Anyway, here are my answers! Enjoy! ^_^

Gender: Female

Approximate age: 21-30

1. What was the first pop song you remember liking?

The first pop song I liked completely of my own choosing (meaning having no influence from my parents, and not from watching Kids Incorporated – thus being current music) was Ace of Base’s “The Sign”. It released in North America in 1994, and I remember when I first heard people talking about the song at recess, I was completely against it. Don’t ask me why, ’cause I have absolutely no idea.

2. What bands/music groups/singers did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to a lot of music my parents listened to such as The Beatles, Chicago, Peter Paul and Mary, Bread, The Eagles and The Monkeys. As I started listening to my own things, I picked up the boybands ex. Backstreet Boys (first), NSync (after I accepted the fact that it was okay to like both groups), Mandy Moore, The Moffatts, Britney Spears (her first album only), Spice Girls, Will Smith, Ace of Base (of course) and Hanson (my favourite band of all time)!

3. What bands/music groups/singers were popular when you grew up? (ie. Were on the radio a lot)
Backstreet Boys, NSync, Britney Spears, The Moffatts (I’m from Canada. I don’t know how popular they were in the States, if at all), Blink 182, Hanson (their first album, at least, circa 1997), Sum 41, Spice Girls, etc.

4. When (What year) did you first hear Jpop that you liked? What groups were popular?
Probably around 1997 for Sailor Moon music, but I didn’t look up other Jpop at the time. So I’m not sure who was popular around that time (though that was the year of Morning Musume’s debut). Next up was either BoA or Ayumi Hamasaki (in 1998), and outside of them, I have no idea who was popular in that time.

5. What kind of Jpop/Jrock did you initially like?
Ayumi Hamasaki and BoA of the late 90s. I didn’t get into Hello! Project until 2001.

6. Do you still like said kind of Jmusic?
I haven’t followed Ayu’s career since around the time of “I am…” and “Rainbow” (2002). It seems like H!P consumed me at that point.
i haven’t followed BoA’s career all that closely either for quite some time. The last BoA single I really got into was “Shine We Are” and “The Love Bug” (a collaboration with m-flo) before “Eat You Up” came out… Though, “Eat You Up” doesn’t count as Jpop does it? XD I bought her debut English album at a local HMV. I must say it felt awesome to buy a BoA album from the mall.

7. Do you still listen to the music in your native language (or some other language) as often as Jpop?
I get into moods where I listen to a load of English music. Hanson is always played intermittently during my Jpop kicks. Other English artists I listen to are Mandy Moore, Eva Avila, Lea Salonga (when I get into my musical listening moods), Bury the Bully, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, KT Tunstall, Melissa O’Neil, Michael Tolcher, Mike Doughty, etc.

8. If so, what other kind of music to you enjoy listening to?
I mainly listen to pop and rock. There are the random songs from other genres that I’ll get into, but I don’t listen to other genres regularly.

9. Do you go to concerts/performances of your favorite groups from your country? Do you go to ones for J-pop groups?
I have been to every one of Hanson’s concerts that they’ve held in Toronto. I’ve been to a total of 7 or 8 Hanson concerts (if I’m counting correctly) in the 12 years that I’ve been a fan. Other musical acts I’ve seen live are Coldplay, The Backstreet Boys… Is that all?

I know that No Doubt is going on tour and will be doing their old school music in order to get inspiration for their next album. I would totally go to that concert, except they’re going to be in Toronto when I’m on vacation in Florida. That realization was terribly depressing for me, for I LOVE No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” album.

10. What do you think about the Jpop industry’s future? Do you think that you’ll continue to like it for another 5 years?
I really have no idea what I’ll like in another 5 years. From the acts I listen to now, I would say that I will follow anything that Matsuura Aya, Natsuyaki Miyabi, Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa and Angela Aki does in the future. As for new acts, well, we’ll have to see what the future brings, right?

11. What’s your favorite group?
For English music, it’s Hanson. For Japanese, it’s Buono!

12. Is your favorite song/single/album a Jpop one? Is it from your favorite artist?
This is a difficult question. I don’t have an overall favourite album ever. If I had to pick, I’d have to pick 2, one from Hanson (The Walk) and another from Buono! (Café Buono!). I loved all the songs from both albums (with varying degrees for each song, but there wasn’t a song I didn’t enjoy), which is a rarity for me. As for a favourite song, I wouldn’t even know where to begin in choosing one.

13. Do you like pop from outside of Japan, such as Hannah Montana?
I don’t follow much pop from outside of Japan. The pop acts I did follow don’t release much of anything these days. However, I don’t follow Hannah Montana, and The Jonas Brothers DO NOT equal the new Hanson. Are you friggin’ kidding me?! One of them doesn’t even play an instrument when the perform! BUUUUH! … Don’t get me started on that comparison. XD

14. Do you like musicals? If so, what’s your favorite, and one you really want to see? (This one is just to humor Midori)
I LOVE musicals. Lea Salonga is my one of favourite singers ever. If you don’t know who she is, you’ve definitely heard her if you’ve watched the Disney movies “Aladdin” and “Mulan”. She does the singing voices for Jasmine and Mulan. My favourite musical is Miss Saigon (which Lea Salonga had the original starring role in). I also love Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera (my first favourite musical), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Avenue Q and We Will Rock You. Thoe are all that I can recall from the top of my head. I’ve seen all of those musicals I listed.

I’d really like to see Miss Saigon again. The version I saw was a travelling show, so I don’t think I got the full effect of it. Also, they lyrics were changed in the show. I don’t know if it’s been changed from the original London Cast recording, but I didn’t like how they cut the finale song.

Also, as I was looking for pics to insert into this post, I stumbled upon this YouTube video of Lea auditioning for Miss Saigon. She was so young! <3

Today, March 14th marks Taylor Hanson’s 26th birthday, so I’m here to give him a nice big shout out and to get the word out on his latest project.

On March 20th at the SXSW festival being held in Austin, Texas (which started yesterday) Taylor’s new group Tinted Windows will be debuting. Their first single is up on their site and it sounds quite catchy.

Tinted Windows – Kind of a Girl (see post to listen)

Oooh.. nice jacket and tie… And I’m loving his hair combed back like that. <3

Tinted Windows features Taylor Hanson of Hanson (obviously) as vocals, James Iha, one of the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins on guitar, Adam Schlesinger of the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy on bass, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick on drums. I’ve watched the video they have up on their site, and I must say that it’s really weird watching Taylor perform without and instrument in front of him, but he sounds (and looks) awesome (and sexy) as usual, so that’s not a problem.

