Material Used:
Utada Hikaru -WINGS (SAMurai DIStortion REmix)
Koda Kumi – Lies (Hidden Truths Remix)
Aaliyah – Rock The Boat (SAMurai DIStortion REmix)
Utada Hikaru – Flavor of Life (Mystic Storm Remix)
Namie Amuro – Full Moon (Lovely Evening Remix)
Kingdom Hearts – Dearly Beloved (My Passion ‘DIStorted SAMurai’ Instrumental Remix)
Bjork – Earth Intruders (Battlefield Arrival Dub)
Koda Kumi – Lies (Hidden Truths Remix)
Kingdom Hearts – Dearly Beloved (My Passion ‘DIStorted SAMurai’ Instrumental Remix) [ENDING]

hana yori dango music vs. boys before flowers music

Hey guys! so i know in my last entry i said that the next post would be HYD vs. BBF >>> Fashion (Guys), but that post is actually taking me a while to complete (cuz it’s a lot harder to decide and get pictures for 8 different people XD lol). So instead, I’m going to do the next post i was going to do after that: HYD vs. BBF >>> Music

So, before i make any of my comments, i’ve provided you guys with OST’s of both dramas. They both have quite a bit, so i’m going to play the ones that are used pretty frequently.

First, from Hana Yori Dango Season 1, the OST was “Wish” by Arashi.

Then, from Boys Before Flowers 1 (BBF kinda has 2 sections to it, part one would be the beginning to where junpyo leaves and part 2 would be from there to the end…), the OST was “Paradise” by T-Max.

Next, from Hana Yori Dango Season 2, the OST was “Love so Sweet” by Arashi.

And since the second “part” or Boys Before Flowers didn’t really have a different opening credit song, this is another OST from BBF called “Because I’m Stupid” by SS501

Okay, so let me just start with these 4 songs. When i first heard “Wish”, i seriously got kind of annoyed. the whole intro (0:00-0:05) part of it was like…disneyland-status to me and when i was watching the drama, i would fast forward the intro as soon as i heard that. but then after a while, i listened to the chorus and got kind of used to it, but again…”wish” isn’t exactly my favorite song. Then, there’s “Paradise”. Similar to “Wish”, this song kind of annoyed me because of the intro as well (from 0:05-0:08). the “ALMOST PARRRAAAADIIISSSEEE!” realllllly annoyed me when i was watching the drama and i would sometimes even roll my eyes when i heard it come on. As i’ve listened to it more and more, i’ve gotten used to it, but i’m not crazy for it.  “Because I’m Stupid” is a nice song i think, and it matches BBF pretty well, but it’s not something i’m totally in love with.

Ahh, And then there’s “Love so Sweet”. So, i heard about HYD before learning about Arashi (when i was watching season 1 and arashi was mentioned, i thought it was a girl band XD). But the MINUTE i heard “Love so Sweet” i fell in love with the song. As of today, it’s number 2 on my top 25 playlist and i’ve listened to it 172 times! And i didn’t know matsujun was in Arashi so when i youtube’d them, i was watching a live concert and i saw a guy with kinda curly hair, and i’m like “that guy looks like domyouji!” but i wasn’t sure, but then there was a closeup of matsujun and then i’m like “OH MY GOSH! IT’S HIM!!!” and i was beaming. “love so sweet” makes me so happy when i listen to it and at some points in the drama where this song would come on, i would rewind and watch that part again, JUST because of that song. Now i’m a total Arashi fangirl, as much as i hate to admit it :]

Okay so next, i’m going to review the OSTs that come on during the kind of depressing/intense parts of the drama.

First is “Planetarium” by Ai Otsuka from HYD1

Then, from BBF pt 1 is “Lucky” by Ashily

So in “Planetarium” i found the piano part quite pretty, but when the first verse comes in, i’m kind of like “woa”. iono why, i think it’s cuz i didn’t quite picture the voice of the singer to sound like that with the piano part being played. I’m not quite sure why i think that XD lol. And then in “Lucky”…it’s an okay song, but like other songs, i found the part where she says “lucky in my life” verrryyyy annoying (0:28-0:31). It sounded like “luh-key hin mai life” but after a while i got used to it. But i must admit, both songs matched the dramas well.

Next is “Flavor of Life” by Utada Hikaru

And theres SOOOOO many songs with this sorrowful feeling in BBF, so i’m going to choose one of my favorites, “Fight the Bad Feeling” by T-Max.

So i really like both of these songs, especially “fight the bad feeling”, it’s such a romantic song that fits BBF really well. “Flavor of Life” is another really pretty song that matches HYD, but on a side comment, whenever it’d play in HYD, i’d kinda laugh cuz i remember one time, Makino was like “arigatou” and then “Flavor of Life” plays and it’s like “ARIGATOOOUU” and it kinda made me giggle XD haha silly me.

So this one is kind of difficult cuz everyone has different tastes in music, but based on my tastes…

hana yori dango wins!

