Best of the Noughties: 100 Jpop Songs to Remember (Part One)
I’m not even sure what the purpose of this list is, except to remind myself that I’m kind of getting on and have somehow managed to sit through an entire decade of largely excruciating, Johnny’s/idol-dominated Jpop (but still found a few gems!). Maybe it’ll be helpful in 10 years’ time, when I’m building an oldies selection for an OAP party jukebox.
Best to split the list into four parts of 25 songs each to minimise the chance of tl;dr boredom…
01. Towa ni Tomo ni (永遠にともに). Kobukuro [2004]
Usually you’d think of songs that have the unfortunate tag of ‘most played at weddings’ as a sign that sickly sappiness is all Towa ni Tomo ni can be, but that’s not the case. The lyrics are actually very sweet observations about life and marriage, and the chorus of ‘together we build, together we decide, together we learn’ are vows ready-made for plagiarism.
02. BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY. Hotei Tomoyasu [2000]
Originally written for Sakamoto Junji’s Shin Jinginaki Tatakai movie (which Hotei also had a role in), the rock instrumental piece eventually found worldwide fame with its use in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill in 2003.
03. Kon’ya Tsuki ga Mieru Oka ni (今夜月の見える丘に). B’z [2000]
A little too often B’z songs sound like lame Aerosmith pastiches, but Inaba Koshi and Matsumoto Tak do get it right sometimes. And this is a perfect example of balancing hard rock riffs with a ridiculously catchy tune.
04. Shizuka na Hibi no Kaidan o (静かな日々の階段を). Dragon Ash [2000]
Laid back rap tune that sent off cinema viewers at the end of the gorefest that was the Battle Royale movie. It was that contrast that really caught my attention, to have a song about living life to your fullest with a smile on your face, from a movie that made me do everything but smile.
05. Ai o Komete Hanataba o (愛をこめて花束を). Superfly [2008]
The song that served as the turning point in Ochi Shiho’s career that has made her one of the top-selling female artists business, Ai o Komete… is a simple but effective piano ballad that showed another side to her retro-rock persona.
06. Zenryoku Shonen (全力少年). Sukimaswitch [2005]
Its use in the DS game Tatakae Ouendan! 2 has given the song a life of its own but retains that familiar Sukimaswitch piano-pop feel. I don’t know why wiki describes them as jazz-influenced, is Elton John jazz?
07. Sakura (さくら). Ketsumeishi [2005]
A major smash hit despite having zero tie-ups, Sakura established the hip-pop quartet as major chart players and a legion of copycat acts (GReeeeN, FUNKY MONKEY BABYS etc) have since followed in their footsteps. I’d describe the song as having the best chorus you’ll ever hear coming from a rap act.
08. PIECES OF A DREAM. CHEMISTRY [2001]
For a manufactured group they sure pack a lot of vocal punch and memorably announced their arrival on the scene with PIECES OF A DREAM, a slick piece of r’n'b pop that broke the 1 million sales barrier. They’ve never hit such heights since.
09. Light of Sorrow. fra-foa [2002]
Have you ever felt so completely enamoured with someone that you’d consider hugging their dead corpse tightly to your chest, touch them and then eat them? This is the perfect love song for people like you.
10. Honeycom.ware. 100s [2004]
Shoegazer rock with gibberish lyrics (Jesus?) - it’s weirdness on a Sigur Ros level, yet it’s strangely compelling and completely addictive.
11. Wait & See~Risk~ (Wait & See ～リスク～). Utada Hikaru [2001]
Hikki at the top of her pop game was unstoppable and the period between First Love and Deep River were the halcyon years for sure. Wait & See~Risk~ was irrepressibly catchy, characterised by that YEAAAHHHHH!!! yelp right at the beginning.
