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Comments
I want to understand his plight and self-consciousness, but who the heck in reality actually thinks Shawn Mendes is gay aside from guys blinded by their immensely uncontrollable crushes on him?
The track seems to be the work of "Impulserz".
Alien
Almost Love
Pop music is so deep nowadays.
Okay her real latest single, Sue Me, isn't like this. But still. Also Alien was written in three days and it's success mostly depends on how good Jonas Blue is at pop music.
I keep forgetting to mention how her song Why totally has a part where she admits her boyfriend is an alcoholic and she's just being super passive aggressive about it:
But like, probably not really.
Start singing:
gotta go fast
gotta go fast
gotta go faster faster fasterfasterfaster
...but on that last syllable sing "fa" rather than "do" and now you can start going "so mi re do" in the next bar, and now you're singing AKB48's Heavy Rotation.
These aren't exactly my favourite songs of the year, but they are the ones I feel like should be (and in fact I want them to be) remembered for years on end because they were really cool and fresh and new and awesome and well... iconic.
Changing point - i☆Ris (Changing point)
That opening guys, it's brilliant and brutal and magical. I can't even. Presented with a serious song, i☆Ris will always manage to deliver a captivating performance that tells you a story about things getting real. Unfortunately, nobody will remember this song because it was the Mahou Shoujo Site OP.
youthful beautiful - Uchida Maaya (youthful beautiful)
Like, just even thinking about that really nostalgic perfect ED you imagine in your head and you literally get this song. It's perfect, no questions.
Birth of Legend - Mizuki Nana (WONDER QUEST EP)
You know what? I've come to loathe and adore going through Nana's latest releases. Her songs are great, but she's like fripSide; you only really truly get her if you pay attention to every detail.
Until a song like Birth of Legend comes along and you just pause literally everything you were even planning to do and just listen because there is nothing but her and her vocal runs playing with something genuinely new to all of music. No gimmicks necessary, she's created a whole new style with no overt tech sounds. Like, Nana is a genius and I'm glad that she presented a worthy successor to Phantasm.
Sincerely - TRUE (Sincerely)
I love this song, but it's not my favourite sort of TRUE song. At her best, TRUE has an amazing energy that can blow stuff away, but this was a Violet Evergarden song, so she had to write a song to fit the sweet, treacly theme.
So she did, she wrote it a lot. She wrote it so hard nobody will ever be able to match it's ridiculously perfect tones. It is, in fact, iconic.
Error - GARNiDELiA (Error)
Guys, guys, guys, GARNiDELiA brought ridic to Anison this year and it was called Error. They danged rocked it with their forward thinking attitude and limitless skills.
Weirdest Japanese Songs of 2018
Kowarekake no Radio - Wajima Ami (Kowarekake no Radio)
Wajima Ami started out her career as this alternative rock songstress meant to be Pony Canyon's version of a SACRA girl and she rocked that role pretty hard before her slight hiatus after the release of her first album I AM.
I eagerly anticipated her return, waiting for a song to rock out to like Eien Loop or Kimi e, or even something wonderful to chew on like Gensou Drive. I mean, we need rock songstresses in this rock-deprived world.
So of course now she has this mature, nostalgic voice as she sings the slowest ballad of all time. Come on Ami, I need your music in my life, but not like this.
FIVE STAR - Ono Kensho (FIVE STAR)
What was this even Ono Kensho? Like... come on. Be better next time.
White ambitions - TRUE and Chihara Minori (Michishirube)
Girls, girls, come on. You don't kill everybody dead with a brilliant collab like Futarigoto and then make this proto Symphogear disappointment? Did TRUE realize this song was just kind of whatever and cart it off to Minori's single through the power of Lantis veto?
I mean how was this even a direction they considered going? It doesn't fit in with Violet Evergarden's theme at all.
PLEDGE - ASCA (PLEDGE)
Girl I beg of you SING SOMETHING MEMORABLE.
Abm/Cb, Db, Ebm, Ab7,
CbM7, Db, Ebm, Gb,
Abm/Cb, Db, Ddim7, Ebm (Ab7),
Abm/Cb, Db...CbM7...
that third phrase is just so damn poignant *sheds tear*
I doubt we'll ever see this version on DVD. Maybe it'll be included in their scream tour DVD? A DVD that will cost at least three times as much as the CD+DVD edition of the album cost?
i have lots of music i haven't ever listened to before
to be added to stuff I really like:
* Mai Kuraki - Stand By You
* Mai Kuraki - [some other song whose name i forgot]
Join the club~
I also have to admit that though it's not what I wanted from her, Kowarekake no Radio is a very poignant song I've thought about more than once recently.
