Tag: music

  • [The JukeBox] #80 – Perfume – Love the World

    [The JukeBox] #80 – Perfume – Love the World

    Nocchi, KASHIYIKA and a-chan make up the Japanese pop girl group sensation, Perfume.

    Formed in 2000, the trio have been a staple in the Japanese pop scene since they were signed to Amuse, Inc in 2003. They would stay with them for 9 years before signing with Universal Music Group in 2012 and have been there ever since.

    Perfume has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years and every so often, I go back to listen to the album that got me hooked on them.

    Their newer music is just as good as the ‘old’ and still a great listening experience.

    Today, we look at ‘Love the World’, released in 2008 and was the first ‘technopop’ song to reach Number 1 on the Oricon charts (Basically the Japanese version of the IRMA Single Chart or the UK Top 40.)

    This would become one of the singles released ahead of the 2009 release of their 2nd studio album Triangle (⊿) album. (In Japan, the singles are released ahead of the release of the album)

    YouTube/Spotify


    Lyrics

    Kossori himitsu wo ageru wa zutto suki ni shite ii no yo
    Kitto kimi mo ki ni iru yo futari dake no tokutouseki

    Choppiri unmei mitai na
    Kyara ni mo nai you na koto mo
    Kanjitatte ii janai no
    Dareka kaita shinario?

    Mada kono saki ga mienai
    Ichibanboshi sagasu te ga furuetemo

    Akiramenai de taisetsu na
    Sukoshi no iji to kimi yo daarin
    Shigekiteki hora suteki
    Mieru sekai ga kirameku wa
    Tesaguri no atashi ni mo
    Sukoshi wakaru ki ga shiterun da
    Yawaraka na kimi no taimingu
    Zurui desho chuchuchu
    Love love the world

    Yappari chansu wo ageru wa yatto mieta kimi no sukima
    Kitto hitori de nayande oshiete kurete iin da yo

    Choppiri hanse mitai na
    Kyara ni mo nai you na koto mo
    Tama ni wa ii janai no
    Dare ka kaita shinario?

    Mada kono saki ga mienai
    Ichibanboshi sagasu te ga furuetemo

    Akiramenai de taisetsu na
    Sukoshi no iji to kimi yo daarin
    Shigekiteki hora suteki
    Mieru sekai ga kirameku wa
    Tesaguri no atashi ni mo
    Sukoshi wakaru ki ga shiterun da
    Yawaraka na kimi no taimingu
    Zurui desho chuchuchu
    Love love the world

    Have a nice day!
    Be in a good mood yeh!
    In all the world
    Love the world

    Yorokobi no naka mada kono saki ga mienai
    Ichiban boshi sagasu te ga furuetemo

    Akiramenai de taisetsu na
    Sukoshi no iji to kimi yo daarin
    Shigekiteki hora suteki
    Mieru sekai ga kirameku wa
    Tesaguri no atashi ni mo
    Sukoshi wakaru ki ga shiterun da
    Yawaraka na kimi no taimingu
    Zurui desho chuchuchu
    Love love the world

    Have a nice day!
    Be in a good mood yeh!
    In all the world
    Love the world

  • [The JukeBox] #78 – Coco Star – Toca Miracle

    [The JukeBox] #78 – Coco Star – Toca Miracle

    I could have sworn that I have already covered Fragma’s – Toca’s Miracle from 2001 but it looks like I didn’t.

    While searching, I noticed that there has been a re-release of the song at the start of July 2022 by Coco Star who created the lyrics back in 1996 for ‘I need a miracle’.

    The song was released as a track on Fragma’s album Toca in 2001 with the instrumental Toca Me also included on the album.,

    The song was released on the Spinnin’ Records label.

    Lyrics:

    If you’re gonna save the day
    And you’re hearin’ what I say
    I feel your touch
    Your kiss, it’s not enough
    And if you believe in me
    Don’t think my love’s not for real
    I won’t take nothin’ less then a deeper love

    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to feel from you
    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to get me through

    Tell me that you understand
    And you’ll take me as I am
    You’ll always be the one to give me everything
    Just when I thought no one cared
    You’re the answer to my prayer
    You lift my spirits high
    Come on and rescue me

    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to feel from you
    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to get me through

    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to feel from you
    Let me tell you, you know
    Aah, I need a miracle
    I need a miracle
    It’s more than physical
    What I need to get me through

  • Follow-up – Choosing my next music streaming service

    Follow-up – Choosing my next music streaming service

    Back in January, I looked at each of Spotify’s competitors to see what could potentially become the next streaming service that I was going to subscribe to.

