into the void

So yeah.

So I've been checking out a lot of new Japanese bands on this app/website called Eggs.

It's such a stupid name and I've seen it around before but I ignored it coz of the stupid name.

But anyway, it's a great app coz basically it's an artist self-uploading Spotify-like app. It has daily and weekly ranking of most popular songs and artists. And you can just cloud stream the songs. (i wonder if the artists get paid!).

But anyway...

checking out the bands.......

I'm pretty disappointed. Every song and every band sounds like a replica of every other band and almost just variant copy of some famous/popular indie band.

I think Japanese indie has reached a point like what emo became in 2004, when every new band that kept popping out of the woodworks on absolutepunk.net back then just sounded like a boring unimaginative replica of every other fucking band that's already out there.

And Japanese music is like that.

Worse yet, my brother was right- Japanese music doesn't evolve.

So what this also means is that the 20-year-olds in bands today are playing songs that sound EXACTY the same as songs made by bands 6-7 years ago (when I first came to Japan), bands which have been very popular these days.


Also, the other maybe problematic thing which I have noticed in the Japanese indie music scene is that Japanese rock music has become so fucking insular- all the songs these days are SO FUCKING JAPANESE.

You see band that are my age (late 20s into late 30s), I think these bands were HEAVILY influenced by both Japanese music (Laruku/Yellow Monkeys/ Mr Children/Spitz/etc) AND ALSO western bands, grunge, Brit Rock, Heavy Metal: Nirvana, Oasis, Metallica, Radiohead, Blur and even more like Bowie, New Order, etc.

But most kids these days coming out of high school bands barely listen to these foreign band nor any foreign bands (and I blame this too for the lack of fucking really fucking innovative and influential rock bands from the west seeping into foreign music and culture).

So.... I feel most Japanese indie band these days are soooooooo fucking boring, repetitive and unimaginative.

I have to say though, that the only variety rising out of this mass of uninspired junk are actually FEMALE bands and vocalists.

You go girls!

FINALLY DONE!!! Three days!!.... I will never be a good editor like my brother :(

SOOOOO... here's to the tune of Kinoshita Riki's Raspberry!....... IMA SO SORRY!!! I had to EDIT the song!!! waaa~ I don't think I have enough videos for the whole song :(

Anyway, here goes~





These are some videos I took of New York, LA and Boston.......

I wanted to practice using Final Cut, so I've been trying to cut some music videos from what I have... I really like Kinoshita's song raspberry... I feel it's like a driving song... haha! But it's kinda weird isn't it?? America with a Japanese song!!

But anyways.... I realized that I only take videos from cars, trains and buses... and I don't take videos of people at all :( And I think I lost a lot of videos... I think the WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE folder with the videos of the last time I was in New York were in the Hard Drive that my brother LOST. WTF. Shit.... Sigh...

Anyway.... The other songs I am going to ATTEMPT to do next are:


神聖かまってちゃん (Sinsei kamattechan) - ちりとり (Chiritori)
- This song is kinda DAMNNNNNN long...................... and there's a whole part where it's really slow...

LOVE LOVE LOVE - カナカナ (Kanakana)
- This song is also DAMNNNN long but fuck... I love love love (haha!) the ending bits of this song, it's so damn inspiring!!!

パウンチホイール (Paunchwheel) - 長電話
- I think this is the MOST doable of all the songs... It's slow and SHORT! lol~ I had an idea of just having it be about Tokyo/Shimokita... We'll see...

LOL!!!!! EXTREMELY SKEWED!!! lollll~~~~

A caution, this band is definitely NOT for everyone but damn! I love them!!!!!!!!!

What can I say about their style??????????? The SEX PISTOLS meets happy-keyboard punk!!!!! DISTORTED screeching vocals overlaid with catchy keyboards, punctuated with a tinge of electronic stuck together with punkish guitars and percussion. AWESOME!!!!

This band is DEFINITELY weird. The whole damn band is weird led by the weirdest of them lot, only named "no ko" (の子). Except for the drummer (YES, who is an INCREDIBLY CUTE girl), no one knows their names. However, there's a proliferation of homemade videos and documentaries of the band doing weird shit, not excluding a webcam of noko naked in a tub, sexually hugging his bandmate (YES, the incredibly cute drummer), them sitting in messy rooms, noko talking streams of endless gibberish (does he stutter?!), webcams chats from the drummer's bedroom, and all with noko screaming his head off most of the time, which really lead me to really believe that there is something SERIOUSLY WRONG with that boy! lol~

Which is why, I think, their music is the way it is and needless to say, yes damn, I LOVE IT.

