Song of the Day: Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono

Although it's almost midnight in California, Nino Blankenship would like to wish a happy birthday to our namesake, Kazunari "Nino" Ninomiya, who was born thirty years ago (June 17, 1983) in Tokyo on this very day. To celebrate, here is my favourite Arashi song, 言葉より大切なもの ("Things More Important than Words"), from the 2003 J-drama Stand Up!! (which is, in my never-humble opinion, one of the best J-dramas ever). The performance here, however, is a solo-of-sorts by Nino, from their 5x10 concert series celebrating their tenth anniversary; the other four members also performed solo versions of Arashi songs from a drama or film that featured them. Also, this song just screams summer because of its shimmery, carefree pop-rock arrangement, making it a fitting choice for this week. Well, for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway.

Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono - Nino Version (embedding was not allowed for this video. Oh well.)