And cool.
Best/s
Singles:
- Neiro/Break it down - FLOW
- Best My Friend - MAG!C☆PRINCE
- SWEET HURT - ReoNa
Character Singles:- Buddy☆Funny Days from Future Card Buddyfight ACE
- terzetto rhapsody - H☆E☆S from Ongaku Shoujo
- SECOND COLOR: YELLOW - BEST FRIENDS! from Aikatsu Friends
EPs:- love & smile - lol
- POP - Tsujimura Yuki
- WONDER QUEST EP - Mizuki Nana
Albums (wasn't really an album year):- color of time - ChouCho
- lml - lol
Bands:- lol
- FLOW
Newcomers:- Uchida Yuuma
- Fuchigami Mai (who debuted last year, but I only discovered her this year)
- ReoNa
- Tsujimura Yuki
Comeback: Aoi Eir! Obviously.New Favourite Songs:
still - ChouCho
Believe it - Karen and Mirai from BEST FRIENDS
Before Dawn - Uchida Yuuma
Be The One - PANDORA feat, Beverly
Boku no Kioku ga Usotsuku - WEBER
Pride - Karen and Mirai from BEST FRIENDS
Clean out - OLDCODEX
LOVE THERAPY - Beverly
Rainbow Planet - Fuchigami Mai
Futarigoto - TRUE and Chihara Minori
Mitsukeyou yo - Ema and Maika from BEST FRIENDS!
Identity - Mirai from BEST FRIENDS!
HALF - Ziyoou-vachi (or QUEEN BEE, if you prefer)
Sad Story - Shuta Sueyoshi
NEW WORLD - Uchida Yuuma
ADAMAS - LiSA
Thrill, Risk, Heartless - LiSA
Ao no Kanata - Suzuki Konomi
Ray Rule - Ishihara Kaori
Bangin' - Fairies
ALIVE - Fairies
'I' - Cyua
Surprises from the back-end
still - ChouCho
Namae wo Nai Kuufuku - TRUE
Birth of Legend - Mizuki Nana
Star light, Star bright - nano
youthful beautiful - Uchida Maaya
Hilight - Ohashi Ayaka
Biggest Hype 2019
why are there so many vtuber covers of this
(note: you must wait about one minute into the piece)
Pt.1 || Pt.2
1. Francesco Gabbani - Pachidermi e papagalli (Pachyderms and Parrots)
Context: From his album Magellano.
Lyrics: I really love the lyrics to this song, they're all about conspiracy theories and I enjoy how ridiculous every line is.
Music: The music is very different from modern pop or even old pop, but it's really fun. Lots of random instrumentation and background vocals make it really memorable.
2. Wincent Weiss - Mittendrin (Akustic ver)
Context: An acoustic version of an album track.
Lyrics: In German <_<
Music: The stripped down and bare sounds of the guitar fill the whole track with an honesty that's not present in much Western pop music and I really enjoy his smooth, pared-back vocals.
3. MGMT - Kids
Context: Heard it in a second season episode of Gossip Girl as Nate and his family play flag football.
Lyrics: I guess they're somewhat psychedelic, but the main thread is they seem to be advising someone on how they shouldn't bee too selfish, along with some nostalgic asides.
Music: It starts off with this really playful keyboard paired with drums and then the guitars and vocals kick in to create a really balanced melody. There's also a very epic guitar solo towards the end.
4. Old Man Canyon - Hollow Tree
Context: Heard it in an episode of the ABC drama Notorious, sat on it for a while (since 2016 apparently), then it officially entered my rotation.
Lyrics: Again, super-psychedelic, but really fun to sing.
Music: The music is really retro rock, in a style similar to some old psychedelic pieces with a set of bare-bones instruments that really complement the singer's voice.
5. Jeannie Lurie and Matthew Tishler - Getting Real
Context: Opening theme to the Nickelodeon TV series I Am Frankie. Loved it from the first moment I heard it.
Lyrics: Frankie is a robot, so there are lots of cute references to stuff like that. Otherwise, I like how they balance a sense of wanting to move on from your hang-ups and a sense of unshakeable confidence.
