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YouTubeA Song to Remember
Over the last few weeks, we have discussed some very serious subjects, so I thought it might be fun to do something a bit more light-hearted this week. One purpose of this blog is to discuss controversial topics, but the other is to improve your English by picking up language from my entry and other people’s comments and then trying to express your own thoughts in English. That is why we have the feedback article on a Friday.
I have been thinking a lot about music over the last few days because we have lost two hugely talented artists very recently. As you know, Donna Summer passed away last week, and I read today that Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees has also died of cancer. I was a huge fan of both of them, so it was really sad to hear of their deaths.
Anyway, I thought it might be nice for everyone to introduce a song that has a special memory or meaning for you. Tell us what the song is, when you first heard it, and why it is special to you. Here is mine:
Like pretty much every boy of my generation, I was completely in love with the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. I first saw her in the film “Grease,” which I think was released in 1977, and which I have seen more times that I could possibly count. Anyway, Olivia Newton-John had lots of hits after that in Britain and the US, and one of them was called “Physical.” I loved the song, but it was the video that had the biggest impact on me. Until I saw that video, I had no idea that it was possible for men to have bodies like that. As I was about 14 at the time, I was starting to get very interested in girls, and I decided that if I could get a body like the guys in this video, I might be able to get a girl like Olivia Newton-John. I know it sounds silly, but hey, I was 14!
After I watched the video, I persuaded my parents to buy me a thing called a “Bullworker,” which was basically a big tube with springs and a strap on either side. You could use it to exercise almost every part of your body. I started exercising with this every day, and before long, I saved up enough money to buy a barbell and some weights to keep in my bedroom. I trained really hard, and although I never got a woman like Olivia Newton-John, I did manage to develop quite big muscles, especially in my arms and shoulders. All my friends and family thought I was crazy, and they all said I would give up after a few months. Well, I just turned 45, and guess where I’m going this evening… To the gym! These days, it’s more about trying to get rid of my middle-age spread than developing muscles, (Now I look more like the guys in the middle of the video than the ones at the beginning and the end!) but I still enjoy weight training as much as I did when I started it all those years ago. And who knows – I might never have discovered it if it hadn’t been for this video!
Look forward to hearing your stories.
Hi David and everyone,
>I decided that if I could get a body like the guys in this video, I might be able to get a girl like Olivia Newton-John.
I can’t believe that you used to be that simple-minded ! 🙂
My older brother is about your age.
I can remember that he repeatedly listened to
“Physical” too.
As for song to remember for me ;
When I was in elementary school, I pretty much liked a singer named Takada Mizue(高田みづえ).
She had many hit singles, but above all, I liked “私はピアノ” the best. Most of her songs were plaintive, and they were mainly about “lost love” or “one-sided love”. So, I don’t think they were actually not suitable for an elementary school girl.
Back to “私はピアノ”, there’s a phrase “雨の降る夜にはビリージョエル” in the song. At that time, I didn’t know who Billy Joel was.
Many years have passed since then, and songs of Billy Joel were playing when I was drinking at a bar. If I remember correctly, they were “Piano man” and “Just the way you are”.
Until then, I had never listened to his songs properly. I didn’t know why, but I was suddenly very impressed by his voice on that day.
And I realized then for the first time why “雨の降る夜にはビリージョエル”.
I can’t say which song I like the best, but “Piano man” and “Just the way you are” are songs to remember for me.
Bye for now !
Hi David and everyone,
This is the first time I’ve posted in your blog for ages, but thankfully this topic is easy for me.
I saw “The Sound Of Music” at a cinema in Nagoya when I was 10, and then I was touched by the sound of English of each songs and I also liked mountains very much. I started practicing the piano and trecking mountains soon after. Words(languages), music and mountains are essential in my life.
Especially, “Climb Every Mountain” and “My Favorite Things” are songs to remember for me.
Look forward to hearing each person’s song to remember.
Bye for now.
Tsuneko
Hi David and everyone,
I laughed a lot when I read the entry. 14 year-old David was so cute! I guess there are lots of boys thinking like that.
I’m not familiar with Western music, and I don’t know much about Olivia Newton-John’s songs, but she sang “Take Me Home, Country Road”, didn’t she? The song was used as the theme song for the Ghibli movie “Whisper of the Heart(Mimi wo sumaseba).” The melody is beautiful and sounds a bit sad, and I like it very much.
