(the) Road to the Deep East

Girl Next Door Debuts... It's not the talk about my neighborhood who gonna debut as a singer, but 'Girl Next Door' is the new group from avex trax, which consists of one 22 year-old vocal girl from Osaka, Chisa, and two other 29 year-old guitarist and keyboardist.

Some news shows and news papers are introducing the 'miracle' this group showed even before their official debut in September. The preview of their debut song, 'Guzen no kakuritsu(偶然の確率)' has already been available at some music related Websites such as Yahoo music, and this preview made a record of 2 million views in 2 months. And at a mobile phone Website, 'Mobage-town', this song got #1 on daily charts.

(article and picture from Sanspo)
http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/080717/gnj0807170435016-n1.htm
(official site)(volume warning)
http://girlnextdoor.jp/index.html

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... Although these news claim that 'all generations from teenagers to 40s are talking about this group fanatically!!', honestly speaking, I hadn't heard of 'Girl Next Door' until this morning. But this is the Japanese mass media's style. and the way avex loves very much. So I won't have to think about my aging too much.

In fact, it looks avex is really desperate to promote this group. This Girl Next Door is positioned as a part of the 20th memorial project of the company, and its president 'Max' Matsuura Masto produces this group by himself. According to Matsuura, it is after 5 years that he joins to the project himself from the selection and arrange of the songs. (his blog)

But will this group becomes the next big star?

I don't think so. When I listened to the preview first, the first thing occurred to my mind was: 'The ghost from 90s.' As Max Matsuura admits, its the origin(ganso, 元祖) of avex sounds, Euro beat. And It's sure the vocal girl is not attractive sexually and objectively, just like Koda Kumi. I can't imagine the person who love this sound and this group in 2008 although there are such a lot of new and attractive J-POPs like Greeeen or Perfume or Maximum Hormone.

The title of their debut single 'Guzen no Kakuritsu' can be translated as 'probability of happening' literary, or 'probability of miracle' freely from the context.

As Max Matsuura says, this song may be new to high school students who were still babies or not hadn't been born during the first Euro beat boom in 90s. And just like some European coutries are crazy about v-kei sounds in Japanese 90s, the sound of this group may become popular in these countries with some anime tie-ups.

But my conclusion is that the probability that they can sell as many as its preview's download counts is less than 0.0005%.

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I'm not sure why avex who has a lot of young of talented singers and musicians dare to promote this new group of boring old-fashioned music in 2008. But when we look at thi sgroup as the 20th anniversary memorial band, this group becomes highly suggestive.

Not only Euro-beat sound which reminded me of Every Little Thing 10 years ago, as you can see from the clip, there is the influence from eroticism of Hamasaki or Koda, or indirect quotation from Britteny or Aguilera. So, musically and visually, this group is the combination of the 90s and 00s.

And the career the vocal girl, Chisa, is very interesting. Just like Mochida Kaori from ELT or Hamsaki Ayumi used to be, she was a minor, or underground idol who belonged to a group named MA-KISS.

http://wc2007.info/dance/index.html
http://ameblo.jp/ma-kiss/entry-10032895037.html
Find a hopeful girls from a minor idols, and makes her a star... this is also the avex's traditional strategy.

So, Max Matsuura may be just trying to look back his glorious 20 year history with this group. The old human beings become, the more foundy they think of the past. This group may be just his reminisce, then we shouldn't put a word in.

Perfume's latest single love the world becomes #1 on Oricon Daily charts, today on July 9.


Now we know we are living in 'Perfume era' after idol ice age, and we had already experienced the platinum hit of 'Game', so it is not as amazing as one year ago, but it is still the first time that Perfume's sinlge was placed #1 on Oricon. (Baby cruising love was #3).

This single has already sold 21,000 copies on the first day, 1.8 times as many as #2 MaximumHormone, so it's 90% sure that this single will also become #1 on weekly charts.

And at #3, we can see the name of Berrys Kobou. I don't think Perfume's audience, especially the ones who listen to 'edge' will be interested in this group, but it seems thanks to Perfume's success, the idol pop industry as a whole revived a little. (* I admit this Ike 'Ike Monkey dance' is a kind of good one as old-school Hello-Pro song, though),

But wait. Where's Aoyama Thelma? This female singer sold 400,000 CD copies and 600,000 downloads with the hit of 'Sobani irune' also released her first single after the hit of 'Sobani irune' and the album, 'Diary.'

This single from Thelma, 'Nando Mo' was #8.

If we compared with her singles before the hit of 'Sobani irune', it can be still regarded as a hit, but when I bought the single at Tower Record Japan, this single was displayed and promoted as well as Perfume. And contrary to 'love the world', Thelma's new work was tied up with some TV commercial. So, for the staffs from Universal Music, this result must be a disappointing one. 'Nando Mo' can be translated, 'Again and Again', but it looks she couldn't repeat her miracle of ' Sobani irune' again and again.

But why?

