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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
Aural Candy at Blogger is essentially the backup of my J-Rock music blog at Vox. The posts here are stripped of photos and can be at least a month behind.
