I was going to write my initial thoughts about Blahranger vs Mehranger and it's inevitable Summer movie Blahranger vs. Mehranger: WANTED--Dekaranger and Gavan are Criminals!?!, but isn't this site already full of unpopular opinions? Instead...I don't know. I really want to write something a little more personal. Something I've dealt with basically my whole life, but really hasn't bothered me all that much until about the past year or so. Song lyrics are completely beyond my grasp. They just...don't register to me.
A little background I suppose. I come from a musical family, but MUCH more so on my father's side. My brother is a singer and has been fairly musical over the years (he owns a didgeridoo, FFS...). Me? I've only ever listened to music. Lots of music. I'm typically awake 19-21 hours a day and average about 12ish hours of that listening to some kind of music. You know this given the sheer amount of CDs I've reviewed on this site. I've been working on a secret future project for the site that has been kinda messing with my mind a little bit. Two CDs in particular really had me questioning how bad I am at absorbing/comprehending exactly what I'm listening to.
So I put it to the test. I tried to memorize the lyrics to an easy song (Sabotage by Beastie Boys) over the course of a week and see how I fared at the end of seven days. It...was poor. I got a good portion of it, but considering it's a song I've heard likely hundreds of times in my life, I should have nailed it. There are some assholes out there who haven't seen Facts Of Life since it was airing and can gleefully sing along to imaginary music and completely nail it...and that piece of shit finished it's run thirty years ago... The worst is when they follow it up with "Yeah, that show sucked but I caught it on one night and...isn't the theme song just so catchy? *laughs*" Go to hell...
Memory isn't the problem. I can remember the most trivial and minute details from conversations and events going a long way back, and yet song lyrics are basically...
I love this song!
You may be thinking..."so what?". This is a personal problem and I'm not all about airing my grievances after all. I think the point I'm trying to get at is that I hear music much differently than a lot of people. Vocals are almost completely irrelevant so long as the singing is as melodic as the music it's accompanying. The kind of singer where their voice becomes it's own instrument--that's what I'm attracted to. A great singer is a great singer, but sometimes I get weird looks from people over digging songs with questionable lyrics. People generally seem to think I have very good tastes in music...and that's kinda encouraging at least. Maybe it's just that I hear things that aren't there. Music gives me feelings of colors more than any kind of literary fulfillment. I can read a poem for that.
Going forward I would keep this in mind when you read something of mine on this site. I can usually tell when a song's lyrics are of above-average importance, and in that case I'll look them up and really try to get the gist of it. Then there are songs like this where I have no choice but to actually read the lyrics thanks to the damn hook (and in this case...the song is about ego rather than...you know...).
Now...if there were only a way to explain this to my wife. She's been asking me to sing her a song...any song for well over a decade. Sorry, honey. : [
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I know this post was a little bit unusual, but it's kinda important since a pretty major component of every song usually flies right over my head unless I sit down and really read the lyrics. Just try to keep that in mind going forward. Especially with my super-secret upcoming project...
I will be back in February for a review on a "vs". Figure that one out. I imagine I'll also get into Gingaman for my mid-month post if it doesn't bore me to death.
Bye now!
-CC
If you're still doing that "name a song thing", I have one last one to try. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf38ZkzKpEg
ReplyDeleteIt's another odd Spielban instrumental song that isn't listed under the Wikipedia article, so I'm not sure it's really traceable, like the earlier one I asked with the movie set chase.
There's also another similar weird synth-piano song that plays in the middle of episode 21 as well. Do you think these tracks were maybe composed by staffers and not Watanabe?
That movie chase one sounds like it's legit a fully-produced song. The one from episode ten sounds more like it was borrowed from a stock library. There were some pieces from the Ohranger movie that were also used in the series preview for Shushutorian. It's like...where do you even go to find that music? Hahaa.
DeleteMore relevant to your article, I can see where you're coming from. I've sort of viewied singing as more of an instrument to the song, mainly because I can't understand the lyrics.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like it better not knowing, since a lot of toku lyrics translated are usually kind of schmaltzy stuff about "our love unites us","we will protect the earth","fight for justice", and "power of our hearts".
I wonder if people who are Japanese speakers like the songs less because they can hear how cheesy the lyrics are.
I understand the language fine, though. In the article I was more alluding to people who will be listening to the same song I'm listening to on the radio and wonder how I can like it based on the lyrics. It's then that I'll look them up and realize that it's pretty much dogshit, but still enjoyable if you have that deafness.
DeleteThen there are songs on the total opposite end like Beyonce's Single Ladies. That turd had multiple writers and became an anthem solely for it's lyrics. Someone like me hears a mishmash of off-key noises of a broke-ass beat. It hit it's mark, but sounds like a fork grinding on an empty plate to me.
I kinda made this post as something I can refer to in the future when I get to two CDs in particular I plan on reviewing as part of a big project.
Obvious Patranger vs Lupinranger reference is obvious
ReplyDeleteNaturally. Heh.
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