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NUDY SHOW! itself was a pretty good album. It got me interested in Anna, but I wasn’t exactly converted into a raving fan or anything. That and there were too many singles for me to really put her on here and force myself to make an opinion of her. So, I decided to leave her until her new era began. And now, we have the first sign of what’s to come: Brave vibration.
Honestly, I am VERY glad I left it until now. Already, I think I prefer this song to the majority of her NUDY SHOW! material. It’s not glaringly upbeat, but it’s not a dark rock song: It finds a nice little space between both sounds and gives you a middle-road, nigh-on mid-tempo rock track that doesn’t really match what the covers seemed to intend it to. That’s probably a good thing, because island rock would NOT be a good thing.
What’s good about this song is that it mixes darker-sounding verses with the optimistically upbeat chorus, which is always a good thing: Too much of one single sound can be rather glaring at times, so it’s nice when a song tries to play it up a bit, which is what they did here. Anna, vocally, sounds as you’d expect her to, but her voice suits the music well: Especially in the verses, when things are a bit grungier, but that doesn’t mean she works any worse in the chorus. You’re not really going to be surprised by the song overall, but it was a nice little creation.
However, it can seem a bit generic at times. I can’t pinpoint why, but it’s not really as mindblowingly epic as a song like Sailing Free, although it isn’t as bad as Rain, either. (Sorry for the glaring OLIVIA comparisons, but it’s true.) It’s not a mind blowingly orgasmic song, but it has something that I think her recent songs have been missing, so it’s nice to hear a song like this.
The PV isn’t much to write home about, though. It’s mainly shots of Anna singing on a rooftop with her band, and straddling various walls throughout the verses while she dons her island garb and wiggles around on the beach for the brighter choruses. I will say, I never thought Anna could be this good looking. I’m sure we all know how bad she can get, but for the majority of the PV, I’m pleasantly surprised by how she looks. Although that’s just about it for the PV. It’s a nice little piece of eye candy for anyone who gets hard over Anna, but again, it’s not mindblowing or epic or anything.
Song Score
A-
PV Score
B
Overall Score
B+
While it isn’t an overly epic song or video, it was a nice little package to start off the era with. The song is highly infections and a nice little change of pace, despite being a bit like previous efforts from Anna, and the PV had its charms, while still being, for the most part, mindblowingly unnecessary. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next, and hoping it turns out even better than this. (After the actual single releases, of course: Unless the b-side ends up being surprisingly high-quality, which would be great too.)
After a great (Well, as far as I’m concerned) album and a passable single, you’d have to hope for a great single to improve the outlook a bit, wouldn’t you? Well, with titles like Lick Me, Ecstacy and Hashire!, you’d expect there to be a little bit of that inappropriate sexiness we all know and love, wouldn’t you? ESPECIALLY from the first one, if not the first two. Evidently, that isn’t what we got at all.
If you look at Lick me ♥ as a normal Kuu pop song and don’t even LOOK at the title, then it’s actually a really catchy song. I’m a fan of Kuu’s poppier, upbeat songs, and this is no exception, if you ignore absolutely everything about it (title and single-wise). That ad-libbing you hear over the heavier instrumental after the chorus isn’t exactly pleasing to the ear, and it’s the same for those sounds she INSISTS on making near the end of the video. But the instrumental is really catchy, and her vocals for the rest of the song are at least as good as the rest of her recent songs.
If you take the title into account, it’s more of a let down. Kuu’s always at her finest when she’s shoving bottles up her many orifices and kneeling on toilets in the shortest and tightest dress you could possibly imagine, and if she’s climbing up the leg of another woman, you can just consider that a bonus. Giving a song like THIS the title of Lick Me is just teasing. It had potential, and yet they left it as a campy pop song. For all I know, the lyrics could be dirty as all hell, but with an outer shell like this, that isn’t really much of a saving grace, especially when you don’t exactly understand what she’s singing.
The video isn’t exactly flattering, either. It has this whole retro feel to it, and it has a few different alter egos for Kuu in it, depicting different kinds of girls: Strawberry Girl, whose sections of the PV take place in a bowling alley; Mango Girl, who’s in a schoolbus full of people less than half her age; Bitter Choco Girl, who’s the only one that even comes CLOSE to being sexy in any sense, while all she’s doing is playing around on a single-seat couch in front of some green wall; and VANILLA AFTER ALL !1!!!1!!1!11!1! girl, who takes up the majority of the PV dancing around like a suggestive fool in an ice cream parlor. There’s nothing remotely attractive about any of these cutesy wigs or outfits she’s wearing; With the exception of Bitter Choco Girl, who I find to be passable, albeit POORLY represented, since she’s barely in the PV as it is.
I take it that the whole point of this is to show the different kinds of girls, their different personalities and the kind of ice cream that they seem to be related to. (OH, HOW SMART, A PV FOR A SONG CALLED LICK ME ABOUT ICE CREAM! I’m insulted.) Honestly, I see nothing different about any of these girls except that one likes bowling, one likes acting like a fool on a couch, one’s an idiot dreamer and another is a lesbian pedophile. It seems kind of pointless, but at the same time, it IS kind of cute. The costumes ruin it, but it does have its charm here or there. I don’t absolutely LOVE it, but once I get past my bitterness over all of this cheated teasing, I can stand it. It fits the song, at least.
