It's almost summer! Which means I'll post my top 10 special summer picks and download links. Please just use these for promotional purposes and actually buy the CDs. These guys need to eat too (;^;)
1. 夏祭り(Natsu Matsuri) - Whiteberry
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LJP57YFB
If you watch any Japanese drama, movie, etc. that has a summer (particularly festival or fireworks) scene, they're almost always bound to use this song. What I really like about this is the sweetness and innocence of the lyrics, especially when she says "We did senkou fireworks and talked a bit, but I wasn't able to say the words 'I like you.'" Maybe sometime I'll translate these lyrics, they're so well-written. Here's the chorus anyway: "Kimi ga ita natsu wa tooi yume no naka sora ni kietetta uchiage hanabi" ("The summer that you were here is like fireworks fading in the sky in a faraway dream") なんか切ないよね〜 (There's even a version where chibi Subaru sings this and he does pretty well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QECOwDS5X8Y )
2. また君に会える (Mata Kimi ni Aeru) - ケツメイシ (Ketsumeishi)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JF381K21
This song was playing EVERYWHERE I went in Okinawa this summer. The band isn't from Okinawa, but they sound like they are so I got the impression that they're pretty popular down there. This really makes me think of driving to the beach in a convertible (probably because that's what happens in the PV, but whatever, it reminds me of drives up to Nago too) Every time I hear it I remember my summer in Okinawa, so it's a pretty special song to me.
3. イケナイ太陽 (Ikenai Taiyou) - Orange Range
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CNLD5DMG
I'm sure most people have heard this song (the opening theme for Hana-Kimi) but for the same reasons as above this song reminds me of summer. I actually started watching Hana-Kimi over in Japan (with episode 3 or 4, I think. Well, the one where they go to the beach) so this always reminds me of staying up with my host sister to fawn over Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma <3
4. Mayday - Bump of Chicken
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=81T2SKCX
I've had this song for a while but just found it recently. I can't help but feel like I've heard it before, in a drama or something. If anyone knows, please let me know cause it's been bugging me. It's a really great rock song that makes me want to drive with the windows down ^^
5. Summer Time Love - m-flo loves Hinouchi Emi & Ryohei
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7W3B0HNM
Again, a song that reminds me of being in Japan. The girls I stayed with in Tokyo really like m-flo too, so they would put Cosmicolor on and we'd just talk with it playing in the background. Actually I had gotten the CD before I went there, so they were surprised that I could sing along with it. Of course the words (and the PV) are very summery, since it's called "Summer Time Love." But I really like Ryohei and m-flo collaborations (see: Miss You from Astromantic) and Hinouchi Emi is just ADORABLE- I loooove her style (in the PV anyway, I don't know what she usually wears)
6. 言葉より大切な物 (Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono) - 嵐 (Arashi)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TJWSL8P7
This is the theme song used for the 2003 ero-comedy drama Stand Up! starring YamaP, Nino, Oguri Shun, Narimiya Hiroki, and Suzuki An. The whole drama takes place over the summer of these 17-year-old boys and it's pretty much a coming-of-age type thing. The whole series is filled with summery things (even cicadas screeching most of the time ^^) so I always hear this song and think summer. I really like it and always sing it at karaoke, so take a listen to chibi Arashi (and the PV looks like the opening sequence from Stand Up!, interestingly enough)
7. Shamrock - UVERworld
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2IKLWQFY
This was the closing theme for the drama Dance Drill (MASSUUUUUU~~) which was really cute (well Massu was, anyway) It's not particularly a summer drama, but the song is very sunny and bouncy and makes me think of playing or rolling around in the grass :D
8. 浪花いろは節 (Naniwa Iroha Bushi) - 関ジャニ８ (Kanjani8)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IKP2BVKJ
This song just screams summer festival to me. Maybe it's the enka, maybe it's the taiko, but whatever it is I loooove this song (it actually got me into Kanjani's music- I used to only like them cause they're HILARIOUS beyond belief, but now I like a lot of their music too) I don't usually like Blinky's* (ahem, Subaru's) voice, but it fits perfectly with the enka style. I also like the blending of the traditional taiko with the modern rap and stuff (although poor Tacchon's always stuck in the back pounding on the taiko to perform this song ;^;) I just love that "Ha~ enya korasse dokkoisse" chanting- it reminds me of the time we tried taiko drumming in 2005.
9. 大切な物 (Taisetsu na Mono) - Road of Major
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5U8XRWT1
This is a really great song that I came across somehow. It's got a bit of a punk-rock feel to it, and the lyrics are easy to remember. Plus when I sang it at karaoke everyone was really excited ("You know Major?? You know this song??") It's really fun to sing along with lots of people and the lyrics are really nice (it sounds like a college graduation or something, like a group of friends who'll never see each other again are reminiscing and saying "let's not forget the good times")
10. なんとかなるさ (Nantoka Naru Sa) - News (YamaP, Koyama, Massu only)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=91M24FVJ
This song's just sooooooo cute! And listening to it has gotten me through some stressful situations ("It'll turn out somehow, it's nothing to sweat over") The lyrics are so KoyaMassu, and the music sounds like fast-paced reggae or something (or like it was derived from that, at least) I wanna translate this song sometime too...
So take a listen to these and enjoy your summer days~ (^^)v
*"Blinky" is the little pet name that my friend and I came up with Subaru. Why? Have you ever watched him closely (when he's on a talk show especially) for a period of time? If so, have you ever noticed that when he blinks he looks like he's concentrating really really hard on doing so? Like (o.o) -> (>.<) -> (o.o)
Also he looks like a little spider monkey since he's so tiny and hyper and hunches over, so doesn't "Blinky" sound like a pet monkey name? XD
Other names, mostly for the purpose of talking with my friend who doesn't know many K8/Arashi guys' names, include:
Miss Thang [Yasu- I think you know why ^^]
Big Forehead [Maru]
"Akimashitaaaaa!" [Yoko- see "waking Yellow Ranger" from the 47 DVD and you'll know what I mean]
Crow guy [Ohno Satoshi- his nose looks kinda beaky]
"Dude, go outside for once!" [Nino- referring to his dangerously intense gaming obsession]
I think that's it, although we sometimes refer to Uchi as "the giraffe" (DUDE he totally looks like one! A really cute one, but still a giraffe ^^) and of course Massu as the "little piggy" and Aiba as a "bubble-head" (sounds cuter than airhead, no?) or "looks like he just walked into a pane of glass" XD
We jest out of sheer love <3
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
disappointed
amused
depressed
satisfied
determined![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
productive
busy
artistic
accomplished
dorky
bored
sleepy
hungry