Karakuri Babble is a daily column by the editors of i360.com, usually on topics tangentially related to anime and cosplay.

In the past we have endorsed many things; in the future we shall support many others.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of the nico covers of songs by doriko, a vocaloid composer.

It's a total guilty pleasure for me, actually -- it's tough for me to believe these lyrics weren't written by a 14-year-old girl. We're talking about lines like 「愛されたい・愛してみたい・私はどちらを望んだ」("I want to be loved / I want to love you / I want both"). And don't even mention "Letter Song", which is about a girl writing a letter to herself of ten years in the future. It's frankly bad for my self-image. I enjoy Sailor Moon, but this is ridiculous.

And the songs are complete pop. They're not exactly subtle.

But I've still spent days listening to them, in their seemingly-endless variations. The truth is that pop hooks exist because they work, and these lyrics appeal to 14-year-olds because that's the age when pop music seems most meaningful, most beautiful and therefore most true.

words from chris, 2010-04-07 00:13:31, los angeles