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sunfishdreamworldI recently rediscovered a song that I used to be obsessed with a few years ago, and I have a lot on my mind that I desperately need to put somewhere!
I honestly might have been really close to forgetting about this song entirely because I removed it from my playlist, even though it used to be one of my favorites! I just listened to it so much that I needed to take a break from it, and I usually delete songs that I don’t listen to much anymore, even if I don’t dislike the song. My thought process was that I wouldn’t forget the song. Like, I know it has “1000%” in the title, and how could I ever forget the chorus? But I almost forgot everything! (This obviously could have been avoided if I just wrote the title down somewhere or saved it somewhere else lol.) It was only just a few days ago when I was going through a playlist for Summery Japanese songs, and I heard one that reminded me of... something... I still couldn’t remember the title or even the tune, but I was really lucky that the song was in the same playlist! I keep track of most of the songs I listen to on my phone, so I’ve listened to the song over 20 times since finding it again.
I honestly might have been really close to forgetting about this song entirely because I removed it from my playlist, even though it used to be one of my favorites! I just listened to it so much that I needed to take a break from it, and I usually delete songs that I don’t listen to much anymore, even if I don’t dislike the song. My thought process was that I wouldn’t forget the song. Like, I know it has “1000%” in the title, and how could I ever forget the chorus? But I almost forgot everything! (This obviously could have been avoided if I just wrote the title down somewhere or saved it somewhere else lol.) It was only just a few days ago when I was going through a playlist for Summery Japanese songs, and I heard one that reminded me of... something... I still couldn’t remember the title or even the tune, but I was really lucky that the song was in the same playlist! I keep track of most of the songs I listen to on my phone, so I’ve listened to the song over 20 times since finding it again.
As for the song itself… From its Wikipedia page, “"Kimi ha 1000%" (君は1000%) is the debut single by the Japanese band 1986 Omega Tribe released by VAP on May 1, 1986. Carlos Toshiki's professional debut as a vocalist, it is considered one of Toshiki's signature songs alongside "Aquamarine no Mama de Ite" and has been covered by multiple Japanese artists. The song peaked at 5th place on the Oricon Singles Chart.” Before writing this, I didn’t know any of this besides it being released in the 1980s. I’m happy that it placed so highly on a chart because. Yeah. This song is. So! Good! Ever since I planned on writing my thoughts about this song, I’ve been kind of struggling with how to word things, so I hope that whatever you read below is at least somewhat comprehensible.
This might be one of the best songs I’ve ever heard in my life, and I wish I found it sooner! I’m not even sure how I first found it. It might have been through a random playlist, or maybe it was even something on my autoplay list on YouTube, sometime around 2019-2020. I think I might love the song more than I did before! The instrumental alone is great — a variety of really cool instruments that are all layered and compliment each other and the vocals really well, the beat gives the song a little kick, and even though I’m not really a fan of electric guitars, the electric guitar solo before the bridge is really fun… I think it’s an electric guitar, anyway ^^;. There are also some instruments I never noticed before, which is usually the case for me. I don’t catch obvious details in songs until after I’ve listened to them 100 times. I’m not even sure how to explain it, but it’s the 3 notes you hear repeat in the chorus. B5, C6, and G6 twice, followed by A5, B5, and F#6… I think? When I played it on my piano to figure it out, it REALLY reminded me of “Aegen” by Malice Mizer since that song uses the same notes in a similar way. I could ramble more about the instrumental, but what about the vocalist! I’m kind of shocked that this was a debut for the singer, Carlos Toshiki, because. WOW! He has such a beautiful voice! I even really like how the live version of this sounds, and it’s really fun seeing how enthusiastic Carlos is when he sings it on a stage. Since the Wikipedia page mentioned how Kimi ha 1000% has been covered a lot, I tried listening to a few of the professional covers I found on YouTube, and it’s just not the same for me. I’m not really sure how to describe Carlos’s vocals, so I’m using some words that I pulled from a list of “Singing Voice Adjectives”. His vocals are soft AND bold, obviously at different parts of the song, but I also feel like he sounds like these things simultaneously, if that makes sense. I love how everything sounds, and his English pronunciation is really good! My favorite thing is how he sings, “twilight”. I’m not really sure what feelings this song gives to other people because it does seem really Summery and uplifting, but I always wondered if this song had some sort of sad undertone to it? I don’t have to wonder anymore, because I FINALLY looked up an English translation!
