Music Discovery Mondays (October 19, 2015)

I like to call this edition, "I'm running out of good unknown songs to posts so time for a mishmash of older songs!" I think that's really how MDMs are going to run from now on because I've run out of songs I would consider "unknown" that I know of to share. However, I still think this new approach stays true to what my original intention of this corner was: to showcase songs that I personally enjoy so people can perhaps find something new to love or be reminded of a song they may have forgotten about.

Track #1: Paula Abdul - Straight Up

So this song has been stuck in my head all week. There's a trolley system at my university and the drivers always choose their own radio stations to listen to. Unlike the other drivers who play country stations, there's one that plays the local 80s to now station and this song was playing on my way to work last week and has been stuck with me ever since lol. It was a megahit and for good reason.

Track #2: Marina & The Diamonds - Froot

I really wish Marina was more popular than she is. I get that her music is more niche than someone like Katy Perry, but she has such a lovely voice and a great catalog of catchy tracks. This song was her lead single from her latest album, Froot. Unlike the lead single from her last album, this song is more laid back but it's still such an earworm.

Track #3: Rainbow - Mach

I can't believe this never had a video! I thought it did but I guess I was thinking of the Japanese version. Rainbow was so great at their debut. It's too bad that they were mismanaged so much because they could have been big like their labelmates KARA. This song in particular seems like it could've been a megasmash. It's got the same sound as other popular 2010 K-pop songs.

Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (October 12, 2014)

To everyone in the States: Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! Enjoy the day off if you have it :)

Track #1: Clique Girlz - Never Gonna Fly

So this is something completely different than what I've put up before. The Clique Girlz were a three member preteen girl group that released only one album (and only in Japan) before disbanding. Some people may have heard of Destinee & Paris, a spinoff group from this featuring the sisters. I was obsessed with this group when I was younger and even today a lot of their songs have held up really well despite being very "teenybopper" Disney stuff. This song in particular is my absolute favorite of theirs. Imagine something Hannah Montana would have sung and that's really what you can expect from the song, but don't let that turn you off. Hannah Montana had some great songs lol.

Track #2: Dalmatian - Lost In Love

Dalmatian is currently DTMN (if they still exist because idk lol). They were known as Dalmatian before switching companies. Of all of their songs, I consider this their best track. It's also one of the best K-pop songs ever released by a male group. It's such a tragedy that it was doomed to be an album track on something that would go out of print. It's a sweet midtempo track with great vocals and catchy beats.

Track #3: David Cook - Bar-Ba-Sol

Much like the Clique Girlz song, this is a bit different than what I usually post here. Some might know David Cook as one of the winners of American Idol. I've said many times before that I don't care for rock music much so it might be surprising that this is a rock song. Or, well, the most rock song there is on a pop rock album by an American Idol alum.

Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (September 28, 2015)

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?

Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (August 10, 2015)

Track #1: Ands - Ttan tta da!

It is very very rare anymore for me to find a new super unknown kpop group that I like a song for. While K-pop in general has been truly much better this year than the past two, the new unknown groups still aren't standing out like they used to. Which is why I was very surprised when I heard this song in a music countdown from a YouTuber I subscribe to. Unforuntely, I don't really know anything about the group. I honestly don't even know if I have the track name 100% right. Their name makes it nearly impossible to find anything in English, and I don't understand Korean well enough to go digging through Korean webpages. If anyone does know anything about them, please comment! The song is a K-pop EDM track that strongly resembles the style that T-ara had been doing with Sugar Free.

Track #2: S/mileage - Smile Bijin

This song was the B-side to S/mileage's second major label single, Ganbaranakutemo Eenende. I chose to put this song up because of it's striking difference in style compared to their other songs from their early career. Instead of being over the top cutesy with high pitched vocals, it sounds a lot like something early C-ute would have done. It's certainly not a song to look over in their discography.

Track #3: Gangkiz - Tonight

Gangkiz was a K-pop group that debuted in 2012 under the same company as T-ara. Unforuntely, they did not last past their first release and disbanded. I'm uncertain how much attention they actually received when they released their only mini album, but I remember when I came across this song in particular. I hadn't cared for their title track and was floored by this track after I had practically written off the group. It's unfortunate that they never were able to release anything else. The song is a electro-tinged midtempo track.

Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (August 3, 2015 Edition)

On time this week! Barely lol. I recently got Dragon Age: Inquisition and was playing that all day. While wandering around in the game, the fact I hadn't done this yet popped into my head....but I made it before Monday's end! Today's post is going to be more focused on "lesser known" (i.e. album songs/B-sides) songs from more popular groups. A little change of pace from the last two.

