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Sometimes, a release comes along that demands my attention. The latest of these comes from Shinozaki Ai, and I cannot believe it myself. I do not know where to begin with Shinozaki Ai. Mind you, I have known about the girl for quite a while from her modeling work. It is probably inevitable, and actually regrettable, but I should let the reader know that this is what I knew about Shinozaki Ai.
Yes, you could probably call her a gravure idol, although I do not actually know how such things work. You probably know where I am coming from now.
And, yes she did have a career as a singer in the idol group AeLL, which stood for “Activity eco Life with Love.” I did not get into AeLL for a few different reasons, some of which, I’ll admit, have to do with Ai’s image as a gravure idol.
After a little provocation, I gave Shinozaki Ai’s “A-G-A-I-N” a listen. It was love at first sight. The song begins with that persistent guitar lick looped over a half-time beat that grooves throughout the song. Sounds layer over each other and build toward a memorable chorus hook. Instrumentation added and subtracted from the arrangement provide a sense of movement. “A-G-A-I-N” sounds slick because it is a slick production. Whether these artificial grooves have anything to do with the PV (more on that later) remains to be seen.
The real attraction with the music, though, is Shinozaki Ai’s voice. I did not expect her voice. Ai exhibits great control a voice that plays expressively and with drama and emotion. Honestly, even though I think “A-G-A-I-N” is a solid release, Ai’s voice will be the one thing I will return to again and again.
So much of Ai’s work is tied into her visuals, that we need to talk about the PV itself. We do not get the scantily clad gravure model in “A-G-A-I-N”. We get an attractively styled Ai with an oversized pastel sweater and similarly hued knee socks. The knee socks does it for most people, and there is plenty of Zettai Ryouiki for a tease. Ai also does an outstanding job modeling the hell out of a lollipop. Ai is a popular, successful model: she knows what she is doing.
But, then there are the parts of the PV that seem pointed toward commercialism and the production of people. Much of the PV looks like product placement. Nail polish, glass beads, marshmallows, hair spray, and even Shinozaki Ai herself appear on rotating platforms like they are featured items in a QVC advert. Ai walks among the litter of products and peers into a heavily teased box where we see … another Shinozaki Ai. The NiB Ai comes complete with a clutch-able teddy bear (because nothing is cuter than a cute girl clutching a teddy bear). In the second verse Ai sings, “Even adult but like a kid, you are the teenage dream.” This is some real self-aware stuff! Ai knows she is a product unnaturally infantilized, sold among the air fresheners and party favors.
The identity crisis brought on by years in the public eye causes a schism that most of us will never know. As an entertainer, are you the same person that appears on you album covers, your photobooks, or your magazine layouts? In the public eye, will you do things, wear things, and say things that you would never say in private? Who is Shinozaki Ai? And, what relationship does she have with the 14-year-old(!) in those bikinis? From the PV for “A-G-A-I-N”, Ai seems to know that two of her exists simultaneously. To further that distinction, Ai acknowledges her factory produced doppelganger. Ai holds a sing-off with her plastic self! All the while, the silent agreement pervades- you can buy the Ai in the box, the one she keeps at a safe distance from herself. But, the real Ai? They are similar things, but they’re not the same.
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Everyone has an opinion on Tsugunaga Momoko … or at least everyone has an opinion on Momochi. With all of her attention grabbing tactics, I think we lose sight of a couple of facts.
Firstly, is a great singer and performer.
Secondly, Momoko is a cute girl. There, I said it. She’s not a classic beauty like Fukumura Mizuki, and she’s not a little cutie like Shimamura Uta. She’s definitely not without her charms when she flips the switch.
And so, here are the rest of Momoko’s photos. Enjoy.
My summer concert series kicked off last weekend with a pair of concerts from the highly regarded SCANDAL. The band once touted themselves as the “most powerful Japanese girlie rock” band. You may know that I saw SCANDAL previously in 2011 at the AM2 convention in Anaheim (you can read great coverage by Greg at Selective Hearinghere). That was an awkward time for me since I didn’t know ANYONE from any sort of idol scene at the time … who am I kidding, I don’t really know many people now, four years later!
From my experience in 2011, I regretted the choice of venue at AM2. A proper rock club would have suited SCANDAL much more than a room and a stage configured for a fashion show rather than a concert. A few weird moments during the Q&A sessions and the strange venue did little to contain my excitement at the time. I really loved the group in 2011 and would have licked the sweat off Tomomi’s P-Bass if she let me.
Forwarding to present day 2015, SCANDAL played a pair of shows both House of Blues (HoB) clubs in the Southern California area. I am decently acquainted with both clubs from attending shows at both the Downtown Disney and Hollywood HoBs and playing at the Hollywood HoB a couple of times. Both venues decorate themselves with a reverence to swampland blues that is partly inspiring in its detail and partly insulting for its Disneyland sanitation of otherwise unsanitary conditions. None of that really matters since I only wanted to see SCANDAL. With my history of adoration for the band, attending both concerts was a must for me. The concerts also afforded me the opportunity to see the group at a proper club, with a proper stage, lights, and sound.
Remember the foursome from my Perfume adventures last year? This group also came with me to see SCANDAL. Some nice dinner was had … you probably saw the pictures if you follow me on instagram (we are Asian after all, right? It’s our duty to photograph our food!) Those of you who don’t know the Los Angeles area probably don’t realize how painfully annoying the drive from Culver City to West Hollywood can be, but after a dinner that included poutine with strange gastro created cheese I set my phone on my dashboard and let Google find the best route to the Sunset Strip.
I’m a guy. I cannot stand valet parking. We arrived at the HoB in good time, so I felt I should circle around the club a couple of times to find a decent lot within walking distance. I did not find one, so I settled for a lot that I thought would let me park my own car. I found a lie- the parking attendant refused to let me park. The price for such a service? $20. This prompted a bet on the relative cost of valet service at the House of Blues lot. The wager – one pint of the winner’s choosing. For those interested- I won the bet and chose a pint of Blue Moon.
We arrived at the House of Blues very close to set time, and there was no time to actually do much more than sign the American Flag on display at a centrally located table. The stage glowed blue with anticipation of the upcoming rock. We got ourselves a bit of real estate near the right side of the stage and the music began.
Haruna (vocals and guitar), Tomomi (vocals and bass), Mami (guitar and vocals), and Rina (drums and vocals) rocketed past their previous school-girl image. Now, the girls style themselves in a way that looks funky, bit retro, and a bit frayed on the edges. SCANDAL look as though they selected the best pieces from a Melrose thrift shop and threw them on with little regard to matching. In other words, they were meticulously and strategically mismatched. It seems the world of 80’s glam gave way to 90’s Salvation Army yet again.
Scandal began their set with “Love in Action”, which set the energy very high. The punchy rhythm that begins the song perfectly suited the jumping and cheering of the crowd. Some people here had been waiting years to see Scandal, and they showed excitement by jumping rhythmically, screaming along with the lyrics, and pumping their light pens with the music. “Love in Action” showcases the balance of vocals between Haruna and Tomomi, which, by some accounts, drives much of the appeal of the band.
