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Old 2009.07.12, 05:51 PM   #43
clakaz
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: São Paulo/Brazil
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The original Momen is a a classic kayoukoku, a popular japanese song. In my feeling, the original song have already this melancholic touch, but it's more like: cute woman singing a melancholic tale about the lover that got lost in city lights.
The strength in Shiina Ringo take is that the modernization isn't just a mere arrangement thing, or better saying, the new arrangement changes the mood and focus of the tale. The girl in this "new" history is way more pathetic than cute. The distance between the couple keeps increasing and she refuses to notice and when he, finally, break-up, she just asks for a last gift without a complain. I think that this is a kind of woman that some man (traditional) would consider a role model...
It's interesting that Shiina sings the male part, like focusing more in the urban cinism than in rural naiveness, leveling up the melancholy of the song.
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