One more thing to add about both the PV and the song: They seem SICKENINGLY short. The song was made in a manner that makes those three minutes and thirty seven second fly by, and I can’t really tell whether that’s a bad thing or not.
Song Score
B-
PV Score
C-
Overall Score
C
I’m disappointed that this turned out so horribly lame compared to the potential it carried, but at least the song is bearable. I can already tell I’ll never be touching the PV with a three foot shit stick again, but the overall package could have been a LOT worse. I’m hoping Ecstacy and Hashire! meet my expectations, though, because the single still has a shot with these two a-sides.
I’m still rather new to Oku Hanako and her music, but her last two singles were both fantastic. The previews for Waratte Waratte (literally means Smile, Smile) all showed a similar level of quality for the single, and I was VERY pleased to hear that my expectations were met with the a-side.
In its PV form, Waratte Waratte is a very bare-bones bittersweet ballad instead of something outright orchestral and foreboding like Anata ni Suki to Iware Tai was. It’s not an outright sad ballad, which was nice to hear, and I like the effect that her rather high vocals have with the lone accompaniment of the keyboard. This is where her similarities to Angela Aki really kick in, because both use a similar instrument and like to go for one-instrument songs every now and then. The appearance similarities is but a coincidence, though Oku wins out there, admittedly.
The song does seem to be a bit empty at times though. I do like the effect the vocals and keyboard have without the interruptions, but it just won’t be as epic as her last a-side if she simply leaves it here. I can’t remember whether the preview had anything more than these, but if it didn’t, I can easily call it a little bit of wasted effort. Really, it doesn’t mean much, because it IS a beautiful song. It just seems like it isn’t performed to its full potential in such a half-finished state, since the keyboard doesn’t have quite the presence the piano has.
Unfortunately, the video accompanying it is a bit bland. It’s simply Oku playing the song on her keyboard, singing into the microphone for an invisible or out-of-sight audience. It’s a live video of sorts, so don’t expect much from it. I do like the atmosphere the empty amphitheatre (well, the lighting makes it look empty) and odd lighting give the video, though. It’s very simple, but it’s not too bad…
Until you compare it to the PV for Anata ni Suki to Iware Tai. It’s not that that PV makes this one BAD, but… Both were live PVs. Anata ni Suki to Iware Tai was a studio PV, while this is a live PV. Honestly, does she REALLY have to do this? I’m certain she had proper PVs for previous songs. Why are we reverting to this now? I don’t even think this is how the actual song is going to sound now, especially since Anata ni Suki to Iware Tai sounded slightly different, too. I’m not sure what to expect, but at least the song was good.
Song Score
A+
PV Score
C+
Overall Score
B
There isn’t really much to say here. At all. Waratte Waratte is a beautiful song with just a few touches missing, with a PV that unfortunately isn’t very good, made worse by the PV that came before it. As long as the music’s good, I guess it’s okay, but a good PV is a nice way to draw in a bit of attention and maybe even a few fans if they’re more focused on things like that. I’m glad she’s keeping the quality of mer music up this era, though. BIRTHDAY has a lot of potential to be good as it is, so hopefully this single makes me even more sure of that when it comes out, because my hopes are high at the moment.
PV Review 1 – FREAK <yasutaka nakata remix>
GOOD LORD, NAKATA, YOU SEXY BASTARD, I COULD KISS YOU!
I was already a fan of FREAK when Hadouken! first produced it. Now, Nakata’s taken it and twisted it into a cutesy techno-pop that immediately trumps most of her old material, including PRECIOUS. The remix is cute, bright and full of the vocoder, making the vocals sound completely different than they originally did when the vocoder wasn’t included. Although, MEG didn’t sing it again: The repositioning of the vocals and the vocoder can just sort of make it sound like she did.
There still aren’t really any lyrics in the song, but that should be expected when it’s a remix and the original didn’t have any. So, I shouldn’t be saying good job MEG. I should be saying… FANTASTIC JOB, NAKATA, YOU FREAKISHLY TALENTED BASTARD! I love it. So much more than the original.
The PV’s kind of odd though. Most of it is just MEG making dolls and watching the process in the factory. The second half begins with a full-DOLL re-enactment of the FREAK PV, before transitioning into a segment of the original PV (still with the remixed song), with flashes of the almost anime-like doll faces covering MEG and the random guys faces every now and then. It ends in an extremely adorable fashion with a doll face dropping off of MEG’s face and her coughing. It’s adorably cute, yet also kind of boring and old-fashioned, with a random splash of freakiness added to it with those dolls. (I CAN’T STAND THEM, OKAY?!)
All in all, it’s just FREAK improved by an extremely large amount.
Song Score
A+
PV Score
C+
Overall Score
B-
PV Review 2 – SKIN
Ooooookay, now things get kind of… Freaky. SKIN is one of MEG’s lyrically inept songs, focusing more on the music instead of the vocals. It’s a pretty monotonous song, focusing on the one repeating rhythm pretty often. It does get a bit more aggressive pretty quickly, with a few slow-downs and changes here and there. There isn’t much to comment on. It’s okay, but it’s not exactly mind-blowing. I like it, but it’s not going to win the album for me. I mean, already I can tell that LIES is going to take the position as the grittiest, most interesting song (of that format, anyway) on the album. I find it odd that “Gimmie some skin” is the most prevalent line in the song, and since she says “more than just skin” after that line, it makes you wonder what she’s on about. Sex? S&M slaves? Maybe just a deskinned guys skin? I’ll stop right there, this is just getting freakier and freakier.