Music: This song is epic and big and loud and everything I want from this sort of song. I'd love to have a full version, but Nickelodeon keeps posting versions that are talked over. Come on, Nickelodeon, I need this song in my life.
6. The Cheetah Girls and Deepti Daryanani - One World
Context: I'm not sure how, but I'm back into The Cheetah Girls! It didn't start with this song, it started with Step Up, but this song really got to me. Anyways, it's from the Disney Channel movie The Cheetah Girls 3 - One World.
Lyrics: This is the big celebration finale song from the movie, as was tradition, and the lyrics are full of nice platitudes that reference what happened in the movie (and sometimes not so much). I particularly like how Dorinda sings "Now we see who we are in a different light." because it's so cutesy and the inflection on the words is perfect.
Music: One World, the movie, was Bollywood inspired, so this whole song is set out as a big Bollywood number, with a chorus participating at times and a chorus that is structured like it was meant for some sort of ceremonial dance, which I love.
7. Hannah Montana - Old Blue Jeans
Context: Guess.
Lyrics: The first Hannah Montana album was so full of songs about how Hannah was an ordinary girl underneath it all (not to be confused with the Hannah Montana Forever song literally titled Ordinary Girl) that I'm surprised conspiracy theorists in-universe didn't discover her secret long before the end of the show. I think aside from Just Like You, this one probably has the best lyrics because they're really cheeky and directed at the listener, telling them that even a pop goddess enjoys a bit of a lowkey moment.
Music: The music in this song is so early 2000s and I love it. From the opening notes to the pseudo-rock guitars to the structure of the rest of the song, it's all just wonderfully a product of it's era (and even then not really since it's a late 2000s song).
8. Federico Russo and Giulia Guerrini - Likewise
Context: From the Italian Disney Channel series, Alex & Co.
Lyrics: I bet you'd guessed I'd be having another "It's in Italian!" moment but nope, this is entirely in English. I think sometimes when a non-English speaker is given a chance to write in English, they can come up with concepts far beyond the normal platitudes. From comparisons to colliding planets and the constant repetition of the word "Likewise" which is so out of conversational English, they really do create something special.
Music: It's quite Europop, I think? I love that sort of big repeating note the builds around the singers as they move to the chorus, and it has it in spades.
9. Backstage Cast - Born at the Right Time
Context: From the Family Channel series, Backstage.
Lyrics: "Born in the right place/Born at the right time", very space age, but that's it.
Music: This song is like a masterclass in good techno. When I heard it for the first time during a dance scene on the show I was floored and I spent the good part of two years waiting for it to finally come out digitally in a way I could get. The TV version is quite different from the official one, but it is practically better. When you hit that first chorus everything in the world seems to shift as the music just takes over.
10. Bella Thorne - Burn So Bright
Context: From the Bella Thorne starring movie adaptation of the YA Book Midnight Sun.
Lyrics: The lyrics are quite thoughtful; and I really enjoy singing them. They follow a very personal (but marketably generalisable) journey through the singers life, whilst bringing them together with the rest of the world as they share their message through song (or burning really bright, I guess).
Music: This was the major draw of this song to me, it's just Bella Thorne, her background vocals and a simple band. A basic setup creates what is essentially a story that tells itself every time you listen to it, and Bella's vocals manage to be sharp, honest and cheeky.
11. Jamie Lynn Spears and Britney Spears - Follow Me (Piano Bootleg by Taylor Galante)
Context: From the Nickelodeon teen drama Zoey 101. I ended up rewatching this show this year and it reminded me of how great this song is. Nickelodeon loves to not release a full version of it's OPs and EDs, but leave lots of traces around for fans to make up their own versions. I'd prefer the official release treatment but this is fun too.
Lyrics: These are some of the most down-to-earth lyrics I've ever heard in a Nickelodeon opening, and I love them for it. The alternate parts of the song even focus on the audience, which has always made me feel quite special
Music: I love the piano remix of this because who doesn't love an iconic pop song being introduced with it's own little piano solo? The music is also very 2000s pop, which makes sense since it's a song involving not one but two entire members of the Spears clan.
12. Radics Gigi and Varga Viktor - Álomutazó
Context: From the Hungarian musical Álomutazó. I honestly have no idea what the show is, aside from it having ridiculously insane costumes, but this song really caught my attention. I heart the Lotfi Begi remix first, which is good, but the original is like... way better.