Tinted Windows is set to release their first album on April 21st, just a little bit after my birthday. I really hope I get some birthday money this year for so many things are releasing around that time. First, the Hello! Project Elder Clus graduation concert and C-ute’s upcoming single “Bye Bye Bye” are releasing ON my birthday, then this album about a week later.

Any Hanson fans who’ve read this far into this, fear not because Taylor is still in the band and they’re working to release a new album. I’ve read for a possible release date sometime in the summer, but we’ll see. Whenever it releases, I’m definitely getting it. I’m also impatiently awaiting their next concert tour which better have a stop in Toronto. The latest leg of their Walk Around the World tour skipped over Toronto, which was the first time they didn’t make a stop around here on a tour. It was quite depressing for me. I haven’t missed them once when they have come here and I don’t plan to start missing their shows any time soon.

Here’s Taylor doing his thing during a walk with fans to raise awareness on poverty and AIDS in Africa.

Anyway, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Taylor!!! Here’s to another 26×2! ^_^

I got home from work today, and there was a box waiting for me… Now, I had two orders that I was waiting on – a book by Hanson called “Take the Walk” and the complete series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I ordered off Amazon.com for a pretty decent price. My brother handed me the box, I looked at the shipping info, and…. HANSON!!!! <3

From Hanson’s official website:
“Take The Walk tells the story of individuals taking action to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa through vivid imagery and personal account from HANSON’s own experiences. The sale of each book will raise funds to benefit all five causes on TakeTheWalk.net.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I will definitely be getting to that soon. However, what astounded me when I opened up the package was what you see on the right side of that photo:

Heck yes, to another signed piece of Hanson goodness. I have the lyrics booklet from their 4th album “Underneath” signed by all three guys – I got it signed when they came to Toronto to promote the album back in 2004. So I have that in its case, one of my most treasured possessions, and now this, which I must go and get a frame for ASAP.

Here is the cover to the Take the Walk book. It truly is remarkable how these three guys have taken this matter to heart and are doing so much to raise awareness for a problem that plagues our world. The proceeds of their work go towards Africa, and yes there are many other parts of the world who need help as well. Hanson may be focused on just one section of the world, but doing things like this bring attention to the fact that this is a worldwide problem and hopefully other people with power, money and influence could catch wind and do more around the world.

But what I love about Hanson is that they’re not waiting on people with power money and influence… They are calling every individual to do what they can. In their particular case, whether it’s buying their single “The Great Divide” off of iTunes (proceeds from all purchases go to a hospital in Soweto, if I’m recalling correctly), joining them for a 1 mile walk barefoot that they host a few hours before every concert of theirs (they donate one dollar for every mile walked – 10 people on a walk equalling 10 miles), hosting your own walk to raise awareness (and if you register a walk through their webiste, they will donate a dollar for every person YOU get to walk with you), buying a pair of TOMS shoes (for every pair that is bought, another pair will be donate to a child in need – and TOMS shoes doesn’t give shoes to children only in Africa, they provide shoes all over the world), etc.

Their TakeTheWalk.net site has information on where the money they raise goes:

• Buy SMS Credits: Provide access to medical care through secure SMS messaging in partnership with Docvia. Learn more
• Fight Aids With Music: Provide AIDS treatment and research by supporting HIVSA when you purchase the song “Great Divide”. Learn more
• Donate Shoes: Provide shoes to children in poverty by purchasing TOMS SHOES. Learn more
• Build Schools: Help build a school and provide education to children living in impoverished areas of Africa, with Free The Children. Learn more
• Drill Water Wells: Provide clean water through Blood:Water Mission well projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more

They also have information on the site on how you can host your own walk, so if that’s something that may interest you, please check it out.

Personally, I wasn’t able to join Hanson on their walk when they were in Toronto last December, for there had been a snowstorm the night before, and my mom refused to let me leave the house until the roads had cleared up a bit. I was still able to make it for their concert that night, and I bought a pair of TOMS Shoes.

I’m waiting for Hanson to come back, and this time I will definitely be joining them on the walk. For anyone wondering, they do not do the walk barefoot if there’s snow… That would just be pointless if people ended up with hypothermia or having toes and/or feet amputated. They actually had to cancel the walk they had scheduled in Ottawa (capital of Canada and 4 hours away from Toronto) last year because the temperatures were ridiculously cold. It was around -30C (-22F) if I’m remembering correctly.

Hanson – The Walk
This is the title track of Hanson’s latest album. It’s a beautiful but melancholy song about the walks that we go on through our lives. I love the lyrics in this song, particularly in the bridge:

Everyone waits on the walk
Some are long and some small
But all of them tall
Everyone must make a choice
Will I go for it all
And possibly fall
The tightrope thin
I could possibly win
On the walk

The entire album is a collection of songs that are at times melancholy, other times energetic. But the unifying theme is that of hope – that we have the power to change the world. It may be a small scale change, it may be an enormous one for the betterment of the entire world. But no matter the magnitude, we have the power, and we can’t let that power go to waste.

*EDIT: I was thinking of this at work today… And I figure not many people will actually read this post. XD That’s okay. I liked writing it, but for those of you who did read the post (thank you, btw!) I thought I’d leave a little treat here at the end of my post (though, I guess some people might call this torture XD). Below is a recording I made a few months ago of Hanson’s “Fire on the Mountain” off of their The Walk album. The verses are kind of blah because it’s a little bit low for me. -_-; Anyway, only wu-san has heard this before, and I thought this would be a fun and relevant thing to add to the end of this post.

Today is Zachary Walker Hanson’s 23rd birthday!!! And as my favourite member of Hanson, I thought he deserved a good old birthday post.

Zac at last year’s “The Walk” tour. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAC!!!

Seeing as it’s his birthday today, it made me want to go onto Hanson’s website and check what’s going on with the guys. And what I realized (I already knew this, but forgot) was that preorders for Hanson’s upcoming Take the Walk book and EP were being taken. So… Of course I had to go and preorder. And what made my day even better was finding out that shipping to Canada is free!!! Awesomeness!