Track #1: 4Minute - Say My Name

4Minute of course isn't an unknown group by any means, but as this song was only an album track it fits here nicely. This song was released on 4Minute's Volume Up mini album in 2012 and remains one of their best songs. The song is a lot like their earlier Huh days but has the more mature feel that Volume Up has.

Track #2: Morning Musume - Watashi wa Watashi Nanda

This song is an album track from their 12th album, released last year. I wanted to put this one on one of these MDMs because I personally think it's their best EDM style song. I heard so much fawning over Kirari to Hikaru Hoshi and, while good, it can't hold a candle to this song. Should have been a single.

Track #3: Team Syachihoko - Otome Juken Sensou

Team Syachihoko comes from the same company as Momoiro Clover Z, and you can really tell that with this song. Found on their first album, Himatsubushi, released in 2014, the song really reminds me of MCZ's Mugen no Ai. The above video is a live performance. There was no video of the studio version on YouTube.

Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (Late Thursday July 30, 2015 Edition)

First of all, I apologize for this being late. I wasn't home much on Monday and it slipped my mind. Then on Tuesday I had things come up after I posted the update and I wasn't home all day yesterday. But it is up finally today! Hopefully the more I do this section I will get used to posting on a regular schedule.

Track #1: Linda San Sei - Ruby Monogatari

I was debating if this fit better in Song Recommendations or here. I decided on here as they are a less known group. Linda San Sei is a "B-Pop" group that began in 2013. They are known as this because the girls are Japanese with a Brazilian heritage. I think they've had Portuguese in some of their songs before too. They currently have five members: Sayuri, Shiori, Sakura, Mutsumi, and Yukaren. This song reminds me of a mix between the electro styles in K-pop and Japanese idol pop.

Linda San Sei Official Site

Track #2: Bump.y - Savage Heaven

Bump.y was a five member group that was active from 2009-2014. I was so sad to hear that they were going to disband because the group had a lot of promise and it's disappointing that they didn't get much popularity. This was their last single before their disbandment. The song is a midtempo pop track with an electronic undertone.

Track #3: Aither - Kimi no Namida wa Boku no Kanashimi Kimi no Yume wa Boku no Kibou

Note: the video above is a sampler of all of the songs on their second single. Aither was a J-pop girl group that was active from 2013-2014. Even though they were short lived, they released three singles and even had a chance to perform in the United States. The song is a mix of 2000s Eurodance and J-pop.

If you have a song that you think needs to be more well known, feel free to comment about it! Enjoy!

Music Discovery Mondays (July 20, 2015)

Welcome to my new section here! Music Discovery Mondays. These are going to be posts much like my Song Recommendation posts. Unlike those which focus on new releases, the music discovery posts aim to highlight some older songs that I feel either haven't gotten much recognition or I feel haven't been spread enough. This could be anything from indie groups to popular groups' album songs or B-sides. These posts are limited to three songs each week of any genre and may or may not actually be uploaded on a Monday lol. With my schedule being busy, I can't guarantee that these will always be posted on Mondays. I'm really hoping that I'll at least be able to do one per week. I hope you find something new to enjoy & even if you don't, have fun exploring! :)

Song #1: Kiss Me Kiss Me - Coco Decoru

Diving straight into indie idol territory with this first entry. Coco Decoru debuted as a four member group in 2013. The group currently has three members: Kurea Nishihara (who has announced her graduation), Ruka Yoshioka, and Yumi Fujii. Kiss Me Kiss Me is their first and currently only single to date and was released in June of 2014. The song's style is electropop.

Coco Decoru Official Site

Song #2: Whiplash - FEMM

I knew as soon as I thought up this series that I wanted to feature something by FEMM. I believe they actually have been getting some recognition, but posting about them here can only help that lol. FEMM stands for Far East Mention Mannequins and they began in summer of 2013. Their concept is that they are mannequins that were brought to life by FEMM Agency Syndicate. From what I've seen, the girls seem very dedicated to the concept. They actually have an interactive website where you can sign up to be an "agent" and earn mentions to help improve your rank on the site. If you're looking for an electropop group with a unique and interactive concept, FEMM is certainly for you.

FEMM Official Site

Song #3: AngeLip - Hajimete no Kimochi

Honestly, I know nothing about this group. I discovered this song from a poster on H!O and there wasn't any info about them with it. The best I can find is their official blog which looks like it opened at the very end of 2014. From the video and the banner, they appear to be a 7 member group. I don't even think they have any CD singles out yet. I don't know what the rest of their songs are like to pinpoint a particular style they trend towards, but this song in particular reminds me a lot of a Eurodance & Jpop mixture.

AngeLip Official Blog

Enjoy these selections and please look forward to next week for new songs!