Compared to the last time I saw them, the group’s skill grew considerably. Tomomi’s bass playing still holds the band together. Having personally played the bass now for the last few months, I appreciate Tomomi’s finger playing more than ever (she is better than me). Now, Mami’s guitar playing advanced enough to provide some great melodic work and interesting layers to their pop sound. Even more, Mami provides a great deal of the harmony vocals underneath Haruna and Tomomi. During the intervening four years, Mami became an excellent guitar player. I’d jam with her.
The set list (below) wound through to favorites “DOLL” and “Shunkan Sentimental” and the early song “SCANDAL BABY”. The first part of the set finished off with 2013’s Kagen no Tsuki” with its memorable chorus and the rocker “Onegai Navigation”.
The middle of the set featured all the girls who were not named Haruna. No, these songs are not singles and are not ready for radio. Songs like these reinforce the idea that SCANDAL is a band before and above anything else. This is teamwork, and everyone gets their piece of cake. Firstly, Mami sang her solo song “Hon wo Yomu” with its march-like rhythms and note-hopping melody. Next, Tomomi sang the interestingly named “Can Beer” which is probably the least interesting solo song simply because it does not stray too far from the norm. Finally, Rina provided a showstopper with “Oyasumi”. Rina joined the girls in the front line and picked up a guitar and a microphone. Sure, the girls rocked along to a drum machine, but that is a small price to give the drummer her moment under the front/center spot.
SCANDAL continued to rip through their singles with the emotionally charged “Departure“. But, the highlight of the set for me came with the “Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku Story“. I remember first hearing the song and watching the PV and thinking “Japan doesn’t play fair”. The energetic song I am sure provided a highlight for many of the crowd. The group finished their main set strong with the singles “ Yoake No Ryuuseigun“, “Your Song”, and “Image“. “Your Song” gave the audience an opportunity to sing along with its catchy “whoahs” and instantly hummable melodies. “Image” provided solid up-tempo rocking moments and capped off the set perfectly.
I had the opportunity to see slightly differing encores. Both encore sets finished off with crowd favorite “EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!” (and, we ALL said “YEAH!”). Hollywood’s encore started with “Awanai Tsumori no, Genki dene” while SCANDAL changed things up for Anaheim with “HARUKAZE“. Between the two songs, “Awanai Tsumori…” rocked a bit more with its faster tempo while “HARUKAZE” provided a more emotional ending to the night with its half-time intros featuring Mami’s lead guitar work.
Aside from being a fan of idols (I’m not calling SCANDAL idols, BTW), I walked away from both nights impressed with the group as a solid rock unit. They really are a fantastic group with a great look, excellent singles, and great live performances. I hate to think of them in terms of “these HOT Japanese babes can play music!” Yes, they are good-looking girls, but a music producer did not assemble the girls for their looks and talent. By all indications, SCANDAL grew organically the way (I think) great rock acts should grow. Do not forget that SCANDAL have Osaka roots, weekend street lives, and indie records under their belt. I think the best way to celebrate SCANDAL is to treat them like the great rock act they have become.
I could probably write a bit more about Anaheim at this point, but I think I should just summarize. You know I am an awkward one, right? Well, after writing the “Hello! Project Power Rankings” for about a year, I finally met face-to-face with some of people behind New School Kaidan. I know I have had many opportunities to meet these guys before, but I am just not one to say, “Hello, my name is 244 and you should know me because XYZ.” Truthfully, I do not particularly care if people know who I am- I do all of my blogging for myself, just to collect my thoughts, and not a desire to become internet famous. As a social cripple, I had a few opportunities after the SCANDAL concert to introduce myself to these people I should have met a while ago, but ended up not doing so until I found myself in a Karaoke room with them. Honestly, it was great meeting and karaoke-ing with the New School Kaidan, BaSuGaSuBaKuHaTsu, and everyone else (I do not want to out anyone) who came and sang after the Anaheim show. You were all very nice, and I probably should have introduced myself with my screen name and not my actual name. But that feels weird to me. I hope to talk to you all more in the future.
Set list for West Hollywood House of Blues, May 22, 2015
1. love in action
2. Satisfaction
3. DOLL
4. Shunkan Sentimental
5. SCANDAL BABY
6. Kagen no Tsuki
7. Onegai Navigation
8. Hon wo Yomu
9. Canned Beer
10. Oyasumi
11. Departure
12. Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY
13. Yoake no Ryuseigun
14. Your song
15. Image
Encore:
16. Awanai Tsumori no, Genki dene
17. EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!
Set list for Anaheim House of Blues, May 23, 2015
1. love in action
2. Satisfaction
3. DOLL
4. Shunkan Sentimental
5. SCANDAL BABY
6. Kagen no Tsuki
7. Onegai Navigation
8. Hon wo Yomu
9. Canned Beer
10. Oyasumi
11. Departure
12. Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY
13. Yoake no Ryuseigun
14. Your song
15. Image
Encore:
16. HARUKAZE
17. EVERYBODY SAY YEAH!
Were you there, too? Tell me your stories in the comments!
(Preface: It’s been a while since I’ve written with any regularity. I’m hoping to correct that a bit now that summer beats me down with its rays. My personal movement away from screen capture laden review might also help with more regularity in my writing. I don’t know: you may not want more to read, or you might not want to read my scrawling without visual stimulation. Most likely you don’t care much one way or the other, and that’s alright with me, too. Most likely, I’ll save the screen captures for more eye popping reviews.)
Let’s talk about Awesome City Club. I have been meaning to write about them for a while now. ACC are a break from my normal idol fare. Remember, though: I used to play in a band before coming to idol heaven, so seeing a group like Awesome City Club hits me hard. While this review concerns “Shigatsu no March”, their release Awesome City Music is a great listen all the way through. Pick up a copy.
Awesome City Club trades vocal duties between atagi and PORIN, but “Shigatsu no March” belongs to PORIN (which, no surprise, I prefer). Verses and intros snap along with a “four on the floor” rhythm that feels great to my ska-trained ears (no I’m not calling this a ska song- it’s not). The chorus is a real selling point with “Shigatsu no March” as PORIN’s vocal work provides a catchy hook that builds upward from the verses.
I say verses, but really there’s only a first verse. After PORIN’s bell-like vocals, the group forgoes a second verse in favor of a subdued three on two re-arrangement of the chorus. If you are a rhythm geek, you will like this. If you are thinking that “Shigatsu no March” is a song built around a chorus and an organ-backed guitar lick, you are probably right.
Just as much as the song, the PV for “Shigatsu no March” really sucked me into this group.
In our first scene we see PORIN just waking up. As she picks up the phone and starts singing, she looks as natural as we will ever see her in the PV. I find this interesting and appropriate because people are never more natural and closest to their true self in sleep. This is natural. This is normal. Hello Papa, Mama, Sensei.
When the song transitions to the chorus, PORIN receives the treatment from the rest of the band. Standing like a plastic doll, lifeless and soulless, PORIN finds herself at the whims of her band and on the receiving end of a makeover. The rest of Awesome City Club don rubber gloves as if to exonerate themselves from any wrongdoing. This makes me believe they know their actions are somehow against nature.
