日本語:

Lyrics:

何だ！このあふれる色
なぜ？白いものが
何？これは夢だ信じられない
目覚めよジャーク！
何？
何だ！うそだ！信じられない
なぜ？歌ってるぞ
何？町中に楽しい笑いも笑顔があふれて
僕がどうかしている見たいだ
なぜ？
雪をながている　頭じゃない
おもちゃ作る人が生きているなんて
下でかすむ窓の向こうから
愛にあふれるぬくもりがきた
ほら見ろ！何だ？ヤドリギだぞ！
キスだ！ユニークだね。いいな！
お話は何かな
暖炉でくるみがはねる
なぜ？
何？あれは？小さな木だ
変わっている！初めて見た
どうして？小さなライトつけた紐を飾るんだ
あんな楽しそうに
僕が間違っているかな
素敵だ！素敵だ！願いがかなうぞ
なぜ？
おやま！なんと！子供がいる
でも見ろ！何もいない
悪魔も魔女もいない誰も
ここには小さな寝息で
夢の中だ
なぜ？
お化けはいないし　悪魔もいない
何だか素敵だな町中が
悲鳴の変わりに歌が聞こえ
お菓子を焼く香り漂って
なぜ！こんな初めてだぞ
全てか美しいぞ
聞いて！うつろな心が満たされて
僕は気づいた
ほしいな！ほしいな！僕のものだ！
教えて！僕が見つけたこの町は
何だ？

Want to learn the lyrics in depth? Go to Smart.fm (that I mentioned in the last post) and study this list. Great Stuff!

Original Version:

For some reason, this was probably the first time I had actually stopped anywhere in Japan for an extended period of time. I don’t mean that *literally*, but I had gone with the flow for the first few months, what with the new job, the new sights and the new places to explore. I had just stopped, looked around and taken in the atmosphere and the buzz around the place. After seeing these bands ready to play, we decided to take a short break before setting out home and sat down to watch the show.

My ear drums were nearly shattered after the live music at Kobe’s Chicken George (yes, that is the name of a real Live House in Japan – more about those later), but that experience had really got me geared up to hear more live music, so I suffered ^_^. Plus, I was invited to jam along at my mate’s band practice, so I was definitely in the mood to check out some local bands and get some pointers. First up was a three piece band. They were pretty average, nothing really stood out but they were trying pretty hard to win people over. I might have critiqued them a bit harshly; they may have not stood out, but they were far better than your average UK/US garage band. Just, not the sort of thing that would make me buy their CD. Too generic I think.

Next up were these guys:

Now, you saw these people in a previous post. When I’m in Japan, my fashion sense becomes a lot more liberal. For example, wearing a pink beanie is not only passable (and extremely cool ^_~) but also a common place occurrence. In the UK, you wear one and you’re likely to be called a fag and punched in the face. This however, is going a liiiitle bit too far in my book. I know glam rock used to be popular, but c’mon! Ok, so their image certainly caused a stir and a few laughs, but unfortunately their music didn’t do much to help further their musically futures. Still, it was entertaining to watch I suppose.

My general view is that Japanese musicians try a lot harder than some of their overseas counterparts. I’m not trying to imply stereotypes and say they’re born with a muscial silver spoon in their mouths, but the general concensus is that there is a lot more quality music from unsigned bands (especially in the jazz scene) than you tend to find in the UK or the US. After seeing some bands and playing with one, I could see that there’s a lot more drive to become a better musician and write better music there. At least that’s my opinion. Feel free to disagree, but disregard all the watered down pop and there’s a good deal of well written, well played music out there. Anyways, I digress.

Now, up third was a band called ‘Lansrat & Mery’. Had I realised how good they would be, maybe I would have captured some photos or video or something. Unfortunately I failed to get any shots, and since they are a low key band, I can’t find much on the web.

If I remember rightly, there were a guitarist, a singer / guitarist, a double bass player, a drummer and a keyboard player. Unlike the two previous bands, they started to play and my attention snapped like some heat-seeking missile detection system, straight on to them. It was probably some saving grace that my friend who was with me wanted to hear all three bands, otherwise I would have probably got up and left to get on home.

A swinging double bass line came out of the PA as they went into their opening song, ‘Shuffle!’. The composition was amazing and the music flowed the way jazz ought to; it was music that tried hard to push through the boundaries, but all the while managing to keep on the right path.

