A little something that caught my eye.

Sponge Band (스폰지밴드) - THE BEGINNING
Language: Korean
Genre: Pop Rock, Ballad

01. Can't Hear You (안들려): download
02. Should I Hit Them For You? (때려줄까요): download
03. Can't Hear You (안들려) Inst.
04. Should I Hit Them For You? (때려줄까요) Inst.

I have no idea what this band is about or the reasons for their peculiar name, but hey, it's the music that matters right? The first track,안들려 is an upbeat pop rock track, and perhaps a refreshing break from the explosion of auto-tune, though I can't say it's truly original. I do like the bit of energy and the "band" feel. The girls should have a greater part than just a 20 second rap, in my opinion. I thought I was going to hear a mixed-gender group, honestly.

때려줄까요 takes a softer route, a ballad driven by toned down guitars and drums. A bit of strings is mixed in and the girls take part in harmonizing the chorus. Again, nothing too awe-inspiring, but its flows beautifully and ends off in a sweet note.

~* ♣ *~

Here are a couple of random links I uploaded in the past. Thought I'd dump some to add some substance to this post, heh.

▌ Anna Tsuchiya - Rose - One of her most famous for the OP of NANA. I was blown away by this grungy rock song and her whispery voice. Excellent.
download
▌ G.E.M. - Where Did U Go? - If you haven't heard of G.E.M., I suggest you listen to her. A leading voice in Hong Kong, her vocals are so strong and pure. This track is a bit of R&B and acoustic. Recommended.
download
▌ SNoW - NightmaRe - This is an interesting one. Well, she hasn't released anything in the past...whenever, but this is my favorite from her. A tamed rock song, I love the slightly distorted other-worldly background instrumentals.
download

Labels: Anna Tsuchiya, contributor; Lena, G.E.M., SNoW, Sponge Band

I have decided to postpone the next rotation (#35) for another week. It was supposed to be posted last weekend, therefore it has been moved to this upcoming weekend. Sorry about the delay, I've been busy with online courses lately. In the meantime, here's a couple songs.

이별복습 - Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray
Korean | Ballad
A fairly standard piano-based duet ballad. Vocally, the two make a nice match - The Ray's slightly husky voice paired with Ock Joo Hyun's powerful yet feminine vocals. Pretty harmonies, decent melody, a nice sense of direction too - the song builds quite well. If only it wasn't so cookie-cutter generic, it'd be even better. Either way, definitely worth a listen.

I Don't Care - 2NE1
Korean | Pop
I strongly disliked both Lollipop and FIRE, so I was only intending to give I Don't Care a cursory listen and then delete it. Sorry to any fans of theirs out there, but vocally, I still think they sound horrible. However, compositionally, I really like this song. It has a certain breezy and laid-back feel that makes it well-suited for the summer, but has a danceable beat and catchy melody at the same time. Much better than the far-too-heavy, over-synthesized FIRE - while I still think they need to step it up a notch vocally, this is definitely an improvement.

勇气 (Yong Qi/Courage) - Fish Leong (梁静茹)
Mandarin | Ballad
This song should've been on my Top 10 Ballads list, but I didn't have it on on this computer until recently. It's a hopeful, genuine ballad, yet it's fairly pared down as far as accompaniment goes, and not overly dramatic. Fish Leong's melodic, light voice is gorgeous, and the chorus always gets stuck in my head. A very recognizable and memorable song.

Brave vibration - Anna Tsuchiya
Japanese | Rock
Anna Tsuchiya's latest single, Brave vibration is a summery rock song with a powerful, catchy chorus. I've never been a big fan of her, but this is an enjoyable song that's well-suited for the summer.

泣きたくなるけど (Naitakunaru Kedo) - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
After her impressive debut Bitter Sweet (which I shared in an older post, check her tag if you're interested), Mao Denda finally releases another single. Naitakunaru Kedo is a beautiful, piano-based R&B ballad. On the first listen it seemed a little bland, but it's really grown on me. Mao Denda's emotional, smooth vocals are gorgeous. While I still prefer Bitter Sweet to this song, it's definitely a close contender.

Light & Shades - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
The b-side to Naitakunaru Kedo, Lights & Shade is a more upbeat number, but keeps in style with Mao Denda's other songs - steady R&B percussion, and a strong use of piano in the accompaniment. A decent but not outstanding song.

Labels: 2ne1, Anna Tsuchiya, Fish Leong, Mao Denda, Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray

A little something that caught my eye.

Sponge Band (스폰지밴드) - THE BEGINNING
Language: Korean
Genre: Pop Rock, Ballad

01. Can't Hear You (안들려): download
02. Should I Hit Them For You? (때려줄까요): download
03. Can't Hear You (안들려) Inst.
04. Should I Hit Them For You? (때려줄까요) Inst.

