Aural Candy / a j-rock blog (mirror version)

Music Review: Kagrra, / うたかた (Utakata)

2006-11-22T10:47:00.000-05:00

1. うたかた (Utakata) [listen] [watch]
2. 「叫び」 (Sakebi) [watch]
3. あの坂を登れば (Ano Saka wo Noboreba)

CDJapan (Limited A / Limited B / Normal) / YesAsia (Limited A / Limited B / Normal)

1. うたかた / Oh, wow. I will say this right now, this is Kagrra,'s best song ever. If I ever have to introduce a potential new fan to Kagrra, and am only allowed one song, Utakata will be the one I pick. I'm convinced that if this track alone can't move you, nothing else Kagrra, produces ever will, for Utakata is the penultimate representation of the band's neo japanesque repertoire. This stunning piece of work entrances and delights the ears and enraptures the heart. It touches that deepest part of my soul and makes me weep at the song's sheer beauty. Really, it's rare for a song to move me to tears like this. Maybe this is what paradise is like. Izumi had written in his diary entry a while ago that this song embodies the beauty, tradition, mystery, and exoticism of Japan from foreigners' eyes. Is Japan paradise? ♥♥♥

2. 「叫び」 / 3. あの坂を登れば / I feel bad lumping the rest of the tracks together. But after Utakata, I don't think I can enjoy any other song to the same degree for a while (I must be bewitched!). Everything else pales and seems unimportant in comparison. If I hadn't been exposed to Utakata, I would still have ranked these two tracks near, if not at the top of my all time favorites list. These are marvelous, solid works in their own right. They're classic Kagrra, songs characterized by pleasing melody, soothing vocals, and that touch of sparkle. Ano Saka wo Noboreba (track 3) is a lighthearted and delightful piece that brightens any day, while Sakebi (track 2) is heavier, rockier, but still upbeat and cheerful. Great, great songs, both of them. ♥

For the first time ever, I'm seriously considering buying all 3 versions of a single. Even if I end up paying almost $50 for only 3 songs and 2 PVs, this really seems worth it. Oh, beloved Kagrra,, look what you make me do.

Rating: Fantastic+

Need Utakata, NOW!

2006-11-21T23:35:00.000-05:00

Aw, man! Kagrra,'s latest single, Utakata, is out at this point. I feel all antsy sitting here because I don't have it yet.

Why do I look forward to this particular single so much?

One. Kagrra,'s last release, the Chiaki no Tsuki single, was allllllll the way back in February of this year. The band hasn't produced any new songs for almost 11 freaking months!

Two. I'm convinced that this shall be my favorite Kagrra, single ever after listening to the previews at the official site. Somehow, that mere 30 seconds of Utakata had managed to crush me with emotions. The other 2 tracks are really good, too. I think I will seriously weep once I hear the full versions.

"Why are you crying?"

*sniffle* "I can't help it, this song is too beautiful it moved me to tears."

I'm glad that a full-length album will follow soon after this single release. The world needs more Kagrra,. Or at least, my world needs their music, lots and lots of it.

Bandscore: ガゼット (the GazettE) / REGRET / Filth in the beauty

2006-11-18T02:26:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll with magazines and Gazette today, aren't I?

A wonderful moderator of the gazette_daily LJ community posted up Gazette's REGRET and Filth in the beauty bandscores that were featured in the "glare" magazine. I'm reposting the scans here for any musicians out there who're interested (and don't have a LJ account or simply don't want to join a community).

REGRET bandscore zip: www.megaupload.com/?d=SEYIH07H

Filth in the beauty bandscore zip: www.megaupload.com/?d=QGVVGH2O

Enjoy. I might actually try out the vocals melody on my violin when I feel like it. It's pretty simple stuff. And if the megaupload links ever expire, please don't ask me to reupload the files because by then, they most likely won't be on my computer anymore.

And by the way, the Gazette photos featured in this magazine are awesome in that they also include beautiful closeups of the band's instruments (I spent a long time staring at Aoi's ESP Proto-type model). Definitely go take a look.

Misspellings and Another Money Grubbing Scheme

2006-11-17T22:31:00.000-05:00

My copy of SHOXX bis vol. 11 arrived today. As I flipped through the pages, one thing, one glaring thing, jumped out at me.

God damn it, the word "interview" is misspelled on the heading of every single Gazette member interview page.

The "inrterview" heading is large and extremely conspicuous. I can't believe it's spelled wrong 5 times (one for every member). The funny thing is: in the subheading, the spelling is actually correct. Guess no one at SHOXX noticed the difference.

As I gazed at the 3 double-sided posters that came with the magazine (one Gazette member on one side of a poster, plus a group shot), I realized one thing: this "generous" inclusion of 3 posters is actually another marketing scheme to cheat more money out of fans. You see, if you buy only one copy of the magazine, there's no way to hang the posters so that all 5 Gazette members are shown. I'm peeved that Aoi and Uruha are on the front and back of the same poster, so I had to choose between either displaying Aoi or Uruha on my wall (Aoi won, since he's my favorite of the 2 guitarists). The only solution to this type of dilemma is to buy 2 copies of the magazine. And there lies the genius.

This just confirms that yes, the visual kei industry is a pack of manipulative, money sucking jackals.

PV Review: Dir en grey / Agitated Screams of Maggots

2006-11-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

I fucking hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate! THIS! P! V!!!!

If you thought the single's CD cover was bad, this PV is many times worse. It was like some alien horror movie and just as disgustingly appalling. Two maggot denizens of a dead fish breed like the abominable maggots they are and take over a family. It's got plenty of gore, exploding flesh, and Kyo's screams don't help matters a bit. Oh yes, did you know a line of the lyrics says, "I'll rape your daughter on your grave"?

I'm not even going to embed the YouTube video here. This PV should be stamped out and buried in the deepest recess of earth and never see daylight again. I don't even give a damn about the symbolism contained. This PV is sick, sick, SICK!

Though I do applaud this PV for evoking such a violently repulsed response in me. If this had been Dir en grey's intention, it worked, congrats.

Rating: Awful--

News: Kagrra, / Untitled New Album [2007.02.14]

2006-11-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

Kagrra, will release their 3rd major album on Valentine's Day next year.

Artist: Kagrra,
Release: untitled new album
Label: PS Company / Columbia Music Entertainment
Date: 2007.02.14

Limited Edition
CD + DVD
Catalog Number: COZA-249～250
Price: 3,800 yen (tax in)

Normal Edition
CD
Catalog Number: COCP-34117
Price: 3,150 yen (tax in)

Supposedly, the album will only have 9 tracks. Kagrra,'s previous album releases contained 10 to 12 tracks. 9 tracks is almost a mini-album, not a full-length album. I really hope they add more tracks since the details haven't been finalized yet.

News credit to the Kagrra, LJ community.

Gazette on HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ

2006-11-14T14:42:00.000-05:00

November 13 came and went. The footage of Gazette on HEY!x3 finally surfaced.

There must have been some Gazette fangirls in the audience. Uruha definitely got the loudest cheer when he introduced himself. Damn him for being so pretty and getting all the fangirls' attention.

Hamada Masatoshi (the host with the checkered shirt) kept on messing with Reita. When asking the individual band members questions, he skipped Reita twice. To everyone's amusement, Reita jumped out of his seat to get Hamada's attention every time.

Uruha: "Blah, blah, blah."

Hamada: "All right, moving on..."

Reita jumps up and pokes Hamada.

*laughter in the studio*

Reita actually looked a bit upset when he got skipped over. Poor thing. :D

Unrelated: RURUTIA's Chorion album is so beautiful. Get it!

News: ガゼット (the GazettE) / Hyena [2007.02.07]

2006-11-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

Gazette will delight us with another single release early next year. What surprises will they have in store for us?

Artist: ガゼット (Gazette)
Release: Hyena
Label: PS Company
Date: 2007.02.07

Optical Impression
2 tracks + DVD
1.Hyena
2.千鶴
Catalog Number: KICM-91192
Price: 1,680 yen (tax in)

Auditory Impression
3 tracks
1.Hyena
2.千鶴
3.Defective Tragedy
Catalog Number: KICM-1192
Price: 1,260 yen (tax in)

Look forward to it!

Die's Guitar Pick

2006-11-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

My latest Dir en grey acquisition is a necklace made from an ESP Die guitar pick.

I love Die's pick design. It's so uniquely oriental and the color matches half of my wardrobe. This necklace is now one of my favorite piece of jewelry/music memorabilia. :D

/end of an extremely girly post (I'm so pleased by how well the necklace matches my outfits that I can't resist)

News: purple SKY on MUCC DVD & Otakon 2006 Footages

2006-11-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

purple SKY Appears in MUCC's New DVD Footage
Who is that awkward, dashing, Japanese speaking lad with dark hair interviewing MUCC on the Bonus DVD that comes with the limited edition of their new single HORIZONT?
Why it's purple SKY magazine's very own boo. Yes, that's me dredging a print-worthy answer from a still groggy Miya. [...]
from purple SKY Livejournal

Hey, MUCC actually put footage of the purple SKY interview on the DVD of their single release. This is really nice advertising for purple SKY. Think the magazine will get a sales/subscription boost from this?

While searching for Youtube footage of this portion of the DVD (unfortunately, nothing came up), I stumbled upon the trailer for the upcoming Otakon 2006 documentary, presented by Tainted Reality.

Oh, and also a YOSHIKI interview from the same event.

Oh YOSHIKI, your shirt makes you blend right into the background wall. And I wish you'd take off your shades. Everyone at the convention knows who you are, shades or no. I just don't buy into the whole "rock stars must wear shades to maintain an air of mystery and coolness" deal. Despite his "Japanese Rock Legend/God" status, YOSHIKI seriously doesn't project that rock star persona here anyway. He really does seem like the "aww, shucks" type of guy in the video (to borrow from purple SKY's description of him).

I had such a bad urge to throw something at the screen because he said "I don't know", shrugged, and played with his hair/collar so often. He had a very defensive posture, with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he felt uncomfortable and was trying to distance himself from the audience. I thought he'd have plenty of practice giving interviews. Stop fidgeting and give us straight answers, dammit!

News: Gazette to Appear on HEY!x3 Music Champ

2006-11-10T08:45:00.000-05:00

Imagine my delight when I saw the following message in my e-mail inbox this morning:

the GazettEフジテレビ「HEY!HEY!HEY!」
“RANK IN”コーナートークゲスト出演決定！
11/13（月）20：00-20：54
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/HEY/

Wohoo! Gazette will make their appearance in HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ TV show as the "RANK IN" Corner Talk Guests on November 13. Tune in if you can.

First Nightmare, now Gazette, it's awesome to see my favorite J-Rock bands getting recognition on major national music shows. I'll be on the lookout for footage of this airing.

Reconciliation with Rentrer en Soi

2006-11-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

I think I've finally come to terms with the drastic musical style change Rentrer en Soi had undergone. Ever since hearing their latest album, RENTRER EN SOI, I had been so devastated by the 180 degree shift in their music that for a while, I pretended that album didn't exist.

I had greatly favored Rentrer en Soi because their music were primarily beautiful, melodic ballad-style songs with tender, sweet vocals. I had loved every single album releases up to 2006. Songs like セフィロト (Sephirot) had given me so much pleasure.

Then, Rentrer en Soi's second full-length album, titled simply RENTRER EN SOI, came along in 2006 and shattered any preconception I had of the band. Too many of the songs on the album are loud, harsh, and angry (ie: DEAD believe ME). Satsuki screamed so much that it completely unsettled me. In fact, his singing had changed. It reminded me of Kyo of Dir en grey's style many times. What the heck happened to the gentle, angelic Satsuki I had known? I was so disappointed with this change that I gave up the band for a while.

But, I couldn't abandon Rentrer en Soi for long. Recently, I decided to go back to the RENTRER EN SOI album and listen with an open mind this time. I promised myself that I wouldn't compare the album with the band's previous works and simply judge the songs by their own merits. Surprisingly, and maybe not too surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the tracks. I realized that, despite the drastic style shift, Rentrer en Soi's music remained top-notch. It wasn't the new music that I hated, but the change itself.

Now, I'm glad that I gave the band another chance and got over my prejudices. Rentrer en Soi's music has returned to my music player and is now happily spinning away.

