Music Recomendations (December 4, 2016)

Am I allowed to do two posts in a day? I don't think I've ever done that lol. Well, I'm actually avoiding working on some things and was thinking how I haven't done anything like this recently, so why not! Since I haven't done it in so long, I'll just explain the purpose of this kind of post. Essentially, I love music and I can't stand how there's hardly any type of blogs out there that have just a list of songs to listen to. I'm lazy, just give me lists! So I figured why not do that sometimes on my blog? Unfortunately I haven't really been keeping up with that, but I still want to do it every once in a while. What I do is just list some songs, link their videos, and maybe give a little blurb about what the song is like. So...onward to music!

Park Ki Ryang - Hustle (ft. Mechilling) (2016)

This is such a bad song to start out with because no one's going to want to look at the rest because of my terrible music taste lol. Okay, this song is kinda bad, but it's a guilty pleasure type of song. Catchy, mindless, dancey. Great as a distraction in my opinion.

Lindsey Stirling - Hold My Heart (ft. ZZ Ward) (2016; from the album Brave Enough)

Violins & dance music? Yes please! Best song on her new album from the singles I've heard so far. I love when she teams up with vocalists.

Playback - Playback (Areia Remix) (2016)

Is a remix cheating? I actually disliked the original, but I heard this two days ago and I'm just obsessed with that instrumental. Props to the remixer because wow it's one of the best pieces of pop music ever.

JoJo - FAB. (ft. Remy Ma) (2016; from the album Mad Love)

If you're not big into songs with a lot of swearing, don't listen to this one. This type of song isn't usually my thing, but it's just so catchy and attitude filled. Love it! The rap is slowing growing on me too (not a rap fan at all).

Predia - Kindan no Masquerade (2017)

Predia's newest single! I'd say that if you're mainly a K-pop/Western pop person, this is probably a good group to get started on if you want to look into J-pop. They have amazing vocals and their music is modern dance pop.

Peter Possession - Have You Here (ft. Matt Pardus) (2016)

It's probably pretty clear what type of music I prefer huh? The instrumental is so awesome.

Sabina Ddumba - Not Too Young (2016)

Discovered this from YouTube a couple of days ago. Pure pop perfection. Love it.

Dear Kiss - Shiny Shy Girl (2016)

Okay final one. I semi-like this. It's an okay J-Pop song. BUT I just found out that Nonoko from Galette recently joined this group!!! AHHH *Excited dancing* I love her & I'm looking forward to following Dear Kiss. Saki Shishima who left Galette early this year is also in this group. Hoping Yui Komori will come along too because she & Nonoko were my favorite Galette girls and I'd love to see them stick together.

Hope you enjoy!

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #4: Top Nogizaka46 & Keyakizaka46

So. I've noticed that all 3 of the entries I've done so far besides this one I've screwed up the title. Wow. I clearly am not having a good week lol. I've been sick all week so that's my excuse.

Nogi & Keyaki are together in this because Keyaki doesn't have enough releases yet to have their own spot.

To me, Nogi hasn't had a super stand out year. Quite frankly all of their releases from this year blend together and I actually had to sit for a couple minutes to even remind myself what they'd released. I haven't enjoyed any of their title tracks this year and their album wasn't interesting outside of Erika Ikuta's solo either. I guess Nogi's music style is not for me at all. However, they do manage to release some really awesome songs once in a while. Like I said on my Top J-Pop post, when Nogizaka releases a good song, it's not just good, it's stellar. They did that this year. Their B-side Harukanaru Bhutan. Whoever did the music for that song, I just want to congratulate them on creating one of the most gorgeous pieces of pop music I've ever heard. I'm so upset that it was a B-side and didn't get a whole lot of attention. It's the best thing that any 48G group has ever put out. It's just too bad that the rest of their music is so bland. As for Nogi themselves this year, I'm actually a little shocked at how strong they are going right now. It looks very possible that they will beat AKB within the next year or two, as long as the idol market doesn't completely crash.

Keyaki is a bit of a mystery to me. I can't figure out if I want to like them more than Nogi or not. Their very first single, Silent Majority, absolutely blew me away. Such a style difference from Nogi's more reserved songs. I loved it and the B-sides weren't that bad either. However, I've been disappointed in their next two singles. I like that they're keeping the faux military concept, but I HATED Sekai ni wa. It's a song. There's not supposed to be that much talking in a song. Make a freaking drama if you want to talk over music don't ruin the song. The B-sides were okay, all though I did really like Yurina's Parco solo. That was cool. Although I don't hate Futari Saison, I find it bland like Nogi's material and the B-sides were very lacking too in my opinion. The group seems to be easily matching AKB's sister groups in sales and will likely surpass them by next year. One thing I do wonder though is how long people will like Yurina being the center. I think she's a rather good center, but as we saw with Nogi, will people start being resentful that she's the only one centering like Rina was? There's already some talk on forums that I've seen where people are wishing for a new center. I'm curious to see if management will stick with Yurina or if they'll try someone new next year.