This scene repeats in greater detail and with greater damning evidence. Their singer becomes just a doll for them to play with. I watch these sequences and think about how dehumanizing the process is. Who cares what PORIN wants to wear? She needs to become a tool to increase Awesome City Club’s fanbase, right? We should all know by now that however unfairly, the singer for any group receives the most attention and becomes the focal point of the band. Things being thus, “they” expend much greater time and care preening and prepping the singer to create the perfect, optimized image for the group. This is how the game is played, and Awesome City Club know it and acknowledge it meta-contextually. The flipside of this coin is that we consumers will practically never hear/see bands with “ugly” singers, regardless of talent (you can start looking for counterexamples now). But the result is ….
Finally, we get the performance shot for Awesome City Club. In some ways, I find this performance the most honest portrayal of how it feels to become the backing band. PORIN appears front & center and downstage from a shimmering tinsel backdrop. She wears her carefully crafted outfit- honestly, I think she looks great. PORIN comes to life. She moves more naturally than she did backstage, and her dolled-up self even seems to enjoy performing. The band, though, becomes invisible. We see their rubber gloves add to PORIN’s choreography. They accentuate her movements, but stay out of the way. When the band shows themselves, they are practically reduced talking heads. Completely inconsequential, the rest of Awesome City Club provide background vocals from a different room- the backstage set. Heck, they do even get proper instruments: they sing their parts through a hairbrush. Even though they may enjoy performing as much as PORIN, it ultimately does not matter: no one will ever see them.
All things end, and when “Shigatsu no March” meets its final bars, PORIN is back in her pajamas, jumping on her bed. She is alive again. In this final time in the bedroom, confetti showers PORIN in celebration. PORIN’s smiles during her fevered trampoline play come across as the most authentic artifact in “Shigatsu no March”. Her time as someone’s doll finished, the genuine and true PORIN puts away the tools of deception: the wig crowns the soulless mannequin and the false lashes beautify the false horse.
With “Shigatsu no March”, I see a band acknowledge their roles in the public sphere. Our front woman resigns herself to an existence as a doll, or an effigy for the band as a whole. The band itself tries to exert control by tailoring their singer, but ultimately becomes behind-the-scenes players. The sharp metaphorical play of the PV might outshadow a lesser song, but “Shigatsu no March” is a sharp release, one that I will enjoy for a long time.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Let’s lay down the facts first: Shimamura Uta parted ways with the Country Girls and with Hello! Project. Her official end date with the company is June 12, 2015.
Now, Uta-chan didn’t die. If all of this reads like an obituary, that’s not my intention. I’m just trying to clear my head of the mess left behind. Before you read my thoughts, you might want to read the official press release from Hello! Project, or the translated press release from blog! project. You may want to also read playing manager Tsugunaga Momoko’s thoughts on the Shimamura Uta affair (EDIT) or blog translations from Yamaki Risa, Morito Chisato, or Ozeki Mai. Fair warning: Yamaki and Ozeki’s blogs will crush you.
Hello! Station introduced the world to little Utachan on November 12, 2014. At the time time, Country Girls and Uta made a big enough impression on me that I went to great lengths to learn all about these fresh young faces. Shimamura Uta shared a scant 219 days of her life with us idol fans and HaroWota. In this short time, Uta rose to the forefront of Hello! Project as one of the faces of the new generation of idols. For a couple of months, it seemed like EVERYONE was mad about Uta. You name it: wota and idols alike were taken by Uta’s innocence and charm. I personally spent a few nights tweeting nothing but pictures of Shimamura Uta. Even if she wasn’t my clear favorite in the group, I enjoyed her charm and presence. Let me make this clear: I LOVED Shimamura Uta. I know many wota invested heavily into Uta-chan.
I think it is easy to see why so many were taken by this little girl. Uta-chan’s 1/8 Italian roots imparted an exotic, doll-like appearance. As a performer, Shimamura exuded an innocent air with equal parts embarrassment and bewilderment. I do not think Uta was embarrassed about performing; she seemed to be shocked that she made such a deep impression hundreds of people. Her. Just little old her.
Speculation about the reasons for Shimamura’s departure center around her family/parents. Through translation, the press release concerning Utachan indicate a disagreement between H!P and Uta’s parents/representation. This disagreement could very well be about money. One common theory maintains the Shimamura family felt Uta deserved greater monetary compensation considering her position as the focal point of media attention.
I’d like to advance a kinder theory. This is purely speculation.
What if the Shimamura family wanted less attention for little Utachan? No one could have predicted the whirlwind that enveloped Uta the last few months. Even for an idol, the Uta storm exceeded expectation. We already know Uta always looks shy and a bit embarrassed- we can probably assume that Uta felt a little shy and embarrassed. Is it crazy to believe that Shimamura’s parents wanted to protect their little girl from the onslaught of media exposure? Maybe there were already in talks for the first Uta photobook, and these talks made the family of this 14 year-old uncomfortable. Is it hard to believe that Shimamura Uta left the idol world because she wanted less? Is it hard to believe that Shimamura Uta left the idol world because her family is trying to protect her?
I don’t want to believe that we lost Shimamura Uta because of money.
I have nothing but love for Shimamura Uta. Even though her premature departure from the idol world leaves me shocked and disillusioned, I respect the Shimamura family’s decision. I am not privy to the particular points of disagreement, and I cannot say anything with a reliable degree of certainty. When Uta eventually left the idol world, I hoped she would leave as a star personality with years of performances and memories. Sadly, I, we only have these 219 days of Shimamura Uta. At least as far as Hello! Project is concerned, the Shimamura Uta Chronicles have ended.
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If you strip nature to its barest composition, reduce all of its glorious curves and angles to perpendicular black, and simplify hues to primary colors, you would probably produce something that looks like Piet Mondrian’s work. No doubt the Dutch painter’s work crossed through your visual stream once or twice. His compositions and style from the 1920’s became shorthand for modernism in the 1960’s, and now serve as an easy callback to retro futurism.w
My thoughts on Piet Mondrian actually hold some bearing with the idol group Callme! You see, the group’s debut release on March 3, “To Shine” employs serious amounts of Mondrian inspired art and artifacts. But, my manners! We should probably start with Callme themselves. Who is this trio?
Callme started as a subunit of the idol group Dorothy Little Happy. The three members, Akimoto Ruuna, Tominaga Mimori, and Hayasaka Koumi began performing as Callme at @JAM the field vol. 7 at TSUTAYA O-EAST in February this year. They conceptualized Callme as a “self produced” idol unit with the members tackling composition, songwriting, and choreography. Having whet their appetites, Ruuna, Mimori, and Koumi recently decided to graduate from Dorothy Little Happy. If you are keeping track, Dorothy Little Happy undergoes idol mitosis, with the three members of Callme leaving the mother ship and Takahashi Mari and Shirato Kana remaining as a duo version of DLH, on July 12.
“To Shine” impressed me as a debut single. The group delivers a strong identity of jazzy melodies backed by a natural sounding dance beat (e.g. not electronic). “To Shine” layers its sound with a dominant piano track that sounded catchy enough to serve as the song’s intro. Keyboards and backing vocals provide some electronic melodic layers to the arrangement, but “To Shine” at its heart is drums, piano, and voice. I think Tominaga Mimori provided an exciting debut for the group, and an impressive debut for herself as a composer.
