I switched blogs.

Reasons and shit over there.
Don’t worry though, it’s just an actual blog location change. With a new title and stuff.
I’ll still be my lovable old self, what with my snark and sarcasm and swearing. (S. LOLOL.)
So yeah.

Go there.

香水 (Kousui) – Wendy’s music blog.

The topic this time around is:

Hoping we’re not all shallow wotas, imagine your favourite idol (or musical personality) switched bodies with someone you don’t find “visually pleasing”, would it affect your love for that idol in any way/shape/form?

Okay.

Uh.

I’m already fumbling with my words here.

The question (without thinking about your favourite) has two answers, generally speaking.

If you’re talking about an idol, your love for them would probably be affected atleast a little bit. Idols are usually all about looks. Even if they’re the sweetest person on the planet with a lovely voice and a great personality (among other good qualities), you’d probably still react with an “…ew”. (lolkorenagamiki)

If it’s another kind of musical performer, it’s usually all about the talent. So what if they aren’t that good looking? They’re amazing in other ways. (This varies a lot though, depending on the artist…)

However,

This is me. Wendy the idol-loving wota. So I’ll be talking about my favourite idol, Sugaya Risako.

I used to hate Risako.

She can’t sing, can’t dance, and has a weak personality. (I argue against these things now that I’ve watched her more closely, though.)

But then one day I really looked at her and thought,

“WOW. THAT GIRL IS HOT.”

That’s when I started noticing her more, and liking her voice because I was noticing her more.

Now, I love her as a whole. She’s adorable, I love her voice, her dancing is cute, and her shy behavior is slightly generic but great too.

HOWEVER.

Most of my “I LOVE RISAKO” moments come when I see a cute picture and say “AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SHE IS SO PRETTY” or “WOW I’D TAP THAT”

Er… <_<;;

Anyways.

AWWWWWWWWW.

SHE’S SO PRETTY.

I LOVE RISAKO.

And that’s pretty much how my wota-ing goes.

If she wasn’t as attractive to me (APPARENTLY SOME PEOPLE DON’T FIND HER ATTRACTIVE. I KNOW, I DON’T UNDERSTAND EITHER) I’d probably still love her.

That is, as long as she wasn’t ugly.

That may sound shallow, but she’s an idol after all. Here’s an example: I think Kiyoe from Ikimono Gakari is gorgeous but if she wasn’t, I’d still love their music.

Idol music, not so much.

Let’s take an ugly idol as a comparison.

How about Yasuda Kei? Don’t get me wrong, I love Kei. She’s hilarious and I LOVE her voice.

But…

Well… She’s not ugly.

She’s an ugly idol. Not as cute as some other idols, though not ugly as a person…

But if Risako looked like Kei I’d probably be like “…uhhhhhhhhhhh… hi Risako. :l Your voice is kind of good sounding I guess.”

Perhaps if I had chosen a different favourite (…Who am I kidding, who CHOOSES their favourites? :/), somebody whose career and popularity didn’t rely so much on their good looks, I wouldn’t be trying so desperately to defend my shallow thoughts regarding this topic.

Risako’s voice would still appeal to me, and I’d still love her, but it’d probably be more like “O HAI AIRI” or, in the group itself, “O HAI MIYA/CHINAMI”.

I don’t really think it’s about being shallow while referring to idols.

Or atleast, not as much. They’re there to dance around provocatively, be generically cutesy and look pretty. If they’re pretty, they’re bound to gain more fans. If they aren’t, there’s always plastic surgery. (Or staying in the background… <_<)

Everybody’s a little bit shallow. Don’t pretend like you don’t secretly cringe a bit when you see somebody hard on the eyes, or that you hesitate to support an ugly singer on American Idol. We all do it, it’s human nature.

It’s not my fault that Risako happens to be beautiful, and that her beauty is a main reason I’m drawn to her. That’s just the way it goes.

More posts:
Wota Wonderings 4 – Are You a Shallow Wota (Solo Space)
WW04 – Are Looks Everything? (Tsuyoki de Yukoze!)
Wota Wonderings: On looks versus abilities… (boylikesmusic)
Wota Wonderings 004:Looks Or Talent? you decide (take off is now!)
Wota Wonderings 004 – Are You In The Shallow End Of The Pool? (Selective Hearing)
Wota Wonderings 04 – Case of the Body Snatchers (fields of maiZe and berryZ)

If you’ve read my surveys, you’ll notice that suddenly, I’m really liking electronic music.

