2025 in 2025: Day 196

フラッグを立てろ - YUKI

Top-tier YUKIちゃん, right here. One of her absolute best songs - and thus, one of the best songs ever - and just the most uplifting vibe. The B-side is more of a bit more chill electro groove.

Highlights: フラッグを立てろ, yes

9/10

マニフェスト - RADWIMPS

I cannot help but feel like these are kind of joke songs? I mean, singing about being Prime Minister and then another song that just sounds like a sea shanty or something. But this is peak RADWIMPS-era, so they make it good.

Highlights: マニフェスト, やどかり

7.5/10

まばたき - YUKI

A slight departure, in that this album is mostly acoustic pop rock. Mostly. There is a still a spot of dance going on, but that is basically dance beats over the acoustic rock. Honestly, the results are VERY enjoyable. 

Highlights: 私は誰だ, レディ・エレクトリック, さよならバイスタンダー, トワイライト

8/10

まるごと・りかい - The Japan Foundation

Me: I think it is mostly singles and EPs from here on, so I should be able to finish in time!

My iTunes Library: Cool story, bro. Here are two hours of Japanese audio lessons to really get you in the mood.

Me: やっばい～

Education/10

ユグドラシル - BUMP OF CHICKEN

Dang this album is a really solid pop rock kind of groove and features one of the absolute coolest songs that would make any day sunny and fun.

Highlights: Sailing Day, ギルド, オンリー ロンリー グローリー (Album Edit), ロストマン

7.5/10

ロゼッタ・ストーン - イケてるハーツ

Another free idol CD. It is very iDOL is SHiT. But still not as bad as some of the other idol music I actually have...

Highlights: Distance Love

6.5/10

人生×僕= - ONE OK ROCK

The only way I can describe this is like big stadium emo rock. And bah gawd Taka's voice is just the best. As I said before, I really need more ONE OK ROCK.

Highlights: Clock Strikes, The Beginning, 69, ONION!

7.5/10

人間なのさ - Hump Back

If Josie and The Pussycats were Japanese, I can not help but think they would sound like this. All the best grrl punk comes from Osaka.

Highlights: クジラ, サンデーモーニング, 恋をしよう, 僕らは今日も車の中

7.5/10

人間開花 - RADWIMPS

And this is where they started to turn - there are songs that are the usual greatness, but there are also some seriously bad songs. Like really bad. And stupid. But the good is really good! I just think losing their drummer really changed something for the worse.

Highlights: 前前前世 [original ver.], 光, O&O

7/10

優しい日本語 - NHK Radio Japan

More basic Japanese audio. This time in the form of short conversations. A couple are so quick, I always struggle to repeat it in time.

Practice/10

光芒 - Hakubi

Hanging out in Tower Records trying to decide what to buy leads to hearing things that make you go 'Oh, ok - I will buy this'. Mostly because I knew my friend would love this EP. And I was right. Female led indie rock is right up her Q-Zone.

Highlights: 光芒, どこにも行けない僕たちは, サーチライト

8/10

君の名は。- RADWIMPS

When this album hits, it hits it hard and almost perfectly. More of the score pieces are fine enough and work wonderfully in the context of the movie - so I guess it is job well done there, too!

Highlights: なんでもないや (Movie Ver.), 夢灯籠, 前前前世  (Movie Ver.), スパークル (Movie Ver.)

7/10

夏を生きる - 緑黄色社会

Quite a good song, this one - very much on form and in the style of music that made them so great at the start, without actually reaching those heights.

8/10

天気の子 - RADWIMPS

Similar to 君の名は。in that there are just a few wonderful songs at the end of a lot of musical score. The guest singer does help, but this could have been just an EP.

Highlights: 愛にできることはまだあるかい, 大丈夫 (Movie Edit), グランドエスケープ (Movie Edit),  祝祭

6.5/10

幸せ - 緑黄色社会

This has everything you could want; dreamy ballad, slightly manic attitude and good fun pop. And all with a funky bass and fun synth lines.

Highlights: ひとりごと, にちようび, 逆転

7.5/10

悲しみよとまれ - BiSH

BiSH is OVER continues, with an absolutely killer drum track - it is like a big power ballad, I guess. The B-side is almost a Rage Against the Machine homage.

8/10

愛してると言ってくれ - BiSH

More BiSH is OVER, this time with some straight forward pop style and then a bit more of a punk-ish kind of thing. Maybe punk-adjacent?

