25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #16: Top H!P/48G songs (From acts other than the current main groups)

I know, I know....I missed another day. I was doing so well with being on time for things (even having some things typed up early!). I will try not to fail for the few days I have left lol.

This pretty much covers any former group, subgroup, and soloist of HP/48G. So essentially none of the current main groups. Of course the vast majority of the list is Hello Project, mainly because I haven't heard much from the subgroups and soloists of 48G yet. They just have SO MANY songs to get through lol. The list was pretty difficult to come up with because of the massive amount of songs to pick from, but I think I like the way the list is. Maybe next year I'll have more 48G representation.

#10: Koharu Kusumi - Balalaika (2006)

#9: High-King - Kioku no Miero (2008)

#8: SDN48 - Tengoku no Door wa 3kaime no Bell de Aku (2011)

#7: W - Ai no Imi wo Oshiete! (2005)

#6: SDN48 - Kodoku na Runner (2010)

#5: Def.Diva - Suki Sugite Baka Mitai (2005)

#4: Country Musume - Uwaki na Honey Pie (2003)

#3: Aya Matsuura - Good Bye Natsuo (2003)

#2: Maki Goto - Ai no Bakayarou (2001)

#1: W - Samishii Nettaigyo (2004)

Enjoy! What do you think of the past groups of 48G & Hello! Project?

W - Ai no Imi wo Oshiete!

I'm actually really excited to do a post on this one. This is my favorite W single.

The title track of the single is Ai no Imi wo Oshiete! To me, this song defines W. The style of the song is what I view W in my head. The cutesy high pitched vocals with super catchy electro-80s-ish music. I wouldn't mind if H!P would do a couple singles like this nowadays. I adore the EDM direction, but this would be just as good. For those who might not have listened to some of the older groups before, a newer song that I'd compare this to would be S/mileage's Uchouten Love. Both in musical style and overall feel. In fact, the girls sound so much like Yuuka Maeda in that song in this song (er...well I guess Yuuka would sound like them since this came first xD). It might sound funny, but my absolute favorite part of the song is at the very end where it's like a Tsunku solo xD. I love it so much. I'd say that the music video is one of the better ones from this era of H!P. It doesn't look horrifically tacky like a lot of H!P's older videos. Even if the outfits are hideous. Seriously. What is up with that material? It reminds me of tissue paper. 5/5.

The B-side for this single is Jinx. This song could have easily been a single too. It's like a mix of the Sexy Snow B-side from Robo Kiss & Ai no Imi itself. Is it weird that my favorite part of both songs are the Tsunku "solos"? He just made H!P so unique. 5/5.

There's really not much else to say on this release. Both songs are incredibly strong. This release is easily top 10 of my favorite H!P releases of all time. 5/5.

W - Miss Love Tantei

W's final single. It's still so sad how W ended. Especially because it seems like the catalyst for Ai's life spiraling downward. Regardless of the past and what people think of her, I really hope that she can surround herself with a good support structure for her & her daughter's sake. Whenever I hear something about her I just want to fly to Japan & give her a hug & tell her everything will be okay. I hope that the last piece of news I've heard is for the best and she and her daughter can get away and start working towards a better life.

The title track for the single is Miss Love Tantei. I had never really cared for this song before I really got into W. It had a different sound to it than other H!P songs and I couldn't figure out why it was so different. Found out after I got the CD & ripped it to iTunes that it wasn't produced by Tsunku so that was why it sounded so different to me. Now, I really love the song. Sure it's different that other H!P tracks, but that's what makes it unique. I've heard people say that this song sounds a lot like Tatu's Not Gonna Get Us. I don't quite get the comparison. Besides the "whispered" filtered vocal parts, I don't hear similarities. This song makes me wonder if this is the musical direction that W was going to go in or not. The music video is cute. I can't quite figure out if they're competing with each other to find the diamond or if one of them stole it or if they suspect each other or what. The outfits make the video though. One of H!P's very best single outfits. 5/5

The B-side to this single is Friendship. I think this was composed by the same people that did Miss Love Tantei....at least that's what iTunes says. It sounds like it. This single has a really western production style. I like this song, but it's not as good as Miss Love Tantei. The thing that brings the song down is that awkward rapped bridge. It's so cheesy sounding...even for W. 4/5.