Well, actually, I also bought this 'Nando Mo' and listened to this single yesterday.

1. Nando Mo
2. Love
3. I ☆ You (I star you)
4. Mirai yosouzu (cover of Dreams Come True)


My conclusion is... the songs were not good.

Both 'Nando Mo' and 'Love' are 6.5 kote songs to me, just unimpressive ballads, which people can never be irritated but also never excited with. And as for the cover of Dreams Come True, 'Mirai Yosouzu', the arrange is not startling and I felt as if I'm listening the karaoke of somebody.

The only good song included in this single is #3, ' I ☆You' . This song is from Makai who penned 'Garden of Love', and in the intro of this song, the arranged hook of 'Garden of Love' is used. It's like a sequel of Garden of Love, and I liked this song. (Rating: 8.5 kote).

But 'I ☆You' is just the second coupling of this single, so the audience who was disappointed at 'Nando Mo' and didn't buy this single couldn't notice the existence of this hidden masterpiece.

According to some sources, After the hit of 'Sobani irune', Thelma's mother worried that Thelma may become 'Ippatsu Ya(一発屋)', the artist who just ends up with only one smashing hit. Thelma laughed and said 'Can be.(かもね）' then, but it seems the percentage that Thelma becomes 'Ippatsu Ya' shoot up a little bit.

Maybe what she should do is to stop break up with 3rd Productions and stop singing ordinary ballads, and reorganize the succeeded tag team again. (Soulja, Douji-T, MAKAI.) and sing more characteristic song to identify her own music.

To be frank, when I listened to Perfume's new song 'love the world' from its preview few weeks ago, I just thought, 'Polyrhythm reloaded', and I wasn't intrigued so much and thought I might not buy this single.

However, just days before, when I listened to leaked preview of its coupling, 'edge' days before, I was excited, and felt the exactly same emotion when I listened to 'the electro world' 2 years ago. It was like, “Isn't this the masterpiece of perfume of all?”, and I'd been waiting to listen to this song from CD quality audio.

And now, today on July 8th, finally, the day has come!!


(track list)
1. love the world
2. edge
3. love the world -original instrumental-
4. edge -extended mix-

(*limited edition includes music video of love the world'


Well, to tell the my rating for 'edge' first, it is 10.0 kote.

MANKOTE dayon!!

This is a really awesome song. Our man in Shibuya Roppongi, Nakata Yasutaka made it again.

It becomes a redundant explanation, but I have to repeat. One of the greatness of this most talented Japanese music producer is, he doesn't separate idol pop and other works.

It is very contrary to other music producers working in idol pops. Even if he or she was an actually a famous music producer, when the producer produces the songs for idols, strangely, they think of the customers who listen to the song and change their original style. Weird chorus for chants, ,bizarre rhythm intermezzo for wotagei.

I have to admit, my hero before Yasutaka, a man initials J.N, who used to be a producer of an idol group and became one of representative Japanese song writer for the works from the famous artist which belongs to the same agency as the idol group(*1), was this type.

However, Yasutaka doesn't set any barriers to separate his own world (capsule, MEG, etc) and idol pop group(Perfume). According to some interviews with him, he intentionally doesn't care about what kind of people are listening to the music, and is enjoying the situation created by the collision of music and the audience.

(*1) In a nutshell, the producer of 'Lovers Again' from EXILE.

(spoiler & long entry warning)

Every oppais existing in this world has the time to be owned by somebody. And now one pair precious boobs are going to be owned by a man.

Megumi, 26 year-old actress of 94cm boobs, who was a very popular gravure idol 10 years ago marries a vocal of Dragon Ash, Furuya Kenji(KJ).

According to media reported, Megumi has already been in the 3rd months of pregnancy. So, these precious Japanese national treasures will be used as the God designed few month later.



It's a very sad news, but inevitable tragedy for all J-boob lovers. And another interesting point of this news is how media reported about her husband, Furuya Kenji's occupation.

Sankei (MSN) reports, “Vocal of popular hip-hop group, Dragon Ash”.

Hip-hop group?

Well, certainly, for a certain period, Dragon Ash had been a hip-hop group. They released a song titled 'I Love hip-hop' and their representative song 'Grateful Days' sold over 1.5 millions of copies in Japan, and even today, it is the most famous hip-hop song in Japan.

*Some might have recognized them for the theme of the movie 'Battle Royale'.

However, Dragon Ash fans and music fans know Dragon Ash is not hip-hop group anymore. After a painful tragedy, they changed their style, and they are more closer to latin or rock recently. KJ, Furuya Kenji doesn't rap anymore, just sings with a guitar in his hands.
(reference: their latest single, Velvet Touch)

To summarize what happened to Dragon Ash, well, they became too popular and were attacked by other existing hip-hop groups. In 2002, King Giddra, the group ZEEBRA belongs to, released an album including '公開処刑 feat. Boy Ken' (koukai shokei = public execution) and disrespected Furuya.

