LOVE MACHINE 10 Year Release (Who did the best line)

[kuro808]

Okay I am honest about this, I totally forgot about the 10th year anniversary for the single "LOVE MACHINE"

Here are some facts (I am just basing it off a website so I correct me if I am wrong )

Highest selling single in their history (Remember CD's were big back then, now we will probably never see 1 million in those types of sales again)

Last single for Aya Ishiguro

First single for Maki Goto

CD cover was actually a foreshadowing of the future



From the top left to the bottom right was the order in which they graduated (I forgot which member pointed out, if somebody knows please mention it.  I have a clue but I do not want to say it and be wrong )

Finally, please mention why you like the song or can't live without it

I actually loved the song the second time I heard it, it was one of those where you had to listen to it another time to understand the concept of the song.  Pretty much my take on it.

[Mugen]

it is one of my fav. single as well. the whole song is catchy as hell right from the beginning to the end. this is the song you should use to recruit MM fans

[tiny]

There was a tremendous buildup to this single in 1999. At that time the progress of Morming Musume was extensively covered on the popular talent search/reality show ASAYAN.

The story of Love Machine is also very much part of the story of the debut of Goto Maki. It basicly started with the auditions for two new Morning Musume members. Only one member was chosen: the 12 year old Goto Maki. Her blond hair and her, let's say, rather 'developed' body for her age gave her a remarkable appearance. The photo shoot for the Love Machine cover is the first time she meets the other members. Then followed in frantic succession the recording of the song, the learning of the dance, the shooting of the PV, all chronicled on ASAYAN. Then the single was released. A perfect example of successful marketing strategy if you ask me.

The song Love Machine is a break in style from earlier Morning Musume songs. It is the first song arranged by Dance*Man. Its catchy chorus and dance moves proved very popular with the audience, especially at karaoke.

Some trivia
- reached the number one spot on the Oricon singles chart three weeks in a row
- stayed 31 weeks in the top 100 (the singles chart was not yet extended to the top 200 at that time)
- on the karaoke chart the single stayed at #1 for 17 weeks
- it is the first Morning Musume single released in a 12cm maxi-single slim line case, but the single itself was still 8cm.

Read the lyrics here: http://projecthello.com/momusu/machine.html

[JFC]

RE-MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIX!!!

竹内力の双子の弟!? RIKI/ LOVEマシーン～RIKIバージョン～

[J-Triumf]

Epic thread revival time!

Epic because it took me a while from my first entry into the world of H!P to realize just how epic this song actually was (and in a way still is), and a look back at history shows just how this song really changed the game for Morning Musume. Case in point: the singles prior to this song. After scoring a couple of #1 hits and the sudden departure of Asuka Fukuda, the group quickly became the "Nacchi & Friends show", with Abe taking prominence in "Manatsu no Kosen" and especially "Furusato", and despite the Utaban hosts claiming increased ratings thanks to Momusu, the sales of those singles were indicating a decline for the group (though in retrospect they still sold in the six figures, impressive considering the current lineup has yet to come close). Even the PVs for those songs were just more of the same: simple shots of the girls in random locales doing basic movements to the music, as they had always done up to that point. Morning Musume was indeed a success and could've still stayed that way had nothing changed, but it can be said that the initial honeymoon was almost over.

Enter "Love Machine". Not only was there the hype built by Asayan over the group's new "ace" member and the crafting of the song, but there was the song itself. Right from the opening notes was the first sign of the group's transition from the smooth-but-subdued harmonies of the past to the intense, upbeat energy that they would stick with from then on. The PV had UFA going balls out this round, eschewing the basic settings and visuals of the past in favor of full choreographed dances, random CG backgrounds and special effects galore, depicting the girls as literal giants while the success of the song turned them into figurative giants in the entertainment world. The seriousness of the early singles had been replaced by frantic insanity, and to say this was a break from earlier songs is a bit of an understatement...it was a declaration to Japan that the fledging-at-the-time Momusu will fledge no more, and the rest is history.

The song didn't just become a karaoke favorite...you also have:

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• and even [noembed][/noembed]!

And of course there's that RIKI version posted by Avex bringing the song back to the silly spirit of its original form. I admit being kinda shocked upon seeing that when it first showed up.

Even the cover of the single left a legacy, successfully predicting the order (top right to bottom left, by the way) in which the featured members of the time would leave the group in the future.

I'm not sure if I myself could have been "recruited" into the H!P world by this song, as my first impressions were positive yet unremarkable coupled with feelings of derivativeness (the same title as a well-known Miracles song, and a main groove that sounds too similar to Shocking Blue's "Venus" ). But after having been "recruited", absorbing the context of the song's legacy, and simply having it grow on me with each successive listen, I can finally say that this is indeed one hell of a track.