Happy Birthday, first to my generation’s Elvis – Mr. Costello to you – who turns 56 today:

…and to Miyabi Natsuyaki of Buono! and Berryz Koubou – she whose T-shirt on the “Yuke! Yuke! Monkey Dance” single cover inspired this blog’s name – who turns 18 today:

Apparently, it’s also Gene Simmons’ birthday today, but given recent developments on his part, I’d rather kick his mother in the cunt instead for what she did 61 years ago…

Fourth Blogging Anniversary, that is…

I almost forgot to post something today, but I have a good excuse: Today was also my fiancee’s bridal shower, and guess who had to schlep gifts back and forth in his car? Yep…

I should note that for the past few weeks I’ve been – on top of planning towards the wedding and subsequent move into mine and my wife-to-be’s new apartment – finishing up the novel (yeah, still… but then again if I didn’t have to hold a day job it would have been finished already), working on a screenplay for Script Frenzy, working on a couple of reviews for this blog (they’ll be up this week), and working on my guitar.

And last night, boy, did I work on my guitar… I got this thing (Epiphone Les Paul) a few months ago, but I never changed the strings until last night. Such was my Saturday night:

And to keep things J-pop related, here’s another part of what helped keep me sane, especially today:

Besides, I couldn’t figure how to equal or better the live MoMusu and Stooges clips from last year! But what I can do is (even though I didn’t get this finished until after midnight when the 11th became the 12th) update a list I posted two years ago on my second blogging anniversary at MotokoAoyama.com, which would make this “A List That Took Four Years To Make”:
Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Thomas and his mad coding skills have struck again, and of course, I had to, had to take the poll, which this year came as a two-parter – one for individual members and one for groups. Some of the results as I filled them out should be of no surprise, others should not:

My fandom hasn’t changed very much. Reina is still on top for me, Takitty is right behind, but for whatever reason JunJun and LinLin have moved up in the ranks. Much of this ranking of individuals from #3 on down could change from day to day, though, so this is just what I was feeling tonight.

The group fandom was less hard to figure out. Morning Musume are still my favorite band, Buono! still rock, and I still like Berryz and C-ute even though I still can’t recognize some of the members on sight (obviously picking Miyabi, Momoko and Airi out thanks to their Buono! work isn’t hard, and I can recognize Risako and Chinami, but that’s about it at the moment) and C-ute’s new album hasn’t completely grabbed me yet like 10 My Me and We Are Buono! did.

I try never to let a day go by without playing some MoMusu music, no matter how many other musical mood swings I go through from day to day and week to week (In one example, for whatever reason, I went on quite the Minutemen/fIREHOSE jag the past week, as my last.fm page will attest). But, my listening habits have always been that way and that’s not likely to change, ever.

The bottom rows of both polls stayed the way they were from how Paul organized the default selections for a good reason: Erina Mano’s music hasn’t exactly grabbed me, and I’ve never listened to Guardians 4 or S/mileage so I can’t comment on them.

Other than that, I get married in 89 days (yikes – time’s flyin’!), which means that as that day looms forward I need my favorite band and their compatriots to keep me sane. That also means I have to cram in a lot of activity on here before then… and then cram in some more after the nuptials.

Before I reveal the top two albums of the year, I figured I’d throw in something different to prolong the agony of revealing those two top albums… by throwing up a second list, and a first for this blog (and its predecessor): A top singles list.

#10) MILDRED AND THE MICE “I Like My Mice (Dead)” (Third Man)
Officially supposed to be a socially awkward goth chick from a small town in Kentucky, but more rumored to be the wife of Jack White playing a rather eccentric character, with a few Raconeturs/Dead Weather members posing as Mildred’s “band”. Either way, this is demented two-chord garage punk that makes The Cramps look like the Carpenters.

#9) BIF NAKED “I Won’t Cry (Fuck You 2)” (Her Royal Majesty)
Bif’s big comeback single after her cancer-forced layoff… and boy, did she come back swinging! Never before did a standard 50’s doo-wop chord sequence sound so menacing.

#8) WE ARE THE FALLEN “Bury Me Alive” (self-released)
Mistake this for Evanescence, and you wouldn’t be far off, as three-fifths of this group were the creative hub of Ev. Throw in a more fuller-bodied-voice compared to Amy Lee (courtesy of American Idle alumni Carly Smithson), and you’ll wonder why The Open Door didn’t sound like this. The band had planned to slip out leaked tracks every month or so, but fate – and a contract with Universal Music – intervened. Now this is just a teaser for next spring’s LP.

