Battle of the Songs: Three Ways to Sing “Do You Want?”

Welcome to another edition of Battle of the Songs. For this edition, I was debating to do one or two topics: either about Eurovision or Japanese songs. It looks like that this week is about Japanese songs as you can see Sunday’s and Monday’s post were both about Japanese songs. But, I am going to save the Japanese songs battles for May as it will be the first month of the new era in the Japanese calendar.

So for this battle, I want to do a song that was performed by past Eurovision winner as you know Eurovision is next month! )If you haven’t read my series about this year’s entries, you can find in these parts: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI.) The song itself was never presented at Eurovision, but the group has. And, everybody knows this group as they are world famous. There have been a musical and two films that featured their songs.

Which group am I talking about?

Music Moves Me Monday: Music with the Fox

This week’s 4M is a free choice week. Since a local adaptation of James Brock’s rendition of Aesop’s Fables, which I am a part of, will open this weekend only at a local playhouse here in Nagoya, I dedicate this 4M to the fox.

Everyone knows about the “Tortoise and the Hare” from the Aesop’s Fables collection! But have you heard “The Fox and the Sour Grapes”? Or even the “Donkey and the Lion Skin”? Or perhaps, “The Fox and the Crow”?

Why did I choose the fox for this 4M? Well, that is because I am playing the character of the Fox in one of the fables. I also play the role of Betty who is a bit of a snob and wants everything her way, think Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls or a snobby rich girl from Clueless. (Note: This play features humans transforming into different animals, It’s also an ensemble play.) I can’t reveal the whole story (but you can find parts of the play on Google Books) as you have to come to Nagoya to see it! Of course, I can post the highlight video when it comes out.

Pick Me Up Playlist – #MentalHealthAwareness

Hey guys! Mental Health Awareness Day was on October 10. Although, I was busy with work and couldn’t talk about it on that day, I was nominated by Laura Spoonie to talk about how music helps my mental health and what songs helps me to stay positive. See what songs I picked under the cut!

Reflecting Back This September With Earth, Wind, & Fire

(Originally written on September 30.)

Its the end of September! We saw the transition of a hot, sticky summer to the cold, rainy autumn — well, at least in Japan! This September was a magical month as I achieved all my goals and created new outlets for my content.

Reminiscing About Jem and How the Show’s Songs are Still Catchy

Since last week, I have been watching episodes of the 80s’ cartoon show Jem (and the Holograms) daily. Although I was born about a year after the last episode aired, it wasn’t hard to learn about the show, thanks to Wikipedia and other sources. I have been enjoying the show due to it being a 80s’ cartoon (and I am a huuuuuuuuuuge fan of this decade). But, the characters are also interesting, and the plots are simple to understand yet amusing. However, the best part of Jem is the music.