I have no idea what this band is about or the reasons for their peculiar name, but hey, it's the music that matters right? The first track,안들려 is an upbeat pop rock track, and perhaps a refreshing break from the explosion of auto-tune, though I can't say it's truly original. I do like the bit of energy and the "band" feel. The girls should have a greater part than just a 20 second rap, in my opinion. I thought I was going to hear a mixed-gender group, honestly.

때려줄까요 takes a softer route, a ballad driven by toned down guitars and drums. A bit of strings is mixed in and the girls take part in harmonizing the chorus. Again, nothing too awe-inspiring, but its flows beautifully and ends off in a sweet note.

~* ♣ *~

Here are a couple of random links I uploaded in the past. Thought I'd dump some to add some substance to this post, heh.

▌ Anna Tsuchiya - Rose - One of her most famous for the OP of NANA. I was blown away by this grungy rock song and her whispery voice. Excellent.
download
▌ G.E.M. - Where Did U Go? - If you haven't heard of G.E.M., I suggest you listen to her. A leading voice in Hong Kong, her vocals are so strong and pure. This track is a bit of R&B and acoustic. Recommended.
download
▌ SNoW - NightmaRe - This is an interesting one. Well, she hasn't released anything in the past...whenever, but this is my favorite from her. A tamed rock song, I love the slightly distorted other-worldly background instrumentals.
download

Labels: Anna Tsuchiya, contributor; Lena, G.E.M., SNoW, Sponge Band

I have decided to postpone the next rotation (#35) for another week. It was supposed to be posted last weekend, therefore it has been moved to this upcoming weekend. Sorry about the delay, I've been busy with online courses lately. In the meantime, here's a couple songs.

이별복습 - Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray
Korean | Ballad
A fairly standard piano-based duet ballad. Vocally, the two make a nice match - The Ray's slightly husky voice paired with Ock Joo Hyun's powerful yet feminine vocals. Pretty harmonies, decent melody, a nice sense of direction too - the song builds quite well. If only it wasn't so cookie-cutter generic, it'd be even better. Either way, definitely worth a listen.

I Don't Care - 2NE1
Korean | Pop
I strongly disliked both Lollipop and FIRE, so I was only intending to give I Don't Care a cursory listen and then delete it. Sorry to any fans of theirs out there, but vocally, I still think they sound horrible. However, compositionally, I really like this song. It has a certain breezy and laid-back feel that makes it well-suited for the summer, but has a danceable beat and catchy melody at the same time. Much better than the far-too-heavy, over-synthesized FIRE - while I still think they need to step it up a notch vocally, this is definitely an improvement.

勇气 (Yong Qi/Courage) - Fish Leong (梁静茹)
Mandarin | Ballad
This song should've been on my Top 10 Ballads list, but I didn't have it on on this computer until recently. It's a hopeful, genuine ballad, yet it's fairly pared down as far as accompaniment goes, and not overly dramatic. Fish Leong's melodic, light voice is gorgeous, and the chorus always gets stuck in my head. A very recognizable and memorable song.

Brave vibration - Anna Tsuchiya
Japanese | Rock
Anna Tsuchiya's latest single, Brave vibration is a summery rock song with a powerful, catchy chorus. I've never been a big fan of her, but this is an enjoyable song that's well-suited for the summer.

泣きたくなるけど (Naitakunaru Kedo) - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
After her impressive debut Bitter Sweet (which I shared in an older post, check her tag if you're interested), Mao Denda finally releases another single. Naitakunaru Kedo is a beautiful, piano-based R&B ballad. On the first listen it seemed a little bland, but it's really grown on me. Mao Denda's emotional, smooth vocals are gorgeous. While I still prefer Bitter Sweet to this song, it's definitely a close contender.

Light & Shades - Mao Denda
Japanese | Pop/R&B
The b-side to Naitakunaru Kedo, Lights & Shade is a more upbeat number, but keeps in style with Mao Denda's other songs - steady R&B percussion, and a strong use of piano in the accompaniment. A decent but not outstanding song.

Labels: 2ne1, Anna Tsuchiya, Fish Leong, Mao Denda, Ock Joo Hyun, The Ray

Welcome to Fashion Scans, an mp3 rotation that features Korean, Japanese, and Chinese music as well as the occasional English song. Fashion Scans was created in October 2007 and is run by Haruhi with contributions from Carmi.

Please send all affiliate requests to Haruhi. Carmi is currently open to requests.

Files are for sampling purposes only, I am not responsible if you keep them for longer than the 24-48 hours permitted. Please support the artists by purchasing their CDs.

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