Oh, The Irony...

Ah, CD Japan, you just keep me in stitches! It's funny enough when I'm getting deluged with alerts for releases that have barely any connection to the artists I've ordered (order an Arashi CD once, and you get weekly alerts for months when someone even remotely associated with Johnnys appears on a magazine cover, and you have no idea how many times Ohno Satoshi's been on a magazine cover this year!), but it's even more funny when I randomly check in on an artist that I DO love, and find that they've released something new months ago with nary a peep from them! AHAHA!

  This happened before with both Nishida Hikaru and Ribbon when Pony Canyon released special "Complete Single Double Disc collections: by the time I found out about it, only the regular single disc was available! I was able to get the Nishida Hikaru one via ebay, but the ribbon one remains out of my grasp to this day! Since both artists were on my list of alerts, I'm wondering if the day they sent to email my smap filter was on high and directed it to my trash bin, or if they simply didn't bother! 

  Case in point: So I'm browsing through old favorite Yumi Matsutoya's catalog, and I was pretty surprised when I saw that not only had Yuming released a new album called ROAD SHOW, it had come out last July!!! LAST JULY?!!! GADS! So I hurriedly sent out that order, and unless there was some kind of limited edition that I missed out on (seeing as how the CD I got was a regular cased release), it looks like I caught the tail end of that order in the nick of time! I'll be sure to give y'all a proper analysis of this new album but i'll need time to catch my breath! WHEW!

The "19 Dreams" Corner

Back when I was living in Mililani, there was this grove of trees at a street corner that I walked past every day that would remind me of the inside sleeve of one of Nishida Hikaru’s albums. It could be simply that at the time, Hikaru Nishida was my favorite artist and so perhaps I simply had “Hikaru on the Brain”, nonetheless, I thought of the album every time I saw the corner, and in fact, subsequently, several songs on the album REMIND ME OF THAT CORNER now!

The album in question was 19 Dreams, Hikaru’s wonderful fifth Pony Canyon release, featuring such fave songs as Happy Dream, Meguriai, Hohoemi Ni Yakusoku, and one of my very VERY fave songs from her, Ikiterutte Subarashii, so you can bet I listened to that album a LOT back then.

Recently, I was listening to the CD, and of course the music took me back, and I began reminiscing about that old corner. Just HOW MUCH did it actually look like the picture in the booklet? To satisfy my curiosity, I drove out there the past weekend, and visited that corner to see for myself!

First, the actual Booklet picture:

And “The Corner”…

AHAHAHA The Verdict? Well, I don’t know if the tress and shrubs/foliage grew or changed a lot since the 15 years when I lived there, but MAN that corner wouldn’t remind ANYONE of the Hikaru album, would it? AHAHAHA, at least, anyone except a Hikaru-obsessed fan! LOL!

Well, OK, squinting my eyes and focusing purely on the trees in the background, I can sort of see what probably made my brain think “Ah! 19 Dreams!”, but it’s not close enough to make it worthy to blog about, for chrissakes (whoops, too late…gomen)

Young JUMP 1995

 

Favorite Hikaru Songs: Kimi No Yukini Kampai"

I had mentioned how Mochida Maki's song Anata No Yukini Naritai reminded me of Nishida Hikaru's song Kimi No Yukini Kampai, and I thought that there may be a few of you out there who'd like to hear just what that song sounded like!

While this song was never released as a single, it's one of the best songs (on a record already filled with great stuff) on Hikaru's 1991 album ESPRIT, and in fact has been one of my favorite songs of hers for years! I went ahead and ripped the track into an MP3, then figured, what the heck, I'll get out my Hikaru Laserdiscs and share a performance of her singing the song in concert as well!

This genki live performance off of Hikaru's 1991 Concert Manatsu Jouzu!

PS: Wonder if we'll ever get an official DVD release box set of all Hikaru's concerts. Some real gems in them and would love to have them on DVD or (if we're dreaming ) blu-ray!

