Hello! Investigations: B-sides from 3/4 of 2009
Unlike the a-sides that we find in H!P releases, which usually range from the most infectious, perfect thing in existence to at least listenable, it’s the b-sides that usually end up surprising me in one way or another, whether for good or bad.
That’s why I wanna take ALL OF THE B-SIDES RELEASED SO FAR IN 2009 and classify them according to their quality.
Featured will be the b-sides of:
- Morning Musume。
- Berryz Kobo
- °C-ute
- Buono!
- Mano
Erina - Shugo Chara! groups (Guardians 4 and Shugo Chara Egg!)
The b-sides:
- Yowamushi
- Aki Urara
- Subete wa Ai no Chikara
- 3,2,1 BREAKIN’ OUT!
- Sono Subete no Ai ni
- Go Go Go!
- Amai Wana
- Zansho Omimai Moshiagemasu
- Muteki no ∞ Power
- Warp!
- Kirai Suki Daikirai
- Nakimushi ・ Yowamushi
- Mizuiro Omoi
- Jasmine Tea
- Summer Has Come!
- Itsuka Doko ka de.
- Wonderland ni Tsuretette
♠The Listenable♠
- Yowamushi
- Aki Urara
- 3,2,1 BREAKIN’ OUT!
- Zansho Omimai Moshiagemasu
- Muteki no ∞ Power
- Warp!
- Mizuiro Omoi
What can we learn from this? Well, Buono! makes dang good b-sides. Momosu has also had a strong year of b-sides, only one of them not making it on the list. By listenable I mean songs that one would actually take time to listen and not immediately “next-ing”. This is usually because the song is either catchy or posses some kind of unique trait that sets it apart from the rest of the b-sides in their discography.
♠The Strange♠
- Sono Subete no Ai ni
- Nakimushi ・ Yowamushi
- Summer Has Come!
- Itsuka Doko ka de.
Berryz is simply here because that song is a ballad. That fact alone makes it strange. Apart from that, it isn’t a particularly good one but Tsunku must see something in it if he names an entire concert after it. Mano’s track is just wtf all around with the layered vocals and stuff. Guadrians 4 tracks stumped me however. They sound so generic but yet not enough to make them entirely bad. Strange because their a-sides tend to be on the verge of generic-ness.
♠The Fataly Generic♠
- Subete wa Ai no Chikara
- Go Go Go!
- Amai Wana
- Jasmine Tea
- Wonderland ni Tsuretette
Seems C-ute hasn’t had very good b-sides. Actually their a-sides haven’t been the best this year either. Momosu’s song just suffers from lack of anything that makes it special, plus it has annoying vocals. Mano’s song is just terribly, terribly boring while SCE!’s track is one of the most generic, cutesy pop, anime songs I’ve heard in a VERY long time.
Well, there we have it. It seems b-sides this year have been in Buono!’s and Momosu’s favor(considering that Subete wa Ai no Chikara is a bonus track for the special editions) while Erina’s stuff has been very varied. Here’s hoping Tsunku kicks it up a notch. Hmm, it could be the hectic amount of releases that causes the loss of quality.