#7) CARL SAGAN “A Glorious Dawn” (Third Man)
This song – comprising of AutoTuned monologues from the late scientist/TV personality’s Cosmos mini-series – started off as an experimental pro-science viral video with a free download available to those who wanted it. Then Jack White heard and saw the video, wanted to put it out on his own label, and the rest is history – just like the Voyager Golden Record whose design is reproduced on the back of the one-sided single.

#6) AYUMI HAMASAKI “Sunrise/Sunset ~Love Is All~” (Avex)
Two ways (uptempo and ballad) of saying the same thing, and both done very well.

#5) KODA KUMI “3 Splash” [EP] (Rhythm Zone/Avex)
Three sides of Kuu-chin in one handy single: Upbeat pop-rocker (“Lick me”), heavy techno in the vein of “Taboo” (“Ecstasy”), and a solid foray into funk-rock (“Hashire!”) – and all with PVs to go with it. Sold.

#4) MORNING MUSUME “Kimagure Princess” (Zetima)
The opening high-register vocals notwithstanding, after three rather emo singles a more upbeat number was the perfect track to close out both one of Morning Musume’s most triumphant years as well as Koharu Kusumi’s tenure in the band.

#3) AKB48 “Namida Surprise” (King)
In my opinion, the best of AKB48’s four single releases this year. It was definitely the most memorable, both for the title track and for the solo cut by Team K member Erena Ono, “First Kiss”.

#2) MORNING MUSUME “Shouganai Yume Oibito” (Zetima [Japan]/JapanFiles [US])
Referring to this particular period of Morning Musume’s singles as their “emo” period should not be interpreted as a putdown, because it isn’t. The fact that this single took Morning Musume back to the #1 spot on the singles chart in Japan shows that they were on the right track at the time; it’s definitely the standout of the three “emo” singles.

#1) BUONO! “My Boy” (Pony Canyon)
The guitar riffs in this song alone are insane – putting the sweet voices of Airi, Miyabi and Momoko makes it sound even more insane thanks to the seeming clash of elements, but it works, big time.

BUONO!
Buono! 2
(Pony Canyon)
Available on CD, CD/DVD, and on iTunes Japan

What was initially thought to be a temporary unit by most followers has certainly shocked us all in more ways than one. Buono!’s sophomore effort turned out to be the start of a killer creative year for the trio, as succeeding singles (including “My Boy” – the best of all the post-album singles so far – and the recently released “Bravo Bravo” in particular) have proven. The passage of a year has not diluted my closing remark about the album in my review this past February: “Buono! has beaten the sophomore jinx to a bloody fucking pulp.”

First, to Miyabi Natsuyaki of Berryz Koubou and Buono! (one of whose shirts inspired this blog’s name), who turns 17 today…

Then to Megumi Ohori of AKB48 (well, until October, anyway) and subject of our sister worship blog My Sweet Meetan, who turns 26…

…and finally to Elvis Costello, who turns 55 today.

Paul at Hello!Blog has done it again with his annual desire to combine his love of Hello! Project with some mad coding skills. This time around, the survey incorporates all of Hello! Project, including the Elder Club, making for what should be some rather interesting results. Here’s the “tall” version of my survey graphic (the long version I’m going to use as the basis for a future header).

Now I get to explain myself again… Read the rest of this entry »

BUONO!
Buono! 2
(Pony Canyon)
Available on CD and on iTunes Japan
Rating:

Buono!’s full-length debut, Café Buono!, topped TGML’s Best Albums of 2008 list, so their sophomore effort has a big reputation to follow. How do you even dare follow such a perfect collection of modern-day girl-power pop-rock? To be honest, since this group was formed simply to provide theme music for an anime, I don’t even think that Airi Suzuki, Miyabi Natsuyaki and Momoko Tsugunaga expected this project to go more than a couple of singles at best or be more than a minor diversion in-between Berryz Koubou and °C-ute sessions. The fact that it’s gone this long is testament to the likelihood that the surface has barely been scratched as to what Buono! can do. (Don’t even get me started on the Japanese-pop-idols-with-guitars fantasies that the girls keep igniting within me every time they pose with instruments!)

“Early Bird” is a bright, peppy opening number, similar in tempo to Café Buono!’s opening title track. With it’s chiming synth notes, “Lust for Life” rhythm, and the girl’s fine harmonies, the song is so strong that it could have easily been a single A-side on its own.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”, the band’s third single, took a little while to grow on me. In the context of the rest of Buono! 2, it works like a charm, becoming even more of a highlight than it already is on the LP.

