Graves Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 13 (Subomie, Riverbank, Curaga, scenekiller, gingguu, willmcclure9, Ewan Chaos, Aria0327, Cruel Summer, confide in me, Hey Dude, nostalgic, Reverie) LOWEST SCORE: 7 x 3 (AMIT, Suilen, bestfiction) MY SCORE: 10 The longest song they've ever done, by far, this subdued electronica masterpiece is the ultimate Utada album track. I'd call it the centerpiece of Bad Mode, but I don't know if the album closer can also be the centerpiece. But you get what I mean, it's the most striking and important track on the record. Inundated with beats for the entire running time, you have no chance but to vibe and sway as twelve minutes is reduced to nothing. Gone before you even notice. It's one of the best tracks they've put their name to, simply put, and easily the coolest too. Magic was made in the studio on that eve and Hikaru proved that they were still the greatest pop star Japan had ever seen, even after 25 years of doing it. Nobody does it like Utada. Somewhere Near Marseilles was never released as a single, but that doesn't seem to matter - it's already a Utada classic. A huge fan favorite, with a silly little video shot for it at an aquarium - and It was ACCLAIMED. I'm talking year-end lists from Pitchfork, Slant, Fader... western music publications giving Hikaru their flowers at last. It was long overdue that any non-English speaking popstar get those kind of accolades, but Hikaru especially. That felt like a real triumph, and it's truly what they deserve after putting out such a brilliant record. Somewhere Near Marseilles is why we can't just let Utada fade into the distance Namie Amuro style. This icon needs to keep putting out music until they no longer can. They have the gift. The calling. Perfection. Curaga: "SNAPPED. 12 minutes of heaven?!" Ewan Chaos: "It's impressive to create a career peak so deep into your career. What a magnificent song." 3
AMIT Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Quote LOWEST SCORE: 7 x 3 (AMIT, Suilen, bestfiction) WAIT WE WON 1
Suilen Posted January 31 Posted January 31 (edited) THANK **** AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Edited January 31 by Suilen 1
Graves Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 Which means... 11 x 2 (Riverbank, nostalgic) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 9 (Curaga, scenekiller, Take Me Apart, gingguu, AMIT, Suilen, bestfiction, Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 6.25 x 1 (Meloetta Carey) MY SCORE: 9 Deep River is often pointed out as the era that Hikaru really grew up, and you need look no further than the opening track to see as much. A love song was surely nothing new to Hikaru by this point, but the pen game on Sakura Drops is far more mature than any of what they'd been writing before now. Older and even a little bit weary in places, the lyrics reflect a maturing woman who's outlook on love and life in general is more studied and experienced. I usually hate using this word for describing music, but Sakura Drops is simply lush. The production brings to mind that image of cascading droplets falling off of the leaves of a tree. And the sensuality to this! That sound of her breathing over the verses blew me away the first time I noticed it. And it took me several listens to pick it up. It's a little more subtle than the attempts at being sensual on Distance were, but it's all the better for it. Sakura Drops makes for a divine opener for this album, their very best in my eyes, and sets the tone for Deep River, and indeed the rest of their career, perfectly. This was a single, of course, and it made for a pretty good one too. A hot #1 hit for Hikaru. Not only that, but it also made big waves for them in the burgeoning ringtone market of the time. Cellphone icon. Sakura Drops got a great music video too - a very beautiful affair that sees Hikaru singing in a CGI forest with many colorful and otherworldly flowers and animals. It's... better than I'm making it sound. The imagery is so wonderfully done, give it a watch! This has been performed live at virtually every opportunity that it could be! Promo performances for the single release, featured on the 2004 shows, the 2006 tour, the 2010 shows... I think it must be one of Utada's favorites as well. Guess we have that in common. Curaga: "Okayyy this song still makes my wig fly. The droplet sounds . . . MOTHER. This is a strong contender for an 11 score. So beautiful and otherworldly." AMIT: "a magical song, maybe not as instant or bombastic as her other openers, but I think that's part of its charm, her more restrained vocals and dream-like instrumental show us a different, more vulnerable side of Utada. not many could have pulled this off and she does it seemingly effortlessly. the outro especially with the vocal arrangements are out of this world. a classic through and through. the mv is gourgeous as well." Last word goes to the low scorer, Meloetta Carey: "objectively, I can admit this is good. but it still hasn't completely clicked for me. I like it more now than when I first heard it 2 years ago." 5
