terabient

I know it's common to associate songs with characters and ships but I've not done that personally for a long time. A lot of it comes down to the fact that my musical tastes tend towards light and cheerful dance pop while my fictional preferences are sad gay morally grey pretty boys getting in terrible relationships, which isn't the most natural fit for fanmix things.

BUT!!! yesterday I was listening to a kpop ballad, Red Velvet's One of these Nights and when it got to this verse I screamed internally because OMG IT'S LUTHERUNA. THESE ARE THE FEELINGS THIS SHIP IS MEANT TO EVOKE!! An all too brief moment of joy in incalculably long lives, the significance of which is not fully grasped until long after is it gone... 😭 I had a moment for sure.

In the same time span, just for a minute
In the same space, stay for a minute
In that short moment, everything
Stops for us, in that moment
Why did we not know that was a miracle?

( Full lyrics + music video under the cut, along with some song history, if you would like to wallow in the feels with me :') )

I've wanted to do some general character/pairing analysis lately--to go over the emotions, conflicts, and themes I see as central to understanding them--so idk maybe you'll see some more "image songs" posted about my faves while I plug away at kinkfic. or not! i really shouldn't keep making work for myself like this ;p

For today's Music Monday, I'll reminisce about a jpop idol who debuted to wild success, released a string of equally successful albums, and ended her career because....well, I'll get into that later.

Melody Ishikawa, better known by her stylized stage name melody., is a Japanese-American singer born in Hawaii. Discovered by one of Japan's most successful record producers while she was in high school, Melody completed her education before moving to Japan at 19 to pursue a singing career. After being attached to several girl group projects that fizzled out, melody. eventually debuted a solo artist and saw immediate success. Her first album, Sincerely, had four singles peak in the top 40 of the Oricon charts. melody.'s songs feature an effortless mix of Japanese and English lyrics, and a joyful, upbeat dance-pop sound.

My personal favorites from Sincerely are So Into You, and a dance-pop cover of Over The Rainbow. As my college radio show was scheduled for Tuesday and Friday evenings, I liked to end with one of these infectiously cheerful tracks during the long winter months--it felt like a way to give a bit of brightness to whoever might be wandering the campus during broadcast hours. ♥

The following years saw melody. release two more albums, Be as One and READY TO GO!, and her most successful single, Realize, which was also the theme song for j-drama Dragon Zakura.

In 2008 melody. released her final studio album, Lei Aloha. Meant to be a reflection of melody.'s life in Hawaii as a child, the songs on Lei Aloha tend towards softer ballads with understated string and piano arrangements. The sole single, Haruka ~Haruka~ was the ending theme song for Daisuki!!, a tender j-drama about a severely disabled woman trying to raise a child after the death of her husband.

After Lei Aloha melody. abruptly retired from the music business, citing a desire to work in fashion design. However, a year later, she announced her marriage to guitarist Miyavi, which is likely the real motivation for her sudden exit.

Of course, it's not uncommon for Asian pop idols to retire when their marriage becomes public but it always hurts to see a successful female performer to completely stop releasing new material. OTOH....Melody did marry perhaps the greatest Japanese guitarist of all time and a global rock icon so you know what? Get it, girl.

It's Music Monday, it's my last day on break, and I feel like chatting about my college radio show some more, so get ready to learn about one of kpop's most successful solo acts, Lee Hyori.

Lee Hyori's career began as the lead singer of the 1st generation idol group FIN K.L. The single Rose was included in Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix Korean version, which is how I discovered their music: in a tiny arcade beneath Fenway that is now closed.

Anyway! Lee Hyori left FIN.K.L for a solo career, and immediately became A Big Fuckin Deal. The single 10 minutes from her debut album was a tremendous success, and also serves an ideal example of early 2000s global pop scene: an addictive blend of hip-hop and dance beats, (the BREAK at 2:42 👌 ) provocative dancing and lyrics, and an entire closet of designer brand looks in one video. Of all the music I played on the show, 10 minutes was the most reliable at getting people to stop by the station and ask about the song.

Unfortunately, Lee Hyori's early years were plagued by controversies. She was criticized for her limited vocal range, and her song producers were frequent plagiarists of international hip-hop and RnB hits. Eventually Lee Hyori apologized for her complicity in plagiarism and took a hiatus from the industry, although she continued to work as a show host and entertainment columnist. Although still controversial, people now complained about her animal rights activism, support for worker's rights, and her criticisms of the impossible standards demanded of female performers.