Anyway, sales for the Take the Walk book and EP raises funds for five causes which Hanson is supporting on their Take the Walk website – all causes to help fight poverty and AIDS in Africa. Even if you’re not a fan of Hanson, please feel free to take a look at this website. Hanson is gaining a lot of recognition for their charity work for these causes, and even doing something as simple as buying a song for $0.99 on iTunes can help someone less fortunate than yourself.

Anyway, I’m totally getting off topic. It’s Zac’s birthday!! So, Zac pics coming up!

Zac’s on the left, and this was them in 2003 when the came to Canada for their “Underneath Acoustic” Tour. This was at Muchmusic, and I shook Zac’s hand and got’s Taylor’s autograph for the first time (I got all three guys to sign my copy of Underneath when they came back for “Underneath” Tour in 2004).

This was last year when Hanson went with Toms Shoes (see link in blogroll) to Africa to drop off 50,000 pairs of shoes to children who needed them. [Again Zac's on the left].

Zac at last year’s “The Walk” tour.

Zac at a show during Hanson’s current “Walk Around the World” tour.

And a little bonus: Zac’s song from the Take the Walk EP “Where Did It Start”.

It really has absolutely nothing to do with his birthday, and isn’t celebratory at all, but it’s a pretty song, and I absolutely adore Zac’s voice, so tough. XD

But anyway, I haven’t spoken about this group as of yet, and so one of the first things I have to say is: High-King, I bow down to you!!! Seriously, I am loving this group so much it’s bordering on ridiculous. At work today, my bosses were both out for meetings, so I pulled out my iPod and had the a- and b-side of this single on repeat the entire day. I have now listened to both songs 47 times each… By the time I finish writing this post, that number will have increased…

So, I’m going to do this single review backwards, and I’m going to start it off with some comments on the c/w. Why, you ask? ‘Cause it’s a freakin’ fabulous song!

The C/W – Kioku no Meiru

I listened to it last night, not fully paying attention, because I was being distracted by the randomness that always ensues on wotachat*. In the midst of my lacking concentration, the only thing I really noticed was that it sounded like Yuuka had a fairly long solo, which was interesting to note, but not enough to take my attention away from the chat.

This morning, I put the two songs onto my iPod, and in my car on the way to work, I was able to really listen to “Kioku no Meiro” and I have to say that I was blown away!

The song starts out with a nice, mellow intro by Aichan. A strong bass and nifty guitars kick in once Reina starts singing… And then boom! The techno beat was surprising to me. I can’t think of any H!P release that sounds like this. I immediately pictured this being an anime theme. In particular, Gundam Seed came to mind. This song makes me think of TM Revolution or Tamaki Nami… Because of that, I went back and listened to those old Gundam Seed songs.

As I listened on, Eurobeat from Para Para Paradise came into my head. I can totally picture a fun para routine as the choreography to this song. The beat is sick and really gets your blood pumping. Come the instrumental portion, I’m hit with another association, and now I’m hearing “Through the Fire and Flame” by DragonForce… They do the ultimate difficulty song in Guitar Hero 3. The arpeggio’s in the guitar solo here are just sick! I really wish there was an instrumental track for this song, like Buono!’s singles which have instrumental tracks for both the a-side and b-side.

As for vocals in this song, what I’m loving here is that all the girls get a proper amount of lines! Maimi and Captain take the verses and sing them quite nicely. It’s nice to get more of a chance to hear Captain sing, because she really does have a pleasant voice. The pre-chorus features the other 3, and you get to hear Yuuka pretty well. She’s got a cutesy voice, but I don’t find it overly annoying, like I tend to with Momoko when she’s singing with Berryz, or Sayumi pretty much always. Aichan and Reina still have the most lines, from what I can gather (I haven’t counted them out or anything), but they’re not dominating the song like they do on CC.

I got into the instrumental pretty happy with line distribution, and we get to the bridge and I hear Yuuka again… And she gets the ENTIRE bridge! At that point, I was blasted off my feet, figuratively (seeing as I was sitting down and driving…). I’m really liking this little girl. It will be interesting to see how she progresses in H!P now that she’s been highlighted in a group with some pretty influential H!P members.

As for Aichan and Reina in this song, I must say that I like Aichan’s performance in the song, but it’s no secret that I absolutely adore Aichan’s voice. Reina is fine, but her voice isn’t one of my H!P favourites.

Overall, this c/w is totally rocking! I know people often overlook the b-sides of singles, but this is definitely one you should NOT miss. I’ve uploaded the c/w into my radioblog, located in the top of the right sidebar. Go and give it a listen! It’s totally worth it!

The A-side – CC (Cinderella Complex)

All my gushing over the c/w wasn’t meant to take away from the awesomeness of the a-side. I really love this song. This song is more of the R&B, Hip/hop genre (I know they’re 2 totally different genres… but meh).

The beat of this song fully rocks my socks. I was literally bouncing in my seat at work all day. I do wish I could dance without looking like an idiot, ’cause this is definitely a sexy hot body rolling dance-type song.

Vocally, Aichan and Reina dominate this song. Like I said for the c/w, I have no problem with Aichan doing so, because I love her voice. Reina on the other hand… Well, I could have done with a bit more Maimi… The other three girls do quite well with the lines that they’re given. The “Yes Yes Yo!” and whatnot bring me back to 7Air. I definitely enjoy the melody of this song, but really it’s the driving beat that makes this song for me.

The Dance Shot

A quick rundown of the PV: Aichan > Captain > Maimi > Reina > Yuuka.That list is based on the dance performances of each of the girls in this PV, and since this is the dance shot, I think it’s fair to break it down in such a manner.

It is completely understandable that Yuuka is at the bottom of the list here. Even though she’s been an H!P Egg since 2004, she has the least experience, and here she is in her first big break, being put up against the leaders/captain of H!P’s most successful groups and an additional member of the flagship group who has been in the spotlight from pretty much the moment she joined. That’s a lot to live up to. She actually does quite well with the choreography, but you can see how unrefined her dancing abilities are. Her moves just aren’t as smooth as the rest of the girls. She knows WHAT to do, but she doesn’t quite execute it with the precision of the other girls. Also, she looks like she’s trying to overcompensate for her lack of experience with a bit more energy, which makes her look like she looses her balance at moments. However, she would have blown Kaori out of the water, had Kaori ever tried to dance the choreography of this song.

Yuuka’s leg positions are awkward compared to the veterans Aichan and Reina.

