I’d heard the song, but the video is oddly inspiring and lascivious. I’m also loving the video for Macklemore and Lewis’ Thrift Shop. Good to wake up on the weekend and see that the kids are still dressing up and acting weird.
song
Songified version of second presidential debate
I guess a lot of people liked the macho posturing and faux aggression of the second debate. Me, I prefer the debate to be in song form. What a beautiful alternate reality!
Eurovision song contest will turn you gay!
Last year Azerbaijan won, so they will be this year’s host. Apparently some Azeri terrorists are threatening the “Euro scum” with knives and chemical weapons. This will clearly be a clash of civilizations at the border between West Asia and East Europe. I am hoping gay-ness wins.
Sakura song provides winsome melancholy
I like this sad cherry blossom ballad, in a video that helpfully includes all the words in Japanese and English. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the singer. Maybe some reader knows? As someone else pointed out on the interwebs, this ballad seems to suit the unsettled mood of Japan post-quake.
“I’m perfectly good”: Rihanna’s S&M Video
I am becoming a Rihanna fan. This is from her just released S&M song, whose video will be out soon. The lyrics are part camp and part self-help.
“I may be bad but I’m perfectly good.
There’s sex in the air.
I don’t care, I love the smell of it
Sticks and stones may break my bones
but chains and whips excite me.”
You can hear the song on JustJared’s blog (no relation).
Aulde Lang Syne: Disco & Contempo
Known in the US as *the* new year’s song, in Japan this song gets played whenever any place of business is closing for the day: sento, supermarket, public garden, really anywhere!
Here’s Mariah Carey’s new version.
And the classic Disco version from Salsoul Orchestra (via JoeMyGod).
Sakura music video by Monkey Majik
Glorious Edo-style cherry blossom music video by Canadian/Japanese band Monkey Majik. Catchy tune and amazing music video. Will this be the song of the season?
(Disclosure: I used to hate this band because the foreigners’ Japanese is so much better than mine. Ok, I was jealous. But I *luv* this video).
Another song and lyrics: Squall by Fukuyama Masaharu
I am also learning the lyrics to this song by Fukyama Masaharu. It’s a song written by a woman, and you know that Fukuyama is imagining that she’s singing about him. He’s an over-the-top narcissist, and his voice is lovely.
さっきまでの 通り雨が
ウソみたいにキレイな空
そんなふうに 微笑むから
いつのまにか うれしくなるよ
ちょっと大きなあなたのシャツ
通した袖をつまんでみた 今…
私 恋をしている 哀しいくらい
もう隠せない この切なさは
もっといっしょにいたい ふたりでいたい
叶えて欲しい 夏の憧れ
さがしてた あなただけ…
汗をかいた アイスティーと
撮りすぎたポラロイド写真
あんなふうに ハシャいだから
帰り道は さみしくなるよ
夕焼け染まる駅のホーム
手を振るあなた 遠くなっていく…
私 恋に落ちてる 苦しいくらい
もう隠せない 熱いときめき
ずっとめぐり逢うこと 夢に観てたの
わかって欲しい 夏の憧れ
And I touched the rain
So I need your love
私 恋をしている 恋に落ちてる
もう隠さない 熱いときめき
やっとめぐり逢えたの 夢に観てたの
醒めることない 夏の憧れ
さがしてた あなただけ…
Dance me to the end of love
Leonard Cohen puts sexy back into senior with this song.
Korean boy band posters cause JR Metro pandemonium
A frenzy of cellphone camera wielding ladies, young and “not-so-young,” were going crazy in the Omootesando subway yesterday. I was innocently going from one business meeting to the next when I saw swarms of women excitedly photographing these dewie images of their favorite Korean boy band plastered on the columns outside the fare gates. Two security guards, one with a bright red megaphone, implored them to not obstruct JR Metro passengers.
The band is called Tohoshinki, and they are 5 super-young looking Korean boys who are doing a two day concert at Tokyo Dome entitled “Stand by U.” I was startled when two fans explained that the band has existed for four years. I wondered if the boys, who barely look pubescent now, had started before the age of 10. No, I was assured, they are now in their early 20s. One middle-aged fan was there with her son, who looked mildly embarrassed. The female fans hugged the posters, vamped, and were completely crazed!
Later the same day, I saw a crowd of several hundred Japanese women lined up to see Korean movie star Park Hae Jin making an appearance at Shinjuku’s Kinokuniya bookstore. In both events, not a single male fan was present. I wonder if this female adoration for Korean stars translates into Japanese women romancing or marrying real Koreans. Or is this fantasy merely for “idols” and not for reality? Is it like Boys Love, a fantasy and displacement that is never fulfilled? I *almost* felt sorry for Japanese men.
More photos after the jump.
Tokyo Moe 