rotation 32 [finale: best album, etc.]
Saturday, May 16, 2009 posted at 6:33 PM
This is the finale rotation to the recurring “Top 10” rotations - we’ve gone through ballads, pop songs, and rock songs, so this last rotation is just to finish things off. The main feature would be best album, and there are also a few individual categories: Best theme song, best single, and best current song. Again: these are based only off of my own opinions.
Also, we have a new layout! Featuring JJ Lin, since the album I chose was, you guessed it:
JJ Lin - Sixology
Tracklist & Downloads:
01. Sixology
02. 不潮不用花錢 (Without Trends, No Need to Spend)
03. 小酒窩 (feat. 蔡卓妍) (Small Dimples, ft. Charlene Choi)
04. 黑武士 (Black Warrior)
05. 醉赤壁 (Drunk Red Cliff)
06. 由你選擇 (feat. 農夫FAMA) (Your Choice)
07. Always Online
08. 街道 (The Streets)
09. 主角 (feat. MACHI) (Protagonist)
10. 我還想她 (I Want Her Too)
11. 點一把火炬 (Lighting a Torch)
12. 期待你的愛 (feat. 金莎) (Waiting For Your Love, ft. Kim Jin Sha)
13. Cries In A Distance
14. 愛與希望 Love and Hope
>>batch download [.rar]
Review:
From the simple, ethereal intro that shares the albums title to the final chords of ballad “Love and Hope”, JJ Lin does not disappoint. What really impressed me about this album was its consistent quality and its variety. You have your upbeat, poppy tracks: “Without Trends, No Need to Spend”, with a bit of a dark tone and lots of synths, “Your Choice”, a fun light-hearted track with R&B roots, “The Streets”, a grittier and more aggressive number, and “Protagonist”, taking the same route as “The Streets” with driven hip-hop sounds. You have your ballads, but even there the moods range widely - the sweet, poppy sincerity of “Small Dimples” featuring Charlene Choi, the yearning and conflict in midtempo “Black Warrior”, “Drunk Red Cliff”’s calming purity and tenderness, the sorrowful and emotional “I Want Her Too”, piano-based, hopeful “Lighting a Torch”, the familiar “Waiting For Your Love” which is sweet and poppy yet still has emotional value, and the final track of the album: “Love and Hope”, a gorgeous piano ballad. I read that this song was written for the Sichaun earthquake by JJ, which only adds to its rich expressiveness. JJ Lin’s creamy, rounded voice brings all these songs to their highest potential and adapts well to all the different tempos and moods set. But there are still two more songs that I’ve yet to comment on: “Always Online” and “Cries in a Distance”, which are based off the same instrumentaI. I would even say that “Cries in a Distance” was only intended as an English version of “Always Online”, but the songs do have different moods. “Always Online” is a heartfelt, memorable, midtempo R&B ballad. However, it’s a love song, whereas “Cries in a Distance” speaks of violence in the world. JJ Lin’s English is flawless and he seems to have no difficulty singing in the language, his voice smooth and filled with emotion. An incredibly moving and sad song. Overall, a great album that I enjoyed every track of.
RUNNERSup
Orange Moon - Khalil Fong
abingdon boys school - abingdon boys school
Separation Anxiety - Nell
Circle - My Aunt Mary
bestTHEMEsong
Byul - Kim Ah Joong
I don’t really know if this is considered the “theme song” of the movie 200 Pound Beauty (which is a great movie, btw), but I love it and couldn’t think of an OST song that means more to me. It’s a simple but absolutely beautiful ballad that has so much emotion in it. Especially in the context of the movie, it’s incredibly genuine and heartfelt.
bestCURRENTsong
Dynamite - A'ST1
A’ST1 is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Yes, they’re a sugary, poppy boyband. But for some reason, I really like them and have been waiting intently since the release of their first mini-album, “1.2.3.4. Back”, for their next release. Finally, they’ve released a new mini-album - and it was worth the wait. “Dynamite” is an upbeat, synthy, very catchy track - a light-hearted, enjoyable listen. This song definitely suits its title.
bestSINGLE
NewS - weeeek [Limited Edition]
01. weeeek
02. With Me
03. Rainbow
04. Why
You have your typical fun, sweet pop songs - “weeeek” and “Rainbow”, the uplifting ballad “With Me”, and the real gem of this single, “Why”, only found in this version of the single. This is my favourite News song, and the song that made this my favourite single. Although the other tracks are all well-executed and a pleasure to listen to, “Why” is just amazing. A dark, serious pop track with gorgeous lyrics - “Why don’t you love me only? Kimatte gomakasu kedo/Why don’t you tell me good bye? Mou taerarenai yo/Bottom of my heart/Still I can’t give up you, so loving you.|Why don’t you say goodbye?” Vocally they sound great - lovely harmonies, every note yearning and emotional. A fantastic single.
Labels: A'ST1, JJ Lin, Kim Ah Joong, NewS
So, I just remembered that while postponing my update because of the polls Haruhi put up, I actually completely forgot to update. Thus, I present you with a double update in the same weekend!
Rotation 10 is themed Jpop artists, meaning the songs below are classic examples of Jpop music, as well as artists that are mainly associated with producing Jpop.
