Here's the famous DJ with Yossie & Rika

With only days to go until I see Morning Musume live in Paris, I realised that I haven’t posted my thoughts here on Hangry and Angry’s concert at the Underworld in Camden back in May. Most of the following was posted on Musume-Central after returning from the concert on 27th of May. Some was posted a little later. Edited for clarity.

Well a good night was had by all.

Highlights:
Opening video showing providing background to the uninitiated. Including a potted history of their time with Morning Musume. Tsuji, Ai and Risa all had some nice (and occasionally funny) things to say about them. Apparently they both regularly turn up to Momusu concerts.

Slow start to the music. The volume seemed quite low for a Camden club, but that didn’t discourage a small group of hard core wotas, thrashing about with their glow sticks.

The spectacularly well-endowed DJ, really working it. And Yossie describing her (frankly astonishing) cleavage (with appropriate hand gestures) as Hangry and, err, Angry. Yeah. Big laugh.

The truly dreadful questions asked by forum members. Seemed like everyone wanted to ask in Japanese, which still had to be translated for H&A (but not, alas for us). One poor girl, so excited by speaking directly to her heroines, seemed to be having an hysterical fit of some kind. I have no idea what she asked, or even what language she asked in. According to Jmol @ M-C only one question was asked in Japanese. To my recollection there were at least two (both a guy and a girl) and I think at least one more, although I was pretty drunk, so my memory may be hazy on this point. I think the main problem was the audio. You couldn’t really hear what the questioners were saying on the mic., especially with so many people talking at the same time.

No matter how banal the questions themselves may, or may not, have been, the Q&A session did produce some very entertaining moments. Worst question ever? If you could travel back in time to any period, where would you go to? I giggled for days over the pained expression on Yossie and Rika’s faces when they were finally made to understand the meaning of the question. Absolutely priceless. And then the interpreter trying (I think, in vain) to get Rika to tell her how many years ago the Edo period was. Vintage stuff! Yossie gave the best possible response she could – she’d travel back to the sixties to watch the Beatles perform in London.

Asked where they saw themselves in 10 years, Yossi & Rika both said still singing and, probably, married with children. A show of hands was requested for volunteers and many guys (including yours truly) and a few girls immediately raised their hands. At this point both Yossie and Rika made a point of letting everyone know that they like boys. They were very insistent on this point. All this despite their choreographed groping (which seemed more overt than in Paris) and Yossie later flirting furiously with one of the very pretty winners of the photograph draw.

Best moment of the night? Yossie & Rika performing a short impromptu acapella version of Mr Moonlight.

One thing I noticed in many online postings about the night were comments regarding how the show was almost a sell out. Well, I don’t buy that for a second. The place was half empty. Plenty of people bought tickets on the night; presumably they saw the queue and decided see what the fuss was about. And I noticed a slow but constant trickle of people walking out during the first half of the concert. presumably it wasn’t the typical indie rock gig they were expecting to see at the Underworld.

Although I didn’t take any pictures on the night, I did take many photos when I saw Hangry & Angry in Paris last year. Here is a selection.

My Personal Hello! Project Rankings 2010

I think you can safely ignore the final two rows. The S/mileage girls at the end have made no individual impressions on me. Some of their songs are entertaining, but they’re just kids right? I couldn’t name a single one of them.

1. Niigaki Risa (Morning Musume) – Not that you can tell from that deeply unflattering photograph, but Gaki-san is actually one of the Project’s great beauties. She was a huge fan of the Morning Musume long before she joined it, and even today she still brings a fan’s enthusiasm to everything she does. It’s hard not to love Momusu’s original Reaction Queen, Niigaki Risa.
2. Kamei Eri (Morning Musume) – Eri is a bit of a nut. There’s no denying it. Famed for her childhood habit of finding reassurance by hiding in constricted spaces and her wacky, off-beat sense of humour, the all grown-up Kamei-San is, I think, undeniably the most beautiful Musume there has ever been. Her voice is… OK.
3. Yajima Maimi (C-ute) – Again, that’s not one of the most flattering photos ever taken of her, so you’ll just have to take my word for it — This incredibly talented 18 year old is simply stunning. Her timeless poise and winning smile perfectly compliment her first-rate vocal talents.  She first came to my attention two years ago when she sang 16sai no Koi Nante in duet with project legend Abe Natsumi. Two years later, this delightful song has chiselled itself a permanent place in my heart.
4. Mano Erina – Why Manoeri? Why does she get all the promotion? Why does she get all the TV shows? Why? I honestly don’t know. I mean, yes she can play the piano and she can act. She has a terrific body and a lovely face complete with sparkling eyes and a smile so bright it could get into Oxford. And oh yes, she can sing a bit too. But apart from all that, I have no idea why UFA places so much faith in her. A complete mystery to me.
5. Lin Lin (Morning Musume) – Upbeat and funny, this Chinese import with the second best voice in Morning Musume just can’t seem to catch a break. She should be centring, and yet she’s lucky to get even one line to sing in a single. Is it racism? Is UFA pandering to the worst instincts in its worst fans? You know, I rather suspect it might be just that. Poor kid.
6. Michishige Sayumi (Morning Musume) – She couldn’t sing to save her life, but Sayumi still gets more lines that JunJun and LinLin put together. And there’s a reason for that. The fans love her. She’s the “cute one” and she plays her role to the hilt. Yes, it’s all an act, and she knows that we know, but it sure is fun coming along for the ride.
7. Takahashi Ai (Morning Musume) – The voice of the Morning Musume. She gets most of the lines because no one else has her talent or drive. It will be a sad day for the project if she ever graduates.
8. Natsuyaki Miyabi (Berryz Koubou) – A great singer and a terrific dancer, Miyabi may just be the future of the Project.
9. Tanaka Reina (Morning Musume) – Perhaps the most genuine of the current crop of Musumes. She is who she is, and I absolutely respect that. And this wonky-eyed wonder can really sing!
10. Jun Jun (Morning Musume) – You’ll notice JunJun is not smiling in that picture. In fact, she seems to be on verge of tears in a lot of promotional pictures. She’s a lovely girl who just needs a little more attention to blossom. Come on Tsunku, help our banana loving girl shine!

