I close my eyes, I fall through time

Apropos of nothing, Australian singer (and former Bardot member) Sophie Monk's six year old album track "Come My Way" is still pretty amazing, in that same "wow, what is this amazing song doing sitting here as an album track?" way that A*Teens' "Closer To Perfection" is.



Apparently someone agreed, since Japanese singer Namie Amuro later covered it.

Still, my preferred version is Sophie's, a grown-up modern dance-disco-pop song full of distant longing, solidified in the realm of perfection with its piano and string riffs--one of those sadness-tinged songs to dance the night away to.

If you force me to connect this post to something actually currently relevant, Lake Heartbeat, a blog-featured Swedish indie-credible disco-pop project which features one of "Come My Way"'s co-writers, just released their debut album Trust In Numbers. That's not necessarily a recommendation--I haven't listened to it yet.

"Come My Way" is on Sophie Monk's only solo album, Calendar Girl, which you can buy here (physical) or here (digital).

#4 Namie Amuro, "What A Feeling"

Hitokage no nai ofisugai mayonaka
Birudingu no mado garasu miraa ni shite

Can you have a controlled rave? That's what Japanese singer Namie Amuro's dance-pop reworking of the famous Flashdance song feels like. For those of us with no understanding of Japanese, the vocal part becomes just another element of the synth-washed backing track, interweaving its way in and out of the alternately spiky and euphoric synths as if it's only of slightly higher priority than its instrumental (though maybe the English words scattered throughout act as tent poles or signposts to keep our attention from wandering). That doesn't stop it or the song as a whole from being appealingly catchy, though--if anything, it only makes this celebration of dance with a little edge to it even more capable of sweeping you up in its rhythms. Dancing to "What A Feeling" has never been this fun, especially during the middle 8 and when you've got a video as fantastic as the one for this song to inspire you.

Find it on: Best Fiction

Taboo

There's a shameful lack of music from Asia on this blog and, considering that I can usually manage to post songs from Sweden twice a week, having covered, what, one artist from that entire continent in several years is pretty ridiculous. I haven't properly "grown into" Asian music yet, I think, both in terms of finding artists I like and in growing accustomed to its own traits and quirks and, yes, languages. Japanese singer Namie Amuro's "What A Feeling"--the one song/artist just mentioned--is still my favorite song from Asia this year so far (which is really a pretty ridiculous kind of frame to establish--I mean, the entire continent? Choosing your favorite song from it for the year should be really difficult. I'll get there eventually).

The middle 8 on that is just too good. Really one of the best songs of the year.

I've enjoyed Ami Suzuki's "Free Free" (via Mike of PTA) as well.

Today's song more than earns its place on that list.

Taboo--I can't put this song's singer in any more of a context than one paraphrased from Wikipedia, so let's get to the song, which is basically just catchy dance-pop that's probably trying to be at least a little bit edgy (much like the video)--you know, that dance-pop with bite to it. The verses may have that to some degree, but they give way to a fairly smooth (though still uptempo and danceable) chorus. I don't speak the tiniest bit of Japanese, but the flow of the lyrics is catchy enough to keep my attention anyway.

To buy this single, go here (physical).

Next up: maybe that boy band. And hopefully posts with more words in them (or at least a better video-to-words ratio). Oh, and I need to write about a new song from my Spanish singer.