Because you can(not) choose only one
There are times when I come to you and spam you about that new song Arashi has that I absolutely can't stop playing on replay. But I'm pretty new to their music.
(Yes, well, almost four years is more than I expected, but compared to the almost fourteen they've been going on, I think it's safe to say that I'm new here)
So, yeah, I can spam you with no regrets about new songs, but not about old ones. Until now *Evil laugh*.
Because, well, that's what the 30 days challenge is for.
Today's theme is...
Top 5 Arashi songs
.
Yeah, that's right! Since Arashi apparently sings, a part from kissing and grope each other on a daily basis (not that I'm complaining), and since they've been doing that for a while now, I'm going to show you my five favorite songs. Come on, they have nearly 300 songs, you can't expect me to choose only one.
well, yes, you can, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy
On past entries I've spammed you with both Energy song and All right. Those two might enter on this list, but since I've already talked to you about them, they are not going to be in it today.
5. Up to you
Starting the list, there's Up to you, an album song from Popcorn. Probably they sung it on the tour and we'll have a performance on the DVD.
By the way (and just in case someone doesn't know), Arashi (and most of jpop) songs can be classified in three categories: Single, B-side and album. When a single comes out, it usually comes with another song, or a couple of them, in the same CD. Then, from time to time, the company usually gathers the singles (but not the b-sides) and puts them together on an album. They probably won't fill up the space for the whole album, so to fill it, there are new/original album songs.
Of course, it's an strategy they use so you can have to buy both the single and album if you want to listen to all of their songs, but I'm not going to enter there.
Anyway, back to the topic. Up to you is the last song from their last album. I have a thing for last songs, I think. It happened too with Summer Splash and Tooku made, although (sadly) they didn't quite cut it for this list (Well, they would. but then it wouldn't be a top 5). This song, of course, it's an up beat one, but not too cheery. It's happy but not... bouncy, if a song can be bouncy.
Now I really wish I could put a cut inside a cut because I really wanted to show you the translation here. It's lovely. I'll leave you the link, though, and a quote here :D
Show me that extraordinary smile that only you can give Whoa whoa (All for you!)
Surely we'll be able to change the future If you've wiped your tears, don't look back and go! (Go!)
I love the fact that in this kind of... motivational? songs, it feels like they take your hand and sing to make you smile. There are inspirational songs that make you smile because you like the story that it's telling you, but a song that specifically asks you, the listener, to smile, is something I quite enjoy.
4. PIKA✩✩NCHI DOUBLE
This is probably the only single in this list. And I'm not going to lie, I fell in love with it because of the violins.
Then it has the plus of a very nice bridge there where all of their voices are great and they take turns to sing with Sho and then alone and, really, I love how much Aiba's voice fits in this song.
But the violins in the back... <3
(That's also coincidentally one of the reasons why I love so much truth)
3. ひとりじゃないさ (Hitori janai sa)
Back when I started to listen to them I must admit that I was a bit wary about listening to their B-sides, mostly because they release at least a couple for every single (and they had a ton of them) and it's not like they got a lot of attention on concerts or anything. I didn't think I was missing anything. But, oh, how wrong I was.
If I didn't, then I would have missed practically all my favorite songs about them. This one is a B-side to Face Down, on mid-2012.
The first thing that got me was the melody. The piano in it had me from the start. But then there was how bittersweet it sounded (then, when reading the translation, I saw it was bittersweet indeed, but leaning on the sweet side)
There's also a third reason, and it's how it is related to the other Face Down B-side "Mezashita mirai e" (目指した未来へ)
(Just so you know, I love references. And I love them more when they are intentional. That's one of the things I enjoy more on Doctor Who or Community. I like the feeling of enjoying something more the more time I spend with it)
That being said, the third reason as of why I love Hitori... so much is because this one and Mezashita... are couple songs. Not as in "songs for couples" but as in "songs that are enjoyed best when you listen to both of them".
They both tell the same story but from different viewpoints. Well, they are generic pop songs, it's not like two bittersweet songs from people whose paths are separating are not similar between them, but here's the thing: Each other contain the other one's title in the song.
In case you're curious, here I leave you the song so you can listen to it.
2. Still...
This song, Happiness' B-side, is here for so many reasons that I cannot put them all here.
First of all, I fell in love with the melody and the background music. It had a quiet summer feeling, like laying on your towel, in the beach, after spending all your day there, tired until you can't move, and you hear the seagulls in the background. I feel like that when I listen to it, and it's a feeling I like a lot.
Then there's also Sho's rap part. He writes this parts most of time, and this one is one of my favorites. I like the pacing and the rhythm. And his voice in general, why bother covering it up.
And then... there's the meaning. I said that I liked the feeling I got from listening to the melody, but the song is such a bittersweet one. Like "Hitori...", it's about two friends whose paths in life make them go in separate ways, but they wish the other the best. I remember reading the meaning while seeing a subbed concert, and with all the emotion I had then, I ended up teary eyed. From a song that gave me such a nice feeling (I felt kinda betrayed at that time) (by a song, yes, I know xD)
Finally, here's number one, my favorite Arashi song ever (yet).
1. Boku ga boku no subete (僕が僕のすべて）
Like with most of the songs here listed, I liked this song for how its sound (as opposed to its meaning), but weirdly enough, I can remember the exact moment when I decided that this song would be more than a song.
It was from the first times I listened to them as more than the guys from Hana Yori Dango. I downloaded their All the best album and started to listen. Usually I listened to the three or four songs I knew even if I had the others there, but when I was on the bus, on my way home, I usually let it play randomly. And I woke up to it.
Oh, I almost forgot! This one, a part from being included in the All the best album, it was a B-side to Beautiful Day's single. And it was performed on the Beautiful World Tour, too.
Weirdly enough, even if it's my favorite song, I don't feel like I can relate to the lyrics that much, even though I find them comforting.
This answers to the 30 days Arashi challenge - Day 1