On to the song countdown! Like last year, it's unlikely that all of the songs will be linked because it's harder to find 48G material online that aren't download links sadly.

#10

Nogizaka46 - Sono Saki no Deguchi (2014: Natsu no Free & Easy, Type A) (-4)

#9

Nogizaka46 - Yubi Bouenkyou (2012: Seifuku no Mannequin, all versions) (-2)

#8

Nogizaka46 - Popipappapa (2015: Ima, Hanashitai Dareka ga Iru, Type A) (-)

#7

Nogizaka46 - Natsu no Free & Easy (2014) (-4)

#6

Nogizaka46 - Barette (2013) (-2)

#5

Keyakizaka46 - Silent Majority (2016) (NEW)

#4

Nogizaka46 - Girl's Rule (2013) (+1)

#3

Nogizaka46 - Seifuku no Mannequin (2012) (-1)

#2

Nogizaka46 - Koko ni Iru Riyuu (2014: Natsu no Free & Easy, Type C) (-1)

#1

Nogizaka46 - Harukanaru Bhutan (2016: Harujion ga Sakukoro, all versions) (NEW)

Only one Keyaki on the countdown...maybe next year they'll feature more.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown #3: Top SNH48, BEJ48, & GNZ48

Last year they were never included because they had no original releases, this year they do! I know that they are no longer part of the main 48G, but to me they still belong to that umbrella "48 Group" thing. When they announced that they were breaking off from AKB & forming new groups, it didn't really surprise me. SNH always seemed much more separate from the Japanese groups that JKT ever did. While I think that morally it wasn't very nice to just be like "Oh well we're taking your concept for ourselves & cutting you off bye bye!", I like the fact that they are getting their own original music now. Cover songs are soooo boring. I wish that AKS would allow JKT to have an original release for once because I love collecting 48G CDs, but I'm not going to waste money on CDs from a glorified cover band.

With SNH's original music, they've only gotten better as the year's progressed. Engine of Youth's EP was ok at best. One song was incredible while the others were just ok. Dream Land's EP was the same and to be honest I can't really remember anything from it besides that it wasn't awful. Princess's Cloak though. Both versions of the EP are pretty dang good. Romantic Melody is so awesome. BEJ & GNZ's songs are much like SNH's first two EPs, ok, but nothing amazing. Since SNH had such a huge jump in quality from the start of the year to now, I'm really looking forward to what their sister groups have in store for the future.

I don't know why, but I've never liked using pinyin for Chinese songs, so I'll be using the English translation for the song titles that I've seen. So the English might not even be completely right lol. The translations I've seen seem a bit "clunky" although I'm not sure how difficult it is to convey the meaning of a song title between Chinese and English so it might be as good as it can get.

#10

SNH48 - Dream Land (2016)

#9

GNZ48 - You Don't Know Me (2016)

#8

SNH48 - A Yo Ai Yo (2016)

#7

GNZ48 - Flashing Dream (2016)

#6

SNH48 - 48 Secrets (2016)

#5

BEJ48 - Hello! Mr. Future (2016)

#4

SNH48 - Engine Of Youth (2016)

#3

SNH48 - Princess's Cloak (2016)

#2

SNH48 - Romantic Melody (2016)

#1

SNH48 - Hand Of Justice (2016)

I just love how these are all actually on YouTube. Not like Japanese songs. I also never saw any of their MVs until looking them up for this. Holy crap the budget! These rankings will probably change so much by next year lol.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #2: Top J-Pop of All Time

So last year when I did this one, I didn't really know many J-pop songs outside of idol groups. This year I've gone more out of my way to find J-pop songs from soloists and bands. I still have a long way to go to get into other J-pop, but it's improving lol. Because of expanding my horizons, this list is much different than last year's. As with last year, this will not feature any songs from H!P or 48G (minus one) because the entire list would be from them otherwise.

#10

One Ok Rock - Mighty Long Fall (2014) (NEW)

Yeah blah blah this isn't technically J"pop" but I don't technically care. The only reason I checked this song out was because I saw their Taking Off video uploaded on the Fueled By Ramen YouTube & I was so confused because I knew they were a Japanese group and didn't know why they were being uploaded on an American YouTube channel. I'm glad I did decide to check it out though because it's such a great song. Reminds me a lot of Fall Out Boy who I love.

