We’ve moved!

Sorry I took ages to announce it. orz You see, both the other poster and I forgot the password, so we were in a bit of a fix.

But yes, we have moved! We’re both more comfortable with Livejournal, so that’s where we’re based from now on. Check us out! Take a look at our new baby, clickplay! And we have a new person joining us there, so we won’t be focused on J-music anymore. :] Do come check us out and leave a comment or two! Don’t worry if you haven’t got a livejournal account, we’ve decided to leave the community unlocked.

I may not have responded, but thank you for the comments! Hope to see you over at clickplay. ;D

-asdaaas/utaeru

PORNO GRAFFITTI – PORNO GRAFFITTI

PORNO GRAFFITTI – PORNO GRAFFITTI

Top Oricon charting: #2
Release date: 2007.08.29

Tracklist:
1. Link (リンク)
2. Utsusemi (空蝉)
3. Walker (ウォーカー)
4. Bears (ベアーズ)
5. Noufu to Akai Scarf (農夫と赤いスカーフ)
6. Tettsui (鉄槌)
7. Light and Shadow
8. My 80’s
9. Rock Band ga Yatte Kita (ロックバンドがやってきた)
10. Please say yes, yes, yes
11. Sora Iro (そらいろ)

I don’t remember anything about this album, but PORNO GRAFFITTI is a pretty solid band so it should be worth a download.

Download link: ‘PORNO GRAFFITTI – PORNO GRAFFITTI [Mediafire]

Utada Hikaru – HEART STATION [single]

Utada Hikaru – Heart Station [single]

Top Oricon charting: #3 [weekly], #2 [daily]
Release date: 20th February 2008

Tracklist:
1. HEART STATION
2. Stay Gold
3. HEART STATION [Original Karaoke]
4. Stay Gold [Original Karaoke]

Track comments:
1. HEART STATION – I like this song! I think I do hear at least three keyboards, which is awesome, because I always support keyboard music! <3 Anyway, yes, Hikki is always creative when it comes to using keyboards in her songs. HEART STATION has a beautiful arrangement too. I don’t think I hear guitar at all, actually. Hikki’s voice shines wonderfully in this track. *_* Also, interesting lyrics for the win.
2. Stay Gold – A lot of people seem to like this better than ‘HEART STATION’. Personally, I prefer the title track. XD But Stay Gold is nice too! It’s a rather unusual song for Hikki, I would suppose, because it’s very… well… feminine. There’s no English equivalent, but, yeah, Stay Gold has… What you could term ‘female language’ in it. Sentence structures and phrases that only girls use. The piano in this track is pretty cool; my only complaint is that the bass sounds overly full at the beginning of the song when it feels like it should be lighter.

Download link: Utada Hikaru – HEART STATION [single][Mediafire]

Younha – Go! Younha

Younha – Go! Younha

Top Oricon charting: #13 [weekly], #10 [daily]
Release date: 5th October 2005

Tracklist:
1. Houkiboshi -album mix version-
2. Motto Futari de
3. Orange no Hatsukoi
4. Aoi Lemon
5. Yubikiri -Japanese version-
6. Himawari
7. My Lover
8. Yume no Tsuzuki -album version-
9. Ashita, Tenki ni Nare.
10. Aiaigasa
11. Negai wa Hitotsu
12. Omoide ni Dekinai
13. Touch

Track comments:

1. Houkiboshi -album mix version- – Yeah, well, Houkiboshi was the song that first brought my attention to her. The difference between the single version and the album mix version? Uh, I can’t tell, so it’s probably not the instrumental tracks. Anyway, yes, Houkiboshi is a good note to start the album on. Chirpy and cheerful.
2. Motto Futari de – Yes, this is also very… happy, and I swear I mean it in the nicest way possible. I listen to Younha’s music when I’m in a good mood~~. I resent how easily Younha does those stupid sweep things.
4. Aoi Lemon – The music is nothing special, but the vocal track is haunting. Sounds vaguely… traditional to me.
6. Himawari – I like this song! When I first listened to the album, it didn’t really stand out to me, but after a while I realized the arrangement for this song is really beautiful.
7. My Lover – With a title like this, you know it’s gotta be cheesy. And cute. And very, very, VERY catchy. @_@
9. Ashita, Tenki ni Nare. – …see 7.
12. Omoide ni Dekinai – The introspective, ‘ohnoez’ song on the album. I’m not making fun of it, that’s really what it is. XD But I do so love this song, though. It’s really pretty *_* Strings plus light synth/pad and piano, very awesome~~

Rating: 4/5

Download link -Younha – Go! Younha

YUI – CAN’T BUY MY LOVE

YUI – CAN’T BUY MY LOVE

Top Oricon charting: #1
Release date: 4th April 2007

Tracklist:
1. How crazy
2. Rolling star
3. It’s all right
4. I remember you
5. RUIDO (Noise)
6. CHE.R.RY
7. Thank you My teens
8. Umbrella
9. Highway chance
10. Happy Birthday to you you
11. Winding road
12. Good-bye days
13. Why?

