Infinity
Long-time and repeated contender for favourite Hekiru song. When I listen to a song, usually it takes a few listens before it catches with me. There are very few songs which I like a lot right away. Well, to be honest, Infinity didn't hit me right away. But after a few times, I really really began to love this song. First it was the intro, then it was the refrain. I still love the refrain and the guitar solo that precedes it. And of course the lyrics, written by Hekiru herself after the breakup of Hekibands, reflect the trials, hardships, joys, and hope, of the three years of her singing career. Even before I thought about the lyrics, I loved the music. You know, no song has ever moved me as this did, in those early days when I first became a fan. I actually shed tears listening to it, especially that beautiful refrain.
I did get tired of this after a while though, and dropped it from my mix. But then it came back... I don't remember why I put it back. And now, after hearing Hekiru sing it at this summer's tour, it hits me even stronger than before. Infinity is everything of Hekiru. Infinity is Hekiru.

Phoenix
Phoenix... Right now I'm a little tired of it, but I did love this song so much! A friend of mine said it sounded like an anime song and I took offense at that, but I guess it is kinda that sort of pumping fast hard song. At one point I liked this better than Infinity. I still like it a lot, but to my disappointment Hekiru didn't sing it at this tour, so I think it lost a bit of power there. I notice that songs that she sings on tour really take a leap up in my personal rankings. Still, it's fast, strong, and I really really liked it. Phoenix is good, and I think it will be back.

246
Ah, this song named after one of the major highways in Japan... (Took me a while to figure that out!) This truly is an amazing song. Keeps coming back and coming back. I remember, this was the first Hekiru song I ever heard, if you discount Hyouryuusha. Biased was I against Hekiru. Terrible was her singing I thought. But at the same time, hey, the song itself wasn't bad. Kinda catchy. Even thought about burning it before selling it to Chong. Well, this song really grew on me after I bought Baby blue eyes. Not only is the music really good (the addition of the piano solo makes so much difference in the feel of the song), but the lyrics just took my breath away. The last line was so setsunai I had to translate it. The original carries a simple beauty that I can't capture in English. To older Japanese fans, this song holds special meaning with its sad, nostalgic (but not bitter) look back upon highschool and college days long past, friendships and loves lost to the bustle of what we like to think of as "the real world". But the true wonder lies in those last lyrics, which say:
This road is long,
It even confounded love.
And yet, sometimes,
It makes me think of you.
Everytime I come back to 246, I find myself falling in love with it all over again. On a different note, I wonder why it fails to make much impact on me during lives?

Sora O Akiramenai
I remember when I first heard this song, watching the With a Will concert LD, and thinking when Hekiru kicks into what Mike calls the "yabba dabba doo" part, "Nani kore?!?!" But then it quickly became one of my favourite songs. You want to think it's kinda corny, but it's actually cool as all hell. It's one of Hekiru's earlier releases, but I keep thinking it's later than it is because the style of the music, the lyrics, the overall feel is just so much closer to what she's singing nowadays. Hekiru herself likes this song a lot; when she was recording it, she thought, "At last! This is the type of song I want to sing!" And with this tour's rearranged version... My God!! This song is just too awesome! I dunno how to explain it, because my musical knowledge is just about zero, but the intro is done with an emphasis on the hard sound of the electric guitar, and man! is it too cool! I wish this song had more calls to it, because I just want to throw my whole being into screaming and jumping for this song, it's that good now. Too bad the chances of a release of this arrangement, either as LD or CD, are almost nil. It could become my new favourite song.

Sore tte ii ne
Together with Lucky Day, this makes the other song which I absolutely hate. Well, hated. *sob!* After participating in the lives though, I have to grudgingly admit that... *whimper* ... this song is fun! Shows the power of Hekiru's lives, I guess. It's an indescribable experience to be at a live; to know the songs and the calls and to shout and jump in perfect time with everyone else, that feeling of oneness with 2500 other people is addicting.

Shoujo Bakudan
Here's another song that grew out of the live. I didn't really like this before, but after being part of it and learning the calls (which are pretty complicated but fun!) I really really like this song now, even the Respiration version. And after watching Dash, that part near the end when the chorus is reprised, I can see in my mind's eye the streamers shooting out and the entire crowd jumping, it's great. I just go crazy at that point, along with everyone else. Speaking of streamers, there aren't any this tour. I wonder why?

Kimete Misete Yo Get Back!
While we're on the subject of live-inspired song likes, I have to give this one a mention. The ol' bowling song... Well, it was kinda fun to listen to when I watched the Summer Special LD, but it was so corny it was one of them guilty pleasures, ya know? But after this live, I am completely converted! This song rules! ^^ It's corny, it's fun, it's great. Definitely a live song.

Kiss ga Tarinai
Oh! For some reason, in the last couple of weeks I have become completely obsessed with this song! It's corny and not something I would be proud to let normal people know I listen to, but man, I really really like it! To be specific, I am obsessed with seeing this in a live. I was very disappointed that Hekiru didn't sing it. I was even more unhappy when I discovered that this was one of the songs cut out of the With a Will LD. Dammit! Why do they have to edit concert LDs?!?! I'll rant more about this in my journal. For now I just want to say, I love the way Hekiru dances in Dash for this song. I the way she moves, the way she sings, the way she does everything! in this song... Ah, I'm in love with Kiss ga Tarinai Hekiru... And I like the way the crowd gets into it too! Must be a great song at a live. I hope she sings it during the next tour.

Watashi no Mirai
When did I start liking this song? I never really listened to it on the WaW concert LD... Certainly it never made it into any of my mixes. But, during the last part of this tour, my feelings about Hekiru and my role as a fan began to evolve. When she played this song on one of the last Suppin Smiles, I was suddenly overcome and the tears welled up. Now, it's one of my favourite songs, but not one that I can listen to many times. It's sad, tinged with loneliness and perhaps regret, setsunasa probably the word that comes closest to describing the emotions that play through this song. I really like the way the music builds up in the middle, the retrospective lyrics, and most of all, the way Hekiru sings it. And you know that they only way she could sing it that way was if she had gone through all that pain and longing and determination herself. It's just a song from a girl who's left love behind, yet still looks to it, who cried and still cries, wanting to be stronger, not realizing that she already holds the strength to make a future far brighter than anyone else could.