サキ評

Arts & media corner

goldrose38(弾き語り者)

Have you seen her covers? They're incredible.

あまちゃん

(朝ドラ)

It's my favorite show. The sea, the idols, the beach, the countryside, the city, and the roar of the waves. Could it get better than that? (No.)

能年玲奈(女優)

Only Nounen Rena can play Nounen Rena.

薬師丸ひろ子(女優)

Oh, Yakushimaru-shi? Right, right. She was in 刑事物語3“潮騒”の詩.

小泉今日子(女優)

Abe-no-mask endorsees not welcome here.

橋本愛(女優)

Did you know she made a song with Seiko?

鈴鹿ひろ美(キャラ)

She's my favorite character ever.

天野アキ(キャラ)

At least she finally grew up!

足立ユイ(キャラ)

What a baby! Just kidding.

連続テレビ小説「あまちゃん」オリジナル。サウンドトラック(アルバム)

Already so nostalgic…

連続テレビ小説「あまちゃん」オリジナル。サウンドトラック 2(アルバム)

You would think the 東京編 soundtrack would be more lackluster, but it holds a lot of the same charm. Maybe not in the same way as 故郷編, but it has its own idiosyncrasies and still leaves you with the same feeling of nostalgia and longing. What a show! Now I'm reminiscing.

のんとも。M:ショーがはじまるョ!(アルバム)

As if Sachiko M & Yoshihide couldn't get any better, here's them with Rena (and a lot of the Amachan cast on one track) just fooling around and having fun.

サノトモミ(歌手。アイドル)

People only know of her in the West because her music falls under the "city pop" genre. It's no wonder that Silent Flight (cover of her hailing a taxi with blurred city lights) is much more popular than Midnight Explorer (cover of pretty fabric art and portraiture).

中島みゆき

(歌手。アイドル)

Nakajima Miyuki Big Fan

4。2。3(歌)

Isn't it cool? It's cool.

誕生(歌)

That has to be one of my favorite refrains. So dramatic! It leaves you crying. "Remember! 生まれた時…"

あした(シングル)

あした:It's catchy in a very depressing way. The falling line in the refrain followed by (教えてよ〜)もしも… is the song's centerpiece. It's a depressing song to listen to, but you itch for it every now and then.
\グッバイガール:I really liked this track. Perhaps as relief.

世間(歌)

I like chanting. Good drama.

乃南アサ:しゃぼん玉(小説)

See here.

倉橋ヨエコ(シンガソングライター)

Oh, she's good. Very, very good. Very, very, very good. Extremely good. Incredibly good. It's a shame she quit.

吉田修一:7月24日通り(小説)

See here.

大森靖子

(アンチ。アイドル)

Western audiences like to talk about her, Jun, and Ringo in the same breath. How reductive!
I like her older music. Her newer music is disappointing. Sorry, Seiko!

魔法が使えないなら死にたい(アルバム)

This one is really popular in Western circles. It's not bad, but I don't remember it well. Probably because I didn't listen to it very often.

絶対少女(アルバム)

I like this album a lot. If you want to gauge whether you're in the mood to listen to this album, listen to the first five seconds of the self-titled opening track and see if you stick with it.
I love how it ends on I&YOU&I&YOU&I. It's not even her song, but she tailors it well to being a last track. Good. I like it.

洗脳(アルバム)

This is the album I have probably listened to the most. Good. I also like it the most. Or do I? It's hard to compare it against TOKYO BLACK HOLE, since it has a very different approach altogether.
Come to think of it, I love everything about this album. Yes, I think this is my favorite Seiko album. It might not have the reputation TOKYO BLACK HOLE has, but I like it better.

TOKYO BLACK HOLE(アルバム)

It's good. Very cohesive. I see why Western audiences like it a lot, and I agree with them. I can't say it's my favorite, though.

kitixxxgaia(アルバム)

I didn't completely hate it back then, but I think I understand why people were so disappointed by it. It marks a change in direction for Seiko. To put it in a really mean way, she never "recovered" from where she went here. But to put it more fairly, this is just where she went in a new direction, and it doesn't really live up to the catchy, crazy uniqueness in her older music. But that's okay. She's still exploring, and I don't want her to give up. 応援しています!

