Christmas Eve: Koi suru fortune cookie – AKB48

Christmas Day: Merry X’mas for you – Onyanko Club

Finally, an actual Christmas song falls on Christmas Day. It’s probably not that worth celebrating. We listened to it while opening presents because i’m a huge bully and it’s the only Christmas record i own apart from the Phil Spector one. Credibility lies with that over this, but i’m too far below credibility to be any other way.

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Fushigi TOKYO Cinderella

Fushigi TOKYO Cinderella – Saint Four

It’s the same song as yesterday! What can be don? I could stop listening to it so much. I’ll post an encore perfromance of the same concert i posted yesterday. They let their fans sing this one.

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Fushigi TOKYO Cinderella

Fushigi TOKYO Cinderalla – Saint Four

Below is a blurry live video of this song at what must be one of Saint Four’s last outings as a group. The money isn’t coming in any more, the songs aren’t charting, support has left and gone on to other things, the production has scaled down, and one of the members has even left. But tell that to the three remaining girls and the dedicated down front, and really throughout the whole building, enraptured, screaming along, pumping their fists, and giving everything that one last time.

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hello there

Yesterday: Ano Natsu no bike – Kokusho Sayuri

Today: Mine – Taylor Swift

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Again

Again – Kudo Shizuka

I’ve posted a number of Shizuka’s songs multiple times but this one only once. I can’t explain why, it’s one of my favourites. Here’s her singing it as the showstopper in a 1990 concert, which thanks to the Japanese adoption of laserdisc has been preserved pristinely for this youtube generation.

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Moshimo Dameki ga Sekai ni Itara

Moshimo dameki ga sekai ni itara – Yumi

Real name Morishita Yumiko, blood type A, Yumi was the lead vocalist in Soft Cream in the early 80’s before venturing solo, this being her first single. And guess what it’s the closing theme to an anime. One about a raccoon named Moshi, whom i think may have traveled around the world teaching Japanese kids about different countries. And that’s basically what this song is: Yumi sings the same verse over and over, each turn a new country is visited, its capital city is mentioned and the greeting is sung in that country’s language. Sung in a very heavy idol accent, mind.

The U.S.A, Italy, Brazil, Ethiopia, the Soviet Union, Netherlands, India, Egypt, France and Antarctica all get a turn. Antarctica has its greeting sung “Konnichiwa” for some reason. The Japanese do have a number of scientific research stations on the continent (for whaling i think), and to offer the greeting in English, Spanish or Norwegian would have been to declare claim to any of those countries over the other, defying the Antarctic Treaty System. It should have been sung in a penguin language, but i guess to its audience it carries a sense of yours, mine and everybody’s when kept in Japanese.

I’m posting the first version of this song. There being too many countries and greetings in the world for one song, even one seven minute song, a sequel was released. It is exactly the same, only we visit Spain, China, Norway, the UK, Argentina, Denmark, South Korea, Greece and Switzerland in that. I actually prefer the second version because it has a better arrangement i.e. doesn’t have jungle noises pasted over the top of everything. If this comes up again i’ll post it. But both, in their length and repetitiveness, have this gentle, lulling quality, perfect for what they are, sending me right back to my primary school library and that 910 section i spent all of my time in.

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Naze? no Arashi

Naze? no arashi – Yoshizawa Akie

“Even when the night has hidden the streets in its black shadows, i can’t go home, like a stray child. The hand of the clock urges me. I am a lonely girl. Why can’t i fall asleep in his arms? I am not a child. Truthfully. Do not stop my blooming passion! On the curb alone, i was looking for love in the faraway lights. The droplets of my wet hair stain my heart. I am a lonely girl.”

Now those are some lyrics.

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Sakai no Labyrinth

Saikai no labyrinth – Kawai Sonoko

Want to see someone on top of their game?

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Kashiko

Kashiko – Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi

Their final single. And not on either of the albums i own, so this took some tracking down. You know, i have been strictly honest with this thing. I could have used it to at least create the illusion of cool, selecting songs with some sort of useful capital, or songs about which i would at least have something to say. But here i am, stripped bare to whatever embarrassments my subconscious offers up in the morning. So eat it. This song has some of the most unnecessarily layered production to be found in any song, all of it extraneous to the music, and is all the more perfect because of it.

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Today: Pain – Die Kreuzen

Yesterday: Mugo n Iroppoi – Kudo Shizuka

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