Well, sorry for being late and all, but site maintenance brought us down! More on that later though, let's see the song of the week.
Kare Kano Kanon (カレ・カノ・カノン)
| Version |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiko 11 to 14, all console | x4 (205) | x5 (256) | x5 (470,425,387) | x9 (697) |
| Taiko 0 onwards | x3 (205) | x4 (256) | x5 (470,425,387) | x8 (697) |
Taiko 11 to 14, Taiko 0, Taiko DS 2, Taiko PSP DX, Taiko Wii 1, 5, Taiko Wii U 2, Taiko PS Vita, CD 2008
180
none 
clsmnkThis is our first Classic song in SotW. Kare Kano Kanon was composed by Keiichi Okabe (岡部啓一), who also had a hand in composing other Namco Originals like Angel Dream and DON'T CUT. Unlike the actual Canon, this is a sped-up and remixed version (just like Hakuchou no Mizuumi) with vocals added in, which are from Mamechiyo Nakamura (中村豆千代). It's currently debated whether the song's ID is referencing the singer or not!
The song itself is a rearrangement of Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel. The arrangement was one of the most popular chamber music of the epoque. It was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue (a lively baroque dance) in the same key. In a nutshell, the canon consists of a main theme performed by a ground bass, and re-performed into 26 different ways with the 3-violin alternate play. So, the style of the chamber music reassembles better as a Chaconne, or a Passicaglia, as it was referred to in a few European countries.
Namco must have predicted that its remix with cute vocals and speedy, uplifting music would be popular among fans (like Hakuchou no Mizuumi before it), and prior to its debut on Taiko 11, hints were dropped on Kare Kano Kanon's existence. They gave out part of the title and the song's full lyrics as a Christmas present for Taiko lovers (it was first shown as カ？・カ？・カ？？) even before the song was heard by anyone, to garner more interest. True enough, the fanbase went wild when the first videos went online on the first day of Taiko 11's release.
It's a 9* Oni in the same style as the songs in the Angel Dream series, with many 3-note clusters (especially red-red-blue) and stray notes. Like Angel Dream, the notes in Kare Kano Kanon are easily memorized and predictable, making for an easy time to pass for anyone familiar with songs of equal difficulty. On Taiko 0, Kare Kano Kanon's difficulty went down by one star, along with the rest of the Angel Dream songs. A fun song to score attack, on the basis of its many drumrolls.
