Kahimi Karie -- Mirage

Wikimedia Commons

I've seen my fair share of shimmering mirages in the past including the one for a non-existent body of water. Nothing more exciting than that.

Looks like Kahimi Karie（カヒミ・カリィ）was in the middle of a Danny Thomas spit take in that cover photo for her October 2006 album "NUNKI". The track I'm covering here is "Mirage" which doesn't really come across as anything Shibuya-kei, the genre that I've always associated her with. The soft and kittenish French vocals are there but I think there's more of an intriguing indies pop feeling with some adventurous percussion blasting away. Karie took care of the lyrics while American musician and longtime Japanese resident Jim O'Rourke was the composer and arranger.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE -- Brand New

 

I bumped into this video purely by accident yesterday when it was released onto YouTube, and I know that the band Mrs. GREEN APPLE has been known for participating in some really snazzy music videos. However, although the song was another supremely upbeat tune by the guys, I was rather marveling at the very ambitious parkour the three were doing all over the city in their latest video.

And then I saw the title: "Brand New". Then, 2+2 started popping up in my head immediately after which I checked the relevant J-Wiki article and sure enough, my rushed suspicions were verified. Mrs. GREEN APPLE's latest digital download single from July 13th was indeed the theme song for the Japanese release of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day". Reading that all three members were big fans of the superhero, they must have had the time of their lives acting like the webslinger.

Written and composed by vocalist Motoki Ohmori（大森元貴）, "Brand New" isn't actually the first time that Mrs. GREEN APPLE has come up with a theme song for people with super powers. I recall writing about another song of theirs that fits the bill years ago. In any case, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has come out here and in Tokyo, so I gather that my old movie viewing buddies there are already planning their big outing to see it. I will be catching it myself pretty soon.