Valentine's Day Special
첫키스 (First Kiss) - Ajoo (아주)
I've been looking forward to Ajoo's debut single; there's been a lot of hype about it. He's signed to the same label as Younha, and I believe that she is his teacher as well. Supposedly he is a very good singer, dancer, model, etc. First Kiss is a fairly upbeat song. Though the energetic accompaniment pretty much overlaps his voice, it does back off in parts and the chorus is very catchy. I think it's more the song itself than Ajoo's voice that makes this song good ... but it's so catchy ... O_o XP Anyways, definitely worth a listen. If you scroll down to the "my picks" section, I've uploaded the other song in this single. (By the way, some random eyecandy for you: here's a picture of Ajoo.)
Love Sweets - AILE
I love Aile. <3 This is an awesome song by them, the vocalist hits some very high notes. Not too overly-oshare but still keeping the roots of the style. I love the guitar solo too, it's quite simple but has some very nice melodies. Highly recommended.
Forever Love -acapella version- - Tohoshinki
Not a big fan of Tohoshinki's ballads, but Forever Love is one of the few that I really enjoyed listening to. While still a tad generic, I really like this acapella version. I find it shows their voices nicely, though I could have heard more of Yunho. I especially love the first verse of this song. They manage to capture a lot more emotion in this song, something that I find lacks in some of their other ballads. I especially love Xiah Junsu in this song, I find that his verses are the ones that stand out the most.
Aishiteru - Base Ball Bear
A very good band that I think is slowly gaining more and more popularity. Aishiteru is a fairly light rock song that I really enjoyed listening to. By the way, just in case you didn't already know this, "aishiteru" means "I love you" in Japanese. I especially like the female back-up vocals, they add a nice balance to the song. The main vocals are also very good, though I'm not really getting very much from the accompaniment. Try them out. =)
Once Upon a Time With Two People - Hiro
Despite the cumbersome title of this song, it's fairly good. I don't know much about the singer, but she has a very nice voice. The first time I listened to this song, I didn't really find that it was anything special, but I listened to it again and it's starting to grow on me. I love the chorus where while the accompaniment doesn't slow down, she seems to be singing at a slower tempo. If that makes any sense.
How Do I Say - Shinhwa
Ah, Shinhwa. They were one of the first Korean bands I discovered, so I've always had a bit of a bias when listening to their music. This is from "Winter Story 2004-2005", which is supposedly pretty hard to find. It's a pretty typical Shinhwa song, but they lyrics in English are sweet if quite cliched. The chorus is pretty catchy. K-pop fans will probably like this song, not so sure about everyone else.
My Picks
Seven to Date - Amano Tsukiko
OMG PIANO. The piano part in this got stuck in my head and it took me forever to realise it was from this song. There's also little random four-note saxophone licks that spice things up, and Amano Tsukiko's voice isn't outstanding, but it's solid and strong. Download this if just to hear the piano solo.
Alarm 06:00 - Ajoo
Here's the other Ajoo song, as promised. I think First Kiss is catchier than this song, but Alarm 06:00 is more energetic. It has more rock influences, but is still very much a pop song. Still, it's well executed and a worthwhile b-side.
미녀와 야수 - KCM
As with the Amano Tsukiko song, an awesome piano part. In this song it's consistent throughout the whole track, though more prominent in some places than in others. When it comes to k-pop KCM is one of my favourite artists and I definitely enjoyed his latest album, Kingdom. 미녀와 야수 is very upbeat and catchy, and KCM's voice is lovely as always. Listen for the syncopated bass drum, too.
START - DEPAPEPE
Since the last Depapepe song I uploaded got quite a good response, I decided to upload another. I like Summer Parade more than this song, but I love START too. I like just about every Depapepe song. XP For those who've never heard of them, they're an awesome guitar duo. I especially love how they play acoustic guitars in just about every song I've ever heard by them. Definitely try them out if you haven't already.
Wo Men - Nan Quan Mama
Just a note, "Wo Men" means "we". I've heard a lot of good things about this band but only got to trying them out a couple days ago and I'm glad I did. They have a male and female vocalist and this is a fairly slow song. I love the accompaniment. It goes from Mandarin to Cantonese and I'm not sure whether they're Taiwanese or Chinese. Their Mandarin sounds more Taiwanese but I'm not positive. I'd love to hear more from them; I've added them to my requests list on the front page of this site.
Fuyuyasumi ni Tsuki - Swinging Popsicle
I would almost call them alt rock ... Swinging Popsicle is awesome. They have a female vocalist. I love their "Go On" album, though this track isn't from it. This isn't really one of my favourite songs by them, I don't think it shows their unique style as well as some of their other songs. I'll be sure to upload some more stuff by them; I was intending to upload a different track but somehow it turned out to be this one. O_o Try them out anyways, this isn't a bad song either. =)
Labels: AILE, Ajoo, Amano Tsukiko, Base Ball Bear, Depapepe, Hiro, KCM, Nan Quan Mama, Shinhwa, Swinging Popsicle, Tohoshinki