Music Review: ガゼット(the GazettE) / Filth in the beauty

2006-11-01T17:15:00.000-05:00

1. Filth in the beauty [watch]
2. Rich Excrement
3. Crucify Sorrow

CDJapan (Optical / Auditory) / HMV (Optical / Auditory) / YesAsia (Optical / Auditory)

1. Filth in the beauty / I've already goshed over this song so much back when the PV first came out that now I'm at a loss as to what to say. Yes, the brilliant fusion of R&B and hard rock kicks ass from Thailand and back (actually, it's probably from Japan and back). The female vocal enhances the song and gives it that extra "omph". Ruki sings in English throughout most of the track, but of course, no one can even tell what he's saying. :D Nevertheless, Filth in the beauty rocks hard and has become one of my favorite Gazette songs of all time. (Someone had suggested that this song is about incest between father and daughter. All I can say to that is: f**king hell!) ♥

2. Rich Excrement / I've already made fun of the song title in a previous post, so let's just skip that part. A street-punk rock song in which Ruki raps through the entire track, Rich Excrement reminds me of previous works like Maximum impulse and Maggots. The track features the same type of call-and-response found in Gazette power songs: Ruki growls out lyrics and the rest of the band roars back in answer. This is a phenomenonal headbanger and will be another hit live song, I can already see it.

3. Crucify Sorrow / I really looked forward to hearing this song in full after listening to the preview. I'm glad to say, it doesn't disappoint. This track is designed to showcase Ruki's rich, dynamic voice. Ruki finally sings instead of screaming and yelling into his microphone and I applaud. For some reason, the bridge section tends to be my favorite part when it comes to Gazette, and this is another one of those songs. Ruki sounds simply exceptional. ♥

Rating: Fantastic

Nightmare on HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ

2006-10-31T22:54:00.000-05:00

I'm so pleased that Nightmare was the guest on the October 30 HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ. They're finally getting recognition on a major music show. It's funny how having their songs featured as the opening and ending themes of the massively popular anime/manga DEATH NOTE has given them such a career boost, even though those two songs aren't even their best works.

Hitsugi completely stole the spotlight with his ~~weirdness~~ eccentricity. I'm surprised how subdued Yomi was. He's the craziest member of the band, yet he only spoke one sentence. Hmm....

purple SKY (Fall 2006)

2006-10-30T14:21:00.000-05:00

My copy of the fall purple SKY issue arrived today (purple SKY is the successor of jrock ink, the first English language J-Rock magazine). Since I did't have time to read it, I briefly flipped through to see what's covered.

The fall 2006 issue features articles of the following nature:

MUCC interview
BLOOD interview
Plastic Tree interview
YOSHIKI at Otakon 2006
LUNA SEA albums
BUCK-TICK history
Gazette Nameless Liberty.Six Guns review
Live report on various indie bands (including 12012 and Phantasmagoria)
Dir en grey at Family Value Tour 2006 live report (written by Go of jrocknyc)
possibly a lot of other things I missed

This issue also has much improved layout design and uses glossy, thick paper. Quite nice.

I also noticed that the magazine subscription fee has gone up. Before the fall issue came out, the US subscription was only $12.50. Now, it's $17. Hmm... I might not renew my subscription for next year if the old subscribers also have to pay the new rate. At about $6 per issue, this is pretty damn expensive.

The SinAI Fanservice

2006-10-30T01:07:00.000-05:00

Since my last post was about VIDOLL, I just have to share my love of the most fanservice-y PV I've seen in a while. It's SinAI, the video that turns my brain to utter mush and proves that yes, VIDOLL is indeed too gorgeous for the world to handle. When I first saw this PV, I almost fainted when I realized 2 seconds in that it's one of those "sparkly" PV's (I normally hate sparkly, insanely happy PV's), but decided to trudge on only because it's VIDOLL. I admit it, the major reason I even like this PV is due to the fanservice. *is ashamed of herself* But, the song is great, so having the fanservice doesn't hurt.

Fangirl Psychology 101:
1. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men
2. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men showing lots of skin
3. Fangirls like seeing beautiful men showing lots of skin, especially thighs

Catering to fangirls' wishes shall gain you a cult following and allows you to rip the said following's money off by releasing multiple editions of CDs. The fangirls'll curse and wail about the unfairness and empty wallets, but will likely buy the releases anyway. The suckers.

Oh, and here's the PV itself.

News: Very Important Doll Arriving Soon [2006.11.22]

2006-10-29T01:36:00.000-05:00

(A post from the future! Daylight Saving Time ends in 2 minutes.)

UNDER CODE announced last month that VIDOLL (ヴィドール) will be releasing their very first full-length album called "V.I.D~Very Important Doll" on November 22. This will be their last release under UNDER CODE, for they'll be "graduating" from the label in February, 2007.

In typical UNDER CODE fashion though, this release comes with 2 (TWO!) editions. Type A consists of a 11-track CD with a PV DVD and costs 3,990 yen. Type B is a CD with the same 11 tracks from Type A, plus a bonus track that features a never before released song. This costs 3,260 yen.

I wanna kick UNDER CODE (or maybe just KISAKI)'s ass for doing this again. How the hell am I supposed to choose between the two editions? Yes, Type B is cheaper and has an extra song, but Type A has a PV DVD! I like PV DVDs. Jeez, I'm so tired of ranting about these greedy indie labels.

I'm debating whether I should bug YesAsia about making this available. I'll feel obliged to order it when YesAsia stocks it (and I'm sure they will).

I don't think this album is a limited release though. At least, the official website says nothing about it being one. Maybe I should just sit on my ass and wait 3 months before getting this. Or, maybe I'll be lucky and get this in mint condition from Yahoo! Auctions Japan for $5 less. ~_~ (Hah, dream on!)

Since this is my first blog post about VIDOLL, let me just throw in a PV for anyone who's interested in giving them a try. A lot of their songs make me feel happy. They just do.

Tafel Anatomie Arrived!

2006-10-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

After much hassle, my copy of D's Tafel Anatomie limited edition album (pre-order-only release) finally arrived. I had feared that I didn't pre-order it early enough.

The album itself is really, a beautifully packaged thing. It's made to look like a hard-cover novel, the disc and the photo booklet are revealed when opened. The paper used for the booklet is thick and parchment-like. In addition to the photos of the band, the booklet includes a 100-question interview. Asagi and Tsunehito played basketball in high school? What the heck?! :D

Take note of the new costumes in the booklet (shown above). I'm relieved that Asagi finally shed that ugly white coat thing he wore for the Taiyou wo Okuru Hi PV. He looks so much better in this. Princess (Tsunehito), of course, is showing lots of skin. Supposedly, he never smiles, not even at lives. Oddly, he reminds me of Mana, with similar type of eye makeup and facial expression. And look at Asagi! Man, he's showing off so much thigh for a man who really isn't young anymore. It's amazing how he can pull it off so well.

I'm also pleased with the songs from this album. I especially adore 抉る衝動 (Eguru Shoudou), Glow in the sun, and Leukocyte. I hope that D'll make the PVs for those 3 songs.

By the way, now there is a LJ journal that's devoted to translating D (and Asagi solo) diary entries and lyrics. Check it out here.

News: Get Kagrra, to Perform in the US!

2006-10-24T22:26:00.000-05:00

The Japanese Student Network (JSN) here in the United States will organize an event called Tokyo Night 2007 on March 31/April 1 in Los Angeles, California.

Q: What is Tokyo Night?
Our objectives of Tokyo Night are to promote a spirit of unity among those of different backgrounds, and to introduce them to both traditional and popular Japanese culture. We are also committed to helping young aspiring artists to expand their creative possibilities in the U.S. We will produce a synthetic entertainment event for our anticipated more than 2, 800 attendees by combining latest club music, visual arts and a fusion of Japanese goods and services. We strongly believe that it is important to create goodwill between people of different backgrounds: our goal remains to promote understanding and respect for differences along with a will to work together to achieve similar goals as members of the same society in order to advance harmony. These are the major themes for upcoming Tokyo Night 2007.

According to the related threads on Batsu J-Rock Forum, JSN is now in serious talks with Kagrra,'s management about the possibility of performing at Tokyo Night, but they must bring in an audience of 2000 or more. If you're pretty damn sure you can make it, please let the organizers of the event know. Bring our beloved Kagrra, to the US! (Please note that Tokyo Night is a 18+ event.)

Related Batsu threads...
Tokyo Night 2007: http://batsu.org/viewtopic.php?t=17562
Bring Kagrra, to Tokyo Night 2007: http://www.batsu.org/viewtopic.php?t=18851

Where Are They Now? / ギブス (GIVUSS)

2006-10-24T01:03:00.000-05:00

GIVUSS was formed by Shou and Tora back in 2003 and disbanded in March of 2004. Its members by the time of their last maxi single release 能音楽、無生命。 (no music, no life.) consisted of Shou on vocals, Tora on guitar, Tsunehito on bass, and Yuu on drums. I wouldn't be surprised if you recognize the names. After the breakup, the band members' music career continued and now, they're...

Shou is now in alice nine., with much improved vocals and appearance.

Tora is also part of alice nine.. God, what the hell was he thinking with that awful makeup in the GIVUSS photo?

Tsunehito actually joined SCISSOR after GIVUSS. Upon SCISSOR'S breakup, he became the new bassist of D in 2006. I think he looked much cooler in GIVUSS. Now, I get the impulse to stab him in the eyes because he always look so startled in photoshoots.

Yuu's not-really-current band 華族 (Kazoku) broke up just last month. I know nothing about them.

New Indie Rock Bands to Check Out

2006-10-22T22:32:00.000-05:00

Along with one of my recent CD purchases, came two flyers of two J-Rock indie bands I've never heard of. It's hurts and Clutch.

According to the flyers, hurts will be releasing 4 maxi singles beginning in December of this year, while Clutch has a coupling CD with another band called Cyasarin released.

Hm, I'm especially interested in finding out what hurts sounds like, since the band's signed to UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. If KISAKI's involved, my curiosity's definitely piqued. But alas, hurts' homepage is still very much incomplete. I'll be keeping an eye on this band.

Tafel Anatomie Shipped!

2006-10-22T15:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, YesAsia came through for me!

I found out about D's new limited album release "Tafel Anatomie" about a month ago (yes, I was behind on news) and immediately requested YesAsia to make it available for pre-order. I was happy that they fulfilled my request even though they didn't originally plan on offering this item. I placed my pre-order around 3 weeks ago, or about 2 weeks before the release.

So, the release date October 18 came around and being impatient, I checked the YesAsia site on October 20 to see my order status. To my utter shock, YesAsia listed the album as out of print and nothing on my order information indicated that my copy was ready to be shipped, the order was still listed as "pre-order". Concerned, I checked the other major online vendors like CDJapan and HMV; all of them told me the same thing, Tafel Anatomie was out of print, only 2 days after release. Even more puzzled, I zipped over to D's official site and realized that, damn, Tafel Anatomie was actually a pre-order only release! So by "limited edition", they didn't just mean pressing, but order period as well.

I was really really worried. Even though I pre-ordered 2 weeks in advance, was it early enough to guarantee me a copy of the album? I e-mailed YesAsia and asked them upfront whether they can ensure that I'll receive the album. All I got as an answer was something along the lines of "we still haven't received the stock from our suppliers and therefore cannot tell you for sure yet". That had me writhing in pain. Now that the album's out of print, the only other way I can obtain it is through Yahoo! Auctions Japan, but that method will be expensive as hell (double the price of what I pay YesAsia). I was seriously going to be majorly pissed off if YesAsia couldn't ship the album to me.

But now, I breathe a sigh of relief. YesAsia just e-mailed to inform me that they've shipped Tafel Anatomie to me. I'll have it in my hands in about 10 days, and so ends my most recent personal music drama.

Hurray for luck.

PV Preview: Kagrra, / うたかた (Utakata)

2006-10-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

The new Utakata single PV preview is now available at the Kagrra, official website.

The 30-seconds of PV preview is stunning beautiful. There is something deeply moving about the song that it actually makes tears well up in my eyes. The torrent of swirling emotions conveyed by "Utakata" hits me so hard that I want to weep in both happiness and sadness.

God, I'm going to feel off-balance for the rest of the day because a 30-second song preview caused a train wreck of emotions in me.

What is this sorcery that so affected me?

Music Review: アリス九號. / ブループラネット (alice nine. / Blue Planet)

2006-10-18T19:06:00.000-05:00

Either due to the bad quality of the original mp3 (128kbps at iTunes Japan), or ~~Shou sounding like he forgot his vocal training over the past year~~, I can't say I love this song. I dislike the synthesized vocal effect and feel that it just cheapens the production. Honestly, what happened to the magic of alice nine.'s Zekkeishoku album? The two post-Zekkeishoku singles NUMBER SIX. and Blue Planet are mediocre compared to a lot of songs on their full-length album released earlier this year. While this song is quite decent, it can't hold a candle to their early 2006 releases. I think I've begun to hold alice nine. to higher standards. I feel let down.

