February 24, 2009
AAAAAAAH NO
I think there's something wrong with Mitsui's chin...
Really? Has Hello! Project become so cheap that they can’t even afford a good graphic artist to make attractive album covers for them? I think a cat could throw together better covers than THAT. Of course covers aren’t the most important part of a single release, but it’s reflective of how much effort Tsunku and Friends™ want to put into their products.
I looked sort of like that when I first saw the covers, too.
January 18, 2009
Happy Birthday, Archie Leach!
I think it was in May when I first saw Bringing Up Baby. Maybe it was June. It’s strange that I don’t remember, since Bringing Up Baby was a lot of firsts for me. To start, it was my first screwball comedy – every old movie I’d watched before then was a film noir. I’m grateful for that. Screwball comedies are one of my favorite genres of movies. It was also my first movie with Katharine Hepburn. I mean, that’s pretty damn important, since Katharine Hepburn is very important. (Yay Katie!) And then there was Katie’s co-star, the man playing David. It was my first movie of his, too.
November 30, 2008
I’m crying…
I just read the news about Iida Kaori’s child.
This is so sad. I cried before even reading the entire article.
The music of Hello!Project has been a source of comfort to me when dealing with a loss in the family. Prehaps you have experienced something similar.
Now, it is time for us to offer comfort to Kaori, her husband, and their family.
We never knew his name.
Rest in peace, child.
October 19, 2008
Furious Rage~! (With Bold Letters.)
It’s official: Hello! Project is going to hell. They just lost nearly ALL of their talent.
What’s next, Morning Musume?
I mean, C-ute music? No thanks.
Just as I was wondering how much longer it was going to be before Melon Kinenbi and Kei left…
Oh Kei, you and your beautiful voice…
Even Abe Natsumi. NACCHI! And Yuko! The Queen Bitch of H!P! All of my favorites are GONE.
Here’s looking at you, Yossie…
Hold on…does this include Mako? But Mako just returned!
They had better get careers elsewhere, or else…
*furious rage*
They just don’t have it anymore. Pretty much everything H!P releases is boring or generic-sounding.
I think Tsunku is out of ideas.
Maybe I’ll buy Yuko’s “MEGA BEST.”
Speaking of purchases, perhaps there will be a big sale of all the Elder Club’s stuff on Yesasia. [/sarcasm]
This calls for a little picspam of some Elder Club members. To cheer you up.
I would make it longer, but it’s time for me to eat dinner. Ja ne.
oh my GOD.
Elder Club. All gone.
What on earth just happened?
I knew something was wrong when those “MEGA BESTS” were announced.
I am in a complete state of disbelief.
More later.
October 6, 2008
Catching Up, Part Two: Wonderful Hearts
Morning Musume did something retro. But it wasn’t the good kind of retro.
Instead of doing something 40s, or even 50s – which would have been totally bitchin’ – they did something 70s – which wasn’t really a thrill for me. I’m not exactly a fan of the 70s.
I was secretly hoping that Morning Musume would release a 40s-themed song. The last time they did that, all the way back in 2001, it turned out to be one of their best songs yet. If not that, they could have worn shirtwaist dresses or pencil skirts with cardigan sweaters on the cover of their next album. Wouldn’t that be adorable?
But no – instead, Morning Musume wore psuedo-disco dresses and sang Pink Lady’s song from the 1970s – Pepper Keibu.
Pepper Keibu is okay, but nothing more. The song is catchy, but I know it will get old after a few listens – it’s really repetitive…
The outifts suck, the PV sucks, but what can I ask for? A Hello!Project outfit isn’t a Hello!Project outfit unless it’s strange/fluffy/ugly or in this case, shiny. Morning Musume hasn’t released a decent PV in years, so I’ve given up on that one.
And…their next album will be entirely cover songs. Didn’t W do that for their first album in 2004? Why, yes, they did. W is great, fine. But I don’t like it when every song on an album is cover songs. Maybe if they had a few really good ones, it would be okay. But I like to hear new songs as well, and I’m sure you do too.
On Berryz’ new album, I like Happy! Stand Up and Baka ni Shinaide, and…that’s it. I would like Real Love too, if it wasn’t a Risako solo. I think Real Love should have been a Maasa solo, since MAASA ONLY GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN ONE GROUP SONG AND NEEDS MORE LOVE.
…
Oh! I secretly like Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance, but only when I’m making graphics. I listen to all the crazy songs when I make graphics. 😛
Other than those few songs, I consider 5 (FIVE) to be rather mediocre. The fourth album was so much better.
I hope that Berryz and Morning Musume’s future releases will be something to look forward to, unlike these.
September 30, 2008
Your Idol Isn’t Perfect!!
Or so says the recent Pocket Morning Q&A.
Idols are normal people just like you.
Just keep telling yourself that. XD
Eri’s made me laugh, I pop joints a lot too. 😛
How does Gaki play with her eyelashes? That sounds like it hurts. D:
But people probably say that about Eri/my habit, too…
Geez, Ai, you’re so boring…
Kidding.
So see, everyone has their faults~
Catching Up, Part One: Milky Way
After giving all my attention in the past few weeks to studying, the 2008 election, family visiting from out-of-town, more studying, and – okay, I’ll be honest – more old movie stuff, I’ve had some time to catch up on music. I found some mp3s of the tracks on Kirarin Revolution Song Selection 4 and Berryz Koubou’s new album, 5 (FIVE). I also checked out the new Morning Musume PV and song, and realized that Milky Way’s next single is only a month away from being released.
Since there’s so much I’ve missed, I’ll be splitting this entry up into multiple pieces. I’ll begin with one of my favorite groups…
September 16, 2008
綺麗 いとしき あなた
Some people think of her as Marie Browning. Others, Vivian Sternwoood, Schatze Page, or Irene Jansen. Her family probably calls her Betty. But to me and other fans, she’s Lauren.
And today is her birthday.
September 15, 2008
Celebrating One Year of Blogging
It was one year ago today that I started this blog. I started Amasugita Kajitsu just so I’d have a place to write about Japanese music, my favorite thing to write about then and one of my favorite things to write about now. It’s still the focus of this blog, even though it’s not the only thing I write about. I’m pleasantly surprised that this blog has been as succesful as it is, and that it’s gotten the recognition it does.
Back when I first started, AK was called “Thoughts.” Yeah… I was seriously at a loss for good titles that day. A few months later, I changed the blog’s name to Amasugita Kajitsu, after my favorite Nacchi song.
I’m happy that I blog. I feel that I’ve improved in my writing ability, but maybe not. I don’t think I’m a great writer or anywhere near close to being one. However, I hope that by being able to write more about what I like, and not having restrictions or having to follow prompts, I’ll be able to get better as time goes by.
Between now and September 15, 2009, there is one thing in particular I’d like to improve on:
Write longer entries/be more comprehensible.
Sometimes, when I read what I’ve written – whether I wrote it yesterday or months ago – I feel like I didn’t make my point clear. I want to cut to the chase, but be more in-depth at the same time. Less beating around the bush, more “this is what I have to say, and this is how I’ll say it.” It’s great if readers think about what I’ve written, but I don’t want to leave them thinking, “wait…what’s the point of this? What is she trying to say?”
There are a few other things in addition to that, but I’m not going to go into detail about them. (It wouldn’t really make for a very interesting blog post, now, would it?)
So happy birthday, Amasugita Kajitsu. Ice cream and cake, anybody?
Amasugita Kajitsu 