I hardly listened to Western music when I was young, so almost all songs that have special memories for me are Japanese songs, and one of them is “離したくはない” by T-BOLAN. This song reminds me of one of my old loves. When I was in high school, I was going out with a university student. He liked music and making his own cassette tapes(At that time, you couldn’t make your original CDs like you can now.) One day, he gave me a tape like “a music letter”, and this song was the first one. The song itself is sweet, but the singer’s voice make it sweeter. If you don’t know the song, try it on You Tube!
Hi Tsuneko,
Great to hear from you again!! 🙂
Look forward to hearing other people’s stories!
Tomo
Hi Tsuneko
Nice to hear from you again.
Hi David and everyone,
David, your story made me grin, and I bet everyone has such a moment or experience.
Among Olivia Newton-John’s songs, “Have you never been mellow” is my favorite.
There are a lot of songs I like both in Japanese and in English, and it’s difficult to choose which one is the song to remember, but YU’s comment reminds me of one song “夏のお嬢さん” by Ikue Sakakibara.
I guess there are moments when you suddenly notice or understand something or its background a long time after you first encounter it.
On time. when I was reading a children’s book called “I like coffee I like tea”, I saw the following part: “I scream, You scream, We all scream for ice cream!” This seems to be popular among kids in the US for chant. Both “I scream” and “ice cream” sound almost the same and seem to be a line good for an ice cream advertisement,right!
(Actually, this book is a present from Tsuneko. Thank you,Tsuneko, I like this book!)
Then, I suddenly remember an old song called “夏のお嬢さん.” Ikue Sakakibara was a very popular idol back in 70s and 80s.
There were lines “アイスクリーム／ユースクリーム” in the lyrics. When I listened to her song those days, I just thought it was lovey and she looked healthy, but I had no idea about this chant. It’s more interesting to listen to this song after knowing the chant.
This song is not my favorite but is the song to be remembered.
Hi Tsuneko,
Glad to see your comment here again.
Bye for now,
Anne
Hi Tsuneko,
Nice to talk to you ! 🙂
Hi Tomo,
Thank you for sharing us your sweet memory !
> One day, he gave me a tape like “a music letter”, and this song was the first one.
He probably wanted to put his love in the song and send it to you !
By the way, did he make any original love song for you ??
> I’m not familiar with Western music,
Me neither, but I was really into “The Beatles” when I was in university. I even decided to go to
London for my graduation trip only for that reason ! My friend and I crossed “Abby Road” just like Beatles members do it on the album jackt and took photos of each other. I think I was so stupid, because I almost got hit by a car…,but the pictures still remind me of my young days…It’s a good memory. 🙂
By the way, “The Beatles” members are actually from Liverpool, so I should have gone to Liverpool, not to London !?
See you !
Hi YU,
>He probably wanted to put his love in the song and send it to you !
Ha ha ha…, I don’t know, but he gave me that tape when we had a fight and broke up. It touched my heart.(You know, both of us were so young!)
>By the way, did he make any original love song for you ??
No, he didn’t have the talent to make songs, but one of my sister’s old boyfriends did. He played the guitar, and he wrote an original song for my sister.(I think it was for her birthday or Christmas.) Actually, he is her husband!
>My friend and I crossed “Abby Road” just like Beatles members do it on the album jackt and took photos of each other.
I’ve seen the jacket! I’ve also heard that the crossing is very popular with Beatles fans. I said I’m not familiar with Western music, but The Beatles is special. I listened to their songs a lot when my boyfriend was into it, and I still like them.
> I think I was so stupid, because I almost got hit by a car…,but the pictures still remind me of my young days…It’s a good memory
I’m glad you didn’t!! It must be an unforgettable memory.(in many ways! LOL) Pictures and songs bring back good memories, don’t they?
Speaking of The Beatles, my second son was singing “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” in English when he got home today, so I asked him where he learned that song. He said that his English teacher starts the class with songs of The Beatles, and he sang this song several times this week. Actually, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is one of my favorites. What’s your favorite?
See you soon,
Tomo
Hi Tomo,
I’ve made a spelling mistake.
“Abbey Road” is correct.
>He played the guitar, and he wrote an original song for my sister.(I think it was for her birthday or Christmas.) Actually, he is her husband!
You see? He got her by his musical talent.
Musicians are popular among girls in all times !
> What’s your favorite?
Ummhhh…It’s a difficult question to answer.
I can’t say what is my favorite, but I like “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Whenever I hear the song, I feel drawn to a mysterious world.
“Hey Jude” brings back a bittersweet memory for me. When I visited “Camden Lock Flea Market” in London, the song was playing. And I had my pocket picked there !! I reported the incident at the police box, but I can’t remember how I explained it to the policeman at all….
