H!P’s surging Buono! to Anime Expo 2008?
The first two paragraphs of this post probably sum up Rad’s usual ethos on H!P matters – enthusiastic, optomisitic, and sometimes a little mystifying.
It’s great that Radicalpatriot has high hopes for Buono! in the US, and in some parts of his entry, he makes a lot of sense. I do think he’s a little quick to draw the gun however, but at the same time, he’s at a disposition to say ‘I told you so’…if his high hopes of Buono! making good headway in the US resolves itself to be true. His idea of Buono! being a good marketing ship for the members’ respective groups is worth noting. Recommended reading.
I’ve gotta take issue with one line from his piece:
Tsunku’s got nothing to do with Buono!’s songs, and it isn’t even going through one of the regular UFA labels but Pony Canyon. Saying he’s driving this unit doesn’t give credit to those who ARE responsible for the group’s success.
Good point, but Tsunku is providing the TALENT for those songs to be performed. That means … Pony Canyon might be a little more likely to back a Buono! visit than UFA.
what do you mean when you say:
“Tsunku is providing the TALENT for those songs to be performed.”
@langdon: I haven’t seen all the fine print of the deal between UFA and Pony Canyon on Buono! But it’s clear that Momoko, Miyabi and Suzuki are H!P stars in their own established groups, on loan, it would appear, to perform songs associated with the Shugo Chara anime series. If I’m wrong here, please clarify … And why would “Renai Rider” be performed at both Wonderful Hearts and the C-ute concert last year at the Yokohama Blitz if Tsunku/H!P had no vested interest in the material (much less licensing rights to perform)?
Correction: It was “Honto no Jibun” performed at the C-ute concert. My bad.
Shouldn’t it be UFA then, and not Tsunku, who should be getting the credit for Buono!? From all this, it seems more of a marketing than creative decision.
You would think UFA would not want to risk the future of two of its hottest properties, C-ute and Berryz, for Buono. Tsunku would have to have a voice in this .. or no?
So… if Tsunku guides Buono!, it benefits C-ute and Berryz because it’s an “outside draw”, but if UFA is behind these marketing decisions then they risk the future of those same groups? I’m confused now.
I’m gone for an hour – ironing – and look what happens. Firstly, you should never, ever leave piles of washed clothes un-ironed. Ever. It builds up into a mountain, and somewhere down the line, you question your own humanity, and wonder whether living is worth it. I think by my sixth shirt, I was physically crying.
No but seriously…I actually found this post from Rad to be quite friendly against my disposition on the matter of marketing J-pop to the west. Although I’ll still admit to being a semi-pessimist, and you know that the details of labels and ownership etc are aspects I dont really spend time on – with J-pop anyway – so this whole issue with Tsunku, UFA and pony canyon kind of went over my head. Plus…I’ve spend ‘no’ time on Buono whatsoever lol.
How do we know how big Tsunku’s voice is inside of H!P anyway? We know he has an important role on the creative side, but we can never really know whether a decision was taken by him or by some UFA higher-up to whom he’s just a spokesman. I think UFA’s view on whether Buono! should exist would be way more important than Tsunku’s, because really, what could he do? They have a contract with UFA, not with him.
Wu-san, I have to object to this most recent comment from you. It’s a heinous mischaracterization of something we should all cherish and appreciate.
Put simply, ironing is a wonderful and rewarding experience! Taken in the proper context, it can be a meditative, peaceful way to pass a couple of hours. Put on a TV show while you iron, or listen to some music and sing along! Savor the way the clothes smell when pressed into warm smoothness, enjoy the crispness of your folds as they drape on the hanger!
Ironing is a beautiful thing, and let no one say otherwise.
Ray, I can feel your poetic justice rain down on me, and perhaps I was a little too ignorant to the wonders of ironing…and I admit, I did sing along with my iPod…but still, after thirty minutes I did want to hurt myself quite a lot. Am I too restless?
Perhaps it’s not for everyone, this ironing life. But if I ever wanted someone to iron my piles of clothes, it would be you Ray…and It’d be something beautiful.
@HarimaKenji: You bring up an excellent point. My only concern is burning out these three sensational girls, who now have to cover not only what C-ute and Berryz bring to the table but an extra load with Buono! Look, Buono! has barely pushed out a couple singles, and already they’re talking about a full album by mid-February (at least that’s what Pony Canyon’s Web site is bragging about). Plus, a closer look at the first Buono single says that Pony Canyon is the sole proprieter of the song, name, everything … even the perfoemers? God bless these three awesome singing talents, and I hope they aren’t completely burned to the ground before summer.
I’ve not heard enough from/of Buono! to say anything about that, but I’d like to say a few things about ironing, since it was brought up.
I hate ironing, and so should you in my opinion! I think it might be invented by the devil or something. Instead of ironing do as I do: Just throw all your washed and dried clothes in a closet and/or some drawers.
My antipathy towards ironing is based on both aestethics and ethics. I prefer creasy clothes because they look and feel better, in my opinion, but they are probably also better ethically: Take Jesus for example. He was a good guy who many see as a role-model, right? I very much doubt that he wore clothes which had been ironed! A bad guy like Hitler on the other hand, probably almost never had a crease in the garments he wore.
To me creasy clothes symbolize freedom, comfort and … happiness, I suppose. Ironed, smooth clothes represent conformity, which in a worst-case scenario can lead to oppression, fascism and worse.
I would also like to draw a parallel between ironing/not ironing and music. H!P’s music, with it’s many original arrangements and vocal performances, is like a big bundle of creasy clothes. It’s much more interesting and pleasing than the smooth, thirteen-to-the-dozen “R’n'B” music that’s being released in the West nowadays.
I fear that Ray, with his praising of ironing and “smoothness”, is already lost to the dark side. I hope not though. I hope he can still mend his ways, and stop his evil ironing activities. wu-san has not gone to far astray yet as I see it, and I think there’s a good chance that his recent ironing episode was just a slight misstep from the righteous path of non-ironing.