Rating: Tolerable-Good

News: ガゼット (Gazette) / European Edition「Nameless Liberty.Six Guns…」[2006.11.03]

2006-10-17T02:04:00.000-05:00

I am SO bloody jealous of Germans right now.

The German company CLJ Records will be releasing the European edition of Gazette's Nameless Liberty.Six Guns live DVD set. This release will consist of the two concert discs and include both German and English subtitles. The booklet will also contain English lyrics.

Price: 24.99 EUR (about $32)

A special fan edition with DVDs and a T-shirt is also planned. Details will be announced soon.

I'm disappointed, however, that the European edition doesn't include the third disc from the Japanese limited edition. The third disc is the one that contains backstage and interview footages, and kicks absolute ass. Guess the company's too lazy to translate and subtitle it. Because the third CD's not included, I hesitate in buying this...

Bah. We Americans are so neglected. *kicks Free-Will America* Why can't you do the same for us?! PS Company is a sub-label of Free-Will, for god's sake! The euro-dollar exchange rate sucks.

News: D / Tafel Anatomie [2006.10.18]

2006-10-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

Artist: D
Release: Tafel Anatomie (limited edition)
Label: GOD CHILD RECORDS
Date: 2006.10.18
Catalog Number: DAKGCR-3
Price: 3,800 yen (tax in)

1. Phantom pain
2. Fanfare
3. 太陽を葬る日 (Taiyou wo Okuru Hi)
4. Leukocyte
5. Calling me
6. Card
7. 青い果実 (Aoi Kajitsu)
8. Humanoid
9. Glow in the sun
10. 抉る衝動 (Eguru Shoudou)

Now, just watch D release a normal edition of this album 3 months later, with 3 extra tracks. I'll cry. I swear KISAKI (of Phantasmagoria, ex Syndrome) still rubs off on them too much. Stop releasing remastering/remix CDs with bonus tracks! I'm too broke to buy them all.

Track list credit to currypanman of D LJ community. A preliminary review of the album can be found here.

Save the Trees!

2006-10-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

I just received my copy of Phantasmagoria's "Splendor of Sanctuary" today.

When I cut open the outer envelope, I was confronted with another envelope. Shrugging, I ripped the second envelope open, but to my surprise, there's yet another envelope inside. Bloody hell? There's nothing to it but to keep on opening envelopes, until 6 envelopes later, the Phantasmagoria album was revealed. Whew, I was starting to worry that there was actually a ticking time bomb in the package.

Dear Free-Will America:

Bubble-wrap would have worked just as well.

Love,

Me

Hmm, it looks like this album will be out of stock soon, since it's the America-only limited release with 1,000 copies printed. Not even Free-Will America has it anymore, the only other place to get it is JPopHouse. Currently, this album used is worth 7,800 to 10,500 yen in Japan (about $80-93, even though the original retail price is $20). If you're a collector, this would be a good album to invest in.

Copy Cat Coincidence?

2006-10-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

Today, my jaw dropped when I saw the following entry at the Kagrra, LJ community:

Album Art Change
So, for anyone who has been reading Izumi's diary [ or not ]. According to his post on September 30th, Kagrra,'s CD jacket designer will be changed. By this, I assume he meant the artist who drew the DVD, CD, photobook and the like [cover arts].
Why this came to be, I have no idea. All I know is that Fukaya Yuichiro's art became a major trademark for Kagrra,.

Now, compare the quotation above to my previous blog entry. It looks like a paraphrase of what I wrote....
Freaky coincidence or did someone totally rip my post off? Suspicious, very suspicious.

News: Kagrra, CD Jacket Design Change

2006-10-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

Oh, no! According to honyakuno-hime's translation of Izumi's September 30 diary entry, Kagrra,'s CD jacket designer will be changed. By this, I assume he meant the artist who drew those gorgeous cover arts. If this is so, I really don't think it's a good idea to replace the talented Fukaya Yuichiro, for his beautiful artworks have essentially become trademarks of Kagrra, the band.

Why fix something that ain't broken?

Phantasmagoria is too Damn Fantastic

2006-10-09T00:58:00.000-05:00

I just discovered a new favorite band called Phantasmagoria!

*is giddy from excitement*

As I was reading D's Wikpedia entry, I came upon the name of the vocalist Asagi and guitarist Ruiza's former band Syndrome and the mention of Syndrome's leader KISAKI's current project, Phantasmagoria. I've seen Phantasmagoria posts around various J-Rock communities before, but never paid too attention. Now that I realized the existence of a link between Phantasmagoria and D, I decided to check out Phantasmagoria's Wikipedia entry.

This is when I realized that, oh my freaking god, KISAKI is actually the head executive of UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. The indie visual kei production company/record label that also produces popular bands like VIDOLL and 12012 (and not quite popular, but still beloved Karma-Shenjing). And! He was the leader and bassist of La:Sadies, the band that was to become Dir en grey (now under Free-Will's FIREWALL Div.)!!! And what's more, he was the executive of Matina before its dissolution. This was the label Gazette was on before switching to PS Company (a sub-label of Free-Will)! Jesus Christ, KISAKI is linked to everyone!

This "degrees of separation" intrigued me so much that I simply had to investigate Phantasmagoria's music. I just couldn't resist finding out more about this fascinating KISAKI's current band. All I did was type in "Phantasmagoria" in YouTube and went through the PVs that turn up in the results. And to my pleasant surprise, I actually love every single song featured in the PVs produced by this band. This is an amazing feat in of itself. The only other band who's achieved the same in my book is SID, not even my darling Gazette has done it because I dislike their earlier works. This is so ass-kickingly awesome.

Without futher ado, a Phantasmagoria PV...

What's really great about becoming a Phantasmagoria fan is: the band's releases are distributed by Free-Will America in the United States. I can purchase their releases directly from the record label right here in the good old US of A. Oh my god, this is too good to be true! Their first (and only so far) full-length album is a compilation that's only released in the US.

SID + alice nine. + pasta = ♥

2006-10-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

So, according to Shou and Hiroto of alice nine., they visited Aki of SID ("the charismatic bassist Aki", wrote Shou) after their Shibuya Kokaido live and brought him souvenirs from Okinawa. And Aki made pasta for the two of them. Then, Hiroto and Aki went to a near-by park and talked deep into the night. And then, both of them fell sleep until it was morning! I assume right there in the park!

It's odd how all these bands on different labels know each other, isn't it? What's interesting is, they can't just be casual acquaintances because I would never buy things for people I don't really know and go out of my way to bring the gifts to them, especially if this is right after a big concert and I'm probably dead exhausted.

Aki apparently is a good cook, too.

I Miss NYC

2006-10-07T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm so sick of being stuck in my current Hicksville location.

We get no international cultural events here, let alone any possibilities of J-Rock concerts. When the highlight of the year in this little town consists of only Dave Matthews Band and Justin Timberlake, it's just freaking sad (and hm, we got The Rolling Stones last year). In fact, this entire state is out of loop when it comes to diversity and international culture. The population's interests here are just so homogenous, it drives me nuts.

Such frustration inevitably leads me to lament about no longer living in New York City. I moved away 2 years ago, though I still consider myself a New Yorker. NYC is one of the most ass-kicking cities when it comes to diversity. The city offers so many resources and opportunities that cater to everyone's interests and tastes. I miss those afternoons of fun browsing in Chinatown with a green tea ice cream cone in hand (from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory near Bowery, of course), those detours to Asahiya, Kinokuniya, and Book Off for regular dosage of Japanese entertainment (though such detours always guaranteed that I wouldn't find a seat on the train going back home), and heck, I even miss those street/subway performers you often find in busy districts and subway stations. (Speaking of which, I heard that the MTA got a new batch of shiny trains in for some of the subway lines. Awesomeness.)

In comparison, the town I currently live in has absolutely nothing. For Asian entertainment needs, I must rely on online shopping sites like YesAsia, but I can't do a thing about the lack of cultural events. I really need to move to some place bigger and more diverse in the next two years or so, or I'll die of jealousy whenever any major (and non-major) act from Asia decides to make an appearance in the US (in some city not anywhere close enough to my state to make a trip worth it). Since I've already lived in the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, I think I should give the West Coast a try. San Francisco and Los Angeles, I'm looking at you!

That brief stroll down memory lane gave me a craving for green tea and red bean ice cream. But god, there are no such things within a hundred miles. ;____;

News: アリス九號. (alice nine.) / HELLO, DEAR NUMBERS [2007.01.24]

2006-10-07T03:39:00.000-05:00

Artist: アリス九號. (alice nine.)
Release: HELLO, DEAR NUMBERS Tour Final at Shibuya Kokaido Public Hall (live DVD)
Label: PS Company
Date: 2007.01.24

Limited Edition
Concert disc + bonus disc (making of, interview)
Catalog Number: KIBM-90129
Price: 6,090 yen (tax in)

Normal Edition
Concert disc
Catalog Number: KIBM-129
Price: 3,990 yen (tax in)

I'm surprised how affordable this new live DVD release is. It's only 2/3 the price of Gazette's Nameless Liberty DVD. Now I'll actually consider buying it. Or should I wait another year or so until alice nine. performs at Budokan (actually, knowing alice nine., it'll be probably be less than a year)? But by then, the band will be way too famous/popular for their Budokan DVD to be as affordable as this one.

Stupid English Song Titles

2006-10-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

Take one look at the song titles of Gazette's two upcoming singles.

REGRET -Auditory Impression-
1. REGRET
2. Phychedelic Heroine
3. Worthless War

Filth in the beauty -Auditory Impression-
1. Filth in the beauty
2. Rich Excrement
3. Crucify Sorrow

Phychedelic Heroine?! Don't you mean, "psychedelic heroin"? And, Rich EXCREMENT?!! First of all, why in the world would you use the word "excrement" in a song title of all things? And second, why the hell is the excrement "rich"?

What the fuck is wrong with these Japanese bands? They need to hire an English song title consultant.

Dir en grey: "So, what do you think of 'Agitated Screams of Maggots'?"

Consultant: "..."

Dir en grey: "Well?"

Consultant: "This is the most stupid ass song title I've ever heard."

Maggots: X__x "You hurt our feelings! Maggots have a right to feel agitation, too!"

PV Review: 宇多田ヒカル / ぼくはくま (Utada Hikaru / Boku wa Kuma)

2006-10-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

A day in the life of Utada Hikaru's stuffed bear.

Bear-chan wakes up and falls out of bed. Bear-chan reads. Bear-chan skateboards in his room. Bear-chan waters a plant. Bear-chan plays the guitar. Bear-chan draws. Bear-chan plays with buttons. Bear-chan goes to bed at night.

Bear-chan is too cute for words. Bear-chan must be hugged and loved. Bear-chan gets a...

Rating: Fantastic

Because I can't resist enjoying a music video featuring the story of a lovable, squeezable stuffed bear. <3

Service Review: YesAsia / Play-Asia / J-XYZ

2006-10-05T23:28:00.000-05:00

When it comes to shopping for Japanese music, I use YesAsia, Play-Asia, and J-XYZ. Why these 3 services? Because these accept PayPal as payment. Due to my credit card having a really high limit, I avoid using it for online shopping whenever possible. Due to this limitation, sites like CD Japan, HMV, and Amazon.jp aren't included.

Below, I detail my experiences using the 3 services mentioned above. The reviews vary in length and detail because I haven't used some services as much as others.

YesAsia

This is probably the biggest and most popular shopping site for Asian media out there. It is the primary service I use because of the huge selection and reasonable prices. In addition, taking advantage of their Super Saver shipping method (read: discounted shipping, even though they call it "free shipping") really saves me a lot of bucks over time. I receive my items in about a week (I live in the United States).

However, what I like the most about this site is the customer service. Due to bad luck and carelessness on my part, I had to e-mail YesAsia customer service quite a few times about various issues surrounding my orders. Their consistent prompt responses really win me over. They've always gotten back to me within a few hours and usually get my problems resolved in about 2 days.

Because I follow a lot of Japanese indie bands, I sometimes find that YesAsia doesn't have certain future releases online when pre-order periods begin. When I e-mailed customer service and requested for the items though, YesAsia always got back to me in a day or two and made my requested items available.