    For a couple of months, I had been using Deezer almost exclusively but now I seem to be back on Spotify with absolutely no reason for me to use it over the other.

    The track selection has been good, the UI is neat but how and never, I always feel drawn back to Spotify. The high fidelity audio option is a really nice touch and worth it on it’s own.

    Discoverability is somewhat lacking. Deezer seems to have a look at it’s close circle of artists that you listen to and gives a small list of artists outside before roping you back to square one.

    Most of the artists that I would be listening to are from Japan and they would be putting their music on Spotify over Deezer and any promotions either point them to Spotify, YouTube or LINE (LINE is only available within Japan)

    I seem to be at a crossroads when it comes to finding city pop / future funk music. So my attention turned to Bandcamp and this opened a massive can of worms.

    Bandcamp doesn’t have an official desktop client. There is a 3rd party one that is literally just the website in PWA with keyboard shortcuts. The music discoverability appears to be better on the one hand and the fact that I can subscribe to a LABEL rather than just the artist is very nice.

    Bandcamp’s search is good too as it’s able to show new music in a particular genre or by a label.

    I wasn’t sure if this was the best way to ‘support’ or ‘listen’ to an artist or whether something like Spotify/SoundCloud/YouTube was the way to go:

    One thing I do like about Bandcamp is the ability to support artists by buying their album or a set price or you can contribute more.

    Some artists/labels have the ability to purchase full discographies which you can download and listen to offline is a really nice touch.

    (Source: https://music.businesscasual.biz/ – I have already purchased this for $5 but it’s nice that their entire collection can be bought for just $1! )

    Overall, I have decided to go back to Spotify for most of my listening but from time-to-time, Bandcamp.

    I expect big things to come from Bandcamp in the future as the platform was acquired back in March by Epic Games.

  • [The JukeBox] #74 – Ann Lee – 2 Times

    [The JukeBox] #74 – Ann Lee – 2 Times

    A simpler time, back in 1999, we had some classic hits like Mysterious Times (#52), Missing (#18) and It feels so good (Coming in )

    2 Times by Ann Lee has always been a bop in nightclubs across UK, Ireland and beyond.

    The YouTube video has the following about Ann Lee:

    Ann Lee is a British Eurodance singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s. She is known solely for her 1999 hit single “2 Times”.

    Having moved to live in Italy in the late 1980s, Lee was talent-scouted, and was used as the lead singer on a series of Eurodance singles, issued under various aliases. These have included Charme, Anne, Ally & Jo, DJ Space’C, Lolita, A Kay BJ, Alex, Wienna and TH Express.[citation needed] She also released a few Eurobeat solo singles on the Italian label A.Beat-C. under the names Annerley Gordon and Annalise. Gordon is credited with contributing to the composition of “Rhythm of the Night”, released in Italy in December 1993 on the DWA record label, by the Eurodance project Corona.

    Her first solo single under the name “Ann Lee” was “2 Times”, originally released in 1998. It was re-released in early 1999 and became a Top 10 hit in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Norway, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. It also hit number 2 in her native United Kingdom, and reached number one in Flanders and Denmark. In Canada it reached number 14 on the singles chart. “2 Times” was featured in the 2001 film Head Over Heels as the movie’s theme song.

    YouTube

    2 Times
    Ann Lee – song – 2013

  • [The JukeBox] #72 – ‘Bad Boy’ (Razor Ramon) – Jim Johnston

    [The JukeBox] #72 – ‘Bad Boy’ (Razor Ramon) – Jim Johnston

    “In my lifetime I have learned that hard work pays off, dreams come true. Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.”  ~ Scott Hall

    When someone says the phrase ‘Wrestling Legend’, a few names are often mentioned. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

    Last week, one of those legends left us as Scott Hall passed away at the age of 63.

