Hello, I'm Gwen and this is my contribution.
On a late evening of summer 2025, a music video by one Tommyfebruary6 including a Pikachu showed up in my YouTube feed. That music video was a song called "L•O•V•E•L•Y". I clicked on it and fell in love with it immediately. One thing led to another and the work of Tomoko Kawase became a late night musical rabbit hole, going to Tommyheavenly6 to her band the brilliant green. So much so that her songs became my personal soundtrack to my all too brief gaming run of Sword Art Online: Integral Factor, which I have yet to get back into.
Upon further research, I was shocked to learn that she was 50, another testament to her youthful charm!
Here are a few of my favorite tunes from her from each of her projects:
Tommyfebruary6
"Lonely In Gorgeous":
https://youtu.be/UHL9FeoytAk?si=BUDA1hrWC3cc_Ysd
"Je taime, je taime":
https://youtu.be/I4JrXQrvidw?si=kvK6drMoo-56Z4og
(Those would be my top 2 favorites from the flagship one because they are that infectious!)
"I'm Gonna Scream" - Tommyheavenly6
https://youtu.be/5PlIptYVOLM?si=aB9ixfL_KD_na7w1
(As you listen to this one, you'll notice the musical similarity to that of "Far Away" by The Offspring within the instrumentation throughout!)
"Stand By Me" - the brilliant green
https://youtu.be/nvafnxMmtB8?si=4tCjMlMeGLCily3G
(Fun fact: Tomoko is married to the band's guitarist Shunsaku Okuda)
Moving on, a milestone worth noting is that twenty years ago yesterday, Sparks's album Hello Young Lovers was released. Something I want to get off my mind relating to this is that for years, I've always thought of how funny it would be to create a challenge centering around the song "Dick Around". If you are able to sing the song without messing up, you win a prize. Quite the laugh, don't you think?
That being said, I dare y'all to sing along to this. Go on, try it:
"Dick Around"
https://youtu.be/VgakpSoHEiE?si=gH2AOLcBiCzU8RiO
Unable to do it? Thought so haha!
On a sad and serious note though to wind things down, I made the discovery that Brad Arnold, the singer and founding member of 3 Doors Down has died from cancer not too long ago.
Despite only having been somewhat of a casual fan at best, I've had quite the fond memories with the songs I did get into, with these three being the most prominent in my childhood and teen years, in terms of standout memories, that is.
"Here Without You":
https://youtu.be/kPBzTxZQG5Q?si=fBvJlXHDEWUMbFQE
Here's a standout one regarding this one. I was in my last year of high school and one of my earliest Facebook friends tagged me in a video of theirs on their profile singing an acapella cover of the song. I thought that was pretty sweet and that they were really good. I would come back to it again a few times.
Given the recent news, the song hits so differently now...
"Kryptonite":
https://youtu.be/xPU8OAjjS4k?si=2no8UUnCtMEmByn1
Like with "Here Without You", it holds a significant place in my heart. This one is absolutely my most favorite of them all.
I get obsessed with this one whenever I hear it not only because of the Superman reference, but because of how more prominent the overall message got for me as I got older, leading to this standout memory of it being the soundtrack to not only my past relationship, but also my most infamous crush on a certain somebody whose name will not be mentioned here. I have a playlist on YouTube that I have up to this day that initially centered around this crush, but can now since apply to anyone who has their certain somebodies.
The playlist for anyone interested:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDYyOxEq5NDNpBBrmtN0HlZ7uhlmIRnA9&si=qm5foK2qZTbiuruX
There are plenty of others that fond memories apply to the likes of "When You're Gone" and "It's Not My Time". Equally great songs, hands down.
All in all, the news of Brad's passing feels like yet another attack on my childhood and teen years as it's yet another reminder that our own mortality draws near. May Brad Arnold rest in forever peace. Thank you, Brad.
No comments:
Post a Comment