The translation is a little clunky, but it gave me a better understanding of the song. I listen to a lot of songs that aren’t in my native language, and I’ve never been bothered by it because I just like how things sound, and they can still make me feel all sorts of emotions! I went so long without knowing what the lyrics in Kimi ha 1000% meant because I already loved it so much without having to know! I know this song placed highly on Japanese music charts, but I wonder how many people outside of Japan have heard this song. I went through some videos on YouTube, and even though a lot of them have a decent amount of views, almost every comment I saw is in Japanese. I feel like if this had an official English cover or something that was played on the radios in the United States, it could have placed somewhere in Billboard’s Top 100. The song is extremely 80s, and I don’t just mean that it came out in the 1980s... Duh! I mean that it really captures that decade’s feeling in a lot of ways. I don’t really know how to bridge this to my next thought, but I’m also not writing a formal review, so who cares! I mentioned before how I don’t mind songs in other languages, but everyone else has their own preferences. Music is extremely subjective, but I just get kind of bummed out knowing that some people will actively avoid any and all music that is foreign, because something foreign is “too scary” for them, or they genuinely believe that it will always be weird and bad. I can somewhat understand that some people can’t enjoy a song if they don’t know what the lyrics mean, and the lyrics just sound “gibberish” to them, but I’ve always had a different view on this sort of thing. I can enjoy music of any language because I see music as a language. I feel like maybe there’s a better explanation for this or maybe even a term for it, so I hope that my previous sentence makes sense -_-;. Music is just a really amazing worldwide experience, but it makes me kind of sad that some people will forever be willfully ignorant of songs that aren’t in their native language, or aren’t from their country of origin. (And I could say that about a LOT of things, but I’m keeping this restricted to music since this entry is already REALLY long.) I still have a memory of something that happened some years ago, and it always comes up in my mind: One time during high school, a few of my friends at the time were in the cardio room during PE because everyone else stayed in the gym to play games, so we were able to take turns playing songs of our choice using an iPad set up in the room. I picked “Don’t Graduate, Senpai!” because I was really into “Senpai Club” at the time. (Very awesome song and very fun YouTube series BTW.) During the instrumental part, one of our PE teachers walked in, kind of an older guy, and he was totally into the song! Bopping his head, smiling a little, jamming out! But then he looked at the title of the song on the iPad, and the smile on his face DROPPED. And when the lyrics came back, he left the cardio room! Like. Oh my God!!! Just let yourself enjoy things!!! Don’t be afraid!!! I promise a song won’t hurt you because it’s in a foreign language!!! It will not brainwash you with evil thoughts!!! But some people will never give chances to things like this. Not that it’s shocking or anything. Just kind of sucky. Oh well!
This is something I’ve always randomly thought about from time-to-time, and I never had a chance to structure how I feel until now. This topic most definitely doesn’t interest others as much, but as someone who got into anime as a kid in a small, somewhat-conservative area (and as someone who could endlessly ramble about trivial things), I had sooo many thoughts from personal experience that don’t have to take up space in my mind anymore! AND I got to learn more about one of my favorite songs!
