Liveblogging the First Listen: Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - Sing in Japanese

If you click on the tag at the bottom of this post, you'll see that the Sing in Japanese EP by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a highly anticipated release around these parts.

So I thought I would do a liveblog of my first listen. I have listed the songs' English titles below and I will write whatever crosses my mind while each song is playing. I'm kind of wary about doing this because...well, they'll be singing in Japanese!

If someone familiar with these songs could comment with some context on the songs, that would be very helpful.

1. Hero

It's so strange. I mean, it could a) be gibberish or b) be a classic song...wait. Did he just say James Dean? I can tell that this is going to be an enjoyable EP. I'm already ready for the chorus... HERO...something something. Love it. It's amazing how the music makes it completely relatable. Kind of makes you think about how unimportant the lyrics of a song can be. This is amazing. Haha HAI HAI. Love it.

2. Kokoro No Tabi

Lol. I feel like I've suffered brain damage. The crowd vox always make me Singh along, but I can't sing along! I don't know the words! Or the language! Me first can do anything. This EP is proof. I wonder they'd ever perform these songs live in America. I also wonder if, someday, I'll be able to sing along....kind of makes me want to learn Japanese. Haha. The other thing is that I'm not sure what level of irony these songs are supposed to be heard at.

3. Kekkon Shiyoyo

Ooh. A little social d reference there. I wondered if they'd do that thing where they quote the melody of other classic punk songs. And they did! Hey there was the title! I can sing that too! Kekkon Shiyoyo! Mmm mmm mmm! He really sings that! Haha how many of you are actually going to hear this EP? It's not like when I was doing radio dad. Lots of people listened to that. I bet I'm the only person in my city that has this EP.

4. C-C-C

Haha. It's really strange to have song after song of this. I saw a review that was like, I didn't think they'd ACTUALLY sing in JAPANESE. Fuckin Weridos. Hey there was a little bit of English! "I'm so high...I'm so down...I'm so blue...no no no." haha this is such a surreal listen, guys. If you can pick up this EP, do. It's a trip.

5. 22 Sai No Wakare

But I mean, the songs are completely great. If I didn't know better, I would guess that Spike was making up "Japanese-sounding" lyrics. But I know that he didn't. Well, I suppose I don't KNOW it. Can I get some confirmation that these are actual Japanese songs and that spike is singing them at least close to correctly? I think this might be my favorite song so far. Good, drums and guitars. It sounds like a Japanese western song.

6. Linda Linda

Ok this song is twice as long as the others...oh wow. It's gonna be all ska-ey. I love it. Move over, 22 Sai No Wakare. There's a new sheriff in town. And those horns are by El Mariachi Bronx. Tricia, you know them! I hope you're reading this! Oh man. This song is so great. It's cool to hear the Gimmes play so chillish. This whole EP is going to get lots of plays. I can now confirm that. I'm absolutely speechless about how I'm enjoying this! Ooh fat mike can sing the chorus of this one! Repeatedly! Incessantly. And a nice little stereotypical Japanese accent at the end. Nice.

Well, that was a quick 15 minutes. Far more enjoyable than I feared. You should definitely pick up this EP. It's on amazon. I think you can DL it from iTunes. It's a bold next step in this bands illustrious discography. I suppose Glee is going to have Kekkon Shiyoyo on the show this season. Thanks for reading. Arigato. Sayonara.