Posts Tagged morning musume
Top 10 Hello! Project Songs 1997-2005
A few posts ago I stated irritatingly punctuated J-pop mega-entity Hello! Project puts out about 100 songs a year. Since I made this statement on the internet and no one corrected me, it must be true. And yet, it’s more like a number I just pulled out of my ass. There’s no easy way out of this paradox. It’s going to involve…counting. Yes, no one else has counted the number of songs these people have put out each year. Worse than that, no else has made a list of just the songs for each year. I will have to look up each release and…count the songs. Because records are not episodes of long-cancelled tv shows, wikipedia is not always a help here. Luckily I’ve found a new independent fan wiki (and others) to help with this pointless task.
[NOTE: I’m only counting original songs, not covers, “album versions”, remixes or re-releases (lotta those). Permission to double-check: granted. Just keep in mind this is not an exact science and also that life is worth living. Gambatte.]
97: MH: 2 MM: 1 = 3
98: MH:15 MM:14 TP:2 YN:6 = 29
99: CN:2 CT:4 MH:4 MM:14 PM:2 TC:6 TP:11 YN:2 = 45
00: CN:1 CT:4 MH:5 MK:4 MM:14 NA: 1 PM:2 SD:2 SG:4 TC:2 TP:4 YM:2 YN:2 47
01: AM:8 CN:2 CT:5 MG:3 MH:4 MK:4 MM:5 mm:9 PM:4 SD:5 SG:5 TP:4 YM:2 YN:4 = 64
02: AM:13 CT:3 GM:1 MG:8 MH:2 MM:17 mm:16 MF:8 MK:6 PM:3 TP:2 SG:4 YN:2 YM:2 = 87
03: AA:2 AM:13 CT:4 RM:2 OA:2 PM:1 MF:7 MG:10 MK:13 MM:14 mm:23 MO:2 SG:4 YM:2 YN:3ZYX:2 = 104
04: AM:15 BK:16 CT:2 EM:1 KI:14 MG:10 MK:14 MM:14 mm:5 MO:1 MS:1 NA:11 NN:2 NR:1 SG:3 UU:4 VU:2 YM:4 YN:7 = 124
05: AM:9 BK:14 DD:1 KI:10 MG:11 MM:8 NA:4 SG:3 UU:11 VU:18 = 91
～ AA: Aa! | AM: Aya Matsuura | BK: Berryz Koubou | CT: Country Musume| CN: Coconuts Musume | DD: DEF.DIVA | EM: Ecomoni | GM: Gomattou | KI: Kaori Iida | MF: Miki Fujmoto | MG: Maki Goto | MH: Michiyo Heike | MK: Melon Kinenbi | NA: Natsumi Abe | MM: Morning Musume | mm: MiniMoni/MiniHams | MO: MM Otomegumi | MS: MM Sakuragumi | NN: Nochiura Natsumi | NR: Natsumi Abe & Rika Ishikawa | OA: Okeisan & Abe Natsumi | PM: Pucchimoni | RM: Romans | SD: Sheki Dol | SG: [shuffle groups] | TC: Taiyo & Ciscomoon/T&C Bomber | TP: Tanpopo | UU: W | VU: v-u-den | YM: Yuki Maeda | YN: Yuko Nakazawa | ZYX: ZYX ～
That all took at least 5 hours. But I was kinda right, so, clearly, I’m not wasting my life here.
Anyway, we can see that things started off simply for the H!P but by 2005 it was out of control. And this was before °C-ute, S/Mileage and a number of groups with meaningless mathematically notated names. These groups made a lot of songs and many were great or at least catchy and/or “fun”. Were some of these songs terrible? You bet. Saying that every H!P song is great isn’t just drinking the Kool-aid, it’s trying to eat the paper cup. No matter how much you like Kool-aid the entire package is not digestible.
Now, I like the early stuff. It’s kinda cheesy, kinda wrong…whatever. It hits the right notes emotionally, if not technically. Before the dawn of autotune, voice lessons and the better singers that would eventually come (and leave) H!P, it was an enjoyable but quaint operation. But what the group is rightfully known for is batshit maximalism. This didn’t really happen until their 8th single LOVE Machine in 1999 and to lesser extent the followup Koi no Dance Site in early 2000.