#9

Minako Honda - Dramatic Escape (1988) (NEW)

One thing I've really been trying to do over the past year is focus on 80s J-Pop. I really love the sound of it. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to check out too many CDs, but one that I have is Minako's Lips album. It's SO good. I'm a sucker for great 80s music and it really is awesome.

No YT video, sorry. But you can listen to it on my 8Tracks playlist! (<---Clicky Clicky)

#8

Galette - Brand New Style (2013) (-6)

I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT GUYS. IT'S JUST NOT FAIR. I was devastated by the news of their disbanding. Well, at least as devastated as I can get with music. I don't get super attached to groups even if I love them so it's not like I was crying over it but I was still upset. They had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Wasted. Utterly wasted. To be honest I'm more pissed off at their company than upset that they disbanded. But ANYWAY. This song has slipped a lot for me recently. Probably because I overplayed it to death. Still an absolutely amazing song though.

#7

Ayumi Hamasaki - Real Me (2002) (-4)

One of the very few non-English songs I enjoy primarily for its lyrics. Just a lovely song.

#6

Predia - Maboroshi wa Xanadu (2014) (NEW)

So. I feel as though I should be ashamed of myself for not knowing this song earlier. I actually owned it for a year before listening to it. I bought Predia's first album because I liked the singles and then never got around to actually listening to the album itself (which is absolutely fantastic by the way if you like dance pop & good vocals). I either like this or Yakou Chou best on the album but I couldn't decide which so I just went with which one I loved first lol.

No video

#5

Hangry & Angry - Top Secret (2009) (+1)

This really only has a placing because of nostalgia, but I remember this being my first real J-pop song addiction outside of Morning Musume.

#4

Momoiro Clover Z - Mouretsu Uchuu Koukyoukyoku Dainana Gakushou "Mugen no Ai"(2012) (-2)

Another song that's fallen because I played it completely to death. Still love the insane wackiness of the whole thing.

#3

Osaka Shunkashuto - Cameleon Shoujo (2015) (NEW)

When are they going to release a new single? Seriously they need to release something and not just perform all the time. I hate when I fall in love with a group and then they hardly ever release music (looking at you Coco Decoru. One release since 2014.) But at the same time Osaka Shunkashuto is one of the few groups that I actually have watched a couple live performances of, mainly because Maina is an absolute star and owns any stage she walks on.

#2

Galette - Air Summer (2015) (NEW)

Man I miss them. Their whole discography is flawless. They should've released one last single or an album before their end.

#1

Nogizaka46 - Harukanaru Bhutan (2016) (NEW)

This is my one exception. I only put this here because it is my actual favorite J-pop song of all time. It only came out this year, but it's one of those genre defining songs for me. The music is absolutely gorgeous and everything is just wonderful about it. It's actually surprising to me how much I love it as Nogizaka is one of my least favorite groups in 48G. However, when they have good songs, those songs are incredible.

No video :(

25 Days of Christmas Day #1: Top K-Pop of All Time

I said I was going to do this again and I'm going to try my best to post on time for each day lol. The format will be exactly the same as last year except this year I'm going to the places each thing moved (or is new) from the past year. Mainly because I just want to see how my interests have changed over the year. So here we go, entry #1!

So I feel like last year's list was completely all over the place. 2015 was the first year since 2012 that I had had much interest in new K-pop and due to that, my list was so scatterbrained and I had forgotten about so much. This year I think I have a much more accurate idea of my top 10 K-pop songs of all time.

#10

Oh My Girl - Closer (2015) (-)

This song made the list last year even though it was practically brand new. Closer really reignited an interest in K-pop for me. It's just an incredible song by an incredible group. If the song continues to hold up in the future, it easily could be in my top three.

#9

Girl's Day - Expectation (2012) (NEW)

I really got back into this song this year. I loved it when it came out, but I finally picked up the album this year and have played it a lot since. This song in my opinion was Girl's Day's peak. They've had good songs since, but this was their peak musically for me.

#8

Girls' Generation - Into The New World (2007) (-4)

Out of all of SNSD's songs over the years, their debut remains my favorite. It's actually aged rather well as opposed to once great songs like The Boys or Run Devil Run that just sound like they should've stayed in 2011. It's just a fun & uplifting song.

#7

Chocolat - I Like It (2011) (-4)

I still miss them so much. Years ago this would've been number one for me, but quite frankly it just hasn't aged well at all. I still love the song and I still love them, but there's so many other songs that are sounding better than this.

#6

Wonder Girls - Loved (2015) (NEW)

So last year I had I Feel You pretty high up, which was only because I couldn't think of half the tracks that I should've featured. But as much as I love that song, after listening to the album over the past year, Loved is such a stand out track. In my opinion, it's probably the single greatest K-pop album tracks ever released. It's just 80s filled amazingness.