The PV is just… Strange. MEG pops her head out of the whole with that flower pot sitting on her head, and all hell breaks loose as she tries to command pink things that are ten times worse than anything that has ever been in her PVs. There’s also some random “dancing” from MEG and multiple copies of her running out of a tube, shoving their hands and heads out of holes. And then there’s the kaleidoscope. It’s just a very odd PV, and it wins points for its bizarre, disconcerting nature.
I’ve actually had some pretty morbid thoughts about this song. Check them out here~
Song Score
B
PV Score
B
Overall Score
B
PV Review 3 – BEAUTIFUL
I think FREAK just found its largest competitor. BEAUTIFUL is, at the moment, my favorite full-length song that has been announced for the album. It kind of channels HEART, but it’s a lot more mature, and it’s closer to a pop-ballad than a bubblegum pop song. As repetitive and unchanging as the rhythm is, I actually enjoy it a lot, and MEG’s usual squeaky singing voice isn’t really dimming my view of the song, either. It’s actually rather long-winded at just over six minutes in length, so it depends on how well you can stand MEG and her sound, really, whether you’d like the song or not. Though I will say, that instrumental at the end of the song is undeniably catchy. I can’t find much to hate about this song, really. The length isn’t an issue at all, either, with how much I like it.
The PV kind of channels a few of her other PVs. It starts with MEG popping up from the bottom of the screen, just like in SKIN, but this time it’s just to introduce the PV, not really star in it. That comes right after, with MEG climbing into a bed. She’s actually standing in it, though, so don’t go thinking she was lying down. The PV tries to confuse you like that. It’s a huge conglomeration of Red Riding Hood, some hippy singing to animals (though she is quite cute in these parts, I will admit), and then the FREAK remix PV is referenced with a doll factory popping up a few times in the PV, one time with MEG acting as one of the dolls. The cats from some of her previous PVs come back here, and there’s a new black, moon-face kind of thing that stars in it, too. MEG also dances on a stage with two cats and two moon-faces, which actually looks rather adorable with how freakishly deformed and overly large the cats are. Those things are cute no matter what poor bastard is stuck inside them. It’s all just a huge bit of adorable, though. I love it.
So, all in all, this package was a lot better than the FREAK remix overall, but the song is on par, if not slightly better than it. Both highly surpass SKIN, but I don’t hate that, either.
Song Score
A+
PV Score
A+
Overall Score
A+
Total PV Scores
B
This may seem like a rather small amount of tracks to base the album off of, especially since the FREAK remix isn’t really a track, but if you take PRECIOUS into account, these three songs really help boost my confidence, at least, in how I think the album is going to turn out. Both BEAM and STEP had quite a few flaws to each of them that kept them from being good, but (keeping in mind that I’m definitely not MEG’s biggest fan) I really think this album has a shot at being rather spectacular in its own right. The DVD will be at least decent with what we were given here (Thankfully, because I ordered the CD+DVD version myself), so it definitely looks like there’s a lot to look forward to here.
Well, here it is. The PV review / feature post I mentioned a few days ago. I’m just putting this her to remind you all that I will now be featuring this “surprise” band, LOL.
As it stands, I must admit that I actually love this song. Partially for the novelty value it holds, partially for the actually catchy arrangement. The guys actually sound really good in this kind of song, which you’d usually expect a woman to be singing to in Vegas or something. It holds this kind of sound that you’d expect a soul singer to sing to, while it also carries a bit of that Vegas American flare to it. It has this rather cheesy, played up sound to it as well, which… Actually, that fits perfectly with the Vegas sound. I guess those avex bastards did their research this time. It’s a very retro club song, and it’s one of the surprise pleasures I’ve found this year, all thanks to Brett.
…The video, however, changes the entire perspective of the song completely. Turns out, it’s three Asian guys (Takaaki with the afro, DJ OZMA with the short brown hair and Noritake with the bouffant/long hair) dressed up as African American chicks singing in a Vegas style club. The way it has that boom effect at that first close-up of OZMA’s ass was… An oddly disturbing move, and the grinding down and humping the microphone stand isn’t much better. OZMA and Noritake seem to have this down pat, but Takaaki’s hilariously awkward and… Disgusting throughout the whole video, shaking under that huge afro and picking out his armpit hair.
The second half is largely similar, with the three of them dancing in purple outfits in front of the huge YAZIMA letters, and among other gold… Arrangements. The club does come back, but for the most part, the entire video is a… Largely disturbing dance video amid other confusing newspaper shots that seem to claim that Takaaki is 11 years old…
I know what you’re all thinking. Why, Sel, are you going from cute little Techno girls to Asian guys dressed up as chicks and spray painted black. Well, they’re hilarious, and I think the song is great. Takaaki is a riot to watch, and Noritake isn’t too bad himself, as the only truly convincing one of the group, especially with his oddly high-pitched singing voice. Of course, none of them ever REALLY pass themselves off as girls, but I commend OZMA for having the balls to cross dress in his own unit, and for creating the unit.
There isn’t much else to say. It’s hilarious, I say everyone should watch the PV and see what they think.