I guess, 神聖かまってちゃん (Sinsei Kamattechan) is DEFINITELY a very, very different, different take on the Japanese indie rock sound these days. They definitely don't play Western sounding rock music like most Japanese rock bands (Tsubaki, Art-School, Ajikan, andymori), they're also NOT at all like the usual Japanese-sound indie rock bands these days (plenty, Any, S.R.S, Love Love Love, Co.In, colors department, Prof. Moriarty & Smiley Todd, the court), nor are they like the other types of Japanese-sound rock bands (serial TV drama, butter butter, e-sound speaker, Galileo Galilei, the local art, People in the Box, Setsuna Blue Star) or the heavier Japanese rock types (lego big morl, Multi Colored Vox, syrup16g), or the Japanese post-rock types (lostage, the Novembers, the telephones), or the electronic rock types (hare-brained unity, Ogre You Asshole, Starboard, sakanakusyon) or the more Japanese indie-rock (Merenge, Sekaiichi, Otonamodo), and of course, the recent rise of Japanese indie piano-rock bands (andop, Sekai no Owari)..

I guess... the philosophy of noko and consequently the music he makes can be very, very well summarized with the words he wrote in the song ロックンロールは鳴り止まないっ (Rock and Roll sounds forever). I really, really like this song, not just because it's an amazing representation of their sounds, but also an encapsulation of their (and noko's) music philosophy.


Ima try to translate it!
 
ロックンロールは鳴り止まないっ
昨日の夜、駅前TSUTAYAさんで
僕はビートルズを借りた、セックスピストルズを借りた
「ロックンロール」というやつだ
しかし、
何がいいんだか全然分かりません

do da
turatura
oh yeah!yeah!yeah!

夕暮れ時、部活の帰り道で
またもビートルズを聞いた、セックスピストルズを聞いた
何かが以前と違うんだ
MD取っても、イヤホン取っても
なんでだ全然鳴り止まねぇっ

do da doda
tura tura
oh yeah! yeah!
yeah!

今も遠くで聞こえるあの時のあの曲がさ
遠くで近くですぐ傍で、叫んでいる
遠くで見てくれあの時の僕のまま
初めて気がついたあの時の衝撃を僕に

いつまでも、いつまでも、いつまでもくれよ

もっともっと、僕にくれよ
もっと、もっと、もっと、もっと、
くれよ！

遠くにいる君目がけて吐き出すんだ
遠くで近くですぐ傍で叫んでやる
最近の曲なんかもうクソみたいな曲だらけさ！
なんて事を君は言う、いつの時代でも

だから
僕は今すぐ、今すぐ、今すぐ叫ぶよ
君に今すぐ、今、僕のギター鳴らしてやる
君が今すぐ、今、曲の意味分からずとも
鳴らす今、鳴らす時

ロックンロールは鳴り止まないっ

Last night, at the Tsutaya store before the train station,

I am the rock and roll guy who borrowed the Beatles and the Sex Pistols.
However, the meaning of what is good, I still don't understand.


do da doda
tura tura
oh yeah! yeah!
yeah!

In the evening, on the way home from club activities,
still listened to the Beatles, listened to the Sex Pistols,
Something is different than before,
Holding my MD, Holding my earphones
Why is it that it totally goes on always. (THIS IS PROBABLY WRONG!! I don't understand the sentence!!)


do da doda
tura tura
oh yeah! yeah!
yeah!

Now the distant song of that time that can be heard
is screaming in a distance nearby by my side.

In a distance my mother of that time that can be seen,
the first time she noticed at that time, she was shocked at me (THIS IS ALSO PROBABLY WRONG!)

always, always, always, give me

more more more more more to me, give it to me.

The you at a distance, eyes are.... (I DON'T UNDERSTAND!), I vomit,
Far away and nearby and right by my side, cry

Music these days are just like shit (HELL YEAH!)
The things you say even in any period.


That is why,
right now, I scream,
To you, right now, my guitar is ringing,
Even if you don't understand the meaning of the song.
Rings now, this is the time it rings.

Rock and Roll never ends.

(Inside me, which summer... If I hear that rock and roll, I remember a little)

I still love Tsubaki, and Isshiki is still damn cute. ahaha



Look at that... even a cut of pic... so cute~ lol..

