Japanese iTunes Special ^_^

[miko2]

Today's Song: Mighty Mighty Strongest No. 1 by Feel So Bad

I'm breaking some of my own rules here, because you can't download this song from iTunes (technically -- we'll get into that in a moment) or pretty much anywhere else. I can't link you to a soundclip or a video either (they do have soundclips of other songs on their web site to listen to though). But I've been listening to Feel So Bad lately so I decided to feature them anyway.

Feel So Bad is a Japanese heavy metal band. skyoxford, his friend Ari, berbalang, my old roommate Tom, and I all got into the band after hearing Bari Bari Saikyou No. 1 (Mighty Mighty Strongest No. 1) which was the closing theme for an anime called Jigoku Sensei Nuubee (Demon Teacher Nube). Or was it the opening theme? A web site I found said closing theme but I remember it being the opening theme. The anime was about a teacher who fought demons. One had cut off his hand, and he'd then killed the demon and replaced his hand with the demon's hand -- so he had a demonic hand.

Anyway, I became a big fan of Feel So Bad, and eventually collected every album of theirs I could find. Some of the early cds that Tom and berbalang and skyoxford had picked up were not available by the time I started collecting their cds. Originally I got Tokyo Power which was the one with Bari Bari Saikyou No. 1 on it, and I picked up everything they released after that (which was a lot -- they did 12 cds in 12 months at one point, just to show that they could). But before Tokyo Power there was Affect On The Brain, Funky Side Business, Endorphine, Power Groove and In Trance. I was eventually able to pick up Affect On The Brain and Endorphine but not the others.

Since Tom owned the early cds I had copies to listen to. But I like owning cds outright (in case there was any doubt about that). A month or so ago I ordered their most recent cd, Perfectness, and since I was listening to them again I did some searches, and to my surprise, I found 3 of their old cds for sale on Ebay for $15.00 direct sale (or best offer). These included Affect On The Brain, Power Groove, and In Trance. In other words, two of the cds I was missing, and one I already had.

Now, being the fool that I sometimes am, I actually placed this on my watch list for a few days instead of buying it immediately, because I thought, "Well, I don't know if I want to get it since I already have one of them." Later when I thought about it again, it occurred to me that I'd probably be quite willing to spend $20.00 on either Power Groove or In Trance alone (import prices from Japan actually run higher than that), and to get them both for $15.00 was a steal, and who cares if I got another cd that I already owned into the bargain? Lucky for me, they were still up for bid so I snatched them up. They arrived in the mail yesterday.

Now -- back to whether you can find these guys on iTunes or not. So: can you find Feel So Bad on iTunes?
No, you can't.
Oh wait. Yes, you can. On the Japanese version of iTunes.

Can you buy songs from the Japanese iTunes?
No, you can't.
Oh wait. Yes, you can. One way to do it is to buy a prepaid Japanese iTunes music card. You can buy them from J-Box.com. They explain on their page how to use it. So technically I'm not breaking my own rules -- you can download this song from iTunes, in a roundabout way.

A Japanese iTunes card would probably make a cool Christmas gift for anyone on your list who A) Uses iTunes and B) Is a fan of J-pop or Anime music.

---

In the meantime I'm trying to rework my own FSB site because it is still, after 7 years, virtually the only location on the web for information about the band in English. I did, however, find another recent site that has some info: Asia Metal Nation. It's a site like mine, run by a single guy who wants to make info on some of his favorite bands more available.

One other thing I discovered on the web: lyrics to two of their songs, both in Japanese romanji and translated into English. Here's the song of the day:

Bari Bari Saikyou No. 1

kyou kara ichiban
takumashii no da
omatase shimashita sugoi yatsu
kyou kara ichiban
kakko ii no da
bari bari saikyou NO.1

kono yo wa wakaranai koto ga
takusan aru
donna kaze ga fuite mo
makenai hito ni narou

sore demo yowai yatsu
kanarazu iru mon da
mamotte agemashou
sore ga tsuyo sa na n da

tonikaku kitaemashou
itami wo pipi razu ni
kokai no owari wa
itsu mo kinou no hazu

kyou kara ichiban
takumashii no da
omatase shimashita sugoi yatsu
kyou kara ichiban
kakko ii no da
bari bari saikyou NO.1

kiyou na yubisaki wa
kotoba wo hoshigaranai
yume katari au tomo no
mekumori shiru koto mo nai

"kodoku ga suki" nante
kakko tsukeshii desho
hitori de naite mi na
osoraku dotsubo deshou

kangaete mo goran
nakama wa suteki da ne
hitori yori oozei
tsuyoi ni kimatteru

kyou kara ichiban
takumashii no da
omatase shimashita sugoi yatsu

kyou kara ichiban
takumashii no da
omatase shimashita sugoi yatsu

naruhodo
honto
kyou kara ichiban
ichiban da ichiban

(translation):

As of today
He's the number one strongest
Sorry to have kept you waiting, he's an amazing guy
As of today
He's the number one coolest
The hard working, strongest No. 1

There are a lot of things that
This world doesn't know
No matter what kind of wind blows
Be a person who just won't lose

None the less, there are
Certainly weak people out there
Protect them
That's what strength is

At any rate, train yourself
Without feeling any pain
The end of your regrets
Should always be yesterday

As of today
He's the number one strongest
Sorry to have kept you waiting, he's an amazing guy
As of today
He's the number one coolest
The hard working, strongest No. 1

His skillful fingers
Show no desire for words
He doesn't know the warmth
Of talking about dreams with friends

Saying "I like being lonely"
That's being cool
Go and cry by yourself
Perhaps that'll change your mind

Think about it
Friends are wonderful aren't they
I've decided to be strong
By being surrounded by people instead of along

As of today
He's the number one strongest
Sorry to have kept you waiting, he's an amazing guy

As of today
He's the number one strongest
Sorry to have kept you waiting, he's an amazing guy

I see
Really
As of today, he's number one
Number one, number one