>“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is one of my favorites.
Oh, is it ?? I like the lyrics very much !
See you !
Hi There,
This is first time to reading the blog 🙂
Think Song has roughly 3 kinds of elements.
Most of the songs express Love and sorrow, and Catchy – “Pysical” is the one of them.
I knew “Pysical” from one of my colleague when we went a Karaoke box. Was so impressed and felt so bouncy as we all danced.
My favorate and the most memorial song is that “追憶” by Stardust Review. Here the link FYI:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL73beU6mtQ&feature=fvsr
*song starts 1:54
One of my friend sang this for me when I was to be dying for a love with a guy who is a ladies’ man. This still reminds me what I was feeling back then.
Hi YU & Tomo,
I’m a guy so I understand what David wrote when I look back on my younger days.
I’m not a huge fan of songs, but I have an interesting thing to write.
When I was in elementary school, many Japanese people loved Western pop songs: The Beatles’ numbers, Bay City Rollers’ numbers or Queen’s numbers and so forth.
I couldn’t understand their lyrics, so I just enjoyed the sound of the songs at that time.
As an adult I started to learning English several years ago, I found I can understand the meanings of those songs. I was surprised that how boring some of them are.
Talking about a famous Beatles number ‘Let it be.’
Its start is: ‘When I myself in time of trouble, mother Merry comes to me, speaking words of wisdom: Let it be.’, I’m sorry I’m not sure in detail.
I laughed. What irresponsible advice it is!(LOL)
Have you tried to understand the meaning of some Western POP musics?
See ya.
Gussan
Hi David and everyone,
David’s story when he was a teenager crack me up. You were so cute!
>(Now I look more like the guys in the middle of the video than the ones at the beginning and the end!)
Ha ha ha, I’ve never met you in person but you don’t look like those fat guys at all.
I started get interested in Western music when I got into junior high. Our English teacher introduced us some English songs, Beatles, Carpenters. He chose songs of the month and after explained the meaning of lyrics, let us sing a song.
And when I was in high school, I listened to a lot of Western music. My favorite singers are Simon & Garfunkle, Bee Gees, Air Supply, Billy Joel…I can’t stop. I also like screen music. During those days, there weren’t even CDs. We listened to records. I often rented some LPs and recorded on tapes. I listened and sang along with the songs over and over while reading lyrics. Although, sometimes I don’t understand the meaning.
If I had to choose 1 song to remember, that would be “Footloose”. When I was in junior college, I belonged to aerobics circle. Footloose is one of the songs we chose when we performed at school festival. So we practiced this dance a lot. Even now when I hear this song, I start to dance indeliberately.体が勝手に踊りだす（笑）Just like women in my generation start to dance Pink Lady’s tunes when we hear their songs. Footloose reminds me good old memory.
Hi Tsuneko,
Glad to see your comment again!:-)
Fumie
Hi minmin,
Nice to have you with us ! 🙂
Hi Gussan,
> I laughed. What irresponsible advice it is!(LOL)
Hahaha….Lylics don’t play a big part in some songs, we’d even better listen to only melodies sometimes.
But, there’s maybe some special meaning behind the “irresponsible” lyrics of “Let it be”…I hope….
In contrast, I love “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel not just because of the melody, but also the emotional lyrics. If someone told me the same words as the lyrics in the song, I would fall for him in a big way !! (イチコロ、です）:-)
By the way, I watched the music video of “Just The Way You Are” on Youtube after a long time, and for a moment I thought “Sylvester Stallone” was singing it, but it was Billy Joel.
Hi Fumie,
> Even now when I hear this song, I start to dance indeliberately.体が勝手に踊りだす（笑）
I’d like to see you dancing to the song !!
Your story reminded me of a song from the movie “Flashdance”. Wasn’t it as sensational as “Footloose”!?
See you !
Hi Gussan,
I found the background to “Let it Be” in ther Intenet.
Here it is :
“Let it Be” was written by Paul McCartney
in 1969 as the Beatles were breaking up. It was the group’s last single.
The only member of the group with faith in the future of the Beatles was Paul McCartney. The song in many ways was his request for unity, peace and reconciliation with other members of the group.
The song opens with “When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me.” Mother Mary is widely believed to be a reference to Mary McCartney, Paul’s mother. She died of breast cancer when Paul was a young boy. It was a painful and tragic death.
