Another post about my favorite songs of the decade. It was the summer of 2003, I was listening to Jellyfish's Spilt Milk, which is one of my all time favorite albums, and a great summer album, to boot. I found myself wondering what was going on with the Jellyfish guys, since they had split up in 1994, about a year after the release of Spilt Milk. I remember finding a page that said Andy Sturmer was writing and producing for a Japanese pop group called Puffy (known as Puffy AmiYumi here in the states). Intrigued, I looked for something to download so I could check it out.
I'm kind of a completist nerd and I don't really have a problem with it. So of course, I went and ordered the new PUFFY b-sides compilation, Puffy AmiYumi X PUFFY, even though I already had most of the songs on the disc. Not such a big deal, right? I didn't even balk at the big price tag on the disc even though it was kinda expensive. I didn't care that the cover is awful (my nephews could do a way better job). I think the thing that really ticked me off was that they included three "BONUS TRACKS!!", according to the sticker on the back. Two of them are the themes to the Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi show, one "Spanish TV Mix" and one "Portuguese TV Mix", each about a minute long. MEH. The final "Bonus Track" is Ami and Yumi singing Happy Birthday to who the hell fucking knows. Maybe it'd be cool if they were able to do it Marilyn Monroe style or something, but you know that ain't gonna happen. It just comes off as so retarded. Who signed off on this? The girls? The label? It's just such cheap bullshit. I'd be perfectly happy if they didn't included these so-called bonus tracks. This is just stupid. It's like, what's the fucking point? Seriously. Hear for yourself.
Last week, the new PUFFY single finally arrived in my mailbox. I have to say, I'm not entirely taken with it. It's fine, but it doesn't jump out at me and make me want to listen to it over and over like some of their other tracks and records. That said, one of the b-sides, My Story (variation by agraph), caught my interest. I like the music on this track, but the vocals kinda clash with it. Maybe if they could have redone the vocals with something more low-key, sinister and sexy. I do like this idea, even if it's only a remix at this point.
Yeah, the new Puffy single, All Because of You, is not so hot. The B-side, however, is great! I love it! Unfortunately, I don't know the title, but it doesn't matter. This one is written by Tamio Okuda (as opposed to the A-side which was written and produced by Avril Lavigne and Butch Walker). I think this is the sort of song where they really shine. Unlike the overproduced faux rawk of All Because of You, this track is light, carefree and sorta jangly, with hooks for days. Their voices really stand out. Check it.
Check it out, I bought Puffy CDs, Nice and HiHi Puffy AmiYumi, as Christmas gifts for my nephews (10 and 8 years old). I hope they get completely addicted. My sister is gonna kill me. Woo hoo!
I'm gonna go see Puffy tomorrow night, at Slim's. I am really digging their new album, Honeycreeper, it seems more immediate to me than the previous one. It took me a while to get into Splurge. I kinda miss the Andy Sturmer production on this and the last album, though. Being a big Jellyfish fan, he was the reason I had heard of Puffy. That said, I still really enjoy Puffy, and I am quite stoked to check out the gig.
I'm not sure what it's called but it's pretty cool. Also included are covers of The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down". I really like the ELO cover. "Lucy" is good but it has been done to death.