Lyrics: ... Hungarian <_<
Music: When I hear the opening notes of this song, and I hear Viktor's first lines, I just get this overwhelming sense of calm determination. Then it breaks into Gigi's part, and I kid you not, she changes the whole vibe of the song without even changing the music in the slightest. As for the music, it suggests a simple life in a small town, no big overtures necessary, and I love that.
13. HAIM - Something to Tell You
Context: I never meant to start listening to a popular adult-contemporary girl band, but after a BBC article piqued my interest I ended up looking up HAIM's single "Want You Back" and between the 90s sound and the dolphin noises (that are in a lot of new wave 90s music, actually), I couldn't just quit. I ended up buying their album, and this was the title track.
Lyrics: Oh my goooooosh the lyrics to this song. Have you ever accidentally watched a music video from the 90s and then ended up with the lyrics from the song stuck in your head? This is all of those lyrics at once, and I love it. Every time HAIM shouts "IWASINNOCENT" I am right there with them.
Music: I think I've gone over their sound pretty well already? A 90s sensibility with a heavy lean on some new techniques, especially vocal distortion. These girls are really skilled and I wish modern pop music sounded way more like this.
14. Monster High - Feeling So Amazing
Context: From the Monster High movie, Welcome to Monster High.
Lyrics: It might just be me, but I feel like songs rarely ever include the lyrics "Have you ever looked in the mirror and said, 'You're amazing'.". To be 100% honest and emotionally bare; those are totally lyrics we all need to hear (and not from idols in AKB48 who finish the line with "also buy 20,000 copies for the event ticket"). As that line makes clear, it's a self-power anthem full of lines like that.
Music: This song combines a fun electro sound with a real electric guitar and I approve of that merger.
Honorable Mentions: Empire Part 2 from The Next Step, Besos en Guerra by Morat and Juanes, and She Wolf by Shakira.
Where's Alien?: I know a song I mentioned a lot this year was Alien by Sabrina Carpenter and Jonas Blue. I listen to it a lot, and I think for something that was written in three days it's a real piece of work but the truth is I don't think I will ever like EDM and especially the brand of tropical house EDM it subscribes to.
It's catchy and fun, but not something I care for. I've also just been disappointed with Sabrina Carpenter's releases lately so there's no goodwill there.
Kay, there goes another edition of this thing I do! Look forward to next time!
It's Francis Poulenc's Improvisation #7.
All musical genres gathered for you leisure. Yep, all of them (according to the guy who runs the site). Ever wondered about Icelandic hip-hop, filthstep or vapor trap? See, or listen, for yourself.
I'm glad I recognized the example for anime charason (It's a song from Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream).
How is the example for kawaii future bass not a Kizuna AI song. They're quite recent, but the example for Junior Eurovision (which is now a genre?) is Barbie from last year.
How are BiSH not "anti-idol" but "idol rock"?
What is Post-Teen Pop and why is a Selena Gomez the ambassador of it? I feel like compared to the rest of her discography that song was pretty unique maybe.
Is post-teen pop even a genre or just who the songs were marketed to?
a) Victoria Justice got the short end of the stick on this list. There's Freak the Freak Out and Make it Shine and Make it in America and Gold and so many other, better songs she should have been on this list for.
b) how is Bye Bye Bye post-teen considering it came out way before this era was a thing?
c) Haha, Olivia Holt's signature is History.
d) I basically have heard this entire chart.
e) The more I look at this the more it makes some sort of sense. It even makes sense that Russiavision is so oddly close to it in genre-ness.
Is Charlie XCX's 1999 really what passes for electropop nowadays?
Japanese Shoegaze was not a NEGOTO or Scenarioart.
Well, okay.
Daichi Miura is one of the more popular acts of J-pop right now, but I have no idea what about his R&B sensibilities and razor-sharp dance moves convinced the Emperor and Empress that he was the perfect artist for the job.
According to the five minutes of research that the original article couldn't be bothered to do, he'll be covering a song they composed (and released on CD) back in 2015. Though I can't seem to find any recordings of it online.
EDIT: It was in Israel and I was dumb about it so jokes on me since 2020 got cancelled.
> EUROvision
> Israel is geographically not in Europe
confused_nick_young.png
Kind of appropriate that this was the first version of the song I heard and it came out right after I finished Battle Royale.
Australia also competes. The U.S. (obviously) has tentatively dipped it's toes in trying to compete but Eurovision is actually insanely political (see also: SuRie's terrifying incident with somebody not a fan of Brexit or just the U.K. in general last year) so that'll never happen.