When one of my recent purchases got delayed for 2 weeks due to the items getting held-up in US Customs, YesAsia actually upgraded my shipping for free to speed up the domestic transport and gave me a coupon as apology even though this wasn't even their fault ($5 off on order above $30, I used it to pre-order D's Tafel Anatomie limited edition album). Now that's good customer service.

Though, there are two things that other people often complain about when it comes to YesAsia. First, if you pre-order Japanese music merchandises before a certain date, freebie goods often accompany your items. However, YesAsia actually takes those freebies off your items and sell those separately, despite the fact that bonus goods are marked not for re-sale. It's one more channel for YesAsia to make money, but this bugs a lot of people. Though, I personally don't care.

Second, when your orders are canceled or payments are refunded for whatever reason, the refund takes the form of store credit. Since I order from YesAsia so often, this usually isn't a problem. The principle of it turns some people off though.

Despite the issue with a few of their practices, I've had really good experiences with YesAsia so far. So, I give it...

Rating: Fantastic

Play-Asia

I use Play-Asia as backup when certain releases aren't available at YesAsia. Its Japanese music goods are usually a bit more expensive than YesAsia and it doesn't offer free shipping. However, Play-Asia offers more shipping options in that you can actually choose the packaging. I always pay a few dollars more for a boxed Airmail packaging, instead of the traditional envelop packaging just to ensure my purchases arrive safely.

With every single one of my orders so far, Play-Asia has sent a coupon. $5 off on orders above $50, not bad.

When Play-Asia wasn't able to source one of my items after a month, they agreed to cancel my order and give me a refund. At first I wasn't happy that they offered store credit and e-mailed them back insisting that I prefer direct PayPal refund. They gave a PayPal refund the very next day. This incident was the only time I contacted Play-Asia's customer service and consisted of 3 e-mail exchanges. I got very prompt replies and my problem was resolved in about 3 days. Very nice.

One thing I don't like about Play-Asia is that they don't seem to update their product listing when items go out of stock permanently due to the fact that they're not longer being printed. This can be misleading and is what caused the incident I described above.

Also, Play-Asia takes longer time to ship items out. There's usually a week delay after you make the payment. So, it takes about 2.5 weeks for items to reach me on average.

Rating: Good

J-XYZ

J-XYZ is my very last resort when neither YesAsia nor Play-Asia has what I want. It specializes in band goods not carried by the other shopping sites because they offer tour goods (T-shirts, pamphlets, wristbands, guitar picks, etc.), posters, photo books, flyers, magazines, in addition to good old music CDs. This is the place I can usually count on for still carrying out of print CDs.

Price-wise, however, J-XYZ is often more expensive than YesAsia and Play-Asia (but not excessively so). Because most of their goods are of the rare-to-find variety, I'm perfectly willing to pay a premium for them.

J-XYZ's online shopping interface isn't very advanced. Much of the transaction is handled by a real person instead of automatically by the computer system like other sites and you can't check your order status. Once your order's submitted, it takes a few days for a confirmation e-mail to arrive detailing payment. Once you pay, it again takes a while for them to inform you that your item's been shipped. The site will register your parcel unless you specifically request them not to do so.

Basically, I'm not a big fan of J-XYZ's customer service because it really takes its sweet time to get back to you on everything. When I bought alice nine.'s Zekkeishoku limited edition album from them. It took them 3 days to confirm my order. Then after hearing nothing for a week, I e-mailed them asking about the order status and was informed the CD was shipped out about 5 days before. Geez, would it have killed them to e-mail me when the item was first shipped? Then, almost a week later, I got another e-mail telling me the CD was shipped and apologizing for not keeping me up to date. What the... do they not keep track of their e-mails? Anyway, it took me about 2.5 weeks to receive the album, but the lack of communication was frustrating. -_-;

Based on my one shopping experience, if it hadn't been the fact that J-XYZ carries out of print CDs, I'd never shop there. I just ordered another item from them because I can't find it anywhere else. The confirmation e-mail, this time, came in a few hours instead of 3 days, and the shipping notification e-mail arrived within a day, maybe there's hope for J-XYZ after all.

Rating: Tolerable

New alice nine. Blogs!

2006-10-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

alice nine. members now have their individual blogs. The new blog designs capture each band member's personality and style pretty well, I think.

Shou is down-to-earth.

Tora is cool and badass.

Hiroto is youthful with a dash of punkiness.

Saga is all about making fangirls' brains explode with his sexiness.

Nao is innocent and fanciful.

Together, they're alice nine..

I prefer Shou's personality the best, actually. I like those who have their feet planted firmly on the ground. They're the ones whom I can relate to. Shou is focused, hard working, and yes, very real and sensible. This is the type of guy a girl wants to take home to show to her parents.

Kagrra, - Touhonseisou Jyungyo T-shirt

2006-10-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

Whoever says that Japanese girls are super skinny lies!

The Kagrra, T-shirt I won on Yahoo! Auctions Japan came today. After washing it, I put it on and took the picture below. This is a ladies size M shirt, which initially worried me because I thought it might be a bit small. Because you know, Japanese sizes are supposedly smaller than the US sizes in everything and whatnot.

But, the T-shirt isn't too small, at all. In fact, it's a size too big on me. I wear size S for normal adult shirts in the US, this size M is pretty much exactly the same as US size M shirts in terms of width, but a bit shorter in length.
The thing is, I'm not even considered "small" in the US. When I shop for clothes, I can wear some things in petite and almost anything in the smallest miss size. So, I'm only slightly below average for a woman in the US. While in East Asia, I'm considered slightly above average. I really don't understand how this T-shirt from Japan can be so large. (Oh wow, I just gave my size away, to strangers, on the internet. Damn. >_>)

Now I know that in the future, if I want form-fitting band clothes from Japan, I have to make sure to get ladies size S. And this is a lesson for all of you out there in the US who may potentially buy clothes from Japan, the Japanese sizes aren't as small as you think, at least not for band clothes. :D
By the way, for the curious, this T-shirt is from Kagrra,'s 東奔西走巡業 (Touhonseisou Jyungyo) Tour in 2004. I really love this particular design. It's bold, yet stylish. I plan to wear this on days that I feel like being an attention-whore.

Silver Ash / Sohu Online Interview Translation (Part 1/2)

2006-10-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

I translated half of Silver Ash's Interview with Sohu Online in August of 2004. This is such a hugeass-ly long transcript that I have to take a break before tackling the second half. This interview gives us overseas people a very insightful view of the Chinese music industry. The struggles Silver Ash faced/faces in China really makes me realize how lucky the J-Rock bands are for being able to develop and expand in a much more receptive and accepting market.

Please do not reproduce this translation (or any part of it) anywhere in any form without getting explicit permission from me beforehand (see my e-mail at the end of the post). Translation is a lot of work. I won't appreciate people just taking things without asking first.

Silver Ash / Sohu Online Interview Transcript (August 21, 2004)
(Original text: http://gd.sohu.com/20040821/n221683583.shtml)

Translated by: http://auralcandy.vox.com

Part One

Guests: Visual rock band - Silver Ash
Online Host: Huanghe (Sohu Guangdong Entertainment Editor)

Host: Good afternoon, everyone! Because Silver Ash had to attend a promotion event today, this interview was delayed to 4:20pm. Thank you for your understanding!

Host: Silver Ash has just arrived. The interview will begin in ten minutes. Let's let them rest a little. Really sorry about the wait!

Host: Good afternoon, everyone! This weekend, we invited the four members of Silver Ash rock band to our Sohu Guangdong Chat Room. Hello! Everyone's been looking forward to your arrival. First, please greet your fans!

Silver Ash: Hello, everyone! Thank you for your support.

Visual rock is settling, not recessing

Host: First, welcome to Guangdong to promote your releases. You're known as "China's first visual kei rock band". How do you look at this concept?

Silver Ash: In addition to having a visual impact, we want to have an aural impact. Simply put, we strive to look good and sound good.

Internet Fan "Xiaomi": I really like Mr. Zhen on drums. I've also bought the third release, but now I live in Japan and can't purchase your CDs. Do you plan to expand to Japan?

Silver Ash: If an opportunity arises, we'll look into it. Please contact us when we visit Japan, since we also have people in Japan listening to our music.

Host: Japanese visual kei has reached the pinnacle. However, it's slowly getting lighter. The bands' costume and music style are gradually going downhill. What do you think of this phenomenon?

Silver Ash: I think this is simply a continual evolution. Your style can't be stagnant, just like you can't wear the same clothes for four years straight. Japanese visual kei is about ten-something-years-old from the early 90's to now. Listeners are receptive to all bands, but I also think it's like the ocean tide washing up against the sandy shore. The good bands will remain, but the ones that aren't will be washed away. It's better to say that visual kei is at a settling down stage. During this period, the bands without substance will be eliminated, while the ones with real talent will remain.

Internet Fan "Xiaomin": Mr. Ling's lyrics are so beautiful. They remind me of a band that I used to really love called Autumn Bug (note: Qiutian de Chongzi). Their band members also put on makeup, but they aren't really visual rock. And, the members aren't as aesthetic as Silver Ash, but their songs really are great. Yingzi's (note: Sakurako) voice was especially awesome. I wonder how they're doing now?

Silver Ash: Haha, you've come to the right place! I'm really good friends with them. We had rented the same apartment together and shared living expenses. I heard that they're on hiatus. The vocalist and the guitarist are a couple. They're busy making ends meet right now.

Host: A lot of bands like Autumn Bug used to have lots of fans. But now they're merely trying to survive; their fansbase declined. Do you face similar problems?

Silver Ash: We mentioned that this is our last album on this trip. We do face the issue of making ends meet. We need to survive, meaning two meals a day and a bed to sleep in at night.

Silver Ash: Right now, I live at home. I use my dad's car and spend my dad's money. But I'm the only member who's a Beijing local. Everyone else isn't Pekingese (note: a resident of Beijing). We must deal with the issue of daily survival.

We've done our best; we also would like to be popular like Jay Chou

Host: Right now, you still don't have a big enough presence in the music scene. How do you plan to expland your influence?

Silver Ash: Sohu is a major web site (note: it's like Yahoo!). If you enter "Silver Ash" as keywords into the news search, you'll get 52 pages of hits. So in reality, we do have a pretty good presence. But the issue of making ends meet is affecting our music. We're quite influencial in a lot of areas, but this popularity hasn't helped our goals, because there are too many communication problems.

Silver Ash: We're already working so hard, including at every tour. We produce materials and inform fans of band news ourselves. In terms of media promotion, we're doing okay. Our vocalist takes care of the band's makeup all by himself. We do a lot of things ourselves.

Host: I think you should focus on communication with the overall market, not just the niche. In the current music scene, every Jay Chou release triggers a massive pre-ordering wave. How can you achieve this?

Silver Ash (Ling): How we wish that we can be that popular, too! But in the end, it can't be helped. We aren't that well-known right now. A fan had said something that really hurt. People scoff at visual kei. They really have no idea how much we dedicated ourselves. I make the trip to stores to purchase makeup personally. That fan really doesn't know what it's like for us. They have no right to criticize us. Even if I stop doing this some day, no one has the right to say that we've abandoned visual kei. At least, we're working really hard. They don't know this, but I have grievances, too. Having to do the makeup for all four band members by myself is exhausting.

Silver Ash: We still have more lives. I'm so tired. My arms hurt after putting on makeup for the band. No one has the right to criticize that we've abandoned visual kei. We've done our best, including investing money. Now our main goal is to make music. We want to continue producing music. Zhen wants to drum, Yue and Yu want to play their guitar and bass. It comes down to wanting to continue our music. I wish the critics can be more forward thinking. They should at least know that in order to achieve commercial success, you must "look deeper" and not be deceived by the surface.

Silver Ash: These years we went from the dilemma of choosing the music or the visual, to being deceived by surface issues and losing our head to success, to many other challenges, but at least, we still know what we're doing.

Silver Ash: Our promotion schedule isn't like that of the other artists. Promotion begins after the album is released. This method results in less communication with fans and listeners. At this promotion, we'd like to tell people that whether you're a Chinese music consumer or watcher, you should communicate with the creators and the artists more.

Silver Ash: The media is the most important, whether it's web, TV, radio, or print. Consumers, creators, and the media should cooperate and work on changing the current state of the industry, instead of criticizing and blaming each other. Artists blame fans for not buying CDs, fans then criticize the artists, while the media just worsens the issue by egging everyone on. I understand that foreign music industries have more specialization.

Silver Ash (a different member from above): I'm no expert in this, so I won't criticize. If you like metal, you needn't say bad things about other bands. You have a right to your personal preference. That's what I think.