#5

After School - Dressing Room (2013) (+1)

I'm still upset at myself that I haven't purchased the First Love EP yet. I want to, but I keep feeling like I can't justify buying K-pop EPs anymore because they cost the same as full albums & none have come up for cheap on ebay that I've seen. Oh well, eventually. This is After School's greatest song and should've been a single. I couldn't decide if this & Loved should've been switched around so I just kept them in the order of release.

#4

2NE1 - Come Back Home (2014) (NEW)

Quite frankly the reason this is so dang high is because of their disbandment. However, this is an incredible song and unlike the vast majority of their other material, I feel like this will hold up over the years.

#3

Orange Caramel - Bangkok City (2011) (-2)

The beat in this song is still fresh 5 years later. The ultimate K-pop club track in my opinion. Orange Caramel needs to release something else like this.

#2

Swan.B - Be All Right (2011) (-)

Why does no one know this song?! WHY?! Yes, it's super duper indie & there's no clue what ever happened to the group that did it but it's just so good. Eurobeat is sadly not featured in K-pop ever.

#1

KARA - Step (2011) (NEW)

I don't think there will be anyone in K-pop who will ever release anything quite as amazing as Step. It's one of those songs you can never get tired of and sound like they could be released tomorrow and still smash. I didn't list it last year because I forgotI forgot about it when I when I made the list. Kinda upset that I did that lol

Dianna Sweet - Deep Snow

I can't believe how soon December is already. I've decided I'm going to do what I did last year, the "25 Days of Christmas" countdown throughout December. I thought it was fun. Don't know if anyone else enjoyed seeing it or not, but I liked it. It makes up for hardly ever posting otherwise lol.

I don't actually know a whole lot about Dianna Sweet other than they have a few cool songs. They formed in 2013 and currently have three members. They have released seven singles with their newest being "Superhero" which was released this year. "Deep Snow" is their fourth single and was released in three versions, each with a different track 2. I'm mainly going to be talking about Type A since that's the one I have.

Track #1: Deep Snow

I'm actually not a big fan of the title track itself. It starts out nice enough, and the music is catchy, but I don't like how they sing the song itself. Their vocals are very young sounding and a little annoying. It also sounds like the girls are off pitch of the song that they're trying to sing in certain places (in the verses in particular). It's unfortunate because I think with a different group the song would sound really cool. 3.5/5.

This will be the only video linked since the others aren't on YouTube/Spotify.

Track #2: The Twin Tail!

This song is the reason that I bought the single in the first place. Now I'll be the first to admit (and I've even already said it) that I can't really stand the super high pitched cutesy voices that are present in this song. The reason I do like the song though is because of the music itself. It's a "metal" idol pop song that is super catchy and fun. It's like really early Babymetal, except without Suzuka's good vocals. 4.5/5.

Track #3: Hatsukoi Revolution 2015

This is the third track across all three versions of the single. It is an updated version of their first single, Hatsukoi Revolution. I don't like remakes and remixes personally. It bugs me when I end up having 3 different versions of the same song so I always end up deleting the non-originals. However, I have never heard the original of this song so I can't really compare. This version of the song is really idol poppy, but not annoyingly so. It's catchy, but definitely my least favorite on the CD. 3/5.

Type B Track #2 & Type C Track #2: Lucifer & Always

I can't really say too much about either of these two tracks as I've only heard previews of both. From the previews that I've heard, Lucifer is my favorite of the two. Lucifer is a dance pop track with pretty good sounding vocals. Always is a ballad track and doesn't really do anything for their vocals in my opinion. I can't rate either though as I haven't heard either in full.

All in all, it's not a great single, but it's fun and catchy. I much prefer their two newer singles to this though. Although Dianna Sweet isn't that well known, you can buy some of their music on US iTunes! If you'd like to check out more of their material. 4/5.

J-Pop Girls Mix (Vol. 2)

I made another 8tracks playlist! It's only been like a year since the last one lol. This one is just like the last one, except it's all solo singers instead of groups. Enjoy!

J-Pop Girls Mix (Vol. 2) from danceordie9173 on 8tracks Radio.

The tracklist is...

#1: Tomomi Itano - Dear J

#2: Ayami Muto - Parallel World

#3: Namie Amuro - Ballerina

#4: Ayumi Hamasaki - Real Me

#5: Maki Goto - Ai no Bakayarou

#6: Minako Honda - Dramatic Escape

#7: Seiko Matsuda - Ringoshu no Hibi

#8: Miyuki Watanabe - Yasashiku Suru Yori Kiss wo Shite

#9: Ai Otsuka - Laugh

#10: Kumi Koda - At The Weekend