I like iTunes. I can't really explain why, since I've tried lo-fi media management alternatives such as foobar2000 and the ubiquitous Winamp; hell, when I'm lazy I'll just open the file or folder I want to listen to in Media Player Classic. It must be that consumer-friendly sheen on Apple's interface, or the neat Cover Flow view they've got going on. Whatever it is, iTunes has become my music player of choice. The iTunes Store, on the other paw, has largely been a superfluous element. I've checked it out, sure, but in the end I can't justify paying $10 for an album's worth of low-quality DRM-ridden audio files. People like to poo-poo those arguments, but DRM just sucks, and yes, I *can* hear that iTunes files are less than CD-quality. I understand that iTunes has recently started offering higher-quality, DRM-free files for the same price, calling it "iTunes Plus." This, I will admit, does tempt a bit, but one look at Amazon's own MP3 download service reveals I can get pretty much the same thing over there, except cheaper. So what it boils down to is that I have no reason to use the iTunes Store whatsoever. Nope. None at all.
Oh, wait, there is one thing. iTunes has this curious selection of music in its catalog. It's weird stuff, man, and it's in some funky foreign language. I think it's like Japanese or something! I know, seriously right? They're calling it "J-Pop." Hahaha, "J-Pop." ...
Allow me to now completely undermine whatever credibility I may have established in the first paragraph: the fact is that J-Pop on iTunes calls to me like sweet crack cocaine. I mean, look at the cost effectiveness: $3 for a three-track digital single, or $15 with shipping to buy the physical CD? Suddenly the audio quality argument becomes a hell of a lot less compelling, because I admittedly have to use headphones to discern it. And DRM? Well... I suppose owning an iPod doesn't afford me the right to complain too vehemently... but... but....!!
Well, I'm sure you can imagine how the internal argument went, so here it comes. I spent $23 a few weeks ago to get Morning Musume's new single, "mikan," as well as their complete singles collection. I now have 38 tracks of sugary Tsunku goodness in my iTunes' "Purchased" folder. I am, to be perfectly honest, pretty happy with my purchase, which I should note also marks the first MoMusu stuff I have actually purchased, instead of listening to it via the blogosphere or on message boards. Clearly, I've passed several points of no return in one spectacular shining leap. And now, dear readers, I've come to blog about my newly-acquired bits of digital joy. Indulge me as I cover releases that everyone else finished talking about months ago. (Hey, I'm not the most punctual critter in the world.)
Not the most erudite of explanations, but come ON, people. How can you not love a smile like that?! Ah, shameless bias; it's so good to me.
Anyway, I don't know enough about why this single apparently did badly in Japan, so I'm not going to dwell on that. "mikan," for me personally, is a pretty solid if admittedly not memorable effort from the girls. The lyrics are in the typical upbeat, "live life to your best~ <3" vein, but do throw a bone to English speakers like me with the "Oh yeah, you'll get a chance!" refrain. One could say "You'll get a chance!" to sing along passably well to the chorus. (Argh. Bad fox! Bad! *whaps self with newspaper*) The backing instrumentation is also pretty typical with its bouncy percussion and synth sparkles, but I should note that the instrumental version of this song actually fares well as listening material: the removal of the vocals exposes a bass line that normally runs in harmony with the main vocal melody, but which is pleasant to hear on its own and keeps the song from feeling "empty" as some pop instrumentals occasionally do. Vocally, the girls are on point. The song is not nearly as Ai Takahashi-centered as "onna ni sachi are" was (though she does have a part in nearly every chorus in addition to her solo lines), which gives some of the other girls, Reina Tanaka mostly, a chance to shine. Reina does very well, and throws in a little extra punch near the end by shouting out her "Oh yeah, one time!" line (another cute moment in the video, thanks to Qian Lin who gestures excitedly at Reina while she performs it). For the most part, all the other girls are given occasional solo lines, mostly singing together in the chorus. For the next single, I want more Risa Niigaki, and damn it, I especially want to hear more from Aika Mitsui. Her "ooki na oto de kyoku kiita~" solo line (her only solo line, actually) is probably the cutest thing in the song. Incidentally, it's interesting how I can claim a song is "not memorable" and then write such a long-ass paragraph about it. Basically, "mikan" fades from memory fairly quickly, to be frank, but while you're listening everything works like it should. Moving on.
The b-side, "Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb Girl," (click the link to listen via YouTube) is much more invigorating. Bopping along with a swinging mixture of horns, drums on the off beat, and a jazzy bass line, the girls trade fast-paced lines, interject with extremely cute "Yeah!"s at various points, and get together to shout the title of the song over and over as a refrain. The song is quite short at 3:16, but it's a tight three minutes and change that really kicks for the entirety of its length. I'll listen to it twice when it comes up in my playlist, and it's got more plays than "mikan" does if iTunes is to be believed. I'm not versed on the historical quality of Morning Musume b-sides, but in my opinion this one is pretty damn good and makes the single worth checking out even if you're not a fan of "mikan" itself.
In the end, as good as "Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb Girl" is, nothing on this single has the singular attraction for me that "onna ni sachi are" by itself exhibited. I had that song in my head for weeks, and "mikan" assuredly will not last nearly as long. But as I said, I'm not dissatisfied with the $2.97 I spent for this single - you really can't beat that price for what would otherwise be an import item. I continue to look forward to the group's next album release, which I will definitely be purchasing, physically or otherwise.
I mentioned the whole "point of no return" thing either, right? Well, one of those points I zoomed by was the idea that I can hold back on buying more of this group's music. Clearly this is not the case, and I expect to be hunting down and purchasing the physical albums very soon. Music this good deserves to be heard in its full splendor.
(This blog post is a little lo-fi and doesn't really make use of, well, any markup features of Vox. I apologize for this, but I had the urge to write, and I felt that getting my thoughts down was better than stalling and putting off the blog for yet another three months. I do have the intention of writing more frequently, since I think a few people actually read this aside from myself when I post something!)