A J-Music Survey: Redux

It’s been almost a year since misa put up the questions asking the community about our J-Music tastes. Now, she’s asking again. While some of my responses have stayed the same, I figured they’ve changed enough to give it a go again.

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?
Back in 2002, Momoiro Kataomoi by Mattsura Aya.

Momoiro Kataomoi

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?
I wasn’t really into any type of music at the time. I was probably looking for cute Japanese stuff or something (-_-);, and happened to stumble upon the adorable and bubbly video.  While I wasn’t inspired, it didn’t turn me away either. Years after the initial find, I rediscovered H!P and was greatly surprised to find Aya had sung the song. I remembered the catchy tune immediatly and I’d say that Aya has been a favorite of mine for a while, partly because of that.

Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?
Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai gets credit for this one. I think I’ve mentioned this a quite a few times in various ways, but the opening melody grabbed me and I was hooked. Chinami killed me with her cuteness and the whole thing was an eye opening experience of sorts.

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?
I guess there’s a bit of a tie between Tokyo Jihen, CHERRY LYDER, Berryz Koubou, Nakagawa Shouko, Angela Aki… but again, I’ll give this one to Berryz. They’ve been there since my intro into J-Pop.

Killer Tune

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player?
Killer Tune by Tokyo Jihen at 252 plays has a pretty good lead over CHERRY LYDER’s NAMUKIN Girl and Omae wa Ushi ka!? which sit at 234 each.

6. Is that song your favorite?
It’s definently in my top picks, but I wouldn’t call it my favorite.

Rottara Rottara

7. If not, what is?
If I had to pick just one, I’d go with Rottara Rottara by Buono!. Buono! is awesome, the song is awesome, the awesome is awesome, awesome Buono! is awesome… sorry. There are a couple more that I’d say are favs (One’s LIFE by °C-ute, Kirin no Kubi Yori Nagaku Naru by CHERRY LYDER, Gunjou Biyori by Tokyo Jihen, Minna no Ki by Tomoiki Ki o Uetai) and then even more that I’d rate very highly.

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?

Kirin no Kubi Yori Nagaku Naru

CHERRY LYDER has a discography of 11 unique tracks, and I enjoy them all. She’s fun pop rocky, and can slow it down too. Then there’s Buono!, and well, they’re awesome. There are some songs that I like more than others but overall their stuff is tops.

9. What is your favorite agency?
Still don’t know, or care(?) about agencies all that much. Still, I’ll go with Up-Front Works cause they contain both Berryz Koubou and Buono!.

10. What is your favorite group/singer?
Berryz Koubou of course. So much to love. The girls are fun and the music is great.

Hello!Project “Cuddle” List

What exactly is a “cuddle” list? Hmm, I’ll let you use your imagination… tho perhaps for me, it’s pretty straightforward. I shan’t elaborate further, other than to provide a link to this post.

H!P "Cuddle" List

Hello!Project Poll – Top 10

Paul over at Hello!Blog has put up his latest incarnation of the Hello!Project Poll. This time around, you get to pick your top ten out of all of the current H!P girls. I remember doing the poll around this time last year and found the results to be pretty interesting; now with the inclusion of the soon departing Elder Club and some Eggs, this one will surely be even more so.

H!P Poll 2009

My ten are packed with the Kids of course, with Berryz and °C-ute filling the top spots. I’ve got my thoughts on them detailed in my rankings posts if you’re interested.

Ne~e? Matsuura Aya has always been a favorite of mine. She was one of, if not the first H!P act that I had heard or seen. I’ve always enjoyed some of her earlier works, and while I believe that some of her more recent stuff isn’t as good, I love it all the same. Also, can’t forget GAM. The combo of Aya and Fujimoto Miki really worked.

Abe Natsumi, was introduced to me when she did the duet with Maimi early last year. Through a bit of searching I found Koi no Telephone Goal and a few others that I’ve enjoyed. Seeing her in some of the older Morning Musume songs and shows, she’s not only cute, but fun. With SALT5, DEF.DIVA and Nochiura Natsumi she’s also done some enjoyable work. She’s also one of the few in H!P who are around my age, haha.

Yoshizawa Hitomi was a hit during her English lessons. Really played up the tom boy role with the Musumes and has always been cool with Gatas and Hangry & Angry. Her personality has always stood out to me, and that earns her a spot in my tops.

It’s Cake Day 2.0

So I made a cake. Happy 2 Years International Wota.

Thanks to International Wota and the J-Music blogosphere for all the news, entertainment, and camaraderie over the past year. For someone relatively new to the Japanese music scene, it’s great having a plethora of wonderful resources out there. Here’s to another great year, oh and cake! Messy, messy cake (-_-) gomen… but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right?

The Cake - Strawberry cake for mah Berryz ♥

The Frosting - IW blue, kinda. Well it's blue anyway.