Reina looks stiff through a few of the moves. Comparing her to Aichan is like comparing Rika to Aichan in Ribbon no Kishi. She’s not horrible, she’s just not as good. Also, Reina’s hair flying all over the place distracted me. Maimi’s hair’s up in a ponytail, so it’s not too noticeable when it flies, and the other girls have hats on… Reina, on the other hand, has her hair up in two pigtails, and the hair just flies everywhere.

Look at her hair…. LOL XD Also, what the heck is she driving that has a steering wheel that large?!

My main complaint with Maimi is that she’s a little too enthusiastic in her dancing. She dances well, but she’s hitting all the moves a little bit TOO hard. I watch the TV show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and they often make the distinction between hard hip hop dancing versus soft hip hop dancing. And this song and the choreography to go with it looks better when hit with more finesse. However, Maimi can definitely move. We saw it in C-ute’s ‘Namida no Iro’ and we can see it here as well.

Look at how far Maimi’s head is thrown back. That can’t be comfortable…

Seriously, I’m just glad that Maimi didn’t hurt herself with the amount of attack she put into this dance

Captain was able to grasp the feel of this dance a little bit better than her C-ute counterpart. She’s got the moves down and she’s doesn’t overpower the dance. She moves smoothly throughout the dance and she’s definitely enjoyable to watch. She seemed to have a lot of problems with her vest though. It was like she spent most of the PV trying to get it to sit back on her shoulder. Also, I find that her body rolls aren’t as effective as Aichan and Maimi’s, possibly because she’s so short. She needs a little more height to give it more of a flowing look.

Captain’s vest was finicky through the PV

Now Aichan… What can I say about her in this dance shot? SHE WAS FREAKIN’ HOT!! She completely owns her hot pimpin’ hat! And she just goes through the choreography so effortlessly. Her body rolls are hot, her “Na na na” hip thrusts are hot, her voice is hot! Everything about Aichan in this PV is just so sexy! Work it girl! People go on and on about how Aichan has no personality… But man, when she performs, be it in a PV, a live or in concert, watch out! She knows what kind of attitude to bring during a performance. For me, that totally makes up for her awkwardness (which I find endearing most of the time, anyway) during interviews and while speaking in general.

Pimpin’ hat, pimpin’ pose, pimpin’ attitude. Aichan <3!!

So yeah… Basical, High-King is on my absolute total love list right now! I’d have to say it’s my favourite H!P single for the year thus far. I love the a-side of C-ute’s ‘Namida no Iro’ as well as the PV for it, but the c/w doesn’t do it for me. Buono!’s ‘Kiss!Kiss!Kiss!’ brings me a lot of Miya happiness, but it’s not my favourite Buono! single. So really, as an overall package, High-King is winning my H!P single race right now (Buono!’s ‘Café Buono!’ leads the way album-wise).

So as the post title says, High-King, I pledge my fealty to you, for you guys ROCK!

And on the topic of High Kings, another High King I pledge my fealty to is High King Peter Pevensie of Narnia, because he’s soooo friggin’ hot too!! (Just really wanted to get some William Moseley eyecandy in here, since it’s ridiculously un-related, yet still related [in my mind at least] to this post… XD)

SO HOT!

*dies*

Oh yea… I’m at 66 plays for each song now… XD

*Wotachat has been advertised on a number of my fellow bloggers’ blogs. Basically, a some of the International Wota community can be found there in the chatroom #wotachat on the IRC server Rizon. I am almost always there. All three IW admin, my fellow IW editor, and an IW advisor(Ray Mescallado, pengie, broomhead, wu-san, Julia) frequent the room, a few other IW contributers (Kirarin☆Snow ☃, Charmy☆Renai, Henkka, IndigoSkies and craig) as well as authors of blogs covered by IW (Second Blossoming, CatchFiveBats, Misa, Amimi, amyrulez and johpan). In addition, we have some non-bloggers (wota and non-wota alike) who come in as well. Feel free to drop by and visit us!

EDIT: For those who aren’t familiar with IRC, you can use an IRC client such as mIRC (windows) or x-chat (mac), or if you don’t want to go with a client, you can sign in through web-based IRC, ex. mibbit. Like I mentioned above, the server is Rizon.net, the channel is #wotachat. ^_^

This question intrigued me, so I thought I’d give my answer to his question. In his blog, he mentions to list your top 3. It’s not particularly specified that they have to be Japanese singers, and from what I can gather, it looks like Raid’s #1 is a K-pop singer, so I don’t feel too bad having only one J-pop singer in my top 3 list. All the songs mentioned here are in my radio blog in the right sidebar, except one that’s an embedded video file. And since this question is based on voice alone, gender isn’t really a factor for me here, except for the fact that, as you will see, my favourite vocalists tend to be female.

In third place is my favourite Hello! Project member, Matsuura Aya.

I could listen to Ayaya sing ballads forever. Her voice is remarkably soothing and can truly put me into a state of bliss. This is particularly the case when she sings “Zutto Suki De Ii Desu Ka” or “LOVE Namida Iro” at a slower tempo and acoustically, as performed below.

In second place is my favourite female vocalist, Lea Salonga.

The original Kim from ‘Miss Saigon’ and the first (I don’t know if there have been more since her) non-caucasian to play the role of Cosette on a major stage for ‘Les Miserables’. I’ve added my two favourite songs from ‘Miss Saigon’ to my radio blog: “I’d Give My Life For You” and “The Sacred Bird”. “The Sacred Bird” is a particularly powerful song at the end of the musical. I’m not much of a crier in terms of listening to music or watching movies, but this song got me close to tears my first time listening to it. Of course, knowing the entire storyline of the musical helps get you into the song, but in general, she gives a wonderful performance of that song.

Also, if you don’t follow musicals, you may know Lea as the Disney princesses Jasmine from Aladdin, or Mulan. She does the singing voices for both of them. Lea’s not Japanese, but she is Filipino, so she’s a close neighbour. ^_^

And the number one person that I would marry based on their voice alone is: Taylor Hanson!

His voice is just so hot and sexy. It’s raspy and fabulous. I get very fangirly when I start talking about Taylor’s voice. When I was younger, I used his voice as my alarm in the mornings – I would set my stereo to wake me up and play track 5 (”Save Me”) from Hanson’s ‘This Time Around’ album. Hearing him sing his opening line of “Loving you…” was definitely a good way to start off my day.