金継ぎ(アルバム)

People like it. I don't see much in it. Except for her track with Ai. Yui-chan really did become an idol!

イミテーションガール(歌)

It's extremely characteristic of the album it's featured on. Very good. Annoying in the best way.

きゅるきゅる(歌)

It lives up to its name.

ノスタルジックJ-POP(歌)

It doesn't sound like nostalgic J-pop, but it certainly lives up to both nostalgia and J-pop.

子供じゃいないもん17(歌)

Sennou has two sides to it. This song is a bridge between them. It's both hyper and catchy, but calm and mellow. Good work!

呪いは水色(歌)

So dramatic! I love it.

私は面白い絶対面白いたぶん(歌)

This was my favorite track! It's like dark surf rock.

みすみぃきるみぃ(歌)

I remember when I had the piano section stuck in my head. I couldn't remember what song it was but I knew it was from Sennou. I thought it was the opening line, but I'd forgotten just how wild the album was. Of course, that piano line is in the middle of the song.

焼肉デート(歌)

I would always play 焼肉デート and 私は面白い… together. I do think this is a great song, but I think Sennou is best appreciated when listened in full.

マジックミラー(歌)

This was what brought me back to TOKYO BLACK HOLE constantly. The refrain is showy, wild, and very coherent. So catchy! Good work, Seiko.

劇的JOY!ビフォーアフター(歌)

There was something in this song (a descending line?) that made me want to listen to it as another Magic Mirror, but it's much shorter, and I don't think it's front-and-center at all.

愛してる.com(歌)

I hate it!

SHINPIN(歌)

I hate it *even more*.

PERSONA #1(アルバム)

大森さん、おかえりなさいませ!復活とレッテルされては不正じゃんけど今回まことにかっこすぎ〜よねぇ

小泉今日子(歌手。アイドル)

Kyoko or Hiroko? You decide.

山口百恵(歌手。アイドル)

Wow! She's one of my old favorites.

戸川純(歌手。アイドル)

She is good. Her work is very artsy and personal, so if you're feeling too self-important, you'll *really* like her work. But that's okay. I like her.

杏里

(歌手・シンガーソングライター)

Anri is very popular outside of Japan. Her English is relatively good, but this was also a "city pop" standard. I find most of her music boring, but many of her songs are instantly recognizable and you remember their melodies as though they bring about astringent nostalgia, perhaps even adjacent to the September feeling.

EVER BLUE(アルバム)

I like this one best so far. It's reminiscent of NEUTRAL but she carries her sound through. Just as Nakajima had undergone a transformation in the 90s, Anri becomes funkier here and uses a gospel-like sound.

松任谷由実(Matsutoya Yumi)

(歌手。アイドル)

I loved "Hikoukigumo" and excitedly downloaded more of her music. I realized I hated her voice. That was when I was 15. I like her a lot more now. She is one of my favorite musicians.

ひこうき雲(歌)

One of my favorite songs. I know all the lyrics to it.

YUMING COMPOSITIONS: Faces(アルバム)

It's really good. My favorite track is 「いちご白書」をもう一度. Don't you think the story behind it is really cool?
I feel haunted by Wの悲劇. First by Hiroko, then by Book-Off, and now by Matsutoya. I should really read that book.

MISSLIM(アルバム)

It's good!

COBALT HOUR(アルバム)

I like it!

14番目の月(アルバム)

Very nice!

紅雀(アルバム)

Good! I like it.

流線形'80(アルバム)

Good work! Very nice!

OLIVE(アルバム)

Yes, this I like, too.

悲しいほどお天気(アルバム)

Very nice, Yuming!

時のないモデル(アルバム)

I like it.

SURF&SNOW(アルバム)

I think I liked it.

水の中のASIAへ(アルバム)

I'm sure I liked this, too.

昨晩お会いしましょう(アルバム)

Very nice.

PEARL PIERCE(アルバム)

I liked it.

REINCARNATION(アルバム)

This was very good.

VOYAGER(アルバム)

It was good, but it didn't live up to being a "voyager" album. But it was good.

NO SIDE(アルバム)

I finished my finals listening to this. Good. But I was still stressed out.

ALARM à la mode(アルバム)

Very good!

ダイアモンドダストがきえぬまに(アルバム)

I don't remember this one very well.

