SPEED Dear Friends 1: "Hit-oe me baby, one more time!" (W.O.) Aug 01 '01 (Updated Aug 17 '01)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line Better than the drug of the same name (assumption!), any fan of J-pop should pick this up. SPEED Dear Friends 1: Hit Britney unconscious, and cram Christina into a bottle, then "Hit-oe me baby, one more time!" (Full title) Pro: Calendar, photo book, lyrics, several of their best songs, it's SPEED!!! Con: Next to the last of SPEED's albums, can't see them perform, and SPEED is no more. Apparently, the generally game review only member GasJocket214 has this grudge against poor, half-complete music reviews. He frequents the Just In section almost at all hours of the day. I usually catch a glimpse of his ratings, usually the first on each review. Myself on the other hand, cursed by a horribly poor 2.4k dial-up connection that hardly uses my 56k modem, can only hope that my rating comes in 3rd or 4th position at peak rating times. Anyway, GasJocket214 has decided to do something about it. "What?" you may ask. You see, he wants to fight bad music reviews by good ones, written by a comprehensive list of some of epinion.com's greatest. It's a quite simple plan, much like fighting illegal and harmful drug use by using helpful and legal over-the-counter drugs. I myself am included in on the pro-good-music-review action, and that is why you are reading this. Back to the scheduled program: You may hate me for the title, but after hearing these songs, and looking over the bonus material, you'll more than likely agree with me. In fact, I didn't really see Brittany or Christina on TV until after I got into SPEED. Maybe I'm missing out on something, but I'll take SPEED over either of them any day! (Hitoe is a member, so that's where the other part of the title comes from). Besides, Christina and Britney are so cold, distant, and impersonal. The closer they manage to look like a Barbie doll, the more loved they are, or so it seems. Oh, and the skin colored clothes... I guess that they have to tease the masses to get them to ignore the poor lyrics and packaged music. But what I don't understand is how, the pre-packaged, re-refined, yet poor quality stuff such as the 'everything done for them' boy bands and Christina and Brittany, is #1 in the U.S.A. Why?! If they were in Japan, they wouldn't stand a chance of even #2, other than by the people who may like American things, just as I have a mild affection for Japanese things. Language difference aside, SPEED is a much better group. One last thing: What's with Britney and Christina battling it out between Coke and Pepsi? SPEED does real commercials, like Epson Stylus printers, Nissin UFO noodles, and Pizza Hut (in Japan)! SPEED, was one of Japan's most popular J-Pop girl groups. Started in 1996 with their first single, Body&Soul. SPEED was a group of 4 young girls from the Okiwawan acting school. In fact, they were the youngest J-Pop group ever, with Hiroko only 12. The group consisted of Hitoe Arakaki (oldest), Takako Uehara, Eriko Imai, and Hiroko Shimabukuro, and they were well on their way to the success, which they enjoyed and still have today. One thing that makes the entire SPEED music so great is that it isn't all from a keyboard, or electronically altered (that I know of). In the concerts, there is an entire band of instruments, from the "Hohhn Secshion" as Eriko says, to the vocalists, which are also very talented. How do I know that they sing their own songs? In the concerts when they start screaming or letting the crowd sing for them (Eriko let the crowd sing her first part in 'my graduation' during the Real Life Final Dome Tour) you can hear, or not hear, them without a hitch. This album, SPEED Dear Friends 1, or SDF1, was the first of 2 albums that contained all of their most popular songs. In March of 2000, they disbanded because they needed more time to enjoy their teen years and do other things in the time that SPEED took up. They all have continued to be singers. Hitoe, who 's first single was called 'Hitoe's 57 MOVE,' is currently studying dance in the U.S. I must say this, I speak no Japanese, understand none, nor can I read it (OK, maybe a few words and phrases). Does it matter? Not one bit! SPEED is excellent listening (and sometimes