Sam's blog

#16 - Everything

For today we have Arashi's newest single, Everything.  On release day, no less!  I'm getting good at this.  Behold:

Everything

Shallow first impressions:

Ohno needs more appropriate beach shoes.

Aiba.  Pants.

Jun needs to stop making Business Time faces when the rest of them are looking normal.

Despite the fact that they're all headed in the same direction, Sho still manages to look like he doesn't know where he's going or even where he is.  I love it.

Finally, Nino dresses like my Dad.  XD

I love the beach.  I love Arashi.  I love Everything.  Thus, I love this single.  Get the LE, because other than the karaoke tracks and an extra pretty picture of the guys in the picture sleeve, there's nothing special about the RE (no secret talk, I checked).

With that said, I can has a full-length album with new material please?  Not to be ungrateful or anything, but come on.

Catalog # JACA-5175-5176 – Released 7.1.09.

Tracks are:

[CD]

   1. Everything
   2. Season

[DVD]

   1. Everything (PV)

Pretty pictures here!

#15 - Pikanchi Double

Pikanchi Double

Can Pikanchi Double get a little love?  Apparently it's had the lowest sales of all their singles (I don't know the exact figures, but I imagine their worst is still probably quite impressive) so I'm wondering what the problem is, since it's one of my favorite songs of theirs.  But enough of my opining, let's get to the facts.

The B-side is "Gori Muchuu" which is more recently known to me as That One Song On the AAA 08 DVD Towards the End Where They Slide Around On Their Fool Butts In the Rain. 

Because that's easier for me to remember than "Gori Muchuu."

Then the bonus track (the only exclusive to this LE, sadly they didn't include a DVD with the truly epic PV) is another version of Michi, the school song from the first film (and the bonus track on the first Pikanchi single) with slightly different lyrics.  Because I get such a big kick out of hearing the guys sing with so little instrumental backup, I've uploaded it.  Scans here.

Catalog # JACA-5012 – Released 2.18.04.

Tracks are:

[CD]

1. Pikanchi Double
2. Gori Muchuu
3. Michi (Double version)

#14 - Crazy Moon ~Kimi wa Muteki~ / Ashita no Kioku - LE B

My grandpa used to say, "If you've seen one Ashita no Kioku / Crazy Moon Limited Edition single, you've seen them all."

Boy, was he right.

Not that that's a bad thing.

Crazy Moon

Today's share is Limited Edition B.  What I mean by the above is that the design and photo shoot of this one are the same as Limited Edition A and the Regular Edition - so much so that when I first opened everything a few days ago and had the booklets and obis and discs in a mess around me, I had to look at the catalog numbers on the materials to know which item belonged in which case when I went to put everything back.

Catalog # JACA-5171-5172 – Released 5.27.09.

Tracks are:

[CD]

1. Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)
2. Ashita no Kioku

[DVD]

1. Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)
   

Scans here.  Enjoy!

#13 - Ashita no Kioku / Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki) - LE A

Ashita no Kioku

Hot off the presses, today's share is Limited Edition A of Arashi's brand new single, Ashita no Kioku / Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki).  

Gotta admit I'm still kind of lukewarm on the songs (which doesn't mean much - I thought A Day in Our Life was hilariously bad when I first heard it, now it's my favorite song of theirs evar) but I love the design and the packaging - particularly the little photo book inside the picture sleeve.  Speaking of which...check out the scans here!

Catalog # JACA-5169-5170 - Released 5.27.09.

Tracks are:

[CD]
1. Ashita no Kioku
2. Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)

[DVD]
1. Ashita no Kioku

Unless you absolutely must have the karaoke tracks or you're seriously strapped for cash, you may as well get one of the Limited Editions since the RE doesn't have any extra tracks. But it does have stickers.  Pretty pretty stickers.

Enjoy!

#12 - truth / Kaze no Mukou e - LE A

Around the time that truth / Kaze no Mukou e was released last year, I was a new-ish Arashi fan.  For me, this was their first “new” release, and it was the first time I was faced with the choice of pre-ordering the regular edition or one of the limited editions (let's pass over the fact that I have since come to realize that this dilemma can be solved quite easily by buying all three.  Johnny, why don't I just direct deposit my check into your account from now on?). 

"Meh," I thought to myself, "I'll just buy the Regular Edition and if it turns out I really like the songs, I'll buy the Limited Editions in a few months."

[INSERT LAUGHTER HERE PLZ]

Ignorance is not always bliss, dear readers.

Anyway, I obviously managed to get my copy, if not at the original retail price.  Lesson learned.

Today’s share is the Limited Edition A version of truth / Kaze no Mukou e.

Truth / Kaze no Mukou e - LE A

I like the cover, with the red background and the zombified boys.  Actually, instead of “Arashi” on the front cover, it seems like it should say “Ohno and His Bitches.”  Cuz that’s totally the vibe I get from that pic.  And I like it.  >_>

The CD+DVD package comes in a standard-sized CD case with a flipper.

Catalog # JACA-5109-5110 - Released 8.20.08.

Tracks are:

[CD]
1. Truth
2. Kaze no Mukou e

[DVD]
1. Truth (PV)

Scans here!  Hope you enjoy them, and I apologize for the delay between posts.  The time I spend on my e-life has been taken up with other endeavors BIG SALE BIG SALE but I will get back on the stick with 1 or 2 posts a week again soon.

Christmas in May?

I knew it was coming.  It was a huge lot of Arashi CDs, DVDs and miscellaneous goodies I won off of Yahoo! Japan Auctions.  I damn near sold my soul to win this insta-collection-in-a-box. 

And for the obnoxious amount I paid to ship the thing from Japan to here, you’d better believe there was tracking and you’d better believe I made use of it.  I heard the mail truck pull up to my house and I flew down the stairs.  It may as well have been Santa on his sleigh.

