This is an archive from Klassic Note Web Reports
Sunday, 04 November 2018The Klassic Note Spirit Part 4 – The Year 2010 and the Exclusion Principle
Previously, we talked about the year 2009 in Klassic Note and how everything exploded into a bunch of songs I get mostly from Anime, but also exposure to different song and melody styles than I could imagine. So much so that I would immerse myself from then to a never-ending list of Japanese songs. Which is the topic of discussion on this part, where this is the first year since the beginning where only Japanese songs exist. Why so? Read on to find out.The Klassic Note Spirit Part 4
"The Year 2010 and the Exclusion Principle"
(*The below information is an adaptation of the original excerpt which was posted here in 2013)
JAPANESE SONGS INFLUX
This year is the year I don’t listen to anything else but Japanese songs! I swear, really. How does all of this happen considering when the song count had reached a record high? A good example from where this source for immersion is - as mentioned from the previous year - Anime songs, and plenty of them came from shows which have a ton of music productions. A good example of this is not Anime "Oreimo" (I'm sure you can search for the full title) which brought on a new way of putting in ending theme songs by adapting fan-created songs every week, and that is in a way novel and interesting to hear so many styles of presentation. Also of course, is "K-ON!" which at that time is definitely famous even within the country itself so much so that… you guys remember SCANDAL? They did a cover of the ending song too!
| This is the ending theme song that got me (and many others) hooked... |
| And this is from rock band SCANDAL. Frizzy, isn’t it? |
Also coming in are new artists (mostly Anime) like ClariS (a duo who are schoolgirls and got famous in niconico, Japan’s version of YouTube in singing cover songs and got picked by a music label), miwa (not anything special because she sings generic Pop as a singer-songwriter but her height is... 149cm?? lol) and SPYAIR, a wonderful band focusing on Rock songs. With me spending more time reviewing singles and albums, it is no wonder there is an increase in the number of CDs which could be on my shelf back then. (It is not until 2012 that I have a budget to do so) Adding to the numbers are also as mentioned previously, new voice actor solo music artists which debut from the formation of idol group Sphere, from Aki-chan (Toyosaki Aki), Tomacchan (Tomatsu Haruka) and most recently for the year is Mina-chan (Kotobuki Minako) who sang a wonderful love song "Startline" for an animation movie which is also interesting in itself named "Koisento". You can go check both of them out yourself I promise it's not disappointing at all
(I couldn't find the music video online so here's a 15s commercial preview of the song xD)
MAINSTREAM MISSING IN ACTION?
Many artists who have been active for the past few years have suddenly dropped in activity. Well, at least in releasing new songs. Examples include Aqua Timez who only released two singles compared to albums (once at the start of the year and close to the end of the year which are still great though) and Chatmonchy which only released a mini-album for the year. I'm not that worried about their progress, but it’s a sign...
MISSING NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION OF THE YEAR
Also missing from the year's list (which is why I can say this year is only Japanese songs) was the only compilation that got me interested in listening to English Rock music and other J-Rock groups: THE NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION. Because this year the committee behind it (not Ajikan I assume) decided to not release a compilation but only initiate the live performance, also known as the NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2010. In later years they did make both happen, however not having a formal release to introduce those artists seemed rather dampening for Klassic Note to say the least.
DISBANDMENT NEWS, IN JAPANESE
As I took much time to listen and find out sources, singing along to the songs in translated lyrics and music videos, you tend to learn some of the language here and there. And yes, I do understand some Japanese. It wasn't a lot, and it probably won't be (there's a good reason for that, but that's a post for next time), but it's more than enough for me to understand Kanji (which looks a lot like Chinese), so phrases like 発売 (release)，中断 (hiatus) and 解散 (disbandment) become very sensitive while browsing the news page on the artists' websites. This is typical of the last one especially when the end of bands RYTHEM and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR announced just as I was getting interested in them was not a good sign for Klassic Note already. This gives some level of reminder that while Klassic Note is constantly expanding into knowing more music and artists and getting a good following of them (also known as the Klassic Note Ultimate Collection later), I noticed not everyone can last in the music industry, whatever their reasons might be.
Nontheless, the number of songs increasing was still unstoppable despite the loss of some artists who I hope to see grow, but that really goes to show that I cannot live without searching for more Japanese songs to listen. And even then, I feel that this many songs per year was also an exaggeration.
Next up: The Klassic Note Spirit Part 5 – The Year 2011 and the Venture Outside Standards
(I missed classic Chinese Pop songs already??)
(I couldn't find the music video online so here's a 15s commercial preview of the song xD)
MAINSTREAM MISSING IN ACTION?
Many artists who have been active for the past few years have suddenly dropped in activity. Well, at least in releasing new songs. Examples include Aqua Timez who only released two singles compared to albums (once at the start of the year and close to the end of the year which are still great though) and Chatmonchy which only released a mini-album for the year. I'm not that worried about their progress, but it’s a sign...
MISSING NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION OF THE YEAR
Also missing from the year's list (which is why I can say this year is only Japanese songs) was the only compilation that got me interested in listening to English Rock music and other J-Rock groups: THE NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION. Because this year the committee behind it (not Ajikan I assume) decided to not release a compilation but only initiate the live performance, also known as the NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2010. In later years they did make both happen, however not having a formal release to introduce those artists seemed rather dampening for Klassic Note to say the least.
DISBANDMENT NEWS, IN JAPANESE
As I took much time to listen and find out sources, singing along to the songs in translated lyrics and music videos, you tend to learn some of the language here and there. And yes, I do understand some Japanese. It wasn't a lot, and it probably won't be (there's a good reason for that, but that's a post for next time), but it's more than enough for me to understand Kanji (which looks a lot like Chinese), so phrases like 発売 (release)，中断 (hiatus) and 解散 (disbandment) become very sensitive while browsing the news page on the artists' websites. This is typical of the last one especially when the end of bands RYTHEM and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR announced just as I was getting interested in them was not a good sign for Klassic Note already. This gives some level of reminder that while Klassic Note is constantly expanding into knowing more music and artists and getting a good following of them (also known as the Klassic Note Ultimate Collection later), I noticed not everyone can last in the music industry, whatever their reasons might be.
 |
| Like many artists, their reason for disbandment is based on their background. RYTHEM were a bunch of high-schoolers back when they started, and after gaining knowledge of the music they write and produce they want a different perspective and thus they decided to go their own ways. As of 2018, Niitsu YUI (left) is on her 2nd alias using her full name as solo artist and Katou YUKAri (right) went on to the punk rock music industry as "yucat". |
Nontheless, the number of songs increasing was still unstoppable despite the loss of some artists who I hope to see grow, but that really goes to show that I cannot live without searching for more Japanese songs to listen. And even then, I feel that this many songs per year was also an exaggeration.
Next up: The Klassic Note Spirit Part 5 – The Year 2011 and the Venture Outside Standards
(I missed classic Chinese Pop songs already??)
(**All linked references ago were active at time of publishing this post. They are meant for educational purposes and not are not taken directly from any intellectual property)