This 2007-2008 basketball season marks the first year since I’ve become a serious Toronto Raptors fan (that started sometime in 2000 or 2001) where my favourite player isn’t wearing the Raptors jersey.

Morris Peterson (aka “Mo Pete”) was drafted in the first round by the Raptors in 2000, and basically from the moment I started watching the Raptors, he was my favourite player. His defensive intensity, his shooting skill (particularly with the 3-ball) and his ridiculous ability to hit circus shots greatly endeared him to me.

He spent the first 7 years of his career with the Toronto Raptors, always playing hard. He is the longest serving Raptor in the history of the franchise. He also holds the record for consecutive games played in the NBA. He played 371 games straight as a Toronto Raptor, before eventually getting injured and sitting out a game for the first time in four years.

He never put up the biggest numbers, but he played with heart, gave it his all, and never slacked off (*cough*VinceCarter*cough*). And he was an amazing clutch player – his most remarkable moment (for me at least) was in a game against the Washington Wizards on March 30, 2007 (wow a year ago exactly XD) where he sat out practically the entire game. We were down by a few points with 50 or so seconds left, and Sam Mitchell (Toronto’s coach) subbed Mo Pete into the game. With 3.8 seconds left, we were down by 3 and after a very questionable (aka stupid) play by a Wizard’s player, Mo Pete launched a “Hail Mary” 3-pointer into the air from half court and sank it – sending the game into overtime! How could you not love a player like that? XD

In addition to his basketball abilities, he has also done a lot of community work within the city of Toronto. He was and still is a fan favourite in Toronto and unlike some other Raptors who have left the team on bad terms, I doubt that he will ever get booed within the confines of the Air Canada Centre (seeing as even at this game, the fans cheered whenever he scored XD).

Today marked his first game back playing in the ACC since he became a free agent at the end of last season. He played relentlessly and faithfully for the Raptors for an amazing 7 seasons and when I realized that he definitely would not be back on our team for this basketball season, I was upset and disappointed.

So of course, when tickets first went on sale for this season, I looked up the Raptors schedule and checked when Mo Pete would be playing here (he’s now on the New Orleans Hornets). The first set of tickets I bought were for this game.

Leading up to this game, the Raptors’ commentator, Chuck Swirsky, had been imploring fans to give Mo Pete a standing ovation for everything he had done for the team and for the city in the 7 years he played for the Raptors. I don’t think Chuck had anything to worry about because during the introduction of the starting lineups, Mo Pete got a partial standing ovation (and loudest cheers overall – even compared to the Raptors starters introductions). I was definitely one of the fans who stood up to thank him for all the years and memories he’s provided.

Now we get to the moving moment. After his name was called and he high-fived with all his teammates, as all the fans are cheering for him, he ran out to centre court, got down on the ground and kissed the floor of the Air Canada Centre – right on the Raptors’ logo. Something about that moment, seeing him back in Toronto, and him so obviously expressing his love for the city, the team and the people, just really hit me. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I had to fight them back, because it’s just kind of weird to start crying at a basketball game. Thankfully, the Raptors’ starting lineup was coming up next, and the arena gets dark for that, so I had some time to compose myself. ^_^ We lost the game, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget attending this particular event.

I love my Raptors, but whenever Mo Pete steps into the ACC, I will always cheer for him because no matter what team he plays for, he will always be a Raptor in my heart.

So, C-ute’s 3rd album came out earlier this week, and of course that meant that I had to review it.

I was so excited for this album. You would not believe how much I was looking forward to this album (Okay… Maybe it wasn’t as anticipated as the Buono! album was in my books, but still… I was so ready for this album). Now, I wonder why that was.

It’s not a bad album, it’s just not spectacular. It’s very blah, which makes it completely disappointing for me. I had such high expectations for this album. It wasn’t only because ‘Tokaikko Junjou’ was such an amazing single, but because C-ute has shown that they are an amazing group who can produce amazing tracks

So what was it that was so disappointing in this album? Well, lets go through a track by track review.

1. 都会っ子 純情 (Tokaikko Junjou)
This song is fabulous. The beat is sick, the electric drums are sick, the overall instrumental is sick. I really like Airi’s vocals in this single and Maimi is fabulous. The dance is wicked (can’t do it for the life of me). This song is just overall FTW!! Enough said.

2. イメージカラー (Image Color) (Suzuki Airi, Yajima Maimi)
The 2 leads of C-ute are featured in this track. I’m not liking Airi’s voice all that much here, for the same reasons that I don’t like it in ‘LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta’. It’s a bright, cheerful sounding song, but I’m not all that drawn to it. This is highly upsetting because I love both of these girls so much!

3. 乙女COCORO (Otome COCORO)
This is a slower song. I like the sound of it. The melody is very engaging for me. However, someone is (or some people are) slacking on the vocals. Man, I need my colour-coded lyrics… >_< For an example, whoever’s singing the 2-3 lines before Maimi gets her first line. It sounds like the voice is cracking. You can be forgiven for that in concert, but when you’re recorded, no cracks should be heard. One thing I just noticed… The instrumental practically has no synth. While not quite Buono! quality, I think the crisp sound of the drums and guitars is playing a large factor to my liking this song.

4. LALALA 幸せの歌 (LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta)
Like I said in my review of the PV I don’t mind this song. It’s cute and catchy. It’s longer than I think it has to be and I’m not enjoying Airi’s voice so much here. No solo Chisato also brings down the points for this song.

5. ほめられ伸び子のテーマ曲 (Homerare Nobiko no Theme Kyoku)
This song is edgy. The guitar is sexy, the horns are vibrant. And Chisato has some smoking lines in this track. I’m back to liking Airi’s vocals in this one, and I think Maimi sounds fabulous. Overall, I would say the vocals are solid here, no one’s slacking off like in ‘Otome COCORO’ (I totally want to say Gokoro every time I see/hear that track because of the Otome Gokoro Wonderful Hearts concert). I also really like the ending piano. It gives the song a sophisticated fade out.

6. めぐる恋の季節 (Meguru Koi no Kisetsu)
I enjoy this single, but I have to say that I actually like the b-side to this single (‘Bishoujo Shinri’) more than the a-side. There are actually very few solo lines in this single.

