15TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE ALBUM

Hot off the presses, the Judy and Mary 15th Anniversary Tribute Album, released March 18, 2009, was pretty awesome. Just as I had hoped. I really need to go back over the Judy and Mary discography, as so far I’ve fund some pretty cool stuff. I’ll keep this brief, but there are a few tracks that I wanted to give specific mention too.

The album starts off with Ikimono Gakari covering Classic. Ikimono Gakar’s sound is all over this one including their signature harmonica. One spot actually plays a bit like Kimagure ROMANTIC, intentionally I’m sure. Those little bits, plus an ever so slightly updated sound make this cover a really enjoyable one.

mihimaru GT takes a stab at Over Drive, and they do a great job. Thing’s start off simple and pick up a few more interesting sounds as things go on. True to form, mihimaru GT mixes in a little bit of their Hip-Hop thing. mihimaru GT is a group that I’ve heard about for quite a while, but have never looked much into their music. I’ll definitely be checking them out in more detail in the future.

The third track I’d like to mention is Lucky Pool, covered by HALCALI. I like HALCALI’s style and this song is another one where the group takes the original and adds just enough to make it their own. HALCALI of course, interjects a lil rap. It’s the same old song, but different enough that it’s fresh and new. Well, both versions are fairly new to me, but you get the point.

Ai Otsuka, HALCALI, Ikimono Gakari, Kimura Kaela, Midori, mihimaru GT, Nakagawa Shouko, Okuda Tamio, PUFFY, SCANDAL, school food punishment, SHIGI, SUNEOHAIR, Takeshi Hanzawa… whether or not you’re familiar with any one of the artists, I really recommend you check out this album. There’s not one track on here that I didn’t like to some extent.

Tie-Ins

The music industry has had many tie-ins with animes and doramas. Of those tie-ins, did one manage to capture your interest and get you hooked on their music? Or, did one manage to change your perspective of a musical act? Did you end up watching the anime or dorama in its entirety or give up once the musical act’s tie-in ceased?

So how’s that formula work out anyway. I had to ponder that for only a short while. The type of tie-in I was thinking about was an artist promoting a product for an anime or a drama. That is, rather than promoting the anime directly. The product in this case however, is the artist/song themselves. A bit quick to jump to the response of no, it didn’t take too long to come up with one of the biggest artist tie-ins that’s grabbed me.

Shokotan as Yoko from Gurren Lagann

Nakagawa Shouko did the opening to the epic anime, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. This was literally right around the time I started getting into Japanese music. Shokotan could be considered a product herself, being sold as a gravure idol, actress, singer, illustrator and then some. And as she is a self proclaimed otaku, she fits right into the genre. I have to stay, I love it; I am definitely hooked on Shokotan.

Sorario Days, the opening theme to Gurren Lagann, was only my first introduction to Shouko, but the tie-ins didn’t end there. More recently, she also did the theme song for the Gurren Lagan movie. Both were hits from my standpoint. Her discography is filled with this stuff and generally speaking, it’s all pretty good. Of note was her single Shiny Gate, which was used as a theme song for Tokyo OnlyPic 2008. That’s a seemingly huge tie-in, tho I don’t think it received much fanfare.

Another example tie-in that has kept me hooked on their music, is D-51 and One Piece. Their song, Brand New World, was a nice upbeat song used as the 6th opening and coincided with an awesome point in the amine. It wasn’t played for long, but it really stuck.

Then’s actually a laundry list of artists I discovered through tie-ins or are otherwise attached, each with varying degrees of replay value. Ai Otsuka with Hanazakari no Kimitachi e; Buono! and Shugo Chara Egg, Shugo Chara!; Diggy-Mo’ and Nishino Kana, Soul Eater; Ikimono Gakari and nobodyknows+, Naruto; Kusumi Koharu and MilkyWay, Kirarin Revolution. I’m sure there are many others I’ve enjoyed listing to as well. Actually, looking into this, it’s a little bit surprising but I guess it was inevitable, all part of the discovery process.

Of the anime/doramas listed, only Shugo Chara! and Kirarin Revolution have dropped in interest. It’s a case of enjoying the music, but not having interested in the thing it’s used to promote. I’m a ways into Shugo Chara! but it’s gotten somewhat repetative. I’ve not seen Kirarin Revolution at all, but from the snippits, I don’t think it’s something I’m too interested in seeing anyway. I’m glad the groups are there tho, even if in my case, they’re not really working fully for their intended purpose.

