rotation 19 [a touch of colour]
Friday, October 24, 2008 posted at 4:43 PM
Rotation 19 is a touch of colour, featuring song names that contain colours. Along with the new rotation is a new layout, featuring Lee Jun Ki. Also, we have a new cohost, Aranka, who will probably be introducing herself soon. =) 22 songs this rotation, definitely one of the larger rotations I've done. Please remember to leave a comment or rating. Red Soul - AAA Japanese | Pop AAA's style varies so much, I never know what to expect from them. Red Soul is rock-influenced and upbeat. It sounds like something out of a video game or anime. A fun listen, but not exceptional. Red Hot - ELLEGARDEN ![]() English | Alt Rock This is the original version, not the remastered one. I love ELLEGARDEN's unique sound and style, it killed me to hear that they were going on "hiatus". Although they're a Japanese group, this song is in English. Takeshi's voice is raw and powerful. 醉赤壁 (Drunk Red Cliff) - JJ Lin ![]() Mandarin | Ballad This track is from JJ Lin's new album, Sixology. The intro incorporates traditional Chinese instruments, which make small appearances throughout the song. A nice ballad, not overloaded with influences of classical Chinese music yet touching on them all the same. Red Room - Lolita23q Japanese | Rock One of my favourite VK groups. Red Room doesn't waste any time, jumping right into a noisy, fast-paced rock number. It's a little repetitive, but I enjoyed it. Mirage in Blue - Chemistry ![]() Japanese | Pop/R&B A sweet, poppy song, accompanied with acoustic guitar. The sparse accompaniment allows their vocals to shine through. Recommended. BLUE VACATION - BOØWY Japanese | Rock '90's rock just has that ... feel to it. Haha, not really my kind of thing, but it's fun as an occasional listen. Blue & Green Waves - DE DE MOUSE Japanese | Electronica I'm loving the variety of genres this theme allows. DE DE MOUSE has an experimental, fresh sound. It's an acquired taste, but give them a shot if you're a fan of electronica. Blue Doors Ahead - F.I.R. Mandarin & English | Pop This is probably the only time you'll see me upload F.I.R., I'm not a huge fan of them. A downtempo jazz track, Blue Doors Ahead is relaxing and strong vocally, but not overly memorable. Blues - Jam Hsiao Mandarin | Rock An underrated but up and rising star in the C-pop industry, Jam Hsiao's style varies from pop to ballad to, as is the case with Blues, rock. It sounds better when you listen to it with the rest of the album, where it stands out more against the ballad/pop tracks. But, a good song nonetheless. Deep Blue - Vidoll Japanese | Rock Eh, I'm kind of iffy on Vidoll. Some of their songs I love, others, not so much. Deep Blue is kind of in-between, I thought it was decent but not great. The bass-heavy accompaniment kind of drones out the already whisper-y vocals. Green Apple - Ynot? ![]() Korean | Rock This rotation is pretty low on Korean songs, I noticed. A light-hearted rock song reminiscent of summer. I quite like this group. Green Rivers - Pia ![]() Korean | Rock Ballad Pia is probably one of the more well-known K-rock groups. Green Rivers is a strong rock ballad. It sounded a little bland to me at first listen, but it's starting to grow on me. Green Requiem - Joe Hisaishi Instrumental | Piano A relaxing piano piece. If you like Yiruma, you'll probably like Joe Hisaishi. Yellow Beauty - LM.C ![]() Japanese | Rock Typical LM.C, jumps at you right from the start. It dies down a bit, showing impressive changes in tempo and mood. Recommended. Yellow Butterfly - Fly to the Sky Korean | R&B/Ballad I love this duo. Yellow Butterfly varies - at times a sweet acoustic ballad with a sparse guitar accompaniment, at others an almost upbeat R&B song. Beautiful vocal work, as usual. Not my favourite song by them, but it's pretty good. Purple Rain - Shin Hye Sung Korean | Ballad Pretty typical ballad, HyeSung's voice is beautiful and strong in parts but can barely be heard in others. Purple Apple - the pillows Japanese | Alt Rock From the pillows' latest album, PIED PIPER, Purple Apple is typical to the pillows' style - quirky and fresh. I love the bass line and bright guitar chords. Orange Evolution - ALvino Japanese | Rock I don't remember