12. One Love. Arashi [2008]
Johnny’s are often (and most of the time rightly) derided for churning out rubbish pop song after rubbish pop song but with One Love Arashi hit upon a winning formula, its chorus apt to bore a hole into your brain. Let’s forget that shitty dance they do in the PV and during live performances…
13. Haruka (遥か). Spitz [2001]
Nobody does nostalgia better than Spitz, and never is it stronger than on Haruka. So wistful it makes you long for…days in your past life? Maybe.
14. Sign. Mr.Children [2004]
A song of much acclaim, the moving ballad Sign left a huge impression with its use in the drama Orange Days that focused on the life of a violinist who lost her hearing.
15. Sakurazaka (桜坂). Fukuyama Masaharu [2000]
On the first listen it might be hard to tell how Sakurazaka ended up a 2-million seller, it’s mellow ballad tones not exactly the sort of song you’d envision rocking the socks off a stadium-load of people. The lyrical content however, is beautiful - how hard it is to grow up and move on from a longtime love. And oh, I’ve got a Chinese cover version of this by Ekin Cheng, which is hideous. Makes me appreciate Masa’s all the more.
16. Futari no Akaboshi (二人のアカボシ). Kinmokusei [2002]
Can we say one hit wonder? The retro-pop sensibilities of the quintet’s sound (sometimes echoing The Mamas and the Papas) yielded them just this single top-tenner, which then went to earn them an appearance on the 53rd NHK Kohaku year-end show. They sadly disbanded in 2008.
17. SUMMER PARADE. DEPAPEPE [2005]
I’d never have thought that the sound of summer could be encapsulated by a 3 minute, 24 second instrumental guitar piece, but DEPAPEPE show that it’s oh-so very possible.
18. My Way. Def Tech [2005]
It was such a shame that ‘musical differences’ caused the duo to eventually split in ‘07. They brought a fresh sound to the tired old Japanese hip-hop format by injecting what they called’Jawaiian Reggae’ and My Way certainly had that Def Tech sound they loved to expound.
19. Ashita ga Kuru nara (明日がくるなら). JUJU feat. JAY’ED [2008]
You could compare Jeff Miyahara to Ryan Tedder in terms of how he keeps churning out the same kind of tunes for a few dozen different artists and yet still somehow finds success. Not knocking his songs though when they work so well here - the vocal interplay between JUJU and JAY’ED is rather intriguing and sexy.
20. Nakimushi no Uta (ナキムシのうた). Fumido [2005]
Little-celebrated jazz-pop duo finally caught the public’s attention with this effervescent ode to… crying.
21. miss you. m-flo loves melody. & Yamamoto Ryohei [2003]
Amongst all m-flo’s ‘loves’ collaborations, miss you was the hardest hitting, Verbal’s rhymes a pulsating contrast to Ryohei and melody.’s vocal battle.
22. WANT ME, WANT ME. Amuro Namie [2005]
If you’re planning wild sex then this would be the perfect soundtrack. “Anything you want me to do I can do you, I can do you. From corner to corner, from behind. Up to my face, all over”.
23. Wadatsumi no Ki (ワダツミの木). Hajime Chitose [2002]
You can thank this lady for popularising the shima-uta style of singing (no Chitose, no Atari Kosuke), which to the normal ear sounds more like banshees wailing in an echo chamber in the dead of night. It was certainly something that was new to me and although at first I found it jarring, the beauty of Chitose’s delivery Wadatsumi no Ki is plain to hear all these years later.
24. secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (secret base ～君がくれたもの～). ZONE [2001]
Cute, young girls playing their own instruments? Not altogether a new concept, but earnestness was helped along by some really good pop songs and secret base is the best showcase of their talents.
25. Osaka LOVER (大阪LOVER). DREAMS COME TRUE [2007]
Long-distance relationships are painful, but sacrifices have to be made - even if you gotta become an old Kansai-accented obasan to be with the one you love. Osaka LOVER is such a quaint, upbeat fun little number that allowed Miwa to run away with the Osaka-ben and of course, display her heavenly vocals.
Parts 2,3 and 4 to appear sometime within this year.
Also, I should clarify that the list is not in any specific order.