I wouldn't call Miss Love Tantei their best single (realistically it wouldn't be in my top 5, yes that does make it last.), but it represents a style shift for the group and possible indication for the musical direction they were going to take. It's just too bad we never got to see how that was to develop. 4/5.

W - Robo Kiss

After Morning Musume, I'm almost positive that W is my next all time favorite H!P group. There was something really special about the music of this group and I wish that UFP would release any unreleased stuff they recorded. I realize that's probably impossible, but it would be so cool.

The title track of the single is Robo Kiss. This was the very first song I ever heard from W. At the time, I was using the H!P wiki to listen my way through the history of H!P by using the list of H!P concerts. I know that doesn't seem right because this wasn't W's first single and they probably had done songs in H!P concerts before this, but I got bored by like 2003 and started only looking up songs that sounded interesting to me. Robo Kiss sounded interesting so I looked it up. I really wasn't expecting what I got. At the time, the video seemed so stereotypical to me because it was so weird and there were girls singing in high pitched voices. Needless to say, I passed on it and didn't really start listening to W until I heard their cover of Samishii Nettaigyo. Today, I really love the song. Sure their vocals can be a little annoying like this, but the song is so catchy. The video is also pretty hilarious. I like this type of random over stuff like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Also check out mini Berryz lol. They're all so tiny! I've also never understood why they tried to do the twin thing with Nozomi & Ai. When they were younger, yeah I guess they kinda looked alike, but by the type they were W they look so different that it seems like a silly concept. 5/5.

The B-side to the single is Sexy Snow. Not sure what's so sexy about snow, but ok. This song is really a 180 from Robo Kiss. Where Robo Kiss is the upbeat poppy cute track, this is the sexy cool track (well, for W that is). It really reminds me of another H!P song, but I can't put my finger on it right now. 4/5.

This single isn't my personal favorite from W. I'd be more likely to recommend Ai no Imi wo Oshiete over this, but it's a solid single and a great stable of their discography. 4.5/5.

Song Recommendations (May 26, 2015 Edition)

May has been a really slow month for new music in my opinion. I haven't even really found any awesome music that I hadn't heard before either which is sad. Maybe June will be better. With May coming to a close, these songs are pretty much the only ones that have made any impact for me.

Tiësto & KSHMR - Secrets (ft. Vassy)

Came across this by playing SongPop again after a few years. It's really awesome.

P.IDL - Sansan Aibo

It's been awhile since I was truly impressed with another Japanese girl group (outside of 48s & H!P). It's so sad to me that their other songs aren't even close to the same league this is in.

Hiroshima Maples - Isolator

This is exactly the type of song I'd like to see MM tackle.

W - Miss Love Tantei

Been really into W again lately. Will forever mourn the 3rd album that never got to see daylight.

KARA - Cupid

A little cheaty to name a song that came out slightly over 12 hours ago, but it's one of the better K-pop songs this year.

Enjoy!

Song Recommendations (February 8, 2015 Edition)

Hi everyone! I was not thinking of doing another song recommendation post for a while....but then 4Minute just released the best K-pop song since 2NE1's Come Back Home so yeah. Here we go!.

4Minute - Crazy

I haven't liked a 4Minute song since the release of Volume Up back in 2012. This is INCREDIBLE. Pretty sure I've played it 10 times by now and it's only been out for an hour and a half.

Yoko Oginome - Dancing Hero

So I've been slowly trying to get into some J-pop songs that are older. This one is from the 80s. Catchy stuff.

Doll Elements - Kimi ni Sakura Hirari to Mau

I hate myself for getting into more girl groups. It's too expensive of a hobby. Haven't heard anything else from this group, but I like traditional sounds in the song.

Ayami Muto - Parallel World

This was supposed to be in the first recommendation post, but I forgot to put it in before I published it. She kinda reminds me of a solo Perfume (cause the song reminds me a lot of Polyrhythm).

W - Samishii Nettaigyo

Just shoving this in here for good measure. I don't care if this is a cover. It's probably one of my absolute favorite J-pop/H!P songs ever. It might even be one of my favorite songs ever. Putting this here cause I finally bought the album it's on so I'm so excited to get that in the mail. The real version is by Wink and was released in 1989. I like the original too, but I heard W's version first so in my head I like it better.

Enjoy!