Actually, I totally forgot that I’ve been to Paul’s concert which was held in Tokyo Dome about 20 years ago. Paul sung this song in the concert, but of course, I didn’t know the background to this song at that time. Then his wife Linda performed with him in the concert. I heard that she died of the same disease as his mother Mary, breast cancer. It’s a sad story, isn’t it!?
See you !
Paul sung this song in the concert,
=> “sang”
Hi minmin,
Nice to have you with us! I saw the video you put on the blog. It’s a beautiful and sad(“setsunai”) song!
Hi YU,
I kind of(何となく) understand how you feel about the song “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The melody is nice and unique.
>And I had my pocket picked there !! I reported the incident at the police box, but I can’t remember how I explained it to the policeman at all….
I guessed that you had a lot of experiences in foreign countries, but surely you did!! You were not happy with the incident, but looking back now, it’s also turned out to be one of your good memories, hasn’t it?
Hi Gussan,
>I laughed. What irresponsible advice it is!(LOL)
You are so logical!(LOL!) It might be a good idea for you to let your feelings guide you once in a while 😉
>Have you tried to understand the meaning of some Western POP musics?
Yes, and sometimes(maybe often) the lyrics are not as good as the melody. Maybe it’s because of the translation…
A few years ago, my niece gave me a CD of Avril Lavigne saying, “You should listen to the song ‘Girlfriend’!” It was a nice and catchy song, but I didn’t think the lyrics were good. My niece told me that the song would be good to heal a broken heart, but I couldn’t feel the same…
Have a good day, everyone!
Tomo
PS YU, I like the song “Just The Way You Are” too, and it reminds me of the line from the movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, “I like you very much, just as you are.”
Hi David,
This is not a complaint, but a question for the system of this blog.
You mentioned ;
> The system is, however, that the first time you write a comment, it will have to be approved by me before it gets published. On your screen, it will look as though it has been posted, but other people will not be able to see it until I approve it. Once I have approved one of your comments, any other comments you make will go straight through.
It means, our comments go straight through without your approval now ? Am I the only person there’s still a bit time lag sometimes? I can’t be sure if it’s just my imagination, because posting time is not shown on this blog.
But, it’s anyway not a big matter, though !
See you !
Hi Tomo, YU and Gussan,
Tomo,thank you for sharing your sweet memory with us.
You guys exchanges made me smile, and I really enjoyed them.
>Have you tried to understand the meaning of some Western POP musics?
–To be honest, I didn’t care about lyrics that much but was just following the melodies when I was young.
>I thought “Sylvester Stallone” was singing it, but it was Billy Joel.
—I laughed a lot! By the way,I like the song “Piano Man”, but I’m into the “Piano Man” by Colton Dixson at the moment.
Hi Fumie,
>.体が勝手に踊りだす（笑）
—Sounds great! I haven’t watched the movie” Footloose” yet, but one of my friends is crazy about this movie. It sound a good exercise,isn’t it? I like the movie “Flashdance”,though…
Hi minmin,
Nice to have you with us.
I saw the music video,too. Yes, it was beautiful. By the way, speaking of “追憶”, it reminds me of the song by Barbra Streisand and a movie by Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. It was very romantic and I liked it.
Hi Tsuneko,
Was it your first foreign movie to watch? I like this movie,too. I watched it when I was in college.
Oh, I have to go back to cooking.
See you later,
Anne
Hi Tomo,
> You were not happy with the incident, but looking back now, it’s also turned out to be one of your good memories, hasn’t it?
Yes, it surely has.
And to my surprise, returning to Japan, I got reported from a credit card company(VISA) that someone has found my wallet on the street and brought it to a police station, but of course, money was all gone, but credit cards were still there. She didn’t give her name, so I couldn’t write a “thank-you letter”, though.
I thought “Londoners aren’t as bad as you think” at that time.
And it means that the policeman understood what I explained?? I can’t believe it, it was about 20 years ago today, my English was worse than terrible…
Hi Anne,
>I like the song “Piano Man”, but I’m into the “Piano Man” by Colton Dixson at the moment.
I watched the “Piano Man” by Colton Dixson on Youtube.
He certainly sings it very well, but I still prefer the one by Billy Joel. I believe no one could beat his “Piano Man” in this world.
It’s sure Colton beats Billy “in looking”, though !! ;-P
Anyway, “Piano Man” is the masterpiece of masterpieces.
See you !
Hi YU and Anne,
＞I’d like to see you dancing to the song !!
No way! I’m a terrible dancer, besides it’s gross to see fat old woman dancing.
