The Magic of Music - テルミドール

So today while I was sitting on the train making my way to dance class, I was, with immense intensity, reminded of yet another aspect that makes Nana's music special to me.

Have you ever felt the story of a song, just from the melody? Just from the tone of voice? Just from lyrics you cannot understand? And with this I do not mean just the atmosphere of the song, but the actual content - the message it is trying to convey.

Arigatou + 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 16

I really love days like this. Even if it was because of some scary shit, it's nice to experience how many people care so much. Makes me realize I am surrounded by very lovely people over here as well, even if my own family is far away. I am truly grateful for everyone who I talked to today, so thank you so much! I love you all very much! <3 I couldn't ask for better friends nor better supervisors. I gotta say that Kinue's little cameo today brightened up my day surprisingly much too. Really nice of her to offer me a lift when driving past, even if I couldn't accept it since I was going to the wrong campus.

Also I have to say the combined dad ambush was.... creepy. o_o

Now onward to today's song..

Day 16 - A song you used to love but now hate

No song

Ha I lied, no song today. Like before, I still think hate is too strong of a word and in my case this usually happens the other way around - I'll dislike something first but then fall in love with the song. That happens quite often actually, and the songs are ones I really end up loving a LOT later. I do that sometimes with people too... >.> Whoops.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 15

Just a song entry again, being a university student on her last semester is a bitch... :(

Though on a random side note, according to our Japanese teacher I am apparently a himo (himohimohiimohimoooo!) and Amy is a hobo. Bless her.

Day 15 - A song that describes you
Sharada by Skye Sweetnam

Once upon a time there was a girl, you wouldn't really call her typical - had her own definition of cool, she lived in her own world. There are probably quite many people who could've guessed that I'd pick this song for this day. I remember how I the very moment I heard this song the first time thought that it was so about me. I think it nicely brings out major qualities I have - such as never really being one of the crowd, always doing/planning something weird and fighting to make my dreams come true. It's fun also how you can very easily say that I've got my head up in the clouds, even though when I aim for something that I want to achieve I do make sure that it is within possible boundaries for me to reach. I think the happy drive of the song also very well depicts a certain love for life, which is something again that I do possess no matter how shit things might sometimes seem. One day she's gonna be famous! ;)

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 14

I was going to write something extra with this but.... now I don't feel like it after all. Maybe tomorrow! ;)

So onward to today's song!

Day 14 - A song no one would expect you to love
Goodbye Earl by Dixie Chicks

So this one was a really hard pick - every time I thought of some weird song that would be fun to put here I remembered that there was this person and that person who knew I liked it. Usually it was just one person too, but even then I felt I could not put that song there! So in the end I decided to go with Dixie Chicks, mainly because I don't think anyone actually knew I liked their songs. Not that I've heard much of them, pretty much just the album(s) my mom has, since when we lived in the States we had a CD rota going on in the car when she drove me to and from school that consisted of Pave Maijanen, J. Karjalainen, Dixie Chicks and a fourth one I can't remember now. I don't think I ever told her, but I did hugely enjoy everything we listened to together back then - especially this fun song, Goodbye Earl. So yes, I did not choose this song because it was a shocking pick for someone like me, just because there was no one I ever told that I liked it.

Daisy×Daisyの１０歳平和同盟普及計画！ + 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 13

So thanks to my trusty stalking site... I mean.... Twitter, I noticed Nico Nico was streaming some program with Nana's little sister, Mika, in it today. I figured I'd give it a watch since I thought it was a good opportunity to become more familiar with Mika and see what sort of person she is. :) Ha, boy that program was some crazy shit - I had a hilarious time. She had a lot of similar cute mannerisms as Nana, but at the same time she was definitely her own person. She even had this one silly laugh that I do too! Yay, I am one step closer to the Kondou family! O_o *waves flag around* Ehum but yes, she and this guy (I assume he might have been from the Daisy x Daisy band?) had a drawing competition and sang a couple of songs, of which the first one was sadly affected by echo.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 12

Well I'm going to be boring with this one. Sorry.

Day 12 - A song by a band you hate

So yeah, I can't think of any band I hate... Sure there are ones I dislike but I don't think there's any I outright hate. Hate is such a strong word and I tend to avoid using it. So yeah, no song today. Booyah.

Here, have hamsters peeing instead:

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 11

So I'm running a bit behind, whoops. I can only say in my defense that university is seriously sucking the life out of me lately so I really have no energy or time to do anything extra. Sigh.

But anyway, here is the next song..