Actually, no.. I really like Tsubaki and no, it's not coz of Isshiki =) (although, imho he's very cute indeed, albeit getting old, ne! ^_^ )

I'm really, really, really glad I love 花が揺れる... It's a really incredibly great Tsubaki song... I think it's my favourite newer Tsubaki song. Really good. One of those good blends of the usual Tsubaki-punching rock songs with newer Tsubaki sound and styles. Very nice blend.
And Isshiki's singing is just amazing here too.. Really strong and powerful, nice range and very awesome styles... Mannnnn I just can't get the tune out of my head!!!!

There are some albums where we like say 4 of the 10 tracks.. And then there are some albums where it's just PERFECT all the way. I think in my life there's been some albums that are like that, where every track is a favorite track! By no means they're like my favourite album of all time, but these are the albums that I can listen from track 1 to 12 and NOT SKIP a single track. Where every song is awesome, and at the end of the 12th track it makes me go "Damn, that was a great album! In its entirety!"

Wholesome albums.

I'll try to list some =)


Nirvana - Nevermind



No arguments here ;) I think this is the album that changed my life. From girl to GRUNGE/ALTERNATIVE ROCK GIRL. lols... FOREVER!

lols.

I think this was truly the first band, album, music I had ever ever LISTENED TO. you know what I mean?!

On the other notes, my second top fav Nirvana album would be In Utero, folllowed by Incesticide.





Green Day - Dookie



Yeap.. I think this is the second album I listened to in my whole life... Lols. PERFECT album dude, EVERY DAMN SONG IS GOOD!


Hole - Celebrity Skin



Ok while I think Live Through This definitely shaped me wayyyyyy more than this album did. In fact, this album was just an album. But of the Hole/Courtney Love album, this was the best one because it was a really, really good rock album. From the first song to the last song, each song was great. And this IS one of those albums that I do like each and every song, from first to last.

Seriously.






Smashing Pumpkins - Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness



Ok, this is a 2 CD album ok... Like the first of its kind wayyyyyyy back then when 2 CD albums are unheard of... So there are one or two tracks that I skip lolsss...

But this was my first forage into.. music with thought. lols.

Great album, I don't think I can listen to this album without feeling 16 again.

Had my share of my bouts of depression with this one lols.


Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?



I think I have three copies of this album. Gosh... LOVED LOVED LOVED Oasis... Changed me from grunge girl to rock girl... lols.

But as equally awesome an album is Definitely Maybe... It's just that, I think Morning Glory is just more... radio friendly and more "progressed" in its sounds than Definitely Maybe.





Ash - 1977



Flawless album. Dude, even the bonus tracks, T. Rex and Everywhere is All Around is KICK ASS!



Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill



Another FLAWLESS amazing album. Damn. One album wonder, though!


Blink-182 - Enema of the State



Sooooo this album changed me from a rock girl to a punk girl! lols...

I can't decide tho which album I like better... Enema or Dude Ranch coz I think Dude Ranch is also awesome, but I think the album that I will go back to it at anytime and still love the songs, it'd be Enema.





Finch - What It Is To Burn



I mean it, track 1 to 12. NO SKIPS. ALL LOVE. T O T A L L Y.

So this album changed me from punk girl to emo girl! lols~



Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends



What can I say about this album? TIMELESS. Stayed with me before leaving for the States, while I was in the States and even now, when I have left the States.

Their first and their best.


Something Corporate - Leaving Through The Window



yeah I know, weird pick, but I really loved this album and I thought it was a solid album. Every track is great. Well written, well arranged, well made.


Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Sol-fa




OK, I chose Sol-fa not only coz yes, IT IS AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME ALBUM from first to last! But also, I guess, it represents the epoch of Ajikan's "rock" brilliance.

I love the previous two albums too, Kimi Tsunagi Five M and Houkai Amplifier... SOLID albums too! LOVE LOVE LOVE every single one of the songs on those 3 albums! Incredible..

And yes, it was these albums that changed me from an emo/scene girl to a Japanese rock girl... LOLS!





Tsubaki - Portrait+



Yes, this is an absolutely amazing album and yes, while the other Tsubaki albums are also wonderful and I really love them too, in my opinion, this is their finest work yet.

This album like those other perfect album, I feel, is the pinnacle of their brilliance, an album where solid rock sound is constructed perfectly with studio work. Flawless marriage of the both that resulted in an album that is both rocking, yet incredibly well crafted.

I constantly look for albums like those. Sometimes a band can not progress beyond the edgy raw rock sounds and sometimes bands can go from really good but raw rock songs only to release an overly sound engineered/enhanced album the next that totally takes the edge off their songs.

