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Now that you've got your hat all you need is a song! :P Before there was Boa and the stream of crossover artists, there was S.E.S...a trio of Korean vocalists with power, grace, and soul in their voices. Before debuting in Japan S.E.S released an impressive catalog of pop releases in Korea and were actually one of the first Korean groups/singers to pioneer the transition to a multilingual career overseas. One day a customer asked to special order their Japan debut single "meguri au sekai" (while I was still employed at a record store here) and while I wasn't familiar with the trio back then in late '98 I was immediately impressed with the powerful projection and sound of their vocals which are quite in a very sweet way and when their single "(ai) to iu nano hokori" was released just a few months later I was completely hooked on their sound. "(Ai) to iu nano hokori" remains as one of my top 100 J-Pop songs of all time.
And now my favorite members in order....#1 Nino...
Last week, my mother was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma which is also a kind of skin cancer and I went with my mother on Monday (June 30th) to get her first round of Chemotherapy which was very kind but luckily it wasn't too long.
I could use some prayers for her as well as me, because her lymphona is in Stage 4...but this kind of skin cancer is treatable so there is hope.
I'll update about her progress soon, but please pray for her..because I want her to get better and not have something go bad in terms of her lymphoma.
Kurumi
Nee Kurumi
kono machi no keshiki wa kimi no me ni
dou utsuru no?
ima no boku wa dou mieru no?
Tell me, Kurumi
what do you see looking at this city?
how do I look to you now?
Nee kurumi
dareka no yasashisa mo hiniku ni kikoeteshimaunda
sonna toki dou shitara ii?
Tell me Kurumi
when I start to hear the sarcasm in someone's kindness
what am I to do?
Yokatta koto dake omoidashite
yake ni toshioita kimochi ni naru
to wa ie kurashi no nakade
ima ugokidasou to shiteiru
haguruma no hitotsu ni naranakute wa naa
kibou no kazu dake shitsubou wa fueru
soredemo asu ni mune wa fureru
donna koto ga okorun darou?
souzou shite mirundayo
Remembering only the good times
though it makes me feel like I've aged a lot
but you have to be one of the gears trying to get turning
you can have only as much despair as you have hope
but still, my heart trembles at the thought of the future
what's going to happen?
I try to imagine
Nee Kurumi
jjikan ga nanimokamo araitsuresattekureba
ikiru koto wa jitsu ni tayasui
Tell me Kurumi
if time will eventually wash every thing away
then life must be a simple affair
Nee Kurumi
are kara wa ichido mo namida wa nagashitenaiyo
demo honkide warau koto mo sukunai
Tell me Kurumi
since then I haven't cried once
but, neither have I had many good laughs
Dokokade kakechigaetekite
ki ga tsukeba hitotsu amatta botan
onaji you ni shite dareka ga
mote amashita botanhoru ni
deau kotode ima ga dekita nara ii
deai no kazu dake wakare wa fueru
soredemo kibou ni mune wa fueru
jyuujiro ni dekuwasu tabi
mayoi mo suru darou kedo
Somewhere I did up the buttons wrong
by the time I notice there's one button left over
and also one button hole in need of a button
if you find meaning in finding someone that's fine
you can only have as many partings as you do encounters
still my heart trembles at the thought of hope every time I encounter a crossroad
I'll struggle over which way to go but...
Ima ijyou wo itsumo hoshigaru kuse ni
kawaranai ai wo motome utau
sou shite haguruma wa mawaru
kono hitsuyou ijyou no futan ni
gishigishi nibui oto wo tatenagara
kibou no kazu dake shitsubou wa fueru
soredemo asu ni mune wa fureru
donna koto ga okorun darou?
souzou shite miyou
deai no kazu dake wakare wa fueru
soredemo kibou ni mune wa fureru
hikikaeshicha ikenai yo ne
susumou kimi no inai michi no ue e
Even though I want more than I have now
I sing for an unchanging love
that's what makes the gears turn with the burden of more than I need
making a dull grinding sound
you can only have as much despair as you do hope
and still my heart trembles at the thought of th future
what's going to happen?
let's imagine
you can only have as many partings as you do encounters
and still my heart trembles at the thought of hope
I guess there's no turning back
so I'll go on to a road without you
I found this video on nicodouga a while ago, and couldn't resist putting it on here. If you've ever played Tenchu for the original playstation, you'll remember this game.
Most of the stuff they did in the video is pure hackery and cheat codes. But man oh man is it great! What are you waiting for? Watch it now!
Game: Tenchu
Song: Love Machine by Morning Musume
Wow! Thanks Peggy! :)
Last Letter
Aoyama Thelma
Romaji by Cori
English translation by Cori
Romaji Samui fuyu deatta toshiue no kare wa Itsuka futari de kakiatta yume ga ima demo nokotteru Saigo no tegami ni wa "tooku kara mimamoru yo" Minareta yokogao nigirishimeta te mo Itsumo kinenbi wa yasashii kotoba kaite kureta yo ne Saigo no tegami ni wa "tooku kara mimamoru yo" Donna ni tsurakutemo mae wo mukanakucha Saigo no tegami ni wa "tooku kara mimamoru yo" Saigo no tegami ni wa "tooku kara mimamoru yo" |
English I met him, an older guy, during a cold winter Even now, the dreams we wrote together one day remain Your last letter said said “I’ll be watching you from far away” Your familiar profile, and your hand holding mine You always wrote sweet words on our anniversary Your last letter said said “I’ll be watching you from far away” No matter how painful it is, I have to keep moving forward Your last letter said said “I’ll be watching you from far away” Your last letter said said “I’ll be watching you from far away” |
Here's a video of another song of hers - Soba Ni Iru Ne:
Haha it took me about 5 hours to write, upload and scan this.. :P what is wrong with me?!! The original posting at Cutie Party can be found here at Misa's blog. I was thinking that since you state the reason for this survey being an interest to find new J-Pop artists/groups to listen to outside of Hello! Project I would make sure to try and not mention them although they may creep into answers here because it just can't be helped as H!P runs through my veins I'm afraid. :P But still I'll try to make a conscious effort here...really really try not to mention H!P! :P...as they could appear in numerous answers here if I don't properly restrain myself!
1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?
My first guess would be that I may have heard my mom playing Go Hiromi or Saijou Hideki albums when I was little but since I can't remember that I'll have to go with the very first J-Pop purchase that I ever made which would be...
...Morikawa Miho's best of compilation titled "Voices...", there it was on the shelf at Tower Records and I purchased it because I thought the cover looked nice...so much for deep thoughts. :P Looking back it's a good thing that I enjoyed this album a lot!...because had that not been the case there's no telling where J-Pop and I would stand today although I do imagine that it would have crept up on me in some other way over the years.
Track one is "Blue Water" and this is literally my first, first hand experience of J-Pop. Right from the start you'll notice just how powerful, unique and memorable her vocals are and thus my love of J-Pop was born! ^-^
Track 8 "POSITIVE" may be a familiar one as it was used as a theme for the popular anime "Ranma 1/2."