Music in my veins

 Recently I am just obsessed with this song. It is Shina Ringo at her younger years. It is such a mesmerizing song!! Exciting and intriguing but not too much. Yeppp. I am in love with this song. Although I do like her as a band (Tokyo Jihen) better, I would listen to her solo stuff any day. Her charming voice has always been an inspiration to me. Let's hear this. Yami Ni Furu Ame "Rain falling into darkness" by Sheena Ringo

Hello blog.  I have not been listening to jrock for a while. Detoured into salsa for a bit LOL.  But I came back yesterday and listened to this old obscure artist that I still really like. Amano Tsukiko. And it still calls out to me so much! So I guess my soul is still gravitating towards my jrock/jpop after all this time.  Yay! She is not SUPER popular but I love her voice. Especially in this song. I have to say I didn't listen to all of her songs, but this one is definitely one of the classics for me.  Amano Tsukiko - Same (sa-me two characters in Japanese, it means shark . Not the English word "same")

It's Monday morning! Let's get mellow with old jpop. My old favorite jpop band Judy and Mary. She always cheers me up. I am in love with the guitar riff in the second half!  I wish the band would have lasted longer so that I could have seen them live. Oh well, that will have to go on my long list of small incomplete things in life.  Lover Soul - by Judy and Mary

Recently I have been way too busy... I have started acting and it is a lot of work. I am also feeling very tired. I need a break. How about some orange sunshine? Orange sunshine sounds good. not blue, not pink, Orange!! I am a little overworked my brain is sort of exploding right now. Hope you are having a good day!! Let's listen to this 100% positive vibe jpop by Judy and Mary -- "Hello Orange Sunshine" is the name of the song!!

Hello it's 2019 already! And February lol. Anyway, I am pretty busy recently, trying to make ends meet as I am still searching for a job. So I just found this song, it is not really jrock. But kind of jpop and strange. But the lady in the music video was super pretty! is it Aimer herself? Really pretty person and dress. And the rabbits were really creepy. So I am just here to play you a song with creepy rabbits and a pretty girl. Yeah if you are really bored....

Time to go back to Jrock? Someone told me about the jrock band The Back Horn. I didn't know about them until I checked them out recently. The first song didn't impress me. But I liked this song. I think the singer is singing with all of him. Not hiding anything behind. And very sincere and true too. And he doesn't care that his face gets distorted and not that aesthetically appealing to the audience. I do like that. He's not AKB47(name of a Jpop girly band) and so it's ok not to look beautiful and beautiful only.  I like true singers. Let's check them out:

Still straying away from jrock for a little bit... Yoko Ando is one of my favorite Japanese pop singers. One of her songs really means a lot to me. Maybe I will write about that later. Or not. I have to say this song is definitely not Ms. Ando's usual style. This song features the Afro guy in the video, Takafumi Ikeda, I think he is a singer too, but I am not familiar with who he is. I think this song was done in HIS style, as he seems to be a dancer and seems to have made Ms. Ando dance with him as well. Which is quite fun to watch.  It is definitely a light and happy song. And the cute dance! Definitely try to watch the video haha. Quite entertaining. The title of the song is "Ringo Satsujin jiken", literally "The Apple Murder". And I am lost at what they want to convey by this song. However, in the case of this song, I do not think it is too important to dissect the lyrics, but rather to just enjoy the listening experience and not think too much. Her...

OK let's take a break from jrock for a week. I was just looking around and found this jpop song: Nijikan dake no bakansu by Utada Hikaru and featuring Shiina Ringo (I like the latter) Watching this video, I just can't ignore their noses. Yes Noses!! What happened to their noses? Both singers' noses look unnaturally high. Is it a nose job? Is it just video special effect? I don't want to mention Michael Jackson but it's sort of ending up like that. I mean if you want to do the job, at least do the Asian version. White person nose does not look too nicely on Asian woman... Anyway that was how much a distraction it was to my video watching experience. I still get charmed by Shiina Ringo's voice and I think I always will. Such a magnet voice. Love! Nijikan dake no bakansu (I have no idea what this title is about) by Utada Hikaru and Shiina Ringo

OK it's time for the "oldies" again. It's funny how nowadays, songs 8 years ago are considered "oldies" already. This song was about 7-8 years ago, by a classic Japanese band called B'z. They are a two-person unit, and have been around forever. I sometime don't like the way the singer sings (feels non-masculine), but oh well it is still good music. It is amazing how overtime, the band's popularity never seemed to dwindle. And the singer/guitarist's face stayed the same throughout the years. What are they eating?? Maybe it is the heart-pounding energetic forever-young music that they sing which makes them look forever young? If so, I should try that as well. B'z  "Ichibu to zenbu" (one part and the whole)

Fall is here and winter is not too far away. Living in the dwindling sunlight and seeing all the grasses die, it might get depressing. I kind of did. But it is ok. Let us liven ourselves up by listening to some j-rock! this is an old favorite of mine, the japanese rock band Radwimps. Now they are A-list superstars in Japan, but I do like this early song of theirs. "Iin desu ka?" "Is it ok?" is the title of the song. Is it ok to fall in love with you? is it ok to be with you? Is it ok to believe someone like I do? He has always been a sensual guy. So are his lyrics. I do like this sensualness from Japanese people. They ask you before they fall in love with you. May I fall in love with you? Would you like someone as gentle as this? *now i am waiting to be hired, so I will have more time to update this blog. Prepare yourself for weekly updates and the freshest j-rock picks from me! My taste will not disappoint. So subscribe if you wil...

