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sdankoehler
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Post by sdankoehler » Sun Nov 09, 2003 2:56 pm

Hey guys...the dctgardennyc page is now up...but it's only an advertisement for the Sumile restaurant Miwa opened in NYC. I sure hope that doesn't mean they're giving up on America yet...They need an english site!

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tachikaze
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Post by tachikaze » Wed Nov 12, 2003 3:20 am

not to be too much of a negativist, but after hearing the English Love Love Love maybe it's best DCT concentrate on their Japanese offerings.

I don't know why exactly -- it could be me -- but their english songs just can't compare to the japanese originals.

This may be unfair, but in English Miwa is competing against Alanis Morrisette's Thank U, No Doubt's Hella Good, Christina Aguilera's Fighter, and Sheryl Crow's Steve McQueen, Kelly Rowland's Stole, these all cover themes that Miwa hasn't come close to -- she seems to hover around softer romantic themes, more in the Carole King/Karen Carpenter area of the music spectrum.

Looking over their DCT's catalog, each of their albums have one or two killer singles -- SNOWDANCE, Asa-ga mata kuru, ai suru kokoro, LOVETIDE, SAYONARA -- I'd take most of these over the US-artist songs above if I had to choose desert island songs.

But the more mushier songs -- Crystal Vine, LOVE LOVE LOVE, ahaha, sou dayo -- which is more than half of their catalog, kind of melt away when translated into english.

Maybe with their common jazz influences, Miwa should recruit Sting for some song-writing collaboration :) I'd sure like to hear her do a version of Sting's "I Burn For You".

one thing -- it's much easier to translate from a 2nd language into your own native language. This is most of the "problem", I think.

On Miwa's B&H2, there's a song with the lyric "blessing and cursing". This just clangs, and no self-respecting english songwriter would keep this, even in a Japanese song IMHO.

Then again, I'm not the one who's sold 20+ million records, so what the hell do I know :)

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sdankoehler
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Post by sdankoehler » Sat Nov 15, 2003 2:20 am

Well, I admit the english translations are not always great. I think they need to try to write english-only songs. I think Miwa's voice is absolutely awesome, and I think they could be something if they concentrated some effort on english song-writing and not just translation after the fact. When it comes to translation, I agree, it doesn't always work, but I think if they tried writing songs in english, maybe they'd have more success. Who knows. Perhaps they aren't going to be up there with the established MEGA singers in America (although they should in my opinion), but I think they can at least be a presence. A big problem is lack of publicity, and lack of exposure. I think if enough Americans heard that voice they'd love it. I think a cool thing would be for them to make an American TV appearance. Maybe not a huge TV show, but one that people would see. I see bands on Conan O'Brien that no one's heard of all the time. Anyway, now I'm just blabbing on.

Ok, I love DCT, and I know a lot of American's don't know them...so I'm a bit biased, maybe a little over-optimistic, but that's alright. I'm a fan in any language.

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tachikaze
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Post by tachikaze » Sat Nov 15, 2003 10:27 am

Funny, I've thought the same thing -- they'd be good on Letterman or SNL -- if they had a stronger single than "It's All About Love" -- that one kind of drags on a bit.

They "just" need to write an english song with thematic teeth in it... of their 2-disc best of, I only think "asa-ga mata kuru" qualifies for this category (other strong songs like ai-suru kokoro, PEACE!, SNOWDANCE, ROMANCE, LOVETIDE aren't on the CD set).

I arrived in Japan in '92, right when DCT were hitting their peak. Their songs really didn't start appealing to me until 1997 with Sing Or Die. I guess this was due to equally a) moving into my 30's and b) Miwa writing some more thematically interesting songs.
Last edited by tachikaze on Sat Nov 15, 2003 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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sdankoehler
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Post by sdankoehler » Sat Nov 15, 2003 2:47 pm

Where did you get that pic? Is that from the SF concert? Thanks!

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tachikaze
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Post by tachikaze » Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:13 pm

screen capture of their It's All About Love east coast video.

figure since you're the only person here to have actually Touched miwa, you should have the pic :)

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sdankoehler
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Post by sdankoehler » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:33 pm

I'm sure she would have touched any of you if you had any other forum member been close enough. I just made sure to arrive early enough to be in front. I tried to give our site some props too. I think I yelled out something about dctjoy. I wonder if they know we exist.

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zberry
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English Translations of DCT Songs

Post by zberry » Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:09 pm

I've been away for a while, but couldn't help but jump in on this topic. Songwriting is one of the more mysterious processes around and there's no surefire forumula. Listening to both English and Japanese versions of DCT songs, I have the following observations:
The hooks in DCT songs are huge, totally enormous, and they do it again and again on each album. This puts Miwa and Masa on a level with the great pop songwriters of all time. Not Lennon and McCartney, but whatever the next level below that is.
Miwa's lyrics work much better in Japanese. Technically, each syllable seems to fit perfectly and flow evenly in the song. Underneath, the lyrics have a kind of deep honesty and emotion that really sets them apart and that can be felt by almost everyone. That's why I think you don't have to understand Japanese to appreciate DCT's stuff. Just the sounds and feeling behind them are enough.
I think I read on this site a translation (by Tachikaze) of an interview with Miwa in which she speaks about the difficulty of writing in another language, because of the kind of "stream-of-consiousness" that takes place when writing songs. The words just flow more smoothly for her in Japanese, which is natural.
Just my two cents.

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