“Kira Kira” keeps the uptempo pace of the album going, albeit a few BPM’s slower than the preceding tracks. A descending chord pattern a-la Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation” gives way to Dinosaur Jr powerchords and Johnny Thunders guitar fills that fit in perfectly with the group’s vocals, climaxing in a brief coda of Sonic Youth-esque feedback.

“Shoushitsu Ten -Vanishing Point-” could have been a Tanpopo song for either the original lineup or the classic Johnson/Marippe/Aibon/Charmy formation. Guitars are mostly deemphasized (save for some acoustics throughout and a slightly Clapton-esque electric guitar solo) in favor of piano, chimes, and string synthesizer.

“Rottara Rottara”, the last Buono! single of 2008, starts off deceptively with an almost surf-like introduction only to shift gears into Dookie-era Green Day pop-punk when the rest of the band kicks in. It’s easily this album’s equivalent to last year’s “Renai Rider”.

“co • no • mi • chi”, this album’s preceding single, is indescribably infectious. The pop/punk guitars are present, but the emphasis on this rocker is the group’s vocals, judging by how prominent they are in the song’s final mix.

“Minna Daisuki”, the only B-side from the post-Café Buono! singles to make it to long-playing status, sounds like an anime closing theme to me – which is a kind of bizarre thing to mention given that it was actually the second opening theme to Shugo Chara!, the anime for which Buono! was first convened to record theme music for.

“I NEED YOU” starts off oddball – early Beatle chords played reggae style over popping syndrums before kicking into hyper-caffienated punk rock with lo-fi drum kit. Definitely a schizophrenic mix of styles (although conservatively so compared to Koharu Kusumi’s infamous polka/punk/reggae hybrid “Konnichi-pa”).

“Gachinko de Ikou!”, the group’s fourth single, is wonferfully typical Buono!, this time with techno-esque snatches breaking up their usual punky pop style.

“You’re My Friend” seems to be one of the more left-field tracks compared to most of the rest of the album. The song’s feel is more post-grunge 90’s rock – think Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life”, of all things, with a few sped up Thin Lizzy guitar harmonies and some uncomplicated organ chords coming in and out.

“OVER THE RAINBOW” starts to bring the tempo of the album down, again deemphasizing electric guitars (save for a couple of leads) in favor of acoustics and keyboards. After several uptempo songs in a row, a ballad-esque song that allows Airi, Miyabi and Momoko to stretch out vocally is a welcome treat.

“Goal” closes out the album with a brilliant mining of the same instrumentation and feel that Coldplay used on the title track of Viva La Vida. Apparently, myself and Vee weren’t the only ones in the J-pop world (inside or out) that were digging on Chris Martin and company’s latest effort. A-B both songs back to back on your iPod and you’ll see how uncanny the resemblance is. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Coldplay should be, as they say in merry old England, very well chuffed.

Verdict? The album’s track list is immaculately sequenced, and the group’s vocals have broadened and matured considerably without losing any of their youthful charms. Their chemistry as a threesome has also gotten stronger as well. Simply put, Buono! has beaten the sophomore jinx to a bloody fucking pulp.

5 out of 5 stars.

BUONO!
Cafe Buono!
(Pony Canyon)
Available on CD and through iTunes Japan

It was probably inevitable for me that Buono!’s debut album was going to be at the top of my list this year. It seemed like every time I went out of the house, I was usually grabbing this CD off of my shelf on my way out of the door. It took me until the band’s second single, “Renai Rider”, to start to become a believer in this particular project (despite the group’s lineage), but once the album had been  given its initial spins on my CD player and iPod it was obvious that Cafe Buono! possesses the best rock-based girlpop to come out since the heyday of the Go-Go’s and Cyndi Lauper. Now, if Miyabi, Airi and Momoko would actually pick up instruments for more than a few seconds like they did at the beginning of their concert this past year, they’d be even more perfect than they already are. 

Apparently, Buono! learned how to play instruments for the beginning of a live concert earlier this year. Too bad they didn’t take it any farther than the opening gimmick and do “Nakimushi Shonen” (probably my favorite album track on Cafe Buono!) – a bit of practice, a cram session with some Stooges tunes, and, along with a fourth H!Per, they could play Micro4 in the movie version of Here Is The Wonderland!