Song Score
A
PV Score
A
Overall Score
A
The song and video are both hilarious. Their singing is actually good. And I can stand to look at them, mainly for the novelty value. I’m never a real fan of these cross dressing bands, but the humor thrown into this makes it a lot more bearable. And stylish, if you’re into that thing. And, it’s not a one off thing. They already have a second single out, which I will be reviewing. I don’t know if I’ll be reviewing Nihon no Mikata (The full title of which translates into Friends of Japan ~We Come From Nevada~ in case anyone was curious), since this is the only song on it, but I will start with either this or SAKURA. Keep an eye out, because this group is worth it, even if you’re just here for a laugh.
…Well.
Well.
WELL.
The song is excellent. There’s nothing I can say against it. I love it. Always have.
So, all I can say to this is… What the HELL did they do?!
The song is the same. That’s not the issue here. The issue is this GOD AWFUL VIDEO MADE UP OF RANDOM JAPANESE IDIOTS DRESSED IN WORK-OUT GEAR SHAKING THEIR GOD DAMN ASSES AT A CAMERA THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCINERATED INSTEAD OF FILMING THIS SHIT.
Okay, well, maybe they were good out of context. But why the HELL is Saori absent from this piece of shit?! All you get is a shot of the COVER of the album with some random people working out inside the WOW WAR TECHNO sign, and her promo looking at some random buffed up idiots in the most PERVERTED manner possible when still shots are included.
AND YES. THIS IS THE REAL VIDEO. IT’S EVEN PROMOTED ON HER GOD DAMN SITE.
Honestly, I’m shocked. Outraged. Disappointed. I mainly only made this so I could bitch at them for THINKING this would make a good first PV for Saori.
And if she approved of this shit, my respect for her has been knocked down a few notches. I can’t even LAUGH at how stupid this PV is.
Please, someone, come and prove to me that this isn’t a real PV. I can’t imagine they would release something like this and act as if they were truly serious about it being used to promote a video. ESPECIALLY when the PV has a video player outline around it for the WHOLE DURATION.
Heaven forbid her next PV is like this, too…
Song Score
A+
PV Score
F-
Overall Score
F-
I’m sorry if someone who liked the video came here, read this and got offended by what I’ve said. I really am. But in all honesty, someone needs to be FIRED for this shit. Right now. Hell, even if it’s Saori who did it all, fire her now and save us from seeing this happen with her next release.
I thought Dream Fighter sucked. Hard. I may have loved the song at first, but just like with Ami Suzuki’s Reincarnation, the song wasn’t good enough to keep me at that level of enjoyment, like love the world could. But how about with One Room Disco?
Well, in a way, I have like it, because basically, it’s Chocolate Disco part 2. The chorus has a big thing with repetition, and it does that in a catchy manner. Before jumping ahead though, I will say that the opening is extremely good. It kind of got me thinking we might be getting a lighter version of GAME or something, because it’s kind of heavy, but not AS heavy as GAME. However, it cuts straight into the light, bouncy repetition section of the chorus, which is just as good, as I said.
The verses… Well, I like them. They COULD be a bit stronger, I think, but there has been worse. And the way it skips into the chorus could be handled a little better, like actually HAVING a bridge in there, but the simply catchy nature of the singing AND repetition sections of the chorus make up for it, I think. Simply put, it’s just an upbeat, happy song about your first experience moving out alone for the first time, which is rather cute in theory. I’d like to know why all of their songs are so mundane lyrically, though. Also, some of their singing and the related synths kind of sound like MEG at times. Ick…
With the PV, I’m not a fan of the seizure opening they gave it. Or the silhouette dancing. But the way they trace that symbol when they say “One Room Disco” for the first time looks awesome. The dance sections, unfortunately, once again consist of some recycled moves. Every Perfume PV does it, and it’s rather annoying, but there are new moves in there, too. Some of the moves are cute, but the legs kicking out thing they do halfway through the singing section isn’t as cute as I think they had hoped. However, let me just say, I LOVE the dance they do for the repeating section of the chorus. That side-on hand raise they do when they sing “One Room Disco”, for some reason, actually fits more than most of the other dance moves they do. Well, the reason isn’t too hard to see, I guess.
Apart from dancing, most of the PV is the girls running around those tiny little rooms you’ll recognize from the CD+DVD cover (see above/right). I like how this PV has some consistency with its cover, and the concept fits the meaning of the song perfectly, so Perfume gets a ton of points for that. That “A~chan sitting behind a window” part was so cute, for some reason, as well as raising that star-on-a-stick. Kashiyuka sitting in front of the cityscape… Not so much. The lighting effects used for most of the dance shots on the PV fit the disco “theme” pretty well, too. As I said, I still have some issues with some of their dance moves, but otherwise, I’d say this PV outshines Dream Fighter by an extreme amount, as does the song.
Song Score
B
PV Score
B
Overall Score
B
Well, it’s not their best offering… But it is good. Between love the world and Dream Fighter, for this era. I think Nakata’s getting too used to MEG and her style, because this song is full of it when it comes to the singing, which doesn’t help with the aligning synths that kind of sound like MEG at times, too… I personally consider Terukado to be a lot better than Nakata now, but this song has given me a lot more hope than I previously had for him.
Taku really gets around, doesn’t he? First he produced Rie fu’s song romantic, which was brilliant. Then he and Ami Suzuki announced they would be working on an album together, starting with the single Reincarnation, a somewhat disappointing, yet enjoyable club song. And now, he’s working with Sowelu. I don’t know if it’s permanent or not, but MATERIAL WORLD is their first work together, I know that much.