But, why Mondrian? I know someone out there just said, “Because it looks cool!” (you know what I think about that). The dresses they wear are near identical copies to Yves Saint Laurent’s “Mondrian” day dress from 1965. I am left to wonder if Callme are referencing Mondrian directly, or Mondrian through 1960’s fashion. Perhaps the girls take Mondrian’s method of abstraction and apply it to idols/themselves. Callme remove many of the layers. Consider that practically all idol acts utilize a team of composers, arrangers, musicians, choreographers, and stylists. By doing away with much of the team, Callme brings themselves closer their fans. Is there a better way to symbolize this than with an artist that famously dealt away with superfluous details to the point of abstraction?
If you pull back even further, you see Callme and “To Shine” use layers as a theme. Musically, the arrangement relies on layers of melody over the dance beat. The group themselves became the layers of production by taking over much of the behind-the-scenes work. The PV’s set cleverly tricks the eye into perceiving a flat background, when in fact the colored rectangles that make up set exist on layered planes staggered up the stage. Ruuna, Mimori, and Koumi exploit this illusion by inserting themselves between the rectangles. There. I said it.
Most idol groups exist on top of an elaborate deception. The layers of production behind them appear flat and nonexistent. An invisible hand dupes the viewer into believing the topmost visual layer exists independent of the background. “Focus on the pretty girls, not the background dealings and ugly machinery”.
Unlike other idol groups Callme are part of the set of layers.
How is it possible that an beach scene with blue skies, crystal water, and pretty girls became the backdrop of an identity crisis for one of the most promising young idol groups?
I can’t deny that I enjoyed seeing Q’ulle on the beach for the 4:44 duration of the song. “Heartbeat” exists in a world far removed from the dramatic costuming of their first two singles. With the single, the girls don casual summer wear, and short pants and t-shirts rule the day. The blue sky and rolling sea behind the dance formations come straight from a location scout’s wet dream. Really, the scene couldn’t be more ideal for a summer PV featuring pretty girls in skimpy bikinis bouncing around the sand. So, what’s the problem?
I find myself frustrated with this release for a few reasons. Q’ulle never sold me on their credentials as bubbly idols. They are pretty to look at, sure. Their dancer bodies definitely suit the roles of idols in a beach PV. Are we to believe that Q’ulle’s ultimate goal as idols lies somewhere on the sand or frolicking in the waves? What about all that “Mic Check One Two” business? To what degree “Heartbeat” undermines Q’ulle’ss bid for serious consideration remains to be seen. One benefit of being such a young group is that early missteps are easily forgiven. At least they didn’t stoop to the level of bikini idols, right?
Since the PV is a beach PV, I should probably judge it as such right? Well, actually “Hearbeat” strikes me as the kind of release that attempts to play too many angles. The music hits heavy with distorted guitars and booming drum fills, but the melodies play like a nursery rhyme complete with a call-and-response chorus. OK, the song is more complicated than “Farmer in the Dell”. Like the PV, which takes you to the beach but does not let you swim, the composition brings the rock, but refuses to smash you on the head.
In a sense, I can’t blame the girls for wanting respite from their career trajectory. “Heartbeat” reminds me that Ikura, Yuzuki, Yakko, Manako, and Maamu come from a background of dance covers and vocaloid tunes. The work and music of Q’ulle (thus far) inhabit a world leagues away from the saccharine and Hi-chew world of dance covers. Looking at it this way, “Heartbeat” serves as the perfect summer vacation from the dark and moody subterranean Q’ulle planet. This single is a postcard from paradise.
The fear, of course, is that after “Mic Check One Two” and “Monster”, Q’ulle reconsiders their identity and never returns to their adopted home. I cannot really blame them for this; the role of “unconventional idol” does not afford much comfort nor does it promise much acclaim. Do their professional choices really boil down to either second-rate idols or first-rate nu-idols? Perhaps the girls just wanted to briefly live the daydream of another idol’s idyllic life and will return to kick our asses in the fall. I cannot offer answers to any of these questions.
Before I start on Team Syachihoko’s “Tensai Bakabon”, I should mention that I have no particular bloodlust for the group. Nor were any syachihoko harmed in the making of the PV (that I know).
Team Syachihoko, who impressed me greatly with their last release “Shampoo Hat“, (it made my “Top Singles of 2014” list), returned to action with their May 13 release “Tensai Bakabon” (yes, I’m REALLY late to the party on this one). The group finished their week with 25,356 units sold and a solid 4th place ranking in the Weekly Oricon Chart.
The song ties with the movie version of a classic anime of the same name- you can see the trailer here. Maybe now is a good time to listen to the original version of the opening theme from 1971 (the first opening theme goes until 3:25, FYI).
Like you just heard in the original opening, Team Syachihoko loop a basic theme multiple times. The song structure simply alternates between an A melody and a B melody . The A melody, some will say “the slow part”, starts with a traditional arrangement (read: 1970’s) and slowly works their way through sometimes-strange arrangements with each repetition. The B melody maintains a consistently bonkers arrangement whose complexity grows with the addition of a wailing electric guitar and increasingly elaborate resolutions. Team Syachihoko heightens the frenetic energy of the song by playing the B melody at twice the tempo of the A melody (you will have to hear the original version to hear what I mean). By the end of the song, both melodies share a common arrangement designed to make your ears bleed and your head explode.
The main attraction of this release is the promotional video. “Tensai Bakabon” sets the stage with Team Syachihoko in Takeshita-dori, Harajuku. Clad in colorful and strange dresses from Sebastian Masuda, strike heroic poses gazing and pointing skyward. While they begin bopping around the pedestrian thoroughfare in the opening verse, you think this PV will be “normal” PV for Team Syachihoko. But, then they pull the switch.
A colorful orgy of CG repli-clones of Team Syachihoko appear with the switch to the B melody. This is a parade of clones. If you think about fish swimming in schools, a herd of wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti, or the lemming migration you will understand this set up. The musical chaos I mentioned earlier manifests in the haphazard destruction of the regular and predictable parade. Like the lemming migration, obstacles and objects appear to kill the clones timed to musical cues, of course. Some clones on parade meet their ends through objects (e.g. food, the kana for “Tensai Bakabon”, shachihoko) falling from the sky sending waves of clones careening through the sky. A broom forcefully sweeps some clones off their path. Giant versions of the clones trample more than a few of their diminutive cousins. It’s great fun seeing the destruction, and I do not want to spoil some of the inventive ways with which the clones are disposed. Seeing the annihilation of the hated, orderly exodus brings out my sadistic inner six year-old boy.
By the end of the PV, Team Syachihoko re-appear in Takeshita-dori striking their initial pose under Papa Bakabon’s trademark Hachimaki while your favorite cast members make a final running appearance. While “Tensai Bakabon” may not be my favorite Team Syachihoko song, the PV might be my favorite. Simple in premise and wantonly malicious, “Tensai Bakabon” delights with its innocent destruction. Remember, tempura shrimp may hover just overhead waiting to flatten the unsuspecting. Clones beware!
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Earlier this month, Juice=Juice’s Uemura Akari and Morning Musume 15’s Ogata Haruna got together for a pictorial guide to happiness. If this feature provides any indication, Aarii and Haachin lead the group of new young faces of Hello! Project. We had an idea that Aarii would receive the push for her looks, but Haachin has not been seen without her generation mates in a magazine feature until now. Haachin seems to possess the kind of facial control that allows her to set the mood for a variety of photographs. What’s more, Haruna provides the classic looks that will keep her relevant for years. Let’s hope I’m right!
