2009 was a crucial year for me, as another stage of my life is going to determine my life yet again – exams. But it does not stop me from listening to Japanese songs, no. Moreover, there’s more the reason for me to immerse myself in them so to get over the exam stress.
ANIME INFLUENCE CONTINUES
If not for Anime, it’s losing half the reason to be here listening to J-Pop already. Thus, I continued to watch more Anime. From K-ON! to Kara no Kyoukai to Hatsukoi Limited to Shakugan no Shana… a whole variety of genres (somewhat not leaving female leads LOL) that got me to knowing a whole variety of artists, not forgetting BLEACH which is ongoing that time. Especially K-ON! is the first show to have me go in SOOOO much into Anime songs, compared to Toradora! the previous year. As time goes many anime songs came into my list, and quite a few have potential to compete with the mainstream songs.
Also at that year, many voice actors were introduced into the music industry, going solo and releasing singles and albums for our fandom. More complemented by Anime appearance and popularity than their singing, managed to catch my attention. Notables include Tomacchan (who started the previous year) and Aki-chan (really because of her role in K-ON!) and many other music companies start to follow. Voice actor groups also start to appear, with the first one being Sphere, consisting two I mentioned above and Mina-chan (which started her solo debut the following year) and Ayahi-chan, which… I end up not listening.
NEW ARTISTS APPEAR
Besides the above, many new mainstream artists also start to appear, like STEREOPONY and SCANDAL, which bring out the rock in Japanese music. YUI, Lil’B, Porno Graffitti, SID, Kalafina and more continue to complement the music industry, bringing in more great songs that I could ever imagine.
JROCK EMPHASIS
Since NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION has been releasing in a yearly basis, I’ve been starting to listen to many artists from it, like OGRE YOU ASSHOLE is a good example of the exotic, Alternative Rock that is in Japan. SPECIAL OTHERS also has made impact with their album “PB”, making it the best I’ve heard from them so far that time.
OTHER LANGUAGES IMPOSSIBLE?
But of course, that does not mean Japanese songs are everything. English songs are present in the NANO-MUGEN COMPIALTION, and at that time I’m still transitioning from watching drama to Anime, so Korean and Hong Kong dramas are still in my watch list, so keeping a song or two is somewhat necessary.
METHODS OF SOURCING BECOMING DIFFICULT
With the revamping of SonyMusic Online (around that time I think) and many location copyrights of various sources, it becomes increasingly difficult to get previews from sources which are not popular. Back then J-Pop is still not widely promoted (compared to now) and I had to dig through so much just to get a listen to songs that are latest in trend in Japan. But I’ve always been able to get my way, so that is good news.
THE ARRIVAL OF HIGH DEFINITION MUSIC VIDEOS
With the implementation and conversion of HDTV channels in Japan, so is the few music video channels, which end up letting people publish and promote high definition videos of various songs over the Internet. Of course I’m happy with the arrival of such things, making things looks more awesome than before. One of the first I’ve seen is from RSP, and their songs are great. Pity has been dormant since the following year. (I uploaded this PV just for you guys!)
THE IDEA OF KLASSIC NOTE
And obviously this much is not going to stop me listening to more, right? With song counts a record high every year, it’s no wonder I decide on carrying on this spirit! It’s also around this time I started to think of awarding those who have made my day, thus Klassic Note. Back then it’s still in a abbreviation of my name (ie. KN Song Awards), but I’ve been making those wonderful rankings and tabulating results every year then.
That’s pretty much it. It’s a summary, right?
Next on The Klassic Note Spirit: It’s meeting its downfall already? Don’t think so…