"Lyric Pakuri(copy), Flow Pakuri, Stage deno furumai mo cho pakuri (the act on the stage is also pakuri)."
"U LUV HIP HOP but HIP HOP Don't LUV YOU"


As you can see the clip from 'Grateful Days', the person who sings this lyrics had been a close friend of Furuya and they made the million hit together. It must be a huge shock for Furuya. In hip-hop world, the person who was disrespected usually creates an 'answer song' and revenge the enemy, but Furuya didn't, because he'd respected ZEEBRA very much. Instead of making an answer song, this group left from hip-hop world, slightly. (*1)

Hence, it is very ironical that some media still call Dragon Ash hip-hop group. I guess not only Sankei, many TV news or other news papers will report about Megumi's husband's occupation is a hip-hop artist. It must be a pain for Furuya that he is reported as such.

Maybe the most adequate word is 'mixture group' but maybe there aren't so many Japanese journalists who know this word, or they thought common readers can't understand what 'ミクスチャー'(mixture) is.

*It looks Asahi and Nikkan had already sensed that Dragon Ash is not hip-hop group, and they just report 'the vocal of Dragon Ash', though.

Anyway, now Furuya got a wife, got boobs which almost all Japanese men and some men in the world envy and hanker for. It's the new start of his greatest days. She will make him happy when the sky is gray calling him 'Darling, Darling.' I wish Megumi supports and encourage her husband by all means, and Furuya regains the courage and pride to fight against hip-hop again.

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(*1)
Personally, I think the loss of Dragon Ash was the great loss of Japanese hip-hop world. Certainly, Furuya's rap was pakuri of ZEEBRA as he criticized himself, but he was a talented track maker of a certain sampling sense.

And after this incident, Japanese young hip-hop musicians are daunted by ZEEBRA and other musicians of old generation, and began to create more moderate, 'Kayokyoku(popular music)' song. (Rip Slyme, Kick the Can Crew(KREVA), Ketsumeishi... etc.) I love this Kayokyoku J-hip-hop, but after Dragon Ash left hip-hop, hip-hop of traditional style has never been popular again. I think this is the another loss.

After the debut of 'black enka singer' JERO, it looks enka industry revived a little. Last month, another Japanese enka singer made his debut with a single 'Roppingi –Giroppon-', and this song became number 1 hit at Oricon Enka charts surpassing Jero's Umiyuki after 4 months.

(clip from youtube)


This Enka singer named Nezumi Senpai is characterized by his unique past career as well as the unique lyrics of this debut song. Amazingly, before he became a singer, he was an porn movie actor and director.(AV danyuu, kantoku.)

This fact that he was an AV actor had already been reported and some people had already known about it, but Shukan Bunshun revealed that the works he directed was NOT the usual one in which a man and beautiful woman just make love.

For example, ”Koumon Suki Suki! Anal Mama!!” - literary, the one some mothers challenges to anal sex.
http://www.crosscross.jp/works/-/detail/=/cid=crpd122/
The worst one is “Anta AV deteta desho?” (Didn't you appear on AV?), the one in which av company visits the house of an ex-AV actress and threat her saying that they will tell her past career to families and friends to rape her.
http://www.crosscross.jp/works/-/detail/=/cid=crpd105/

After the hit of his debut single, he is invited to a lot of TV shows, and fans and Nezumi Senpai himself are expecting to appear on Kohaku this year. But seeing his past career, Gendai Net concludes, “it will be impossible.”

(article from Gendai.)
http://news.www.infoseek.co.jp/entertainment/music/story/03gendainet07025422/

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I agree that Nezumi Senpai won't be invited to Kohaku, but I it won't be because of his hardcore porn. Japanese people are very sensitve to now and present crime, but generous about the past ones. Even in the roster of last year, there are a drag addict and one plagiarist, and one yakuza's friend. It won't be so odd that one ex-hardcore-AV director joins to the list.

The problem is his music. Although his debut single is categorized in enka section by Oricon, but apparently, his music is not enka, and he is not a good singer. I say, it's wack enka.

Contrarily, of course, some still criticizes that he doesn't have a spirit as an enka singer, but JERO's umiyuki is perfect enka, and people will agree that he is a good enka singer of ill enka skill. That's why Japanese people accepted this gaijin singer. So, if NHK has to select whether JERO or Nezumi Senpai, they will choose JERO.

In addition, this year, there are a lot of other new singers who are eligible to be invited to Kohaku. Perfume, Superfly, Aoyama Thelma... and so on. Especially, Thelma belongs to the same record company as Nezumi Senpai, Universal Music Japan. It is said the seats for the Kohaku are allocated to each record companies, so I think Universal will use its right to promote Thelma. (And Universal has another hit-maker which hasn't Kohaku yet. GReeeeN. )

So my conclusion is, unless Nezumi Senpai's Roppongi becomes million hit, he will be just be performing at TV Tokyo's enka show on New Year's Eve.