…I am just about shitting myself here
Posted in Hello!Project, Hype, Music show reviews on October 18th, 2008 14:06 by HenkkaTags: aya matsuura, hideaki tokunaga, ikimono gakari, music fair21
And you will, too. Just when you thought Aya Matsuura or Ikimono Gakari couldn’t get any better?
That’s right, your eyes aren’t failing you. It’s Ikimono Gakari + Aya Matsuura performing the same song… AT THE SAME TIME. I’m baffled. And not just any goddamn song, it’s Sotsugyou motherfuckin’ Shashin!:
Yeah, there’s also some random dude in there singing with them but try not to mind him. His voice is pretty fuckin’ sweet anyway so who cares! Consider him a background singer who got confused for a second as to where he’s supposed to be. For me the novelty of the camera switching to Ayaya to Kiyoe and back just doesn’t wear off. That’s goddamn amazing to me! Their voices fit unexpectedly well together, too!
But that’s not all Ikimono and Ayaya (+ Random Dude) did together! Here’s another one:
It’s weird how nobody made a big deal out of this when it originally aired on 09/01/2007. Maybe no one thinks this is the most awesome collaboration ever like I do? I dunno, I can’t tell with you crazy bastards. Also featured in this show was an awesome performance of Natsuzora Graffiti. Kiyoe was on FIRE! She’s so hot. Check it out!
Included also is an amazing performance of Egao, as expected of Ayaya and this song. I dare say it’s one of the best TV performances of this one I think. If you’re a fan of her, you’ll love this. Really, she’s grown to be an INSANE vocalist as this performance will prove. Completely flawless and filled with emotion.
As a bonus, here’s Sotsugyou Shashin included in its entirety. I figured most of you bastards probably didn’t care for the guy, but for me I find Random Dude’s (real name Hideaki Tokunaga) voice really sweet so here you go. This one has around two minutes of his sexy voice before we get to the Ayaya + Iki goodness.
By the way, speaking of Random Dude… when it was finally time for his solo song, thanks to his song choice it quickly became evident to me that it might not just be his voice alone that is flamboyantly gay:
Oh, and there’s Kiyoe again surprising me. Today I discovered my parents’ cable TV has NHK in the best possible way. My mother suddenly called me and asked “Have you seen this channel?”, and when I got there, I saw Kiyoe in a 32″ screen. And it was beautiful. (they were playing Planetarium in Music Japan)
Anyway, how did you find this all the way back from last year? Great collaboration, of course. I’d choose some other Random Dude, but whatever, it’s Ayaya + Kiyoe… By the way, the “I’m just a woman” (“koi ni ochite – fall in love”, I think) is a cover, he covers a lot of songs originally by female singers. I’m not a big fan, the only song I’ve heard and liked was Kowarekake no Radio (this song is originally his), you should look for that if you haven’t heard it.
@ HarimaKenji: Oh wow! That’s damn sweet man! :O That’s awesome man! :D Congrats for getting Japanese TV, hahaha.
Actually I found this through registering on a Ikimono Gakari messageboard (to get Iki guitar tabs) and I randomly ventured to the download section… and there it was! As random as that! I agree though, it’s an awesome collaboration. I quite like the current Random Dude really, his voice is really sweet! And yeah I know it’s a cover, I believe someone on Uta Doki did that before too..? Yeah, I should really check out that song of his you recommended since I really liked his voice!
I’d be happier if it were TBS or Asahi… the only thing I found that’s interesting is Music Japan, but well, it’s not really that interesting. They usually have some weird artists and almost no talking parts. I prefer programs like Utaban and Music Fighter, more talk than songs. Music Fighter mostly. Utaban is still funny with some guests, especially Arashi and SMAP, but they lost their way in general. Music Fighter is just brilliant. I didn’t watch too many Music Fighters, but the ones I did were great… Some programs I remember: 2 different ones with Berryz, L’arc~en~Ciel, Ikimono Gakari, Morning Musume (Resonant Blue), and my favorite Ayaya interview ever. The Ayaya one I’ve seen way too many times, and you probably did too, because it was subbed and available on H!O.
I don’t remember Koi ni Ochite ~fall in love~, but Yossie did Kowarekake no Radio. I think it was Yossie, she always got great stuff to sing on Uta Doki. Kowarekake no Radio, Single Bed, Love Story wa Totsuzen Ni (Kazumasa Oda), Mou koi nante shinai (Noriyuki Makihara), Cherry (with Rika) (Spitz), Get Wild (with Rika)…
Great watching these clips again, it was this show that introduced me to H!P.
Had been a Ikimono Gakari fan for a while when I stumbled across the wonderful Ayaya =)
Kinda ignored her the first time I saw it I kinda passed her off as some 30something year old lady, but as I watched M and Sotsugyou Shashin over and over again, I understood I had to know more about Ayaya.
When I noticed she was about the same age as me, it further sparked my interest.
And from there on, I’ve been a fan of Aya and most of H1P. =)
Enough of this boring rant, keep up the good work Henkka.