So that knocks of a couple years. I’m also knocking off those two songs cause everybody reading this already knows them (I just linked to them). And the videos are pretty bad, right? Worse than dated, they seem like they’re ten years older than they are. The success of these songs is what got them the budget for their best videos. The video shouldn’t count, but something’s gotta count. Out of a total of 594 songs I can only pick 10. Also this is the internet. It’s a blog post. I’m gonna post the videos. But I tried not to let it sway me too much. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari, for example, is hard to defend as a song.
A lot of songs by the other groups hold up tho. Tanpopo, Pucchi Moni and the Otome/Sakuragumi splinter groups did some of my favorite songs. But were those songs better than Momusu’s Big Singles? I have to say no. Because I already made the list and I can’t spend anymore time on this. It’s killing me. Literally. Halfway through counting the 2004 singles they had to attach an IV. They’re real nice to me here. But understandably worried. I worry more about them; I suspect they’re starting to take AKB48 seriously. Even the thought is unbearable.
If you’re looking to buy, all of the songs below are on the very nicely packaged ALL SINGLES COMPLETE double disc. If you’re looking to explore beyond that into the other groups you want the “Petit Best” comps.
But that way lies madness. And some good songs. But now, I present to you:
The Top 10 Hello! Project Songs from 1999-2005 which are all Morning Musume Songs but not Love Machine or Koi no Dance Site Because That’s Too Easy and the Videos are Not Very Good and This Is the Internet, But Let’s Stick to The Songs That Are Actually Good Songs, In Alphabetical Order:
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“AS FOR ONE DAY” [2003]
-
“Do it! Now” [2002]
“Koko ni Iruzee!” -
“Iroppoi Jirettai” [2005]
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“Osaka Koi no Uta” [2005]
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“Ren’ai Revolution 21” [2000]
[repost] The Pre-Chorus
Oh shit. You know what? I’m gonna repost something from my old blog. You could’ve guessed that one from the title.
But you know what else?
When I offhandendly responded to people’s offhand comparisons of PSY’s Gangnam Style to LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem, I said PSY was a better singer and that LMFAO’s chorus was, in comparison, “weak”. I think I went too far.
In my mind, it was this:
vs. this:
No contest, right? But that ain’t the chorus. This is:
Ehhh…that’s like maybe a tie. Maybe not even. If we’re strictly comparing choruses, LMFAO’s contains more of a melody, even if they aren’t belting it out.
But it reminded me….do you have any idea what I’m talking about? I’ll get to that. Because I got to it before, of course:
I mentioned a couple times my love for the pre-chorus in J-pop. Maybe nobody else thinks about it or is sure what I mean. Maybe there’s nothing that special about J-pop’s use of the pre-chorus, I just haven’t noticed it as much in other music. But I have a theory Japan is onto something with the pre-chorus. Creating and following an opposite trend than that of Western pop, where the chorus has become the only significant melody, J-pop sometimes de-emphasizes the chorus. Along with preserving melodic verses, the pre-chorus is strengthened, possibly becoming the most memorable part of the composition.
Or maybe it’s series of interesting flukes, whatever. Let’s pick apart some songs.
。。。。。
This is probably the first song I really noticed for the pre-chorus:
GAM | LU LU LU
[single]
INTRO: 0:00~0:17
VERSE: 0:18~0:47
PRE-CHORUS: 0:48~1:05
CHORUS: 1:06~1:41
BREAK: 1:41~1:54
VERSE: 1:54~2:24
PRE-CHORUS: 2:24~2:42
CHORUS: 2:43~3:23
BREAK/SOLO: 3:23~3:36
CHORUS: 3:37~4:17
OUTRO: 4:18~4:41
BoA makes things more interesting with a pre-chorus longer than the verse:
BoA | Bad Drive
[b-side to Sweet Impact]
INTRO: 0:00~0:10
CHORUS: 0:10~0:25
VERSE: 0:26~0:40
PRE-CHORUS: 0:40~0:57
CHORUS: 0:58~1:14
BREAK: 1:14~1:17
VERSE: 1:18~1:32
PRE-CHORUS: 1:32~1:49
CHORUS: 1:50~2:05
BREAK/SOLO: 2:05~2:19
PRE-CHORUS: 2:20~2:39
CHORUSx2: 2:40~3:11
OUTRO: 3:11~3:31
H&MC complicates things with multiple bridges here, but the difference is clear:*
[EDIT: There are 2 bridges and 2 choruses.]
