song of the day: Ave Maria! ~Schubert~

I know I said I wouldn't post anything about stuff everyone's already heard anyway, and I know there isn't a one of you who hasn't heard Ave Maria. But humor me.

The version I'm talking about here is one of the covers Hirahara Ayaka has done (she did two, this is the "Schubert" version). For those unfamiliar with her, Hirahara Ayaka is one of those artists that make me feel really proud when I say I am a fan. For comparison, admitting to being a KAT-TUN fan still makes me squirm a little inside. You get the idea.

Hirahara is brilliant, the Japanese queen of classical covers. She also has the most amazing range I've heard from a woman, something you can hear from her debut song Jupiter. She has a lovely style of music, and most of my favourite singles from her are the ones based on classical music. Her song Jupiter is based on the Jupiter movement in the The Planets Suite, and Siciliana's melody is based on (you guessed it!) Bach's Siciliano.

This version of Ave Maria is another great cover. The first one was good, yes, but this second one is the one I'm interested in. It's got a jazzy feel to it, just the kind of sound I've been into lately, and there's a slightly livelier twist that her light voice (wanna hear her "heavy" voice?) works nicely into the song. With all due respect for classical music, I can't help feeling that her covers make it so much more accessible to uneducated, uncultured people like me.

If you still aren't a fan of Hirahara Ayaka, I'm gonna drop my last two bombs here. First; she's the one who performed the theme song for Spirited Away, as well as the concert version of Reprise. Second; SHE PLAYS THE SAXOPHONE. Not just plays; she's studying jazz and majoring in saxophone, for heaven's sake. You can't say that's not cool.

song of the day: Paradise

Download sprees make me happy! But you already knew that, I'm sure.

And what have I just downloaded? It's a nice, cheery song called Paradise by Matsushita Yuya! I feel a bit conflicted being a fan of his, because I don't exactly hide my disdain for Justin Bieber's feminity, but this guy doesn't have a very masculine voice either. Still, leave that for the haters to hate.

Matsushita Yuya may not have a rich, deep voice, but he does pretty well with his mid-range voice anyway. Also, at the risk of sounding very strange, I can't help but think this dude has pretty good control over his lungs. Huh. Well anyway, this song. It's actually just more of his usual stuff; a little bit R&B, with a quick, energetic pace and a voice that sounds happy for being able to sing. What I actually want to rave about is the PV!

What can I say? The dude can dance. I already found his dancing to be pretty impressive when I watched the PVs for Honesty and for Trust Me, and the one for Bird got me really impressed, but this time the PV is so nicely structured! It's got a good helping of his dancing in it, but unlike the others, it's mixed in with some other, more calming scenes so there's a good balance and nice contrast to things.

On the flipside, though, I have this unfortunate tendency to get bored of Yuya's stuff really quickly. I abuse my repeat button for two weeks, then I start looking for another song to go nuts over. But hey, no biggie. It's still good for a casual fandom.

Unrelated note:

Listening to ABBA makes me feel like having big, fluffy hair. Seriously. I have no idea why.

Another unrelated note:

I been spamming tumblr like crazy today! *serious rock-and-roll face*

Last unrelated note:

iLike Thursdays. :3

song of the day: Hymn of the Fayth

From Final Fantasy X. It's pretty haunting, but I can't think of much to say about it that the music itself doesn't make clear. Huh.

ITIMLY.

song of the day: Little by Little

To get this straight, this version of Little by Little that I'm talking about isn't the actual song, by Ji-yeon, but rather a cover by one of the most talented voices I've heard on YouTube in all the time I've been using it.

(I know many people get millions of views for their covers, but I feel only half of those people deserve their million hits. Others, like that eight-year-old Philippine/Canadian girl who's crazily viral right now, just don't. That kid is getting compliments like "Wow, how superb! She sings so well!" heaped on her, but to be honest I don't hear anything special in her voice. It's a video of a kid singing, and she sounds like a kid singing. That's it. It's a child's voice, people.)

Vietnamese boy Alan JW N., however, ranks higher in my book, simply because he has such a lovely voice. He may not be at the ready-to-record stage yet, but he definitely has the talent to do so. His cover of Little by Little is gorgeous, uplifting in a moment and melancholy the next, though admittedly the lyrics end rather tragically. It's sung in his lower range, which I prefer to his (much) higher one. He can sound quite unnervingly female if he wants to, I kid you not.

Please, please check his channel out. I gave little Maria a shot; surely you can give Alan one?

song(s) of the day: Lotus and Hazy

I'm gonna start posting about random songs for a bit. What I'll do is keep an eye on which song I'm listening to most on a particular day and then do a little review/recommendation. And no, I'm not J-music biased. I'm just not going to bother with the stuff you've already heard on the radio, because then there'd be no point to this. Cheers. :)

Lotus, Arashi's latest single, is nice and upbeat so it's good for keeping me bouncing on the balls of my feet and generally quite cheery. I suspect it might annoy the heck out of me in a bad mood though. I've only just seen the PV today, too, and it's not bad as far as Japanese PVs go. A pretty piece of work, though I can't tell if there's supposed to be a meaning to the dark rooms and white objects.

Hazy is on the other hand a rather old song, by Rosi Golan and William Fitzsimmons. It's also the kind that some people (cue the dagger-glaring at narrow-minded, underexposed little brother) claim will make them fall asleep. I happen to think it's beautiful. It's soft, calm and composed; the overall feel is that of a rather sweetly phrased question. I especially love how it doesn't come across as your typical love song, considering they never once expressly imply what kind of love it is. It could be a song between best friends or lovers or both, depending on how you want to hear it. Beautiful.