Covering Cover songs

Hey everyone, hope you've been well.
Thought I might do a (semi) written post today. So....what to write about?
Well, I thought I'd write a bit about covers.

For some reason Japan likes cover songs. Or maybe it's just an easy way for companies to make money? Who knows. Whatever it is, it is a fact that their music industry churns out heaps of cover albums. Way more than America.....probably anyway. They can sometimes be nice, and around 70% of the time be awful. That's probably because the original song is usually such a  good song that it's hard to improve it, or the covering artist is some random unknown struggling one employed for half a buck. The remaining 30% however, tend to be pretty good and can become an interesting fusion of the original and (at least a bit of) the covering artists' own musical style. I find it pretty fun finding good cover songs, and especially nice if I don't even like the original song, but that's pretty rare. Anyhow, this post is just going to mention a few cover tracks that I liked.

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ELLIE MY LOVE
RAY CHARLES / SOUTHERN ALL STARS



Wait what? I thought this was supposed to be a Japanese song list? Well it is, or was, originally. Here it is sung by the legendary Ray Charles but it actually a cover of the song "Itoshi no Ellie" by the Southern All Stars. I've talked about this group a few times already so on this blog so....it's kind of a pain to do it again, but they are one of the most successful and influential bands ever in Japan. They are said to be the artists that paved the way for 'J-pop', a more Western sounding style of Japanese music, from the previous 'Kayoukyoku' style pop music, which was slightly different and more suited to Japanese phonetics. Both versions of this song were huge hits in Japan and in my head.




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HARMELN 
BUCK-TICK/ LA-PPISCH



BUCK-TICK have quite a strong following around the world among J-Rock fans but I wonder if many know of this song by them? It's off a tribute album for the musician/songwriter called Ueda Gen that was created after his death. He was a former member of a Ska/rock band called La-Ppisch, who made this song. They've impressively made it their own song without straying away from the original, which is nice. Maybe the song suited them in the first place but they still deserve credit for what they've done.




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LUPIN THE 3RD -LOVE THEME-
IMAI MIKI



This is the love theme from the popular anime, "Lupin the 3rd". I'm not sure who the first person to sing it with lyrics was so I can't really compare it but it's still a very nice song. Although this is a slightly different version to the one I have (it's only piano and voice) but it's more or less similar. Imai Miki has a gentle and soothing singing voice which matches this slow tune perfectly. There was also a version by the anime theme singer, Mizuki Ichiro on youtuve while I was looking for this video. That was also quite nice and slightly different because it's a male voice. I suppose it helps that the original song is a really nice one. Well that depends on what kind of music you like, but this is my opinion so yeah~



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I LOVE YOU
UTADA HIKARU/ OZAKI YUTAKA



This is a very famous song originally by the male singer, Ozaki Yutaka. Back in the 1980's he burst onto the scene with the song "Juugo no yoru" (The Night I was Fifteen) which was about teenage rebellion and all that pubity stage stuff making him an icon among adolescents at the time. He was one of the biggest stars until his sudden and unexpected death at the young age of 26, leaving many fan girls (and boys) in tears. The song that I've posted  is the song "I Love You", covered by the pop queen, Utada Hikaru. I actually found this rendition by chance a few days ago (can't remember how) but was very impressed. As usual she has a very clear and melodic voice.



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AUTUMN LEAVES
SHIINA RINGO/ EDIT PIAF




I seem to chuck on Shiina Ringo somehow on every list that I'm able to. That's what it feels like anyway. Well that makes sense, since she's one of my favourite musicians. Originally by the legendary French songstress, Edith Piaf, which is also a very awesome song. I'm kind tired writing so I'll be lazy and stop here. lol





Well I hope you found something here that you liked. I was going to write about how much variety that this list has but then I realised that most of them are ballads so.......I won't lol......

I was originally planning to have a few different styles but they ended up being pretty similar since I wasn't thinking that much as I was writing. Oh well. In anycase, I hope you discovered a song that you fancy....

MY TOP 5: JAPANESE FEMALE SINGERS

How's stuff going everyone? Hope it's good.

The place I am is summer at the moment unlike most other countries and is super stinking hot all day all night.
It's very uncomfortable....feels like the air is on fire during the day. My nose felt like it was burning when I was breathing through them when I went outside.....

I'm sure most of you would be in winter right now and probably have your own problems with that such as freezing mornings and dirty sick people sneezing on you and stuff, so I suppose I can't complain.

Well setting that aside, here's the point of today's post. My top 5 favourite Japanese female singers.
Not the most imaginative idea for a post but oh well.
The list isn't in any particular order....except for the first one.


