LookBack: Stereopony Music, Vol. 4

A Hydrangea Blooms

What can I say about Hydrangea ga Saiteru? It was the first album I bought when I could not find anything except their singles on Peer to Peer sites. You can punish me later for that. I had to go dig out my copy tonight to be able to do this review because my laptop only has the few songs I liked enough to want to hear over and over. By my calculations, two of them will be covered in this week’s installment and the others will be next week. It also has the distinction of being the album I forgot to bring to be signed by the girls not once, but TWICE, the first time I left it in my hotel room because I did not think I would get to see them until that night’s concert, the second time was left at my house while my body was in Seattle; to this day, the only things I ever had signed by the girls were my copies of Over the Border and Chiisana Mahou. Again, you will have to wait a few weeks before “The Day Destonus Met Stereopony” because it will be covered in Chiisana Mahou’s installment. Without further adieu, let us tackle the four songs I will be covering this week.

“Seishun ni, Sono Namida ga Hitsuyou da!” has to be one of my favorite Stereopony songs EVER. I hate making top lists, but if I DID, this one would probably be number 3 after “Smilife” and “Tsukiakari no Michishirube”. Perhaps it is the energetic guitar riffs from Aimi; perhaps it is the energetic vocals that go with it, or perhaps it is the music video associated with it where a young high-schooler is so afraid to face her crush, that she dodges into a corner when he walks by, gets a picture of her with him with a self-inflicting photo bomb, only for him to finally notice her when she and her friends are pretending to be a girl band after cleaning the classroom, oblivious to anyone around them. Butterfly Sparkle in her Song of the Week entry called this song “a wonderfully truthful look at first love… that the tears are as important in making someone special as much as the happiness.” I mostly like it because it opens this album with a bang, and has even opened some of their concerts the same way. My only lament is that NOT once in the two shows I went to did I even hear them play this. I got to hear my favorite song, “Smilife”, once, but never heard “Seishun ni…” even once.

Next up, is “Komorebi no Journey”. Shiho’s drums and Aimi’s moving vocals carry this tune, and there is a nice mix between acoustic and electric guitars that make me wonder why I removed this from my mp3 player. As usual, the lyrics make no sense to me, nor do I have an interpretation for a Song of the Week entry to give me some clue, so going by the lyrics and the vocals, it is a pretty decent tune. My colleague says that it talks about the decision to follow your dreams is the start of a journey; it is knowing where you want to go but having no clue on how you will get there. In my case, this relates to a dilemma involving another Japanese band coming Stateside and figuring out my plan to get to see them in Feburary. But this plan is still in the beginning, and I am not scared that I will figure out a way to get there before the clock strikes.

I agree with my colleague on “Otomegokoro Hey Hey Hey”; this is a fun song to listen to. The first thought I have on this song, from her view and that of Butterfly Sparkle is: “Girl Power Anthem.” I can imagine Aimi singing this to some clueless guy who has no idea she likes him just to spell it out, or even to explain her actions to her parents in a musical. I am not sure where this would fall on the before-mentioned list but it would be on it. It was also catchy and memorable enough to remain on my mp3 player. I cannot remember if I have heard this one live; someone would need to refresh me with a set list.

“Nakanaide” is a very deep, meaningful ballad about trying to comfort someone far away over the phone. You wish you could be at their side, so all you can do is try to comfort them the best you can given the limited means, yet feeling so powerless because this is something you should be doing in person. Shiho’s drums set the pace of this song, and it is the only thing other than some strings and piano that you hear, because Aimi’s voice and pain, real or imagined, carries the tune. It makes me wonder if she was ever put in this situation with their beloved “Nini” being back in Okinawa and the three of them miles away in Tokyo, him suffering through a relapse of his cancer and them wanting to fly to him to be by his side but unable to because of commitments. Aimi has always held the position that she extrapolates the themes from her songs, but sometimes, you have to wonder what Aimi has been through, to which she writes about.

With only four songs to review and the rest of the album coming up in the next installment, I will save my final verdict for next week and just say that we are off to a good start. Of the three albums, I do not have a favorite out of them, I would lean towards the second because two of my favorite songs are on it, even though they were singles first, but it is not as clear cut as some of the other artists I listen to. Ask me which FLiP album is my favorite and without thinking answer Michi Evolution, I would probably say Niche Syndrome for ONE OK ROCK because it got me hooked on them, but I recall I wanted to get Hydrangea autographed because it was all I had at the time and some of my favorite songs of all time by the girls are on it, a few of which we have not gotten to yet, so again, final verdict will be coming next time. I now bring this chapter to a close, after the ceremonial victory clap.

About the author

Destonus is a Very Good Days member from Massachusetts. He moderates the Stereopony, Draft King, and AIMI discussions, the Music Discussion forum along with Dereko, and manages the Very Good Days Encyclopedia Project.