Cold winter, good time to listen to some jrock songs. I have not listened to too many new songs recently. This is another oldies, considering we are in 2018. It is called "manten no hoshi wo sagasou tomo sora wa minai"... yea a little long, but it basically means Looking for the stars all over the sky but couldn't see the sky". Deep... I like it. It's a crisp song. Whatever that means hehe.

Motto by judy and mary This song title is playful, just as the tune is, playing on the double meaning of "motto" as in English and "motto" in Japanese, meaning "more". I like it that it is overall an upbeat and positive song, but it's not just that. Because a totally positive song could sound cheesy sometimes. In this song, it did say, "I was always sad". I think admitting the darker/emo side of oneself is the first step to feeling better and more positive. Anyway, it did just cheered me up and taking me away from my occasional sadness. Way to go! MOTTO by Judy and Mary

Recently I have had a few incidents where people say I look young. I mean, there is definitely the saying that when you look at your mother (or father if you are a guy), that's how you will look 30 years later. And I do have to say my mother does look younger compared to other mothers of her age. So maybe that is some proof that I look younger than I am. For one, I still got checked and denied entry when I didn't bring my id to a pub.... I am well over 21!!! Another time, I was traveling with a group in which there are many new faces. Not always, but occasionally some are curious about the mystery of age and do boldly ask newly met people how old they are. I guess I look friendly enough that they asked me. So I said my age, and they are like, really?? you really don't look that old. Some even asked me if I was in college... oh college, such sweet memories but so long ago. I should feel happy? I am kind of happy but at the same time I wouldn't want to limit my...

Since I have not been following the jpop/rock scene recently, I have decided to check the charts a little. I don't know what to make, but about half of the jpop chart was songs of kawaii girl groups singing in symphony pop and cheesy songs... I had to wonder how did those songs get up there in the rankings? who were the audiences? Possibly from fans who are girls of the same age? Or older men who might get some solace from listening to pretty young girls sing songs about puppy love? Sounds like a pretty good research topic for sociology studies hehe. Anyway I like songs like this better - this is called "Even Heaven" by Aimer

As I live in US, yesterday was a chaotic day for this country. Friends in my facebook were overwhelmed and were suffering from tremendous stress and other negative emotions. All because of the election turnout, that someone unexpected had won. I was feeling sick too. While waiting for the final results, I was trying to do everything "good", cleaning my room paying my bills saying sorry to those I have insulted or hurt. Because it must be that I did too many bad things in life, that's why my prayers were not heard. That someone that belittles women so much can still win the election. It is simply shameful. Anyway, more important than my ranting is that maybe we have gone too far, and forgot the word "humble". Maybe it was because that we insulted, shouted hate words, laugh maliciously, think ourselves better than anybody else, that resulted in the victory of the person that we looked down upon so much. Not anyone else, but us ourselves, brought forth this resu...

One of my favorite band is - Specialthanks A good and positive band name + a cute female vocalist with a cute voice + positive and rocking music. How better can it get? Recently I am really into this song - "Dou naru no?" In English that means "whats gonna happen next?" Somethin' like that. The way she sings it, it's like hmmm I wonder what's up next? What'll happen next? This is a question that we often ask in our everyday life. Isn't it so that the unexpectedness of real life makes it even more worthwhile to live? Specialthanks - Dounaruno

Have you been a fan of the jrock band "uplift spice" like me?? I sooo liked their songs, even though they didn't issue many albums. So one year or so ago, I went to their show one time, and then later found out they have disbanded! I was really sad, but happy that I went to see them once and heard my fav song "kanojo" (which I wrote a post before in this blog). Anyway, the latest news is that they have reformed a new band called MUSMUS!! I don't know if other members have changed, but the vocalist stays the same! yay!(sorry other guys) So then I immediately booked tickets for their new shows in Japan and saw them in Feb of this year. My favorite vocalist is still the same! So happy to hear them again. They performed mostly their old songs as Uplift Spice, I think for the sake of old fans like me. I really enjoyed their show. very contented now :) Here is their new music video called "binary" as THE MUSMUS. So good. As always.

I recently went to the concert of one of my favorite band The Pillows. They are like fatherly figure to the newer jrock bands. Most new Japanese bandmen must have heard their songs before. And I have to say, it was so good. The harmonious balance that only old bands can achieve is present. It was just good to listen to, and not "too much". They know what they are doing! The only thing is most of the songs they played I wasn't familiar with... Time to listen to more Pillows! My Foot - The pillows

I will disclose my "healing" song for the recent months. It is a song called "skirt" (suka-to) by Furukawa honpo, an indies artist i guess. I don't know why it is called "skirt" and I didn't fully check out their lyrics. But i gotta say, this song really heals me when I am overwhelmed with all the works I have to do. No reason, I don't know why. Just like I don't know why it is called "skirt". A song with healing power needs no reason. It just heals you.

I just found out about this band today! when I was on my way to checking out shows by the band uplift spice, who is doing tours in Europe right now! Wish I can be there... Anyway, this band is called unlimits. Pretty good songs. The main singer cannot be described as "cute" like how it usually is with Japanese bands... shakalabbits etc. But her voice is definitely powerful. And she plays guitar! Making her appear even stronger and more powerful. Yay to me for a good find today! Unlimits - harukakanata