where I first heard of these guys, but I love them. They're a rock group but not VK, their sound is a little more mainstream. The chorus is genuine and memorable, although overall I wouldn't say this is one of their best songs. Orange Dream - Antic Cafe ![]() Japanese | Oshare kei It's been so long since I heard a slower track from anCafe. It does build more and more, but differs from their usual fare in that it's much more serious in tone. Their sound has matured a lot. I love the piano accompaniment in this song. IMO, a very impressive track. Orange - BRIGHT Japanese | Pop I'm not a fan of girl-groups, but I like BRIGHT for their great vocal work. A breezy R&B song, Orange features beautiful harmonizing. The melody and composition of the song itself isn't the most memorable though. Orange Parade - Ichigo69 Japanese | Rock More upbeat, in your face rock. Personally it was a little too messy for me, I found the bass of the song to be lacking - there was no real foundation, although it does even out a little. The slightly off-key vocals and random squeals from the guitar are kind off-putting. Part of the song sound almost ... fast-forwarded. O_o Definitely interesting, but I found it too jarring. ORANGE GRADATION - Imitation PoPs Uchuu Sentai NOIZ Japanese | Rock I love this band. The song has a nice intro and vocals, it's upbeat and energetic but not overwhelming. Note: Ichigo69 and Imitation PoPs Uchuu Sentai NOIZ are not tagged in this entry because Blogspot will only let me add 20 tags per post. Labels: AAA, ALvino, Antic Cafe, BOØWY, BRIGHT, Chemistry, DE DE MOUSE, ELLEGARDEN, F.I.R., Fly to the Sky, Jam Hsiao, JJ Lin, Joe Hisaishi, Lolita23q, Pia, Shin Hye Sung, the pillows, Vidoll, Ynot? Some uploaded requests/leftover links: 행복해야 해 (Haeng Bok Hae Ya Hae) - Lee Ki Chan 바다여행 [최한성 ver.] (Ocean Travel [Choi Han Sung vers.] - Lee Sun Koon (이선균) [Coffee Prince OST] I Love You - ChangMin [DBSK] Party - Uhm Jung Hwa ft. G-Dragon Shin Hye Sung's new album, to go with the new layout. Please comment if taking. Uploading this album & reviewing it took at least an hour. ![]() ` SHIN HYE SUNG VOL 3 - LIVE AND LET LIVE Releases August 26, 2008 Language: Korean Genre: Pop/Ballad 01. Live and Let Live 02. Awaken ![]() 03. 그대라서 (Keu de ra seu) 04. 사랑하기 좋은 날(duet. 이하늬) (Sa Rang Ha Ki Chong Eun Nal [duet Lee Ha Nik]) ![]() 05. Urban Fever(feat. $howgun) 06. Waltz ![]() 07. Love Actually(feat. Vink) ![]() 08. 피터팬의 세레나데 (Peter Pan Serenade *) ![]() 09. Promise(duet. 유리상자 Yurisangja -박승화 Park Sung Hwa) 10. 후유증 11. Awaken(inst.) 12. 그대라서(inst.) * I am not sure if this is the correct title. In Korean it reads like "Peter Pan Serenade", but it could be slightly different. Shin Hye Sung of Shinhwa has proved a very successful solo artist. Upon seeing this album's release, I wasn't too excited - he rarely ventures out of ballads, which seem to be the safety zone in Korean music. I was surprised and pleased by the variety and versatility of this third solo album - although, as expected, some fans are already complaining that they wanted to hear more ballads. The album opens with Live and Let Live, and already you can tell that there's something new going on by the throbbing bass beats. A faint and warm string accompaniment slowly builds. Purely instrumental except for a few spoken phrases here and there, Live and Let Live gives off a very hopeful tone. Where you might have expected HyeSung to break into a ballad, Awaken is a wonderful kick - an active rock song that showcases HyeSung's voice wonderfully. I was definitely not expecting HyeSung to be capable of this. Without a trace of pop influence, Awaken is simply beautifully executed and reminds me almost of the TRAX. 그대라서 slows things down. While I'm actually not very fond of HyeSung's ballads, I have to say that I liked this one. His voice has a distinctive waver, but is strong and powerful nonetheless. A gentle electric guitar accompaniment completes this song. 사랑하기 좋은 날(duet. 