I’m not really a huge fan of Sowelu, I’ll admit it. I thought her voice was rather horrible on her last album, especially when she was singing in English. I’m sorry to say, this carries over into MATERIAL WORLD. She sounds okay at times, but her voice sounds a bit too weak for such a beat-heavy techno song. Even in the verses, she’s sounding a bit like she doesn’t fit in sometimes. She actually fits into the bridge rather well, though, when the song starts getting a bit more aggressive. Unfortunately, that one high note between the bridge and the chorus is enough to kill the streak, as she strains to even reach it. Then we just have her nasal voice ruining some of the notes in the chorus. It may sound like I’m hating, but I can look past her vocal flaws. Why?
The instrumental, of course. I’m not liking the subtle, quiet verses at ALL though. I don’t like techno songs that take a bi-polar stance in their presentation. Hell, the second verse even sounds like the quiet part of a piano ballad, what with that piano and all. Then shooting into that chorus makes it even worse. However, the heavy and fast beat of the chorus make up for it, and end up being the main part of the song that drags you in. And I’ll be honest, I do like how Sowelu sounds singing against it, despite those annoying notes and her somewhat weak voice. That may sound rather contradictory, but the fact is, this woman works well in different situations, at least with this song, so it’s rather difficult to say whether she’s bad or good outright. I guess you could say I get mixed feelings from the song.
That’s the case for the PV, too. The one thing I really hate about Sowelu herself is that she cut her hair short. She was cute as hell when she had long brown hair, but she went and chopped it all off and bleached it. In her tube top and mini-skirt with those huge boots, it does kind of work. When you see close-ups of Sowelu, sitting down or convulsing in weird manners, or waving her arms about wildly, she does look alright. I’m not a fan of the movements at all, if you couldn’t tell, but Sowelu herself looks okay. EXCEPT in that completely white scene in the ballad section. She looks pretty good there, with the only bad thing being her facial expressions when they blur the screen or zoom out. Also, those shoulder movements after that verse just creep me out, I don’t know what she was going for, but that doesn’t work. The head flicking thing she does isn’t as bad, but it has its bad moments.
Also, the stand-out bad part is the chorus. First of all, how the HELL can she run in those boots? I have no idea. I was half expecting a boob to pop out of that tube top to say hello halfway through, too, but unfortunately we aren’t that lucky. The punching the invisible glass wall part looks a bit off with the tube top, too. I like that she was going for a retro look, but the PV is just like the song: A mixed reactions case.
Song Score
B-
PV Score
C
Overall Score
C+
As I said in the feature post that included Sowelu, this song is hot. Despite being hot, it DOES have its flaws that keep it from being an instant favorite from yours truly. Maybe I need to get used to her voice, I don’t know, but I’ve been listening to it for about a week now, and I still have the same issue: I don’t know whether to like it or not. The PV is a bit clearer, but also a similar case, so overall, I consider it a sub-par package. Despite it being hot. As I said, I love the chorus…
Ami had a… Decent run with Nakata in her last era. A lot of it sounded same-y, and about a month after I reviewed it, it started sounding like most other Nakata productions, which was a real downer.
Thankfully, she’s now being produced by Taku from m-flo, and Reincarnation is the first single to come from this partnership. I’ve never really listened to anything he’s produced, but after hearing Rie fu’s Romantic, I had high hopes.
The song starts off rather simply. Ami simply says “Let’s go” before a simple, looping synth line that actually sounds rather similar to what we were given in Rie fu’s last single comes in and takes the lead. Ami’s vocals then come in and, THANKFULLY, there aren’t any vocoders! It’s nice to hear her deep register again, instead of being treated to even more vocoders, and it suits the music very well. It stays like this until suddenly the synth starts rising in a rather distorted manner.
Then, with a small sound from Ami, the song explodes into the chorus, which involves the same synth as the first verse with a deeper, thumping club synth placed over it. Ami’s shouting the lyrics here, but I can safely say it sounds a lot better here than the shouting in climb up to the top, which I still liked. The loud blares in the instrumental after the chorus don’t ruin the sound at all, either. I could do with a bit less shouting, but it’s still not song-breaking.
The second verse features even more new synths, with an even simpler backing synth with similar thumping like the stuff from the chorus. It gets a bit more aggressive in the second half, with some slight blaring going on, and some vocal sample repetition near the chorus. It sounds a lot better than the first verse since it has a more complete feeling to it.
Then, by the third verse, it goes back to how it was in the beginning and follows a similar formula depending on the section for the rest of the song. A mini reincarnation in and of itself. Compared to Nakata’s music, it’s radically different, with maybe some small similarities to can’t stop the DISCO, mainly due to the fact that they’re both club songs. It takes some adjusting, but in the end, if you enjoyed Ami’s DOLCE album, you should definitely enjoy this song.
The PV is kind of strange, and yet brilliant at the same time. It utilizes a lot of sparkles, similar to the bubble effect on the cover and how it has the sparkling trail. It opens with Ami walking down an alley, before spinning to face us in slow motion, then suddenly giving us a close-up of her mouth as she says “Let’s go”. The first verse features mainly shots of Ami lying in a bed as she sings, and I will say that the room looks great. It has this kind of classic yet modern feel to it. Near the first chorus, we’ll get a rather… Awkward shot of Ami spinning to look at some bubbles forming behind her and giving us a cringe-worthy blank stare, which I will say is pretty damn bad. If you pay attention, you’ll see that there’s an Ami sleeping in the bed as well as the standing one during the zoom-out after that stare. The outfit standing Ami has (a.k.a. the first one you can properly see) looks rather short for what it is, but the white and pink patch-patterned shirt looks good. That big ribbon could probably be dropped though.