Host: Your words make me heavy hearted. What you said is very frank and direct; it's the market's current state. At Sohu, we have always tried to support original music and local music. We hope to promote real music. The main thing is for you guys to presevere. We at Sohu will support you and promote you.

Internet Fan "Wanou": After you guys signed with Scream, you are glam rock to the outside, while remaining visual kei to the inside. Do you think you can have a breakthrough in your style?

Silver Ash: I haven't listened to too much 60's rock. I've never done glam rock. We really don't have a strategy for the "outside". Outside is overseas, inside is mainstream. Once your CDs sell over a certain number, no matter what kind of music it is, it become mainstream if it's successful.

Host: Will you continue preservering with quality music, or will you turn to mechanically manufacturing "canned music"?

Silver Ash: I don't understand what you mean by "canned music".

Silver Ash: I'd like to release CDs in a can. Hope he can help us. (note: whichever member said this was joking, I think)

Internet Fan "Wuyan": Do you use other bands as reference? What are your future goals for development?

Silver Ash: We use Silver Ash as reference, and our own band is used to plan future goals, though some say we're influenced by Japanese bands.

Part two will be posted once I translate it. Again, do not reproduce this translation anywhere else in any form without my explicit permission (e-mail me at: nagetou [at] gmail.com).

银色灰尘 (Silver Ash)

2006-09-30T18:36:00.000-05:00

Silver Ash was the first and only major visual kei band in Mainland China. A Beijing band formed in 2000, Silver Ash had been producing music actively under the Scream Records label until 2004. Supposedly, due to pressure from the Chinese government, the band members began leaving one after another. It was announced that the remaining members will be forming a new band called TOY with various musicians from other groups and would abandon the visual kei path.

However, Silver Ash still performed with the J-Rock band La'cryma Christi (just disbanded about a week ago) at the Star Live House in Beijing in August of 2006. There's a gap of information here between that announcement and the performance. I haven't figured out exactly what happened yet. I'm not sure why the 2005 album, "Wei Jin Ji" (未尽集) was still released under the name Silver Ash.

Edit: After finding the actual text of the official press release from 2004, now I know that Silver Ash was simply put on the backburner in favor of TOY. The press release specifically mentioned that TOY would be targeting the domestic mainstream market, while Silver Ash would be targeting the overseas market. Silver Ash hadn't really disbanded, just on a semi-hiatus. Their contract was also transferred to Scream Record's parent company, Jinwen Records. Of course, this was the "official" press release. In China, anything "official" means heavily sugarcoated. There are more details I need to uncover. Something still seems off. End of Edit

I'm still saddened by this whole problem with the Chinese government. Silver Ash could have become the X Japan of China. Alas, the band was getting strangled before it could have made a difference in the Chinese rock music scene. Almost everytime they get a chance to play overseas or join other major artists like Japan's T.M.Revolution, Pycho le Cemu, and Sons of All Pussys, the Chinese Homeland Security steps in and put a stop on the activities. Why did the Chinese government interfere? Why would it have such a problem with visual kei? Or is it actually due to the political content of Silver Ash's songs? I don't know and I'm terribly disappointed by the turn of events. I wish Silver Ash can just migrate to Japan and miraculously be able to sing in good Japanese.

But in the end, this post is a tribute to this pioneer Chinese band. As an initial introduction, I present to you Silver Ash's two music videos and my translation of the lyrics to these two songs. Please do not reproduce the translations (or any part of it) without getting explicit permission from me before hand (e-mail: nagetou [at] gmail.com).

Lunar Eclipse

This is a very poetic song. As a result, the lyrics are more difficult to translate due to the form and the usage of metaphors (and the ambiguity of pronouns and tense). I tried to preserve as much of the original Chinese meaning and form as possible in the translation, so as to not mangle the beautiful lyrics too much while maintaining coherency.

Title: Lunar Eclipse

The frozen moonlight, entangled in a dark room
Is dissolving in blue and seeps into the gray wall
The frozen moonlight, entangled in a mirror
Is dissolving in paleness and seeps into the gray wall

In the sunken depth of my eyes, glitters a nightmare from childhood
Trembling, I open both eyes, peering from the window at the...*
Moonlight that uncaringly burns my icy blood and frozen gaze***
In the dark, the iron window of ice, the mysterious melody is the imagination of happiness

The mangled shadow, careless scattered, is carved into my body
Seeping into my blood, the blue iciness freezes in my heart
The mangled shadow, careless scattered, is carved into my face
Seeping into my flesh, the blue iciness freezes in my heart

A beam of moonlight falls on my eyes, and pierces the shadow in the depth
Trembling, I close both eyes, dodging from inside the window the...**
Moonlight that uncaringly burns my icy blood and frozen gaze***
In the dark, the iron window of ice, the mysterious melody is the imagination of happiness

Moonlight that recklessly burns my icy blood and frozen gaze***
In the dark, the iron window of ice, the mysterious melody is the imagination of happiness

* A more conventional translation would be: "peering at the moonlight / outside the window" instead of "peering from the window at the... / moonlight". The reordering is to preserve the form of the original lyrics.
** Like above, conventional translation would be: "dodging the moonlight / outside the window" instead of "dodging from inside the window the... / moonlight". The reordering is to preserve the original form.
*** The original Chinese is 蓝色的血液, which is literally "blue blood". In the translation, I used the metaphorical meaning, "icy blood".

Liar

Well, this song is much much easier to translate. Half of it is in English and the other half in Chinese is straightforward enough. The video itself should also convey the political message clearly. Warning for the use of the "f" word.

Title: Liar

Liar, liar, liar!
You are such a liar, liar, liar!
You are a fucking liar, liar, liar!
You are such a liar, liar, liar!
You are a fucking liar!

I feel lied to as I wait
I wait in lies
Calmly swallowing the happy lies
I wait in happiness

Liar, liar, liar!
You are such a liar, liar, liar!
You are a fucking liar, liar, liar!
You are such a liar, liar, liar!
You are such a liar!

I feel lied to as I wait
I wait in lies
Calmly swallowing the happy lies
I wait in happiness

Liar!
Liar!
Liar!
Liar!
You are such a liar!

Silver Ash's discography can be found at Wikipedia.

As for where to buy all of their CDs, I wish I knew. Right now, it seems impossible for overseas fans to purchase their CDs because the popular international online music stores simply don't carry their works anymore or the CDs are out of print. However, your chances improve if you can read and communicate in Chinese. After searching on line, I found that eBay China sometimes has Silver Ash available. Yahoo! Auctions China (taobao.com) also seems to have an even bigger selection. However, the sellers on these auctions sites mostly only ship domestically. The good news is, Amazon China (joyo.com) does ship internationally, though it only has the most recent album (Wei Jin Ji).

The great thing about buying from Chinese artists CDs from Chinese sites is that everything is so damn cheap due to the exchange rate. At Amazon China, for example, Silver Ash's Wei Jin Ji album comes out to about $5, including shipping. I'm not kidding. So, grab a friend who can read Chinese and support the artists by buying their CDs. God knows, Silver Ash really really needs our support right now.

Cutie Nao

2006-09-28T22:18:00.000-05:00

Nao's 09/28 diary entry (translation credit to Miyabi_Melody of Batsu J-Rock Forum):

I was at bookstore today and saw 2 mothers (who seem to be friends) reading Korean artists books. They were talking peacefully among themselves and I saw them picking up the magazine with alice nine. on cover!!! Just when I was thinking "OH?" at the moment, the 2 mothers said:...

"Ah, new Korean artists♪"
I ran out.

At this point, I broke down and laughed my head off. Ahh my dear Nao, what will the world do without your lovable innocence?

D-ilemma!

2006-09-28T03:03:00.000-05:00

I'm in the market for D's "The name of the ROSE" album. But, but... the story is not so simple.

Not surprising for a visual kei band, D has released 3 versions of this album (kicks record label). The two limited editions came out in 2005. They've got 10 tracks, and a different PV on each. The situation is complicated by the fact that D's original bassist left and a new one joined. So in early 2006, a regular edition of "The name of the ROSE" was released. This time, the songs were re-recorded with the new bassist, and 3 new tracks were added.

So, the problem is obvious here. Which edition should I get? For choosing between the limited editions, it comes down to the PV's (the audio tracks are identical). The PV's even out in the end, because one has a great song but okay PV, the other has an okay song but great PV. Only 5,000 copies were released for each limited edition, and now are out of print. But if I look hard enough, I can still find one or two on auction for a pretty reasonable price. However, I can't ignore the fact that the regular edition contains 3 extra tracks. They're good tracks, too. And I want them.

God freaking dammit, should I get one of the limited editions or the regular edition?! I can't decide! And I really really can't afford to get all of them.

Life sucks.

"Mayatsuki no Hitsugi", the PV that came with the Type-A limited edition. Okay song, great PV.

"Sleeper", the PV that came with the Type-B limited edition. Great song, okay PV.

I Missed Dave Matthews Band Concert (By Choice)

2006-09-28T00:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, call me foolish for missing Dave Matthews Band's hometown concert.

My house had a fundraising event in which residents could volunteer to be backstage curtain handlers on the two nights Dave Matthews Band was performing here. This was of course the perfect opportunity to be close to the band during the concert. The idea of watching the band from backstage and only being a few feet away from them is indeed quite attractive. Had I remotely been in my right mind, I'd have jumped at the chance.

However, I wasn't anywhere near being in the right mind. The concert nights happened to be on the same week in which I averaged 3 hours of sleep every night due to having to work on massive projects. By the time the concerts came around, I was so burned out and felt so dead that I couldn't have cared if lightning struck and killed my pet dog (figuratively speaking). All I wanted to do was to sleep for 3 days straight.

So, while my housemates were out having fun helping out at Dave Matthews Band concert, I was sleeping.

Pooh.

News: Kagrra, / うたかた (Utakata) [2006.11.22]

2006-09-20T21:27:00.000-05:00

The new Kagrra, single release news just came in my e-mail inbox. Here's my translation:

Artist: Kagrra,
Release: Utakata
Date: 2006.11.22

Type-A (limited edition)
2 tracks + PV
Catalog Number: COZA-231,232
Price: 1,890 yen (tax in)

Type-B (limited edition)
2 tracks + PV
Catalog Number: COZA-233,234
Price: 1,890 yen (tax in)

Type-C (normal edition)
3 tracks
Catalog Number: COCA-1591
Price: 1,260 yen (tax in)

Thank god I don't collect singles. Otherwise, I'd have another heart attack over PS Company's devious scheme of 3 release editions.

New Intermediary Service - Mukunoki JP

2006-09-16T21:38:00.000-05:00

While browsing Livejournal, I discovered a new intermediary service that just started in ~~August~~ July, called Mukunoki JP (LJ community here). It's similar to SMJ in that it will buy from Japanese web shops and Yahoo Auctions for you, then ship the items to you while charging you a middleman fee. As of right now, the intermediary fee for this service is 20% of total cost. In addition to web shops and auctions, it can also join fan clubs on your behalf and forward fan club merchandises to you. Mukunoki charges a flat 10,000 yen per year fee that includes shipping but excludes the fan club due. The payment methods it accepts are PayPal, credit card, and international money order.

I have NOT used this service yet, but here's the conclusion I've reached based on the information provided by Mukunoki's website and LJ community.

Advantages:

Currency exchange rate / Mukunoki uses the standard currency exchange rate and doesn't do that "subtract 4" conversion that SMJ does.
Intermediary fee / The 20% intermediary charge can actually be cheaper than SMJ depending on the price of the item, since Mukunoki uses a percentage charge while SMJ uses a flat charge.
Shipment route / Mukunoki's shipment route is more direct. The item is sent from the original seller to Mukunoki, then Mukunoki sends the item to you. While with SMJ, the original seller sends the item to SMJ's Japan storage, then the item is sent to SMJ's US storage, then is finally shipped to you. You can request SMJ to not send the item to its US storage, but for North American buyers, this is useless. Of course, you have to pay for all of the shipping fees.
Service variety / Like I said, Mukunoki acts as a middleman for Japanese web shops, auctions, and fan clubs. SMJ is Yahoo Auctions only.
No deposit required / Mukunoki currently doesn't require a deposit like SMJ.