Back then, several dance movies became big hits, like “Dirty Dancing”,”Staying Alive”, “Flashdance”. I like Flashdance a lot too. I tried to dance like her.
Speaking of Billy Joel, I also like “Just the way you are” best, my second favorite is “New York state of mine” because I like beautiful flow of piano sound.
By talking with you about musics and movies made me want to see those movies again.
Hi minmin,
Nice to have you with us!
Fumie
Hi David and everyone,
Can I share my story about “the song to remember”?
I like listening to music, but I’m hopeless when it comes to singing, so my memories are mostly ones about the music itself.
I’m not familiar with Western music that much same as some of the members. When I was in high school, I was into the sound of groups(group sounds?).
I assume all the groups were more or less inspired by western groups like “THe Beatles” or “The Ventures.”
There were three major groups in those days: “The Tigers”, “The spiders” and “The Blue Comets.”
We girls each had a favorite groups, and talked about how MY GROUP or MY ジュリーwere adorable and amazing between the classes and after a class. Yes, we spoke of our favorite groups as “MY（私の ）.” There was no room for boys to cut into our noisy chats! My favorite was “The Blue Comets” and the song” Blue Chateau(ブルーシャトー).”
Most of my friends liked “The Tigers” and I was in the minority, so I felt somewhat ill at ease. I was always screaming how MY Blue Comets was cool and talented. Yeah, this song took me back to the good old days that I shared with my classmates in high school.
By the way, I’m afraid there is a generation gap between many of you and me.
Hi YU,
> “Piano Man” is the masterpiece of masterpieces.
—Yes, I 100% agree with you!
Bye for now,
Anne
Hi David and everyone,
Thanks for sharing your stories with us.
> I might be able to get a girl like Olivia Newton-John. I know it sounds silly, but hey, I was 14!
Hey, I see what you mean, and to tell the truth, I was much more silly than you were. I dreamt of becoming a girl friend of my favorite musicians(lol)
About a song to remember, I like listening to the music and most of my favourite musicians are from the UK. I tried to choose one song from their songs. But come to think of it, I listen to them all the time. I mean, those songs are always by my side so none of them can be spacial. I was watching music programme the other day, and the 80’s music was featured on it. All those songs bring back memories but they were not my favourites but they were just popular in those days. Anyway, nothing springs to mind from my favourites but a song that makes me feel sad is one of songs of 浜田省吾. I haven’t heard whole this song, not even know its title. I used to go out with a man who liked his songs and his song sometimes answered my calls instead of him. You know what I mean? I just wanted to hear my boy friend’s voice not 浜田省吾’s voice, so I was always disappointed to hear his song at those days.
Hi YU,
I like “Strawberry Fields Forever” too, but I don’t think I have heard of its original. This song was covered by Candyflip and I liked their version.
Hi Tsuneko,
Glad to hear from you again:) I like “My Favourite things” too. When I hear this song these days, I want to go to Kyoto. I bet you know what I mean;)
Hi minmin,
Nice to have you with us. Looking forward to your next comment.
Good night and sweet dreams,
amo
Hi Anne,
I’m glad you enjoyed them, and thanks for sharing the story of YOUR Blue Comets! I very much enjoyed reading your youthful(“seishun”) story! 🙂 I’m sure everyone has their own sweet memories, and music plays a big part in them.
Hi YU,
Wow, someone found your wallet and brought it to a police station?! That’s good to know! To tell the truth, your stories made me think that foreign countries were as dangerous as I had thought, but this story made me think, “They may be not that dangerous as long as I am careful.” Britain is one of the countries I’d like to visit sometime!
>And it means that the policeman understood what I explained?? I can’t believe it, it was about 20 years ago today, my English was worse than terrible…
Oh yes, you were able to get your meaning across! I can’t imagine that your English was worse than terrible, though!!(My image of you is a fluent English speaker even if it was 20 years ago.)
Good night, everyone☆
Tomo
Hi amo,
I read your comment several times, but there is a part I didn’t understand..
>I used to go out with a man who liked his songs and his song sometimes answered my calls instead of him. You know what I mean?
Sorry, but I didn’t understand why(or how) his songs sometimes answered your calls. Are you talking about an answering machine?? Or “my calls” doesn’t mean phone calls??
Anyway, thanks for sharing your story!
See you soon,
Tomo
Hi Anne,
>My favorite was “The Blue Comets” and the song” Blue Chateau(ブルーシャトー).”
I’ve heard of the song “Blue Chateau”, of course, I didn’t listen to it in real-time, though.
