Hey, this is Erin. I bet you’re all tired of hearing from me, huh? Anyway, this article is about music (duh), more specifically, it’s about the Tofugu writers’ personal favorites. Since Viet is busy (I can only assume) and Koichi is traveling at the moment, you get to hear from me first, haha.
My taste in music is pretty eclectic. I’m usually not into the flavor of the month idol or boy band, though I do have my “pop” moments every so often. Anyway, here are some of my favorite artists:
Ayano Tsuji. If you’ve seen The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し), then you’ll recognize her from the theme song, Kaze ni Naru (風になる). She’s geek-chic, she plays the ukulele, she makes artsy music videos, what more could I want? The ukulele is my favorite part, as someone who grew up with it. She has that simple sort of untaught voice that’s absolutely charming, and consistently so, in all her songs.
The Pillows. As a professed FLCL fan, how could I not adore The Pillows (their songs were largely featured in the super-cool anime)? They do alternative rock, “alternative” being the key word here. They can be peppy or laid back, irreverent or inspiring, and their lyrics are generally a blend of deep thoughts and random engrish. That’s just the kind of randomness I love in my music.
Rimi Natsukawa. She sings Okinawan folk music, which is might not appeal to everyone, but is really comforting to me. My favorite song of hers is 月の夜 which is more upbeat, a departure from Rimi’s usual ballads. Unfortunately, I lost my Rimi Natsukawa CD last summer, and I’m too broke to buy a new one. So, yeah, if any of you out there have it, please share with me D:
m-flo. I like this group, comprised of DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee VERBAL, mainly for their collaborations with other artists. My favorite song of theirs has got to be Miss You (or m-flo loves Melody & Yamamoto Ryohei). The really addicting thing about their music is the fact that most of their lyrics are half English, half Japanese, which makes everything really fun to listen to.