In the end, i can’t deny my love for arashi and “love so sweet”. As always, please leave your comments and let me know what you think, i love hearing opinions!!! And sorry for the length of this post, the videos took up a lot of space. This means the current standing in the HYD vs. BBF war is 2 to 1. thanks for reading and the next post should be HYD vs. BBF >>> Fashion (Guys) !

Peace, hydandbbfanalyst <3

Akhir-akhir ini Onna terlihat berubah? mungkin… Onna habis patah hatiy nih…. huhuhuhuhuhu…. Oh ya, sebetulnya Onna tak sedang mau curhat niy, mw posting lagu yang sama dengan suasana hatiy…. Mbak Utada Hikaru hebat banget ya… lagunya ngena banget….

Flavor of Life
——————————————————-
kashyu: utada hikaru
sakushi: Utada Hikaru
sakkyoku: Utada Hikaru
romaji: crystalise
——————————————————-
arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horo nigai
The flavor of life… The flavor of life…

tomodachi de mo koibito de mo nai chuukanchiten de
shuukaku no hi wo yume miteru aoi furuutsu

ato ippo ga fumi dasenai sei de
jirettai no nan notte Baby

arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horo nigai
The flavor of life… The flavor of life…

amai dake no sasoi monku
ajikke no nai tooku
sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wo sosorarenai

omoi doori ni ikanai toki datte
jinsei suteta mon janaitte

doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to
uun, nande mo nai
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao
watashirashikunai

shinjitai to negaeba negau hodo
nandaka setsunai
“aishiteru yo” yori mo “daisuki” no hou ga
Kimirashiinjanai?
The flavor of life

wasurekaketeita hito no kaori wo totsuzen omoi dasu koro
furi tsumoru yuki no shirosa wo motto sunao ni yorokobitai yo

daiyamondo yori mo yawarakakute
atataka na mirai te ni shitai yo
kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai

arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horo nigai
The flavor of life… The flavor of life…

——————————————————-
English:
Flavor of Life
——————————————————-
Performed by: Utada Hikaru
Lyricist: Utada Hikaru
Composer: Utada Hikaru
Translated by: crystalise
——————————————————-
When you thank me,
It somehow seems painful
And that enduring magic that comes after saying goodbye
Leaves a faint taste of the bittersweet.
This must be the flavour of life.

The space where we are neither friends nor lovers
Makes me feel like an unripe fruit dreaming to be harvested.

The way we are is aggravating, baby,
As we never seem to make any progress.

This is why thanking me
Seems to somewhat hurt
And yet the magic that comes after we say goodbye
Leaves traces of the bittersweet.
That is the flavour of life.

With only sugar-coated words and phrases,
Talking seems to have lost its taste.
I just don’t find such things intriguing.

Just because everything is falling apart,
Doesn’t make our lives any more dispensable.

Asking me “What’s the matter?” all of a sudden
Can only elicit the response, “Nothing, nothing at all.”
Yet, when the smile fades away after we have parted,
I don’t seem myself.

Wanting to believe and hoping for hope
Seems to somehow amplify the pain.
“I really like you” is better than “I love you”,*
That’s more like you, isn’t it?
Such is the flavour of life.

Suddenly remembering the smell of the person you had almost put behind**
Invites a joy that is more innocent than the white of fresh snow.***

Devotion means more than diamonds.****
I want a warm future in my hands
And in the limited time that is my life, I hope to share it with you.*****

Still, when you thank me,
It seems somewhat painful
And the magic that comes after we say goodbye
Leaves traces of the bittersweet.
This is the flavour of life.

Uugghh,, gara-gara mbak Dewi ni, jadi suka browsing2 Matsumoto Jun. Ditulari virusnya katanya, gak mauu *balikin virus* ,, haha,. sudahlah lupakan, bukan itu yang mau dibahas. yang mau dibahas itu: aku nemu lagu keren pas nonton Hana Yori Dango 2.  Di film itu tuh, salah satu soundtracknya dinyanyiin oleh Utada Hikaru “Flavor Of Love”. Love it. nih lyric-nya :

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu
ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
jirettai no wa nande?~baby

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku
sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai
omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte
jinsei suteta mon janai tte

doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to “uun. nandemo nai”
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai
sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai
“aishiteru yo” yori mo “daisuki” no hou ga kimi rashii janai?
The flavor of life

wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo totsuzen omoidasu koro
furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai
teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai
“arigatou” to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

-Utada Hikaru-

Entah kenapa, akhir-akhir ini suka banget sama yang berbau Jepang, bener-bener ditularin virus nih,, *sigh*. Lagi belajar bahasa Jepang nih, mudah2an gak cepet bosen.