Kind of weird, really. A long time ago, I couldn’t listen to most of Perfume’s music because… I don’t know, I just couldn’t.

I started out about a year ago just listening to Perfume. If you can even call it that. I only had like… 3 songs. But I don’t know, I never really DISLIKED the genre, I just didn’t listen to it… so I wasn’t used to it.

I guess.

Hmmm… I actually remember hearing Aira Mitsuki quite a while ago but didn’t really investigate any further… Dumb move. XD

I think the reason I started to like Perfume more was influenced by some of the regulars in #wotachat.

It was like “OMG LOVE THE WORLD/DREAM FIGHTER/PERFUME IN GENERAL” sometimes. And I’ll admit it, I felt out of the loop so I started listening to Perfume more than I had in the past.

Not long after, I started really liking Perfume. I wanted a lot more of their music. I dealt with a few tracks from Limewire and most of GAME for a while, but… I wanted more. Who better to ask than johpan? I got their discography from him. <3

I didn’t listen to any other electronic music on my own, though. I’d see people talk about it and stuff but never bothered.

I guess the reason I started was also because of joh. When we hung out, I’d hear a lot of it. At first I didn’t really…

Well.

I don’t want to say “didn’t care”, but I didn’t do anything about obtaining it for myself, or anything like that. I liked it, but… Actually, looking back, I don’t know why I didn’t look for music earlier. o_o;

My search for music was pretty sudden and happened relatively at the same time (within a month).

The first artist I bothered with (after Perfume, of course) was Aira Mitsuki. I mean, I’d accidentally stumbled upon one of her PVs a while back, so why not start with her?

I must say, I LOVE Aira now.

She’s great. Seriously.

After that was capsule.

I feel that I should’ve gotten into them earlier but OH WELL I DIDN’T AND I LIKE THEM NOW SO… OH WELL… XD

And then I got some MEG, Suzuki Ami and SAWA.

Enjoyable. I really like MEG.

And last night, broom took away my voice and +m’d wotachat until I had listened to Saori@destiny.

And I have to say, I really like her, too.

It’s kind of surprising to look at the music I’ve been listening to lately in comparison to a year ago when electro music was TOTALLY NOT MY THING.

Though.

It’s not like I mind or anything.

Except for the fact that I feel like I’ve been missing out for so long. XD <3

(P.S. Just to defend myself, pictures always make serious posts better.)

Gender- M/F/no answer (>o.o)>
Female.

Approximate age- 12 & under, 13-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61+, no answer (>o.o)>
13-20. (15)

1. What was the first pop song you remember liking?
Uhhhhhhhh… Probably something by the Spice Girls, I guess. @_@

2. What bands/music groups/singers did you grow up listening to? (>o.o)>
The Spice Girls, Aqua, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera… I think you get the picture. XD;;

3. What bands/music groups/singers were popular when you grew up? (ie. Were on the radio a lot) (>o.o)>
Those. ^ Along with the boy bands I didn’t care about.

4. When (What year) did you first hear Jpop that you liked? What groups were popular?
Ummm… Let’s see… about 2003, I guess. I’m not sure, considering I was just into what played on the anime I watched.

5. What kind of Jpop/Jrock did you initially like? (>o.o)>
Pop stuff. I mainly just liked standard pop anime songs, but then I got into J-rock for a bit… o_o; (I don’t know what I was thinking~ Haha~) I remember that when Max and I were into Tommy, he preferred February6 and I preferred Heavenly6… That was quite a while ago.

6. Do you still like said kind of Jmusic? (>o.o)>
Well, I still kind of like standard anime songs… but rock isn’t my thing. D: I have almost all of Tommy’s music and I tend to skip every heavenly song. And my friend used to try to make me listen to j-rock and I’d be like NOOOOOO.

7. Do you still listen to the music in your native language (or some other language) as often as Jpop? (>o.o)>
I watch Much Music (It’s like MTV but with a lot more music… we have MTV in Canada too, fyi.) a lot, so I listen to English music like that. I also have a little bit of English music on my iPod.