Portrait+ is neither. A perfect Tsubaki balance. IMHO.

My SECOND FAVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV Tsubaki album! ALSO INCREDIBLE, every song is KICK ASS from first to last, IMHO.




Radwimps - Radwimps 3



YEAP. I LOVE THIS RADWIMPS ALBUM BEST. When I first checked out Radwimps, this was actually the first album I got and it was perfect. Every song in it was great! Thus, from that first perception, this is a perfect album from first to last.


Lunkhead - Tsuki to Tenohira



Hahaha... ok, ok, ok... I chose this album because the PERFECTEST song is on this album ;)

Guess which track =P

My other Lunkhead Favs... Albums where every song is a good song and every other song is a GREAT song!




Other really coooooool perfect albums?


Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind



Oh c'mon... if you were a teenager in the 90s, I bet this album's on your list!


Gin Blossoms - Congratulations I'm Sorry



YEAP!! I LOVE THIS ALBUM! I think it's brilliant! Almost every song is absolutely amazing!


The Stone Roses - The Complete Stone Roses



HELL YEAH! Dude, if there was ever the BEST BEST OF album, this is it. lols.



Days Away - The Feel Of It



I really heart his band :)


New Found Glory - New Found Glory



One of those perfect melodic punk albums that's a great listen from first to last.



A New Found Glory - Nothing Gold Can Stay



This is a VERY VERY raw albums, thus, not for everyone but I really really love every track on this album!


Plastic Tree - Chandelier



Yes, TOTALLY. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE, BRILLIANT ALBUM. Totally love this band, dude.. Yeah.. STILL :D lols.
 



Ok I think I better stop here coz I'm beginning to list!!!!! There's just soooooooo many incredible albums out there!!!

Goshh... ima just stick the album covers here lols.

Awesome! Just found Love Love Love's album!!!

Two of my most compatible neighbors of last.fm have been listening to them! Was trying to get their stuff last week but MUAHAHAHAHAHA... someone just uploaded the album yesterday! So checking it out!

Also just found 1000s album and other band.. My Autumn Rain... I don't think it's an album, maybe a compilation... So will be checking that out!!!

Well... not much of music this week... meh... I didn't really check out bands.. I only checked out SONGS.

Japanese:


D.W.ニコルズ - 春風 
Woo! I had NO IDEA d.w. nicols released a new single! But for some reason it was right on top of the itunes japanese store! So I went and bought the title song... Will definitely buy the album when i've channeled money into the BOA account!

DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN addictive and INCREDIBLY HAPPY song... Seriously. I think the lyrics are really nostalgic, reminiscing school days, but mann the tune! It's like this band is really incapable of making un-inspiring songs! lols~ ^_^b



ポリプロピレン - サンセット
I really really like this song by this band.... Got this song off the Quip58 sampler. I think for short they call themselves polypro... But there's practically NOTHING for this band... Can't even purchase the music LEGALLY.

残像カフェ
quite a nice band... Sounds more towards J-pop band, though. Still, nice stuff... Found them through a random click on a last.fm top listener for throwcurve. This was her most played band for the week. Only stuff I could find on them were youtube PVs tho =(

The Dilemma of Hedgehog
Just a song or two by the group.. Seems like an okay group, but maybe too punk-rock for my current flavor!

That's it for Japanese this week! Sorry!



عربي/Arabic

Yeap... felt like listening to Arabic songs thsi week...

It's like this, I don't mind arabic songs, ANY GENRE, because they just sound so COMPLETELY different... And you know the only Arabic you hear in Malaysia, and the only Arabic I had heard growing up in Malaysia were always only if it had to do with Islam... So it's just INCREDIBLY weird but cool when you hear like a Arabic rap song! lols.. SERIOUSLY!

Anyway...


فرقة جدل (Jadal) - Quite a cool/nice Arabic rock band from Jordan... They have a few nice songs on youtube :)

AKHER ZAPHEER - Only managed to find a song from this guy searching in English... Will ask Mohammad if he can look for something in Arabic for me!!


Well that's it for this week!

Yes,

I think Chizu is my favorite Lunkhead album. There's a raw, yet more refined, power to those songs. Yes, 月と手のひら is a most balanced album between solid rock sounds and synthetic sound engineering, and I think the Tsuki to Tenohira album has the most soul, but... somehow, I do like Chizu alot. Hmm that said, I do like Tsuki to Tenohira a hell alot too!