이하늬) is a sweet duet that starts slow but builds - and it is worth the wait, transitioning into a jazzy, midtempo number with uplifting horn riffs and a wonderful, warm bass. A wonderful pairing, HyeSung's rich voice contrasts with HaNik's clear, strong vocals. Urban Fever is infused with electronica, a confident yet relaxed song although not overly memorable. Waltz is a short interlude featuring a curious, wandering piano melody, delicate and sweet. Love Actually, a light-hearted, catchy pop track, is another of my favourites from this album. Vink's harmonizing with HyeSung adds a wonderful dimension to the song. 피터팬의 세레나데 is a soft, jazzy track. HyeSung's voice is relaxed but heartfelt. Promise was a track that I was looking forward to, as it featured Yurisangja's Park Sung Hwa. As expected, it is a ballad - rich instrumentals and absolutely beautiful vocals makes it memorable and sincere, if a bit repetitive. 후유증 is an emotional ballad, featuring light harmonizing. Typical of HyeSung's previous two albums, what makes it stand out in this album is that it is not one of many ballads that sound very similar, but a root to HyeSung's signature style in an experimental and wonderful new album. I highly recommend this album and applaud HyeSung's versatility and the chances he took instead of playing it safe with an all-ballad album. Labels: misc downloads, Shin Hye Sung Hello, I'm glad to see that people are starting to comment. ^_^ I'm doing a small update, I think only five songs ... if people continue to comment, the next full rotation will be up this week as well. And by the way, feel free to suggest rotation themes or request songs. I haven't been updating my playlists a lot lately and they're still far from complete, but I'm hoping to work on them more during the summer. =) 가지마 가지마 (Gajima, Gajima) * Brown Eyes Korean * R&B * Vol. 3 - Two Things Needed For The Same Purpose and 5 Objects ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() BROWN EYES <3 Their new album releases on the 19th, I've uploaded one song from it. And is it just me, or does the album name make absolutely no sense ... O_o Anyhow, 가지마 가지마 is a heartfelt ballad. It's pretty boring but their voices are so nice, it makes the song shine out. I believe the title translates to "Don't Leave", but I could be wrong. Nostalgia * 요조 (Yozoh) & 에릭 (Eric) With Brown Classic Korean * Pop * Nostalgia ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yup, it's Eric from Shinhwa. A nice, relaxing song. I don't know much about Yozoh, but her voice is really nice and soft; it fits in perfectly with the acoustic guitars. It's sweet but sad at the same time, and the rapped verse breaks the monotony of the song. I liked it. =) 꿈의 시간들 * Tei Korean * Ballad * Gourmet OST ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Okay, I'm usually not a fan of OSTs. The only OST I found memorable was the one for Coffee Prince, but the Gourmet OST caught my attention from the artists on it - Tei, Shin Hye Sung, Fanny Fink, Sweetpea, etc. Anyhow this song and the two following it are all from this OST. =) Ahh just listening to this song makes me want to watch the drama/movie (never heard of it before hearing the OST). Tei is one of my favourite singers, he has such a unique voice. It's not quite as powerful in this song, which is a little more upbeat than his usual slow ballads. Probably since it's intended as background music, not as a main feature ... his voice is really deep and kind of rough at certain spots, yet perfectly clear at others. <3 I like the string accompaniment in this song too. Recommended. 눈이 하는 말 * Shin Hye Sung Korean * Ballad * Gourmet OST ![]() ![]() ![]() I'm sorry, but I don't really like Hye Sung's voice. T_T It just seems like it's always disappearing beneath the accompaniment. I only like a few songs from his Love of May album, other than that his solo stuff never really impressed me. I uploaded this since I'm sure lots of Shinhwa fans will want to grab it. But, he does really shine through in the chorus of this song. His voice is really sweet, too. Worth a listen, but I preferred Tei's song. Heyday - Fanny Fink Korean * Soft Rock * Gourmet OST ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I uploaded another song by these guys once, I love them. <3 I don't even know what genre to call them. O_o Heyday is kind of jazzy, and really cute. The vocals are kind of soft and breathy. Recommended. Labels: Brown Classic, Brown Eyes, Eric, Fanny Fink, Shin Hye Sung, Tei, Yozoh |