impressioniste's blog

April 14, 2007: Selections

Because my musical tastes change so often and so rapidly, I don't have 'ultimate favorites' of any kind, really. Instead, I have mostly 'daily' and 'weekly' favorites. That's probably what you'll see here.

As will be reiterated, music is for sampling. CD covers / links refer you to Amazon Japan, where you can see additional information and also purchase the CD, if you feel compelled. (All music files are hosted by multiply.com, and should be accessible even if you don't have an account, but I'm currently testing out how well this method works.)

 

redballoon - 雪のツバサ

[ SAMPLE TRACK ] '雪のツバサ' (Yuki no TSUBASA) by redballoon

I don't have much to say about redballoon right now, because I literally just discovered them a few hours ago. The title track to their '雪のツバサ' (Yuki no TSUBASA) single, though, literally grabbed me right away, and I love it.

To tell you the truth, the only reason I heard it in the first place was because I saw the CD cover, and thought the guy on the front looked a heck of a lot like Aiba Hiroki. So I tried it. 'Yuki no TSUBASA' is a really great, upbeat song, though. It's extremely catchy.

 

徳永英明 - Happiness

[ SAMPLE TRACK ] 'Happiness' by 徳永英明 (Tokunaga Hideaki) 

Next up is 徳永英明 (Tokunaga Hideaki)'s CD single, 'Happiness'. Seeing as silly Asian men with melodic voices singing piano ballads is one of my major weaknesses, I was hooked in about twelve seconds. 'Happiness' is a very soft, pretty piano ballad. The B-side, 'やさしいね' (Yasashii ne) is also very pretty.

 

 

美空ひばり - ふる里は遠い空

[ SAMPLE TRACK ] '上を向いて歩こう' by 美空ひばり (Ue wo Muite Arukou by Misora Hibari)

Kicking off my current Enka infatuation, I've picked out Misora Hibari. She was one of the biggest names in Enka, if not *the* biggest. The song selected above is sort of funny, because out of the gigantic selection I had of Misora songs to choose, I've picked one that's a cover. I love the original 'Ue wo Muite Arukou' by 坂本九 (Sakamoto Kyu), though, and I was *thrilled* to hear Misora singing a cover version. (You might know the song better as 'Sukiyaki' over here in the states). I adore the song, and she sings it in a very lovely way.

I'll be sharing some other Misora stuff later, including her 'signature' song, so if you like her, keep your eyes peeled. The album I took the song from is titled ふる里は遠い空 (Furusato wa Tooi Sora), and it's a two-disc set.

 

アンジェラ・アキ MY KEYS 2006 in 武道館

 [ SAMPLE TRACK ] 'We are the Champions' by アンジェラ・アキ (Angela Aki)

The final piece of music I have to share with you today isn't available on a CD. It's an audio rip from a concert that Angela Aki gave titled 'MY KEYS 2006 in Budokan'. It's a really magnificent concert, and about two hours long.

She sings some really lovely songs during the concert, but my favorite part is when she engages the audience in singing Queen's 'We are the Champions', accompanied only by her piano. It's an extremely long track, during which she gives them an English lesson about the song, but I've ripped the best piece of it.

New blog topic.

Alright, apparently I fail at updating this, as I really currently don't have much use for it. I'm going to attempt something else, which is using this place as a music rambling-ground.

I've been reluctant to post music garblage in my LJ, mostly because most people on my friends' list probably aren't interested in the same kind of music I am. I listen to music in *all* languages, but more Japanese and Korean than others. I also listen to really 'old' American music. I'm not a connoisseur, by any means, I just have lots of music and like to listen to it. I like pop, rock, classical, instrumental, rap, hip-hop, blues, jazz, big-band & swing, hard rock & heavy metal, synthpop and europop. I like basically everything, excluding some 'gangster rap', and 'crappy country' music. I'll generally give anything a listen at least once. I even like cheesy oldies.

Currently, my biggest affectations are the Japanese band, '氣志團' (Kishidan), which has a 'retro' American rock style, and several Korean crooners, especially '신승훈' (Shin Seung-hun) and '성시경' (Sung Si-kyung). I'm also on an Enka kick. My current 'favorite' band/vocalist is 'アンジェラ・アキ' (Angela Aki).

Vox seems like a fairly decent medium to easily manage rambling about and sharing some bits of my music, so from today, I'm going to *try* and use it for that purpose.

First Entry.

Just testsing out Vox's blogging feature. I don't have much to say, at the moment.