RULES:
♫ Share your favorite album(s) from a band/artist. Include cover art, track listing, and link(s) to audio.
♫ Optional: discuss the album(s).
♫ Optional: tag people.
Weee, okay, I’m going to do my Album Prompt on Buono! (Because my goddess Momo is in it, naturally.) I only did my favorite album of theirs because I knew I had a greater chance of getting people on deviantART to give a listen if I didn't throw the entire discography at them.
Anyone reading here should probably know who Buono is, but I'm going to post how I introduced them in the original meme post anyway. Do fellow fans agree with how I presented them? Did I present our girls in a way that you think would make outsiders interested? Do I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about?! Let me know, because I really want to know the art of spreading the word about my favorite idols!
Some background information first. Buono! is a Hello!Project super group made up of two girls from Berryz Koubou (Momo and Miya) and one girl from C-ute (Airi.) They were originally formed to sing the theme songs for the Shugo Chara anime. However, Buono! proved so successful and was such a fan-favorite, that even though the anime has ended, they are still releasing music. In fact, they have a new mini-album out later this summer!
The girls:
Momoko Tsugunaga (Momo), Age 19 -Pink- -Drums-
-- The tiny, annoyingly cute and arrogant leader!--
-- Has the nasally and sometimes high-pitched voice.--
-- The tiny, annoyingly cute and arrogant leader!--
-- Has the nasally and sometimes high-pitched voice.--
Miyabi Natsuyaki (Miya), Age 18 -Red- -Bass-
-- The fashionable, horse-faced diva!--
-- Has a bit of a deeper voice.--
-- The fashionable, horse-faced diva!--
-- Has a bit of a deeper voice.--
Airi Suzuki (Airin), Age 17 -Green- -Guitar-
-- The spacey genius!--
-- Has a clearer voice.--
-- The spacey genius!--
-- Has a clearer voice.--
(Note: They can’t actually play their instruments, and instead they have a live band at their concerts, Dolce. But I labeled which instruments they are associated with in photos and the time they played the opening few seconds of a song at a concert.)
We are Buono! (3rd Studio Album)
Released: February 2010
Released: February 20101. One Way = My Way
2. Our Song (Music Video)
3. Independent Girl ~Dokuritsu Joshi de Aru Tame ni~
4. My Boy (Music Video)
5. Ura Hara
6. Take it Easy! (Music Video)
7. Bravo Bravo (Music Video)
8. Kataomoi
9. Blue Sky Blue
10. Koucha no Oishii Mise
11. Tabidachi no Uta
12. We are Buono! ~Buono no Theme~
YouTube Playlist of all tracks.
Like all of Buono’s albums, We are Buono! starts off fresh, happy, and up-beat with One Way = My Way. Except this time they set the tone for the entire album: with the exception of one song, all have some degree of hard rock in the instrumentals. Guitar riffs abound in this album. The songs stay hard and up-beat until the middle of the album. Even songs that sound a bit slower can’t be characterized as ballads, because they immediately pick up speed and lay on thick guitars. By the sixth track, they add a little country rock to the mix with the single, Take it Easy! (It doesn’t sound like the Eagles song, but perhaps the genre and title choice are related.)
If you are tired of their redneck side, you won’t have to suffer long, as they go back to the hard pop-rock of the beginning. This goes on until the 9th track, Blue Sky Blue which has a magical aura to prepare you for the next song.
The next song happens to be the only track that doesn’t fit into “hard rock.” Koucha no Oishii Mise is complete pop. However, it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Rather, it shares 80’s influences and beautiful harmonies with its album-mates. If the album was a movie soundtrack, this would be at the end, when everything is resolved and the characters are able to sit back and relax, thinking about a bright future.
To continue the movie metaphor, the next song, Tabidachi no Uta, would play during the credits. It’s a catchy, refreshing ballad. But then the next song…
The girls pop back in to play their theme song, We are Buono! It’s a high energy punk track that sounds a bit like something from The Ramones, just with female punk sensibilities. It makes me wish that Buono! could get a cartoon like Puffy AmiYumi did. I’m sure it would be ten times more funny because of the girls’ personalities. This last track could be their best song, if only because it will always remind you of Buono! and the rest of their amazing music.
I highly recommend checking out the rest of their albums, too, if you like what you heard. They were more high-pitched in their earlier music (Buono! started when they were ages 13-15, after all) and they had a lot more cutesy tracks (but more variety), but if anything it would help you appreciate where they are now. They are a group that went from anime theme songs to a group in their own right, and became the gateway for many a new Hello!Project fan, which means they did their job and then some.
My Boy Music Video
Bravo Bravo Music Video
Check out Buono!’s official YouTube for ALL their music videos.
I'm going to try to post here more often in the coming months. I have an idea for a blog design, and I'm thinking about covering not only H!P, but other idols. Including old ones, since I've been on a bit of an oldies kick lately. And this can be my folder on the internet for strange idol-inspired sketches...