Don’t you dare. I’ve been listening to music too long for you to give me problems about writing about an AKB48 release. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably had an inkling that I take a fancy to Watanabe Mayu. I wouldn’t say I was crushed by her placement in the 2015 Sousenkyo (she placed third), but I did hope she could reclaim her top spot. And, while many are off-put by her “so perfect she’s a cyborg” idol routine, this perfection is a good part of her appeal. Remember: when things look too perfect, the breakdown of this character becomes even more interesting.
The particulars of Watanabe Mayu’s fifth solo single tell a lot about the product. The song “Deai no Tsuzuki” provides the opening theme of the drama “Tatakau! Shoten Girl”, where Mayuyu plays an entitled yet well-meaning bookstore employee caught up in the in-store dramas of her workplace. If you happen to be a fan of Mayu, you should probably give it a watch.
As a theme song, “Deai no Tsuzuki” only needs to supply about 1.5 minutes of memorable music. In other words, don’t bore us get to the chorus. And, they give us the chorus right from the beginning. The memorable (read: catchy) melody ascends and descends the scale pleasingly. Except for a couple of places, Mayu doesn’t need to show us much range with her voice, which allows her to maintain her image of perfection.
When we arrive at the verses, Mayu sings a melody that plunges low to contrast the choruses. She’s contemplated by a coterie of strings and piano that imparts a royal, princely air. In keeping with her image, “Deai no Tsuzuki” sounds pure with a touch of sophistication. When the drum machine is switched off in the second verse, I don’t even miss it. The arrangement doesn’t need the artificial pulse because the song is truly propelled by the acoustic instruments and Mayu’s vocal performance.
The major fault with the arrangement of “Deai no Tsuzuki” lies with the lack of an effective percussion track. The standard “AKB drum machine #4″ (as I like to call it), adds nothing of value to the song. I would have killed for some acoustic drums and some dramatic timpani! The arrangement is so ineffectual that when the moments of real drama need accents, the drum accents provide nothing. “Deai no Tsuzuki” may be classified as safe, soft rock, but even soft rock songs need an incisor or a canine tooth. I know Watanabe Mayu is the safe, middle-of-the-road idol choice, but she still needs to chew her meat like the rest of us.
The promotional video for “Deai no Tsuzuki” provides viewers with their rewards. We get lots and lots of Mayu. Nothing else really matters. The performance shots present Mayuyu in close up and wide shots at a busy pedestrian intersection. Dressed in nearly pure white, Mayu lips the song while her hair gently floats with an unseen breeze. The wide shots imagine Mayu calmly singing amid a chaotic bustle of traffic, while the close ups focus solely on our talent.
The solo shots intercut with a plot driven PV involving Mayu and mysterious, gift-wrapped packages. She appears either running toward something or away from a group of “Men in Black” dressed pursuers. Clad in a sleeveless, collared gingham check one-piece and slick black sneakers, she appears nervous. Mayu turns to check her pursuers and increases her pace in panic. At one point, a rat of a pedestrian bumps into Mayuyu, sending her packages concrete bound. This first reveal shows us strings of pearls and precious jewelry strewn across the sidewalk- prized packages, indeed. Unrealistically, NO ONE helps her recompose her cargo.
One could argue the plot of “Deai no Tsuzuki” adds nothing to the PV, and I wouldn’t have a counter. These shots present an opportunity to film slow motion frames of Mayu running complete ascetically pleasing hair choreography. No really, watch that hairography. It’s breathtaking.
As it turns out, Watanabe Mayu is not exactly who she appears to be in “Deai no Tsuzuki”. As I type that out, the words read like the slick press release of a manipulative publicity agent. The song and video go the extra mile to establish Mayu as the cyborg we all recognize, only to reveal a mischievous idol we are meant to love. Yes, manipulative is the correct word. Strangely though I am OK with this acknowledgement of a more complex character beneath the sheen. Mayuyu is smart enough to know her fans would not buy a 180 degree change of character, but the gentle role-playing in “Deai no Tsuzuki” is palatable for even the most hardcore of her fan base. Besides, is there anything inherently wrong with playing with one’s identity? I don’t think so. Watanabe Mayu, aside from being a popular idol, is a 21 year-old girl. What kind of 21 year-old does not play with her image?
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Who the hell is Cheeky Parade, and why am I devoting so much time to them? As of writing, I still do not possess a great understanding of the group. When I originally began looking into the Cheekiness, they were promoting their terrific “Together” mini album. An upcoming performance in New York City put the group in select the company of the few idol acts to break out of Japan. “Together” made such a grea impression on me that I included it in my “ 2014 Single of the Year” story. So, this is the genesis of this set of articles. I need to learn more about this group, and I’m taking you with me.
Before we start, I need to tell you that I’m no expert on anything here. I will get something wrong, and when I err it’s your responsibility to correct me.
Firstly, the group took shape in 2012. The popular mythology of the group, or at least my favorite mythology, is that rejects from the Super Girls auditions comprise the group we know as Cheeky Parade. This theory seems somewhat plausible given the two-year gap between SG and CP debuts. Giving the theory more legs, Suzuki Mariya can be (allegedly) seen in the 2010 Super Girls audition footage. The footage I’ve seen of Cheeky Parade witnessing Super Girls events shows a mixture of admiration and envy that supports this theory. Whether or not they are actually “rejects” is anyone’s guess. If this proves factual, then we can consider Cheeky Parade to be the “C-ute” to Super Girls’ “Berryz Kobo”.
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Let us consider Cheeky Parade’s first indie release “Cheeky Dreamer” to begin things. The group released this initial foray in early 2012 when the girls aged between 12 and 17 with an average age of 14.5. That’s young! As an indie release, I do not believe Cheek Parade released a promotional video attached to the song. Cheeky Parade brings a high-energy performance to the song, which proves to be a point of distinction for the group. The song provides a great introduction to the group, and after watching one performance, you really understand what Cheeky Parade is all about.
Cheeky Parade choreographs the song in ways that we do not see very often. An urban toughness informs a lot of the dance, although I wouldn’t say urban dance characterizes all of their choreography. The girls jump and kick much more than normal for an idol group. Unique body positions and postures with a penchant for small group maneuvers fill out their dance repertoire. Sometimes silly, sometimes irrelevant: cheeky. OK, I suppose we know where their name points.
More than anyone, “Cheeky Dreamer” belongs to Yamamoto Marin. Visually, the girl is cute as a button. The pink tones of her single outfit highlight her prettiness. As the main voice in the song, Marinko sings with a pure, consistent voice. After listening to a dozen live performances of the song, I have yet to hear the girl falter in her solos. A reliable singer, I look forward to seeing her growth.
The song contains many of the qualities that I found so appealing with “Together”. The chorus cheers leave room for the audience to participate. See, they cheer for us at the same time we cheer for them- the symbiotic idol/wota relationship. The melodies build upward and give the impression of reaching to a goal. A common goal. When I watch the Cheeky Parade, I get a feeling of teamwork that surpasses most idols on my radar. And, remember that Berryz/C-ute allusion I made earlier? As the “little sister” group and as the group of “also-rans”, Cheeky Parade puts a chip on its shoulder in a way that reminds me so much of C-ute. And, we all know how that turned out, right?