7. スイーーツ→→→ライブ (Sweeeets→→→Live) (Okai Chisato, Arihara Kanna)
I was so excited for this song. Seeing as Chisato is my favourite C-ute member, and it’s her voice I love most in this group, you can just imagine how much I was hoping this song would rock. I was hoping for something ‘Bokura no Kagayaki’-esque. Something that Chisa could rock out to, ‘cause when she really gets into it, she puts on this wonderful vibrato that I can’t get enough of. I don’t hear much vibrato from Hello! Project members. But no… Instead, we get this song. While not horrible by any account, it’s just so disappointing. This is a huge paragraph and I haven’t even really started to talk about the song…What to say? It’s low energy. I have nothing against slower songs, but this one just doesn’t captivate me in the slightest. It’s neither Chisa’s or Kanna’s fault. The vocals are fine. The melody simply doesn’t do much for me, and neither does the instrumental.

8. 桜チラリ (Sakura Chirari)
I was never a very big fan of this single. Once again, I’d take the b-side ‘JUMP!’ over ‘Sakura Chirari’ any day. Something about this song just yells TOO cute for me. This was the first C-ute song I heard, and it actually left me feeling very indifferent to this group (unlike Berryz, whose first song that I heard was ‘Fighting Pose’ which I didn’t mind too much… Of course, I enjoyed ‘Piriri to Yukou’ much more than ‘Fighting Pose’).

9. 晴れのプラチナ通り (Hare no Platinum Doori) (Nakajima Saki, Hagiwara Mai)
Two of the lesser liked voices on my C-ute list. Both do pretty well with their vocal performances here. I like the instruments in this song. It’s got a slower pace and it flows well. The very end brings Berryz’s ‘Kokuhaku no Funsui Hirba’ to mind.

10. ドドンガドン音頭 (Do Don Ga Don Ondou) (Umeda Erika with °C-ute Gasshoudan)
From what I can gather, lots of people are really enjoying this song. It’s fun, catchy, etc. But I can’t get past the fact that it sounds very similar to Odoru 11’s ‘Shiawase Kyouryuu Ondo’ from the 2002 shuffle groups. With something sounding so similar, I can’t help but compare it to the original version… And you simply can’t beat Tsuji and her butt. “A! Purin purin purin” ^_^

The album isn’t all that bad, but I psyched myself up, and it ended up disappointing me. I think I was so spoiled by the fabulousness that was ‘Café Buono!’ that anything unlucky enough to be released in close succession to it would be judged more harshly as I continued to ride the eurphoria that is Buono!’s 1st album. I don’t mind ‘Meguru Koi no Kistesu’ but like I said, I prefer the b-side. That makes me less than enthused over 3 of the 4 singles on this album. I feel bad for C-ute because they have so much talent, but I feel the material given to them here was lacking.

Now, to move on to the second part of this post… A review of Berryz Koubou’s 4th album ‘4th Ai no Nanchara Shisuu’, seeing as I haven’t reviewed it yet.

I say this is as good a time as any to review it – within the same post as C-ute’s album review. Lets say this is a preview of the Berryz vs. C-ute concert battle to come later this year (in just a little over a month, actually).

Now this album did NOT disappoint. It’s lively, it’s fresh and just overall WOW! Let’s head right into the track-by-track review:

1. 愛のスキスキ指数 上昇中 (Ai no Suki Suki Shisuu Joushouchuu)
This is a good, upbeat song to get you into the album. The melody is catchy and the mix of instruments is great. Everyone gets a line in this track, so you get a nice intro to each of the girls (unlike C-ute’s first track which just happens to be the Airi show… But it’s Tokkaiko, and she was fabulous, so I don’t actually mind that much).

2. 胸騒ぎスカーレット (Munasawagi Scarlet)
What can I say about this song? It was this song that really got me into Berryz Koubou. I liked some of their older releases (especially ‘Piriri to Yukou’ and ‘Special Generation’) prior to this, but I didn’t follow Berryz. Sometime in September or early October of 2007, my brother got me to listen to this song and I was just hooked. He was gushing over Risako, but I was drawn to Miyabi’s voice, particularly in her last solo line in this song. It’s just so fabulous. This song has song great guitar in it. Overall, it’s got such an amazing rock feel, that I can forgive the funny looking outfits they wear in the PV (although really, I’d have to say that those outfits have definitely grown on me). This is the Berryz song that would battle C-ute’s ‘Tokkaiko Junjou’ if songs were to battle each other.

3. 思い立ったら 吉でっせ！(Omoitattara Kichi desse!) – Kumai Yurina, Tokunaga Chinami & Sudou Maasa
My brother’s favourite song on the album. He’s got a great love for Chinami, so it’s understandable. This is a cute song, and it’s nice that Chinami and Maasa get some spotlight in this song. My brother pointed out the horn at the end of some lines of the chorus (sounds like a horn you’d have on your bike, or one that a clown would use). It bugs the heck out of him, but I think it gives the song an interesting flavour. Though really, I may just really like it because my brother is so annoyed by it. My subconscious works in strange ways. XD

4. VERY BEAUTY
I love the melody of this song. I have no prejudice against slower songs or ballads. If I made a list of my all-time favourite H!P songs, I’d say a large chunk of them would be slower songs. This song always leaves me feeling very light-hearted. I like the drums in this song. They’re fairly simple, but the kick drum and snare really keep the song moving for me. I find its a great compliment to the piano, guitar and strings. This would have to be one of my all-time favourite Berryz releases.

5. 笑っちゃおうよ BOYFRIEND (Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND)
This is a cute song with a 50’s-60’s doo wop feel. The key slides and the horns make this song for me. It’s also got a really catchy melody that I adore.

6. 私がすることない程 全部してくれる彼 (Watashi ga Suru Koto nai Hodo Zenbu Shite Kureru Kare) – Sugaya Risako & Tsugunaga Momoko
This is a nice slow tempo song for these two. I find Risako’s voice to be pretty well controlled in this song, even when she sings it live (unlike ‘VERY BEAUTY’ or ‘Kokuhaku’). I even like Momoko’s voice in this one. It’s not too much of her high-squeaky voice. This song actually gives a little glimpse of how we later hear her in Buono! The instrumental is pretty simple. The percussion is the highlight for me instrumentally in this one. The melody is very pretty and is sung well by both girls.

7. サヨナラ 激しき恋(Sayonara Hageshiki Koi)
This would have to be my favourite song on the album. I first heard it when I watched Berryz Spring 2007 concert – Sakura Mankai. It was because of that performance that I went looking for the album to listen to. I really need to find a translation to this song. It’s such an intense song with the driving drum beat and the smoking guitar riffs. The vocals are well done here, and Captain even gets a solo paragraph. ^_^ Nothing on C-ute’s album (non-single wise) compares to this track.