8. If so, what other kind of music to you enjoy listening to? (>o.o)>
I have a thing for mainstream music. Like, the Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga (sometimes. LOVEGAME SUCKS.), Rihanna, that kind of stuff. The music on my iPod though… I have uh.
Lights, Stars, Owl City and Swimming With Dolphins.
However.
The reason why I don’t have mainstream English music on my iPod is because I always end up skipping it.
and the song I DO have on my iPod I usually skip. XD

9. Do you go to concerts/performances of your favorite groups from your country? Do you go to ones for J-pop groups?
No. The only concerts I’ve been to in my life have been Avril Lavigne concerts. And that’s because my friend (the one who tried to make me listen to jrock) has an uncle who frequently does like… lighting and stuff for Avril concerts. So the day before, she’d call me and be like “Hey Wendy, wanna go to an avril concert tomorrow?” and I say “Yeah sure got nothing better to do.”

The last one I went to, I was in the VIP front row. FOR FREEEEE.

But yeah, no concerts for me. I’d go to jpop concerts if I could… but I can’t.

10. What do you think about the Jpop industry’s future? Do you think that you’ll continue to like it for another 5 years? (>o.o)>
I’m… not sure. About the first thing, anyways. I like what a lot of people are putting out right now, so… :3 I hope it keeps appealing to me!

As for the second part, I can see myself sticking with it. It’s already been over 5 years, right?

11. What’s your favorite group? (>o.o)>
Morning Musume, Perfume and Ikimono Gakari.

12. Is your favorite song/single/album a Jpop one? (>o.o)> Is it from your favorite artist?
Well, I never really know what my favourite songs are. According to my response to Misa’s survey, my favourite songs are Kousui, Dream Fighter, edge, Kaeritakunatta yo and PRECIOUS.

So yes, and partially yes.

13. Do you like pop from outside of Japan, such as Hannah Montana? (>o.o)>
…LOL

YOU GET THE BEEEEEEEEST OF BOTH WOOOOOOOORLDS

No.
Unless you consider the music I mentioned earlier to be pop.
But no. No Hannah Montana.

14. Do you like musicals? If so, what’s your favorite, and one you really want to see? (This one is just to humor Midori)
Do I look like Indigo?
(That’s a nooooooo.)

I just can’t seem to get into musicals. D: But I liked the MM Cinderella. :3

—-

So.

In the process of filling this out, I’ve come to realize something about my music tastes.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always favored all girl groups.

I mean, even over solo singers… but I still liked girl singers.

And I could never get into boy bands. They didn’t attract my interest very well.

DON’T GET ME WRONG.

I LIKED BOYS.

But like… I don’t know. I never cared. o_o; Boy + girl bands were okay in my book, but I generally went toward all girls.

So… just looking at my music tastes now…

Suddenly everything is starting to make more sense.

Misa knows probably better than anybody that I’ve tried liking boy bands and I just do not care. Yes, half of NEWS is really really hot, and yes, I’ll look at the pictures she sends me.

But I can’t be a fan. This goes for the Korean boy bands too.

And just… why I’m so drawn to like.
MM and Perfume and stuff.

ALSO.
I only listen to female English mainstream music. I like hearing girls rap and stuff, but male rappers totally turn me off. XD

I don’t have an explanation for this.
I mean, when I was younger, I wasn’t drawn (…THAT kind of drawn) to girls, so it had nothing to do with sexuality. I liked boys. I don’t understand why I didn’t like boy bands…

But just looking at all of this…
It’s interesting, to say the least.

Interesting.

Moving on

I’ve matured somewhat (HEY SHUT UP STOP LAUGHING) since the last time I did this. Let’s give it another shot and see how it goes. :3

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?
Hmmm… I Am by Hitomi Yaida. It was the second opening to Inuyasha, which is what OP was airing when I started watching. Aaah~ That was like, 5-6 years ago now! (Doesn’t seem like a lot, but hey, I’m only 15. Elementary school. XD)

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?
Eheh… Well… At first (umm… for a few years, actually), I just… had anime songs. I didn’t really look into the artists themselves. So all my music was catagorized by series. >_< So, it didn’t inspire me to like them, but it didn’t turn me away. In fact, I had to look up who the singer was just now. ;_;

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?
I’m… not sure. I guess uh. I… …hm.
I don’t really have one. The anime songs I used to have… well… I don’t have many anymore. I guess you could say any Full Moon wo Sagashite songs. I still love those, and I watched that years ago. =w=