SHIINA RINGO

The mainstream image of female singers from the Japanese music industry are that of cutesy high school girls bobbling up and down in groups and 'almost' flashing their underwear. It's hardly anything most people past the age of twenty can look up to although the tunes may be catchy. Shiina Ringo on the other hand is a person that could be admired by both females and males for her music, personality and other talents. 

She emits a very different aura and vibe compared to most and although what it feels like has evolved throughout the years, it hasn't ever failed to mystify her fans. She is also quite diverse with her works, sometimes singing crazy semi-screamo rock, sometimes jazz or funk, sometimes a Broadway musical style, or sometimes even standard J-Pop. All of this, in her own distinct and identifiable sound.


Maybe one reason I like her so much is that she came when my musical tastes were at a transition. During high school, I used to like old American hip hop. Although I also liked a diverse style of music back then, that was what I listened to most at the time. After I listened to too much of it and got tired of it, I tried looking for Japanese music as at the time, I couldn't stand listening to most American accents in English songs (Sorry Americans....). I got into Japanese music, mainly J-Pop, since that's the easiest place to start but then got tired of all the similar sounding music. I found Shiina Ringo's music around that time, and although I wasn't blown away the first time I listened to it, I could sense something different and interesting about her and her tunes that I liked. 

Making a long story short, after downloading some of her music I got heavily addicted to it. The end. lol 





UTADA HIKARU

 Well this quite a standard pick for these kind of lists. Utada Hikaru is basically the queen of J-Pop. Or at least used to be. She has been taking a lot of breaks recently so hasn't been around making songs for a while but even so, her popularity is still meteoric. Not only that but the influence and impact she had on Japanese music when she appeared was immense. Anyone who begins to like Japanese music and starts looking for more will inevitably pass through her at some point.

Although it's not uncommon for Japanese girls to become a hit artist at young ages such as 14 etc, she not only did that but absolutely took it by storm. She has a smooth and soulful voice uncharacteristic of girls that age and also Japanese people in general, especially of those times, where this modern brand of R'n'b was virtually non-existent. You could say that Utada Hikaru was the reason for the popularity this type of music enjoys nowadays in Japan. If you look for artists before her that who may have sung that style of R'n'b, chances are that your search will end empty handed. There still probably isn't anyone that does it as nicely as her, although I can't really say for sure as I don't listen to new artists that much.....





KIMURA KAELA

Kimura Kaela is has a nice balance between rock and pop and doesn't it tip too far onto one side and so draws fans from followers of both genres. Although she initially became popular among teen girls with simple pop tunes she steadily evolved and experimented with her music.  

Although she's not an extraordinarily amazing talent, her tunes are simple and pleasant to listen to and good to turn on when you just want to casually hear some music.

However, she does have a few fast paced tracks that pump me up, and some mellow songs that make me feel a bit melancholic, so some credit should be given to her as a vocalist.

She is also a very down to earth person and friendly person and is often joking around on tv shows when she appears. Oh and she's cute. lol






NAKASHIMA MIKA

Nakashima Mika was one of the first Japanese singers that I started liking. She has a very beautiful voice that can make me feel very relaxed. She usually sings a lot of slow songs backed with piano after a stint at rock music for the film "Nana" she also delved into those types of tune slightly afterwards too. That's probably what she's most well known for in the West. I've heard that there are lots of fans of that movie and the original manga series. Anyway, she did those songs greatly too in my opinion. I really enjoyed them and the few others rock songs that she has done. They were probably the starting point for me beginning to look to that genre for new music actually.

She has had numerous hit songs, and one especially called "Yuki no Hana" (Flower of Snow) is regarded a classic J-Pop tune. It has been covered countless times by many different people, including men (despite being a song from female perspective), Korean people, Korean men, and lots of others.

Well I would've liked to embed the song but all of them have been blocked from doing that by the uploaders so here a link instead...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muGwLz6BSyg



UA

UA's stage name holds the meaning of both 'flower' and 'death' in the African language of Swahili. She is renown for her husky voice and has dabbled with many different genres, including Dub, Jazz, R&B, Folk and Ethnic inspired music. If I was to compare her music to someone in Western music, I would have to say it's something similar to Bjork, so lots experimental shit with strange vocal noises that don't make much sense. lol For this reason she may not be everyone's cup of tea.

However, when she does sing normally, she does it excellently and very beautifully (as does Bjork). For some reason I don't listen to her music as often as I think, but when I do, I'm always (well usually) get sucked into her musical world.





Aaaand so there you have it folks. That should be my top 5, unless if I somehow forgot someone important.
So what are you favourites, if you have any that is. I'm confident that I'll already know some of yours.....(the Matsuura Aya fans....)

Anyway, until next time,