My first random PV/MV entry in a while-actually this marks only the second in a series of entries highlighting some random music on my part.
In the same mode, I’ll have a few PVs/MVs before the cut and up to four after the cut with a brief description for each.
Aya Kamiki-”Smoke on the Water” (cover): This is actually one of the best covers I’ve heard from a Japanese artist in recent months. Then again, Aya Kamiki is a new artist for me. She has a rather solid pop-rock sound in her music and even has her claim to fame by performing a B’z song entitled “Pierrot.” And she performed “Pierrot” quite well, with a ranging vocal and infectious energy. This is actually a video of Kamiki-san covering Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” in one of her live performances. She’s pretty energetic coming into the concert-funny too. :lol: She even shouts “Here I go!” before breaking into her performance.
Probably the best of the live performances I saw of this clip and a good cover, I thought I’d share it though I know those who really, really love the original might not like it, but I think she performs it well.
L’arc~en~Ciel-”Daybreak’s Bell”: I’ve been crazy over this song since I first heard it-particularly since it’s the opening theme for the new Gundam 00 series. I think this is Laraku’s best single released out of the three released thus far (alongside “My Heart Draws A Dream”-I loved this as well- and “Seventh Heaven.” Great PV, and I think the settings work well with the themes in the song, as it occurs around a theme about war and “not staining” one’s hands.
More PVs Under the cut :)
DOUBLE-”Shake” I usually do include one J-R&B entry for this, and since I featured a PV from Double before, I thought I’d do so again. This is a PV back when Takako and her sister sung as a duo. I think this video was released in the latter part of the 90s, and indeed it feels like 90s song. Reminds me a little bit of an Aaliyah/Mary J. Blige type of vibe, and that’s probably why I like it. Nice settings, choreography and even rapping.
Anna Tsuchiya-Bubble Trip: I always laugh when I see this PV, and to date, it’s one of my favorites from Anna Tsuchiya. She’s so funny and creative, it’s hard not to love her :D This video is no deviation from her stylistics, fun, catchy, and yet a nice blend of pop-rock. I like her vocals in this song as well, strong especially during the chorus. Great to just dance along to.
12012-”Cyclone”: Most would recognize this as the first ED theme to “Romeo x Juliet”-and it also served as my introduction to 12012. When I saw the PV, I actually really liked the atmosphere of it and thought it was a perfect fit for the song and its thematics. I think this is a VK band I’ll have my eye on from now on, and I’ve actually searched quite a bit of their discography since I’ve heard the song.
R.E.M.-”Orange Crush”: Whenever I think of this song, I think back to one of my friends back in high school who did a report on Agent Orange and the effects it had on soldiers who served in Vietnam during the war. And oddly enough, there’s quite an indirect reference to that in this video/song. It’s also one of my favorite songs by R.E.M. I first came into R.E.M with the song “Losing My Religion”-not surprising, ne? “Orange Crush”, “The One I Love” and “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” followed soon after, and that was well before I hit college. I get a strong sense of symbolism coming from this video, we see a young man and also a little boy in the changing scenes of this, and it’s in black and white. Everything from the bullet in the man’s hands, to the makeshift weapon shown at the end of the video are representative of war. The song itself is said to be about a man/football player who’s sent off to fight in Vietnam. I actually like both song and video, but the song itself really has stuck with me for a long time.