Pink Things - WTF?

intlwota 2009 - Frosting fail.

The Finished Product

Sankyuu

Berryz Ranking

2010 Update » Berryz工房ランキング

Mmm Berryz. Please excuse any ramblings, incoherentness or the like, but man, I love me some Berryz if you couldn’t tell. My reintroduction to Hello! Project was at the hands of Berryz Koubou. Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai specifically had me hooked with the cute upbeat sound. Then the dance shot version of the song, something I had never really seen before. As I was watching, I was overloaded with cute.

Berryz Koubou

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Buono! Ranking

Buono! desu! *pokes cheeks* *drinks milk*. As with °C-ute, Buono! had just released a single around the time I first started getting into Japanese music. Also similarly, their first single, Honto no Jibun, didn’t really wow me. That’s where the similarities end however, everything since I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and given time, even Honto no Jibun has earned a spot. There’s really not a song of theirs that I don’t like, and a whole lot that I just love. There are a couple of reasons why Buono! didn’t make the top spot in my Wonderful Hearts listings. But I’ll just leave that alone by saying “Berryz.”

Buono!

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20,000 and an iTunes Survey

Well, it’s been 4 months and 5,000 plays since I did my last iTunes Survey and my music library has grown quite significantly since then. I’ve picked up a lot of new artists from the wotasphere, iTunes and last.fm recommendations. 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Base Ball Bear, Ikimono Gakari, Rei Okamoto, SCHADARAPARR, Tomoiki Ki o Uetai,  and W just to name a few. Even with that doubling of the size of my music library, I still feel, and I know that there is so much more out there that I have yet to discover. Survey starto!
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Wota Wonderings 2

I love you. Did you say you loved me? Tell me if you love me.
You won’t say it. You won’t say it to me? I want you to say it!
Please love me as much as 100 jokes!

All you need is love!

I challenge you to find the best example of idol love. Showcase this “love” as your post for Wota Wonderings #2.

That first little bit of nagaliciousness was brought to you in part by Berryz Koubou’s Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai. The song that introduced me to Berryz, and remains one of my favorites to this day.

My original plan to sing a few love songs has failed. And well, this is by no means the best example of idol love, but it is my love, and it’s all I could come up with with all of life’s other goings on. If I had the time, perhaps I could learn a few dances. Oh what fun that could have been. In the end, I’ve decided to string together a few hiaku to show my “love” and support for Berryz Koubou.
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Wota Wonderings 1

Welcome to Wota Wonderings! We are a group of english-speaking Japanese music bloggers brought together once a month to answer questions posed by johpan. We strive to be creative and entertaining, and we may even shed a bit of new light on interesting musical and cultural topics. Any questions about how we work should be directed to johpan. Don’t forget to check out the other posts from this month at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

New Year’s Resolutions

If you were someone in the Japanese music industry who could influence a change, what would your New Year’s resolution be?

So over winter break I was having a good long chat with my buddy JMI. Jamie, as she likes to be called, is a big time player in the Japanese music industry, heck you could even say that she is the Japanese music industry, from a female pop vocalist’s perspective anyway. In any case, I rarely get to talk to her anymore since she’s becoming so popular over in Japan and around the world really, so I was glad that were able to both find a little down time to reflect on the past and coming years.

At one point in our reminiscing, Jamie and I switched gears and began rattling off a list of resolutions that we’d like to stick to for the coming year. You know, loose a little weight, kicking off an image change, looking to the future and blah blah blah. We had been batting around quite a few ideas but one of hers really stuck out for me. Jamie was somewhat disappointed with some of her performances over the last year or so. Specifically, she has been releasing a lot of cover songs lately and felt that she was lacking in originality, she wasn’t singing her own voice so to speak.

On that point, I countered by admitting that covers can be fun, but in the end realized that I too was ready to move on. While we must always remember where we started, we must also push forward with great innovation. If I were in Jamie’s shoes, I’d probably have the same feeling. I mean, the list of covers wasn’t too grandiose, but a lot of  other Japanese artists had released cover songs too.

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Poddokyasuto 1

Trying something new with a podcast. Might not do any others, but it serves as an interesting(?) introduction in any case. Also included is a quick response to Amy’s post about Berryz Koubou over on Merry Go Round.

Meh… I’ve got some complaints, but I’m not one to complain, nor am I a perfectionist… enjoy.

1. Berryz Koubou – Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai (Instrumental)
2. Nakagawa Shouko – Magic Time – Ivy
3. Yum!Yum!ORANGE – ORANGE ROCK FES 33 – Shangri-La
4. GO!GO!7188 – Kataomoi Fighter
5. CHERRY LYDER – Kirin no Kubi Yori Nagaku Naru

Recorded with a Logitech Quickcam Orbit AF and edited with Adobe Soundbooth CS4, er for anyone who’s curious…