I strongly recommend you watch this performance of “Cheeky Dreamer”
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ANGERME come roaring out of the gate for the next round of Hello! Project releases with their effort “Nanakorobi Yaoki (Ups and Downs)”. When ANGERME was still S/mileage and the group cut their hair on the moon (Short Cut), a song like this would have been unthinkable fo the group. The powerful song quickly roars in your face with a quickly paced driving beat and aggressive guitars. Providing contrast to these elements, “Nanakorobi Yaoki” buffets itself with whirling strings and choral background vocals. The song adorns itself with contrasts so completely that it becomes a fight best described as the brutish vs. the elegant.
Brutish and elegant forces battle each other throughout the musical arrangement of “Nanakorobi Yaoki”. From the ground, the song pushes with an insistent 12/8 beat (see! those music lessons in “MUSIC+ really help). A thumping bass and distorted guitars pulse along with the drums. Melodically, a solo guitar riffs and electronic whirs duel against a string section that (appropriately) plays up and down the scales. Background vocals on the side of the strings peal like bells before ringing with “Ups and Downs!” Similar to many Hello! Project songs, “Nanakorobi Yaoki” furnishes a thick arrangement that threatens to clutter around every corner.
Sets and lighting play with the central concept in the same way as the music. Set design reinforces brutish against elegant by emphasizing two opposing backgrounds. For most dance shots, the girls twirl around backed by a heavy brick wall. The uneven bricks and masonry work tell you this set sides with the brutish forces. On the opposite side, solo shots back themselves with white, wood paneled walls- obviously elegant. “Nanakorobi Yaoki” approaches a strictly black and white video while salvaging a trace of color. Differing levels of desaturation drain the color from the shots coming from the camera. To further drive the point, distant spotlights force long shadows beneath ANGERME and brilliantly emphasize the texture of the brickwork.
For all the platitudes heaped on the song and promotional video, I remind you that “Nanakorobi Yaoki” contains all the characteristic of the “cheap Hello! Project” PV. Even though we see a variety of backgrounds- the brick, the paneling, the windows, our director probably used a single location (three walls, three treatments: you can figure that out). For all the dynamics of the choreography and the time bending effects of the video, “Nanakorobi Yaoki” maintains the “solo close-up/group dance shot” aesthetic of most Hello! Project promotional videos.
No doubt, “Nanakorobi Yaoki” will draw many in with its dramatic heightened reality. The song’s monochromatic look, theatric staging, and pulsating beat call to mind the group’s 2014 release “A Mystery Night“. While puzzled looks greeted that release (and its “buffet of shoulders“), the new look ANGERME plays the dramatics with ease. I have to ask: Is this ANGERME with its sepia dance shots and its histrionic aspirations the ANGERME that we want? And, if ANGERME drops the honeyed idol act, who will pick up the pixie-dust filled baton?
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What happens when an idol promotional video strips bare? Will the lack of props, costumes, and setting unsettle you? Or, will it focus your gaze?
The recently released “Tsuzuiteiku STORY (Everlasting Story)” promotional PV does just that: five girls and nothing more. The ballad drips with emotion and signals farewell, thank you, and anxious expectation in one action.
The song “Tsuzuiteiku STORY” outdoes itself in terms of gorgeousness. Acoustic instruments fill the arrangement with a classic ballad sound. The song focuses on the vocals very quickly, and the strings frame the melodies lyrically without getting in the way. Verse melodies perfectly encapsulates the gentle introspective lyrics. The girls run through scenarios where their sense of “self” rub against “others” as they contemplate leaving things behind. By the time Juice=Juice hits you with the chorus lyric “Why am I crying?”, I am tearing up (or outright sobbing)- maybe the songs strikes a familiar chord with my personal life filled with so many departures. As far as the business of idols go, “Tsuzuiteiku STORY” lends the listener the strength to move on to their next phase as the girls seemingly do the same.
Two ways of approaching “Tsuzuiteiku STORY” immediately spring to mind. Given their habit of tightly controlling promotional video budgets, I can (perhaps) fairly say that the PV frugally imagines the otherwise lovely song. Hello! Project didn’t need to spend anything on sets or outfits. Given how much we see the girls providing their own makeup and hair, a stylist probably never graced the set, either (yeah, I doubt that last one, too). The result is Juice=Juice’s disembodied heads singing like Max Headroom sans the 80s day-glo background. So, as the girls play nude against the void, you could cynically say, “H!P, you bastards!”
While I don’t deny the PV pinches pennies, the simplicity works for me. To begin with, “Tsuzuiteiku STORY” does not work in service of a single. The song showcases the group in advance of their “First Squeeze” album. In essence, the video purely promotes a song with very little commercial agenda (albums do not sell in Japan). Frankly, they didn’t need to create this video. Somewhat liberated from the Oricon charts, the need for “wow” and “sparkle” fades into an emotional conveyance of the lyrics and composition.
So, how do you deliver the emotional impact of the “Tsuzuiteiku STORY”? Well, you could just have the girls deliver the song purely, with their souls bared naked. And, nakedness they do with bare shoulders suggesting a body-and-soul return to their natural states. In a way, Juice=Juice created a video that is the closer to a direct heart-to-heart communication than any other idol PV I’ve ever seen. The girls hold eye contact through the LCD screen better than any FaceTime call I’ve ever made. Yuka’s compassionate looks, Tomoko’s sly smiles, Sayuki’s heartfelt delivery, Karin’s pure expressions, and Akari’s playful grins are about as close to a handshake as you can get across the sea. They stretch out to hold hands and sing you gently while your heart flutters indescribably. Whoever you are, Juice=Juice sings directly to you.
The song, the lyrics, and the delivery all work well to convey the emotional impact. Given the nature of the business, I have no doubt “Tsuzuiteiku STORY” will be trotted out for years to come. When one of the girls finally makes her leap, you will hear this song. And, when the song is sung for the last time with all five girls, you won’t need to ask “Why am I crying?”.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room first: Shimamura Uta would have been perfect in this release.
Now that I have exorcised the demons, or at least the adorable former H!P idol, we can talk about “Wakatteiru no ni Gomen ne” properly. Country Girls stick to their guns and hit us with another irrepressibly adorable concept. On their second release, Yamaki Risa, Inaba Manaka, Morito Chisaki, Ozeki Mai, and Tsugunaga Momoko show off more of their talents set to an upbeat tune.
“Wakatteiru no ni Gomen ne” shuffles along in the way you would expect a Country Girl’s song should shuffle. Both a throwback and an update of Motown girl groups, horn accents and an orchestra of sounds fill the arrangement behind the vocal work. But, the vocal melody seems to be the star for this release. Anchored by Momoko’s always-steady voice, the new group deliver a charming performance filled with a variety of voices and tones. That said, some of the melodies feel a bit recycled. You can hear definite shades of Morning Musume’s “Tomo” in the chorus. I don’t particularly mind this: a melody memorable enough to jog my ancient recollections definitely warrants one or two revivals.