singing [it will take you a while]), no matter what you like to listen to. If you can recognize great talent, then you will like this. If you can't... your loss. Regardless, almost every song has some English in it, so you can still pick up the meaning of the song. Members: Hiroko Shimabukuro : The youngest of the group, popular actress, singer, and many other things with arguably the best voice. She can sing over five octaves. She is definitely the most versatile, and usually sings for most of the songs. Her voice is distinct and clear. The nickname for her is "Space person." Current record name: Hiro Eriko Imai : Eriko is probably the most famous in the group, with a powerful voice that really shines on the lower notes. She very well covers the things that Hiroko can't (as well), such as the lower notes. Her voice can easily be distinguished from the others because of its smoothness. Eriko's nickname really fits her, "Tangerine alien." Current record name: Eriko with Crunch or Eriko Imai Takako Uehara : Takako takes a back seat to Hiroko and Eriko in the singing, though you can tell when she is singing and when she isn't. She has a very sweet (not the dorky expression) and soft voice. She is the main one that says "Lub" instead of "Love." Does that matter? No, it's all the cuter. Anyway, she is both the back vocalist and back dancer. Still, she does both quite well, and can be picked out by her great looks and soft 'round' voice. They give her the nickname of "Granny" because she is so caring and loving, though I guess that I would have to know her personally to tell. In the movie starring SPEED and Da Pump, Andromedia (which is really good), she is a jealous backstabber. Hmm... Current record name: Takako Uehara Hitoe Arakaki : "Hit-oe me baby, one more time!" I sing. "Swaying hips," as they call her, is a perfect nickname. Why? Because she is the best dancer, and adds her own touches to the moves. She's really cool and like to but weave in her hair. She is also the oldest member and lead dancer of the group with a distinctly Hitoe voice. I can't describe it, but I like it. However, it sounds much better in her own songs, such a 'Inori.' Current record name: Hitoe's 57 Move Track Listing & micro-Review: Since it is impossible to describe a song effectively with just words, I'm still going to give a shot. Body&Soul: 7 Shot in San Francisco, SPEED's first song, Body&Soul starts out bland and high energy, but then really picks up. It's sometimes hard not to press the 'next' button. The verse before the first "Body and soul!" is where it begins to be a great song. If you can hold out until then, you will enjoy it. STEADY -Atlanta Mix-: 10 This is one of my all time favorites. "Wanna be your STEADY..." though I hope that they didn't have a concert in Atlanta... because that would mean that I missed it. I'm not even going to think about that. Regardless, this is an excellent song for anyone to listen to. This song has many X-files-like sounds in it. Really cool! Happy Together: 5 As the title implies, this is a happy song. Do we like happy songs? No! Well, OK, you may, but there are many other great SPEED songs that could have easily took this spot on the CD. Regardless of that, this song is mostly about SPEED being happy together with themselves and others. It gets slightly better at the end, where they start going "Happy togehthah! Yeahhhhh!" I Remember: 4 That's great that you remember, but I won't... Anyway, I remember this one from SPEED's first concert, 'Starting Over from Odaiba.' This song is basically "I remembah... *Japanese* "I remembah... *Japanese* and it has a slower beat. I can either listen through it, though 'I remember' that Go! Go! Heaven is next, so the forward button looks like a good choice here. "Deep Blue & Truth," or "Don't be afraid" from the last album "Carry on my way" would have been much better for this valuable spot. Go! Go! Heaven: 9 I really love the beginning "Haaaaa ahhhhh haaaaaaa ahhhh haaaa aahhhAAAHHHH" with a hazy sounding electric guitar. Mostly a rock type song, Eriko sounds really good in it. This is excellent to listen to while driving (but unfortunately I'm usually on the bus when I listen to it!!! ERRR!). This song will stir some rage up in you. Kiwi Love -"Dear Friends" House Remix '00-: 10 This is one of my favorite songs do to the new beginning. I would listen to the first 20 or so seconds on my MP3 player repeatedly. The beginning has a saxophone that sounds really cool. Then, of course, add the actual song to it, and you have an excellent track burnt into this CD. Dreamin': 8 If any of you have played Sonic Adventure (1) for the Dreamcast, then this would have been a much better theme song for the big blue cat! Not that I'm comparing the 2 songs, because Dreamin' is a much much better song by far. Wake Me Up!: 8 If Dreamin' was too slow for you, this one will wake you up! It starts with a really cool bird sound, even though this song is just the average SPEED song… White Love: 10 This is the song that started it all between SPEED and me. I heard a part of it in the Virtual Places/Excite Chat! back in 1997. I loved the song, and then last year, I found www.yesasia.com, and bought the Final Dome Tour live VCDs with this song on it. It's such an excellent song! If you download only one SPEED song, this should be it! My Lonely Habit: 7 I don't like this song. It isn't catchy or remember able. This is definitely the worst song on this album. I'm assuming that knowing Japanese would help a lot (well, duh...). The only thing that I picked up about this song, is the "cry... cry... cry..." part, and the occasional "My lonely habit... (The above 'mini' review of this song was from playing the song at a low volume. After cranking it up, I like this song. Not because of the sounds and music, but because of SPEED's incredible voice. Still, "don't be afraid' would have been much better). Lovely Friendship: 10 With a great rock & roll intro, this song is fast paced "Love me do -...something in Japanese...- Weekend!" starts this song off lyrically. I really like this one! my graduation -Album version-: 10 Slow at first, but deep in feelings, this song is also one of my favorites. Right after the first part, it picks up in strength. It's kind of sad, but the 'last day' kind of sad. You should hear it. Oyasumi -Good Night Kiss version-: 9 This is a great song to put in the last place, as it is a "good night" song. Too short in my opinion, especially since many of the others are well over 5 minutes in length. This is a very sweet song, and one of my favorites. Oyasumi-nasai SPEED! Bonus Material: 10 The CD come with lyrics in the 3 Japanese alphabets (kanji and so on). Plus, it has a 2000 calendar and a photo book. Excellent bonuses! Overall: 10 While this is a great CD of great J-Pop, if you haven't seen the live concert VCD's, you'll miss out on some of the special greatness that is SPEED. However, this CD is excellent for anyone who already likes J-pop. Crank this CD up volume wise, and you'll hear many sound effects hidden in the songs. Like STEADY for instance, it has a X-Files-esque "Woo- oo- oooo- oo-ooo ooooo-" Not only that, but you'll hear how great their voices are. I gave this CD a 5-star rating because of White Love, my graduation, Go! Go! Heaven, Oyasumi, Dreamin', STEADY, and Lovely Friendship. Even though other SPEED songs are missing, such as Deep Blue & Truth, and Don't be afraid. If you want to read the lyrics to almost all of the SPEED songs, romanized and in English, go to this address: http://www.lava.net/~raistlin/trans_spd.html I had a very difficult time describing the songs. SPEED is so special to me, definitely my all time favorite group. This was a part of the GasJocket214 Write Off for decent album reviews. The point: write a 4-5 star review that isn't a 100-word pile of festering idiot feces-esque drivel. Here is a complete list of everyone who participated: 4-1-1 kcfoxy GasJocket214 madtheory diamion pffrdfdus7 Kenshin-Guy astidham kristinafh Chris_Billings orestes84 Cartman_2k JuiceJW quasar ParisLemon sweetycaroline gmontag Wretchedpyro tootsweet824 twix109 dastr8poop tigger500 Greatpilgrim deaser26 d.markusen gerper tibullus britguy mattels lisaatucla Adjensen crazy3237 vlenard mzrizz swanton00 trustedun monssfisch kuuleimomi Slusy netnut746 smcallister biggs219 keiths001 xeno3998 pmills1210 believer77 bleuchance Cr01 Cate1956 chad8246 jpeter MichaelHatton Jeremy1456 Telynor Tammyinmiami tchoate saulsbury annexation

Read all comments (2)|Write your own comment

Write an essay on this topic.