July 17, 2008
The Thin Man
I was a fan of The Thin Man before I even watched it. It was all because of Asta, the little terrier who you’ll fall in love with at first glance. Promotional pictures featuring him are just too cute. I don’t remember where I first saw or heard of Asta…it wasn’t in Bringing Up Baby, which was the first movie I saw that featured Asta. Regardless, I saw him somewhere, and looked around for more information. I came across an Asta fansite. When the site wasn’t talking about Asta, it was mentioning three things: The Thin Man, William Powell, and Myrna Loy.
Although I had become a fan of Asta quickly, I didn’t bother to find out anything about The Thin Man right away. Why I didn’t is beyond me…I was beginning to become a fan of Loy, too. I finally watched the movie after a joke about terriers and Asta at dinner one night, and I am so glad that I did.
September 22, 2007
Maki Goto – How to use SEXY Review
How to use SEXY is the 4th album from Hello!Project soloist Maki Goto. It’s okay, there were some songs I liked a lot, and others that I didn’t. Read below for more.
Before I review every track, I would like to say that I still get a kick out of the title. Ah, Engrish! xD
The first song, “How to use Loneliness,” is my favorite new song on the album. I was kind of surprised; as I thought it would be a boring ballad. Boy, was I wrong. It kind of reminds me of “Ekizo Disco” (from 3rd Station), I’m not quite sure why though. At around 3:10, there are some breathy sounds, and they sound good with the background music. Also on this track, the multiple “whoa!s” at the beginning are interesting.
The next song on the album is “GIVE ME LOVE.” I like this song, but can’t exactly put my finger on what I like about it.
The third track is “SOME BOYS! TOUCH.” Ah, how I love this song. I liked it since it came out, and it replaced “Sayonara ‘Tomodachi ni wa Naritakunai no'” as my favorite Gocchin song. Maki’s voice echos at the end of every line, except when she says “Come on, together.” It adds a cool effect. My favorite part of this song is the chorus.
After that is “City Wind.” I don’t like this song. The first five seconds or so reminds me of caps coming off bottles, and it just turns into an uninteresting ballad. It has no emotion, really. It sounds the same throughout the whole song. The background music is uninteresting, and no matter how much Gocchin tries to make her voice sound interesting, it sounds blah.
“Nee Samishikute” is the fifth track. This song was just…meh. It doesn’t do anything special for me. ‘Tis an R&B song. It makes me think of GAM’s “Koko de Kisu Shite.”
The sixth song on the album is “Glass no Pumps.” I go through phases with this song. I’ll love it for a few months, but then it gets on my nerves for several weeks. I mean, who could endure listening to “Dance with me baby baby, I love you hold me, hold me” 365 days a year? I would suggest not listening to it in excess….
“DAY BREAK.” Hmm. When I first heard this, I thought of it as a slow big-band song. The second time I heard it, it sounded more jazz-ish. It’s one of the better slow songs on How to use SEXY.
After that is “WOW Suteki!” It sounds inspiring to me. Maki’s voice sounds really good here, especially during the chorus.
“Secret” is the best ballad on the album. I like the piano beginning. Another part of the song that sounds nice to me is when Maki sings that big “whoa” towards the end. The verses are slow, and it speeds up a tiny bit near the chorus.
And the last song is called “LIFE.” This is my least favorite song on the album. Another ballad. It has this air-ey feel to it. I don’t know how to explain. But I don’t like it.
Overall, I would give this album a 7 out of 10. I like all the singles that were included on the album, and most of the new tracks were pretty nice.
Amasugita Kajitsu 