Favorite Hikaru Songs: “Til The End Of Time”

 “Til The End of Time” is the sweet and melancholy final track off of Hikaru’s “19 Dreams”,  an awesome closing song to an altogether stellar album! Already in a sombre mood from songs like “Meguriai” and “Tomodachi Ni Naritai”, Til The End Of Time really hits it home with the feels.

Hikaru herself penned the lyrics to the song, and while they are very basic and straightforward, there is real sincerity in her singing, and she is accompanied by a wonderful backing track, starting off with strumming guitars and building up to a swelling violin as she sings “The secrets taht we share…I Promise You” before dropping off to a gentle”…til the end…of time.”

And adding to the grandeur of this closing track, they have this nice little instrumental refrain of the song with some nice “power ballad” guitars, bringing the album to its final note!

I always thought it was nice that Hikaru had written the lyrics to the song, however I was to find it not so appealing to others when I made a mix of some Hikaru songs for a friend.He listened to it once and when I asked him how he liked it, he responded with a smirk, “You know that song…”Til the End of Time? Bet she wrote those lyrics herself!” Well, it was true and said so. “That’s what I figured!” he said, calling out it’s “amateur” prose, OUCH!

That’s always the risk when you are sharing something you love with someone. Part of you hopes they will see what makes the thing special like you do, but  at the same time, you leave it open for judgement and insulting comments. It’s a real shame too because 19 Dreams is one of my top2 Hikaru Nishida albums and i still consider Til the End of Time a grand closing song. But no matter how many people I meet who love the song, no matter what, It’s that comment by my friend that I think of whenever I play the album. Sigh.

Scorer 1991.12

 

Scorer 1990.08

 

Scorer 1990 04.26

  

SCORER Magazine

 

"Ren'ai Kekkon No Rule"

“Renai Kekkon No Rule is the story of an average but goodhearted man named Koichi who’s just looking for someone who he can spend time with, a “nice girl”, if you will. He goes on a dating-service meeting, and meets the girl of his dreams in Asako (Koizumi). They seemingly hit it off, much to Toshiro’s delight, but it all comes crashing down when he realizes SHE has no interest in seeing HIM!

Fate seems to have other plans, however, and time after time the two cross paths and before you know it, they are thoroughly intertwined in each other’s lives and affairs, both literally AND figuratively! Along with Toshiro’s overbearing relations and Kyoko’s meddling co-workers and friends, it’s a crazy mish-mash of plotting, deception and…falling in love!!!

The actors in this show are all top notch, with a cast that includes Koizumi Kyoko and Yanagiba Toshiro as the leads, with an incredible supporting cast filled out with Kashiwabara Takashi, Koyuki (in her first ever drama!) and Hikaru Nishida as the young love of Toshiro’s FATHER(! )

One thing that always seemed clear to me is that the actors and actresses involved in Renai Kekkon No Rule were having FUN shooting this drama, and there's no better evidence of this than this HILARIOUS NG montage clip I got off one of those NG shows. 

Hikaru and actor Soichi Kitamura appeared on one of those NG Happening shows where they show all the drama bloopers of the past season, to laugh at their flubs on Renai kekkon...

Watch as Kobayashi Satomi bangs into tables, forgets her lines and Kyonkyon and Toshiro crack up, Hikaru-chan forget her lines when she is distracted by crispy nori being eaten, and the hilarity the ensues when the guy who plays Toshiro's Pop keeps forgetting it's his turn to talk! TOO FUNNY!!!!

Even after all these years, Renai Kekkon No Rule remains  one of my Top Ten Japanese Dramas of all time, and as the years go by, it becomes even more and more precious to me! 

My Nishida Hikaru Top 50 Song List!

I've been in love with Nishida Hikaru and her music ever since I first heard her single "Melody" way back in 1996, and since then I've cherished just about every single thing she's ever done, her music ranking up there in my Top Five Favorite J-Pop artists of All-Time!!

Besides featuring some of the catchiest, poppiest and at time sad and lovely songs, every one of Hikaru's albums and singles also have an incredible amount of sentimental significance for me, so when I was asked recently which songs of hers were in my Top Ten, I knew it wouldn't be a query I could answer without some difficulty!