The song starts with “森と泉に囲まれて静かに眠るブルーブルーブルーシャトー♪”, doesn’t it? I can even sing the whole song, actually…
My father was a golden oldies(懐メロ) mania. I used to watch 懐メロ programs on TV with him and I naturally learned to sing lots of olides. By the way, my father’s favorite singer was 青江美奈. He liked her erotic numbers very much…
FYI, I can sing “青い山脈”, “別れのブルース”, etc too. I think those songs are much older than your generation. I’m getting anxious if other members still read this comment… hahaha… 😉
Hi amo,
> I mean, those songs are always by my side so none of them can be spacial
I know what you mean.
Reading everyone’s comments, I feel that everyone has very personal memories that connected to the songs then you often listened to, but those songs are not necessarily your favorite songs.
But, please remember, as you get older, it will be harder to choose your favorite song, this is true !!
> I like “Strawberry Fields Forever” too, but I don’t think I have heard of its original.
You should listen to the original too!
John is singing it.
Hi Tomo,
> I can’t imagine that your English was worse than terrible, though!!(My image of you is a fluent English speaker even if it was 20 years ago.)
I’m still worst at speaking. My reading, listening and writing are just so-so.
Your comment reminds me of an English level check test that I took when I entered an English conversation school about 20 years ago.
The interviewer was a native English speaker.
He asked me, “How far can you swim?”
And I answered, “Yes, I can.” !!
My English was that terrible…hehehe…
There’s no need to say that I had to start with the lowest level class. 🙂
See you !
Hello David and nice to meet you everyone!
I wrote my comment for the first time.
From now on, I’ll work hard to write my comment every week.
The song that has a special meaning for me is “Carry on”. When I was a junior high school student, I liked “Exile”. “Carry on” is one of their songs.
When I first heard it, I had many troubles about my school life. (i.e. friends, study and some others) This song cheered me up many times.
Now I don’t like “Exile” very much(because this group has changed!), but I treasure this song.
I would like everyone to listen to this song.
See you!
Yukako
Hi Tomo,
I thought it was amo’s boyfriend’s answering machine.
Some people record their own voice and favorite music on their answering machine, don’t they?
So, if the person isn’t there when you call him/her, the recorded voice and music answers instead.
But, I’m not sure about it, so let’s wait for amo’s reply !
See you !
Hi David and everyone,
When I was a junior high school student, listening to Western music was popular among students in my class.
One of my friends had lots of Western music records. (Probably they were his father’s.)
He had an album of Culture Club, and he recorded their songs on cassette tape and gave me it.
I became a fan of Culture Club, and my favorite song was “Karma Chameleon”.
I liked Boy George. (He is a member of Culture Club.)
His voice was soft, and he was very beautiful.
Recently, I saw a picture of him on the Internet after a long time, and I was very shocked because his beauty had vanished completely! 見なきゃよかった…。
Amica
Hi YU,
To answer your question: the first time someone posts a comment, it has to be approved by me. That may take some time if I don’t notice, but I can do it on my phone, so I can usually respond straight away. If the person continues to use the same email address, subsequent comments are posted immediately, although there might be a short delay in the system. There is nothing we can do about that. If you post again using a different name or email address, I will need to approve your comment again before it becomes visible.
Hope that helps.
Hi minmin and Yukako,
Nice to have you with us. I didn’t realise that commenters can post links! That is a very nice feature. I hope other people will post links to the songs they like.
Hi David,
Thank you for answering my question.
To tell the truth, I finally realized that it was due to lack of my computer skills. I’m sorry !!
I used to place your former blog site(ALC’s) in my favorites(お気に入り）and always access to it from there. When you started this blog, I put this site in my favorites. I don’t know why, but the difference between ALC’s one and this blog is that whether the contents is automatically renewed when I access to it from お気に入り. I mean, comments were always automatically renewed on ALC’s site, but it isn’t “sometimes” on this blog unless I click “最新の情報に更新”. I didn’t know this, so I’d been posted my comments without knowing some comments from other members were already posted. That’s why I felt “time-lag” sometimes. I’m very sorry.
I’m anxious if you understand what I mean…
すみません、タイムラグを感じたのは私の勘違いからでした。
アルクのブログの時、お気に入りに入れていつもそこからアクセスしていました。このブログに変わってからもそうしていたんですが時々内容が自動的に更新されていないことに昨日まで気づきませんでした（ALCのブログはいつも自動的に更新されていたと思うんですけど）。だから他のメンバーがコメントしているのを知らずに自分のコメントを投稿してしまい、時々タイムラグを感じてしまっていました。（『あれ？こんなtomoのコメント私がコメント投稿する前にチェックした時なかったのにな～』みたいな、まさに独り芝居状態でした）
昨日の夕方それに気づいてからは毎回”最新の情報に更新”をクリックしてからコメントしてます。
大変お騒がせしました、本当にすみません。
See you !