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Dreaming Wide Awake by Poets of the Fall

So, I can't say I had any particular reason to choose this specific song - I really love all of Poets of the Fall's songs and I just picked the first song that caught my eye on my iTunes. I love Poets of the  Fall as I think they're one of the only bands who actually have a lot of things to say in their songs. Their lyrics are very carefully woven into a net of gracefulness and cleverness that it is a huge pleasure to listen to them again and again, especially for me as I love to play with words myself as well. Their songs also really make you think about stuff and life in general. Very deep. Also they are quite consistent in  their quality - I have yet to encounter a Poets of the Fall album I do not love. :)

And I actually have an idea concerning this song but I am not sure if it's any good haha. That'll remain to be seen.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 10

Ah a very fitting song challenge considering how tired I am now.... So without further ado I shall get to it!

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Someday the Dream Will End by Nobuo Uematsu

Not a very cheerful song, but I remember already thinking when I came across this song while playing Final Fantasy X a long time ago that it had a sort of drowsy "heavy weight on your shoulders" -sort of feel to it. Not really that surprising considering how the name of the song is Someday the Dream Will End - it really fits the theme perfectly. I can't say for sure I've ever actually fallen asleep while listening to this song, I do have a hunch that it has very likely happened, but what I am certain of is that if I did listen to this while lying in bed I wouldn't take too long to fall asleep. At the end of the day though, I would fall asleep while listening to any song thanks to my incredible "out like a light in a matter of minutes" -skillz. Oh and btw,  just to be perfectly clear, I wouldn't fall asleep every damn time I listen to this song, I'd need to be tired for that... That'd be kinda bad wouldn't it if that was indeed the case? I mean, I could be walking to uni and this song would come up on my iPod and boom I fall face first on the pavement and start snoozing. O_o

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 09 + End of Challenge

Alright so finally, it is time to reveal the right answer to the challenge I set [here in Day 07]. The scene that was being depicted by our conversation is referring to Nana's Justice to Believe music video. The fun starts at around  2:34, enjoy! Also, my apologies - I could only find the actual music video with Indonesian subs...

Nana's Charity Program + 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 08

Nana <3

Holy hell, I am stunned - Nana's charity program was just simply amazing. I was expecting the heart-felt 7月7日, since that is one of the usual songs Nana sings accompanied by her harpist friend, Mika, but Innocent Starter and SUPER GENERATION were a surprise and were so very damn beautiful! The program started with Nana offering her condolences to the victims of the disaster and you could really see how sad she was. During her songs you could sense how much she cared and hell I was so touched that I might've even cried if stupid things didn't keep interrupting my lovely experience. Grrr. Anyway - Nana you are so pretty! (*゜Д゜*) I'm glad she ended with a happy song like SUPER GENERATION, as otherwise she probably would've cried herself. At the end of it all she didn't even give us an ending speech, but instead just whispered a very very sincere "Arigatou" which totally blew me away.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 07

DAY SEVEN! HOW I'VE WAITED FOR YOU! :D

And I finally have the energy to write something extra as well, hallelujah. So know my good fellows, I shall present you with a challenge. Anyone who knows what is being depicted by  the following conversation gets kudos (and maybe a cookie). Aaron is not allowed to participate as he is also part of the conversation.

R: :O

A: *gets shot*

R: *puts mask on your face*

A: *turns all evil and shit*

R: *gets angry and battles you*

A: *mask falls off dramatically*

R: *is shocked by unexpected plot twist and defends herself with the gun she got as a gift from you*

A: *waits to get shot*

R: *points trembling gun at you and gets the resolve to press trigger*

A: *falls in a stupidly overacted manner*

R: *places trampled rose on your chest and majestically walks away*

End of story. Any guesses? ;)

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 06

Again just a song post, wanted to write more but my time seems to slip away somewhere...

Day 06 - A song that reminds me of somewhere
Real Emotion by Koda Kumi

I chose this song as it reminds me of my trip to California to visit my dad in 2003. I was really obsessed with Koda Kumi's two songs that show up in Final Fantasy X-2 and also the soundtrack for Final Fantasy X at the time. I mean, we literally listened to her two songs + the short 13 song soundtrack of Final Fantasy X I had back then (now I have the full one of course) the whole way from where he lived to Los Angeles. It was a really nice trip and I enjoyed every moment of it. Definitely brought me and dad closer. It's fun how even now, whenever he hears this song, he will say "347 miles to Los Angeles!" since it was playing while we passed a sign saying that when we were driving there. It's a nice fun little inside joke thing I have with him that has stayed with us all these years. :)

Click to see bigger!

On a random side note, this was the first Japanese song I ever loved.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 05

So some curious things happened today that I just must mention here before I go on with my song thing.