DVD Tracklist:
1. feel my soul (PV)
2. Tomorrow’s way (PV)
3. LIFE (PV)
4. TOKYO (PV)

Track commentary:
1. How crazy – Ah! The ‘rebellious’ track of the album. That is, by YUI’s usually squeaky-clean standards. Just, y’know, ‘don’t talk like you know me’. That kind of thing. Still quite catchy – she proves her ability to sing fast without tripping over syllables, if nothing else. I wish she’d release an acoustic version of this.
2. Rolling star – This was one of the ending themes for popular anime Bleach, and it brought her more fame, which is always good. Her first single with an electric guitar. Not my favorite song of hers, but it’s quite unique for her.
3. It’s all right – Ah! I find this song cute. :3 Acoustic guitar-based. Very… reassuring.
4. I remember you – I love this song. :3 It’s the same as the single version, at any rate. Easy to play, and easy on the ears. Can’t go wrong with this. Reminds me of Taiyou no Uta .
5. RUIDO – This is doubtless the coolest song on the album. Electric guitar-based, /very/ fast and extremely short. Fifty one seconds, if I remember right. They kept it this short so that it’d sound cooler. Ridiculously simple to play also.
6. CHE.R.RY – The killer song. It’s the most cheerful thing I’ve ever heard from her – it’s about love. Happy, satisfied love. Uhh… It’s very, very brain-numbing, and on first hearing, it’s nothing special. Two hours later, when it’s resounding in your head, you’ll want to have a nice hard, flat surface nearby to bang your forehead on.
7. Thank you My teens – The most heartfelt song on the album – written by YUI for her fans. YUI’s fanbase has lots of teenagers, after all. ‘Thank you for supporting me this far.’ Something like that?
8. Umbrella – Starts with an interesting acoustic arpeggio. Nothing really special about it, though.
9. Highway Chance – I like the way the song starts. Slow and quiet – and then the drums and electric guitars come crashing in, and you jump skyhigh. XD
10. Happy Birthday to you you – My question is, why two ‘you’s? It’s happy and upbeat, though. I would play it for any of my friends having a birthday. XD But then again, I’m notoriously lame like that.
11. Winding road – I heard a rumour this was on the soundtrack of some movie or other, but I couldn’t find it. Anyway, I like this song. It has nice chord sequences that I approve of.
12. Goodbye Days – One of my favorite songs from her. I never get tired of it because I associate the movie with the song, and then I want to start crying during the instrumental break. =_= Yes. If you already know this song, watch the movie too – then you’ll appreciate it even more. I can understand why she usually starts crying if she performs this song live.
13. Why? – Very standard YUI ballad. Nice and deceptively simple plucking throughout the first half of the song.

I actually liked this CD enough to buy it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Download link: YUI – CAN’T BUY MY LOVE

YUI – Namidairo [The Color of Tears][single]

YUI – Namidairo

Top Oricon charting: [x][single still not released - but I would bet money that it comes out tops]
Release date: 27th February 2008

I want to shoot whoever picked the fonts used, by the way.

Tracklist:

1. Namidairo
2. I wanna be…
3. LOVE & TRUTH ~YUI Acoustic Version~
4. Namidairo -instrumental-

Track commentary:

1. Namidairo – It’s the first A-side that has really jumped out at me since CHE.R.RY’s release in March last year. Whoo, that’s nearly a complete year. Anyway. Namidairo is a beautiful acoustic ballad. Perfect for beginners to play, actually. For fans of her newer rock sound, this might not appeal so much. As someone who first liked songs like Goodbye Days and Feel my soul, I love Namidairo very much. Seeing as I’ve heard it probably more than 120 times since it was first leaked… Ahem.
2. I wanna be… – Okay, I admit this song didn’t go down well with me at first. I still think the chorus melody is pretty weak, and I was hoping for something as awesome as Jam. But it grew on me [as nearly everything released by her eventually does]. I love the bassline for this song – but I still have a bone to pick with the outro [or rather, lack of outro]. Still, the lyrics are pretty good.
3. LOVE & TRUTH ~YUI Acoustic Version~ – Actually, this acoustic version is even weaker than the original. I didn’t like the original the first time I heard it, but it grew on me because of the lyrics and the awesome string arrangement. This version has pretty interesting acoustic guitar parts, and I’m planning to master that solo in the middle, but the problem with acoustic tracks is that they tend to highlight YUI’s vocal flaws. D: The solo in the middle makes it all better for me, though. I’d still pick the original full band version over this.
4. Namidairo -Instrumental- – Well – it’s useful if you’re a musician and you want to pick up a certain part without having the vocal track interfere…?