8. 告白の噴水広場 (Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba)
Another of Berryz slower tempo releases, and another Berryz single that I absolutely adore. I have read a translation to this song, and I love the lyrics. In the recorded version, I find all the girls sing it well, but man can Risako absolutely butcher this song live. That doesn’t stop me from loving this song, though. It’s such a bittersweet sounding song, and of course it doesn’t hurt that there’s a whole lot of Miyabi in this single.

9. 告白の噴水広場! (Sprinter!) – Natsuyaki Miyabi & Shimizu Saki
Sprinter is a cute song about a race. I can’t find the words to express the style of this song. The best my brother could come up with was ‘western saloon-y style’. That would definitely apply to the piano in the song. But then the drums and horns are kind of swing-ish. Whatever the case, it mixes well together. Definitely a good pick-me-up song if you need something fun and catchy. I love all the “Wow!”s in this song.

10. サクラハラクサ (Sakura wa Raku Sa)
This song has a whole lot of synth. It’s definitely not your regular Berryz song. It’s got a really strong bass line and interesting vocal manipulation in the backing track. This song has a dance vibe to it, as in something you’d hear at a club (except, club songs don’t tend to have this many vocals). It certainly adds a little spice to the album.

11. 桜→入学式 (Sakura→Nyuugakushiki)
This closing song slows things down again after Sakura wa Ruka Sa. I find this track relaxing. It’s a nice way to wind down at the end of the album and closes it out very well.

I love this album! While I haven’t listened to every single track 40-50+ times (which I have with ‘Café Buono!) this is a solid album. All 4 singles featured on the album were strong (keep in mind I have absolutely nothing against ballads – I actually adore ballads) – the one I listen to least is ‘BOYFRIEND’, but I still really enjoy the song.

So in this battle of Berryz vs. C-ute: most recent albums, I’d have to say Berryz wins by a landslide! What I noticed is that even though Berryz has their 4 leads (already more than C-ute who really have only 2 – Maimi and Airi, even though Nakasaki and Mai Mai also get some lines), they incorporate the other girls more into songs than C-ute. In C-ute songs, when a non-lead gets a line, it’s usually just that: 1 line. In Berryz, a non-lead can get up to a whole paragraph in a song, ex. ‘Sayonara Hageshiki Koi‘ (even in singles, ex. ‘Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba’).

I’d have to say that in the battle of Berryz vs. C-ute: most recent singles, I’d have to say that Berryz wins again. In my opinion, ‘Dschinghis Khan’ kills ‘LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta’. The PV has a lot to do with it, but that’s besides the fact. Without the PV, it wouldn’t be murder, but still a win.

C-ute’s gotta step it up. That’s 2-0 Berryz just within this blog post. C-ute got that Rakuten Eagles single coming up next week and then their 5th single in April, actually releasing during the time of the concert battle. I’d say it’s actually kind of unfair that C-ute gets this extra edge to try and catch up to Berryz, seeing as Berryz has no other releases scheduled before the concert, but I guess they have enough to back them up already. XD I can’t wait for this concert!

And as if this post wasn’t long enough already… One more thing (completely unrelated to H!P):

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!

Goodness, why are you so hot?! (Though not as hot as Zac)

Note: What is it with me and ridiculously long posts? XD

Listening to this album definitely solidified my top 3 C-ute members. There really is a big gap between my affection for my top 3 and the other 4 girls in this group.

The opening song “That’s the POWER” has a really carnivale feel to it. It’s bouncy and upbeat, but I don’t think it will get too many plays on my list.

The 3rd track “Disco Queen”, unsurprisingly, isn’t quite my fancy, seeing as it features Mai and Saki, neither of whom quite have the quality of voice that I enjoy.

Airi’s song, “Tsuugaku Vector”, is okay. Not much to rave about on my part, surprisingly. I definitely still <3 her (one song won’t change that), but this song won’t go down as one of my favourites.

I really enjoy Maimi’s solo song “Natsu DOKI Lipstick”. I really need to see this song live and see how well Maimi pulls it off. The chorus is so catchy, and I just love the high note that she hits at the end of each chorus (except the 2nd last one). I don’t know if it’s just me and my bad memory, but I feel like most H!P songs don’t have a key change within a song. I think because of that, the key change within this song really stood out to me. It makes the end of the song much more potent (not quite the word I’m looking for in this situation, but I like the sound of it XD). I really like the quality of Maimi’s voice. She’s definitely the most mature sounding of C-ute at the moment.

*EDIT*: My brother tells me I do have a very bad memory and that many H!P songs do actually have a key change (ex. Koko ni Iruzee!). Hmm… seems I need to brush up on my old school H!P songs.

However, I’d have to say my favourite song on this album would have to be “Bokura no Kagayki” which features Chistao, Erika and Kanna. Can you guess which of the 3 I’m particularly enjoying in this song? In the live I saw, Chisato was definitely the strongest performer, IMO. I love the guitar in this song. It’s not overly complicated… Makes me want to figure out the chords… Hmm… there’s an idea. I also enjoy the drum pattern in this song. It makes me want to go out and play this song on Drum Mania (if it were on Drum Mania, that is… Unfortunately I can only play fake video game drums. My coordination isn’t good enough to handle different beats between my hands and feet).

To go off on a tangent, I’ve been think a lot recently about the C-ute vs. Berryz debate and who’s better. Thought I’d get my two cents in.

Berryz has been getting put down a lot from what I’ve been reading. While everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, I don’t think it’s quite fair to compare C-ute at this stage to Berryz when they were at the equivalent stage in thier careers.

First, when Berryz released their 3rd major single “Piriri to Yukou!”, the members were at an average age of roughly 11.75. Compared to C-ute’s 3rd major single “Tokaikko Junjou”, C-ute’s average age is almost 2 years older, at roughly 13.57. C-ute also had 4 indie singles prior to their major releases, so they had the chance to build up a fanbase, as well as get more comfortable with their position/roles as idols than Berryz did initially.

As for the most recent releases, most people have either loved or hated Berryz newest, while many seemed to thoroughly enjoy C-ute’s latest. Well, can’t do much there. It’s not Berryz choice on what song they’re given, or the choreography that comes with it. But at the same time, I think people need to give Berryz more credit (though it’s so ironic that with the bashing of “Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi” before it’s release, it ended up outselling all of the most recent H!P releases, with the exception of Buono!’s “Honto no Jibun”).

