KanjiBox Dev Blog

Congratulations to all those who played this week’s Japanese Music Quiz!

Seems like it was a tough one (guess I should have included more Naruto theme songs, huh). Few people got more than a couple. Although one Japanese music champion out there, managed to grab an 18.5 out of 20, only a few hours after the quiz went up last week. Anyway: all 3 winners received their coupons: thanks to everybody else for playing…

And without further ado, the solution:

#1: Yellow Magic Orchestra – Behind the Mask (Fantastic Plastic Machine remix).

#2: A much tougher one: Bird – Game

#3: Überfamous Theme from ルパン三世, covered by no-less-famous Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

#4: 60′s classic 夜明けのスキャット, sung by 由紀さおり.

#5: Misia’s Sunny Day (remixed by Joe Clausel).

#6: Another delightfully dated 60′s Japanese classic: どしゃぶりの雨の中で, sung by 和田アキ子.

#7: Shibuya-kei legends Pizzicato 5, singing a very jazzy live version of Audrey Hepburn Complex (couldn’t find a link to the version I have, so had to link another less jazzy version, but you can also check out the very trippy 80s original music video).

#8: Cornelius – Drop: ’nuff said…

#9: Personal 60′s J-Pop favourite of mine: 奥村チヨ singing the surprisingly outrageous 恋の奴隷.

#10: A bonus track meant to weed out the amateurs from the pros (and it did)… Akakage’s 恋のCha Cha Cha…

To celebrate the end of JLPT madness (for the time being) and the end of year altogether, I thought now might be a good time to distribute a few iTunes coupons for a free download of KanjiBox for iPhone.

The rules are simple:

• Listen to the 10 Japanese music samples below and identify as many as you can.
• Send your submission to kanjibox.quiz at gmail.com
• First 3 people with the highest number of correct guesses (out of 10 artists + 10 track names) win 3 iTunes coupons, each, for a free download of KanjiBox for iPhone.
• On Friday (Dec. 11) evening, Kyoto time, I will post the answers here and name the lucky winners.

#1:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#2:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#3:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#4:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#5:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#6:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#7:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#8:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#9:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

#10:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

All these tracks are performed by one or many Japanese artists and rank from the super-obvious to the slightly more obscure, but are all rather popular in their own genre.

Feel free to team up to multiply your chances at identifying them all (there are 3 free coupons per winner, to be shared however you see fit if you win as a team).

Note: because of restrictions placed by Apple, free application coupons on the iTunes Store can only be redeemed with the US Store. However, I believe it is possible to temporarily change your store affiliation to claim a coupon.

Have fun!