Freesia
is a fragrant flower native to South Africa.
In the Victorian language of flowers, the freesia signifies friendship
and innocence. Why it shows up as the
title of so many Japanese pop/rock songs is still a mystery to me. Of the many I know, three show up in my tags
as 5-star treats, so I feel somewhat inspired to post them after a long hiatus. Due to the circumstances, I'm using YouTube
vids. I've gone with two live versions,
which adds the bonus of cute, very sweaty singers.
Gackt – Freesia op. 1 and 2 (live, original song from 'Mars')
First
up is Gackt from a 2000 live. Even then
he was a pop idol (hence the screams).
He just celebrated his 40th birthday a few weeks ago and
still is hugely popular, not only as a singer but in movies and TV too. I love the bass player doing the upright
thing with his electric guitar in the background. And, of course, I love Gackt's rich baritone.
MUCC
– freesia (2009 single release)
MUCC
started out as a visual kei band about 15 years ago, but have moved more into
hard rock with a tinge of metal. I think
this was made during the peak of J-rock's AutoTuning days.
girugamesh– freesia (from 2009 album 'reason of crying')
girugamesh,
too, started life as a visual kei band, but lately they're considered
industrial. I love the bass line here,
that deep "chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk" leading into the bridge.
Two
other j-rock groups I love have also released different songs called Freesia –
Matenrou Opera has one on a 2013 mini-album release, and Penicillin came up
with one in 2005 on their "Hell Bound Heart." I couldn't find vids for them, though; well,
vids that can be searched for in English, at any rate.
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