Delight Slight Light KISS(アルバム)

Look at the art. It's aesthetically incredible. I liked the songs, too. But I can't remember how much I liked it.

LOVE WARS(アルバム)

Good!

天国のドア(アルバム)

This was another finals album. It was good. But stressful.

DAWN PURPLE(アルバム)

Sure. It was fine.

TEARS AND REASONS(アルバム)

Dramatic title, but I really don't remember this album.

U-miz(アルバム)

Very good!! XYZING XYZING is a great song. What a title, too. I'm using that.

THE DANCING SUN(アルバム)

Spooky. I like it.

KATHMANDU(アルバム)

This one is great.

Cowgirl Dreamin'(アルバム)

I don't know about this one.

スユアの波(アルバム)

It was fine.

FROZEN ROSES(アルバム)

Good. I like it.

acacia(アルバム)

It was hard to get this one. I liked it.

VIVA 6×7(アルバム)

Good work, good presentation!

日本の恋と、ユーミンと。 (アルバム)

This was the first album I listened to "by" her (it's a compilation album, duh). It's been years, but the tracks are good. So even though I wasn't a big fan then, I would be now.

松田聖子(歌手。アイドル)

I think she's really overrated, but it's hard to deny that her presence is felt even today.

桜田淳子(歌手。アイドル)

Her music isn't bad.

椎名林檎

(歌手。アイドル)

You really appreciate Ringo when you look at her demo work and older media presence. I used to hate her "jazzier" music, but it's important to appreciate artists for who they are. I think if I listened to her today, I would like her 90s-era work more than her newer work.

本能(シングル)

This used to have a full score on guitarlist.net, and it's what made me appreciate the song more. It's very good.

ギブス(シングル)

So noisy!

罪と罰(シングル)

I used to think of it as "just a Ringo track" but eventually became obsessed with it on one particular listen. It's very cool. Have you seen the cover for it?

茎~大名遊ビ編~(シングル)

If you listen to it a certain way, it would be the best track on 加爾基.

いろはにほへと(シングル)

That harpsichord introduction!

無罪モラトリアム(アルバム)

I don't think I really appreciated this album when I listened to it. I "liked it," but I forgot to make my relationship to it special. Surely this is an album you'll find cooler if you saw Ringo dancing about on the street in tattered clothing.

勝訴ストリップ(アルバム)

Very cool! It makes sense that this would be the precursor to 加爾基.

加爾基 精液 栗ノ花(アルバム)

I think I was too obsessed with this album. But what can I say? It's just about perfect. Look at that title! Tell me it isn't perfect. I dare you.

平成風俗(アルバム)

This album makes me feel sick and I absolutely love it.

三門ゴシップ(アルバム)

I hated it because I didn't understand it. I might get it now. Really, who is Shiina Ringo without jazz? Much more than the artist behind 尖った手口, at least.

日出処(アルバム)

I get it, I get it. It's good work.

三毒史(アルバム)

So strange. I don't read much of 無罪モラトリアム in here at all, but I think I just don't understand her new phase very well. It seems like a very dramatic change from how she sounded in 日出処, but I simply haven't caught up.

私と放電(アルバム)

Have you listened to this? It's incredible. And it's just a singles collection!

河合奈保子(歌手。アイドル)

I think she's good.

浜崎あゆみ(歌手。アイドル)

She's exactly what I expected. By that, I mean she's a terrible singer. But I haven't listened to her other albums~so there's still a chance for poor Ayumi!

竹内まりや(シンガーソングライター)

A best friend to Hiroko, and maybe even overshadowed by her. But she seems to have made her mark anyway as a legendary songwriter. Her legacy lives on in the mainstream Western world through YouTube recommendations. I don't feel very good about that, but at least she's popular?

薬師丸ひろ子

(歌手。アイドル)

Star of 猫に育てられた犬 fame. We're all so proud!

探偵物語(歌)

It's so good! It's so good!

薬師丸ひろ子 2019コンサート(ライブ。アルバム)

What a collection! I love the orchestral renditions.

-恋文-LOVE LETTER(アルバム)

It's my favorite album from her, but it doesn't even have a Wiki page. Somebody must not be fond of the operatics.

Heart's Delivery(アルバム)

Look! Just like her radio show. I don't remember this album well, but I had to point it out.