Katamari Posted January 31 Posted January 31 On 1/19/2024 at 2:12 PM, Subomie said: HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (confide in me, nostalgic) LOWEST SCORE: 3 x 1 (Curaga) MY SCORE: 9 This... this kind of knocks. Like, I'm bopping hard. An amalgamation of pop, dance, and rock, Kettobase! is a defiant track that exemplifies the growth and willingness to experiment that Hikaru gained between the debut and sophomore records. While First Love Hikki was mostly concerned with pop ballads and R&B grooves, Kettobase! is a revelation. They said they weren't going to be put into a box, not today. A song that bounces between extremes - deepest devotion and utter revulsion - the frenetic sound of the music complements the lyrics well. And let's talk about the lyrics too, right? I mostly love them. Seeing a smack-talking Hikaru is a delight, and I love the acknowledgment of their public persona ("my cheerful personality backfires"). It's all shaping up to be a grand package... but that line. You know the one. It opens the song, repeats throughout. On a good day, I can kind of breeze past it, but on bad days? Oof. On my first listens I found that opening line so off-putting. Eighteen year-old Hikki pleading for a baby? Eugh... shudders It took me a while to get past that and appreciate the track underneath. But I do! It's a Distance favorite for me now! But man, I still kinda wish the line was different... AMIT caught stanning for a bop in 40K: "an album track that's also a classic, not everyone has that!" Meanwhile, Curaga found calling CPS about the teen pregnancy next door: "Haaate the first line lmao. Not a bad vocal performance at all, but I just don’t like this song." WHAT THE **** 1 4
Curaga Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Sakura Drops really is that girl. Despite giving my 11 to Passion, this makes so much sense to me and I’m very happy with this outcome! @Subomie you were a phenomenal rate host with write-ups I could only dream of. I never imagined so much work would be put into detailing every single song like this. Thank you sooooooooo much! 3
AMIT Posted January 31 Posted January 31 5 minutes ago, Subomie said: Which means... 11 x 2 (Riverbank, nostalgic) HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 9 (Curaga, scenekiller, Take Me Apart, gingguu, AMIT, Suilen, bestfiction, Cruel Summer, confide in me) LOWEST SCORE: 6.25 x 1 (Meloetta Carey) MY SCORE: 9 Deep River is often pointed out as the era that Hikaru really grew up, and you need look no further than the opening track to see as much. A love song was surely nothing new to Hikaru by this point, but the pen game on Sakura Drops is far more mature than any of what they'd been writing before now. Older and even a little bit weary in places, the lyrics reflect a maturing woman who's outlook on love and life in general is more studied and experienced. I usually hate using this word for describing music, but Sakura Drops is simply lush. The production brings to mind that image of cascading droplets falling off of the leaves of a tree. And the sensuality to this! That sound of her breathing over the verses blew me away the first time I noticed it. And it took me several listens to pick it up. It's a little more subtle than the attempts at being sensual on Distance were, but it's all the better for it. Sakura Drops makes for a divine opener for this album, their very best in my eyes, and sets the tone for Deep River, and indeed the rest of their career, perfectly. This was a single, of course, and it made for a pretty good one too. A hot #1 hit for Hikaru. Not only that, but it also made big waves for them in the burgeoning ringtone market of the time. Cellphone icon. Sakura Drops got a great music video too - a very beautiful affair that sees Hikaru singing in a CGI forest with many colorful and otherworldly flowers and animals. It's... better than I'm making it sound. The imagery is so wonderfully done, give it a watch! This has been performed live at virtually every opportunity that it could be! Promo performances for the single release, featured on the 2004 shows, the 2006 tour, the 2010 shows... I think it must be one of Utada's favorites as well. Guess we have that in common. Curaga: "Okayyy this song still makes my wig fly. The droplet sounds . . . MOTHER. This is a strong contender for an 11 score. So beautiful and otherworldly." AMIT: "a magical song, maybe not as instant or bombastic as her other openers, but I think that's part of its charm, her more restrained vocals and dream-like instrumental show us a different, more vulnerable side of Utada. not many could have pulled this off and she does it seemingly effortlessly. the outro especially with the vocal arrangements are out of this world. a classic through and through. the mv is gourgeous as well." Last word goes to the low scorer, Meloetta Carey: "objectively, I can admit this is good. but it still hasn't completely clicked for me. I like it more now than when I first heard it 2 years ago." 3
