDM thing. My favorite style of music.

Morning Musume - Yuugure wa Ameagari

Absolutely gorgeous song. It's everything I wanted TokiSora to be.

Yamaguchi Kassei Gakuen - Butterfly Effect ~ Hitotsu no Meru Hen ~

Just discovered these girls a couple of days ago. Their music is quite good.

Mainly all Hello! Project.....but enjoy!