Utada Hikaru: Boku wa Kuma

(Originally 24 November 2006)

So I've come out of the encounter with Utada Hikaru's bear song relatively unscathed. It's a song for children, so it's deliberately simple in lyrics and melody. The backgrounds have a bit of flourish in the middle bridge, but for the most part are just there to give the sleepy atmosphere reminiscent of a lullaby. It's not quite lullaby status, but that's good, because it's good for a children's choir and it wouldn't do to have the lot of them pass out.

It's not a song title that I would want to see on her next album, but it's not for me, or most fans for that matter.

On a side note, I listened to Being, by KOTOKO (OP for Shakugan no Shana), and the opening phrase really struck me. UH's voice was calm, full, and comfortably in her low register, and it magnified KOTOKO's bright, thinner, and higher pitched line. Yikes. Being is not a bad song, but a lot of KOTOKO's tracks aren't bad songs. She's set the bar rather high, and only a few tracks stand out for me.