Cocco is number one

Those who know me, know I like Japanese music. In fact, I liked it so much I even took four semesters of college Japanese "for fun". Well I'd like to refine the original assertion, I've gone through a lot of my old songs, and decided I don't like Japanese music per se; I like Cocco's music. So much so, I've bought three Cocco CDs in the past year, and would by more if they were available.

But because I'd rather be lazy than write a very long post, I'll just link to someone elses. Yukihime puts my feelings to words quite well, and even gave me the idea to look on YouTube for Cocco music videos. I've since seen all of the ones available, and disappointingly I couldn't find a couple of my favorite songs as music videos. But to give a small taste of what makes Cocco the best, here are a few links to songs that aren't the best. This is a link to a music video of a pretty good song Hoshini Negaiwo (probably #6 on my favorite Cocco song list, but good none the less) , and here is a link to a live performance of Yagenogahara, which I am guessing is her final performance before she retired in 2000.

At first seeing her sing was a bit of a shock, I was surprised that such powerful music could come out of this shy and awkward middle aged Japanese woman. A friend from JSA had heard that in her final concert before she retired, she ran off stage crying. I think I have now been able to incorporate that story into my understanding of Cocco. Yukihime said "Other songs are about something; Cocco’s songs are the thing itself. It’s the difference between understanding something and believing in it"

This is why I was so happy to hear that Cocco had come out of retirement a year or so ago, and why I bought her new CD... and why if anyone would like to visit Japan with me to eat delicious Japanese food like sushi and takoyaki (octopus balls), I'd love to plan it around a Cocco concert. :?)

Well it's bed time, so I should get going. Peace out all, and word to your respective mothers.

-Mr. Bento

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PS: I am, of course, always happy to let friends borrow CDs.

PSS: Yes I know, you don't speak Japanese... try listening to the music without knowing the words first. I couldn't find a good translation of "Hoshini Negaiwo" but I'll loosely translate the title as "Wishing on a Star." Here's a Yukihime translation of Yagenogahara (the live second one). I'll loosely translate the title "Scorched Earth". You'll be wanting to learn Japanese in no time, and you haven't even heard the best songs yet!

PSSS: If you're still interested, here's the YouTube links her “I'm no longer retired” song Shoka Rinrin (translation), and two other songs, Oasis and Raining.