Legendary
They had it all and they blew it, completely. One got caught smoking, the other one got knocked up. For a mere 630 days or so, these two gals brought the wotas to their knees. For anyone who doesn't already know, this duo was called 'W'.
For a couple of little shits, they had some serious talent. It's hard not to look back at all their television appearances and music videos and see anything other than a couple of rambunctious little girls whose ambitions were to be their downfall.
In Tsuji's defense, she handled her pregnancy/shotgun wedding in the classiest way possible, and up until the graduation of the H!P Elder Club in March, was still a part of the organization.
Kago, my preference of the two, cocked-up royally and has paid a big price for it. She's made her own comeback of sorts, but it just doesn't live up to the hypothetical success she would have been had she stayed on the straight-and-narrow. It's nice to know she's alive and well (and, as expected, looking better by the day) but even if this comes off as harsh: she had TWO chances and she just couldn't cut it.
I've been over it many times in my own mind and as I've said, I'm glad they're doing well; unsurprisingly, I'm really not paying attention to either of them these days. Oh well, we'll still have W.
I don't think W would be quite as impressive, though, if they had stuck with it and were still around today. The fact that they no longer exist as a duo lends some sort of Jim Morrison/Kurt Cobain mystique to the group's works. Yeah, they're not dead, but quite the living example of the old adage 'you can't go home again'. While the girls live on and the image that was captured in that short time may linger on in the memories of fans, the group and its music are now legendary.
So, listening back to those short-lived memories is pleasurable and at the same time very melancholy. Because a lot of the group's music is either ultra-peppy or breathtakingly gorgeous, it's more properly categorized as an experience than just simply music or image.
Bottom line is, whatever they've done since as individuals, the demise of the group has only solidified their place as a force to be reckoned with. Kago and Tsuji just compliment each other, like cheese and wine, Lennon and McCartney, or fire and ice.
The end of W also meant the end of Mini Moni, as that group fell apart and left only these two standing. After which, they grew up at light-speed and left us all behind. Maybe someday they'll get back together and shock the world again, but it probably won't be the same. We've moved on from it out of sheer necessity and can only be left wondering 'what if?'
Does anybody know whether there are any W recordings beyond the two albums and seven singles they released under the group name? I'd like to know that either: my collection is complete, or there's more out there.
W were fairly awesome and I have to agree that their demise has only raised my opinion on them. At the time of Kago getting caught smoking, W was my favourite group within H!P and I was eagerly awaiting their 3rd album release and 7th single... but then, that was it :'(
ReplyDeleteBut because this they never released that inevitable song that you're not too keen on and because that all of W's songs are just awesome!
I still swear that somewhere out there must be copies of their unreleased single and album, the releases just seem to close for them not to have started manufacturing of them...but what I do know, lol I have no idea on the process of producing CDs...but in any case they must still be sitting on someone's PC somewhere. If only we could listen to them.
Thanks, Paul, well said. I know that a lot of people have been pining for the 'next' W release and apparently the single to come was 'Dou ni mo Tomaranai', which ended up on the 'Cover You' album. Ah, in the grand tradition of 'Koi no Fuga' comes a two-and-a-half minute song guaranteed to take you away from reality. Had it come out, it wouldn't have been much to tide us over, is all I'm saying. I just don't see the group working as well when they'd be 20-something, and it just seems that the whole concept was destined to fail, on their behalf, or from time itself. Because the former happened, we'll always, *always* wonder, what if?
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