As always, please leave a comment when you download!
Otsuka Ai - Sakuranbo
Japanese - pop
This song belongs in my collection of first ever songs. This was my first Otsuka Ai song and I thought it was amazing! Such a happy, crazy, sweet love song! I've listened to this over and over, and it makes me smile every time. It's a true hyper Ai song.
KAT-TUN - No Matter Matter
Japanese - pop
This song always reminds me of the interlude in which they throw souvenirs into the audience during concerts. It's amazingly happy and it's an enourmous showcase for Yuichi's beatbox skills and Koki's rap.
Arashi - Nemuranai Karada
Japanese - pop
I always feel this song was supposed to be somewhere half way between a sensual song and pop xD Or that it's just some slightly failed attempt at producing a steamy hot summernight song. However, as I love Arashi, I love this song, since they're slightly lower voice complement the trumpets really well.
SNoW - On & On
Japanese - pop
I can't promote this singer enough! She's so amazing, it's a shame she's still in college at the moment. Slightly less upbeat than "I'm No", this song has a lot of symbolism, put to a gorgeous arrangement. Highly recommended.
AAA - Q
Japanese - pop
What can I say? This song is full of that typical AAA energy, with lyrics so fast I'm still amazed at how they did it. It's happy, it's fun, it's fast. It's AAA :D
Takacha - Movin'
Japanese - pop
I got this song from my baby sister actually, when she was momentarily infatuated with the anime Bleach. I can't say I've any other music by this group, but this song sounds amazing. I really, really like it. It's a fun antagonist for Orange Range's OP song.
GYM - My Angel
Japanese - pop
Released as an official single for the Women's Volleyball World Grandprix, Golf, Yamashita and Mike come dangerously close to becoming moe~~ I can truly call this song kawaii (and for someone who despises wrong use of that particular adjective, that says something, ne? xD)! So, so sweet!
Kanjani8 - Zukkoke Otokomichi
Japanese - pop
Well, if this isn't the embodiment of Jpop, I don't know what is. Well, perhaps Arashi. At any rate, this is a classic pop song. Happy, upbeat, and truly JE. Recommended ;D
NewS - Sayaendo
Japanese - pop
Another typical popgroup. This song is least upbeat however than their usual, but no less addicting. It sounds like it's been influenced by 1001 Arabian nights, or perhaps Indian music. I really like this change of pace though, it's one of my favourite songs at the moment.
Utada Hikaru - Celebrate
Japanese - pop
And, it a popthemed rotation, the Queen of Pop. At least the Queen I can stand (I really don't like Ayumi ><;)! Celebrate is a happy song, although it has a little more slow tempo. The soft melodic arrangement matches perfect with the soft vocals by Utada. Recommended.
Labels: AAA, Arashi, cohost: aranka, GYM, Kanjani8, KAT-TUN, NewS, Otsuka Ai, SNoW, Takacha, Utada Hikaru
Hello! I'm the new cohost, Chayenne. Nice to meet you!
My comments aren't the best ever, but I hope you'll like my uploads.
So Nyeo Shi Dae – 햅틱모션 (Haptic Motion)
Language: Korean
Genre: Pop
Rating:
Comments: This song is made for the Samsung Haptic Motion CF’s featuring So Nyeo Shi Dae and Dong Bang Shin Ki. This is the song you hear all the time. It’s really addictive and the CF as well! Too bad the song is only 1:29 minutes long. You should watch it if you haven’t seen it yet; it’s cute!
KAT-TUN - Don't U Ever Stop
Language: Japanese
Genre: Rock
Rating:
Comments: It’s really good and it’s got a nice beat! I don't like all the KAT-TUN songs, but this one's just
It's a lot better than the Lips single. In my opinion it’s one of their best songs.
NewS – Summertime Single
1 Summer Time
2 Easy come, easy go
3 Liar
4 Baby! Be my baby
Language: Japanese
Genre: Pop
Rating:
Comments: I liked all the songs very much, so I decided to upload the whole single. The first two and the last song really gave me a summer feeling, and I couldn’t stop listening to them. Even though NewS members aren’t the best singers (except for Tegoshi! I love his voice), their voices are nice together and I find their songs always very addictive.
Ayaka – Okaeri
Language: Japanese
Genre: pop
Rating:
Comments: Her vocals are perfect, as always. It's such a beautiful song- Download and listen yourself!
Son Dam Bi – Bad Boy
Language: Korean
Genre: Pop
Rating:
Comments: I’ve never heard her before, but after listening to her first mini-album, I fell in love with this song. It’s really catchy and her voice is quite good. I just kept repeating this song, so beware! You should listen to her other songs too.
Fahrenheit – Stay With You
Language: Japanese
Genre: Pop
Rating:
Comments: This song is for Fahrenheits’ Japanese single. I don’t really like this song. It’s not that interesting and their voices sound a bit off key sometimes.
Oh, you can find my playlist at my blog. It's not finished yet, but you can find some stuff already. Feel free to request ^^
Labels: Ayaka, Fahrenheit, KAT-TUN, NewS, So Nyeo Shi Dae, Son Dam Bi
