Some of the most iconic pop and rock songs of the past half century have been covers. These two weeks, I will take a look at these classics and their overshadowed originals. Among iconic covers that are more popular than their originals, “Nothing Compares 2 U” is pretty well-known. I’ve seen it cited dozens of…
Some of the most iconic pop and rock songs of the past half century have been covers. These two weeks, I will take a look at these classics and their overshadowed originals. In 1979, minor new wave artist Robert Hazard wrote a song about how women are never passionate or committed in the bedroom. He…
Some of the most iconic pop and rock songs of the past half century have been covers. These two weeks, I will take a look at these classics and their overshadowed originals. Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” is an all-time treasure. Rolling Stone ranked it one of the five greatest songs in rock history. Her rendition is so full…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. Itsue is probably the most obscure band of the seven I’ve spotlighted this week (with the possible exception of Shione Yukawa). For one thing, they don’t…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. Gesu No Kiwami Otome – “Girl at the Height of Rudeness” — is an odd little band that describes themselves as “Hip Hop/Progressive”. While I certainly…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. The vocal performance in this song takes a good song and makes it great. Invoking the aesthetic of Janis Joplin in her vocals, Remi Matsuo’s husky…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. This song is out of place for two reasons. The first is that it’s a cover. The second is that it’s in English. Shione Yukawa, from…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. Funky. Bouncy. Jazzy. Catchy. I could think of twenty adjectives to describe this song and none of them would do it justice. With a driving beat,…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. KANA-BOON is a rock band out of Japan, probably most famous in the west for doing a couple of openings for the Naruto anime. I didn’t…
This week, Dan’s brother Will is a guest host for the Song of the Day (or この日の歌). When you can’t understand the words, the voice just becomes another instrument. About eight months ago I moved to Japan to teach High School English. At the beginning of the school year, I had an introductory lesson where…