We are For the Future - moumoon (Profile, Discography, Lyrics and More)

CD Singles

Please choose a CD single below. New singles are always displayed on the first page.

There are two ways you can sample the songs:

1) HTML: This is the original way I had it set up, where you'll have to manually download and listen to each file. Also, if you hover over the links, you'll see the kanji title of each song.

2) Flash Player: This flash player will let you listen to each sample in REAL TIME. (^^) Occasionally you can choose between different playlists (especially if the CD is a remake/tribute to another artist's work).

Here's a quick summary of how the flash player works (image opens in a new window)

Click on the 'Lyrics' icon to access the lyrics. ALL lyrics will open in ONE popup (i.e.: all of the lyrics share the same popup). This way, you won't have a TON of popups open. Besides, you can't read two lyrics at the same time, right? (^^) But if you want to open the lyrics in more than one window, feel free to right-click the links and choose "Open in New Window".

Lastly, to make the pages load faster, the singles will be split into several pages (hence why I will alternate/color-code the links).

9 SINGLES
regular text (no link) = song not available yet

NEWEST RELEASE
Let's dance in the moonlight
(CD Single #9)

CD Cover
+Produced by: avex trax
+Catalogue #: AQCD-50537
+Release Date: May 26, 2010

+More Info:
This is moumoon's 9th single. It was made for a fashion label (Mono Comme Ca) and their rabbit mascot named "15" (pronounced "Ichi-go"). Since Ichigo is a rabbit, the single also makes a reference to this Japanese legend (more info can be found on Wikipedia, too) AND the Japanese moon viewing festival (which is held on September 15).

I've been eagerly waiting for this CD single (CDS) to be released. I mean, TWO singles in one month? And they're both being used an in ad compaign, which might mean instant popularity? AND their previous single ("Sunshine Girl") did REALLY well on the Oricon Chart and became their best-selling single? Man...I was dying to get their 2nd CDS. People were pre-ordering it like crazy too; it almost sold out on CDJapan. That's never happened before with ANY of their CDs. I knew this CD single would be awesome!!

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I should have known something was wrong when I couldn't find the lyrics on Goo Ongaku (and they ALWAYS post moumoon's lyrics a month in advance). avex didn't even give this single a regular catalogue number: it's A*Q*CD, not AVCD. And moumoon barely even mentions the CD on their site; they didn't even post MP3 samples. It's like they're pretending it doesn't exist.

When I finally did find lyrics (which took forever), I learned that YUKA didn't even write the lyrics, and Kousuke didn't compose it (the composer is just listed as "moumoon", but Kousuke's name would usually be given). Then there's the fact that the song mentions a festival that occurs in September...but the CD was released in May. (T__T) It makes me wonder if the marketing people at Mono Comme Ca were really the ones who made this CD -- they probably came up with the general idea, and wanted to rush things, and they asked moumoon to finalize it. Which means it's technically not moumoon's fault this CD isn't good.

So what's wrong with it exactly? The melody is really bland, and badly put together. There are too many different arrangements in the song, and they don't fit together at all. To be fair, this CD was probably aimed at kids, but I think it's too boring to even hold a child's interest. The only highlight of the CD is "Usagi". But that's not even an original song (it's a popular lullaby, kinda like the Japanese version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). And "Usagi" is (in)famously short; it's about the same length as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". moumoon's version is only 27 seconds long.

This single isn't good at all; I'm really disappointed. (Maybe that's why moumoon is releasing another mini-album so suddenly -- to redeem themselves?) They could have done a much better job, but who knows? Japan has such an ecletic taste in music that maybe it'll sell better than expected? We'll just have to wait and see.

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Flowers/pride
(CD Single #1)

CD cover
+Produced by: voicellar records / GATE RECORDS, Inc.
+Catalogue #: GAGH-0020
+Release Date: July 26, 2006

+More Info:
This is moumoon's first CD single, which was released on an independent label. (^^) It had a limited release of 5,000 copies...and it did extremely well on the Oricon Indies charts (it ranked #7!).

The title track, "Flowers", would later (i.e., on their next CD single) be remade in English (you can also hear the English version in the Flash player). This started a trend where moumoon would release the current single's title track in English...on their next/upcoming single. So, the title track for CD Single (CDS) #2 would have an English remake on CDS #3, and so on.

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Do you remember?
(CD Single #2)

CD+DVD CD Only
+Produced by: avex trax
+Catalogue #: AVCD-31344 [CD + DVD], AVCD-31345 [CD Only]
+Release Date: December 5, 2007

+More Info:
This is moumoon's 2nd single...but their first major release single (i.e., they're no longer on an Indie label; they're on avex, a major label). This single also features an English version of "Flowers", the title track from their first single. Plus, this single has instrumental tracks on it, AND a CD-DVD version. (^_^) The DVD has only 1 track: the music video/PV for "Do you remember?".

Two more random comments:

The PV for "Do you remember?" is SO BEAUTIFUL. It combines manga, live action, a variety of colors, and stop animation (that said, please realize that the video is supposed to look "choppy" and "sluggish"). I highly suggest you watch it! =D

If you flip between both CD covers, it looks like YUKA is rowing a boat. (xD) I even made this animated GIF so you can see for yourself. (Yes, I made the GIF out of boredom, hehe.)

