MORNING MUSUME
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Who are they?
Morning Musume (Morning Girls) are a group of 7-8 girls that were put together by the hit producer Tsunk around 1997. Most of the girls are between 16-19, though one of them, Yuuko Nakazawa, is the eldest by far, a fine, and legal, age of 26.
Together, they have released two albums which have been very popular, the most recent, Second Morning, was released Summer of 1999.
THrough Tsunk, they are connected to other Tsunk bands, including Coconut Musume (based in Hawai'i).
Recently, (as in March 3, 2000) Tsunk disbanded a few of his girl groups and reformed three all new bands by combining the members
Akagumi 4, Kiiro 5 and Aoiro 7.
Well, Tsunk knows when he's got a winning combination. As of May, 2000, Morning Musume returns with a new album, "3rd Love". What's interesting is that the first single, "Happy Summer Wedding", is a really cute song and a marked departure from "Love Machine". We'll see how well it does.
On another note, seven members of Morning Musume are featured in what I believe to be a feature film, "Pinch Runner". All I can figure out is that it's about seven girls who are competing in a race. They all appear to know each other. After that, I couldn't really tell. Also, no idea if they will be featured in a soundtrack album, like a few chosen artists here in the 'States do, like Janet Jackson or Prince. There is some serious marketing potential here, if only I could translate what it was.
What's so special about them, anyway?
Quite frankly, they're cute and have catchy, pure bubblegum pop songs.
In some ways their fresh energy and vocals are a break from the grittiness of Alternative and Ska, from the tough love of R&B, and from the harsh world of Hip Hop.
OK, they're a quilty pleasure.
However, cute as they may be, they can also sing. Tsunk may be a little too involved with creating these bands, but at least he can spot talent.
What about those new bands?
Well, I've only heard two of the groups' new singles, and I've got mixed feelings thus far:
Aoiro 7: Strong Rock/Punk/Pop feel. With the cute vocals and the hard and fast guitars, it almost clashes. High energy, hard to listen to after Morning Musume, but could grow a following on its own. Very different from the Morning Mususme formula, but this could also be the influence of the other Tsunk bands' styles. I actually would like to hear another song to get a better idea of what direction he's going with this group.
Kiiro 5: Total Cute Jpop formulaic song. This group has definite links to the sounds of Wink in the late 1980's. I almost thought it was Wink on a reunion tour. Only difference, more of a vocal range, and there's more of them. We'll see what happens with this one.
Akagumi 4: No review yet. Will let you know ASAP.
Favorite Songs:
Love Machine, Koi no Dance Site, Furusato, Good Morning
Favorite Albums:
Don't know.
Links
[Well, even though Tsunk is still tinkering with his girl groups, Morning Musume is back, and with a movie to promote, there's a couple of sites that are viable now]
MORNING MUSUME
Official site for Morning Musume. This site has a few neat extras, all you have to do is look around and explore a bit. If you don't understand Japanese, you can still navigate, but it takes a little effort. Neat extras include pictures, RealVideo interview segments, and a discography, of sorts. Check it out.
PINCH RUNNER
The official site for Pinch Runner [I think it's a film], featruing seven members from Morning Musume. This site is predominantly in Japanese [go figure], but an observant surfer should be able to navigate to check out the pictures and other promotional extras.