Rating: 4.2/5

Download link: YUI – Namidairo.rar [Mediafire][33.73MB]

On a side note, all the tracks for this single are already romanized and translated in the music encyclopedia section.

the GazettE – NIL

the GazettE – NIL

Top Oricon charting: [couldn't find it]
Release date: 08.02.2006

Tracklist:
1. THE END
2. Nausea & Shudder
3. Bath Room
4. Maggots
5. Namaatatakai Ame Tozaratsuita Jounetsu (生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱)
6. D.L.N
7. SHADOW VI II I
8. Baretta (バレッタ)
9. Cassis
10. SILLY GOD DISCO
11. DISCHARGE
12. Taion (体温)

Track commentary:
7. SHADOW VI II I – I love the bass intro. Anyway, this song is one of my favorite GazettE songs ever, because one, it’s catchy, two, it has some really beautiful acoustic guitar playing in there, three, the bass solo omg \o/ and four, it’s awesome overall. <3
9. Cassis – This is THE fan favorite, and this is because Cassis is quite possibly the best song GazettE has ever recorded. It’s emotional, it’s beautiful, and it’s my favorite song. From any band. That’s how much I love this song. Anyway, yes, you should download the album if just only for this one song.
10. SILLY GOD DISCO – With a title like this, you know it’s going to be fun. I believe they wrote this while they were drunk. There’s just… no other explanation for it, srsly.

Download link : the GazettE – NIL [cover not included]

the GazettE – STACKED RUBBISH

the GazettE – STACKED RUBBISH

Top Oricon charting: [couldn't find it]
Release date: 2007.07.04

Tracklist:
1. Art Drawn by Vomit
2. Agony
3. Hyena
4. Burial Applicant
5. Ganges ni Akai Bara ガンジスに紅い薔薇
6. Regret
7. Calm Envy
8. Swallowtail on the Death Valley
9. Mob 136 Bars
10. Gentle Lie
11. Filth in the Beauty
12. Circle of Swindler
13. Chizuru 千鶴
14. People Error

Track commentary:

1. Art Drawn By Vomit – Personally, I find this track offensive because I’m a Christian, so I’ve never listened to it. No comment.
2. Agony – It’s… okay. Typical GazettE.
3. Hyena – Same as Agony. This is the more boring part of the album for me.
4. Burial Applicant – Cool PV. *_* This is a pretty good song. It’s also very sad. Then again, a lot of GazettE stuff sounds upbeat but is really quite moving. Huh.
5. Ganges ni Akai Bara – THE BASS SOLO SONG. \o/ Now, everyone who knows me knows I love bass solos. I love bass in general. This song is my song-to-indulge-in on this album. XD Yeah. Reita’s solo is cool omg. \o/ [See, I've degenerated into brainless fangirling.] That aside, this song really is catchy.
6. Regret – You’d expect some sad sappy song with the title ‘Regret’, wouldn’t you? Anyway, it probably /is/ sad and sappy, but it sure doesn’t sound like it is. It’s… a rock ballad, I guess you could say? But it does some pretty cheerful.
7. Calm Envy – I LOVE THIS SONG TO BITS. \o/ Yeah. It’s the most ballad-y ballad on the entire album, and it is gorgeous. *_* Aoi really works his acoustic guitar here, in a completely beautiful way, and I’m really jealous of his skill. Never mind. I’ll get them someday, and meanwhile, I’ll listen to this song and love it. <3 This sounds sad and IS sad. Huzzah. I translated this in the music encyclopedia.
8. Swallowtail on the Death Valley – The beginning is cute. XD Unmastered drumming plus Uruha’s guitar, then it breaks into the real body of the song. You could say that this is, hm, one of the more questionable songs on the album, lyricswise. Otherwise, I actually do like this song. A lot of people don’t like it because of the female vocals, I think, but in my opinion it adds a lot more to the song than Ruki alone would be able to.
9. Mob 136 Bars – Um… not too fond of this. Too wild and messy for me. If you’re wondering why ‘Mob 136 Bars’, it’s because the song has 136 bars in the score. Yeah, I know. Lame, right? XD
10. Gentle Lie – They should have put this track before Mob 136 Bars, because it’s a jazz-ish sort of ballad. Not as beautiful as Calm Envy, but I like it all the same.
11. Filth in the Beauty – THE song to headbang to. Watch the PV. They do this… swirly sort of headbang at exactly the same time in unison. I love it, it’s so cheesy. I call it the washing machine headbang. Questionable lyrics are extremely questionable, and they’re all in English, which makes it worse. But it’s super catchy in that brain-numbing “THIS SONG HAS SUNK INTO MY HED PERMANENTLY” sort of way.
12. Circle of Swindler – Changed my mind. I actually quite like this song – it has cute chord sequences. :3 That’s some hella fast drumming Kai does, too. I think this song is 200++ bpm? That’s, uh, fast. Also, I’m amused at the fact that this song is on the album despite the fact that it’s ranting against the record company (and the censorship, I think).
13. Chizuru – It’s a ballad again, apparently written for this girl that they’re all friends with. It’s… okay. Definitely not my favorite ballad from GazettE ever.
14. People Error – Contrary to what most people would expect, this track is all piano. Really, really. Just quiet piano playing in a minor key, and this makes me conclude that Ruki never studied music theory, because this goes against a lot of it. But that’s what makes it interesting, hm?