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Tiny Star
(CD Single #3)

CD+DVD #1 (Tsutaya Online Exclusive) CD+DVD #2 CD Only
+Produced by: avex trax

+Catalogue #:

AVC1-31446 [CD + DVD #1] - Tsutaya Online EXCLUSIVE,
AVCD-31427 [CD + DVD #2] - also on iTunes (w/ bonus track!),
AVCD-31428 [CD Only]

+Release Date: June 4, 2008

+More Info:
This is moumoon's 3rd single. Like the previous single, it also has instrumental tracks...and it features an English remake to the last single's title track (i.e.: "Do you remember?"). You can also hear the English version in the Flash player. ^^

This single is also unique because it has THREE versions:

CD+DVD (Tsutaya Online): The CD contains a bonus track, "Sunrise". The bonus track does NOT have lyrics included, but they were eventually released on "moumoon", their self-titled (and third) album. The DVD features a live recording of "Tiny Star". It was recorded from their "Full moon Live" 2008 tour, which started February 21, 2008 and ended August 17, 2008. (^^) This CD+DVD is ONLY available from Tsutaya Online (an online store).

CD+DVD ("Regular" Version) - "Sunrise" is not included on the CD. The DVD contains the PV/music video for "Tiny star". This CD was also released in digital/MP4 format on iTunes; however, the iTunes version does NOT have a DVD (or video clip). But it DOES include a bonus track: "Tiny Star ~Full moon Live ver.~" It's basically the same song from the Tsutaya Online DVD, so this could be considered an "audio rip".
This bonus track/audio rip was eventually re-released on a special, iTunes Exclusive album called "moumoon -FULL MOON selection EP" -- it's a collection of previously released songs, but in a new track order. You can learn more about this CD on the Albums page.

"CD Only" version

Believe it or not, if you live outside of Japan you CAN get both exclusive CDs! For the iTunes release, you'll need a Japanese iTunes card -- which you can purchase here (the vendor/site is 100% English, and it gives you detailed instructions!). And thanks to websites like this one, you can order the Tsutaya Online version. (^^) This site has people in Japan order the CD for you, then ship it to your home. Be warned though: both sites are a bit expensive to use.

Thankfully in this instance, I was able to get "Tiny Star ~Full moon Live ver.~" from iTunes...and my friend Infinitylight donated "Sunrise". So you can download both songs from the Downloads section if you want. ^^

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more than love
(CD Single #4)

CD+DVD CD Only
+Produced by: avex trax

+Catalogue #:

AVCD-31487 [CD + DVD], AVCD-31488 [CD Only]
Also on iTunes (w/ bonus track!)

+Release Date: October 15, 2008

+More Info:
This is moumoon's 4th single. (^^) The DVD has 3 clips on it: the music video/PV for "more than love"; a documentary film called "Tiny Star: beside FULLMOON (Part 1)". Part 2 was released on "moumoon", their 2nd (and self-titled) mini-album (which came out one month later). The DVD also has a special "offshot" video for "more than love". I'm not sure what an "offshot" is; maybe it's special live footage of YUKA singing in the studio? (^^;) But anyway...there's also an iTunes version of this single; it has a special, exclusive bonus track: "more than love (acoustic ver.)".

When this CD was first announced, there were two possible names: "more than love", and "Aoi Tsuki to Ambivalence na Ai". I have no clue where that second title came from, but WOW -- what a difference between the two! And for some reason, YesAsia still lists the second title on their site. (o_O) But now, we know that "Aoi Tsuki to Ambivalence na Ai" is a separate, demo song (which you can learn more about on the Special Songs page).

Overall, "more than love" is a nice single. It's not quite as unique as "Do you remember?" (I loooove that song so much!), but it's not a disappointment either. (^^) The title track has a nice "old-school" '90s vibe to it (like something Madonna or Selena would sing), and I really like the way YUKA hits certain notes. The second track reminds me of "good night" (due to the rapping/singing), but the melody and singing is completely different. It's a nice song, but unlike "good night", it's not too unique or memorable.

Then there's the English version of "Tiny Star". You should already know that moumoon usually does an English version of their CD Single title tracks. The English version of Tiny Star is nice, although the English IS a bit awkward. Most English songs have a rhyme scheme, and these lyrics don't. Not only that, but the English lyrics aren't as deep as the Japanese lyrics, and they tell a slightly different story. Compare part of the chorus and see for yourself:

Japanese Chorus
Tiny Star --
Take a look...
Oh, shining stars
We are one of you.
...

vs.

English Chorus
Tiny Star --
Round and round
Twinkle in the sky
So fleeting, bright
Look up and let's count them: one, two, three...
...

These issues are minor, however...especially when you hear the music and YUKA's singing. (^^) Overall, this single was good, and it ranked pretty well on the Oricon charts (#27)! They're moving up in the mainstream charts, and that's a good thing!!

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