2007 In Japanese Music: Part 1

Best Use of Freak Hoes in a Music Video - Rip Slyme - Nettaiya

    Although some people said that the women in this video were meant to be ironic...I don't really see it. Still a cool song. I kinda want to show the Live Earth live instead because Pes looked mad oshare, but there weren't any hos. So, here's the video:


Best Reason to Shower - Perfume - Polyrhythm

    Perfume attracts many of the same people as Morning Musume... or, as are most of their fans in America, fans of capsule. As a result, the smell at the concert I imagine is pretty offensive. Con funk has nothing on this. Uh, anyway, prove yourself a good Perfume fan and shower:

Best Thing to Happen to an Artist This Year - Hikaru Utada's divorce

    Okay, this sounds like a schadenfreude thing to say, but come on. Did you hear Flavor of Life? It was probably the only listenable single she's released since 2003 (not counting Boku wa Kuma), and she followed with Beautiful World. Needless to say, she may be releasing a must-own album next year.

Best Music Trend of 2007 - Celebrity Blogs

    American celebrities are attention whores who rarely, if ever, deserve the fame they receive. Japanese celebrities are usually people working tirelessly in their field. And the best trend in 2007? Wasting time reading about their lives. Verbal, Utada Hikaru, Chiaki, Snowkel, Fuji Fabric, Keita Tachibana, Ai Otsuka. And that's just a sample of the artists who are writing and posting photos on the internet. This is my favorite trend, and I want to see even more Japanese musicians doing the same.

Worst Music Trend of 2007 - Best-of Albums

    Kinki Kids, Ai Otsuka, Sukima Switch, Koda Kumi, Charcoal Filter, Ayumi Hamasaki, and several others released best-of albums this year. And actually, it was really kind of incredibly annoying. And there's more coming in 2008 too! *sigh* I don't want it to outright stop, but it needs to slow down.

Best Single I'm Surprised I Liked - Ketsumeishi - Train

    I'm not really a fan of Ketsumeishi, but this single's lyrics are what interested me. Here is the song:



Best single B-side - ERIKA - Escape

    I almost gave this to FANTASY, Erika's B-side for her FREE single, but then this song came around. Keeping the tradition of a Trance-Pop sound as a B-side, there is greater focus on the lyrics. Here is the song: