http://ameblo.jp/tsunku-blog/entry-11489336534.html (the entry)
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Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai
This is Morning Musume's 53rd single!
This will be the last single Tanaka Reina will be participating in before her graduation, so in order to match up to the occasion I have slated this as a double A-side release! Also, there are many types of b-sides in addition to the different versions, so look forward to that as well!
-> Brainstorming
The loose shot version of this song was first released on Youtube at the end of February. With an intense dance routine and an impactful tune, it's a song with the strongest sense of BEAT (rhythm?) among songs of this type. It will likely the kind of song that stirs up the atmosphere during live performances.
Additionally, we have deliberately picked the most interesting parts of previous performances and brushed them up for this choreography on purpose. The choreographer is Yoshiko-sensei.
Since two A-sides are being released this time, Yoshiko-sensei had initially intended to make only slight modifications to the choreography from one song to the next, but after several preparatory meetings with Yoshiko-sensei to discuss the details, I managed to get her to focus on each song as a complete work on its own instead of simply coming up with one routine and modifying it to fit each song.
For Brainstorming we wanted a more forceful, intense feel as well as formation changes that would remind us of previous works. It was very difficult to be able to work all that in, and the number of production meetings we had for Brainstorming naturally exceeded the ones we had that focused on Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai.
The theme for it was to allow the good dancers to show off even more of their dance ability. So naturally Sayashi and Ishida were able to really shine in their element here.
With a title like "Brainstorming", it's a call for us to gather the best minds together to exchange ideas and somehow break free of the quagmire that Japan has found itself stuck in! Or at least, that's what I hope will happen when I came up with the title. Even though I thought of titling it "Buresto" at first, I finally settled on "Brainstorming" instead.
It is not simply only a song carrying positive lyrics, but it also originated from my desire to encompass issues I wanted the members to consider seriously about themselves. More than just working hard every day, we Japanese need to set aside our excessive modesty and humility and actually push ourselves forward with all we have in order to improve our situation. For the lyrics, I also imagined this attempt (to break free and push forward) as a success story in the end, which is why at the end the lyrics end with "I knew something good would happen".
--> Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai
This really is a song about love. But it's really more about the universal quality of love between human beings. Like how the dramatic potential of our ordinary lives actually exceeds what is shown in television dramas, with natural disasters and more mundane troubles being just one part of the ups and downs that make up our lives.
Because there are fearful things in the world, lovers are then able to come together. But one must also hold the image of the coming together of hearts and minds among our family members and friends as well, while listening to this song. Of course, you can also substitute the members of Morning Musume into your imagination of the theme of the song.
As a capitalist country Japan logically should prize "freedom" above all. However, the reality is that we are bound by all kinds of rules, to the point where one has to wonder "what freedom do we have at all?". I think this is probably extremely true during our adolescent years, as applied to things like school and our teachers at the time.
However, after growing up, we often find ourselves thinking "that's just how things are", or "we just have to adapt to the situation", and we end up buying into the self-contradictory hypocrisy of the world around us. If our hearts had remained pure, we should have thought "why is this wrong?" or even "why is this not allowed?". So for this song, I wanted to portray an image of the Morning Musume members with pure hearts, who are sincerely hoping that "as long as you are here with me, I need nothing else" (Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai's translated meaning). So, something like "I don't need things like freedom as long as I have you."
However, no matter how absurd things get, the sun continues shining down on us. In a way this is a blessing of sorts upon our lives. It was with this message in mind that I composed this song, to try and convey this thinking to the members themselves. Insofar as this is directed at the members, my intention was for them to understand the true meaning of the song, and in singing it therefore be able to translate their understanding of the message to the rest of the world.
I believe the melody is something you can hear change bit by bit, with the main tune carrying all sort of unusual overtones as it progresses. The vacancy of the melody at the chorus probably invokes an expansive feeling that may seem strange at first, but in my mind I was imagining the vastness of the universe and how it would translate into a song when I was composing.
