Sometimes, just sometimes, Japan surprises us by having really good songs with horrible rankings or really bad songs with really good rankings (*cough*KINKIKIDS*cough*). One has to wonder: just how crazy are these people?

So I've decided to compare my music taste with that of general Japan. Granted, I'm not any indication of "normal" taste, but who is really?

The previous week's (September 10th) top 10 singles in Oricon are:


I'm disregarding B-sides totally for this review. If the song name isn't in the single's name, I'm not going to bother. I'm also disregarding Arashi's and that stupid Ponyo song because they've charted previously, so this whole test wouldn't really work with them, since they've obviously charted higher in previous weeks and such. I'm including Mr. Children simply because it charted at the same rank as its previous week, so it doesn't really make a difference. That would mean the rankings for NEW singles of the September 10th week are as follows:

[#1: Mr. Children - Hanabi]

I like the introduction of the song. Really. It sounds really decent, rather reminiscent of 90s Asian pop. But then the lead guy's nasal as hell vocals come in and slowly turn more and more and even more nasal. By the time he reaches the second verse, he sounds like a duck on helium.

He does the bridge satisfactorily I suppose, then the whole group breaks into a nice little acapella "climax" before the lead guy starts singing "mo ikai mo ikai mo ikai mo ikai" with his nose till the end of the song.

The melody is rather forgettable (if you disregard the "mo ikai" part, which stays stubbornly in your head), and there's really not much power or drama or anything really in this song. It's not all that bad, it's just not an awesome song.

My take: Should have been #5

[#2: GLAY - Aka to Kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru]

Oh the title alone is giving me a headache.

Aka to Kuro no MATADORA starts off mysteriously with that Spanish-Latin influenced tune and leads into powerful catchy rock. The melody remains consistently upbeat and catchy and the lead vocal sounds consistently strong throughout the song. However, the chorus is a little weak - it sounds more like a lead-in to the chorus instead of the actual thing. Also, the whole Spanish influence thing is totally lost in the rest of the song unless you count the tambourines tapping in the background. Decent song, but the whole "trying-to-do-a-theme" thing is just silly. The song is memorable, but not all that catchy after giving it some thought. Sure the introduction was good, but the verses and chorus were just slightly short of amazing.

I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru sounds really nostalgic, with amazing strings gracing its tune. The intro was beautifully done - reminding one of 70s - 80s Asian ballads. In fact, the verse was done very well too. But the chorus was boring as hell. With a lower vocal range, the whole song lacks the power that normal GLAY songs possess. The second chorus was worse than the first - it sounded like drunken rambling and screaming. That drags on for the rest of the song.

Once again it is a sort of decent song, but it was kind of boring is all.

My take: Should have been #4

[#3: UVERworld - Koishikute]

I honestly thought UVERworld was going to hit it HUGE with this song. The introduction of a melancholic piano with simple vocals from Takuya strike as earnest and heartwarming. But the chorus led me to think otherwise. God, what is with these rock groups and choruses?! Why do their choruses have to either be boring or BLAST-YOUR-EAR-OFF-ish? Koishikute does exactly the latter. My ears are still ringing. I feel abused.

Takuya is very lucky to have a voice that has a lot of emotion. Otherwise, this song would have flopped very easily. The music is not neccessarily bad, but the whole thing just gets too complicated in parts. It is a good song yes, but I think it would have been much much better if it were toned down a notch. Rock ballads are just an oxymoron.

My take: Should have been #3

[#4 Otsuka Ai - Kurage, Nagareboshi]

After a seemingly endless slew of bad singles, she has finally come up with an amazing one. Kurage, Nagareboshi feels like a mixture of two of her previous songs - Planetarium and Renai Shashin. It is slow, sad, and sounds like someone longing for love long gone. Taking centerstage for this song is Otsuka's voice, just as it should be with a song like this. Her unique voice packs passion as it delivers the song in a pure and innocent way. The chorus is simple, with barely any music but a piano and something that sounds like a harp. It slowly builds up to an even more dramatic second chorus with the whole ensemble. After a musical interlude, the peak of the song arrives. A transpose adds magic to that final chorus before it bows out slowly and gracefully.

