T5W#229-Top 5 Songs from K-ON! (Season 1)

I’m kicking myself.  Just why the heck didn’t I do this last summer when I reviewed the actual season?  And the funny thing is, I could’ve sworn I did.  I dug through files galore thinking I had this Top 5 written already but shelved it for another time.  Maybe I just worked it out in my head?  Whatever the case, useless rambling aside, this weeks Top 5 Wednesday (the first to kick off 2020) is a long time coming.  While you might stick around with K-ON for the friendships, the initial draw is the music and man does it kick some serious ass.  As I wait to see just what kind of new legendary tracks will be added to the discography in Season 2, let’s look back at the short but memorable list of tunes from the beginning of K-ON.  These are my Top 5 Songs from K-ON! (Season 1).

#5-Watashi no Koi wa Hocchikisu

We only get to hear this song maybe once in Season One, hence why its at the bottom.  But that shouldn’t mean it’s a terrible song.  It’s actually a very important one.  Watashi no Koi wa Hocchikisu is one of the first songs conceived by the full Light Music Club, five members strong.  You can hear it’s first strums between Yui and Azusa during their crews second training camp and the end result is a very nice, relaxing tune and a sign that After School Tea Time has gained something special with Azusa’s sound and knowledge.

#4-Don’t Say Lazy

The end theme for Season One, Don’t Say Lazy shows the girls at their most mature and hard rock sounding.  It’s not quite to the level of Sawako’s Death Devil band, it’s certainly After School Tea Time’s own thing.  While it is the most serious sounding of the girls Season One offerings, it is kind of funny to name a song after the one notion most might think about the Light Music Club.  I mean after all, if they were lazy and just drank tea all the time in the club room, how could they produce such magic as this?

#3-Cageyake Girls

This was the song that kicked off the series proper and is probably K-ON’s signature song.  It’s a great one too, one of the best intros of any Anime ever.  Cageyake Girls gets the blood pumping and sounds like the song you’d hear at the beginning of a concert to get you amped up and ready for a jamming good time.  I often say K-ON is a show that you need to put on and watch a little of if you’re having a bad day if you wanna feel better.  Just hearing the first few words of lyrics after those opening riffs should be enough to rouse any spirit and get you ready for an epic adventure…even if it’s just chilling out, drinking tea.

#2-Fudapen Ball Pen

Speaking of “everything’s gonna be ok”, that’s my big take away from Fudapen Ball Pen.  Listening to Mio sing alongside some of the best combo of sound from all five club members just instills that feel of calm and reflectiveness of the past.  Then the chorus makes you look forward with anticipation and a smile, like you’re not even remotely worried about what happens next.  I cant say why I feel this way whenever I hear Fudapen Ball Pen, maybe it’s just an “in the moment” kind of feeling.  I’d say this is the most positive sounding of the Season One setlist…but then there’s…

#1-Fuwa Fuwa Time

 If Cageyake Girls is the signature song of the K-ON series as a whole, Fuwa Fuwa Time is the signature song of the Light Music Club itself.  It’s the one song you hear them practicing the most and the one you can tell theyre having the most fun playing.  I’ll never forget the impromptu encore that Mugi just dives into during the clubs second concert.  Fuwa Fuwa Time feels like a testament to the fun and sisterhood Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa have built up over the course of the series.  This is the true Feel Good song of the First Season and is going to be a tall order to top in Season Two…somehow I think the girls are up to the challenge.