The choruses are where it gets weird. They feature the same psychadelic background as the close-up of Ami’s hand I’m sure we all saw as the PV started, with Ami floating around in it surrounded by bubbles and other effects. The close-ups of Ami in an alley that we get in this section look great (if not a bit too spastic), but I’m not a fan of floating psycahdelic Ami and her horrible white outfit. That random dog is kind of odd, too, I don’t know why they bothered putting him in the alley after the chorus. The PV doesn’t change much from this, in that it simply follows Ami around a house, in Drug-Trip Land and as she spasms in an alley. By the end, at least three different Ami’s are in the house, which I will assume ties into the title of the song. Otherwise, it’s rather confusing and seems really random…
Song Score
A
PV Score
B-
Overall Score
B+
Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting this. I knew it was going to be a club song, partially since it’s coming from Ami, but it didn’t turn out like I thought it would. Regardless, it’s a fantastic song if you’re a fan of the genre, and while the PV is rather random and pointless, Ami looks great. And what is a PV but one big piece of eye candy?
MEG and I have a real love-hate relationship, as I’m sure most of you will know by now. Her last album STEP and last Nakata-produced single, PRECIOUS, were both great releases, so I can’t complain too much about them. This is when Hadouken! comes in and spits all over MEG’s career.
When I first heard FREAK, I was pretty much disgusted. It’s got a loud, grungy electronic sound to it, very similar to Hadouken!’s music. In fact, they didn’t even try to change the sound at all, they just slapped MEG onto their usual sound. As such, the song involves a lot of shouting and talk-singing. The song really repeats the same lines over and over again, and it lacks any real structure at all. It’s a hot mess.
However, if you can stand MEG’s usual vocals, then the singing should be pretty bearable for most of you. If you give the rest of the song a chance, it definitely has the potential to grow on you, as it did for me. It’s an interesting song, even by MEG’s standards. If you’re a fan of both Hadouken! and MEG, you should be able to cotton on instantly and love it from the first time you hear it, but for most others, I can definitely see it taking some work.
The PV, however, is something I still can’t really enjoy. It features three random guys who I ASSUME are the male members of Hadouken!, and they all look like… Well, freaks, which is rather fitting. MEG herself looks interesting, and I’d actually like her look, if it wasn’t for one glaring flaw: Her hair makes it look like the bride of Frankenstein and Professor Frankenstein took an egg and some sperm and used a lion as the surrogate mother. Mushroom head MEG is also here, but only for about two or three scenes, and she’s just floating on a box in space, which makes me wonder why that was the style they chose to use in the cover.
Anyway, the video mainly consists of MEG and her three freaks playing in some kind of fake live performance, then doing some random mundane stuff like smoking and fighting, with random intervals of flying mushroom MEG and the members being stuck in said glass box, except in the live area. It’s a weird, almost stupid PV that instantly screams “b-horror movie”. The song grew on me, but I think the PV will take a while.
Song Score
A-
PV Score
D-
Overall Score
B-
In a sense, FREAK is disappointing. It could have been something great, and yet we were stuck with a grower. Thankfully, it was a grower that eventually became something I can listen to and surprisingly enjoy, but the PV is too much of an eyesore. Hadouken! producing MEG was an interesting experiment, and while the song just managed to come out good, I wouldn’t trust them with produing anything other than FREAK and TOXIC, the b-side to FREAK. Thankfully, Hadouken! isn’t the only producer of her upcoming concept album, so there’s hope.
I think I know a few people who’ve been waiting on this single/PV to come out~
Well, it’s here. They’ve finally released the PV to Aira Mitsuki’s next single, Sayonara TECHNOPOLiS, and being the Aira fan that I am, I decided to review it as a sort of “first impressions” before I go writing a review I’m going to change my mind about five seconds later.
Honestly, the song isn’t what I was expecting. I was really thinking we were getting a ballad a-side, I’ll admit, mainly because of the Sayonara in the title, as stupid as that may sound. It’s a rather simple song, full of quiet synths that don’t really sound overly Aira-ish, with the more recognizable spacey sounds in the background sometimes. It likes to speed up and slow itself down a bit, too.
At first, I thought it was lacking. It’s a bit of a grower, just like love the world was for Perfume. It feels like it’s missing one thing that’ll make it even catchier. In this case, however, a little time changed that opinion. Outside the chorus, it really sounds like Aira’s on the verge of breaking out into a robot rap, as she’s more talking than singing, and sometimes it gets so fast that it led me to use that analogy. These are the parts I thought were lacking, as well as the section with the constant repetition of the title afterwards. The only part I really loved was the chorus, which is the section that opens the song, as far as I can tell. That’s what I mean when I refer to the chorus, anyway.
Once you get to the lack of bass and the oddly quiet sound for an Aira non-ballad, it starts making more sense. If you don’t like it at first, give it a few listens: If you aren’t entirely Techno-allergic, I can almost definitely say that it will grow on you. Of course, we all have different tastes, so who knows.