Sankyuu^^

HEART STATION by Utada Hikaru

1. Fight The Blues
2. HEART STATION
3. Beautiful World
4. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-
5. Stay Gold
6. Kiss & Cry
7. Gentle Beast Interlude
8. Celebrate
9. Prisoner Of Love
10. テイク 5
11. ぼくはくま
12. 虹色バス
13. Flavor Of Life [Bonus Track]

Released: March 19th, 2008 ~ Highest Chart Position: #1 ~ First Week Sales: 480,081 ~ Total Sales: 1,009,509

HEART STATION is Utada Hikaru’s 5th album (7th overall if you count her American releases beforehand). This was also the best selling Original Studio album in 2008 (everything else were compilation albums). This album does have the first week lowest sales for Utada, but it still was able to sell over a million and surpassed ULTRA BLUE. The album did good on the world chart (not since DEEP RIVER has that happened). A few singles were released beforehand. ぼくはくま, Flavor Of Life, Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry, and HEART STATION / Stay Gold. Prisoner Of Love is a re-cut single.

WHAT I THINK OF THE COVER : I don’t really like the cover, I would have rather liked it if she used one of the booklet pictures to be honest with you.

Fight The Blues starts off the album with a nice introduction and cool ad-libbing from Utada. The lyrics are strong and optimistic while the arrangement drives Utada’s voice forward in a strong manner. The verses are a bit lacking in some catchiness, and the pre-chorus is really strange. The chorus is the best part of the song as Utada sings with a catchy tone to make the song lyrics pop-out. Nonetheless I enjoyed this song quite a bit.

HEART STATION starts with nice ambient instrumentation and nice ad-libbing once again from Utada. I love the lyrics to this song, and the arrangement is very pretty.

Beautiful World has strong vocals and lyrics, backed-up with a strong arrangement. The verses are a bit fast and aren’t all too interesting at times, but the chorus is gorgeous. Not to mention the long ad-libbing section at the end was great.

Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- starts with strong vocals from Utada, backed with guitars and stuff like that xD The song isn’t as interesting as Flavor Of Life, but this version is nice too. I like the arrangement.

Stay Gold starts with a haunting piano line and nice R&B (or synth beats?). Utada sings in a lower register for the verses, but the chorus is super catchy and beautiful. Stay Gold is a great track.

Kiss & Cry comes blaring in with brass instrumentation to capture the attention of the listener. The arrangement here is fun and party like, and the vocals here are great once again. The pre-chorus is a melody borrowed from her English song HOTEL LOBBY heard from EXODUS. Nonetheless Kiss & Cry is a good track as well.

Gentle Beast Interlude starts with this nice ambient instrumentation, and keeps going throughout the song. I like how Utada incroporated some of the ad-libbing from HEART STATION into the song. Utada’s ad-libbing here is a bit strange, but very strong. This interlude also transitions right into our next track…

…Celebrate! Finally a new song after all those singles. This song starts with a nice club beat that will keep your attention. The vocals in the verses are relaxed and sound nice, and the way Utada sings makes it quite catchy. The pre-chorus is really catchy nonetheless (Utada sneaks in a bunch of English that makes it that catchy xD). The chorus wasn’t too impressive, and she lacked energy sadly when she sings “Celebrate!” and stuff like that. I mean, I like this arrangement and the playful lyrics. But Utada needs a fun and up-beat energy to go with a song like this, since she sounds kinda bored throughout.

Prisoner Of Love is our next song and it comes blaring in with it’s R&B and orchestral arrangement. The lyrics here are nice, and Utada’s voice is strong. It’s also quite catchy.

テイク 5 is the stand-out track here for me. Utada originally wrote this song for the ULTRA BLUE era, which would explain the strong experimental sound heard throughout this song. The song starts with a beat that sounds like someone is playing a different song backwards (which sounds pretty cool). Utada’s vocals here are really nice, and sound beautiful. They really draw you into the song. The verses are beautiful and the pre-chorus is gorgeous. But the chorus is where it’s all at. テイク 5 has quite the symbolic lyrics as well, and I love the ad-libbing near the end. The song then suddenly cuts off, and transitions into…

…ぼくはくま quite well! I like the little storytelling Utada did here (テイク 5 was about death, and ぼくはくま is a children’s song. Children often symbolize rebirth). ぼくはくま is a cute song nonetheless, not many people will enjoy it. But the song was intended for children, and so listen to it with a children’s mind. Plus Utada’s french is cute =P

虹色バス comes blaring in with this nice beat that sounds quite nice. I like Utada’s vocals in this song too, and the English part (Everybody Feels The Same) is great. The chorus is so nice and catchy, and quite a beauty as well. The song has some depressing lyrics (while nonetheless has a up-beat arrangement). The song does sound darker near the end when Utada sings out near the end and is joined with back-up vocals that make her voice stand out perfectly. The ad-libbing near the end and the singing of “Everybody Feels The Same” end the song quite nicely. I love this track, it’s really awesome.

Flavor Of Life, the original version was included on here as a bonus track. I like this arrangement more than the ballad version because this version is more up-beat and sounds happy. Which is I quite like a lot. A good way to offically end this album.

HEART STATION may have a lot of singles released for it. But I think they are all strong tracks, and the album tracks were strong themselves. Maybe one more new song wouldn’t have hurt, but I still really enjoyed this album.

A

Jpop news reported that Japanese pop idol Hikaru Utada has now sold more digital copies of her music than any other recording artist in history. Reportedly Utada sold over $7 million copies of her single, “Flavor of Life,” in February, and her numbers continue to climb, already surpassing  the $10 million mark. 