Hi David and everyone.
It’s very nice to hear other member’s stories of songs to remember. They are really funny, interesting and sweet memories!!
I really like listening to music both Japanese and Western. A song that gave me an opportunity to love Western music is “Last Christmas” of “Wham!”
When I was a junior highschool student I heard this song for the first time watching the special TV program of Christmas songs. As some of you know it’s a quite sad song about broken-hearted man but I really loved it’s melody and the voice of George Michael.I don’t know how many times I listened to the song repeatedly all day long in my room.
About ten years after that, when I was in London for short stay I went to pub with some of my friends on near Christmas day. The pub was packed with lots of people. I remember there was no music at the time so I could hear only people chatting and laughing.But suddenly the song that I was familiar with played and all people there started to sing it together.A big chorus of the song “Last Christmas” sounded throughout the pub.Singing with them, I was so moved and knew this song was still loved much by many people.
Luckily I still can hear this song in many places almost every season of Christmas even in Japan,and all the time I hear it I remember the impressive chorus in London.
Hi Tsuneko, minmin,Yukako.
Nice to see you !
Have a good day everyone!
Hi Amica,
I liked the song too.
If I can remember correctly, the Japanese title was “カーマは気まぐれ”.
“Chameleon”=”気まぐれ/fickle”.
I think that was a nice translation.
> I liked Boy George
He had an androgynous atmosphere, didn’t he?
> Recently, I saw a picture of him on the Internet after a long time, and I was very shocked because his beauty had vanished completely! 見なきゃよかった…。
For the same reason, probably we’d better not attend class reunions…hahaha… 😉
See you !
Hi YU,
Your story about how much you have improved your English is a big encouragement to me!(to all learners of English, of course!)
And thanks for your help with my question about Amo’s comment. I’m used to answering machines that a computer voice answers, so I had completely forgotten that you can record your voice and even music on your answering machine… Silly me!
Hi Yukako,
Nice to have with us! I’m looking forward to reading your comments. 🙂
Hi Amica,
I was waiting for your post because this week’s topic(music) is your specialty!
>Recently, I saw a picture of him on the Internet after a long time, and I was very shocked because his beauty had vanished completely! 見なきゃよかった…。
Ha ha, maybe we should stay away from renewing our good old memories.(LOL)
Hi David,
Yes, that’s a very nice feature, so let me post a link to the song I mentioned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC31P4ELX2M&feature=related
Have a look at it when you have time 😉
Hi rinko,
It sounds like you had a lovely time in London!
>A big chorus of the song “Last Christmas” sounded throughout the pub.
そういうの素敵ですね～!!
See you soon,
Tomo
Hi Yukako,
Nice to have you with us !
I’ve not heard “Carry on”(I was not in Japan), but I like EXILE.
Have they changed so much? I didn’t know that!
You don’t like the new dancers who joined several years ago? Or new vocalist Takahiro?
Hi everyone,
I feel I’m interested in many singers, but I’m such type of person.
I’m really interested in many things(from worthless celebrities’ gossip on female weekly magazines to very serious matters such as nuclear power issue…), but I don’t have a deep knowledge of any of them !!
Anyway, here are links to songs I like :
“Piano Man”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJAyFsOjFCg&feature=related
“Just The Way You Are”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPiK_yGG8ag
“Strawberry Fields Forever”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3jrWVp2L7U&feature=related
See you !
Hi Tomo and YU,
Sorry Tomo, I should’ve mentioned “answering machine,” actually, I wrote different way at the first place, but I felt that I had explained too much, so I made it more simple. It turned out that it wasn’t that good:(
Anyway, YU explained what I wanted to say. Thanks YU.
I tried to listen “Strawberry Fields Forever” when I was on my way home, but I failed, so I will try later. thanks for the link;)
Speak to you soon,
amo
Hi amo,
Please don’t apologize. It’s not your explanation but my poor understanding. Sorry!
Hi All,
am quite supprized that being posted a lot of comments past 1.5 days right after i posted mine!
all of your guys stories are funny and sweet 🙂
talk to you soon at the next topic !
Hi YU,
Yes! They have changed so much!