Aira PV’s usually tend to have a certain crazy hook that makes them more interesting to the viewer. Colorful Tokyo Sounds No.9 had its abundance of stop-motion, while China Discotica has its lovably random color changes and backgrounds, with the occasional shot of something entirely different. GALAXY BOY had its space theme and a 2D dancing Aira, while ROBOT HONEY had its animated world. In a way, Sayonara TECHNOPOLiS takes different elements from each of her PV’s and puts it into one package.
The animated world from ROBOT HONEY is here for most of the song, but it’s done in a manner that looks a bit more presentable and prettier to look at. The stop motion from CTSN.9 is here in the sections where the title is repeated, with the random neon additions to Aira drawing inspiration from China Discotica. There isn’t much from GALAXY BOY, but it could be said that the song itself draws some inspiration from its sound. All together, it could be seen as a compilation of Aira’s different video-based efforts, and the fact that the song has the word goodbye in its title makes me wonder if this is hinting at something happening in Aira’s career. Of course, that’s not the point here.
It’s a great PV, immensely better than ROBOT HONEY’s was, and while the scenes of Aira walking in that dark hallway were kind of dull, the contrast between that and the animated scenes is pretty big, though the animated parts usually end up being the preferrable one: I just love that outfit she has on in it~
Good part: Aira isn’t so killably ugly in this PV, so that should be a plus by itself.
Bad part: She still can’t dance. At least she isn’t actually trying this time.
Song Score
A+
PV Score
A
Overall Score
A
Overall, I really don’t see Aira disappointing her fans with this single. The PV still features the quirky, nerdish Aira we all know and love, while the song gives those fans of her spacier sound what they were wanting. The previews of the other tracks on her MySpace page sound interesting, too: She seems to have a set single pattern now. I’m left wondering why the cover of the single has nothing to do with the PV, but I guess that’s just not going to be mentioned.
(P.S.: I’m too lazy to do the PV Best & Worst post today, expect it in the next few days.)
I’m going to start by saying: I have absolutely no idea who the hell these girls are. I hear all this fuss about them being ex-H!P members, which would explain the fuss, but I have no idea who these girls are, when they were in H!P, whether they were in Morning Musume or not… I only even listened to them due to Brett’s intervention. Hell, I don’t even know their damn names. So excuse me for the lack of any proper naming conventions.
On the song front, I’m not a huge fan of the entirely distorted vocal opening that the song features, which tends to sound even worse with that ominous backing synth. However, once the chorus explodes into being, the song really picks up. I’m not usually a fan of rock songs like this, but I made an exception for this unit. The song is pretty catchy overall, and the random use of vocal distortions near the end of the chorus gives it a quirkier sound than it would’ve had otherwise.
I’m not feeling the whole theme of the song though. While the deep-vocal one fits the song PERFECTLY, the higher-toned one doesn’t really fit the sound at all. They work well together with the music, but she could work a bit better by herself with a deeper singing voice, which I guess she can’t really help.
The verses could be a bit better. I find them to be a bit boring with the quiet ominous synth they use. I guess it isn’t too bad, but I don’t like the whole quiet sound when it comes to synth, especially with vocalists like these. It’s a good song overall, but a few differences would’ve helped.
The VIDEO, however, is where the real fun starts. This thing is so cheesy that I can’t even believe they’re trying to make these girls, of all people, pull off such an image. While Hitomi (I finally asked Brett for their names. xD) is pretty convincing with the guitar, acting like a punk rocker (which suits her overall image in the video), Rika is a fucking joke. She’s trying to act all elegant and classy with the guitar, using over-exaggerated sweeping motions and dancing around, which just makes her look foolish. I actually laughed out loud when I first saw the PV. Their outfits aren’t really that appealing, either: The exaggerated spiky hair and extravagant semi-gothic outfits just look kind of foolish together. But if that was their intention, then it was a job well done.
The solo scenes aren’t much better. Hitomi can be pretty convincing at being a badass at times, but when she tries acting sexy, it’s too many hand movements, not enough sexy faces. She just ends up looking like some insane stalker. Again, that could be the intention, I don’t know any backstory on this group or anything. The 80’s hairstyle and punk outfit don’t really go together either, and her hair bouncing around with every movement just serves as a distraction, instead of making her look good in any way.
Again, Rika’s the joke. While her whole lolita outfit is kind of cute, her innocent stares and similar “Sexy” movements end up just making her look kind of mentally damaged instead of innocent or cute. I guess there’s some backstory behind the whole personality thing with her, but since she’s going from bouncing around playfully to hiding behind a stuffed toy to throwing stuff at you, I have no idea what to think about it.
And then we have the big scene: The kiss.
A hand stroking a stomach, grabbing a boob and stopping the whole thing just before their lips touch. It’s one big tease. And I, for one, am outraged. Some action would’ve made this whole PV worth watching, but it’s just another failed attempt. Unless they were actually trying to piss me off, to which I’d once again say “job well done”.
Song Score
B+
PV Score
D+
Overall Score
C
So, this is a pretty good song, but all I really see the PV as being worth watching for is the laughs or the fan service featured in the kissing scene. Or you could just be a huge fan of the girls, in which case I guess it’s justified, too. It’s good for a laugh, I guess, but the PV really just takes away from the real feel of the song for me. I’m going to get some disapproving clucks from this, but I’m sure someone’ll like to see what someone with no prior knowledge has to say about it.
So, Kumi’s had a pretty rough career. Varying success in recent times, that huge interview upset about the amniotic fluids of 35+ year old women, and a big mindfuck of a switch from sexy Kuu to slightly conservative in comparison.
