Japanese Girl Super Group AKB48: Blue Rose

[WealdenMac]

There are a number of similar versions of this on You Tube-some a little more "buttoned up" than others. These four are only a small part of the whole AKB48 phenomenon. Perhaps surprisingly, the fact that I do not understand Japanese did not seem to spoil my enjoyment of their performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywj-fl6szgM

[Domino]

Good find, Wealdenmac. I think I liked the buttoned-up one best. They do show what's underneath eventually, but the wait only makes them all the more desirable. They certainly get the audience going, don't they? It's surprising that so many pop artistes around the world have taken to performing in trenchcoats, raincoats etc. over the last few decades. Perhaps they're deemed to be sexy! Reckon we'd all probably say "Yes, siree!", wouldn't we?

Domino

[WealdenMac]

AKB48 attracted some publicity in the UK press recently when one of the leading singers shaved off her hair in penance for making the beast with two backs with her boyfriend, contrary to some arcane element of the group's "rules". The "official" video of their hit "Heavy Rotation", which has over 87 million hits on You Tube, is something else-although it does not feature rainwear or leather.

As I date from the age of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" (a good time to be growing up for all sorts of reasons) I very much like the overall sound effect of these and similar recordings. For good old mackintosh stuff, however, it's still hard to find anything to beat the You Tube clip of Pet Clark singing "Downtown" even though I would have liked to have seen a bit more of her real black PVC mac. From that era, Laila Kinnunen also pretty much hits the spot.