True Life Seek

When pengie from unchained asked if anyone had emotional attachments or memories to songs, I knew that I had to answer. When I am considering songs, I don’t think of insane guitar/drum solos or soothing percussions. I am aware that certain instruments can trigger moods and emotions, but I don’t actively consider this.

It is a very subjective way to look at it, but sometimes the timing of when you hear a song is just as, if not more so, important as the quality of the song itself. I find it hard to separate myself from myself and look at music through an objective mind.

If I am going to do a post talking about emotional attachments to music, I am going to have to pick a song from the pillows. I am not going to pigeonhole the group and say that their music from the FLCL era was their best. I do believe their current stuff is just as good. However, to answer this post truthfully, I need to pick something from the FLCL era. But which one? I am picking “Funny Bunny.”

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Tastes in music change. I don’t listen to a “Hybrid Rainbow” or a “Crazy Sunshine” as much as I used to. However, I listen to “Funny Bunny” no matter what genre I am currently into. I can always see myself on a bus, lazily staring out the window, whenever this is on.

The next song that I have some sort of attachment to is Bonnie Pink’s “Building a Castle.” The lyrics do not speak to me. However, there is a good story told in this song - albeit in simplistic terms.

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There isn’t really a particular moment in my life that I associate this song with. Furthermore, it wasn’t even the first Bonnie Pink song that I’ve heard. It isn’t my favorite Bonnie Pink song either, that’d be “Rope Dancer.” It is just one of those songs that I listen to, no matter what my preference is at the time.

I was a very bad student in high school. I ended up going to summer school one year. I would love to say that I straightened up and flew right after that. It didn’t happen. Every day that I went to summer school, I listened to the brilliant green’s “Nagai Tameiki no You ni.”

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I was still learning that there was pop culture outside of America at this time. I barely knew anything about the brilliant green at this point. My, how a lot has changed! Anyways, the song is mellow without being depressing, which I suppose was my mood at the time. Like “Building A Castle,” I don’t think the lyrics really speak to me. It was definitely the right song at the right time though, otherwise I would have listened to something else every day.

Another song that I used to listen during that period was Mr. Children’s “Hana -Memento-Mori-.”

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I am not a huge Mr. Children fan. I just really like this song.

Dragon Ash’s “Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan Wo” has to make this list. I wish it didn’t, but it has to.

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Battle Royale (2000) doesn’t stand the test of time. Still, while not great or even good, it is not exactly a bad movie either. Some parts are definitely bad/cheesy/low-grade, but not to the point where it ruins the film. Still, I can’t pretend like I wasn’t into that movie. I was. This is the song that plays during the credits of it. I have a friend who was also really into Battle Royale. Our friendship has taken its hits and she has had a very hard time over the last half-decade. I tend associate this song to her.

My favorite act today is Perfume. However, the song that I associate my connection to Perfume is nothing they have recently released. It is Perfume’s “Sweet Donuts.”

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“Sweet Donuts” is from the old style that Perfume used to do. It isn’t for everyone and some may consider it generic. I like it though, albeit not nearly as much as their recent releases. I need to go over this in detail some other time, but I like Perfume for reasons beyond the music. They have evolved from a group that was, almost literally, no buys. They were cute, but nothing outstanding. That’s changed now and I love the story and progression that has taken them to where they are. “Sweet Donuts” always reminds me of this story.

The next song is actually not even close to being a favorite of mine. However, the association that goes along with it is something that I simply can’t forget. 10nin Matsuri’s “Dancing Natsu Matsuri.” Well, the association goes with both song and PV, so I might as well just link the PV.

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I don’t really like this song. I don’t even really like the PV. However, it is the first song/PV that I can remember from Hello!Project. I love the fact that I have to be the only person in the world that has had their first H!P experience through “Dancing! Natsu Matsuri.” Furthermore, I also love the fact that it got me interested to dive deeper into H!P, even if it was incredibly mediocre song/PV.

So when did I realize that something was seriously wrong with me I was a Hello!Project fan? I want to say that it is Tanpopo’s “Koi Wo Shichaimashita.” I want to say that because “Koi Wo Shichaimashita” is one of those pop songs that is almost perfect. However, it’s not that song. No, the day that I realized that I was a lost cause was when I found myself listening to Melon Kinenbi’s “Akai Freesia” over and over.

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I’d like to say that I found this song on its own merits and became a huge Melon Kinenbi fan. That didn’t happen. It was from an Eri Kamei OPV. Terrible, I know. The connection to Eri Kamei has since faded away. Now, regardless of whatever quality or merits there may be to this song, I just like listening to it.

Lastly, we need a song to define the current times. It seems that there is a large contingent that loves both “Resonant Blue” from Morning Musume as well as “Cinderella\Complex” from High-King. It has been tough to keep a strong stance against both of them. Unfortunately, I am going to have to give up. I can’t fight it anymore. So, which one of those two songs, Resonant Blue and Cinderella\Complex is my favorite? Well, you will have to play to find out:

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Posted on June 15th, 2008 by broomhead. Filed under Articles.
Tags: 10nin Matsuri, Battle Royale, Bonnie Pink, Dragon Ash, FLCL, Hello!Project, High-King, Melon Kinenbi, Morning Musume, Mr. Children, Perfume, Tanpopo, the brilliant green, the pillows