Utada is gaining interest in the U.S. again with her second English album, “This is the One,” ironically named after her first English album generally fell short of sales expectations. J pop has a strong niche market in the U.S.. but Utada’s people are hoping she’ll be the one to make a more mainstream splash. 

To hear the single “Flavor of Life,” click: Here!

Utada Hikaru~Heart Station~

Heart Station-8/10

Fight The Blues-An upbeat track, kind of similar to This Is Love. I really like this song, it was released as a digital single before the album’s release and was pretty popular. Hikki really knows how to choose her single releases both digital/physical. I can’t find a reason to not like this song.

Heart Station-A ballad release from Hikki. I don’t find this song too hideous, but Stay Gold is the best out of both imo. Not to mention the music video is just purely boring, and not tasteful to the eye whatsoever. With a soft beat, and beautifully delivered vocals this song is still a treasure.

Beautiful World-Released back in 2007 as a single with Kiss & Cry. It’s a mid-tempo song, and it’s definitely one of the better parts of this album. I find as I go through Heart Station(album) the more and more I realize it’s not one of her best albums, but not one of her worst either. Beautiful world is still a good song, but it’s definitely not my favorite, but like I said it’s one of the better parts of this album.

Flavor Of Life~Ballad Version~-Seriously, THIS SONG IS PURE LOVE!!! The original is bland, but the ballad just possesses all the right tones. Sort of similar to the releases of Distance and Final Distance. The original for Final Distance and Flavor Of Life~Ballad Version~ were both upbeat, and then they were revamped into beautiful ballads, which I found much better than the originals to be honest.

Stay Gold-Seriously one of the best Hikki ballads on a LOOOOOOOONG time!, Well for me at least, because when I first heard this song I literally put it on repeat for the entire night. It’s such a good song! With a soft piano/techno feel and her vocals it makes this song a truly great song.

Kiss & Cry-It starts off with a kind of cartoonish trumpet sound and then forms into some beats, and then gets to Hikki singing. I really am in love with this song, although a lot of fans don’t seem to like it too much. It samples a previous song of hers and I used to be able to tell, but now I can’t put my finger on it, but whatever song it is, she managed to sample it really well.

Gentle Beast(Interlude)-I’m not a huge fan of interludes, I’ve mentioned this many times before, if anything Hikki should just stick to her full length tracks, and stop with the interludes, cause this was really boring imo.

Celebrate-A really happy song, I didn’t like it too much at first, but I don’t exactly love it. It’s just one of those so-so tracks that I’ll listen to from time to time, but nothing impressive here.

Prisoner Of Love-Just…ugh I can’t even explain it, but this song was just GREAT! I aboslutely love it, and later on it was announced to be recut as a single, so I was happy. Although the pv wasn’t magnificent it was fun because it displayed Hikki’s “recording studio” which I do believe is he rhome where she actually DOES record her songs at and such. She’s definitely an inspiration, and this song is just perfect, definitely one of the best parts of this album!

Take 5-It was reported that she had recorded this song during Ultra Blue(and if you listen closely it really does sound like a track from UB). Anyways it’s a ballad about how quickly death can come, and you won’t even realize it. She had stated that the song end abruptly because that is how death approaches with no warnings or realizations of it. Basically the story and background of this song makes me love it a lot, and it’s the absolute best part of this album without a doubt.

Boku Wa Kuma-The first single release for this album, it’s a cute little kid song. I really do like it, but I think it should have just stayed on its single, and not been on this album at all, but other than that it’s still okay.

Nijiiro Bus-Rainbow Colored Bus…lol, well all I have to say is that this song is another cute song from Hikki, I like it a lot, and it’s a good listen from time to time, but other than that I don’t care for it too much.

Flavor Of Life-This is the original mix of Flavor Of Life, like I stated before I don’t like it too much, in fact I don’t like it at all, and I’m glad she revamped it into a ballad.

Overall this album was a good release but not as good as her predecessors such as Distance, Deep River, or Ultra Blue.

Flavor Of Life by Utada Hikaru

1. Flavor Of Life
2. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-
3. Flavor Of Life (Original Karaoke)
4. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- (Original Karaoke)
5. Flavor Of Life -Antidote Mix- (CD Only)

Released: February 28th, 2007 ~ Highest Chart Position: #1 ~ First Week Sales: Over 200,000 ~ Totals sales: 650,510

Flavor Of Life is Utada’s 2nd single in the HEART STATION era, her 18th Japanese single overall. Flavor Of Life had an impressive legal download record, with over 7.7 million downloads total. The song was used in Hana Yori Dango 2, which provided to be a really popular drama. This is also her first drama tie-in since SAKURAドロップス.

WHAT I THINK OF THE COVER : I love her hair in this shot D: and the riceball was random xD

Flavor Of Life starts with some nice synth and strong vocals from Utada. After a bit of the chorus some more synth is added, and a violin playing for a bit. The sound is a bit laid-back but fast. Utada’s voice is in a lower register for the verses, but she picks it up for the chorus. The chorus here is memorable because of the catchy Japanese she uses. She seals that of “The Flavor of Life” being sung. The back-up vocals do support Utada a lot, and sound nice with her. The bridge was pretty good to, Utada sings really low for that part. Not that bad of a track, really enjoyable.

Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- takes out the synth and replaces it with classical strings, piano, and acoustic guitar. I think that this rearrangement is really good, I quite like it. But it feels a bit underwhelming next to the original. Since the original provided a more fun sound. But this is a nice little relaxed piece to. Utada’s low voice is shown here with no trouble, and sounds weird since you don’t really hear her sing with low vocals. I enjoyed the arrangement in this song however.

Flavor Of Life (Original Karaoke) is a fun listen. The back-up vocals sometimes scare me though xD They are really random and a bit strange, and only sound good with Utada :B

Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- (Original Karaoke) is quite the nice listen as well. Like I said before, I enjoy this arrangement. But the back-up vocals, damn them xD I’d rather have a full instrumental please lol.

If you bought the CD in stores you get this track, Flavor Of Life -Antidote Mix-. It takes out the synth and strings and everything and makes it like, R&B-ish. This mix reminds me of Utada’s older discography. I quite like the beat and finger snaps here in this mix. Nice little bonus for people who own physical copies.

Flavor Of Life was a good single, the two tracks here weren’t all that bad. But it just feels like something is missing to make this single memorable. The Antidote Mix was a nice little addition though.

A-

This week’s song is “Flavor of Life” by the one and only, Utada Hikaru. It’s a somewhat more recent song compared to the other songs I had been reviewing. It was released in early February and was extremely popular (then again most of Hikki’s songs are). The popularity can definitely be attributed to the fact that it was the insert song for the very popular drama, Hana Yori Dango 2. You know those drama songs… they get mad popular. But hey Hikki is big in Japan so it’s not wrong to discriminate on her. It’s certainly not wrong to discriminate on a good song either (unless you just don’t feel it is good to your ears, in which case never mind).

Utada Hikaru – Flavor Of Life

To tell you the truth this song kind of annoys me. I listened to it mainly because of watching Hana Yori Dango 2. It became semi-annoying when you would hear it ring in the suspenseful parts of HYD2 (and how it would seemingly never end). But that’s besides the point. I want to point out that the above picture is the cover art for the single. It’s… simple and clean (points if you get the reference ^_~). But what’s up with the onigiri? Is that supposed to be the food that has the flavor of life? On another side note, I frequently confuse this song and call it “Flavor of Love” because it just rolls right out of the tongue. The “Flavor of Love” is just as convincing of a title as “Flavor of Life”. In fact, I believe the confusion actually comes from watching Hana Yori Dango 2, where they talk about the “flavor of love” on several occasions.

There are two definitive versions of this song (I’m not going to bother counting that one random remix). The HYD version (the “Ballad Version”) and the original version differ mainly by tempo and background music. I consider this song to be the ballad version exclusively. I feel that this song was designed to be a ballad. It has that theme of the flavor of life. So you know, it feels like a soulful song. The original version isn’t that much more upbeat it just feels more uplifting than dancey. It is a bit faster, but then again the speed is comparable to a normal speed song. The music is somewhat catchy (as all drama songs should be). The only english words are pretty much, “The Flavor Of Life”.

This song is pretty good. It isn’t one of my favorites but it deserves to be played and listened to. It has this good flavor to it if you listen to it. And unless you’re like in the mood for heavy death metal or rap, you can probably appreciate this being on your playlist.

Fight the Blues

Heart Station

Beautiful World

Flavor of Life – Ballad Version -

Stay Gold

Gentle Beast Interlude

Celebrate

Prisoner of Love

Take 5

Boku wa Kuma

Nijiiro Bus

Flavor of Life (bonus track)

*****

Songs in bold are previously released singles. Songs in blue (with a link) have already been reviewed. Those songs will, however, be reviewed in context of the album once more.

*****

Heart Station is Utada Hikaru’s 5th album, released on March 19th, 2008. It reached #1 on Oricon and has sold 982 874 copies, making it her second album not to reach the platinum mark.

Opening the album is the powerful Fight the Blues, with obvious hints of synth there and the trademark Utada Hikura moans a little bit everywhere. I have a lot of love and hate relationships with the songs on this album, and this song starts it off. On one hand, Fight the Blues has a fresh feeling and does feel like “fighting the blues” because of the beats in the back; on another hand, I found this song to be relatively repetitive and eventually boring.

Heart Station (single originally released on February 20th, 2008) was a great single. Definitely not her greatest ever, but the repetitive music is, for the first time in my life, I’m going to say this, nice. The ambient of this song is relaxing, and her singing equally so. The verses are pleasant, and the chorus was kind of surprisingly low-key, but not necessarily in a bad way. The vocals are kind of strained—she’s obviously not meant to be singing really high notes—, but at the limit, I’ll let it pass, just because it’s my first Hikaru Utada song and also spawned my love for J-Pop.

