So today we're going to talk about my second favorite Japanese idol group (after Buono!, of course), Morning Musume. Regardless of whether or not you like their new style or members, you have to have respect for this group. They've been around for almost sixteen years, have released fifty-three singles (thirteen of which were #1 on the Oricon charts), have had a nice rotation of members, and despite their later dip in popularity have now risen back up to be one of Japan's favorite idol groups. Not to mention how many tours they've had. I would really love it if Morning Musume would just be around for the rest of my life. They'd be the oldest band ever! How cool would that be?
Anyway, today I'm talking about their most recent single, "Brainstorming/Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai". It's Tanaka Reina's graduation single (my favorite Momusu member of all time; I miss you already!), and it is awesome! It keeps with the electronic dance pop that they've been doing since "Renai Hunter", but every single they release seems to change it up just a little bit in the details, which to me is very noticeable and makes every single special.
This single contains six total songs: three by the full group, one by Tanaka Reina, one by the five oldest members of the group, and one by the five youngest members. And every song is special in it's own way.
Let's start with the first title track, "Brainstorming."
I first heard this song when the "Loose Shot Ver." was released on YouTube back in February, and I was in awe at how cool it was! The mechanical sound effects combined with the electronic music, with simple but totally cool vocals just made me like it. It's actually pretty hard to explain, but listening to it just gives me this feeling. And hello, is that Iikubo Haruna actually getting a real solo line? Heck yes!!!
The background in the dance shot makes it cool, too. The stage is huge and allows the members to spread out into their unique formations that they've been known for recently. And of course the best thing is the arm wave move in the dance that looks like brainwaves. How cool is that?
The full video didn't really add much to the dance shot, so I was quite disappointed with it. But the addition of subtitles made up for it just a little bit (though I wish they had just used the captions feature!).
Next up is the second A-side, "Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai"!
The vocals are much stronger in this one, with an actual melody that really helps you to feel what they're singing about, even if it's not much more than your typical teenage love song. The music is also incredibly fun, and after watching the dance, you will most definitely want to be one of those two thousand people on the dance floor.
Like "Brainstorming", the dance shot for this came out first. It was obviously much cheaper due to the background simply being curtains. However, because I knew it was cheap, I actually expected less from the full music video than I did for "Brainstorming", and therefore I was not as disappointed. So in a way, I actually like this music video better because it was exactly what I expected. (Well, maybe not exactly; they did cut out the close-up shots.)
The best thing about the video though is their outfits! I wasn't sure what I thought about them at first, but I've grown to like the flapper dress with the cool hair accessories and gloves. Reina looks the best of all of them. They only thing that bothers me is Haruka wearing a cap. It just doesn't fit the dress at all. But Reina's and Riho's bows are sooo cute!
So while the dance isn't really anything special, it's so much fun to dance along to while singing at the top of your lungs. Seriously, if you haven't done this yet, I think something is wrong with you.
Now we have Tanaka Reina's graduation song, "Rock no Teigi".
The song can be very interesting if you pay close attention. The melody does a great job of showing off her vocal ability and range. I love hearing just a little bit of her lower voice, while also hearing her flawlessly hit the high notes. She seems to have put all her focus into this song and delivered what I think is a very nice performance. (Then again, I could be biased.)
I've only seen the full video once, so I can't say much about it, but all that is officially uploaded is her close-up shot. Still, I don't mind this, since I get to see her lovely face for her last music video. Visually, it's not her best performance, as I think she has a tendency to lose focus in her close-ups. But I love seeing her look pretty in pink, wearing a leopard-print bow, and just being a pop idol for one last time.
Oh my gosh, guys, I think I'm about to cry now…
So it's no "Egao ni Namida", but it's still a nice graduation song. Congrats, Reina!
Now for the group B-side, "A B C D E-cha E-cha Shitai".
Also, the line distribution on this song is crazy. I have no idea who the lead vocals even are. But this just makes it more fun because everyone gets to participate and have fun. It's like one big party with all the Momusu girls! Yay!
This is my favorite song on the single, "Tokimeku Tokimeke".
There's something about this song that I just love. The vocals are just so cute yet are sung with feeling, too. There's nothing fake about it.
And of course, it has so much energy! Even now, as I'm listening to it and typing this, I can't stop dancing!
Man, it bothers me that even though this is my favorite song, I don't have much to say about it. I guess that just shows how I feel about songs. I hardly ever think, I just know when they're good when I feel it. Wow, that sounds really stupid.
Anyway, listen to it and maybe you'll see what I mean.
And finally we're at the end of this thing with "Itsumo to Onnaji Seifuku de".
I suppose this is the song for those who aren't into the electronic sound, because this is as good as it's gonna get. Still, I can't recommend it because to me it's just a bit sleepy. I expected a more youthful, happy song, but instead it's just like a boring album filler song. Still, I love Masaki's cute voice and it definitely shines in this song.
I think there's a reason why this song was last, because to me it's the worst. I suppose there's nothing wrong with it, I just expected more. Where's the energy? Where's the fun? It's cute yes, but not what I expected.
I feel almost bad giving a negative review of this song, since the rest was praised so highly. I still encourage you to listen to it and form your own opinion on it.
Overall, it's a nice, well-rounded single that I really recommend buying, though you will have to buy several different versions if you want all the songs. Remember that it's on iTunes if you just want to buy the songs cheap.
And please tell me you enjoyed this review or found it helpful because it took me forever to write. :P