I mean who can't beat 灰空 (Haisora)?? Seriously, pure rock goodness there. And 白濁 (Hakudaku)... DAMN, ANOTHER PURE SOLID rock track!

And I suppose, I really miss these type of Lunkhead rock songs...

They seem REALLY different these days. Was just sampling VOX on iTunes and yes, it seems to follow-up on the feel of At0m. While I do like the songs, I'm just not crazy over it... Maybe not yet, I suppose... But listening to At0m and sampling VOX, I actually do like Chizu much, much better... Is that bad?! Goshhh.....

But I also think sometimes, maybe it's just the type of rock songs I like. I'm very narrow minded, actually, in my music taste, I've realized. Because seriously, there really is just a very few few type of sounds that I like, and any band that is able to produce tunes along those lines, I'd tend to really like them naturally.... That said, my recent Japanese playlist is kinda an antithesis of that theory tho!


Well I guess, what I mean or what to say is that, I guess, it's way easier listening to Chizu again =)

GREAT TRACKS DUDE!

Astrogrrrl and I go see our favorite local bar band, the Hold Steady, every time they play. They always end with our favorite song, "Killer Parties," and sometimes I think, man, all the people I get to hear this song with, we're going to miss each other when we die. When we die, we will turn into songs, and we will hear each other and remember each other.

-Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield-


This week's bands:

Japanese:

サカナクション - yeah... FINALLY... Unfortunately, the first album I checked out a year ago, I just DIDN'T like the whole electronic sound, you know! But after hare-brained unity, I think I like those electronic/disco sounds wayyyy better...!
パウンチホイール(PaunchWheel) - ok, I FINALLLLLYYYYY purchased the two tracks that were available on iTunes. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get this band unless you get the real CD itself and since, i am NOT anywhere near Shimokita or any of their live, I guess 2 tracks off iTunes is better than nothing!
Peaky SALT - One of my last.fm neighbor was listening to them, so I thought to check them out. Quite ok, a little punk-ish rock.
鴉 - Downloaded them a whole year ago and liked them, actually, just never really got into them... But their songs are really quite good. Pure rock songs... But I think they're a little visual tho... Not sure...

That's it... No English bands =(

I did re-check out:
Something Corporate - Goshhhhh.... Hurricane is still my most favorite SoCo song!!!!!! And yes, I like Audioboxer's version better than the one in Leaving Through the Window... The piano part is longer on Audioboxer!
Armor For Sleep- I used to really love this band. This was like a band I found entirely through those "e-card" sampler that were popular for a short time back in 2005.


To check out:

Japanese:

PaperBagLunchBox - I think I heard of them a year or so ago, but didn't get anything of theirs till now...
back number - was on heavy rotation on one of my last.fm neighbors list... She listens to damn alot of good bands and we usually like the same type of bands, so I thought I'd try this band out.
THE ELEPHANT KASHIMASHI - Quite popular band but for some reason, had not checked them out yet. I did listen to a song or two last year but it didn't catch on.
butterfly inthe stomach - knew about this band last year along with Starboard and Oceanlane when I was searching for new music, but there weren't anything available by them at that time...
Local Bus - Random check out.... But so far, this bands seems too indie for my liking lols...
清竜人 - SEEMS TO BE REALLY POPULAR! Two or three of the Japanese last.fm neighbors have been listening to this dude this week!
ザ・ガールハント - Downloaded these guys awhile back but didn't really play the track till this week. Thought I'd give them a secon try after browsing through hare-brained unity's blog and reading about their DJ session with the vocalist of The  Girlhunt.

English:
Holiday Parade - This band was also on heavy rotation on the JPN last.fm neighbor's list! So will check them out!



Lunkhead released a new Mini-album this week. VOX. Will check it out if I can find a download... Will purchase when I FINALLY transfer some money into my dying BOA account...

And no, I have not even checked out Tsubaki's single yet...


I still love them very much, if you should know... Perhaps, I love them too much... It's sad, unlike many people, and like what Ame said to me before how Lunkhead songs save her... but... It's not the same with me for songs... I love the bands, and the bands do put meaning in my life and gives me a dream, and like I told Phooi Wah, I think some of my best and greatest memories of America were all shared with friends AND had to do with BANDS or going for shows...

But at the same time, music are the playlists of my life... They really are, every song and every band i had ever loved in my life  is a soundtrack to those periods of my life.

But because of that... sometimes, some songs just can't follow you on... And sometimes, some songs are just too painful to revisit...