    Scott was a former:

    • 4 x WWE Intercontinental Champion lasting 437 days
    • 7 x WCW World Tag Team Champion lasting 571 days
    • 2 x WCW United States Champion lasting 66 days
    • WCW World Television Champion lasting 8 days
    • AWA World Tag Team Champion lasting 119 days
    • IMPACT World Tag Team Champion lasting 41 days
    • 2 x WWE Hall of Famer (Single Career 2014, Part of nWo in 2020)

    He was also be in the infamous wrestling stable, New World Order in WCW when him and Kevin Nash joined Hulk Hogan which formed the catalyst for the infamous Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWF.

    Razor Ramon theme 
    New World Order theme
  • [The JukeBox] #71 – Miki Matsubara – Stay with Me

    [The JukeBox] #71 – Miki Matsubara – Stay with Me

    Back in 1979, a few days from her 20th birthday, Miki Matsubara released her debut single Mayonaka no Door (Stay With Me) under the Pony Canyon label but this wasn’t her first foray into music.

    Matsubara’s mother was in a jazz band called the ‘Crazy Cats’ and while attending school, Matsubara was in the rock band ‘Kurei’ and played the keyboard.’

    Stay With Me released on November 5th 1979 and it’s reached 28th on the Oricon charts. Matsubara would have continued success during her music career but Stay With Me is considered her best work.

    In the 90’s, Matsubara worked on music for anime’s and commercials in Japan, most notably for Gundam

    At the end of 2000, Miki Matsubara would inform her friends and colleagues to let her know that she could no longer continue her music career.

    It was revealed that Miki Matsubara had a late diagnosis of uterine cervix cancer. Matsubara would battle the cancer for the last few years of her life. Matsubara died on October 7th 2004 at the age of 44.

    Her music would live on in the great city pop resurgence of the 2010s when her song ‘Stay With Me’ would become a staple of the subgenre alongside Plastic Love.

    The song would get another huge surge of popularity in 2020 when YouTuber, Rainych, created a cover of the song. The popularity would spread to platforms like YouTube, Twitter and TikTok.

    Due to this popularity, Matsubara’s first album Pocket Park got a repress on vinyl in late 2020.

    Lyrics – English:

    [Intro]
    To you
    Yes, my love to you
    Yes, my love to you, you
    To you

    [Verse 1]
    I am only me, you are only you
    I said that last night and still feel the same way
    You in your gray jacket with that familiar coffee stain
    Just as you always are
    Our reflection in the display window

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget it as long as I live

    [Verse 2]
    They say love and affection are two different things
    You told me last night
    Sometimes I think so too
    Winter comes again and your heart has gone away
    If I look back I see
    That I could always feel you by my sidе

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    There’s a holе in my heart (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Distracted by my loneliness
    The needle on my record player (Ooh)
    Was stuck on a repeating melody

    [Saxophone Solo]

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget how warm it felt

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me
    Saying our favourite words
    Holding on to our little moment (Ooh)
    I’ll never forget how warm it felt

    [Outro]
    Stay with me
    Knocking on midnight’s door
    Begging you not to go home (Ooh)
    That season when I cried right in front of your eyes
    Stay with me

    (Ooh, I’ll never forget how warm it felt)

    Lyrics – Romaji:

    [Intro]
    To you
    Yes, my love to you
    Yes, my love to you, you
    To you

    [Verse 1]
    Watashi wa watashi, anata wa anata to
    Yuube itteta sonna ki mo suru wa
    Gurei no jaketto ni
    Mioboe ga aru kouhii no shimi (Ooh)
    Aikawarazu na no ne
    Shou uindou ni futari utsureba (Ooh)

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu
    Daiji ni shite ita

    [Verse 2]
    Koi to ai to wa chigau monoda yo to
    Yuube iwareta sonna ki mo suru wa
    Nidome no fuyu ga kite
    Hanarete itta anata no kokoro (Ooh)
    Furi kaereba itsumo
    Soko ni anata wo kanjite ita no (Ooh)

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kokoro ni ana ga aita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Sabishisa magirawashite
    Oita rekodo no hari (Ooh)
    Onaji merodi kurikaeshite ita

    [Saxophone Solo]

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu atatameteta

    [Chorus]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me
    Kuchiguse wo ii nagara
    Futari no toki wo daite (Ooh)
    Mada wasurezu atatameteta

    [Outro]
    Stay with me
    Mayonaka no doa o tataki
    Kaeranaide to naita (Ooh)
    Ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae
    Stay with me

    (Ooh, mada wasurezu atatameteta)