Limitations:

Payment options / Mukunoki accepts PayPal, credit card, and international money order. But if you use credit card or bank fund, you'll be charged an additional 3%.
Membership application / You must become a member in order to use Mukunoki's serivces. The membership is free, however, it may take a few days to process. So if you have an urgent auction item that ends in 3 days and you're not a member, there may not be enough time.
No fan club concert ticket through fan club service / If you use the fan club service, Mukunoki doesn't buy the fan club concert tickets for you.
Item quantity limitation / You can only buy at most 3 items through Mukunoki at a time.
No bidding on auctions ending soon / Mukunoki won't bid for you if the auction ends within 24 hours.
No real time bidding / Once Mukunoki receives your bidding request, it gives you a price estimate. Once you agree to the estimate, it'll begin bidding for you. This entire process is handled by a person, it's not automated or real time like SMJ. So, there might be a longer delay in placing your bid, which explains the previous point (no bidding on auctions ending soon).

I think this is pretty much all information I've uncovered about the service. I have no idea how reliabe Mukunoki is since they're so new. I recommend checking out their website and LJ community yourself to get a better perspective.

PV Review: アリス九號. (alice nine.) / NUMBER SIX.

2006-09-16T11:42:00.000-05:00

Supposedly, the NUMBER SIX. PV continues the story told in 春夏秋冬 (Shunkashuutou). The alice nine. members are all high school buddies and they have a startup band. They run into conflicts, have shove fights, get broody, then make up and have group hugs. Awww... we're all friends again!

Does this sound like a cheesy high school drama to you?

Because it sure does to me. I lose count how many times I have facepalmed because the PV is literally dripping with syrupy sap. Guys, even though you have a youthful image, most of you are in the mid-twenties. Dear god, if you must pretend to be high school band kids, you should at least tone down the mushiness. Not to mention, this kind of plot is pretty damn trite. We see it in dramas all the time; must you also inflict it upon us in your PV, too?

Had I been say... 12 years old, I'd have found this love-dovey-ness cute and endearing. alice nine. group hug, yay! But sadly, I'm not. So this PV gets a...

Rating: Tolerable

Update:

I heard rumors that Tora was the one who ~~directed~~ wrote the storyline for this PV. If this is true... well, I apologize to him for not liking his work. It really isn't to my taste. I'm only talking about the PV, not the music here. I know for a fact that he composed the song. However, I still haven't formed an opinion about the song yet. I'll have to digest it some more.

A Declaration of Love

2006-09-15T10:19:00.000-05:00

I have a new favorite song that I shall play on repeat for the entire next week (and the week after that, then another week after that, then...).

Words fail me when it comes to describing Gazette's sheer brilliance at transcending genres. Which of the band members composed this song? Who decided to add the R&B element? Whoever it is, I'd like to offer Gazette my soul. And my firstborn child. And oh, would you like me to be your personal servant for the next 10 years? Anything else I can give you so that you can keep on producing fantastic works like this?

You guys are a gem, a treasure to be kept close to our hearts. I'm so, so glad that I had the fortune to discover you in the first place. Your dedication and sincerity have won me over completely.

Tears welled in my eyes as I saw you guys collapse onto the ground after lives because you had wore yourselves out so thoroughly that you had no strength left. You had given your all to your fans and had nearly driven yourselves to expiration. My heart went out to you when you were so moved at Budokan that you cried on the stage. All of you, men, rock stars, cried. I loved you even more when at a tour location, the venue was so tiny and claustrophobia-inducing that the entire band had no room to move on the stage and was pressed right against the crowd, but you still played. When power went out in the middle of the performance, you kept on going....

You did all this for the fans. You love us. And we fell in love with you.

My beloved Gazette, I wish you all the best. Keep true to yourselves and know that you have our support and love, forever.

News: ルルティア (RURUTIA) / Chorion [2006.11.08]

2006-09-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

This November, RURUTIA will entrance us once more with a new album, Chorion.

Artist: ルルティア (RURUTIA)
Release: Chorion (album)
Label: PHOERIX RECORDS
Date: 2006.11.08 (now available for pre-order)
Catalog Number: PHOX-100004
Price: 3,000 yen

1. ABINTRA
2. 玲々テノヒラ
3. 星に花、灰色の雨 (Album ver)
4. 水景色　星模様
5. 願いの届く日
6. スピネル
7. Time Traveler
8. パレード
9. 微笑みのマリア
10. マグノリアの情景
11. ABINTRA (Inst)
12. 水景色　星模様 (Inst)
13. 願いの届く日 (Inst)
14. スピネル (Inst)
15. 微笑みのマリア (Inst)

Unrelated:

SID's album, play, is now available for pre-order on YesAsia.com (and no, that's not an affiliate link). I asked their customer service 2 days ago requesting for it. Today they've already e-mailed me back and told me it's now on their site. Awesomeness.

I pre-ordered the type A limited edition, with CD and photobook. I originally wanted type B (CD and DVD), but after thinking long and hard about it, I decided on type A instead. My logic is, a DVD's digital content can be easily replicated, but there's really no way to perfectly reproduce a photobook. Thus, type A with the photobook is more special. It enhances my nice feeling of exclusivity. =P

Oddly, type A is $1 cheaper than type B. I'm guessing it's because type A weighs less, so when YesAsia takes into account the "free" shipping, this weight difference is adjusted.

Wanted: Limited Edition Albums

2006-09-09T00:46:00.000-05:00

Why the heck doesn't eBay have more SID music available? I know it's a long shot to get the Renai limited edition album, but why can't SOMEBODY carry it?! Okay, so this was a 2004 release, and yes, only 10,000 were issued. But... I still wish someone somewhere sells it online. Bloody hell.

I know that Gail of Himitsu is also collecting SID music. I wonder if she has had any luck getting Renai limited edition. A 2-year-old release with only 10,000 copies floating around. The odds are stacked against us.

Speaking of out of print items, I'm also trying to get my hands on Kagrra,'s san limited editon album. There's only one place I know of that still sells it. However, the total price for it eventually comes down to $44. And needless to say, I'm totally not happy about this. I'm currently waging an internal battle with myself over whether I should spend so much on just an album. On one hand, there are only a few copies left on the market. On the other hand, $44 is a lot, way too much in my opinion, even if it's "divine music" (Kagrra, = 神楽 = divine music).

Paying only 1/2 price for a regular edition/reissue versus overpaying for a limited edition/first press, it's too hard to decide (oh, why do I have to be such a hardcore fangirl?). Had I not cared about the limited edition issue, I'd just get the albums for $5-$20 on eBay. Of course, there's also the risk of unknowingly getting pirated copies. Let's think about it, how in the world is it possible to sell a legitimate Japanese import disc for only $5? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. This may also explain why there aren't brand new limited albums on eBay. The bonus materials make it harder to duplicate the discs and raise the cost. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Oh, such torment.

Music Review: Ken / Speed

2006-09-03T00:56:00.000-05:00

1. Speed [watch]
2. Empty Rooms
3. The Shadow Of Your Smile
4. Speed(karaoke)

CDJapan (w. DVD / CD) / HMV (w. DVD / CD) / YesAsia (w. DVD / CD)

1. Speed / I cannot get over how jarring Ken's singing is in this track. No matter how many times I listen to the song, I just can't adjust to his voice. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but he sounds off key in many places. As a result, the melody is so unfortunately damaged that I honestly cannot like the song. It's a shame.

2. Empty Rooms / I believe most (if not all) of this song is sung in English, though I can't really understand the lyrics due to Ken's pronunciation. Whenever he sang "empty rooms", I thought he had said "Aunty Ruth" instead. O_o But other than the heavily accented English, this is a great mellow song. It's melodious, soothing and reminds me of smooth jazz music (I love smooth jazz), but is synthetic. This time, I have nothing to complain about Ken's singing. His voice is appropriately fitting. ♥

3. The Shadow Of Your Smile / 4. Speed(karaoke) / Track 3 is a short instrumental piece and features a trancy, New Age-like guitar sound. It is strangely hypnotizing. Track 4 is the karaoke version of Speed. I like it a lot better than the vocal version. I'm sorry Ken, you really sounded awful in that song.

Other than that strangely off key song, Speed, this is a quite nice single. Ken isn't as good as the other L'Arc~en~Ciel individual projects such as HYDE or Creature Creature (yet). But there's definitely great potential.

Rating: Good

Dying for Creature Creature

2006-09-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

Arrggh, my copy of Creature Creature's Light & Lust album won't arrive for another week or so. But, I'm losing sleep over it, no kidding. Ever since hearing their 3 singles from June, I felt like life is meaningless without possessing more of their releases. To my delight, their first album was out a few days ago, but the waiting is killing me! Why won't you arrive sooner, Light & Lust?

For those of you who don't know, Creature Creature is formed by tetsu (bassist of L'Arc~en~Ciel), Morrie (former vocalist of DEAD END, the band that influenced SUGIZO of LUNA SEA, Sakurai Atsushi of BUCK-TICK, Yuana of Kagerou, etc. and I believe tetsu himself is a fan), and Minoru (guitarist, formerly of Die in Cries and The Mad Capsule Markets). We have no idea who the drummer is, because his name is never mentioned and his photo never appears anywhere (nor does he get much exposure in PVs, no close-ups)! Creature Creature has to be my favorite Laruku individual project of all time; I like it even better than HYDE's solo work.

The first Creature Creature work I came in contact with was the Kaze no Tou PV. God, that moment was pure magic. I was enspelled, infatuated, and utterly enraptured (redundant use of words, I know). I actually felt my heart pounding. The delight of discovering another favorite band was overpowering. Man, I'm getting worked up just writing this.

But, a picture is worth a thousand words, or rather in this case, a video is worth even more than a picture. So I present to you all, Kaze no Tou by Creature Creature!

It's so beautiful that I want to weep.

News: Universal Backs Free Music Site

2006-08-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

Aljazeera.net:

A new free music website has won the backing of Universal Music Group, creating a model that could challenge market leader Apple Computer's iTunes.
New York-based SpiralFrog, which plans to launch its service this year, said the world's largest music label had agreed to make its library available to US and Canadian customers of the service.
Users can download an unlimited number of songs or music videos if they register at the site and watch online advertisements.
The tracks cannot be burned to a CD, but users will be able to transfer music to portable media players equipped with Microsoft Windows digital rights management software, Ford said.

Simply take a look at Universal Music's Wikipedia entry to get yourself an idea of what kind of impact this will have on the music industry. If this project is handled properly, it can revolutionize the entire digital music scene. For a list of Japanese artists under the Universal label, see Universal J's official site. However, I suspect that since the SpiralFrog service targets North American consumers, music from Universal's Japanese division won't be made available.

The fact that the files are incompatible with iPod is rather annoying, however. Because I am an iPod owner (like many others out there), I can't derive as much benefit from this service as people who use players with Microsoft DRM (are we still hung up over that?). Whether this is an actual blow to Apple remains to be seen. But honestly, I wish the files can play on iPods. *is sad*

Update - more information from Techcrunch:

Spiral Frog will offer a desktop downloader for Windows Media Files (no iPods!) that can be listened to on one PC and two portable devices. Here’s the kicker - you must log in to the Spiral Frog service at least once per month, and see their ads, or your files will stop playing! The details aren’t fully set in stone, but it will be something like that. There will be links to third party sites of the record labels’ choosing if you’d like to buy your freedom to at least skip the ads.
Spiral Frog will also offer far more than just music, but also video and other digital content. The selling point here is that users will be able to access media legally, without the malware, bad network connections and pirate’s shame that comes from other online media sources. Weird Al’s new “Don’t Download This Song” must be linked to in reference to those arguments!

SpiralFrog told the Financial Times that they were in talks with Warner, EMI and Sony-BMG as well.

Looks like SpiralFrog is trying to pull in the support of all four of the "Big Four record labels". Jesus, this is about 80% of the world's music. Information on the Big Four can be found here.

Spare Our Wallets!

2006-08-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

What is with indie labels producing so many different versions of the same release just to milk the merchandise for all its worth?

I'm one of those suckers who like to purchase the limited editions of releases because of the bonus material and that nice exclusive feeling. While I'm perfectly aware that I'm being taken advantage of, I still cannot help myself. "Here I am, please exploit me to your heart's content."

But, when the labels really start to capitalize on this (irrational) fan psychology by releasing TWO versions of the limited edition, I just can't take it anymore and must blow my fuse.

This blatant manipulation, this abominable abuse on fans' goodwill drives me up the wall. Why can't the labels simply package the bonus materials in one edition? We're not freaking ATM machines, with endless supply of money for you greedy corporate monsters. Isn't it enough that many of us are willing to purchase a limited edition out of our love for the artists? Why must you burden us with the decision to 1. buy only one version of the limited edition, 2. buy both versions of the limited edition, or 3. heaven forbid, buy all three versions.

