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.
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.
(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.
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.
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
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'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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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).
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.
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.