Highlights: 愛してると言ってくれ, GO TO HELL

7.5/10

'Albums' listened to so far: 2008

FREE PALESTINE

2025 in 2025: Day 5

Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned - The Prodigy
Wake up, LOGMAN! If I were a pro-wrestler, Spitfire would be an awesome entrance song. Oh snap, I forgot Juliette Lewis did vocals on this song - the whole 2 lines. This whole album is hard-hitting electronic punk badassery. Which is really what you should expect from The Prodigy. But there's just something about this album that feels extra cool. Maybe it's the use of rappers like Kool Keith and Twista? Otherwise, it's pretty well just a Liam Howlett solo album. He and Liam Gallagher must have been married to the All Saints sisters at the time, because that would have surely made it easier to get him and Noel to come help make Shoot Down one blast of awesome to end the album.
Highlights: Spitfire, Wake Up Call, Get Up Get Off, Action Radar, Shoot Down
8.5/10

ALXD - [Alexandros]
When the opening riff of ワトリドリ kicked in, I was like 'Oooh I know this song, but I am not sure what it is...' and then the band kicked and I was like 'Oh snap!' Awesome song, awesome way to open an album. I've generally been a bit harsh on the rest of this album, but I think it's more the next few songs after that are not so great, because the rest of the album is very good, too. Clearly I need to listen to this more.
Highlights: ワトリドリ, Dog 3, Coming Summer
7.5/10

AMARANTHUS - Momoiro Clover Z
Bahahahaha I'm hilarious. MCZ are fun. This is actually just two songs from the album, because spending that much on an MCZ album would be insane. The mix on WE ARE BORN is fantastic (and it's an awesome song I kind of want to listen to again right now). And ゴリラパンチ is just fun. There's a 'metal mix' that is kinda cool, but omits my fav part at 2:08. And is really unnecessary, because the intro & verses have plenty heavy guitars as it is. Shiizz, I ain't afraid of you mofos. 
9/10

Ambitions - ONE OK ROCK
The volume just went UP! Massive guitar riffs, stadium drums, spacious keyboards, and bah gawd Taka's voice. Dude was at his absolute peak on this album. And that's saying something, because I still maintain that dude has the best voice in rock even today. We Are is the biggest and bestest anthem on the planet. The live version has a guitar solo and I kinda wish that was on this version, too. Argh I want to listen to that now. Luckily this album just keeps kicking ass, so I won't turn it off right now. Sure, it falls off a little in the middle. And I could certainly live without Avril Lavigne appearing. But at least her vocals have been super processed so she actually sounds like someone that can sing. I need more ONE OK ROCK.
Highlights: Bombs Away, Taking Off, We Are, Start Again, Take What You Want
8/10

America's Greatest Hero - Joey Scarbury
This is simply the theme from The Greatest American Hero, Believe It or Not. One of the greatest TV show themes of all-time. I should watch the show again, but I think I've been saying that for about 20 years.
8/10

American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy
Wait - this album is now 10 years old?!? Time and life are going too quickly. It starts off kinda... meh. But then it gets kinda... sad. And then gets really... dark. Well, for FOB, anyways. Wait; I just read the title track samples Too Fast For Love by Mötley Crüe. How have I not noticed that before? Because that's the worst song on the album? Why am I asking all these questions of a 10 year-old? The 2nd half of the album is awesome when I'm in the right mood. I like some dark and angry emo pop punk, and this album provides that quite nicely. In part.
Highlights: Novocaine, Fourth of July, Favorite Record
7/10

American Gangster - Jay-Z
Oh my, what a change of pace. After a morning of head-crushing beats, amped-up anthems and edgy emo energy, Jay-Z hits me with the more relaxed grooves while he recounts life doing illegal things against a backdrop of 70s soul music. We even get Marvin Gaye and Beastie Boys sampled to great effect. Do people really think Lil Wayne is good? I keep seeing stuff online about him being the greatest ever, but I'm yet to find a single verse he's dropped that is actually good. Luckily Jay-Z is fire 90% of the time. And the tracks Diddy wrote/produced here are all killer - probably some of his best work, IMO.
Highlights: No Hook, Roc Boys (And the Winner Is...), American Gangster
7/10

American Idiot - Green Day
The last good album by Green Day? Which was such a bizarre return to form after Nimrod and Warning. As a teenager of the 90s, I never thought I'd see the day when these guys did a 9-minute song. Let alone 2 of them on one album. And they are actually the best songs on the album. This is the second punk song called Novocaine I've heard today. Solid album.
Highlights: Jesus of Suburbia, Homecoming, Whatsername
7.5/10

American Pie - Various Artists
I was never a fan of the movie, but this soundtrack is the most 1999 collection of 1999 music. 3EB, blink-182, Sugar Ray and even New Zealand singer Bic Runga somehow lucked her way into this. Twice! You Wanted More by Tonic was a classic busking jam for me. Still holds up remarkably well!
Highlights: New Girl - Third Eye Blind, You Wanted More - Tonic
7/10

Americana - The Offspring
I never listen to this, because I am have an immediate distaste for it due to the cheesy singles - Pretty Fly (For a White) is kinda lame, and Why Don't You Get a Job? is so incredibly awful I've already deleted it from my iTunes (thank Prime for that! I probably didn't even import it - I hate it that much). But I am trying to give it a fair re-evaluation, because there are some very typically good Offspring songs on here. Then they go and drop that parody of Feelings in the middle of the album and I go back to hating this nonsense.
Highlights: The Kids Aren't Alright, Not having to listen to Why Don't You Get a Job?
5/10

"Albums" listened to so far: 45