Next comes the epic Beautiful World (single originally released on August 29th, 2007), which is probably the most memorable of her Heart Station era singles. The vocals are a lot more relaxed, but also a lot more articulate, slower, and that would probably make my rating of this song higher than that of Heart Station, even though I prefer the latter. The chorus was very catchy, even though it didn’t stick out that much from the rest of the song.

I don’t get the fuss about Flavor of Life. I really don’t. Why it’s the most downloaded digital single of 2007 makes me question the public’s taste. But to the point. The Ballad Version of Flavor of Life (released on February 28th, 2007 along with the original version) was unquestionably better, and far more suitable, more dramatic, than the original. This is a song about her divorce, it shouldn’t be a fast-paced pop song. Because this version stresses the strings a lot more, in particular the “crying” strings, it really makes the drama stand out more than in the original.

Why she puts five singles in a row, I don’t know. I just know that at least they seem vaguely consistent. Stay Gold (single originally released on February 20th, 2008, along with Heart Station as a double A-Side) is more on the cute side, and makes for a stark contrast between it and Flavor of Life. It’s another synth-inspired track, but the addition of a piano in the back makes this song softer.

Kiss & Cry (single originally released on August 29th, 2007, along with Beautiful World) is a really powerful but bland song. Really, there’s not much to the song except for the fast vocals which make this song catchy in the slightest bit. This might sound harsh, but no wonder Utada’s sales have dropped, this song really sucks. It’s trying to be fun and serious at the same time, but it obviously can’t make it.

The Gentle Beast Interlude is a 1 minute 13 seconds-long interlude featuring Utada moaning and little blurred clips from her other songs. It makes the transition between the singles and the album songs.

Celebrate is a dance-inspired song with strong disco elements. Certain moments sound like 70s music, but the rest is pretty urban. Like all the other songs on this album, it features element of electro-pop in the background, although luckily no vocal distortion.

Ah… the song that took us all away in a sweep, and one of the best album tracks I have ever heard, Prisoner of Love features dramatic vocals and powerful beats which seem to emphasize the drama rather than remove it, which is what they usually do. The chorus was absolutely fantastic, and the strings ensemble in the back was beautifully done. And since I’m at this song, I’ll take the time to say that I will not be reviewing the re-cut single because it features nothing new, except for the “Quiet Version”, which I didn’t really like. Let’s stick to the original, shall we?

Take 5 took me off-guard. I was expecting something in the style of Celebrate and Prisoner of Love, and then she makes this wonderfully catchy and slow track about death. And it stops, without warning, at 3:43, but that was definitely on purpose, to symbolize death. The vocal work was impressively well-done and the synth and thumping was great.

To represent life, after “Take 5″ and death, comes Boku wa Kuma (I am a bear—single originally released November 22nd, 2006), the post-album let down of a children’s song. The ambience is enjoyable, the vocals are cute, and the lyrics are fun. In theory, there’s nothing wrong with song. But, I’ll repeat it: it’s a child song, and it’s not meant to be a children’s song. Come on…

Nijiiro Bus (rainbow-colored bus) is an urban experience which really reminds me of Traveling. What it is is Prisoner of Love without the drama, a slightly faster pace and more fun vocals. “Everybody feels the same” is one of those great lines, even though I don’t see what it means in the context. It makes for a good ending to a pretty neat album.

Flavor of Life is the “bonus”, which is the only way to acceptably place this song on the album, because it wouldn’t really fit anywhere. I’ve already said everything I wanted to say about it above, so that’ll be it.

Heart Station was actually kind of a let-down after Ultra Blue. It lacks the glory, the power and the great music that was on Ultra Blue. As usual, it features great vocals and absolutely fantastic lyrics, but the album just lacks that particular excellence that was contained in Ultra Blue and Deep River. She’s not progressing very well recently, perhaps emotional stress from her divorce, but that should create even better songs. Instead, she produced the wonderfully shaky and unstable Flavor of Life, and singles which used even more synth than on certain Ultra Blue songs, a step down, if you ask me, from the style of pop that she masters. Or mastered. Frankly, this is the Viva la Vida of Utada Hikaru—not bad, just her worst in a while. I was expecting a lot more for her tenth anniversary. Let dropping sales be a warning to you, Utada!

I’m back! I’m not using wordpress much because I do have a blogger and a LiveJournal… so I’m more active on those… though lately my blogger is abandoned. I’m basically on LiveJournal and Twitter now. Got addicted to twitter lol.

So I’ve won the miink.com.br contest for the t-shirt design, and now they are selling my t-shirt “Garota Loli”. Go check there!

While that I’m working on more illustrations. Almost at the end of the first book… and then I’ll be able to reveal what those illustrations are about!

I’ve been working on more t-shirt designs too, since they are kind of easy to color when you have so many things to color. Besided that… I’ve been spending all my money on Dong Bang Shin Ki new stuff. Specially their new cd MIROTIC. I recomend!

Live, Learn, Leave, Love and Laugh…

１天の下では、何事にも定まった時期があり、すべての営みには時がある。

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activitiy under heaven

４泣くのに時があり、ほほえむのに時がある。

嘆くのに時があり、踊るのに時がある。

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

 a time to mourn and a time to dance.