Are you actually trying to encourage piracy? Because if I really want to retaliate, I can simply download all 3 versions online for free and leave you without any profit. But then, don't the artists end up being the innocent victims of your ill thought-out scheme? Do you really think this is a good long-term strategy for the company? Where is your conscience?

We fans are not stupid, despite what you may think. We're willing to make some allowances as long as your business practice isn't out of line. However, you have crossed the line, you have crossed it many times. I do not know how much tolerance the rest of the fan population possesses, but let me assure you, our patience is not limitless. We won't take this lying down forever.

Update: Now that I look at this entry 3 hours after I posted it, I think I got a bit carried away by my irritation. The words may have been harsh, but I'm glad that I got that off my chest. Oh well, call me melodramatic. :D

...

By the way, it has just been announced at the Budokan concert a day ago that SID will be releasing a 12-track (including the A sides of the 3 latest singles) album called "play" on November 8, 2006. It comes in 3 (THREE!) spanking versions. (news courtsey of mahiru_no_koe of SID LJ community)

Type A: CD, with photobook, @ 3800 yen
Type B: CD, with DVD, @ 3800 yen
Type C: CD, @ 3150 yen

Pre-order begins on September 10.

I bet you anything that they'll all come in different covers. I think I'll at the very least get Type B though. Plan to pre-order it ASAP. Argh.

News: Dir en grey at Family Value Tour 2006

2006-08-29T00:31:00.000-05:00

One.

YOSHIKI (formerly of X Japan, currently producer) was spotted at the Family Value Tour San Bernandino concert. (From mivanx77 of Batsu J-Rock Forum)

Two.

Kyo of Dir en grey was rushed to the hospital after falling down from a crate/platform during performance at the Family Value Tour Toronto concert.

Kyo looked fine for the first song. During the second song, he fell down. Most people thought it was part of the act. He took a long time in getting back up, and several roadies rushed to his side, concerned and helped him back up. He made it back up after an uncomfortably long time, but looked disoriented (he banged into a mic stand). None of the other band members stopped.

After the show, I talked to fans who said he was bleeding around the face, but I didn't notice myself (my eyesight's on the crummy side), and it could've been part of the act.
A couple of songs into their set, Kyo lifted a red cage-like platform. I didn't see any struggle, but it's possible he overexerted himself then.

After the Diru show, while Flyleaf was playing, people started noticing a commotion backstage. There was an ambulance and paramedics there, and someone was being taken away. It was Kyo, by all consensus. It definitely wasn't someone from another band, because the rest of Dir en grey were standing close by, looking agitated (I saw Die and Toshiya specifically, but I'm assuming Shinya and Kaoru were there, too). Then security told everyone to piss off.

There was no meet-and-greet for Toronto. I don't know if is related to Kyo's health or not. It wasn't cancelled or anything, it just wasn't planned at all.

That's the extent of public and my personal knowledge. Despite the fact that he was clearly not feeling well during the show, the band finished their set with aplomb. It was a great performance everything considered, and they have my kudos for that. I hope Kyo will be alright. :/

From iro of Batsu J-Rock Forum

The Kagrra, Visual Evolution

2006-08-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

I have a love-and-hate relationship with Kagrra,'s... hm, visual presentation. During the early period (2000-2003), the band was always seen in incredibly elaborate costumes, with massive amount of makeup, and tons of hair gel. What saddened me was, Isshi, the vocalist who was essentially the frontman of the band, always (pretty much without exception) looked GOD BLOODY AWFUL! He has a large frame, which means his body build is completely unsuitable for pulling off that delicate-Japanese-beauty-in-kimono effect. In fact, I think it's an abomination that so many had to put up with Isshi's "I'm a really manly looking woman. Oh wait, I'm actually a man who completely fails at looking like a woman." for so long. Everytime I look back at those early band photos, I can't help but wince at Isshi's ungainliness.

It was with great relief on my part when Kagrra, finally moved on from their visual kei days. Their image post-2003 is much more toned down and natural. I blessed my stars that Isshi's photos no longer assault my poor eyes. I think that Kagrra, has found their best looks. They belong in khakis, jeans, and T-shirts, not those awful kimono costumes.

What Makes a Good Live Report

2006-08-27T17:47:00.000-05:00

I've read quite a number of live reports. I'm sure all of you have found also that while some reports are powerful, intense, and gripping, others are simply... bland and mediocre. What separate the fantastic reports from the so-so ones?

I present two case studies. These are two reports that floored me with their passion and earnesty, the best I've read in a long time.

One, Gazette's Nameless Liberty Tour at Fukuoka on April 11, 2006, written by shirann of LJ. Some parts that really stood out to me:

Sometime during this song, I think Ruki's ring or maybe the mic cut his face open just beside his nose, but he didn't even seem to notice. He seriously looked delerious with... something... as he sang the slow part, and then he exploded into madness again for the chorus! I don't think I've ever seen anyone get that much into a song. I didn't really watch the others a lot during this, mostly because I couldn't tear my eyes away from Ruki. He just... I fell in love with his raw power. His emotion is right there, swirling in giant currents around him and over everyone else.

...

During the bridge, I think there was more orchestrated hand movement, but by this time I was seriously too lost in the experience to notice the crowd much anymore. Uruha was smiling at the crowd a lot during this song. At one time I looked at him, and I think he spotted my FUCK wristband, cause he smiled at me again! One thing stands out very prominently in my mind for this song, though. At one point, Reita was relatively close to the edge of the stage, playing to the crowd and looking over us a few times, so... I flipped him off. OMFG, I GAVE REITA THE FINGER! I don't know what made me do it, but it just kind of... happened. Anyway, he definitely saw it, because he kind of blinked, then looked down my arm and paused for a second on my face. And I'm sure I must have had this "OMFG PLEASE LET ME JUST DISAPPEAR" look on my face because he smirked slightly, and went back to backstage. I feel so bad! But maybe he was amused by it. I felt like facepalming, but I couldn't because I seriously couldn't get my hand to my face at that point, it was so crammed.

Take a deep breath and sit back. Here's the second live report. alice nine.'s 2nd Oneman Tour (Zekkeishoku) at Fukuoka on May 20, 2006, written by direngrey_ of LJ.

This was the only song of the night where 将 [note: Shou] was off a bit. The beginning `Shishiza wa ~` was clearly off key, and I saw him look to the side after he sung it and grimace, like "Get yourself together, 将!!"

The rest of the opening was a better, but still a little off...

After the opening, he nailed every note.

But, I`ll never forget that look on his face. A while back on his journal, 将 wrote about how painfully embarassing it is for him when he can`t perform perfectly as a vocalist. He`s come such a long way, but I still feel 将 often doubts his ability. I touched on this in my letter to him, as well...

I hope 将 can completely believe in himself one day, and embrace his unbelievable talents without doubting himself. He deserves that...

...

沙我 [note: Saga] did something totally random during 暁 [note: Akatsuki]. I had my hands out, and so did the 2 girls to my left. 沙我 walked a little closer, licked his finger... and then drew it accross my left hand.
I was dumbstruck.

That got a total `Wow, YAY!!!` in my head, but I was also like `沙我, you`re SO RANDOM!!`.

And yes, I`ve washed my hands MANY times since then, so no one ask me to clone him XD I REFUSE!

Reading these leave a huge smile on my face. What is it about these two reports that I absolutely love? I find that I really enjoy details on band-audience interactions. The interactions, I believe, are the heart and soul of all lives. This is why we pay to see our favorite bands in concert. Nothing else can capture the magic of attending an actual live. The DVD recordings completely pale in comparison to being a member of the fired-up crowd, headbanging, moshing to the music. When a band member actually makes eye-contact and/or smile or wave at you, you feel your heart stop and all blood rush to your face. That moment of intensity simply cannot be found anywhere else.

Another factor that really weighs in is that these two writors of the reports obviously love, love the bands whose lives they attended. They worship the bands and they're not afraid to bare their souls and put their love into passionate words. They're sincere and earnest. On a certain level, the readers are able to attend the concerts vicariously because they can so easily relate to the writors. It was a pleasure, a true pleasure and honor, for me to share their experiences. shirann and direngrey_ will probably never see what I have written here, but still, I want to thank them.

Thank you sincerely for bringing the concerts alive to us readers and allowing us to experience those magical moments with you. You guys are the best.

Music Review: ガゼット (the GazettE) / NIL

2006-08-27T14:52:00.000-05:00

1. THE END
2. Nausea & Shudder
3. Bath Room
4. Maggots
5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 (Namaatatakai Ame Tozaratsuita Jounetsu)
6. D.L.N
7. SHADOW VI II I [watch]
8. バレッタ (Beretta)
9. Cassis [watch]
10. SILLY GOD DISCO [watch]
11. DISCHARGE
12. 体温 (Taion) [watch]

CDJapan (Limited / Normal) / HMV (Normal: Germany / Japan) / YesAsia (Limited / Normal)

1. THE END / The first track of the album, and it's named "the end"? How interesting. This is more of an instrumental piece that sets the mood for the album (I wouldn't call what Ruki and the rest of the band do singing, in the strictest sense). Dark, mysterious, and very catchy.

2. Nausea & Shudder / This is a heavy song with pretty hard instrumentals yet a great melody. Here, you get the first taste of Ruki's vocal improvement since Gazette's last album, Disorder. If you haven't been following their 2005 singles releases, you might be caught off guard by the vast difference of Ruki's singing. His voice is richer, more powerful, and more dynamic. In this song, he sounds so passionate and has beyond met my expectations. ♥

3. Bath Room / Ahh, this song has an awesome beginning. Once again, it's a relatively heavy piece. I think my favorite part is right after the guitar solo. Ruki restrains his vocals most of time during this track but breaks into intense full voice singing that truly enhances the climax of the song. Solid work.

4. Maggots / Wah, a head banging heavy metal song! I think metal fans can probably appreciate this track better than I can. This song is so very masculine, which reminds me once again that despite the band's beautiful appearance, these are men. Heavy instrumentals, heavy chanting, very hardcore.

5. 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 / I think my jaw dropped when I first heard this track. It... sounds like... SWING?! Had I been a better swing dancer (or at least more agile on my feet, because trust me, this song requires serious footwork), I'd break out into a dance to this song. I am so pleasantly surprised by this new style. It really showcases the fun side of the band and shows its willingness to experiment. Bloody cool!

6. D.L.N / Oooh, a ballad! My gosh, the chorus part is absolutely beautiful. The children's voices really complement and enhance Ruki's singing. He puts so much passion, so much fire into his performance. This is a song that tugs on my heartstrings and really makes me feel. Simply fantastic. ♥

7. SHADOW VI II I / Holy crap, this song has an awesome bass line, wow! I normally don't pay as much attention to bass lines because they often don't stand out, but man, it's hard to ignore this one! Reita does amazing work on his bass and really makes this track unique. This is once again a swing-like, completely danceable song. But this suddenly changes about 2/3 through the track (the bridge), the tempo shifts and what the... this song is now funk?! Then just as quickly, it returns to the original swing beat and left me sitting there blinking. This is some serious experimentation. I love it! ♥

8. バレッタ / This is a semi-ballad song, semi, because I think the beat is too fast throughout for it to be a true ballad. This particular track doesn't really stand out for me. It's very nice and might work better had it been a single or even the B-side to a single. But in an album, it gets overshadowed (probably because it's sandwiched between two of my favorite tracks). Meh.

9. Cassis / Nice, another beautiful ballad. The guitar solos featuring Uruha and Aoi freaking kick ass. After seeing the PV, I realized that Ruki plays the guitar too in this song. He even gets a mini guitar solo right after Uruha's solo (well, kind of)! This song once again characterizes my favorite aspect of Ruki's vocals, the rich timbre and the impassioned singing. ♥

10. SILLY GOD DISCO / I really should have seen this coming, since clues have been dropping with 生暖かい雨とざらついた情熱 and SHADOW VI II I, but I was still caught off guard when this track came on. I think I must have jumped off my chair and started leaping about the room. *sweatdrop* Gazette + funky disco = holy crap, this song is too awesome for words. This is such a fun, wacky, wicked piece! Very very sexy, it's just... argh! Too bloody brilliant. Ruki's English is awful and I can't understand a word, but who cares?! ♥

11. DISCHARGE / Hehe, another heavy metal track. This would be a great piece to play during lives because it'd really get the crowd worked up. I can already imagine the headbanging and roaring. The fangirls are going to go wild.