This wasn’t just jazz though, this was funky jazz. Like, jazz with a funky rock twist to it. I know i’m overplaying them a bit, but I was really stuck in the moment. They weaved in and out of individual solos, and were playing like professionals. They went into Valentine, which has my favourite piano intro of any song, ever. I actually learnt that intro by ear the next day.

After their set, I ran up to buy their CD straight away. Although it is good, none of the recordings do their live music justice. Think of Dave Matthews Band if you will. Their songs are great (if you like that sort of thing), but they really shine when they are live. The studio stuff pales in comparison.

I’ll let you make up your mind, i’ll post up the whole album. I’m not concerned about copyrights and that sort of thing, I mean I’ve searched all over for more information on the band and the album, but so far there is very little. I can’t find it to buy anywhere on the web. I think if anything i’ll be doing them some good service by word of mouth. Still, if they want me to take things down, they only need to ask.

Lansrat & Mery – Shuffle!
[Right click and save as]
Shuffle! (Single)

and if you want the rest of it:

Shuffle! (Album)

It’s definitely something you should do if you are out in Japan. Do a bit of searching and you could find some bands playing the street, usually trying to sell their latest CD’s and trying to gain attention from various labels. If you like the music, then do them a favour and buy their CD if you can afford it. They’re usually only about 1000円, and you’ll probably find a hidden gem like Lansrat & Mery. That kind of music is much rarer and a great deal more personal.

So, the first artist on the list is a man called Ken Hirai (平井堅 Hirai Ken). He is one of my favourite chill out artists, and has a wonderfully unique voice that seems to be made for those sort of songs. His music is either light and happy, or a little more passionate. If you are looking for Rock music then you’ve come to the wrong place!

Ken Hirai is a Japanese R&B/pop singer. I was first introduced to him during my first trip to Japan in 2004, when I was given a single from the album 「SENTIMENTALovers」.

The single was Omoi ga kasanaru sono mae ni (思いが重なるその前に), which loosely translated means ‘Before our feelings overlap’. It was and still is my favourite Ken song, so i’ll share it with you. [You can get the link at the bottom of the page.]

It is a nice, light emotional song, and it’s great to sing along to (even if you only know the chorus line!). You can learn the lyrics pretty easily; the song has a slow tempo and even though it’s pretty hard to make your voice go as high as his does you find yourself managing somehow ( ^ _ ^ ). It’s one of those songs that sounds best with a good pair of in-ear headphones, laying down looking at the sky. Actually, the single’s cover art does that feeling justice, as you can see below.

If you want the lyrics i’ve put them here (stolen from animelyrics.com!):
ねぇそんなことを隣でキミも
思ったりするのかな
思いが重なるその前に
強く手を握ろう

君の目に映る青空が
悲しみの雨に滲んでも
そんな時は思い出して
笑い合えた今日の日を

肩を落とす君を見る度に
連れ出すのは僕の方なのに
時々わからなくなるよ
僕が救われてるんだ

その掌は虹も掴めるさ
キミだけの歌を
ラララ探しに行こう

ねぇいつかキミは僕のことを
忘れてしまうのかな
その時はキミに手を振って
ちゃんと笑ってられるかな

* Repeat top

誰といても一人ぼっち
唇噛み締める時には
またここにきて同じ空を
何も言わずに見上げよう

涙も傷も宝物になる
キミだけに歌を
ラララ歌って行こう

ねぇいつかキミは君の夢を
忘れてしまうのかな
その時は瞳を逸らさずに
キミと向き合えるのかな

ねぇこんな僕はキミのために
何ができるのかな
言葉にならない思いだけ
強く手を握ろう
強く手を握ろう

Ken Hirai – Omoi ga kasanaru sono mae ni
[Right click - save link as]

This is also one of my favourites, きみのすきなこと（君の好きな事）, lit. ‘Your favourite things’. There’s a very cute video that goes with the song, it’s all lovely and a little cheesy, but in a good way. It is off the 2008 「Fakin’ Pop」 album.

This is also a pretty popular song, Hitomi wo Tojite (瞳をとじて) which means ‘Close your eyes’ (actualy, ひとみ is pupil, but this is another strange Japanese expression that we shouldn’t try to understand…). It was a number one hit and was also the theme song to the movie 「世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ」. It was also off the SENTIMENTALovers album.

Other songs to look out for: Kimi wa su-te-ki ♥ (君はス・テ・キ♥ – You are won-der-ful), Elegy and Pop Star.