@ ClariZZa: This very show introduced you to H!P? Wow! :o And you were a fan of Iki before H!P? That’s cool. Yeah, Ayaya may seem like a grandma compared to the youthful Iki… interesting thing though is that she’s actually over two years YOUNGER than Kiyoe, and 4 years younger than the guys! :O But yeah, it’s very refreshing in this day and age to see someone actually getting into H!P through Ayaya and not C-ute or Berryz Koubou!
Thanks ClariZZa! I’ll try. :)
To be honest, it was Minimoni that introduced me to H!P. With that ” Dramatic Prairie Dog” from a TV show they participated in. But it was first after I discovered Ayaya that I found out about Minimoni and the rest of H!P.
Up untill then that prairie dog GIF was just taken from some weird random Japanese TV show.
Got introduced to Ikimono Gakari when I visited a friend, he was watching Bleach (the anime).
Hanabi was the ending song, and from there on I started exploring the wonderful world of J-pop.
The age differences surprised me a bit too, first time I searched for Ayaya PVs, I had to double check if it was the same Matsuura Aya singing Dokki Doki! Love Mail =)
The H!P Kids haven’t really triggered my interest, only recently that I have even bothered to watch their PVs, shows, interviews+++.
Mainly been the older generations that have interested me, guess Utaban, Music Fighter, HEYx3 and similar shows have had an important role there.
@ ClariZZa: Ahh, the Dramatic Prairie Dog video. :D Out of all the “parodies”/remixes of it, my favorite has always been this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54vtXRI32MQ
My introduction to H!P was one half of Minimoni too. For me it was the Happy version of the Robo Kiss PV by W.
Bleach is actually how I first heard Ikimono Gakari’s music, too. I decided to download the associated opening/ending themes after hearing them on the show and yeah. Since then I stopped watching though (I DID manage to last until ep 116 though!) because, quite frankly, it’s not a good anime by any means. :P
On a somewhat related note, I consider Dokki Doki! Love Mail one of Ayaya’s best!
Oh! The way you and me started getting into H!P is very similar then. For me I only really cared about the older Morning Musume generations first, too. I couldn’t really even get into the newer music, let alone the members. Old Utabans and the sort was definitely the most interesting stuff. Kinda weird how both you and me got into it first by enjoying the Golden Era stuff whereas it seems most of the newer fans just prefer the current incarnation of MM and don’t even care about finding out about the history and they find hearing the older stuff performed at concerts a chore… kind of sad actually that many of the newer fans will never know what MM used to be like!
GREAT! Thanks for this. I’m always scrounging around sites looking for performances that I’ve never seen. This was fantastic. I was put off as soon as I saw the guy standing there. All I could think of was “Oh no another Uta Doki where they put some old dude with one or two of the girls just so he doesn’t fade away and turn to dust”. But like you, I was pleasantly surprized by his voice. I really didn’t expect a voice in that pitch coming out of him but it souded fine. And I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of Aya singing Egao it being one of my two favorite Aya songs (the othe being “The Last Night”). She’s always had a cute voice but she’s turning into a very accomplished singer. Keep these rarities coming. This made my day. Thanks!!!
vampirehunterd: Hey no problem, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I was just as happy to see this as you were! :O Still can hardly believe an Ayaya/Ikimono Gakari collaboration actually happened… Oh yeah, some of those Uta Doki old geezers were unbearable but there were one or two there too who had nice voices! I mean, Tsunku came over at least. He counts! Egao is indeed an awesome track and, like you said, definitely among her best. I don’t think I’ll be getting tired of it either! You know I’ve always thought she was an awesome singe but man, now she’s quickly growing to be just out-of-this-world-awesome. She’s always a pleasure to watch/listen to for me!
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@Henkka:
Dokki Doki! is a great song indeed, especially live.
The discussion about popular yet awfull anime, I do not dare touch that topic.
So much to say, so little time and wrong place to start such a discussion/rant. =)
New Vs Old H!P, to me the newer generations feels scripted and kinda fake. And it seems like alot of the girls are there just to make the groups more than a duo or trio. UFA/Tsunku are probably partly to blame for this, since there are some severely neglected talent in the currrent Wonderful Hearts lineup.
I find this rather annoying, And its a trend in all of the 3 main acts of Wonderful Hearts.
This goes for Elder Clubt to a certain degree as well. But since most of them are soloist. Its less of an issue, at least for me. =)
Old MM also had girls we would have liked to see more of, but compared to current situation it was a lot better, in my opinion.
I’ll just stop here, before I derail this comment section any further, not to mention the huge wall of text I could manage to produce on this topic =)
So back on topic, Aya and Kiyoe ftw=)
Weird coincidence how we stumbled upon H!P and Ikimono Gakari in similar ways.
Again, keep up the good work =)
@ClariZZA: Yeah, to sum it all up, I <3 Aya & Kiyoe!
You could produce a wall of text on this eh… maybe you should consider making a blog. :)
Wow! Aya Matsuura is amazing!
@geek: Very true! Performances like these remind me why she’s my no. 1 fave.
@ I loved Aya Matsuura the first time I saw her music videos. But she has gotten better through the years. It’s so easy to feel her songs through her voice.