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?
Oh jeez.
I don’t know this one either.
With my j-music history, it’s really hard to say.
But um. Considering I just got back into YUI, I guess you can say her considering I loved her BLEACH songs. Hurhurhur… >_<

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player?
Oh god.As of right now,
MY BOY (Buono!) because I spammed it a bit earlier. XD
Followed by SONGS (MM), Tane (no3b), JUMPER (capsule) and Guruguru JUMP (MM). ‘Cause I dunno, I don’t want to just say MY BOY. >_<
Also LOL JUMPER + GURUGURU JUMP

6. Is that song your favorite?
Pfh no. :/

7. If not, what is?
Uh.
I kind of have a tie going on.
Kousui (Melon Kinenbi), Dream Fighter (Perfume), edge (Perfume), Kaeritakunatta yo (Ikimono Gakari).
I guess.
And I really like PRECIOUS by MEG lately. o_o
I’m a tad indecisive, if you haven’t noticed already. THERE’S TOO MUCH GOOD MUSIC OUT THERE TO PICK JUST ONE TRACK! D:

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?
Ikimono Gakari. Not every song is a total winner, but I can’t recall a bad song. They’re just great.

9. What is your favorite agency?
UFA. H!P is still my favourite music-related thingy (lol), even though I’m trying to get into more artists.

10. What is your favorite group/singer?
Morning Musume is my favourite group.

Still.
But right now, I think besides H!P, Ikimono Gakari and Perfume are right up there with them.

MOVING ON.

Yes I seriously made a cake for Risako.

It’s the same as the last two I made… white with chocolate. XD
SHUT UP IT’ YUMMY.

And I used yellow icing n_n

I made a Risako-related wish for her. :3

My stupid brother wanted in the picture… He’s so annoying. XD

I wanted my post to be different from a usual HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERE HAVE SOME PICSPAM post, so I wasn’t planning on posting any pictures, but…

These photos are relevant. XD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RISAKO.

I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD ONE. <3

The members will be Yuuka Maeda, Kanon Fukuda, Ayaka Wada and Saki Ogawa.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

I hope this is a legit group.
Well I mean, if it’s been announced this early and hasn’t yet been linked to something, MAYBE IT WILL BE. <3

Found this out from the H!O thread for it.

Right now we’re working with blends.

“GO GET AN IMAGE OFF OF GOOGLE” She said.
So I did.

And uh.

This is what I’m using for my samples.

Unfortunately I didn’t bother emailing myself the samples BUT I killed some time today playing with blends on another Berryz image.

I used a Nanchuu photo stolen from maiZe’s old blog… without realizing it was maiZe at first. Maaaaaaaaaan…

Original:

WHAT I SPENT MY TIME ON:

Bad shopping job but HEY

Im just saying that I have no life.

The day has finally come.

I feel confused.

Cold and hurt and confused.

Well… not really.

Anyways.

You will be missed, Elder Club.

I’m getting really excited for the big grad now… Tingly, even.

I’ll be having a good cry once that’s out, for sure. XD

But yeah uh.

I LOVE YOU ELDER CLUB. <3

YOU’RE ALL REALLY REALLY AWESOME. <3

I HOPE MANY OF YOU CONTINUE ON. <3

Hi Nacchi you look mighty strange here.

But yes. This is my top 10 for the next…

…not long. But then, only 2 people will disappear from the list… >_<;

And uh.

Let’s… look at the lists from last year.

(I’m not very comfortable with doing this. XD)

Okay um.

Let’s start off by saying I wasn’t a Kids fan last year. I liked C-ute (but didn’t know the members) and I’d only heard a few Berryz songs.

But Max knew them better than I did.
So I kind of just absorbed his opinions on people. Like KANNA IS GREAT, MOMOKO IS ADORABLE, MAIMI IS AWFUL. And then I’d see people complain about Risako and couldn’t see past all her flaws so… RISAKO IS MORE AWFUL THAN MAIMI RAAAAAAAAAAAAH

I mean the Risako thing stuck for quite a while, but the rest… XD Momo? Really? Hurhur.

Also Max doesn’t like Airi.

So.

Yeah.

I’m a bit embarrassed now. T_T;