Except it wasn’t.

It was a thirty-something mail lady trudging grumpily up the driveway with this box in tow:

 

DSCI0072

 

As I was signing for it she asked me dryly, “What’s in there, a giant walkie-talkie?”

Naturally, I LOL’d.

Sale post here.

#11 - Typhoon Generation

Since my last share was the newest single, I thought I would go back and share something a bit older:

Typhoon Generation

Aren't they cute?

As far as I can tell, Typhoon Generation never had a Limited Edition release.  So rather than the Regular Edition, this is more like The Only Edition.

Still, when I was trolling around my usual places looking for a copy to buy (used; it's long out of print), I came across a seller who was including a matching set of stickers and a clear scroll poster with the CD.  Probably freebies from a store or something.  But when I got it in the mail, I opened the case and found found a tiny shrink wrap clipping where the stickers on the original packaging had been.  So you see, my friends, there is a more anal-retentive Arashi fan in this world than myself.

This troubles comforts me.  

Naturally, I scanned the shrink wrap with the stickers.  Such meticulousness shall not go unappreciated.

Here's the poster:

Typhoon Generation Poster

As you can see, it features photos of our chibi bishies alongside their clones.  It is creepy, and also awesome.

(Sorry for the lousy pic, it was too big for my scanner so I had to take a photo.)

Catalog # PCCJ-00002 Released 7.12.00.

Tracks are:

1. Typhoon Generation
2. Asu Ni Mukatte Hoeru
3. Tyhpoon Generation (karaoke)
4. Asu Ni Mukatte Hoeru (karaoke)

Check out the scans here.  Happy Mother's Day!

#10 - Believe / Kumori Nochi, Kaisei

I figured I would get this set of scans out of the way before it's not their newest single anymore.  I mean, they barely gave us time to get the shrink wrap off before they announced yet another double A-side, even amidst their usual tv and radio shows and their own solo gigs.  Seriously, do these guys ever sleep?

Believe

Also: can Nino possibly be comfortable with his legs and feet positioned that way?

Today's share is the Limited Edition A of Believe / Kumori Nochi, Kaisei.

If'n you ask me, the song is smokin' hot, and the PV is amazing.  I mean, Arashi does cheesy and campy very well.  That's generally the way I love them best.  Maybe it's because they bring out the intensity/smex so rarely (Jun excluded, that filthy little ho!) that it's so effective when they do.  I dunno.  Moving on...

The guys look great on the cover, but the design is chotto meh.  I mean, surely for such a dynamic song they could have come up with something more inspired than kicking back on a lazer and looking kinda bored?  

Catalog # JACA-5132~5133 - Released 3.4.09.

Tracks are:

[CD]
1. Believe
2. Kumori Nochi, Kaisei

[DVD]
1. Believe (PV)

As with LE B, the discs come in the single jewel case with a flipper.

Check out the scans here!

#09 - Kumori Nochi, Kaisei / Believe

I had mixed feelings when I first heard that Oh-chan would be releasing a solo single.  It made me feel a little better to know that the other half of the single would be an A-side along with his Stormy sidekicks.  And then I actually heard the song - it's the theme to his drama, Uta no Onii-san - and loved it on the first listen.  Add it to the lengthy list of Arashi songs that will pop into your head at the most inopportune moment and REFUSE to leave up to and including the moment that bashing your head against a concrete wall seems like a viable solution.

But what really won me over?  Was the big yellow sun on the front cover, which appears to be puking rainbows.

Kumori Nochi Kaisei

NICE.

Today's share is Limited Edition B of Kumori Nochi, Kaisei / Believe.

Catalog # JACA-5134~5135 - Released 3.4.09.

Tracks are:

[CD]
1. Kumori Nochi, Kaisei
2. Believe

[DVD]
1. Kumori Nochi, Kaisei (PV)

The discs are housed in the single jewel case with flipper.

Here are the scans.  Enjoy!

#08 - How's It Going?

Pop quiz! 

In which Arashi song does Sho-kun urge us to "Do that shit, do that shit!!"?  You'll find the answer somewhere in the scans of today's share (unless of course you already know - I didn't until I was doing the scans and glanced at the lyrics, and I'd listened to the song about a thousand times before today).

How's it Going?

This is my newest find (and an instant favorite), the Limited Edition of Arashi's third full-length album, the unusually ballad-heavy, 70s-themed, How's It Going?

First things first; like the debut album and Here We Go!, there is absolutely no difference between the RE and LE as far as the music is concerned.  Only the packaging is different.  The RE includes just an insert along with a fold-out lyrics sheet, whereas the LE includes a glossy booklet stuffed full of gorgeous photos of the guys.  I've always loved the photo shoot for this album, so for me it was totally worth the hunt and the extra price.  Here's a teaser:

How's It Going - Jun

Momo hair. <3 

Aside from the booklet, there were a few little sendaway inserts that I have scanned as well.  Unfortunately, my Japanese is about as good as Oh-chan's English, so I'm not 100% sure what they're for.  One of them looks like the voting card for what turned out to be the "Best 5 Clips" DVD on the Iza, Now LE.

Catalog # JACA-5007 - Released 7.9.03.

Tracks are:
1. Tomadoi Nagara (Album Version)
2. Crazy Ground No Ousama
3. Lucky Man
4. Shinchosa No Nai Koibito
5. Only Love
6. Arashi No Mae No Shizukesa
7. Blue
8. Walking in the Rain
9. Paretto
10. Dekiru Dake
11. Te Agero
12. 15th Moon
13. Donna Kotobade
14. Pikanchi (Album Version)

Here are the scans.  Albums like this are the reason I created this Vox, so please check them out!