Hey guys! It’s been a while!
Seriously, it has been a while. The last time I posted was on July 24th. So, I’ve been absent for almost a whole month. The reason why I was absent for a whole month was that I became really busy in real life. I think I mentioned in May or June that my sister was visiting me here in Japan for three months. And so, the last month of her being here became really busy with traveling, taking care of her (I became basically became a mother for a 20-year-old, but that is another long story), and working full-time. This caused me to not have any time to blog.
Now that my sister left to go back home, I’ve been able to slowly get back into the groove of blogging. I’m still on a “mini-hiatus” as I am slowly going back to my schedule before my sister came. So, I’m going to be blogging lightly for the next week or so. Probably going to back to full time blogging in September.
Sorry to my readers for this unexpected and unannounced hiatus.
R-O-O-T B-E-E-R
It’s been a while since I did a “Music Moves Me” post, which is sponsored by Kathy at Curious as a Cathy. Apparently, August 6th was Root Beer Day. To tell you the truth, I’m not a big fan of root beer as I can’t really tolerate drinks with carbonation. I haven’t drunk a can of soda since I was six. I stopped drinking soda because I thought I would get yellow teeth, which to me meant I had bad teeth. If I accidentally drink soda, I will spit it out instantly because it’s disgusting. But I do like chai, milk, and peach tea. That’s my weakness.
To celebrate root beer day, I had to find songs that began with the letter that was found in the word “root beer”. There isn’t really any common themes in the songs I picked, just songs that I love.
“The Right One” by King
I became a fan of this group when I visited Fukuoka (southern Japan) in 2016. I found their then-new album in Tower Records and sat there, listening to it. I really enjoyed it because there are so many great songs. There are so many different flavors and music genres in the album. It also has a laid back atmosphere with a slow pace and calming melodies, like in “The Right One”.
“Obon” by Hiroshima
Last week was the Obon holiday here in Japan. Obon is kind of like the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Mexico where people celebrate the dead. Families will visit relatives, wash their family graves, put out food and drinks for the spirits coming back to visit and set off fireworks. I picked “Obon” by Hiroshima to commemorate the summer holiday. This instrumental group is actually from American with members being mostly Japanese Americans. They were really popular in the 80s among the Black American audience. They even made an appearance on the legendary show Soul Train.
“OLIVE” by Rebecca
Rebecca was an iconic Japanese band from the 80s. The lead singer was female, something rare during those days. I love Rebecca because they had a really great pop-rock vibe to their music and made really great songs. And, “OLIVE” was one of those songs.
“Tacky” by Weird “Al” Yankovic
Some people dislike Weird Al. So people love him. I’m one of those people who loves Weird Al because his parodies on popular hits are refreshing and funny. Actually, my favorite song from him is “Amish Paradise”.
“Bad Boy” by Miami Sound Machine
Going back to bands from the 80s, I picked “Bad Boy” from Miami Sound Machine. This is one of my favorite singles from Miami Sound Machine. My mom knew that I love this single so much that when she found the 12” version of the single, she bought it for me.
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police
I have to put a The Police song in this playlist because I just love the band. I love “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” because I love the magical piano part, performed by Jean Alain Roussel. Of course, Andy and Stewart didn’t really like this song when it came out. When they tried to record their own version, Sting was like let’s just use my demo version because it’s better. Even though there was a fight between the bandmates on which version to release, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” is still a great song.
“Every Heartbeat” by Amy Grant
I love 90s Amy Grant! I love the album Heart in Motion so much that “Baby Baby” is one of my favorite songs of all time. I also love “Every Heartbeat” because it’s such a good feeling song about pure love. And, the video is super cute.
“RPG” by Sekai no Owari
Sekai no Owari is a fairly new band that was formed in this decade here in Japan. They’re a pop-rock band in the sense that they have a DJ (which is in a creepy clown costume), a guitarist, a pianist/songwriter, and a vocalist. The vocalist can actually sing in English really well because studied in the US for a while when he was younger. Although “RPG” is not in English, it’s still a great song. It’s probably one of their more popular songs as a lot of people sing in the karaoke box My all-time favorite Sekai no Owari song is “Dragon Night”.
Tell Me…
What songs would you pick to spell out root beer? Tell me in the comments below!
