Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

access -- MOONSHINE DANCE



“MOONSHINE DANCE” is access’s most epic songs. Period. Every time I listen to it loud, I feel like the world is coming to an end, thanks to the explosive chorus and the “chaotically amazing” synth work by Daisuke Asakura (浅倉大介), who is sometimes trying to sound like the guitarist or just disputing with him who plays louder in the mix. And THAT synth solo that comes after the 2:47 mark just makes me feel very pumped. Dai and Hiro (貴水博之) were very stereotypical 80s rock stars, even though their songs were more pending towards electronic music than rock itself. That’s probably why my father always compare them, mostly in attitude and theatricality, to the Glam metal movement that was famous in the United States during the mid-to-late 80s. Let’s say that access, besides all the homoerotic content, was tamer than those guys, though.

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for access, especially in their early days of glittery electronic-rock music. I’m a fan for just one year and a couple of months, but I just can’t get enough of them. In the beginning, “MOONSHINE DANCE” was far from being one of my favorite songs, but it slowly conquered me. That’s probably because it’s a concert banger, and I just love to watch concerts. Now, you all excuse me because I’m going to watch my access DVDs.

“MOONSHINE DANCE” was released as a single in August 1993. It reached #4 on the Oricon charts, selling around 260,860 copies. Lyrics, music and arrangement were all done by access (AXS).

ASX SINGLE TRACKS "best album" (1995)

3 comments:

  1. Hi, Marcos.

    Yeah, "Moonshine Dance" can pretty much rouse the dead up. There's something also quite B'z about it except that the synths seem to be leading more than the electric guitar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting you heard a little of B'z in access, J-Canuck. To be honest, I don't know B'z works, but it was interesting that you found something similar in both bands. Well, they were contemporaries, so maybe that isn't so absurd in the first place.

      Delete
  2. This sounds a lot like the opening of Gundam Wing. I wonder if they based it off of "Moonshine Dance"? Something similar was done for the original Sailor Moon opening "Moonlight Densetsu", where most of the melody was lifted from Chieko Baishou's "Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljXFL4dyDIk

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.