I’ve been watching the latest PV preview of GARNET CROW’s “Misty Mystery” repeatedly for the past 30 minutes. The visual effects look cool. The song is amazing.
When I saw an earlier preview, I was thrown off. When I saw the blond for a split second, I thought it was Yuri. I was surprised, thinking she was wearing a blond wig. With the latest preview, I can see there are alternate universe versions of the band in the video. (And no, there is no goatee) I’d love to see a lyric translation sometime. Maybe there will be an explanation for the alternate GARNET CROW.
I’m very excited for this release. I’m glad I ordered both versions. I wish the CDs wouldn’t take over a week to arrive after they are released. I have a feeling this single could be one of my favorite songs. (My number one favorite at the moment is “Rainy Soul”. Beautiful song.)
I haven’t had much time for updating the blog as originally planned, so I will give a brief rundown on my latest music obsessions. Hopefully I will expand on the list at a later date.
My current favorite music (Top 5)
1.) Mai Kuraki
2.) GARNET CROW
3.) Ai Takaoka
4.) YUI
5.) Younha
During the past several months, my music-listening went through a few changes. My idol music listening continued to decrease, and I listened to Korean pop less. My Mai Kuraki fandom solidified, making her my favorite soloist.
In a previous post, I briefly mentioned a new music discovery: GARNET CROW. Within a month, my interest in their music increased significantly. During that time, I bought all seven full-length studio albums. The more I listened, the more I became a fan, until they became my favorite (active) group. I currently own eight full-length studio albums, their mini-album, and six of their singles.
One of my favorites is the song “Mysterious Eyes”, which was one of the Detective Conan openings.
Another favorite is the song “もう一度 笑って” (Mou Ichido Waratte).
(I’ve also developed a mini-crush on Nana AZUKI, one of the keyboardists. She is wearing a striped shirt in the second video.)
Mai Kuraki and GARNET CROW are my top music obsessions now. In a later post, I will write about some other recent music discoveries from Japan.
Since the Elder Club members graduated from Hello Project over a year ago, I have felt lost in my fandom. A vast majority of my favorite members were in Elder Club, and it felt like they were being “kicked upstairs” to be neglected. I lost feeling increased when Atsuko’s contract with Up Front ended last October.
Over the past year, I have drifted around in various fandoms. Although my love for Atsuko has never decreased, I would briefly latch onto various idols, considering them my “crush” for a brief period.
Around the same time as the Elder Club graduation, my interest in two non-idol singers were beginning to emerge. The first was Mai Kuraki. I’ve known about her for several years, but I was only a casual listener. I think I bought her first album a couple of years ago, but only listened occasionally. I’m not sure if the graduation was a catalyst, but sometime early last year, I started listening to her more often. I began buying her albums, and any new singles that were released beginning around that time. My fandom slowly grew.
The second singer was Younha, a Korean singer who sings both Korean and Japanese music. I discovered her during an end-of-the-year CD sale. Her Korean single “Audition” was on sale. I decided to look for information and a video. I liked what I heard, so I bought the CD. It wasn’t until several months later that I decided to check more music, and buying her Korean CDs. Currently, I own all of her Korean CDs, and four of her Japanese singles. Probably around the beginning of this year, I began to consider her my favorite Korean singer.
Between these two, I feel like I am considering Mai Kuraki as my favorite singer. With the news of her upcoming single next month, titled “Summer Time Gone”, I’ve noticed my Kuraki listening has increased by a huge amount. She is now my most played artist on my Last.fm profile. It is possible that some of you will notice that I’ll talk about her as much as I did about Atsuko. We shall see.
One thing has not changed, though. Atsuko Inaba is still my #1.