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR | EARTH
[from ROCK PIT]
INTRO: 0:00~0:17
CHORUS1: 0:18~0:38
VERSE: 0:38~1:15
PRE-CHORUS: 1:16~1:37
CHORUS2pt1: 1:37~1:57
CHORUS1: 1:56~2:06
VERSE: 2:07~2:24
PRE-CHORUS: 2:24~2:45
CHORUSpt1: 2:45~3:06
CHORUSpt2: 3:07~3:14
BRIDGE: 3:14~3:25
BRIDGE2/SOLO: 3:25~3:44
CHORUSpt1: 3:45~4:04
CHORUSpt2: 4:05~4:22
CHORUS1/OUTRO: 4:22~4:48
*not really this one was tricky.
。。。。。
Finally, Momusu gets down with some GODZILLA PRE-CHORUS, ohmygoddamn:
[This is how I used to write apparently. There are also 2 bridges in this song that are only slightly different, but the first bridge is almost like a pre-pre-chorus (but it only happens like that the first time—the bridge is also two distinct parts, but the parts are never separated so there’s no need to label it that way.) It’s undeniable the pre-chorus is the most important part of the song.]
Morning Musume | Resonant Blue
[from Platinum 9]
INTRO: 0:00~0:08
CHORUS: 0:08~0:16
BREAK: 0:17~0:19
VERSE: 0:20~0:36
CHORUS: 0:36~0:45
BREAK: 0:44~0:46
VERSE: 0:46~1:01
BRIDGE1: 1:01~1:28
PRE-CHORUS: 1:28~2:04
CHORUS: 2:04~2:13
BREAK: 2:13~2:16
VERSE: 2:16~2:32
CHORUS: 2:32~2:40
BREAK: 2:41~2:42
VERSE: 2:42~2:58
BRIDGE2: 2:58~3:22
BREAK/SOLO: 3:22~3:46
PRE-CHORUS: 3:46~4:22
CHORUSx2: 4:23~4:38
OUTRO: 4:39~4:52
。。。。。
Here’s a newer song I found with another kind of structure. There’s a pre-chorus but it’s not the catchiest or most important part of the song, it’s just a drama builder. The chorus is most important, but there’s a fake-out, what I’m going to call a “false chorus”.
Morning Musume | Aisare Sugiru Koto wa Nai no Yo
[b-side to Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game]
INTRO: 0:00~0:03
FALSE CHORUS: 0:03~0:16
BREAK: 0:17~-0:30
VERSE: 0:31~0:54
FALSE CHORUS: 0:55~1:08
PRE-CHORUS: 1:08~1:23
CHORUS: 1:24~1:51
BREAK: 1:51~1:53
FALSE CHORUS: 1:54~2:07
BREAK: 2:07~2:21
VERSE: 2:22~2:45
FALSE CHORUS: 2:45~2:58
PRE-CHORUS: 2:59~3:14
CHORUS: 3:14~3:42
BREAK/SOLO: 3:42~3:58
CHORUS: 3:59~4:27
OUTRO: 4:28~4:49
Man, that is so great when that comes around again after the first chorus. “Remember when you thought this was the chorus? Innocent times, two minutes ago, wasn’t it?” That would be great if that was the lyrics, in theory. This could be the last great MM b-side, but let’s not get into that. I thought about breaking down the LMFAO song but listening to it just now by itself, it just sounds like the soundtrack to the video. Its hard to imagine the video not being made first. The song seems to have a complex structure, but it more like they threw as many parts of songs together as possible however they would fit. Which is entertaining overall, and if you’re a DJ in a dance club, it gives you a lot of options to cut to, but it’s not a great pop song, structure-wise.
Maybe I should do a post of other Western pop songs with complex structures that aren’t immediately apparent. Usually the most innovative structures I hear are in Hip-hop and Metal. And indie post-rock whatever, but that’s being self-consciously weird most of the time. I don’t wanna look like some kind of nerd. %
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