Beat Laments The World

A metal-infused take on Asian music & other stuff

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I might as well have another little stab at this topic. This is what it was about. wu-san wanted me to expand on something I’d asked previously:

I f****** wish he’d explore a line he throws up in more detail.

“Would you really listen to this (music) if it wasn’t Japanese?”

Christ, it’s something I always think about, however menacing or impartial it may be.

Would I be listening to J-music if it wasn’t from Japan? In my original response, the 18-year-old me said it was something I find myself pondering about quite often. Nowadays? I no longer think about it. Firstly, it really is of minimal importance. Secondly, I now have (what I feel is) a better answer.

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MorningBerryz recently held a fun giveaway. The premise of it was, in her own words:

If you had just a minute to think about it (no cheating XD!) what five songs would you choose if you were trying to turn a friend onto J~Pop music for the very first time? “The first time”…..can leave such an everlasting impression~*……the mood…..the gentle caresses…………sorry let’s get back to the task @ hand, music え～へ(*≧▽≦)♪！

If you’ve got a minute please share~* your 5 J~Pop songs which you’d play to turn a friend onto some of your favorite music♪♪。

I took part, but I opted not to post my choices here as frankly I wasn’t sure if they were any good. I mean, the objective with these would be not only to introduce but to turn on friends to J-pop, yes?

First of all, I’m almost positive none of these songs would do anything to further any of my real life friends’ taste in J-pop. Whether it’s because my friends are metalheads/post-rockers, or they’re not fans of pop, or because they think they know better, or because they’ve made an (un?)conscious decision to not give a fair chance to little girls music, or because it’s just that the songs would simply sound like uninspired crap to them, the fact is that I doubt any of my friends would hold even a passing interest in J-pop after hearing these tunes. Secondly, even setting aside my real life friends and considering people who’d be a little more receptive to the joys of Asian pop, I was a little unsure if the songs I picked would even appeal to the average music fan of today.

Now, with all that said, I did manage to win second place with my five choices. Hooray! In light of this, I sort of figured that perhaps my picks weren’t all awful after all. Thusly, I’d like to share them with you now. Use them to introduce friends to J-pop or, alternatively, call me crazy and shout at me for picking a bunch of old ass songs you’ve barely even heard of. Without further ado…

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(For the previous lists, see here for the 2008 one and here for the 2007 one.)

Ho ho ho and Merry Christmas to you all! Or, if you don’t celebrate Christmas (or equivalent) then I must ask, “why the shit not?” Alright, granted, the wonderful and magical time we all felt in our childhood got old probably around the time you realized everyone had been blatantly lying to you and that the Santa Claus you thought you knew wasn’t actually Santa Claus, but your shitfaced uncle in a cheap Santa costume and fake beard.

But that’s not the only way to celebrate Christmas. This year, instead of boring yourself with the same old mindless chitchat while eating disgusting food with family members you secretly hate, just do what I do. Say “fuck you” to friends and family, stay home alone, pour yourself a strong vodka coke and watch some goddamn Berryz Koubou videos. Naked.

Now that’s what I call a fun, Tsunku-approved Christmas!

In any case. It’s the end of the year and with the end of the year comes the ranking goodness. Ladies, gentlemen and wota, I believe it’s time to have a look and see at what old Henkka thought was the best H!P had to offer us in 2009.

If I’m not mistaken, this year H!P had a grand total of 116 songs that are eligible for this ranking. That includes all the singles, b-sides, album tracks and cover songs, but not tunes that were already released as a single in 2008 and later on an album this year. That’s 116 songs to choose from. Some are shit, most are quite decent, some were ones that were awesome at first but I’ve long since grown tired of them, and some are shiny, brand new that seem incredible now but might sound like uninspired crap to my ears in a month’s time. Still, I tried to do my best and be honest with myself and with you. This is what I came up with.

Starting with the honorable mentions.

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