Download link : the GazettE – STACKED RUBBISH [Mediafire][cover not included]

Utada Hikaru – ULTRA BLUE

On 14th June 2006, Utada Hikaru released her 5th Japanese album, ULTRA BLUE. It topped the Oricon weekly album sales charts for two weeks in a row, and has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Track list:

1. This Is Love
2. Keep Tryin’
3. BLUE
4. Nichiyou no Asa (日曜の朝; Sunday Morning)
5. Making Love
6. Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro (誰かの願いが叶うころ; When Someone’s Wish Comes True)
7. COLORS
8. One Night Magic feat. 山田将司 (Yamada Masashi)
9. Kairo (海路; Sea Route)
10. WINGS
11. Be My Last
12. Eclipse (Interlude)
13. Passion

Track comments:
1. This Is Love – Bright, upbeat and catchy. This Is Love is the best song to start off the album.
2. Keep Tryin’ – For me, this is THE track to listen to when I’m feeling down. It’s so very encouraging, and I love it. The PV is adorable too.
3. BLUE – And after a positive and happy track, you have the emo one. “I just tried turning blue~~~” It’s still a pretty cool song.
5. Making Love – It’s a lovely ballad. Uh. I can’t really think of a nice comment right now.
6. Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro – Beautiful piano in this track. It’s very emotional, and even though it should be happy [it's called 'When Someone's Dream Comes True', after all] it’s actually really sad, because it’s about how not everyone can have their dreams come true at the same time. I’ve posted the lyrics and translation for this in the music encyclopedia.
11. Be My Last – Very heartfelt. Very emotional. It feels like she’s not afraid to bare her soul in this song. It’s so honest that you can actually feel a bit of an intruder while listening to it.
13. Passion – Insert song for KH2. Lovely bridge. The lyrics and translation for this is posted in the music encyclopedia.

Download :Utada Hikaru – ULTRA BLUE [SendSpace]

Taiyou no Uta ~A Song to the Sun~ Original Soundtrack

Title: Taiyou no Uta ~A Song to the Sun~ Original Soundtrack

Track listing:

1. Aru Umibe no Machi no Yoake
2. Kimi e no Omoi
3. Sekai wa Mawaru
4. Routine Work
5. Taiyou no Uta ~Prattitle
6. Omoitsuki
7. Surfing
8. Classroom
9. Classroom 2
10. Video Camera
11. Taiyou no Deai
12. Soyokaru
13. Good-bye Days ~Yokohama
14. End of Cinderella Liberty
15. Seishun no Hahen
16. Taiyou no Omoi
17. Arigatou
18. Good-bye Days ~Kimi to no Hibi
19. Ugokanai Udarite
20. Taiyou no Uta – Kaisou
21. Toozakaru Hibi
22. Kimi no Uta
23. Umibe
24. Kimi no Omoi
25. Wasurenai Yume
26. Good-bye Days ~ashita e
27. Itsuka Taiyou no Shita de

To be honest, there’s nothing much to comment on. You have to watch the movie to really love the music, at least, that’s how it is for me. But for me, the most moving tracks are ‘End of Cinderella Liberty’, which is played when Kaoru runs away from the sunlight, ‘Ugokanai Udarite’ [the left hand which cannot move] which is played when she loses the ability to play her guitar, ‘Wasurenai Yume’ [unforgettable dream] which I think is played during or after her funeral and ‘Good-bye Days ~ashita e’. Very heavy with strings and acoustic guitar. Also, capable of making me want to cry like a little kid.

Download [cover not included] : Taiyou no Uta ~A Song to the Sun~ Original Soundtrack [Mediafire][53.47MB]