One of the best Otsuka's done since the start of her career.

My take: Should have been #1

[#5: Nakagawa Shoko - Tsuzuku Sekai]

Please tell me she's not trying to do rock. Her voice is really not all that powerful to do rock. In fact, it's not even good enough to be singer material. Let's face it, she'd never have been "successful" - if you can even call her that - if not for her hordes of Otaku fanboys.

The song on the other hand has a catchy chorus with decent instrumentation. The rock tune is strong and persistent, with a lot of attitude. It is thoroughly let down by Shoko's voice though. She hits those notes yes, but it sounds like she's only doing it just to prove she can. No power, no thickness, no nothing. It sounds like someone could have done a similar job with a computerized voice. Why even bother?

My take: Should have been #6

[#6: DIR EN GREY - GLASS SKIN]

What does that title even mean anyways?

The song is sort of weird and draggy for the whole thing I suppose. The lead vocal's utterly incoherent sounding in parts and screechy sounding in others. The whole track sounds lazy, uninspired and basically a failure.

I don't even care enough to write more about it.

And the cover scares the hell out of me. Urgh.

My take: Should have been #8

[#7: Kimura Kaela - Moustache / memories (original version)]

Moustache is... I just don't get the whole guitar rock with kiddy magical tinkling everywhere. It's confusing and messy. The noisy drum beat and tunelessness of the song further add to this confusion and overall irritation with the song. The chorus is shallow, flat and feels lifeless, much like a deflated Wonderbra. Her vocals are decent I suppose, but the whole style of the song is just misguided and sad.

Not even the transpose near the end of the song could save it from the eventual crash that the song ended with. It's just bad.

memories (original version) is a freaking children's song. What do you think I would think of it?

Well, to be completely honest, I don't hate it. It's the kind of song you can't possibly hate, but it's impossibly generic and safe, even for a children's song. Somehow one would get the feel of having heard the song somewhere before.

It is what it is. The cover is really cute though.

My take: Should have been #7

[#8: Superfly - How do I survive?]

Superfly's voice is slightly lower than most of her Jpop female singer counterparts, which means she can't sing overly cutesy songs. Which basically means she's just chosen a great genre for herself.

This song doesn't sound like Jpop at all. In fact, it sounds really Western-inspired. Heavy guitar, rough singing with an edgy tune, this sound is great for playing at crazily loud volumes that would cause any teenager's mom to pull their hair out. It is catchy and great for singing/screaming along. The guitar and drums adds to the overall rebellious and slightly angsty feel of the song, lending it much character and style.

This song might have been really mediocre if it had been given to some other Jpop singer. But with Superfly's thick slightly throaty voice, the whole song simply works. I've never really liked Superfly, but she seems to have hit gold with this one.

My take: Should have been #2

So the total difference in ranks (out of a possible difference of 32 ranks) is:

(In order of my given rank.)

Otsuka Ai - Kurage, Nagareboshi: 4 - 1 = 3
Superfly - How do I survive?: 8 - 2 = 6
UVERworld - Koishikute: 3 - 3 = 0
GLAY - Aka to Kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru: 4 - 2 = 2
Mr. Children - Hanabi: 5 - 1 = 4
Nakagawa Shoko - Tsuzuku Sekai: 6 - 5 = 1
Kimura Kaela - Moustache / memories (original version): 7 - 7 = 0
DIR EN GREY - GLASS SKIN: 8 - 6 = 2

(The above are the differences between the actual rank and my given rank.)

Total difference: 3 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 1 + 2 = 18


Which means I agree with them more than once in every three occurences. I have slightly bad music taste. D: My music credibility is falling! OHNOES.

Labels: DIR EN GREY, GLAY, Kimura Kaela, Mr Children, Nakagawa Shoko, Otsuka Ai, Superfly, UVERworld