In fact, when I came right down to it, I couldn't do a fave list without any less than fifty positions, because there were just too darn many songs I loved that were of equal  appreciation, and in the end, the best I could do was give a sort of "general" placement of the songs in the list.

By that I mean that a song ranked at, say, #11 isn't necessarily more loved than a song at #13, but probably more beloved than a song at #33 or so. But let's face it, I love everything Hikaru's done, and the list is merely a fun thing to look at to "spotlight" the songs of hers that have meant more to me and have gone even beyond beloved in my book!!

Z's 西田 ひかる TOP FIFTY SONG LIST! :)

01-  Kokoro Dake Soba ni Iru ~Here In My Heart  /Esprit

02- Namida Tomaranai    /Sundance

03-  Kimi No Yukini Kampai    /Esprit

04- Oh My God!!~Dane    /Tokimeki No Prologue

05- Dear My Soul     /2-4

06- Ikiterutte Subarashii   /19 Dreams

07- Miracle   / Love Always

08- Don’t Worry Yourself    /Esprit

09- Melody   (single)

10- Meguriai   /19 Dreams

11-  Hohoemi ni Yakusoku     /19 Dreams

12-  Once Upon A Time     /A File Of Life

13-  Tokimeite     /Esprit

14-  Racuen Densetsu   /A File Of Life

15-  Jibun Rashiku Nareru    /A File Of Life

16-  Dear My Friends   /Sundance

17-  Sore ga Hajimari   /A File Of Life

18-  C’mon C’mon C’mon    /A File Of Life

19-  Tenshi Kara No Telepathy  /Esprit

20-  Aru Asa, Koi ni Tsuite Kangaetakoto   /A File Of Life

21-  A Song For You  /Sundance

22-  Yes   /Esprit

23-  Happy Ever After   /Love Always

24-  I'm Alright ~Yasashiku Naritai~   /2-4

25-  Watashi Dake Hero     /Esprit

26-  Watashi No No.1    /2-4

27-  Juliet No Kuchibue     /Clear

28-  Kitto Aiga Aru    /Love Always

29-  Happy Dream     /19 Dreams

30-  Koi Wa Shiroi T-Shirt   (single)

31-  Til The End Of Time   /19 Dreams

32-  Tomodachi ni Naritai   /19 Dreams

33-  Nakushita Kunai no Anata o   (single)

34-  Mamoritai no...   /Love Always

35-  BIBIDEBU/  Love Always

36-  Tsukiyo Ni Kiganjuu    /Tokimeki No Prologue

37-  Sukida to Iwareta   /19 Dreams

38-  Kagayaki! Kudasai    /Sundance

39-  Suki de... Suki de... Suki na no   /2-4

40-  Dolphin Christmas    /Love Always

41-  Pun Pun Pun    /Tokimeki No Prologue

42-  Totsuzen no Natsu  2-4

43-  Truth   (single)

44-  Madobe No Secret   (single)

45-  Nice Catch     /Clear

46-  Iin Jyanai    (single)

47-  Go Beep!   (single)

48-  Natural Summer Days   /Silhouette

49-  Little Chance     /Clear

50-  Fifteen     /Clear

Notes:

Looking over this list, it is pretty apparent which Hikaru Albums are my favorites! The list leans quite favorably towards her middle albums, the ones that I consider her “peak” releases: Esprit, 19 Dreams, Sundance and Love Always, with a handful of faves from later releases like A File Of Life, and the album that came out just as I was getting into her, Two-Four.

The releases that seem to appear less on my list are Hikaru’s early albums, Clear, Silhouette and Tokimeki No Prologue, where I always felt like she was still developing her own style and still sounding like the electronic j-pop of the early 80’s. It wasn’t until Esprit came along that I feel she came into herself, and from there, there was no stopping her!

A couple of albums that don’t appear at all here are Hikaru’s two latest releases, Shiawase No Katachi and Love For All Seasons, and it’s not for lack of great songs. Though all the tracks on these albums are terrific tunes, because they came so much later than the previous albums, I simply haven’t got a chance to get as sentimentally attached to them as the others. Yet!