I liked songs of EXILE because I was cheered up by the lyrics. Especially I liked the lyrics that a vocalist “SHUN” wrote. “Carry on” is the song he wtote lyrics.
But he left the group for some reason. Then, a new vocalist and dancers joined the group instead of him.
I think their new members are nice guys. But now I don’t feel a special attraction to their songs.
By the way, I listened to the songs you like and I found that I have listened to “Strawberry Fields Forever” many times.
My father likes The Beatles, so he often listens to their songs at home. I like the melody of “Strawberry Fields Forever”.
Thank you for your response to my comment.
See you!
Hi David and everyone
It’s first time to write a comment here. Cool design, I like it 🙂
This week’s topic is interesting! I enjoyed your episodes.
I agree with you, David. Olivia Newton-John is so cute. When I listened to her song, I thought “I wish I were born earlier!”
One of my favorite song is “Buddy Holly” by Weezer. I just happened to find this song’s video in Windows 95’s CD. I watched and listened it repeatedly. Of course I didn’t know about Buddy Holly (it appeared in lyrics) and didn’t understand what lyrics meant. But I was surprised that there was such a great song in the world. Then I started to listening foreign songs.
Hi Amica
I was also shocked to watch completely changed Boy George! One of the good-not-to-know things.
Hi minmin and Yukako
Nice to have with us! I’m looking forward to see your next comments!
Hi tsuneko
Glad to see your comment again 🙂
Good night
trmr
I have many songs to remember. I’ve experienced some turning points in my life, and especially I remember the songs when I heard on those moments. I’m not going to list all those songs here, but I would like to introduce a song that helped me a lot in times of trouble. The song is Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter”. This song itself is about a message to a boyfriend that a lady broke up with. The song begins with the words below,
After all you put me through,
you’d think I’d despise you.
But in the end, I wanna thank you.
Cause you made me that much stronger
When I fist heard this song, I felt that I was all alone and couldn’t trust anyone at work. I actually got along well with all staffs but I wasn’t satisfied with their work very much. So this song made me feel strong. When I felt vulnerable, I used to listen this song on the way to work.
Hi David,
Maybe someone mentioned, but it would be much appreciated if this blog has posted time. (Now it shows only our dates)
See ya,
Hi David and everyone,
I wanna share my favorite musics with you. Any genre is OK?
When I was in elementary school, there were dramas called 赤いシリーズ and they were quite popular. Utsui Ken, Yamaguchi Momoe played the roles. One drama’s story was about pianists. After some classical songs were played in the drama, people got interested in them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYQW_AsEAs
I like classical music, especially Carmen Cavallaro’s arrangement. If you never heard of him, he is the one who played “Noctune” in the movie “The Eddy Puchin Story” 愛情物語。ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7mhWMC0QKs
I like Hawaiian music too. If you ever heard of Jake Shimabukuro: Ukulele player, he used to be in a band called “Pure Heart”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uilf8BEkfbM
I like Peruvianmusic a lot. I like the sound of ケーナ、サンポーニャ:Peruvian musical instruments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK6hwCtSIps
I love old musical films. Actors and actresses are fabulous! I watched “White Christmas” many times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwcFpwNYYFE&feature=fvwrel
When the topic is about music, I can’t stop!
Fumie
Hi Fumie,
I always thought all what we can play with ukulele is cheerful, gentle and peaceful music, but I was wrong. Jake Shimabukuro broke my image of Hawaiian music in a good sense. I never thought we can play such passionate music with ukulele as Jake does. Anyway, he’s a great musician !!
By the way, there’re many Hawaii manias in the area where I live. There’re lots of Hula schools and many friends of mine learn Hula, and one of them became a Hula teacher. If you wear an Aloha shirt, you can drink iced coffee for 100yen at dotor coffee shops during the summer. City hall workers wear Aloha shirts. It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Hi Yukako,
I’m not really familiar with Shun, but I can remember he is a handsome guy. What does he do now?
To be honest, when Takahiro joined, I was really disappointed. I felt he was chosen just because of his good looking, because his singing ability was not really remarkable. But, yeah, now he is okay.
I like EXILE, because I simply admire Atsushi’s singing ability. The other day, I saw he sang Tokunaga Hideaki’s song when I was watching EXILE魂. And then Tokunaga sang the same song after Atsushi, but I bet all viewers must have felt Atushi sang much better than Tokunaga !!
By the way, your father is cool. My father liked 懐メロ, but your father likes The Beatles!!
Oh, I’ve gotta go!
See you !