OFFICIAL MORNING MUSUME INFORMATION THREAD (and other stuff)

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

Yes, true believers: a NEW Morning Musume single is out of the bag (No. 26, for those of you keeping score at home).

"Osaka Koi no Uta" was released on Wednesday, April 27 and scored the top slot on the Oricon Daily sales chart -- something that hasn't happened for some time.

Part of this can be attributed to the attention given to Yaguchi Mari, the group's leader who suddenly quit the group on the 15th after FRIDAY magazine published a few photographs of her hanging out with her apparent boyfriend, actor and pretty boy Oguri Shun.

Older member shuffling has been a part of life for the idol group since Fukuda Asuka (one of the original members when the group was born in late 1997) left to return to school in April 1999. These events have been referred to, for better or worse, as "graduations." However, there has never been as sudden a departure for a Musume member as Yaguchi, who will not even been given the honor of a graduation concert.

THAT particular honor will be given to Ishikawa Rika:

Rika, a member of the group since May 2000, will still be a member of the "Hello! Project" stable of idol groups, and the leader of her own group, Viyuden:

I got the new single, a funky drivng tune that seems more suited to Goto Maki, at Hakubundo this past Saturday; I think they have two copies left. No DVD on the shelf, which sucks. I downloaded it, like the rest of you:

Looks good but having the legitimate article still puts me at ease. I'll have to wait a week or two.

By the way, it KILLS me to think of Morning Musume without Charmy Ishikawa in tow. Life ain't fair.

さらば、チャーミー
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Henshin a Go Go · Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 4:10 pm Post subject:

Hey, if anyone still needs the Animetal Rider mix, i'll try an upload it tomorrow and post a link. I know it is good to support the band, but this CD/single is long OOP (trust me, I've been looking for a LLOONNGG time!), so its real hard to support an album thats not avalible. I also have the Animetal Vol. 2: Tokusatsu (not to be confused with the Animetal Vol. 2, which is made up of anime themes), and its Killer. The only downside however is it's one giant MP3, so its hard to skip around from track to track. It opens up with a killer jam, then busts out into Kamen Rider/V3/Stronger, then into Kikaida/01, then Robot Detective, then Inazuman/Inazuman Flash, then it just keeps going. I don't have these tracks on this computer though, they're on the iBook, but it'd be no problem to send them over here to this Comp. after work. Just Lemme know if you still need it!

sokubo · Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 9:22 pm Post subject:

Saburo-san!

Wow! That's nice little capsule of the latest on the MM phenoms. I don't have particular songs, necessarily, but artists that have been tops on my iPod lately have been Shimatani Hitomi, Tamaki Nami, Nakashima Mika and still some Koda Kumi, Utada Hikaru and BoA, as well. And for something a little different the duo called Heartsdales, two gals who spent a good number of their years growing up in NYC, so can actually pronounce English words correctly (sans the usual accent) and have kinda cool style that blends English and Japanese in their surprisingly syllabically rhyming lyrics.

For the guys, I still stick with the two groups you intro'd me to, Chemistry and SMAP. Don't usually take to too many of the JPOP dudes, but those two have a nice sound.

Just thought I'd throw in my two yen.

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

sokubo

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

Linkage sent.

All others inquire within.

Next time at GS I'm gonna do "The Manpower!!!"
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Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

Ishikawa Rika officially "graduated" from Morning Musume, the ever-changing idol group that has been in a state of flux ever since charter member Fukuda Asuka departed from the group in April 1999.

The event was at the last day of the current Musume tour which culminated in four concerts at the Nippon Budoukan in Tokyo. Ishikawa, a "fourth-generation" member of the group, made her stage debut at the same fabled arena in May 2000 at a concert which was also a farewell event for Ichii Sayaka, a "second-generation" member.

The arena, ten-thousand-plus strong, was awash in a sea of pink glow sticks (Rika's favorite color) and a gallon of tears as each member gave an individual farewell to their sempai member.

The concert also introduced new member Kusumi Koharu to the Musume universe:

Kusumi, a native of Niigata-ken, was selected by Tsunku (the group's musical producer) in a nationwide search that totalled 21,611 girls.
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Henshin a Go Go · Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 12:56 pm Post subject:

I would love to check out some of there music that you uploaded if its ok with you Smile

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

PM sent.

The new single rocks, btw...

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sokubo · Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 9:44 am Post subject:

Saburo,

Did you know that MM did a song about the Powerpuff Girls, that CN cartoon? I came across it by accident the other day. I guess Puffy ain't the only ones making their way into the U.S. market via animations...although, I can't see MM really getting into it the way Puffy (Puffy Ami Yumi in the U.S.) have.

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

Kamenrider Criz · Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 9:12 am Post subject:

Im kind of surprised how big the group is! Usually I see 3 or 4 people. But wow thats a big group!
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sokubo · Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 9:20 am Post subject:

Saburo, please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think the MM contingent on the 2004 Kohaku was around 13 or 14 members on stage! So, even the picture Saburo posted above might be considered a small representation.... Of course, since the group seems to always be in flux, with "graduations" and the like, the group may have gotten smaller since I last saw them. I mean, that WAS over a year ago....

Saburo · Mitsuko Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Hawaii

sokubo · Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 1:15 pm Post subject:

*Whew!* That's quite a good history of MM!

And, yes, I *STILL* think you probably *DO* have that info. tucked away in your head! From the conversations we have at GS sometimes, it sure does seem that way!

In any event, Saburo, when it comes to JPOP (and MM in particular), you da man!

The only one of the MM "graduates" that I've heard solo is Goto Maki. Among those who have gone solo, who would you recommend?