Ever since I started with Hello! Project, people griped the lack of “story” in Hello! Project promotional videos. For a while, everything video that left the Projects utilized the predictable formula (solo close-up + dance shot = PV). Country Girls break from the formula with a video employing a variety of shots including the much sought “story” shot. The story simply puts Mai and Chisaki in the roles of troubled boyfriend and girlfriend. Classmates Manaka and Risa gossip about the two while Momoko’s spot-on Obaachan imparts wisdom and icky reminisce.
H!P still provide us with dance shot, of course. Like they won the lottery, Country Girls get a grassy quad for their location. Captained by Manaka, the girls execute far better than they have right. They just started! Country Girls nimbly float from formation to formation with expression beyond their barely-one-year existence. They dance with their whole body, and their smiling faces convey the joy of their idols lives.
Yamaki Risa lends a hand with her cute drawings including the one at the top of this article. Who knew Hello! Project’s newest princess possessed such artistic talent?
Country Girls firmly establish their identity as the “go to” kawaii group in the Projects. According to my count, Hello! Project chooses to concentrate mostly on “cool” releases and does not usually release overtly “cute” singles. Sure, you can probably counter with a few Berryz Kobo or S/mileage releases, and you would be right. In this new world order of the Projects, we see an effort by H!P to claim a piece of the “cute” market. If you know me very well, you know I think they found the right girls for the job. To illustrate the virtues of Country Girls, I present the following piece of visual evidence. You can’t beat this enthusiasm! Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
If you keep tabs on my Twitter you probably saw my growing fondness for AyumiKurikaMaki over the last few months. With the release of “Honey Honey Honey”, I find myself unable to control it any longer. This group, as it stands now, fills a void left agape from the departure of Buono! from the idol scene. Their last three singles (“Jet Kuma Star”, “Shake Shake Shake”, and “Honey Honey Honey”) sparkle with crunching guitars, booming rock drums, and hook-laden pop vocals. The sound is more intriguing when you consider the group employs Kurika as a DJ along with singer Ayumi and hype-woman Maki. Well, confusing or not, “Honey Honey Honey” is another great release you should consider for your idol collection.
The group began life in 2012 as the duo KurikaMaki. This lineup released two singles in 2013-2014: “Analog Ma Girl” and Kuma to Nadeshiko” before Ayumi joined the group early in 2014 to add more vocal punch to the lineup. The new trio, AyumiKurikaMaki, released the well-received “Jet Kuma Star” in mid-2014 before their major debut with Shake Shake Shake“. While I personally think you should listen to all four singles linked above, you really only need to listen to the AyumiKurikaMaki singles to understand the way the wind blows for the group.
“Honey Honey Honey” serves as the ending theme to the strangely cosmic and comic noitanimA anime Punch Line. You won’t see any references to the anime in the PV, though. The girls, stick to their trademark bear hoods and gloves, a holdover from their KU(rika) MA(ki) days, I suppose. Performance footage of the girls in red gingham and brown skirts intercuts with a school set story. Everywhere you look, you’ll get an eyeful of zettai ryouiki, so you can look forward to that. In school, Ayumi, Kurika, and Maki fawn over “Kuma senpai”, who is about as literal as you can get.
Above all else, AyumiKurikaMaki perform “Honey Honey Honey” with energy and enthusiasm. The loose choreography sees the girls bouncing and spinning with arms outstretched. I can’t help but feel the contagious energy of the song. A steady palm-muted A melody gives way to a half-time B melody that builds with great drum fills. The chorus fills itself with a hooky melody, a loopy bass line, and effective vocal triplets to accent the otherwise rhythmically straight offering. In other words: this song is a lot of fun.
I plan to follow these girls closely. AyumiKurikaMaki are fun, cute, produce great music. I also have a feeling “Honey Honey Honey” is a serious contender for my year-end list. Please, follow along with me!
Since this is the first time I’ve written about the group, and since they have them, I’ll leave twitter links for the girls. Follow? Ayumi | Kurika | Maki
Pushing things to the max, Juice=Juice release a second promotional video for their “First Squeeze” album barely days after “Tsuzuiteiku STORY“. With “CHOICE & CHANCE”, Miyazaki Yuka, Kanazawa Tomoko, Takagi Sayuki, Miyamoto Karin, and Uemura Akari flex their muscles with an aggressive number that maximizes their vocal power. And, like “Tsuzuiteiku STORY”, “CHOICE & CHANCE” seems like a PV that didn’t needed to be made, but I am sure glad it’s around.
The song begins with a grooving guitar lick accented with fist pumping hits. This guitar groove centers the song, and it is echoed in the melodies and keyboard accent that saw through the instrumental tracks. While the song isn’t as funky as the some of latest offerings by ANGERME, the groove is just as persistent. The chorus tweaks the things slightly and adds some tonal progression as the key changes and the melody gains complexity. Well, the more things change the more they stay the same over the deep shaking bass track.
“CHOICE & CHANCE” offers two variations on the same set. Dance shots take the well-used soundstage and paints the walls with contrasting red and white. This palette informs Juice=Juice’s outfits- also in red and white with uniform black contrasts.
Uniform might be the operative word here. The set and all the elements therein- exposed tripod lighting, boxed parcans shooting upward, and an overhead ring scream regularity. 90 degree lines and symmetry rule the set. The only things that break this dogged uniformity is the diagonal sash mini-dresses worn by the Juicers. If we look at dance as a struggle or a conflict, then we see Juice=Juice breaking out of the regularity and expectations of their lives.
The break with conformity comes through in the other notable scenes for “CHOICE & CHANCE”. Like Country Girls’s “Wakatteiru no ni Gomen ne” (which I looked at last week), Juice=Juice offers a modest scene of the Juicers playing Shogi against an unknown opponent. Here again, we have the same images of conformity and regularity. The symmetry we saw in the previous set makes its way to the darkened room. Taunting us with the most symmetric of all shapes, the circular light rig mirrors the circular table beneath it. The five girls sit around the table in a pentagon which is again echoed in the shape of the Shogi pieces. Emotionless and almost catatonic, the Juicers immerse themselves in the globe and the maps that litter the table. They’re looking for a way. Not coincidentally, the way is found in a class game that is a metaphor for warfare: Shogi.
You don’t need to know much about Shogi (it’s a variant of chess) to figure out the situation. Again, the square lines of the game board and the uniformity of the piece movement conflict with a desire for the unconventional. Having lost all of the other pieces the girls find themselves backed into a corner with only their King piece. Akari, the youngest, suggests a lateral move that would prolong the game, but nothing more. Sorry, Aarii. Your move is rejected.
In a move that proves emblematic, center girl Karin flips the King over to reveal a handsomely scripted letter “J”. With this Juice=Juice piece, H!P Jesus and the rest of the girls skewer their invisible opponent (parents? authority? conformity?) with a swift movement across the board. Decisiveness, teamwork, and creativity converge onto the pentagonal apex of the Shogi piece and lead to a categorical success. “Ganbatte”, Juice=Juice. Do your best.
ANGERME sends off one its original members with a song that tries to encapsulate the essence of the group’s first six years of work. Fun and funky blends equal parts with Smileage’s “Shortcut” and ANGERME’s”Taiki Bansei“.
