PATRICK, me and a little melody

*Because of my stupidness, I’m doing this again! And I’ll try to do it seriously this time! =)*

Artiste: 嵐 (Arashi)
3rd Studio Album, HERE WE GO!
Released: 2002.07.17
No. of Tracks: 14

Tracklist

1. THEME OF ARASHI

2. EASY CRAZY BREAK DOWN

3. Kimi wo Sukoshi mo Warukunai

4. TOKYO LOVERS TUNE NIGHT

5. A DAY IN OUR LIFE

6. ALL OR NOTHING VER.1.02

7. Nemuranai Karada

8. Kimi wa Inaikara

9. Iro Asenaide

10. Aishiteru to Ienai

11. Hoshi no FREE WAY

12. Ima Ai wo Katarou

13. WOW!!

14. Nice na Kokoroiki

I’m not really a fan of doing a track by track ‘analysis’ of the song. Even so, I’ll be doing this because I can’t remember the tracks by heart.
Please take my criticism/ramblings/rubbish/nonsensical/whatevers with a pinch of salt. I don’t mean all that I say, I’m serious. I’m just trying VERY HARD to inject some humour along the way. If you don’t get my humour, I totally get it. But don’t take it as if I mean it all right? I don’t like making enemies. =(

When ‘THEME OF ARASHI’ started, the first thing that comes to my mind is Disney movies and what have yous actually. I’m getting a mix of Beauty and the Beast (My Favourite!), The Little Mermaid … eh, you know, it’s the kind of music where the Prince walks down the aisle with Princess. And in comes the drums with the violins. Lovely. This song is really a feel-good song in my opinion. I think the Sakurap really goes well with the music.
But I don’t get the Disney-orchestrated opening… =(

The opening lyrics ‘Broken Down!’ pretty much sums up this song, with the heavy guitar riffs. A try at a rock song, I hear? Or it is suppose to be like that? It’s funny that the title is ‘EASY CRAZY BREAK DOWN’ but they decided to make it a past tense thing so it’s ‘EASY CRAZY BROKEN DOWN’. So which is which?!?!!?!?

Okay, I totally don’t like the opening for the next song. Sounds like Arabic music goes electro-pop. *?!* It’s a breeze-through song really. Reminds me a mandarin song which I shan’t try to recollect. Because Mandarin pop doesn’t click with me. And there’s this irritating airplane-sound like in the background during the chorus. Oi!!! I’m not playing some sort of Microsoft default game here.

Love the strings introduction for ‘TOKYO LOVERS TUNE NIGHT‘. I’m a big fan of anything strings okay!! I’ve learnt the violin before, but alas, due to my incompetence, I dropped it before I could take my Grade 2 exams. WAHAHA.
I love it how they try to make it all jazzy by adding the brass and trumpets.
There’s the occasional flute? Some sort of wind instrument there. Yup, another feel-good song. I’m so loving this album as if I haven’t.

I TOTALLY LOVE ‘a Day in Our Life’. Not because it was released as a single, not because the PV for it looks poorly done (Read: Cheap CGI background), not because Sho was actually the one rapping all the time or that I only realised the beauty of this song when they performed at Music Station and were totally doing the boyband thing. *Roll eyes*
It’s THE MIX OF THE RAP WITH THE SINGING!! Can’t you feel contrast? The sadness and grief in the singing and the rap is just reinforcing beat and rhythm of the song.
It’s really cute to know that the fans shout along to the last words of the chorus rap, like ‘WAY‘, ‘上 (Ue)’, ‘ねぇ (Nee)’ and ’some DAY‘. I just love how the song projects a bittersweet atmosphere. +)

‘ALL OR NOTHING’ *Why are they always screaming the titles at us?*
You know what made go ‘Huh?’, -S.H.O.W- he said ‘W’ as double. So it’s like ‘S, H, O double’. I think I’m probably not getting the slang thingy right, right?!
‘You know what I mean’ is ‘Nah… mean’? I know you do swallow some ‘U’s in the Japanese context, but that’s too many words. No?
I don’t have that much confidence with his rap as this album goes along the way. *KIDDING*
Anyways, this song is similar to ‘a Day in Our Life’ in terms of style in the way the song is sung. I dunno, it’s just something about that combination that intrigues me.

‘Nemuranai Karada’
Acoustic guitar opening! LOVES!!!
BRASS!!! LOVES!!!
Arashi does love the whole jazzing-up-the-mood thing huh? I dig this song, so much that I’m grooving in my seat when I’m halfway across to stone-ness (because of a nasty flu that I’ve got).
I like! Next!

It sounds like a soft sad song. I mean, it’s suppose to be, if not, it won’t be named, ‘Kimi wa Inaikara’ (Because You’re Not Here). Ohno’s voice is just heaven sent. It’s amazing how they know MatsuJun’s voice will complement Ohno’s vocals, despite his heavy nasality. I like their combo. =)

In my opinion, you can breeze through this next track. I’m sorry. No impact. =(
In short, it’s bubblegum pop. *SHOCKERS!!* O.O

What really took me into the next song is the line ‘Shake it, shake it baby’. -I will! For you!- HAHA. -.-”"
The title seems really sweet too, ‘Aishiteru to Ienai (Unable to say ‘I love you’). SWEET RIGHT?

The reason why the sentences are getting shorter and shorter for each song is because, THEY ALMOST SOUND THE SAME! Bad isn’t it? It is. Because I lack words and my vocabulary is already as restricted as it is. … I have nothing more to say.
Create your own music dudes! I know you can do it!

Drums solo. I know this song is ‘Hoshi no FREE WAY’. Because I remember! =)
Something about their songs just makes me want to fall in love right now. They are all so sweet and mushy and super sugar-coated. Omg, I think this is it!! Sugar-coated, mushy and sweet love songs. -.-

Ah, Sakurap after 5 songs. His tongue was getting itchy. Remember this song because they sing, ‘I still in love with you’ and ‘I still lub you’. Do not laugh at them unless your Japanese is like PERFECT together with your English. I know mine isn’t. I’m not laughing. I’m just plainly making fun. +D

‘WOW!!’ has the sole purpose of making you jump on your feet, waving your hands from side to side in the air singing, ‘Wow~! Wow~! Wow~! Wow~! Wow~!’ And… just continue rocking your heads and jumping!
Do it! Do it! Do it!

‘Nice na Kokoroiki’ has the dorkiest PV of all time. I LOVE IT! I give myself reasons to dress up dorkily and geekily to school you know. That’s why I love it!! The hair, it’s just classic. Pure classic. Plastered to the skin, like your typical Shanghai Tang era.
‘Baby do you know me?’ I wished I did, personally, you know. Just so I can crash your concerts for free, because you’ll invite me OVER!
+)

Verdict: Ahem, after such a long long long long entry which took like 5 years of my life to type. It’s a feel-good album for the third time that I’ve said it. Something not to be taken seriously but not too lightly either. Ya know ya know? I’ll definitely listen to it more often, because I still can’t remember the tracks by heart. Oops.
DO NOT JUDGE THEM BY THEIR LOOKS, I’M SERIOUS.

They have something going on as always. Arashi, here they go.

P.S/I know this ‘review’ was too long. Sorry, I was in my own world really. But if it really sucks, I won’t do it anymore, I swear! I’ll just stop doing it. Better embarrassed now than later, right?
Love to here from anyone out there.