Have there been any CM tie-ins that had a similar effect on you?

Not to the same extent as the others mentioned, but Namie Amuro’s tie into Vidal Sassoon with 60s 70s 80s was a great tie-in. I had already been familiar with her work by the time this was released. This little campaign rekindled my interest a bit after the relatively long break after she released her album, Play. I still follow her today, but it’s not as enthusiastically as I perhaps once would have.

General Info

Songs: 1485 (+741)
Length: 4 days 6 hours (+2 days 4 hrs)
Size: 14.57 GB (+8.18 GB)

Sort by Name

First:

★Akogare My STAR★

Last:

5:09a.m.

Sort by Time

Shortest:

We will (4s)

Longest:

Requiem (10m 38s)

Sort By Artist

First:

Aa!

Last:

9mm Parabellum Bullet

Sort by Genre

First:

Alternative

Last:

Rock

Sort by Play Count

Top 10:
Killer Tune – Tokyo Jihen (231) (+35)
Sorairo Days – Nakagawa Shouko (216) (+28)
Omae wa Ushi ka!? – CHERRY LYDER (215) (+29)
NAMUKIN Girl – CHERRY LYDER (212) (+30)
Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai – Berryz Koubou (210) (+44)
21ji Made no Cinderella – Berryz Koubou (202) (+30)
Warera! Berryz Kamen – Berryz Koubou (196) (+41)
Senkou Shoujo – Tokyo Jihen (193) (+13)
Kirin no Kubi Yori Nagaku Naru – CHERRY LYDER (192) (+31)
1/2 – Nakagawa Shouko (190) (+31)

Sort By Rating

4½ stars:
Darling I LOVE YOU (Berryz Koubou ver.) – Berryz Koubou
CLAP! – Berryz Koubou
Rottara Rottara – Buono!
Darling I LOVE YOU (°C-ute ver.) – °C-ute
One’s LIFE – °C-ute
Kirin no Kubi Yori Nagaku Naru – CHERRY LYDER
Ne~e? – Matsuura Aya
1/2 – Nakagawa Shouko
Come Together – Ongaku Gatas
Gunjou Biyori – Tokyo Jihen
Minna no Ki – Tomoiki Ki wo Uetai

½ star:
Wishing On The Same Star – Namie Amuro
Ore wa Drummer – GO!GO!7188
Kozukai UP Daisakusen – Berryz Koubou

Find Common Words

“sex”: 8 (+5)
“death”: 1
“love”: 141 (+56)
“peace”: 1
“rock”: 336 (+151)

That’s about it. Perhaps next time, it’ll be a little more comprehensive. I think there are some programs out there that will do all sorts of nifty library analysis and such. Until next time…

Reading up on their history and seeing some of the tunes they’ve produced, things did begin to click in my head and perhaps a few bits of familiarity as well. What I’ll say tho, is that I’m most excited about is the list of artists who are giving this a go.

• Ikimono Gakari – Classic
• Ai Otsuka – LOVER SOUL
• Okuda Tamio – Sanpomichi
• Kimura Kaela – Happy?
• SHIGI – KYOTO
• SCANDAL - DAYDREAM
• school food punishment – Brand New Wave Upper Ground
• SUNEOHAIR – Chiisa na Koro kara
• Nakagawa Shouko – Sobakasu
• PUFFY – motto
• HALCALI – Lucky Pool
• Takeshi Hanzawa (FreeTEMPO) – RADIO
• Magokoro Brothers – Doki Doki
• Midori – Music Fighter
• mihimaru GT – Over Drive
  

15 artists for 15 years; a great line up, ne? Nakagawa Shouko had previously covered an opening theme from Rurouni Kenshin with 1/2, which I loved. She’s at it again similarly with Sobakasu, which I’ll definitely be looking forward to. Being familiar with a big chunk of the artists on the list is what’s really got me anticipating this, plus from my limited listening, Judy and Mary’s overall sound is great.

Hmm, so far it doesn’t look like I’m going to get my wish of fewer cover songs this year. Ah well, at least they’re breaking the resolution early and who am I to complain.

Thanks for the tip Henkka; via Tokyograph and natalie news.