As for the dance, instead of the usual smooth flow of the choreography where the entire routine is a unified whole, this dance has a segregated feeling of a book being opened and turned page by page, with a sort of staggered progression. The dance itself is widely spaced, and there is a point where the formation changes into a rotating cross-like shape that approximates the vastness of space and the universe. For the ending of the chorus, I imagined it as if they were swans frolicking among the hyacinths at sunrise, to convey an image of innocence and playfulness. This is a dance that needs 11 people to perform, which I hope others will do so as well. The choreographer is Yoshiko-sensei as well.
--> A B C D E-cha E-cha Shitai
This is sung by all 11 members. As the singing parts are very minutely divided, the members each take center stage in rounds. As a result, this is a song full of character.
This song is set during the transition of the first stages (the honeymoon phase?) of love into the middle stages, but basically it still talks about how the passion is still hot in the relationship. The style for this song is still strongly dance-based, and with the choreography being cute, funny and cool at the same time, it will likely heat up the live stages! Do enjoy this song as well!
DO (Kuduu, or Duu) has a very outstanding part in this song, so watch out for it as well!
--> Tokimeku Tokimeke
This is sung by Michishige, Fukumura, Ikuta, Iikubo and Ishida. Apart from the graduating Tanaka, these are the 5 members who are high school age and above (note: Ikuta will be entering high school in April, someone actually tweeted Tsunku to ask why she's part of this song since she's still a middle school student right now).
While this is also a lively dance tune, it is also about the desire to live strongly amidst the loneliness of everyday life, even though one is unable to do so well. It describes the feelings of a person who, while witnessing the success at which other people are handling the demands of the world, feels lonely and isolated. However, the desire is still to live an exciting and positive life, so that's what this song is about!
For Michishige, ever since she has gotten more solo numbers and duets to participate in, her confidence seems to have increased and she has been singing well lately. Also, she has a good sense of rhythm and clear enunciation, so while I was editing her audio track I was able to easily see the wave patterns. This is not something a person who cannot project their voice can do, and with her inherent sense of rhythm plus all the experience she has been getting lately, Michishige truly has improved and is starting to sound great I think.
Fukumura's dancing has gotten really sharp lately. Paired with her singing, this sharpness is further enhanced when she performs. While her looks conveys a princess-like feel, in truth she's actually a very aggressive girl (word he used: seme *cough*), and this will only increase as she grows older I believe! As a girl who has loved Hello! Project for a long time before, and as someone who loves Morning Musume as well now, she would likely become a central part of the group as she develops. Even in this song I can already sense her strength.
Ikuta really is a very interesting girl, and from my point of view she's always full of surprises, and often does things I cannot even imagine could happen, so it's always interesting for me. I have no idea if Ikuta will go forward or slide backward in her future as part of Morning Musume, but of course I believe she will improve. I believe she can take advantage of her own surprising nature and continue on growing. After all she has a very honest and straightforward character, which is wonderful, and it shows in her singing as well.
Iikubo has really improved a lot. The quality of her voice was originally good, but as she learns how to use the microphone properly, her voice has really come out even more strongly. While her dance cannot be said to be extremely good, she is still able to dance in a way that only Iikubo herself could do, which as part of Morning Musume is a very good thing, since it shows off her character in a unique way. I hope that she will continue as her stoic self from now on, without needing anyone to come in to rescue her, and be able to accept anything that comes. I always enjoy the kind of questions poses to me as they are always interesting and never misses their mark.
Ishida has truly become more refined. Well she originally was a very aggressive girl by nature, but it is finally only really showing now. If she continues working on her singing as well as her dancing skills, she will surely become the backbone of Morning Musume's performances. Without slacking and operating at 120% capacity, a year or two from now she will surely be one of the upcoming aces among Japanese artistes in the future. She already has the potential, the rest is just up to her own hard work. She has also come to speak up for herself, and as long as she remains able to speak honestly she will surely be able to define her character that way as well.
--> Itsumo Onnaji Seifuku de
is sung by Sayashi, Suzuki, Sato, Kudo and Oda.
This song is about a girl who is right in the middle of her first love. For a girl who is flush in the first year of her love, I expect that she would eagerly anticipate meeting up with her lover after school every day. I wanted to convey the feeling of how their time apart feels like forever, but when they are able to the time passes far too quickly, the story of two young lovers, so I delegated this song to be sung by the younger half of the group.
For Sayashi, her character really is awkward by nature. However, recently she has become more honest about talking about herself, and that is a relief to see. It was worrying to see how she was always pretending to be bright and friendly; and even though she wasn't especially trying to hide her awkwardness, somehow her image is that of someone who is always capable and competent no matter what, and that was worrying as well. Though her skill at dancing is the main part of what supports her confidence in herself, I find that her singing is good now as well. Though I find that the best side of her is when she is being true to herself, that instead of forcing herself to have to think of something interesting to say in interviews and the like, she should show off her true self as she has been starting to do lately. There is nothing to be ashamed of there.
It's a pity that Suzuki has stopped pushing her spontaneous nature as much lately, but her dancing and movements are quicker than the rest now, so I hope she will continue to improve on that as she goes. Even though I've said this before already, the best thing about Suzuki is that even when you compare her to past Hello! Pro members, there is no one better than her at putting her own style to the things she says and does, and how she handles the events and people around her. Everyone gets experienced and improves as they go, but the most surprising thing about Suzuki is how smoothly she was able to speak and comment about things right from the start. I believe that she can easily become an actress in the future, and I hope to see her progress in that direction eventually.
Sato has finally found her place in the group. Originally she gave off a very country bumpkin kind of feel, and that went on for a while before she finally gelled with the rest of the members. But Sato has gotten almost shockingly refined, as if she really can do anything perfectly, but I'm thinking "what's up with that?", because I prefer Sato to remain interesting by being completely incomprehensible in her own way, just like she was being. Even if new members come into the group, I want Sato to remain as she is. Speaking of which, Sato has always had a good sense of rhythm as well as a strong voice, so in 2 or 3 years she should eventually become a central part of Morning Musume songs.
It's brilliant how Kudo has such a rambunctious image. She always comes on strongly and remains positive no matter what, though sometimes I have no idea what she's actually trying to do. But that is part of Kudo's charm. Speaking of which, as her face is already striking to begin with, when she grows up I believe she will surely mature into a beautiful young woman in her own right. Therefore I would like everyone to enjoy what little time there is left for her as the young boy "Kuduu"as there is a time limit for that (puberty!).
As for Oda, she has come to mesh into the group more quickly than 9th and 10th gen have. From an audience's point of view, it's a challenge to see which one of the girls is actually the new member, that's how settled in she is. Well, in a way that's really good. That means I can throw out whatever type of song or dance formation for the group and not worry (about them not being able to do it?). Then there is also the level of her commitment. The question is how much the Oda now has improved from the Oda of the beginning. With how the scheduled work has been coming in ferocious torrents, she is likely to feel like "ah, what a bother", but that level alone isn't enough. Oda needs to always be modest, conscientious and thankful as she progresses, otherwise she will never truly be part of Morning Musume as the rest of the members are. It's not just about working hard!
And lastly, "Rock no Teigi".
This is Tanaka Reina's solo number. While it's easy to make a song for a graduating member to sing for her graduation, the problem is "how are they going to use it after graduating?". But as she is going to be part of a band after graduation, I started contemplating a song that she can sing as part of the band as well.
Still, for Tanaka to have come so far with her "Reina" character is truly something. I cannot help but think "well done". When she was a mere elementary school student, she went to audition for the 5th generation, but we had to disqualify her due to her failing to make the age requirements. But when she came the following year for the 6th generation auditions, I thought "even though only a year has passed, she seems to have gotten plainer, her personality has twisted, and she has even grown bigger...I don't like this", but a year after that, Reina was able to present herself with an even more greatly caricatured version of her good qualities, which led me to think "ah, the more yankii-like she gets, the cuter she becomes!".
With that in mind, both the good parts and bad parts mixed in, she has always been the "Tanaka Reina" that she is now, even from back then. It has been 10 years and 2 months since. She has come very far in putting up a caricature of herself, emphasized it in many ways, without even blurring what's important in the process. In a way she has always been in charge of the freshness of Morning Musume from the start, and this last solo number celebrates that. I wanted this song to build up the image of Tanaka Reina as herself, and this song should be fun live as well.
I hope everyone enjoys this!
Now that we're on the topic, this time the single also feels like an album, or so I felt while putting my heart into it. So everyone please enjoy it as one!
by esm » Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:38 am 