1. We were at seminar minding our own business when our lecturer's woman, who also works on the module, randomly came up to me and started talking about Japan. She said that when she heard about the situation she immediately thought of me and was very worried about me. She asked if I had family in Japan and I told her I didn't but that I do have friends there and then we talked about how terrible the situation is and she kept repeating how she had been so worried about me and was relieved now. Quite odd I think, I couldn't even remember telling her about my Japan plans at first, but after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that I must've mentioned them last semester when she came around asking about our future aspirations during 3D Modelling. I wonder if she even knows my name though...
2. When I was walking out of uni with Aaron and we were crossing the road, these two high school girls walked past us and one of them really happily said "HI!" to me. Eehh?! There is absolutely no way I could possibly know a high schooler, apart from perhaps my Japanese teacher's kids but they look Japanese not British! I think I mumbled a "hi" back in the midst of my confusion... but very very odd yet again.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 04

So I'm a bit late with this one, my apologies. I blame an awesome evening for this. ;) 

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad

Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne

Embedding is not allowed on like any of the videos of this on YouTube so [click here to listen to it].

Alright, I have to say that there are many songs that make me sad because the atmospheres in songs really affect me very much. I was very tempted to put Hime Murasaki by Mizuki Nana as it is probably the most touching song I've listened to lately, but since my last entry was a song by her already I decided not to use it. Instead, I decided to use the first song that really awakened sad feelings in me whenever I listened to it. That was purely because my life wasn't very fun when Nobody's Home came out and I could see myself in the lyrics very well. Though just to be clear, I did not feel I was alone at home - my family's always been very amazing, but back then I really didn't talk to anyone about how I felt. My home was actually my only safe haven and I was very much alone elsewhere. So yeah, this song reminds me of that time and that's a shame, because I do like this song a lot but at the same time I really don't want to remember what I went through.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 03

Again too tired to do more than a song entry, but bear with me and my exhaustion... :3

Didn't want to put any of the songs I already had on my happy songs list, so.. Ta-dah:

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy
Mr. Bunny! by Mizuki Nana

Oh god this song is just so wonderful. I only added it to my Nana playlist a short while ago, but I've grown to love it a lot. The song is so happy that it just really makes you feel happy as well, no matter what. That effect is boosted by the fact that every time I hear this I also see Nana's smiling face (I mean, look at that [adorable face] - how could it not make you happy?!) while singing and performing this song in my mind. The lyrics are really upbeat as well, as far as I can tell (I always seem to be saying this phrase), and seem to tell you to keep going with the smile someone important to you gave you no matter what happens. The English bits in the lyrics just really make me smile as they're so cute, like Nana English always is. So every days, every smile. <3 Couldn't make it through the bad times without you Nana. :)

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 02

So yeah, just the song challenge thing today. I'll hopefully write about my thoughts on Nana's new songs UNBREAKABLE and POP MASTER soon. :)

So anyways, does least favorite song mean a song that is your favorite but not as much as some other songs or a song you just purely dislike? What a confusing way to state the matter...

Day 02 - Least favorite song
She Wolf by Shakira

So, I chose this song because I really used to like Shakira. I mean, she clearly had her own style and it fit her so well. This song really crashed down all the reasons why I admired her so - Shakira suddenly became just another main stream singer with this song, or so I felt and I have to say seeing the video now just makes me think so even more. The energy and drive her songs used to have was gone and it was just like anything else you hear on the radio. Not to mention, it disappointed me even more for the fact that I was expecting something grand from a song that had wolf in the title... So yeah, I really don't like this song - it marks the moment that my opinion on Shakira changed and I doubt I can ever like her the way I used to again. :/ Don't get me wrong, I still do love all her songs that I used to love before as well, but I just doubt she will win me over again with any new material she dishes out.

30 Day Song Challenge: Day 01 + List Updates

Okay so, I just had to update some of the Top 10 lists I've done before, as them not being up to date really bugged me and gnawed my insides. The lists that got updated and the new additions are as follows:

• Mr. Bunny! added to Top 10 Mizuki Nana Choreographs
• Darker than BLACK: Shikkoku no Hana added to Top 10 Manga
• SCARLET KNIGHT and Hime Murasaki added to Top 10 Mizuki Nana songs

 Take a Shot, Love Hina, ミュステリオン and BRAVE PHOENIX / Don't be long were dropped.


And now to the song challenge!

Day 1 - Favorite Song
Goodbye Happiness by Utada Hikaru

This song hasn't been with me for very long, as it was only released last November - but even so I've already sold my soul to it. Already the preview clip I listened to before the actual release date told me that this would be one of the most beautiful songs that I'll ever hear in my life. It creates a very balanced mix of happiness and sadness, and at the end of the day those two things are what life is about. The melody is very soulful and man, Hikki's singing brings across all the emotion so well that it really amazes me every time I listen to it. And this song, like quite many of Hikki's songs to be honest, really makes me think about my life and what is truly important. I know that this is probably at least the 4th time I'm talking about this song in my blog, but what can I do - it is so amazing. Hikki will always be my #1.