12. 体温 / This is such a dark and harsh song. By harsh, I'm not just talking about the heavy instrumentals, but really mean the emotion conveyed through this piece. It feels so naked and raw, liking stripping away the outer layer and finding what's underneath bleeding and screaming for release. This song really really moves and resonates within me. This is probably the most emotionally powerful song and a wonderful end to this masterpiece album. ♥

Yes, I think this is Gazette's best work so far. Ruki's amazing vocal improvement truly stands out. It's worth every yen of the ¥3600 (actually, it's more than that since I have to pay for shipping).

Rating: Fantastic

News: US, Japan to Share Blu-ray Region Code

2006-08-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

Macworld:

Blu-ray Disc players and movies expected on sale later this year in Japan and the U.S. will share the same region code, Sony said Thursday.
Current DVD discs and players on sale in the two countries use different region codes so that software bought in one country will not work on players purchased in the other country. The system was designed to allow content producers to better manage release and sale of content around the world.
The theory is that a movie can go to DVD in the U.S. before it hits movie theaters in Japan with little impact on Japanese box-office takings because the U.S. discs won’t play in Japan. In practice, the system has proved easy to hack, and multi-region players that accept software from any region are readily available and popular among consumers.
In all, there are six DVD regions but content producers and hardware makers have been discussing changes for the new Blu-ray Disc system, which is being positioned to replace DVD for high-definition content. Backers of the competing HD DVD format are waiting on a decision by the Blu-ray Disc Association with the idea of using the same region coding system to avoid confusion among consumers.

This is excellent news for us J-music/culture fans. It'll certainly save me a trip to buy a region free blu-ray player in the future.

Gazette Rocks & Rolls

2006-08-17T01:18:00.000-05:00

Wohooo, I just got a Gazette T-shirt while shopping today!

Okay, it isn't an official Gazette shirt, but when I saw this black shirt with a skull design and the words "Rock or Roll" on it, I knew I just HAD to get it because it'd be a perfect Gazette shirt (Gazette the band's logo is also a skull). Since I can't get the official shirt (you can only get those at their lives), I'm making do with this.

This was the last skull rock and roll T-shirt the store had and it's a size L. It's a bit big on me, but still perfectly wearable. ^_^ This is so my favorite T-shirt right now. Hahaha!

Music Review: アリス九號. / 絶景色 (alice nine. / Zekkeishoku)

2006-08-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

1. 光環 (Koukan)
2. ヴェルヴェット (Velvet) [watch]
3. FANTASY [watch]
4. 3.2.1.REAL -SE-
5. 春、さくらの頃 (Haru, Sakura no Koro)
6. DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING
7. 黒海の海月 -Instrumental- (Kokkai no Kurage -Instrumental-)
8. jelly fish
9. ワールドエンドアンソロジー (World End Anthology)
10. Q.
11. 九龍 -NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW- (Kowloon -NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW-) [watch]
12. ARMOR RING

CDJapan / HMV / YesAsia

1. 光環 / What a fantastic opening song! I was instantly grabbed by Shou's clear, pure voice. The song utilizes Shou's vocals very well. The melodious music is thrilling and pure enjoyment to the ears. Bloody brilliant. ♥

2. ヴェルヴェット/ Excellent music, excellent singing. Velvet is a "rockier" song compared to Koukan, but it still manages to delight me because it's so fun. This song has really grown on me after a few listens. ♥

3. FANTASY / This song very definitely belongs to the popular rock genre. The opening showcases Shou's great vocals, for he dives straight into singing full voice. This was alice nine.'s most recent single (along with Akatsuki/Ikuoku no Chandelier) and I was very pleased to see the tremendous improvement in Shou's singing, definitely one of my favorite alice nine. songs. ♥

4. 3.2.1.REAL -SE- / This track is a short instrumental, with interesting sound effects. It sounds like an experimental track, just for the band to try out arranging the different effects. It works very well to link FANTASY to the next song... which is

5. 春、さくらの頃 / This sounds like a down-to-earth song that descibes everyday life. Just like the life of a person, it may not be dramatic, but it is fun nevertheless. A quite decent track.

6. DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING / DEAD SCHOOL SCREAMING has an unusual melody and contrary to the image evoked by the title, the song itself is not as heavy and aggressive as I first thought. An okay song.

7. 黒海の海月 -Instrumental- / Another short instrumental piece, it has an ethereal quality. Since the title is about the jelly fish of the Black Sea, I think it makes sense that this track has that floating, pulsing feeling. It serves to bridge this track to the next, which is

8. jelly fish / Track 7 is "jelly fish of the Black Sea", we get "jelly fish" for track 8. This song uses acoustic guitar instead of the usual electric, a decent piece.

9. ワールドエンドアンソロジー / This song evokes a similar mood as tracks 5 and 8. Decent, but the songs are starting to become dull because they're so similar. I want to emphasize though, that this song stands well on its own. However, because I was listening to the tracks on this album in order and in one setting, I became weary at this point.

10. Q. / Ah, just as I was thinking I have enough of merely "decent" songs, alice nine. breaks the pattern and gives us another kick-ass track. Hehe, surely I'm not the only one who's reminded of Linkin Park by this song? Shou starts off with a strong voice and is joined by Saga (of all people!) in the chorus/harmonizing sections. I'm very pleased with the Shou and Saga combination because it sounds so good. I'd like to see more singing from Saga in the future. ♥

11. 九龍 -NINE HEADS RODEO SHOW- / This is the heaviest song on the entire album with much more aggressive guiltar and chorus. The entire band joins in with the chanting. I can already imagine this song driving the crowd wild at lives because it rocks so hard. It really gets the adrenaline pumping.

12. ARMOR RING / The final track is a nice and mellow ballad, again utilizing Shou's voice to maximum effect. It wraps up the album and leaves the listener with a feeling of contentment.

With this album, I gained a lot of respect for Shou and Hiroto (not to mention I was delighted to discover that Saga can sing). It's apparent that Shou's vocal trainings had paid off and he now sings fantastically. Why Hiroto though? Most of my favorite tracks on this album were written by Hiroto (tracks 1, 2, 3; the 4th favorite, Q., was written by Tora) ! The music he writes really speak to me. I now pay a lot more attention to Hiroto because he's a musician after my own heart. One problem I noticed with this album was the track order. There was a string of mellow songs that caused my attention to wander. I wish the order was mixed up a bit to spice things up.

Rating: Fantastic

News: YOSHIKI and Gackt to Tour in US

2006-08-15T01:32:00.000-05:00

News from a Livejournal community

gekka-no-neko translates it: here.

Essentially, YOSHIKI (formerly of X Japan, currently producer) and Gackt (formerly of Malice Mizer, currently solo artist) will begin a project together later this year and recording will take place next year. A live tour is planned and will occur first in the US.

I want to weep in happiness at this news. I'll give up an arm to see them on tour in the US.

Music Review: Kra / 星空列車の汽笛を聞きながら (Hoshizora Ressha no Kiteki wo Kikinagara)

2006-08-14T21:04:00.000-05:00

1. 時の列車 (Toki no Ressha) [watch]

2. 街の灯 (Machi no Hi)
3. ﾀﾞｲｱﾘｰ (Diary)
4. 行方知れぬ時 (Yukue Shirenu Toki)
5. 天の川逃避行 (Ama no Gawa Touhikou)

CDJapan / HMV / YesAsia

1. 時の列車 / The melody is absolutely beautiful. The arrangement sounds simple, yet perfectly suitable. Just as I was getting into the track, however, Keiyuu started singing. Keiyuu's voice is dull. It also lacks the finesse and clarity of tone needed to pull this one off. I'm not saying his vocals is bad, just entirely average and therefore uninteresting. This song might have become one of my all-time favorites if only it was done by a better vocalist. Though, I'd like to see Toki no Ressha arranged into an orchestral piece. I'm certain it'd sound freaking amazing. ♥

2. 街の灯 / This is a quite pretty jazz-influenced track. Yet once again, I'm not taken with Keiyuu's vocals. It's entirely too restrained. He needs to sing with a fuller voice and not hold back.

3. ﾀﾞｲｱﾘｰ / 4. 行方知れぬ時 / 5. 天の川逃避行 / See my comments above about the vocals. All of these songs suffer from the same problem. I'm not going to bother typing it out again. I also feel that these songs lack harmonic complexity, as if the band's cutting corners when putting the music together. While it was okay with Toki no Ressha because the gorgeous melody made up for the arrangement simplicity, this simplicity is a defect in these songs.

It's a shame. This otherwise promising mini album is held back by the mediocre vocals. There's a lot of room for arrangement improvement, too. I'm considering not touching Kra's releases again until either Keiyuu improves his singing or the group gets a new vocalist. However, that wouldn't be fair. So instead, I'll give them more chances in the future.

Rating: Tolerable

Mp3 Tagging Headache

2006-08-14T14:27:00.000-05:00

I know most people simply label their Japanese mp3's as either "J-Pop" or "J-Rock", however in my case, my entire collection consists of 95% Japanese music. As a result, only using "J-Pop" and "J-Rock" on these files loses its point because it really doesn't work well in categorizing the music. How helpful is it to have half your music labeled as "J-Rock", and the other half "J-Pop"? Not very, obviously.

I need more specific genre labeling.

But further breaking down the genre is very very troublesome. Should I assign the genres based on the individual songs or individual artists? If I label genres by songs, I'll never be able to finish with my entire collection because there are just way too many files to relabel.

If I go with artists, what about the artists who suddenly change their style? Take Amuro Namie, for example, she used to be pop, but now with the latest 2 albums, she's all of a sudden R&B. Or m-flo, I'd call them R&B back when LISA was still with the group, but these days, they're very obviously hip-hop/rap. Or there are some artists who are just so eclectic that I'm at a complete loss.

The genres aside, there's also a problem with the artists' names. First of all, most times there are at least 2 versions to their names, Japanese and romanization. Angela Aki is also アンジェラ・アキ, SID is written as シド officially in Japanese media. I saw from somewhere that HYDE's name, when referred to in his solo work context, should be written all capitalized. When referred to in L'Arc~en~Ciel context, his name is "hyde", all lower-cased.

Then, some artists like to change their names in the same manner a foreign language student can't make up his mind about his new name in the language he studies. 雅 is aka miyabi is aka miyavi is aka 雅-miyavi- is aka MYV. Gazette aka ガゼット recently started writing their name as the GazettE. Kagrra, went from Crow to Kagrra to Kagrra, to KGR (in a few instances, probably miyavi influenced). Stop messing with us, please. Just pick a name and stick with it.

This is not all. Some artists love to confound us with weird symbols in their names. Take 関ジャニ∞, what the heck is this infinity sign? Oh, it's actually the number 8? What, are you serious? Why can't you just write "8" instead of rotating the symbol 90 degrees?

Mp3 tagging for Japanese music is one huge mess. I don't know what to do with it.

ガゼット (the GazettE) / THE $OCIAL RIOT MACHINE$ (PSC Tour 2005)

2006-08-13T13:53:00.000-05:00

Jesus Christ, I can't stop watching this amazing performance. The explosive energy, the wild crowd, THIS is what lives should be like. Gazette kicks so much ass!

PV Review: シド / 御手紙 (SID / Otegami)

2006-08-12T01:35:00.000-05:00

The setting for this PV is a brothel! My god, scandalous! (Just kidding!)

First of all, let's talk about the music. This is the first time I've heard "Otegami" (the single comes out on the 16th) and I have to say, I'm impressed. The fusion of traditional Japanese melody and Western rock delivery successfully lends the song an aura of exoticism and it sounds even, shall we say... alluring? The music is sweet, coaxing, and seductive. Mao's caressing voice pleasures the ears and touches the inner heart. Definitely another of my SID favorites, I'm very pleased with "Otegami".

The video itself is almost perfect. The red-on-black color scheme and lighting are oh-so-gorgeous. The band members' wardrobe in this PV is tasteful and stylish (okay, maybe except for Mao's pants). [fangirling] Aki, especially, looks amazing. I nearly expired when he licked his finger near the end. Ahh, how you tempt me. [/fangirling]

What's not good in this video, however, is the courtesan (aka that girl with opaque eyes in the kimono). I don't in fact mind her presence, but when she sticks out her tongue, her eyes become mere slits. The image momentarily reminds me of a suicide victim who hanged herself. She'd look a lot more seductive if she'd just sit still and look delicate and NOT make her eyes into slits while sticking out her tongue and/or taking off her kimono.

Rating: Fantastic