Here is the the final version of my 321 Breakin’ Out! video submitted to the Morning Musume comptetion. I think you ‘ll agree it’s a bit of an improvement over the rough cut of the previous post.

It’s no going to win any prizes, but I had fun doing it.

Like every man and his dog in the Hello! Project fan community, I have been working (or rather planning to work on) a video for the big Morning Musume competition.

Here’s my first attempt. I still have a lot to do, this is a rough cut with all the green screen backgounds still in place.

I have recently become addicted to one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Certifiable Grade-A cheese from defunct Avex girl group SweetS (sic) with the cutely named Bitter SweetS. My copy of their Best Of album, Delicious, arrived yesterday, and while most of the tracks are pretty good, nothing but nothing comes close to Bitter SweetS. I’ve listened to it over and over, I’m listening to it again as I type, and it never fails to get me going.

This song is everything I love about Japanese Pop defined. Insanely up-beat, catchy and energetic. It has a bit of disco vibe. Right from the first note Bitter SweetS is absolutely unrepentant, with no pretensions to anything other than making you feel good. I ask for nothing more. It delivers nothing less.

So, anyhow, have a listen and see what you think. I’m interested to know. You should try to judge the song independently of the video, which is certainly nothing special. Use up valuable bandwidth by posting your opinions in the comment section below.

This morning I put the final touches on the mix for Hello!Baka Fandub’s latest project, a cover of Aa!’s First Kiss. This time it was just the boys (Liam, Dran and Ethereal Motives) singing. Counter tenor Liam’s mastery of some terrifyingly high pitched runs must be singled out for special praise.

And so, without any further ado, here it is, for your delight and joy…

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5UJX9LZZ

For the record, I’ve just pre-ordered Morning Musume’s new single, Shouganai Yume Oibito. To be precise, it’s the First Press Limited Edition SINGLE+DVD (Jacket B). I normally don’t buy singles, but for some reason this one seemed a must have. Odd when you consider that I’m not quite so enamoured with this particular effort as some fans seem to be.

I wonder why I bought it… What could it have been that prompted me to type in my credit card number? And why not the regular edition or Jacket A? Hmmm…

And here is Liamers’ timely sub of the preview video.

“A blog you say? That sounds absolutely marvellous! I used to keep rabbits, you know. Horrible things. Smelly.”

But that was then and this is now. We’re on the other side of the great blog bubble. User-generated content has moved on. Youtube, My Space and Facebook have all had their day in the sun. Now it seems Twitter is taking over. Who would have believed it? RSS meets SMS in the form of Ashton Kutcher. Still The written word is back, and that has to be a good thing. After all, there’s no idea too complex it can’t be expressed in 140 characters, right?

Right?

Well, maybe not. Let’s be honest, for every Stephen Fry, John Dickerson or Scott Simpson,  there are 10,000 Cheryls with views on shoes. Still, I’m inspired.  Keep it short and simple. Brief, even. That’s my plan.

Brevity times levity = Good times.

And I have a theme! The world of Japanese pop music. More specifically, artists within, or related to, the Hello! Project stable.

Brief briefings from the world of H!P. In other words… H!Pster Briefs.

Yeah, it’s a cheap pun. I know.

I’m not proud.

So, if you’ve an interest in the comings and goings of Morning Musume and other J-pop idols, bookmark me. Or ignore me.

Actually, I suppose you could do both.

Morning Musume