Playlist 2010

Albums

Port Entropy, SHUGO TOKUMARU - SHUGO TOKUMARU was rated in the Straits Times as the best Asian artist to perform in Singapore in 2010, but that was in March, when I wasn't around and wasn't a fan yet. His latest album Port Entropy has songs with lots of instruments and items, all played by himself, woven into dense harmonies and soundscapes, albeit with less of the interesting cacophonies and folk melodies of his previous album.

SENSE, Mr.Children - Mr.Children is not the name of a pederast, but that of a Japanese pop band. This album has only 1 single, the song fanfare from the latest One Piece movie. However, the dearth of singles does not lead to lower quality of music, and throughout the album great songwriting and Sakurai's emotive vocals demonstrate why they are arguably Japan's favourite artist. SENSE has fewer ballads than my impression of Mr.Children had led me to expect, instead having a wide variety of styles. I am not sure where to place this album within Mr.Children's oeuvre, having not listened to most of their works yet, a problem I shall be quick to rectify.

COME ON!, TETSUYA - L'Arc~en~Ciel's bassist and leader, formerly known as TETSU69, had an amazing year of releases this year, beginning with the single ROULETTE and culminating in this album, affirming TETSUYA's status as a brilliant writer of melodies and one of the key drivers behind L'Arc~en~Ciel's success.

Songs

LM.C - Bokura no Mirai。- This long masterpiece from the album WONDERFUL WONDERHOLIC weaves lots of beautiful melodies together, in a style somewhat different from their usual fast-paced "New Century Electrorock", yet hinted at before by songs such as -SORA Namidairo-. The duo has a very instinctive understanding of timbre, once again on display in this song. Ultimately we get something that still feels distinctly LM.C, and full of hope.

KOKIA - Dugong no Sora - After a self-imposed exile to the Tunisian Sahara for inspiration, KOKIA returned with the album REAL WORLD, including this stunning ecological song.

BUCK-TICK - Yougetsu - Hauntingly beautiful, especially Sakurai's vocals.

angela - Sayonara no Toki kurai Hohoende - The duo angela is at their best in this ballad from the movie Soukyuu no Fafnir HEAVEN AND EARTH, combining quiet acoustic segments with grand orchestral climaxes.

Mr.Children - Gitai - Well-aranged song, especially the verses, which sound like outpourings of light with their use of the piano and guitar.

SHUGO TOKUMARU - Linne - The only slow song on Port Entropy, Linne feels almost otherworldly, as the video suggests.

TETSUYA - In My HEART - Pleasant song with probably the best guitar riffs and accompaniment this year.

alan - Namonaki Tane - Another grand ballad from the Tibetan singer.

ikimono-gakari - Ima, Hashiridaseba - When not doing tearjerking ballads, ikimono-gakari does some pretty good upbeat songs as well. This song is an epitome of that category.

It's strange how none of the above songs were a-sides of singles.

Honourable mentions:

Mr.Children - I'm talking about Lovin' - Relaxing and catchy at the same time, leading to infectious happiness.

Remioromen - Tomorrow - A song that never fails to fill me with optimism.

sukimaswitch - Ice Cream Syndrome - Chilling to this song while eating ice cream was one of my few pleasures during the exams last semester.

L'Arc~en~Ciel - BLESS - This Winter Olympics song is well orchestrated, and hyde delivers with expressive vocals as usual.

UVERworld - Kokoro to Kokoro - Though the musical revolution UVERworld promised would come by their fourth album has not been realised, the band continues to experiment. This song is more straightforward fare, but still very enjoyable.

Spitz - Shingetsu - The beautiful piano ostinato carries the whole song.

Remioromen - Island - This rearranged self-cover of fan favourite Island features trumpets prominently.

Music Videos

BUMP OF CHICKEN - Uchuuhikoushi e no Tegami - BUMP OF CHICKEN with yet another astronomically themed song, in the form of a love letter to an astronaut. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6pzZ_IGQAg

moumoon - Sunshine Girl - There weren't many other memorable videos, so here's the one with the cutest girl. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe042c_moumoon-sunshine-girl_videogames

Earworms

From a chronological list of earworms you can reconstruct the mood of a year. Without taking into account the fact that earworms do overlap or resurface, here is my list for 2010.

abingdon boys school - From Dusk Till Dawn

L'Arc~en~Ciel - BLESS

Remioromen - Tomorrow

Nanase Aikawa - tAttoo

LM.C - Bokura no Mirai。

TETSUYA - Roulette

SHUGO TOKUMARU - Parachute

SHUGO TOKUMARU - Rum Hee

Sheena Ringo - Gips

Hidenori tokuyama - BLUE (Album Version)

PIERROT - PSYCHEDELIC LOVER

D'espairsRay - DAMNED

LUNA SEA - RAIN

LUNA SEA - WITH

girugämesh - Kowareteiku Sekai

L'Arc~en~Ciel - Time goes on

LUNA SEA - FEEL

sukimaswitch - Ice Cream Syndrome

LUNA SEA - MILLENIUM

It strikes me that the songs are all fairly happy/upbeat with two emo blips near the middle of each semester, the first because of my Creative Writing assignment and the second because of the rainy weather.

Concerts

U-ka saegusa IN db FINAL LIVE TOUR, Tokyo - Considering that I only attended two concerts in 2010, and that the other was marred by poor sound systems, U-ka's final concert wins by default. And yet it doesn't need to - the sound in the 1000-capacity venue was amazing, with every strand of the music clearly audible and balanced, U-ka never sounded better, with emotional vocals that were perfectly in tune for practically every note, and the atmosphere, being that of a farewell, was charged, especially when jumping along to Everybody Jump. She looked incredibly beautiful in the flesh too - words cannot do her pulchritude justice. The setlist had all of her best songs, even some unexpected non-single tracks, and it was a night I never wanted to end.

Looking forward

LUNA SEA new album(s) and DVDs

L'Arc~en~Ciel 20th anniversary concerts and new album

abingdon boys school new singles/album hopefully