Thankfully, after the “flop” that was MOON (I didn’t mind it though, see the review) and the four songs included on it, Kumi came roaring back with this sex-fest, taboo-exploring PV, bringing with her the sexy image she so carelessly discarded in “stay with me”.
To be honest, I despised this song when it was first released. I don’t know why, I just thought it was a pretty poor effort compared to some of her other stuff. Then again, I’ve never been a gigantic Kumi fan as it is, so that really couldn’t have helped the situation. However, I’ve had a complete change of heart. The song carries a sound similar to what many Western artists such as Justin Timberlake may use, but I feel that Kumi’s producer worked with the sound a lot better than the blander Western counterparts. And no, that’s not my bias against Western music talking, I really thought those songs were bland and annoying.
The almost gritty sound of the synth doesn’t compliment Kumi’s voice as well as it could, but you could say that actually adds to the song due to the racy subject matter we have going here. Another gripe is the end of the chorus. This is the only part of the song that REALLY annoys me, because it sounds like it ends just a BIT too suddenly. I can let it pass because of how dance-friendly and infectious the rest of the music is, though.
The PV is where this song could gain some controversy though. The video explores many of the different taboo’s of society, mainly revolving different sex-related themes. I guess you could say the bathroom scene could be about rape or something, while the following scene is blatantly showing the fact that Kuu’s hot for teh wimenz. Kuu’s acting seems kind of transparently fake, though, and I don’t really buy that she’s turned on at all. There may be some more hidden in there, but really, the video is one big make-out sex orgy. Especially with all the guy-on-guy and girl-on-girl stuff near the end that, this time, doesn’t feature Kuu.
Kumi’s still got some attitude in the song though, from her forceful ejection of the “scum” in the opening scene, to the S&M bondage dress in the bathroom scene and the altered womans army uniform in the room scene. The choreography near the end is pretty spiffy, though, so that was fun to watch.
The ~Another Edition~ PV for TABOO was most likely created to address this racy issue, because it’s got more of a focus on Kuu close-ups, while keeping the sex at a bare minimum. Gotta love toilet dancing, but this PV has a lot less excitement in it. I guess it does its job well though.
Song Score
A
PV Score
A-
Total Score
A
To be honest, lesbian sex orgies don’t really do much for me, so I’m not a huge fan of the PV. The concept behind it is quite interesting, though, and I must admit, Kuu is damn hot in that maid costume… I prefer this song to a LOT of her older material, so hopefully she keeps this up when TRICK comes out. This is how Kuu should stay, because this is where she truly shines when it comes to her music and the promotional videos.
This post also has a second point to it, though…
I will now be featuring Koda Kumi on my blog permanently. I’ll be starting with her latest era, and the opening single MOON, before moving on to the TABOO single and then stay with me upon release. I’ve been considering this for a while, but Kingdom kind of sucked. But here we are now~
GALAXY BOY was the main promotional track for Aira Mitsuki’s debut album, C.O.P.Y., and also acted as the opening track for the same album.
And WHAT a track! The song is easily one of Aira’s best songs in her discography, opening on a quieter note, before bringing in the thumping, ethereal, space-element synth. Despite having the kind of chorus that could bore you quickly, the way the package is presented keeps the song interesting through these verses, through the anticipating bridge and into the chorus, which shows off just how catchy this song actually is. It’s easily the part that’s going to get you hooked to the song. Why this wasn’t its own single, I’ll never know.
It had one hell of a PV to go with it, too. It follows the same space theme, with Aira driving through space at the beginning of the video, and getting into a laser fight with three separate copies of herself. There’s a lot of psychadelic rainbows here to top it off, too, shooting past and around Aira throughout the video.
In fact, in almost every shot of the video, you can see the glory of space itself, with Earth (or some other planet) being the most obvious landmark in the sky in the background. The video throws the sci-fi space theme at you whenever it can, but at least it fits with the theme of the song. This is how Tek videos really should be.
The real clincher here, though, has to be 2D Aira. Throughout the whole video, Aira is shown from a 2D perspective, with the chorus even having this paper-thin Aira dancing around in the most awkward manner I’ve ever really seen. It’s actually rather hilarious, and for people like me, nostalgic.
How is it nostalgic? Three words: Parappa the Rapper. That old PS1 game that had paper thin characters trying to dance around without the proper dimensions for it. It was over a good decade ago, but this was the first thing the chorus dance reminded me of. And that’s a good thing, because that game was AWESOME for its time. ( Don’t tease me, it’s true. ;~; )
HOWEVER! There’s something I should point out to you all…
AIRA’S PV IS A COPY OF THE SONG TECHNOPOLIS’ MUSIC VIDEO~ As sung by Yellow Magic Orchestra.
A COPY! A COPY!
AND IT’S PROMOTING AN ALBUM NAMED C.O.P.Y.!!!
Coincidence? I THINK NOT!
Just take that however you will, I think she pulled it off pretty well.
Video Score
A+
Total Score
A+
Do you see why I reviewed this PV first? Yes, this is definitely what I would consider Tek perfection. It’s the only song in the genre that hasn’t worn thin for me, even after listening to it millions of times. Every Nakata act has this happen to them eventually, but Aira’s still clear. Nakata needs to step back and take a look at this, because this is pretty much what Tek should be. It makes Perfume look like regular J-Pop in comparison, when you take the arrangements into account.
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