One of my good friends is a Persona freak. He loves the games and owns every single PlayStation release of the series. A few days ago he’d got himself a copy of Persona 4. He was opening it as I was talking to him on the phone. “Oh, it comes with the soundtrack!” He put it on and as he skipped through the tracks, I caught a whiff of some J-Pop. “Stop. What song was that? Go back!” “My affection”. I have a soft spot for easy breezy J-Pop that are so sickly sweet and happy-go-lucky that it’s enough to make you sick and vomit an ice cream cone with a side of rainbow. And “My affection” has buckets of sweetness. All it took was the “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeeeaaah”’s and I was on the song like a fly on shit. It’s just a really nice song. It isn’t a main theme or a major centerpiece song or anything. It just plays when you’re wandering around a town! I love it. I’ll probably get too sick of it eventually. But for now, it’s my pleasure that I’m not even guilty about. The entire Persona 4 soundtrack is pretty spiffy. In the realm of RPG’s, many tend to forget there are other hot composers other than Nobuo Uematsu.

Now if you’d excuse me whilst I go sing my shit. “Your affectioooooooon! Your affectioooooooon! Take it for coffeeeeeeee!”

Listen: Your affection

Composed by Shoji Meguro
Performed by Shihoko Hirata
Shin megami tensei: Persona 4 original soundtrack
© 2008 Aniplex

For the mp3 players: Your affection

With Evangelion 2.0 comes another theme song from my future wife and the mother of my un-born child Hikaru Utada. Her song “Beautiful world” (which also featured on her 5th Japanese studio album Heart station) was the main theme to Rebuild of Evangelion’s first film Evangelion 1.0: You are (not) alone. And a remix of same song features as the theme to the second film Evangelion 2.0: You can (not) advance. I’m usually weary of remixes. When I think remixes I tend to think really bad dance music and over echoed vocals. But this right here is pretty awesome. The song is remixed by PLANiTb: who also remixed Hikaru’s theme song “Simple & clean” for Kingdom Hearts.

Listen: Beautiful world (PLANiTb acoustica mix)

© 2009 EMI music Japan

Now THAT is what you call a remix! I love how how the tone of the original version was just completely flipped with the new instrumentations. It would’ve been nice to have had Hikaru record all new vocals. But I’m such a stan that this’ll do for me.

I do hope for Evangelion 3.0 that we get a new song though and that we don’t keep getting remixes of “Beautiful world”. I love the song, but 4 to 5 different remixes of it is a bit much. Shit, who am I kidding. I’d lap ‘em all up and love ‘em regardless. Because I stan for Hikaru like that.

Damn I love this woman…

Hikaru Utada’s fifth studio Japanese album Heart station is imminent and Hikaru’s gone and released a 35 second teaser of her singing a brand new song off of it. Check it out…

I’m liking the whole one take whilst singing dealio, even though she did it before with “Hikari”. One thing concerns me though; ever since “Flavor of life” Hikaru has looked like a boy with a terminal disease. She looks so pale and washed out. I still love her and want her to marry me though. There’s only so many women who could rock a boy’s haircut, a boy’s shirt, look like Ashiya from Hanazakari no kimitachi e and still look sexy. It’s all in her eyes.

Hikaru Utada’s new album Heart station is released on March 19, with a Canadian release slated for April 8.

Kumi Koda was a guest on popular Japanese radio show All night nippon and she made a bit of a boo boo…

“Koda was hosting “All Night Nippon.” The topic of her manager’s marriage came up, and Koda was asked about when her manager was planning to have children. She made a seemingly light-hearted reply that “when women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I’d like them to have a child by 35.”

Her comment had caused an uproar and as a result: a cosmetic brand that Kumi was the face of has disassociated itself with her, angered fans want her upcoming tour canceled and Kumi Koda’s record label has haltered all promotion for her latest album for at least a month. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she was also made to make a televised apology in which I’ll proceed to post in all its uncomfortable glory. Even if you can’t understand Japanese, the language of ’shame’ and ‘paying for it’ is pretty universal.

She should get an Oscar for that performance. The long pauses, the sniffles, the decision to not wear any make up or any hair extensions. Bravo! I do think however, that given that she’s the bitch in the wrong that she should’ve bowed lower. MUCH lower. Her head should’ve been sweeping the floor.

In the west an artist can publish a box on sex, strap themselves to a crucifix on stage, smoke crack, whip a titty out at the Superbowl, lose custody of their kids, go through several divorces and still have albums sell shit loads, get nominated for Grammy’s and not have to apologize to anybody. In Japan: not the case. Any form of controversy however small can potentially stop a female J-Idol’s career dead in its tracks and Kumi Koda knows this. That is why she was crying; because she knows her lavish lifestyle and her record deal with Avex Trax could go down the drain, not because she’s deeply sorry.

Whilst Kumi Koda is sat at home reflecting on what a silly bitch she was, her latest album is currently sat at number 1 on the Oricon charts. Hopefully this will cause Avex Trax to think twice about giving up on her. I’d deeply miss her slutty music videos if they did.

[Tokyograph]

A short clip of Hikaru Utada’s PV for her theme to Rebuild of Evangelion has been released on her official website and interestingly it does not feature Hikaru at all! The PV instead includes a montage of clips from the film itself. This will probably piss off fans who were hoping for a brand new PV which featured Hikaru. I doubt she’s fussed though. She’ll still get a big bag o’ money and a number 1 hit single on the Oricon charts at the end of it all.

The first film in the series Evangelion: 1.0 – You are (not) alone is released September 1, 2007 in Japan. Hit the link below to get a sneak peak at it and to hear Hikaru’s Utada’s theme song if you haven’t heard it already.

[Hikaru Utada's official website]

I’m a huge Hikaru Utada fan and have a bit of a thing for her. I sometimes have dreams about coming home, taking off my shoes, hearing the joyous cry of “Okaerinasai”, and having Hikaru Utada shuffle up to me and take my coat and shoes. I do have other dreams about her, but I can’t share those. Bottom line? I think she’s awesome. Which is why I am pretty stoked she as a brand new song on the way.

Hikaru’s been on a run with theme songs lately. Delivering us “Sanctuary” / “Passion” for Kingdom Hearts II, “Flavor of life” for the Japanese TV drama Hana yori dango 2, “This is love” for the OVA Freedom project and now “Beautiful world” for the forthcoming Rebuild of Evangelion films! As is usually the case, the song rocks. Hot beat, blips ’n whizzes going off all over the place and warblicious vocals make it a winner.

Listen: Beautiful world

© 2007 EMI music Japan

Great song. I heart it plenty.

Oi! Anyone else feel like this Otaku Music Bits (still looking for a new name) are moving a lot more towards Sunday than the original Saturday?Anyway, this weekend we don’t have anything anime related, but it couldn’t possible be any more otaku related when the singer changes costumes several times during the performance? Thats cosplay in motion, and this is I’ve’s Change My Style:

We need more of this, pronto.

Something big is happening when Shinzo Abe, Japan’s elected Prime Minister and declared otaku, mentions anime on his Keynote speech on friday. When talking about his plans for japan he said that he plans to “strengthen the information sending power and intenational competitiveness” of Japan including animation and music.

So Japan wants to start aggressively exporting its pop culture to the world? Look forward to industrial incentives for giant Mecha manufacturing and every foreign official dressing as a visual rockstar. The future is bright!

[TheOtaku]