Sukima Switch -- Bokunote（ボクノート）

 

I think I have another new fountain of music and it's from a familiar if unexpected source. For the past few years, I've been subscribed to Japan's "Weathernews"（ウェザーニュース）YouTube channel to watch the usual hijinks among the weathercasters in Makuhari Messe, and in fact, the broadcasts have included some fine BGM via the good folks at Nash Music Library; NML is even one of the Labels here on KKP.

In the last few months, though, "Weathernews" has also brought in a new segment that might be happening once an hour. Weathermusic has been the small few-minute time and space for the weathercaster to provide a song from the past to play over some footage of photos that the fans have sent in. I gather that it's also been used for the weathercasters and production staff to get in a bit of a breather because they all have to be talking nearly non-stop for three hours per shift.

Anyways, one song that has hit my heart via Weathermusic is pop duo Sukima Switch's（スキマスイッチ）"Bokunote" (My Notes). Up to now, I've known them for their big hit "Zenryoku Shonen"（全力少年）from 2005. "Zenryoku Shonen" is high energy but "Bokunote" is a gentle and introspective ballad about the gumption to express those special words to a loved one. According to the J-Wiki article on Sukima Switch's 7th single from March 2006, the actual title was based on one lyric within the song "...boku no oto..."（僕の音...My [Musical] Notes） which sounds similar to the title. For me though, the gently rolling piano and the strings grabbed me instantly when I heard it for the song.

I also discovered that "Bokunote" was also used as the ending theme for a "Doraemon"（ドラえもん）movie: "Nobita no Kyouryuu 2006"（のび太の恐竜2006...Nobita's Dinosaur 2006）which came out in the same month as the single. The song hit No. 3 on Oricon and ended up as the 77th-ranked single of the year. Sukima Switch also got to perform "Bokunote" during their 2nd appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen that year. It is a track on the duo's 3rd original album "Yuukaze Blend"（夕風ブレンド...Evening Breeze Blend） from November 2006 which also hit No. 3 on the album charts and became not only the 53rd-ranked album for that year but also held on for another year to become the 69th-ranked album for 2007.