October 2011
17 posts
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Rethinking Tumblr
I might switch permanently to Wordpress - Tumblr’s limitations are starting to annoy me.
https://j1muzak.wordpress.com as an experiment.
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CNBLUE - In My Head
I wasn’t really paying CNBLUE any attention at all but that giant promo truck that’s been doing the rounds in Shibuya has done its job very well…
The only past experience I had with CNBLUE’s music in any form was Yonghwa’s Banmal Song from the WGM series, so this single was a chance to discover for myself what they had to offer. I at least hoped they wouldn’t...
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BUMP OF CHICKEN - Zero
Wow, just wow. I can’t remember the last time I felt this strongly about a BUMP song…probably Planetarium. I wasn’t really aware of Zero’s status as a Final Fantasy theme but that shortened, acoustic opening version found on this single just doesn’t do the song justice IMO, lacking the majesty and grandeur of the original’s arrangement.
If the world was fair...
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Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
Hooray for being based in Japan, where English-language albums regularly get released earlier than anywhere else! But first of all, let me make a confession:
I haven’t consciously listened to Coldplay since their X&Y album.
That’s more than 6 years ago now, both to my surprise (wow, that long ago?) and horror (oh my god, I’m inching ever closer to the big 3-0).
I was...
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Girls' Generation - The Boys
Challenge for this post: remain objective.
I guess you could say I fall into the category of a ‘hardcore’ Soshi fan right at this moment, with pretty much every spare dollar I have going towards contributing to whatever amount of peanuts SM Entertainment is paying the girls, or putting money into their wig fund or helping out with fees for their English lessons.
Having said that, I...
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marble - Utatane
I have never been marble’s greatest fan. It seems the duo often are prone to choosing the path of least creative resistance, resulting in a sound that is far too lightweight to leave a positive or rather, any sort of impression upon me. Weak songs, weak melodies, snoozy arrangements…let’s just say the only purpose I find for their material is as a potential cure for insomnia.
...
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Wheesung - They are Coming
Maybe it’s because this represents his ‘final’ release before his army enlistment next month, but Wheesung has really outdone himself with 놈들이 온다. About time too - he’s been giving away his best songs to the likes of SHINee, Seven and G.NA over the last few years after all.
Previous albums tended to be patchy affairs with the odd highlight here and there, but They are...
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Various - SKET DANCE KAIMEI ROCK FESTIVAL
When I first read this arc in the manga I was really curious on how Tatsunoko would handle it in the anime - would the music the school bands played at the cultural festival actually turn out to be listenable? Turns out I needn’t have worried at all.
Have to say that I’m a little surprised they kept on the seiyuu to provide vocals for most of the acts (obviously apart from the...
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KOTOKO - Hiraku Uchuu Pocket
I only needed 1 or 2 listens to Hiraku Uchuu Pocket to know for sure that it’s the best album KOTOKO’s made in her decade-long career thus far. That might not seem like high praise when you consider the fact that the four LPs that preceded it were…well, not very good.
This happens to be KOTOKO’s first album release since switching to Warner Home Video, a new label founded...
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Hawaaii - Two Tickets Please
When I ventured back into Kpop earlier this year, one of the first voices to catch my ear was that of Earip’s - sweet and lilting, like a gentle breeze (no, really). She’s a veteran in the Korean indie scene having released a couple of albums as part of Sweater as well as pursuing her own solo career, and Hawaaii is a side project featuring Earip and gipsy&fish guitarist Lee Ho...
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Hoover's Ooover - Kotae wa 156-page
Really, the style of music Hoover’s Ooover makes is oh so charming. Unfortunately, every single track they produce has the distinction of sounding exactly the same as something else they’ve recorded in the past.
This fact hit home pretty hard when I went to watch them live a few months ago - despite enjoying their set, I could not recognize a single song they played by name and trying...
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Spangle call Lilli line - Piano Lesson
After the disappointment of New Season I lowered my expectations for Piano Lesson down by about 10 notches but it turns out I didn’t need to do that at all.
Piano Lesson features 8 hand-picked tracks from the group’s back catalogue and as the album title suggests, they’re given lush new piano-led arrangements in collaboration with ex-Kukikodan member Koyama Izumi. I was prepared...
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Kim Bo Kyung - the FIRST DAY + GroWing
Kim Bo Kyung was a contestant on Superstar K2 (the competition that Huh Gak won) but didn’t get very far - voted out before the top 10, her sob story nevertheless touched enough people to gain her a single release of her signature song Because of You, a cover of her heroine Kelly Clarkson’s popular hit.
Earlier this year came Kim’s first mini-album the FIRST DAY which proved to...
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RO-KYU-BU! - pure elements
With my tolerance level of badly-written, badly-sung bubblegum idol music now at an all-time low, it took me a good 10 minutes or so to decide whether or not to touch this album - which on paper, held the potential to melt my brain Chernobyl style.
Well…I wish I had trusted my instinct. I shall…refrain from being nasty and just offer some sage advice.
AVOID LIKE THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.
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Takahashi Hitomi - PICORINPIN
You have to feel sorry for Takahashi, the forgotten woman in Jpop - a promising start to her career aided by the power of Gundam has petered out to almost nothing, culminating with the embarrassing No.200 chart position of recent single Poolside (a collab with PE’Z’s H ZETT M).
Or perhaps she’s content sacrificing chart success for a chance to work with some of the rock/indie...
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Jess Lee - Gan Xie Ai Ren
Lots of controversy has been swirling around the promotional video for Jess Lee’s 煎熬 - the 10-minute long sexually-explicit, violent clip has garnered over 2 million views on Youtube since it was first posted 2 weeks ago. You have to wonder whether Lee herself had any say in the decision to attach her name and face to something as opinion-dividing as this, but I suppose that Warner Taiwan...
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Sungha Jung - Irony
Boy wonder’s second full-length album - this time, Jung chooses to tackle a whole lot less covers than he did on his debut CD Perfect Blue, preferring to toss in more of his own compositions. Good idea?
Let’s begin with the covers. Nostalgia obviously plays a huge part in my liking of Jung’s reworking of 벌써일년 (Been Already A Year), originally performed by balladeers Brown Eyes,...
September 2011
21 posts
1 tag
3Q2011 Favourites (Albums)
Timely once again! I’ve been on a bit of a roll these days in terms of regular posting so this quarter’s list will look familiar enough…
1.Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm. Benjamin Francis Leftwich - I think I’ve really missed hearing this sort of tuneful acoustic-folk ever since people like David Gray and Damien Rice turned a bit crap. Leftwich may have the most...