*EDIT #2*: Someone pointed out that “Tsukiatteru” outsold in first week sales, and not total sales. That’s what I mean to say, it just didn’t occur to me to specify that when I originally posted.

Look at what Berryz has done in the 3 (almost 4) years they’ve been a group. They are currently on their 15th single (almost 1 year earlier than Morning Musume in regards to time from 1st single release to 15th single release). In addition to the singles, Berryz has also released 4 albums (albeit one was a mini album), just like MM had released by their 15th single. MM did 3 movies, 2 musicals and 6 concerts, while Berryz did 2 stage plays (I think it’s 2… They just completed one recently, if I’m thinking correctly) and 9 concerts. Keep in mind that Berryz got to this point 1 year faster than MM. I think that’s just mind boggling.

I’m not saying this to bash on C-ute in anyway, ’cause I definitely love C-ute as well. Call me non-confrontational (heck, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m non-confrontational), but I just don’t get why we need to bash on one group to raise up our favourites. They’re 2 different groups with 2 different sets of girls. C-ute’s gotten off to a good start, but just because they got the supposedly better song (once again, I say different groups, different sounds), you can’t totally throw out all that Berryz has accomplished over the years.

And finally, forget a tangent… I’m gonna take a complete 180, and return from Japan back to Toronto and make my first real mention of the Toronto Raptors in my blog.

Watched the game tonight against the Hawks. This was our first game back at full strength since having injury problems with Bargnani, Bosh and Ford starting Nov. 20. So what happens in this game? First Jason Kapono goes out with a wrist injury. Initial X-rays came up negative for damage, but no futher info. Then just before the start of the 4th, Jose Calderon goes to the locker room for what seemed to be a dislocated finger. Luckily, he was back on court within a few minutes.

But the major kicker happened with about 1:30 left in the 4th. TJ Ford made a steal, and as he’s running down the floor going for a layup, Atlanta’s Al Horford went for a block, but instead pulled on TJ’s head. It took TJ off balance and he crashed into the ground, his head bouncing hard off the floor. He lay completely limp. It was terrifying to watch. A few years ago, Ford suffered an injury that required neck surgery and kept him off court for a year. It could very well have been a career ending injury. Since then, he’s had a pretty sensitive neck/back and has suffered a few stingers from hard fouls. Tonight just left me with a terrible feeling inside, wondering how bad this injury is.

It was like watching the game against Boston last season where Jorge Garbajosa went to block a shot, but when he landed he broke his ankle (as in his food was 90 degrees/perpendicular to it’s usual angle, with the bone sticking out). He has since come back to play, but ironically, he just had a second surgery on that ankle, I think it was tonight…. And then Ford gets this injury…

Anyway, I thought I’d post about the Hanson concert I went to this weekend, since I did mention that there would be random posts interspersed in this blog unrelated to H!P. Hanson wins in this regard! (Raptors posts will eventually come, as interesting things happen during the season.)

For those who still picture them with long hair from their Mmmbop days, a current photo.

L-R: Issac, Zac, Taylor.

So, Hanson was in town this past Sunday and their concert was superb (as per usual). Pre-concert, they did the 1 mile walk that they’ve done at every tour stop to raise awareness for poverty and AIDS in Africa (today’s show in Ottawa was the first stop with no walk, due to extremely cold weather conditions).

The devotion these guys have put into raising awareness for this cause that is so dear to them is truly inspirational. They have donated all sales of their single “The Great Divide” from iTunes to a hospital in South Africa that works with kids who are born with HIV/AIDS.

They also just recently returned from a trip to South Africa, joining up with TOMS shoes to do a shoe drop (more on that later). On their website, they recently posted a video showing them with their photographer giving a check for $15,000 to a local school. Their photographer posted on his blog the idea to sell some shirts he had recently ordered for $30 each, and any purchases would go to the school. He was hoping to raise a few hundred dollars, if anything. In 14 hours, he had raised $2000. So, they decided to see how much they could raise during the few days (I think it was 3 or 4) they had left in Africa. To help out, Hanson allowed their photographer to take a picture of them in one of the classrooms, and sell 10 limited editions of this photo (framed and matted, with the guys signing the back) for I think it was $750 each. They had a goal of $10,000 in mind, and surpassed it beyond their wildest imaginations with the $15,000 they raised.

At their concerts, along with their regular merchandise, they’ve been selling TOMS shoes. Basically, for every pair of TOMS that is purchased, another pair will go to a child in need. That was the reason for their recent trip to South Africa. They met up with TOMS to help give out some of the shoes to the children (this current shoe drop is giving 50,000 pairs to kids in Africa). So, of course, I had to get myself some TOMS (since I unfortunately had been unable to join them on the walk, though I really, really wanted to). Also got myself some other goodies:

They’re finally selling V-neck shirts, and I love the design, so I had to get one.

The performance was fabulous, as I’ve come to expect from Hanson. They’re always energetic and entertaining. You can see on their faces that they have a passion for what they’re doing. Zac on the drums is just soooo HAWTTTT, and Taylor on the piano…*melt* And Ike plays one mean guitar.

Only down sides: I was really hoping they would play “Georgia”, but alas, my dream was denied. Also was hoping for a repeat of “Yearbook” live, but a no go to that as well. Oh well, at least I was able to make it to their previous acousitc show, where they played “Yearbook”. I waited 10 years to hear that song live, and I wasn’t disappointed! Oh… A few more down sides, but not Hanson-related so much as crowd related. 1. Someone FARTED!! It’s a normal body function, but man, it’s not nice in such close quarters when it’s that … shall we say fragrant, to put it nicely? >_< 2. A couple next to me kept making out. I mean, come on! OMG! Get a friggin room. No one needs to be seeing that.

Thus ends my Hanson post.

One final thought, H!P related: Berryz Koubou’s new single wins!! After all the talk of C-ute’s Tokaikko Junjou outselling all Berryz single sales ever, Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi goes and beats, Tokaikko, Mikan and all previous Berryz singles in it’s first week! (well, not total sales of Tokaikko and Mikan in the first week, but it beat those two singles first week sales). So go Berryz!!! Omedeto Berryz!! However, it did fail to beat Buono!’s first week sales, but Buono!’s fabulous!!