Since “Gashin Shotan” will be Fukuda Kanon’s swan song, this release should have something to do with the bright young star of Hello! Project’s past. Years after her debut, when I think about Kanyon’s time in the Projects, I think about a career spent in shadows. Fukuda’s calling card was once her physical similarities for former H!P ace and walking cautionary tale Kago Ai. H!P exasperated the matter by placing Kanon in the Shin Mini Moni revival unit in 2009 alongside Morning Musume’s Linlin, future ANGERME member Takeuchi Akari, and Juice=Juice’s Miyamoto Karin. In her first unit, Shugo Chara Egg!, and the first incarnation of S/mileage, Kanon lived just left of center behind H!P wondergirl Maeda Yuuka.
Despite her talent and efforts, Kanon never quite became the breakout star some predicted she would become. The middle child in me really feels for the girl. As years went on, her insecurities became very public as she posted her struggles with her weight. In a public lashing that probably hurt more than she let on, Tsunku blasted her “Cinderella” character and ordered her to cease using it. A career under intense wota scrutiny severely messed with this girl’s head. But, when Yuuka and Ogawa Saki practically abandoned ship in 2011, Kanon remained a rock for S/mileage and ANGERME as she anchored the group’s vocals. Extreme hardships, indeed.
All of the above may not mean anything to the casual Hello! Project fan. Kanon is an idol; this is her job. But, when Fukuda starts the first verse with the lines “You’re so negative, we only have one life. Challenges that bring no defeat means nothing, does it? Feeling of not being good enough, not being alert and being just a coward”, she’s lived all of that. The chorus lyrics are equally close to the bone with lines like “The bitter the memory, the sweeter it gets” and “A crisis is a chance! Extreme hardships!” Lyrics like “Unforgettable humiliation, bring it on! Excessive self-consciousness is constantly telling myself so” read like they’re straight from her diary. Kanon sings these lines as though she is passing along the wisdom of 11 years in the Projects to her junior members.
Let’s face it- “Gashin Shotan” is Fukuda Kanon’s song. Even if she wasn’t my favorite in S/mileage I would find the story of Fukuda Kanon in Hello! Project compelling. The girl spent more than half of her life thus far in the Projects. She remained loyal to her group and thanklessly carried them on her shoulders after some devastating loses. Now that ANGERME appears poised for their greatest successes, Kanon can finally rest and maybe take that long overdue vacation. And, after losing three members over the years, the group finally gets a chance to send off one of their own properly. If I don’t get another chance to say it publically, THANK YOU, Kanon. I hope you keep inspiring people in the years ahead.
For the of their second single, Country Girls present “a special summer I wouldn’t forget brilliantly swaying and shining”. As should be apparent by now, the girls are on a mission to present the retro compositions delivered in the cutest way possible. While the music plays like a flashback request hour (there won’t be a bass drop anytime soon), references to selfie-sticks and emails clues the listener that the Country Girls live in the world of today.
The theme here is strictly pastoral. True to the roots of the group, Country Girls made the long trip to Hokkaido to film “Tamerai Summertime”. The girls seemingly float in pastures, fields bedecked with daisies, and delicate wooded forests. If that sounds like a dream, then pinch yourself: the Country Girls are real.
Do you like the feel of a gentle breeze during the summertime? Well, “Tamerai Summertime” should be your song. I would never imply the song is anything more complicated than that. The arrangement fills itself with natural sounds- no strange whirs are buzzes. Soothing background vocals pad the main vocals with oohs and aahs and sha-la-las. The most electronic thing you’ll hear in the song will be the organ solo at 2:52.
A favorite outfit for the girls has to be their white dresses crowned with floral tiaras. It’s such a simple thing, but they wear it well, and it matches the pure vibe radiating from the girls.
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Before you get anything accomplished with this song, you need to scream out loud “Damn! This is Suzuki Kanon and Kudo Haruka’s song!”
The lead track from Morning Musume 59th single immediately hits with Zukki on the first scene. This is Suzuki Kanon after her weight loss campaign putting herself out there, and H!P staff seem happy to oblige. Now, I’m not a dieting blog, and I really never minded Zukki playing the chubby character. But, the pathos is real. Naturally, I support any positive health decisions the girls make, this one included. As for her talents, Suzuki Kanon’s voice hung in the corner of the closet for a long time as a well-known secret weapon. Without enough opportunity to receive showcase, her vocals just hung there wasted. I guess her new body convinced the upstairs gentlemen that Morning Musume ’15 won’t get tagged as a “chubby girl idol group”
with Kanon out in the front.
We waited for a long time for Kudo Haruka’s “husky voice” to get its proper showcase. I’m honestly puzzled as to why Duu never got her … due. In practically every single since her debut, I easily picked out Haruka’s distinctive voice from the mix. I suppose someone in the upstairs department did not like the way her voice mixed with Sayashi Riho’s voice.
“Oh My Wish!” shares many characteristics with past Morning Musume singles. The initial synth voice sounds reused from “Ai no Gundan” and the buzz-saw lead synth is shared with “Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa”. Your personal assessment of these things may differ, but I found these similarities a bit distracting since the voicings mentioned above are used in similar ways to their predecessors. A strong hook ameliorates most of these problems, and “Oh My Wish” deliver repeated short phrases that worm themselves into your earhole. Personally, I’m a fan of longer melodic phrases. The short jabbing bits of lyric pull my estimation of the song down a bit, but you can probably chalk that up to personal taste.
In a unique maneuver, “Oh My Wish!” splits Morning Musume ’15 into two teams: the vocal team and the dance team. As members of the smaller dance team, Fukumura Mizuki, Ikuta Erina, Sayashi Riho, and Ishida Ayumi don alternate outfits and dance unfettered by microphones. You heard that right, Riho doesn’t even have the tools to sing in this song. I never had a problem with Riho receiving the lion’s share of the lines, so I think this method of allowing these four girls to shine while distributing vocals to other deserving members is genius. The silver sequined skirts skip playfully along the girls’ legs as their dance jumps and spins energetically.
I can’t conclude my write up without mentioning the sets used for this promotional video. Immediately, the concert hall stage from “Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke” some to mind as the dance team does their business under the strips of stage lighting. But, there are a variety of locations in this same theater. Parquet floors beneath a white balcony host the main dance shot. Morning Musume ’15 utilize that very same balcony for about half of the solo close-ups. The balance of the close-up shots make use of the lovely damask wallcoverings seen peeking through in the dance shots.
While “Oh My Wish!” is not my favorite song on this new single, the virtues of the promotional video and the unique line distribution make the song worth a listen. I know I gave the melody a hard time above, but it doesn’t mean the song won’t find its way into my playlist.
I don’t know if just the Hello! Project fandom that does this, but the subject of cheaply made promotional videos seems fascinate. I’m personally from the camp where spendthrift videos are welcome and the biggest sin is a distracting PV or (worse) a boring PV. Simplicity is a virtue, and “Sukatto My Heart” remembers this in the best way.
Remember how “Manterou Show” felt like a dance shot PV in “One-Two-Three” cosplay outfits? Regardless of how funky and catchy the song turned out, I am constantly distracted by the lack of effort made in differentiating the former song with it’s well-known coupling track.
I suppose you can’t have too many Fukumura Mizuki screen captures (right?) Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Time will tell if the disco sounds of “Sukatto My Heart” will have staying power. For now, let’s strap on those four-wheelers and boogie down the rink!
Image may be NSFW.