Suilen Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Well it was nerve-wrecking but talent won over a left-field jingle that will be superseded by the Science Fiction version soon unless @Hey Dude's prediction comes true and it's even longer. I appreciate the experimentation and the vision but I think that it should be appreciated for what it is instead of being hailed as the best of their career. 1 1 1
Reverie Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Nothing sadder than the end of a Subomie rate can we extend this into a full Jpop discog rate? Or use my weeb Jrock playlist? **** it I'll even start watching Drag Race again for Subomie nvm too far WHEN YOU WALK AWAY YOU DON"T HEAR ME SAY PLEAAAASEE OH BABY 3 1
nostalgic Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Ahhh I'm smiling ear to ear. Sakura was really the first J-pop song I connected with as well as my introduction to Utada, and what an introduction it was. It completely transports you to another place with its otherworldly, dreamy instrumental and makes you truly feel a sense of the past - at least for me. There were so many here that deserved an 11 but I had to give it to the one that started it all for me. Well deserved! 3 2
Graves Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 HIGH SCORERS 1. Take Me Apart - 9.45 2. scenekiller - 9.327 3. Curaga - 9.27 LOW SCORERS 1. Hey Dude - 7.136 2. gingguu - 7.36 3. Suilen / bestfiction - 7.45 HIGH SCORERS 1. confide in me - 9.45 2. scenekiller - 9.12 3. Riverbank - 9 LOW SCORERS 1. Meloetta Carey - 7.068 2. Aria0327 - 7.36 3. Take Me Apart - 7.82 2
poki Posted January 31 Posted January 31 2 minutes ago, Reverie said: weeb Jrock playlist Can you share it on here 1
AMIT Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Thank you so much for the rate, friend @Subomie. Like Utada in music, nobody does them quite like you. I was surprised (in the best way) to know you were going to do this, I remember a while back I recommended J-Pop for you and it was not the right time then, but this is you... now. It was soooooo good, one for the books! 4
poki Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Thank you so much @Subomie This was so fun and we had so many iconic moments 3
Suilen Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Well, since Subomie fulfilled his end of the bargain (actually no, I was going to write this regardless of the outcome). The rate's been the most fun I had on this forum for years, and I appreciate this small bit of jpop revival. The rate allowed me to revisit certain albums, sometimes to improve my opinion of them (Bad Mode that kinda escaped me due to political events) and sometimes to make it clear that I'm not here for it (Hatsukoi cough cough). Amazing with the graphics and the write-ups (I admit that sometimes I skimmed through them to reply immediately but I did read all of them afterwards), and there were some pieces of trivia i didn't know. We had our rough moments with the server and low turnout, but they didn't stop me from enjoying the rate. Thank you, and I hope we all will meet again for another jpop rate or something else. 4
Graves Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 5 minutes ago, AMIT said: Thank you so much for the rate, friend @Subomie. Like Utada in music, nobody does them quite like you. I was surprised (in the best way) to know you were going to do this, I remember a while back I recommended J-Pop for you and it was not the right time then, but this is you... now. It was soooooo good, one for the books! That was so long ago! For years Ayu's Boys & Girls and Fly high were the only J-Pop songs on my liked songs I really do need to give her discography a deep dive soon. 2
confide in me Posted January 31 Posted January 31 DEEP RIVER on top exactly. Thxx so much @Subomie!!! 2
Cruel Summer Posted January 31 Posted January 31 2 hours ago, Subomie said: HIGH SCORERS 1. Cruel Summer / Curaga - 9.18 Fantôme my love, I knew I did you right 2
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