Salvia no Tsubomi ga...

It's no secret, I guess, that we listen to a lot of Japanese rock music, and pop music at our house. We're as likely to listen to L'Arc-En-Ciel and Home Made Kazoku as we are to Imogen Heap and the Dave Matthews Band.

It all started because of anime. Because we liked watching Japanese anime, like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, and TV series like Naruto and Ouran High School Host Club... and... we liked the music.

I have a writing journal on Livejournal, and the friends I made there introduced me to music outside of anime, sending me music that they thought I'd like, and the next thing I knew, the Impoertinent Daughter was interested, and wanted to listen, and it just sort of... exploded from there!

Still, the impact of this didn't hit me until the other day. The Impossible Son was playing with his DS, and he was singing softly to himself as he played, a song completely different from the music playing in the game, and it took a few minutes for me to realize why I couldn't understand what he was saying. Usually, it's because he doesn't know the words to some of the songs he likes, so he just sort of... makes up nonsense words to take the place of the ones he doesn't know yet. But... suddenly, I stopped and really listened and realized... I couldn't understand him because HE WAS SINGING IN JAPANESE!!!

Now, you have to realize, the Impertinent Daughter sings in Japanese all the time. She has actually gone online to look for lyrics to the songs she likes so she can sing along, and learns how to pronounce the words and what they mean, so... she's in a fair way of learning Japanese.

However, the Impossible Son hasn't done any of this, hasn't even thought of looking up lyrics. He just... hears it, and repeats it. And he doesn't have to hear the song to sing it in Japanese. He just... starts singing.

It's awesome!!

I shouldn't be surprised. He's listening to a song being sung in Japanese. When we watch our favorite anime movies, we tend to turn off the English track and put on the original Japanese track with English subtitles, and personally, I don't always need the subtitles to understand what they're saying any more. So, I shouldn't be surprised that the Impossible Son, without the incentive to want to learn Japanese, the way my daughter wants to learn it, is learning it without thinking about it. It's awesome. It's surprising. And it is just... mind-boggling!

To say that I'm proud would be an understatement!

And now, to explain the title of this post, it's the title of a Home Made Kazoku song.

Little Man Boogie

My son's latest Dance of Joy is to a song by the Japanese group, GreeeeN. It's called "Unity" and I have to say, it's a good thing I like that song, too, or I would seriously lose my mind.

He loves dancing to it. He literally flails around in ecstasies of joy, arms flying, mouth open in a big ol' snaggle-toothed grin, until he falls, exhausted and panting, onto the floor or the nearest piece of furniture. The moment he can breathe again, he shouts, "AGAIN!!"

It's hilarious. And sometimes, he gets me in on the action, too, though I have to admit, my flailing isn't quite as abandoned or enthusiastic. It's exhausting, but fun!

He even got me to send it to a friend, saying, "I think he'll really like it. It'll make him happy, and want to dance every time he hears it! He'll put it on and think, 'yay, dance party' and he'll jump around, just like we are, right, Mama?"

Note to Friend: You have to put it on, think "Yay, dance party!" and jump around your kitchen/bedroom/living room, whatever, and wave your arms over your head (just think, "what kind of dancing will embarrass me most and make me feel like a complete idiot if anyone sees me?" and you've got it down) and just be generally silly, while chanting, "Oh, oh, oh, o-o-oh, OH!!" with the chorus. There will be a test on Friday.

I had to listen to it four times on the way to school this morning. Not that I mind. I'm just glad I don't have to listen to, say... Britney Spears. Or gansta rap (oh, my pounding head!). We listen to a lot of different stuff on the way to school, thanks to our rather eclectic musical tastes. Miss Priss has taken to listening to a J-Pop boy group called "Arashi" and also conditionally likes the Jonas Brothers. I say conditionally, because she (1) doesn't want to admit to it, and (2) says she can only listen to them if she doesn't have to look at them, or think about what they look like.

*merry laughter*

Looks like my kids are going to have as wide a musical taste range as their parents do.