6 捜すのに時があり、失うのに時がある。

保つのに時があり、投げ捨てるのに時がある。

A time to search and a time to give up,

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

You know the saying and the truth shall set you free.  It has opened my eyes to a new beginning.  It may not be monumental or extreme but telling how my feelings were and aren’t for one person has now allowed me to find a new love in life maybe. Whether it will work out or whether or not I put my effort to it is another story but being able to move one and find someone who likes you and wants to know how you are doing is something new to me.

 I am open to the possibility of dating now and relationships that are more than friendship.  I have been praying about this for a few months and I have come to realize that if you don’t try then you will always have some regrets about not moving on in life.  Of course never dated before in my life makes this an uncharted territory but it is like the final scene in the Indiana Jones series the Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Indie has to walk across this gap to get to the other side and the only clue talks about taking a step of faith.  Life and dating is like the gap, even though your eyes tell you that this is dangerous and there is not way you can make it, you still have to try and just take a step to see what is there and what’s not. 

God is ultimately there to provide a way out, whether or not you see it  or that logic of your brain is waving warning flags to not take that step,  you just have to walk out and see for yourself.  In the end Indie finds the path to get across the  way, though it was camouflaged with the cliff rock face, a solid path was always there to lead you to the other side.

I have met a man through an online dating site and logic tells me to be careful but now I have to be Indie to take the next step to see where it leads me.  I will be smart about it and not put all my eggs into the basket but I have to try and see how it goes.  Whether it leads to love and peace with this person or sadness and heartbreak, it will have to be a kind of love I must know to know what true love is in the long run.  He is a patient man that has waited for me and has become someone one I like and am genuinely worried about.  Whether this is just friendship or love only time will tell.  But this will be the first test because he is on the South East Coast of the US and I’m on the Western part of Canada.  This will truly be a test of my faith in this department.  

Arigato to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

For some reason it’s painful when you say thank you

Sayonara no ato mo tokenu mahout awaku horo nigain

The unbreakable magic after good bye is weakly bittersweet

The flavour of life

Tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de

Not friends but not not lovers we’re in between

Shuukaku no hi wo yume miteru aoi furuustu ato ippo ga fumi dase nai ser de

I’m dreaming of the day of the harvest of fresh fruit

Jitrettai no nan note baby

Why is it so vexing?

Arigato to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

For some reason it’s painful when you say thank you

Sayonara no ato mo tokenu mahout awaku horo nigain

The unbreakable magic after good bye is weakly bittersweet

The flavour of life

Amai dake no sasoi monku Ajikke no nai tooku

Words of invitation that are simple sweet.  Are a sensationless poison

Sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wo sosorare nai

My interest is not peaked by things like that

Omoi doori ni ika nai toki datte

Life isn’t something that you throw away

Jinsei suteta mon ja naitte

When things don’t go your way

Dooshita no to kyuu ni kikareru to uun nana demo nai

When I’m suddenly asked What’s wrong I just say No nothing

Sayonara no ato ni keiru egao Watashi rashiku nai

The smiling face that disappears after Good buy isn’t like me

Shinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nanadaka setsunai

The more I wish that I want to believe The More painful it is

Aishiteru yo yori mo diasuki no hou ga kimi rashiin ja nai

It’s more like you to say I like more than I love you

The Flavor of life

Wasure kakete ita hito no kaori wo

When you suddenly remember people you were about to forget

Totsuzen omoidasu goro

I honestly want to be happy

Furi tsumoru yuki no shiro saw o motto

When I think of the whiteness of the snow that builds up

Sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daimondo yori mo yawarakakute atataka na mirai te ni shitai yo

More than diamons I wand a soft warm future

Kagiri aru kikan wo kimi to sugoshitai

I want to spend my limited time with you

Arigato to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

For some reason it’s painful when you say thank you

Sayonara no ato mo tokenu mahout awaku horo nigain

The unbreakable magic after good bye is weakly bittersweet

The flavour of life

Hoje pude me deliciar assistindo um episódio clássico do Pica-Pau enquanto estava tomando café:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1CXHrXqQqI

Muito bom!

(Fazia tanto tempo que eu não assistia desenhos… sinto falta disso…)

Aliás, depois desse, foram exibidos mais dois desenhos musicais… ótimo pra começar o dia!

À tarde, resolvi baixar uma música que o Bruno tinha recomendado há algum tempo: Flavor of Life, da Utada Hikaru.

A melodia é muito bonita, e a letra tem um significado forte. Adorei!