The translation is a little clunky, but it gave me a better understanding of the song. I listen to a lot of songs that aren’t in my native language, and I’ve never been bothered by it because I just like how things sound, and they can still make me feel all sorts of emotions! I went so long without knowing what the lyrics in Kimi ha 1000% meant because I already loved it so much without having to know! I know this song placed highly on Japanese music charts, but I wonder how many people outside of Japan have heard this song. I went through some videos on YouTube, and even though a lot of them have a decent amount of views, almost every comment I saw is in Japanese. I feel like if this had an official English cover or something that was played on the radios in the United States, it could have placed somewhere in Billboard’s Top 100. The song is extremely 80s, and I don’t just mean that it came out in the 1980s... Duh! I mean that it really captures that decade’s feeling in a lot of ways. I don’t really know how to bridge this to my next thought, but I’m also not writing a formal review, so who cares! I mentioned before how I don’t mind songs in other languages, but everyone else has their own preferences. Music is extremely subjective, but I just get kind of bummed out knowing that some people will actively avoid any and all music that is foreign, because something foreign is “too scary” for them, or they genuinely believe that it will always be weird and bad. I can somewhat understand that some people can’t enjoy a song if they don’t know what the lyrics mean, and the lyrics just sound “gibberish” to them, but I’ve always had a different view on this sort of thing. I can enjoy music of any language because I see music as a language. I feel like maybe there’s a better explanation for this or maybe even a term for it, so I hope that my previous sentence makes sense -_-;. Music is just a really amazing worldwide experience, but it makes me kind of sad that some people will forever be willfully ignorant of songs that aren’t in their native language, or aren’t from their country of origin. (And I could say that about a LOT of things, but I’m keeping this restricted to music since this entry is already REALLY long.) I still have a memory of something that happened some years ago, and it always comes up in my mind: One time during high school, a few of my friends at the time were in the cardio room during PE because everyone else stayed in the gym to play games, so we were able to take turns playing songs of our choice using an iPad set up in the room. I picked “Don’t Graduate, Senpai!” because I was really into “Senpai Club” at the time. (Very awesome song and very fun YouTube series BTW.) During the instrumental part, one of our PE teachers walked in, kind of an older guy, and he was totally into the song! Bopping his head, smiling a little, jamming out! But then he looked at the title of the song on the iPad, and the smile on his face DROPPED. And when the lyrics came back, he left the cardio room! Like. Oh my God!!! Just let yourself enjoy things!!! Don’t be afraid!!! I promise a song won’t hurt you because it’s in a foreign language!!! It will not brainwash you with evil thoughts!!! But some people will never give chances to things like this. Not that it’s shocking or anything. Just kind of sucky. Oh well!
This is something I’ve always randomly thought about from time-to-time, and I never had a chance to structure how I feel until now. This topic most definitely doesn’t interest others as much, but as someone who got into anime as a kid in a small, somewhat-conservative area (and as someone who could endlessly ramble about trivial things), I had sooo many thoughts from personal experience that don’t have to take up space in my mind anymore! AND I got to learn more about one of my favorite songs!
no subject
Date: 2024-04-26 01:27 am (UTC)I'm also super surprised that this is a debut song for the singer, wow! It really fits the song. The somewhat of a mellow tone complements the instruments here so well! (And the lyrics, of course XP )
It is a shame that some people won't give music in another language a chance... I feel like half the pushback of J-pop/K-pop getting popular in the west kinda falls into this area of something being "foreign and different" rather than any actual critique of the music/culture around it, bleh. :P
I've listened to foreign music for most my life, for me the lyrics don't really matter as much as the general feel of the music as a whole, partly because I've really grown bored of the same-ness of pop music in my own country and mostly because I usually can't tell what the lyrics are saying unless I concentrate on them anyways. XD
I feel like, in general, there's a weird concentration on the vocal of a song. I mean, it's just one part of the whole! Yet, you see vocalists get credited rather than the whole band in a surprising number of instances. AND the amount of instrument solos seem (in my experience) to be going down! Where's the awesome guitar solos, I miss them!!!!
*cough* Anyways! It's been nice seeing your thoughts on this AND also thank you for pointing out Kimi ha 1000% it is definitely going on my own playlist! :D
no subject
Date: 2024-05-17 05:05 am (UTC)You explained it really well, especially with the "foreign" vs actual critique point! Obviously different strokes for different folks, but disregarding any and all foreign music is a weird but sadly still common approach :( And I've always felt the same way about the Billboard's Hot 100 here for awhile now. Anime was my introduction to new genres, but for awhile now, I've been trying out all sorts of things that I find. Fortunate for me, but unfortunate when someone asks what kind of music I listen to, because I listen to almost everything lol!