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Message (Mongol800 album)

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Album by Mongol800
Message
Studio album by Mongol800
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2001
GenrePunk rock, indie, ska punk, J-pop
Length67:45
LabelHigh Wave, Tissue Freak Records
ProducerMongol 800
Mongol800 chronology
Go on As You Are
(2000)
Message
(2001)
百々: Momo
(2004)

Message is the second album released on September 16, 2001 by the Okinawa band Mongol800 via High Wave and Tissue Freak Records.

At the beginning, the album received only regional attention. After the song Anata ni was used in an advertisement the album became a national success, selling approximately 3 million copies and reaching first place in the Japanese albums charts by Oricon.

The album received no promotion like single releases or media coverage. Message contains 14 tracks with a running time of 67 minutes and 45 seconds.

Track listing

All tracks are written by vocalist/bassist Kiyosaku Uezu. The music was composed by Uezu, guitarist Takashi Gima and drummer Satoshi Takazato.

Message track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Anata ni" (あなたに)3:16
2."Song for You"3:31
3."Chiisana Koi no Uta" (小さな恋のうた)3:43
4."Melody"5:30
5."Tsuki Akari no Shita de" (月灯りの下で)5:03
6."For Life"3:51
7."Oyashirazu -Summer Again" (親知らず-Summer Again-)3:39
8."HEY Mommy"1:48
9."Marriage Blue"4:29
10."Mujun no Ue ni Saku Hana" (矛盾の上に咲く花)3:59
11."Ryūkyū Aika" (琉球愛歌)5:39
12."Dear My Lovers"5:37
13."Yume Kanau" (夢叶う)4:46
14."Dandelion"12:54
Total length:67:45

Lyrical content

The lyrics of the songs featured on the album are mainly about war and peace. These lyrics were written like if the words could have come out of the mouths from Okinawian people. The song "Ryūkyū Aika" for example is about loving nature without using violence while in "Mujun no Ue ni Saku Hana" the lyrics metaphorically tells the listeners to overcome war through using words of kindness.

In an article published in the Japanese regional daily newspaper Ryūkyū Shimpō in January 2018 the writer stated that it was weird and creepy that the album had been released only a few days after the September 11 attacks.

Commercial performance

When the album was released it only received regional attention. After the song あなたに (Anata ni) was used in a TV commercial the album became a national success through mouth propaganda. When the album was initially released it peaked seventh in the Oricon Albums charts before jumping to the top-spot in following year. Message became the first album released by an indie label to sell more than one million copies and peaking at no. 1 in the official music charts.

In the year-end charts of 2002, the album ranked at third place with more than 2.1 million copies sold. The following year, Message ranked at no. 56 selling 230.000 copies. In the meantime, the album sold more than 2.8 million copies in Japan.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Message
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 1


Year-end charts

2001 year-end chart performance for Message
Chart (2001) Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 84
2002 year-end chart performance for Message
Chart (2002) Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 3
2003 year-end chart performance for Message
Chart (2003) Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 56

Chiisana Koi no Uta

Main article: Chiisana Koi no Uta

"A Small Love Song" became popular and has seen various cover applications in multimedia. It is used as an insert song of Operation Love, and also for the soundtrack of Teasing Master Takagi-san. More recently, a cover sung by Manaka Iwami acts as the ending of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.

"Chiisana Koi no Uta" has becom a very popular karaoke song in Japan. It has been covered by more than 60 artists.

Notes

  1. "Dandelion" ends after 7:48 minutes. At 8:49 the hidden track "Message" starts.

References

  1. Shiba, Tomonori (November 17, 2021). "21世紀はこうして始まった―2001(平成13)年の「小さな恋のうた」(MONGOL800) ほか) (21 Seiki wa kōshite hajimatta ― 2001 (Heisei 13)-nen no 'Chīsana koi no uta'(MONGOL 800) hoka))" [This is how the 21st century began - 2001 (Heisei 13) "A Little Love Song" (MONGOL800, etc.)]. 平成のヒット曲 (Heisei no hitto-kyoku) [Heisei hits]. 新潮新書 (Shinchō shinsho) (in Japanese). Vol. 929. Shinjuku: Shinchōsha. 149. ISBN 978-4-10-610929-4.
  2. Shiba, Tomonori (November 17, 2021). "21世紀はこうして始まった―2001(平成13)年の「小さな恋のうた」(MONGOL800) ほか) (21 Seiki wa kōshite hajimatta ― 2001 (Heisei 13)-nen no 'Chīsana koi no uta'(MONGOL 800) hoka))" [This is how the 21st century began - 2001 (Heisei 13) "A Little Love Song" (MONGOL800, etc.)]. 平成のヒット曲 (Heisei no hitto-kyoku) [Heisei hits]. 新潮新書 (Shinchō shinsho) (in Japanese). Vol. 929. Shinjuku: Shinchōsha. 148. ISBN 978-4-10-610929-4.
  3. ^ Mako Sakamoto (2019-05-27). "モンパチ、200万枚売ってもインディーズの理由 名曲を映画化". Withnews.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  4. "モンパチのアルバム、ミリオン到達 インディーズで初". Sanspo.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2003-10-05. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  5. ^ "Message". Oricon. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  6. "Top Japanese Albums - Year-end 2002". Bestsellingalbums.org. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  7. ^ "Message". Bestsellingalbums.org. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  8. Ryosuke Arakane (2014-10-21). "MONGOL800――地元の沖縄から、揺るがぬ思いと力強いメッセージを届け続けて16年". Mikiki.tokyo.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  9. "MONGOL800の名曲『小さな恋のうた』実写映画化". Oricon (in Japanese). 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  10. Anime productions:
  11. "佐野勇斗、森永悠希、山田杏奈、眞栄田郷敦、鈴木仁、MONGOL800「小さな恋のうた」モチーフの映画から誕生したバンドのMVフル公開". Spice.eplus.jp (in Japanese). 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  12. "「小さな恋のうた」キヨサク×平田研也×山城竹識インタビュー". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2024-07-30.



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