Not surprisingly, when Lee Hyori returned to performing her music reflected her shift to social rights. Miss Korea is a jazzy track with lyrics that highlight how a cultural obsession with beauty erases the real beauty of all women. She has also taken a more direct role in composing and writing her own songs. Black, the title track of her most recent album, has a country/rock influence that is wildly different from the music of her early career, but is still recognizably "Hyorish."

If you've read this far, thank you for listening to me ramble about one of my favorite Asian performers. I hope you enjoy Lee Hyori's music at least a little bit.

Bonus songlist: When I first posted this on Misskey, I cut a few tracks due to length. That's not really an issue here, so here's some extra recs for you!

Hey Girl, from Lee Hyori's debut album and another track with powerful 2000s vibes. It's less catchy than 10 minutes but the music video hilariously demonstrates many of the...less artistic qualities of pop music. Nearly all the comments on this vid are along the lines of "she was my first love" or raving about Hyori's outfits. (The pink angora dress & beret combo in particular is a favorite.) Not included because it's kinda mid if I'm being objective, but definitely doesn't hurt to check out that pink angora dress. ;)

Anymotion, an absolute monster hit produced for Samsung's Anycall flip phone. The ad campaign featuring this song was crucial in Samsung's pivot to a trend-setting brand, and the "stage mix" video linked highlights Lee Hyori's peerless dance skills--not that any performer can afford to be a mediocre dancer in the kpop scene, but even in such rarefied air Hyori's joyously sexual dancing is a cut above any kpop star I've seen.

I haven't played Transistor - in fact, I hadn't even heard of it until a week ago - but damn, the reveal trailer song (We All Become) is faaaaaaabulous. Like I may just buy the game because of that song alone. Well, that, and the main character looks wicked awesome.

"" (Watch on YouTube)

so yeah that's all

I spent most of today cleaning the house. On one hand, I'm pretty proud of the newly-shiny kitchen counter and empty sink. On the other hand, there is still a lot of work to be done and ugh i don't want to dooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeet tomorrow. /whine

I finished the kitchen a lot later than I expected (partially because I got distracted by silly interwebs things, whoops) so today's entry is going to be pretty short. Thank goodness for the 30 Days music meme that I still haven't finished! :P

( day 28: a song that makes you feel guilty: Kiri no Ijigen by Nakaido Reichi )

( day 29: a song from your childhood: Truly Outrageous by Jem and The Holograms )

( the rest of the meme )

Today's nablo prompt...

Write about a piece of music that changed your life forever.

( Get ready for an EXPLOSION OF GEEKERY )

And by association, so did .59

:)

So, I've yet to compete a 30-day meme. I may never finish one, but they are handy to have around on days when you can't think of anything in particular to address...

First up, a few questions from this long-abandoned music meme...

( day 23: a song that you want to play at your wedding: The Days of Wine and Roses )

( day 24: a song that you want to play at your funeral: Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic )

( The rest of the meme )

Because I'm bored and can't get to sleep, have a music meme.

( blargh )

That was unnecessarily long. TL;DR: Gil Scott-Heron is somebody you should listen to, and jazz is awesome.

does anyone actually listen to these things? like, i know only end up listening to maybe half of the music posted on my flist. it's not an intentional thing, it's just that i'm a loser who likes to stay within my musical comfort zone for the most of the time so if something sounds like it will be really different, i skip it. i do have a bookmarks folder full of stuff i mean to give a whirl when i am in one of my musically adventurous moods, but the number of songs and artists in that folder is far greater than my capacity to listen to them all.

does anyone else have the same problem, especially when the music being pushed is from a genre you don't listen to often, or don't particularly like? as much as i like to think i am a ~generous and open~ listener, i'm a lot more likely to click on something that's cutesy or dance bubblegum pop, old-style soul and jazz, or r & b, while avoiding just about everything with the word 'rock' in it - even if it's been given a glowing and detailed review by someone's whose taste i trust. tolerance? i spit on your (musical) tolerance.

whatevs, here's a post that has some awful music in it and some fantastic music in it.

( day 17: a song that you hear often on the radio: Tik-Tok by Ke$ha )

( day 18: a song that you wish you heard on the radio: I Am Trying To Break Your Heart by JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound )

( day 19: a song from your favorite album: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson )

( the rest of the meme )

okay, i have no idea what to post for today, so here is a video about Toronto.

WHITE VEGAAAAAAAAAS!

ALSO! i got Cee Lo Green's The Lady Killer album and it is wonderful. I am toooooo stupified from headaches to gush about it properly, so i'll just say that if you've heard 'Fuck You' or its terribly sanitized radio version 'Forget You,' every single song is JUST as fabulous.

this is my favorite track if you need some convincing :)



will try to put more effort into this tomorrow~