Flavor of Life
Utada Hikaru

Romaji

Arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
Nan da ka setsunai
Sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
Awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
Shuukaku no hi wo yume miteru aoi furuutsu

Ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
Jirettai no nan no tte baby

Arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
Nan da ka setsunai
Sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
Awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Amai dake no sasoi monku
Ajikke no nai tooku
Sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wo sosorarenai

Omoidoori ni ikanai toki datte
Jinsei suteta mon ja nai tte

Doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to
Uun, nandemo nai
Sayounara no ato ni kieru egao
Watashi rashikunai

Shinjitai to negaeba negau hodo
Nan da ka setsunai
"Ai shiteru yo" yori mo "daisuki" no hou ga
Kimi rashiin ja nai?
The flavor of life

Wasure kakete ita hito no kaori wo
Totsuzen omoidasu koro
Furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo motto
Sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daiamondo yori mo yawarakakute
Atataka na mirai te ni shitai yo
Kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai

Arigatou, to kimi ni iwareru to
Nan da ka setsunai
Sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
Awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

English

Whenever you tell me thank you
It's somehow bittersweet
The spell doesn't break after you say goodbye
Faintly bitter
The flavor of life

We're in the middle, neither friends nor lovers
Green fruit dreaming of the harvest

We can't take that one last step
So it's so irritating or something, baby

Whenever you tell me thank you
It's somehow bittersweet
The spell doesn't break after goodbye
Faintly bitter
The flavor of life

Sweet words of seduction
Flavorless talk
That doesn't pique my interest

Even when things don't go your way
Life's not a total wash

"What's up?" you suddenly ask
No, it's nothing
My smile disappears after you say goodbye
It's not like me

The more I want to believe
It's somehow bittersweet
Don't you think "I really like you"
Suits you better than "I love you"?
The flavor of life

I suddenly remember
The scent of a person I'd almost forgotten
I want to be able to just sit back and enjoy
The white snow fall

I want a warm future
Softer than a diamond
I want to spend this limited time we have with you

Whenever you tell me thank you
It's somehow bittersweet
The spell doesn't break after you say goodbye
Faintly bitter
The flavor of life

Quando terminei o download, vi que faz parte da trilha sonora da segunda temporada do dorama que o Renato acompanha, Hana yori dango.

Boa semana a todos!

So, just posting something to start this new blog/site thing.

Explaining the name.. well I wanted it to sound like “Flavor Of Life”, “Prisoner of love” or “Heart Station” buuuut… since all those domain names were already taken, I decided on “Fight the blues”. Basically, as the other options, it’s the name of a song of my favorite artist: Utada Hikaru. And it’s meaning is to fight the sad things.. the blues… soo it’s not the “blues” the song genre lol.

Besides that, I need to make a new layout… those default layouts bother me alot! Since I don’t really like to use things that the others made… and put some links, like to me deviantart and my last.fm.

Here you can read “Fight the blues” lyric translation, with italic on the parts that i like the most:

We fight the blues
Worrying about things only makes your enemy happy
Both men and women have to be tough

I give you some positive news which makes you happy
Fortune comes in by a merry gate

All women are actresses
They pretend to be helpless, but they are very tough
Nevertheless, they still want to be protected

We fight the blues
I had days when I almost gave in to the depression
The tears I shed are my freedom
We fight the blues
Being obsessed with subtle failures only makes your enemies delighted
Both men and women have to be tough

You cannot buy it with money
You cannot see it with your eyes
The answer is mental toughness

People have great expectations and cause too much pressure on me
Still, there is no other way except by doing what I need to do

We fight the blues
When you feel bad, just take a deep breath
The tears that I hold on to are a part of me
I hate to lose
I’ll make the hototogisu sing if it isn’t likely to sing*
A gong sounds the start of a fight tonight

We fight the blues
I had days when I almost gave in to the depression
The tears I shed are my freedom
We fight the blues
Being obsessed with subtle failures only makes your enemies delighted
Both men and women have to be tough

Maybe I like too many parts lol… oh well… can’t help it. Ciao~

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
Sayonara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
Shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu
Ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
Jirettai no nan notte? baby

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku
Sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai
Omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte
Jinsei suteta mon janai tte

Doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to “uun. nandemo nai”
Sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai
Sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai
“Aishiteru yo” yori mo “daisuki” no hou ga kimi rashii janai?
The flavor of life

Wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo totsuzen omoidasu koro
Furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai
Teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai
“Arigatou” to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Hikaru Utada – Flavor of life (Hana Yori Dango Drama – Season 2)

1. Flavor of Life

2. Flavor of Life – Ballad Version -

3. Flavor of Life – Antidote Mix -

Flavor of Life is Utada Hikaru’s eighteenth single, released on February 28th, 2007. It reached #1 on Oricon and has sold 650 027 copies.

Flavor of Life is nothing special. I love Utada, but this is just not the old her. A song about her divorce sounded good (sounds mean, doesn’t it?) for a moment, but then this? No, this is not the Utada Hikaru I like to listen to. First of all, what’s with the fast pace which seems like the vocals can’t even keep with? This is (supposed to be) a sad song! Then there’s the synth. A “synth ballad”: that’s new, and really awful, as a matter of fact. So let’s skip to the next track…

The Ballad Version of Flavor of Life is much, much better. It features strings, typical ballad instruments, and a slower, better pace as well as more suitable vocals. No wonder this version was used for the PV, not the original. Otherwise, this is still nothing much to look at.

The Antidote Mix is the better version, with more flavor to it (oh, an unintentional pun). It’s not exactly as suitable as the Ballad Version, but I’ll let it pass since this is a really nice mix.