Rob Sheffield wrote it very aptly in his book, "Love is A Mix Tape":

This is a calssic example of a tape taht tries to ruin a bunch of great songs by reminding you of a time you would rather forget. Sometimes great tunes happen at band times, and when the bad time is over, not all th tunes get to move on with you.

I get it home, make it halfway through side one, and the file it away in the Whatever pole because Renee loved them and it is too hard. Maybe next year, maybe not.


I guess the opposite is true too, you know.. Sometimes, some songs mark the best days of your lives and when those times are over, it's just too hard to revisit the songs because they remind you of something that was so beautiful and perfect that's now over...

I don't know... I'm just.. glad, I'm able to listen to Japanese bands again... I think a for a month or two there, I couldn't even listen to Japaense songs, thus explains all the English ones on the rotation these days...

It's like what Rob Sheffield wrote in his book too... I guess... I just gotta learn to listen to music again.. And thus all these new bands, and it's been pretty cool to be able to find new songs each week taht are awesome and totally addictive on my playlist... I guess, it's like how when I came back from America, I knew I just had to erase my entire music library and start anew... Coz, I just had to...

And I guess, I still can't go back to those bands I love...

I was listenining to D.W.ニコルズ and S.R.S. a lot just before the whole thing happened... And yes, while マイライフストーリー is probably the most hopeful and inspiring song I can listen to and give me hope to get through this, NO, I don't feel that way, because I don't feel hopeful and no matter waht band or song or whatever they sing, music just can't save me from my loss in faith and hope in life. I'm really sorry.

And while hare-brained unity has been the only band that has somehow seeped its way back into my playlist, I really, really hope and wish and want Lunkhead and Tsubaki to come back too... And I hope they will...

I've heard this last song on so many mixes over the years. It's a different song every time, but the same thing always happens. You hear something you like, and you press rewind to go back to it. But you can't rewind the tape to the exact same place again. So you start fresh.


Well, like how Taking Back Sunday has been so very timeless for me, popping up here and there in playlists before, throughout and post America, I hope Lunkhead too can be the same for me.


What song has been with you throughout?

Bands I've been listening to a lot.. Post Japan-Dream Destruction and subsequent fallout:


I've gone back American, actually =) Which is cool. These bands coupled with watching ALOT of House has really made me love America once again, after a really, really, really long time being in a haze with Japan.



THE AMERICAN PAST:

Northstar
- My Ricochet (acoustic and album versions)
- Taker not Giver
- Cinderella
- Rigged and Ready

New Found Glory (DAMN! It HAS been awhile!)
- The Story So Far
- Downhill From Here
(wow..... put together the two titles really sound depressing and bleak!)

Taking Back Sunday
-Miami (wow!! Who'd have thought this song!)

Brand New
- Soco Amaretto Lime
- Logan to Government Center

Fall Out Boy
-Sophomore Slump and Comeback Year
- Of All the Gin Joints In The World
- Sugar, We're Going Down

The Format
- The First Single (Cause A Scene)

Cassino
- The Gin War

Dashboard Confessional
- Vindicated
- Thick as Thieves

Reuben's Accomplice
- Lost Sun

Thursday
- Standing At The Edge of Summer (STILL my FAV Thursday song!!)


I just redownloaded Something Corporate again and mannnnn... listening to the songs really brings me back to the KDU days back in 2001... geez... Next few bands I wanna RELISTEN this week is definitely gonna be Blink-182 and Finch... Oh oh  oh!! And STARTING LINE too!!!... I'm sure I'm missing out some bands, but mannn... Really feel like I'm back in that first spring in America!


BLAST FROM THE PAST:

Placebo - Every Me, Every You
Garbage - When I Grow Up
The Verve - Freshmen (HOLYCOW!)
Our Lady Peace - Clumsy (HOLYCOW!!!)

Don McLean - American Pie
Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man


Gosh.... I feel 16 when I listen to these songs!!! What's next?? OASIS??? ahahahahaha... we'll see, we'll see if that Brit Pop feelin comes to me... But seriously? American and Brit nostalgia at the same time??? I think that'd be too much!


夢から覚めたあとの歌

WELL... I TOTALLY HAVEN'T felt like listening to ANY Japanese songs at all recently after the whole dream having crumbled... Thus explain the completely English and American-heavy playlist above...
Anyway... Considering that I HAD TO completely change my Japanese playlist, because I CANNOT listen to anything before... especially Lunkhead and Tsubaki... For some unknown reason, the first band whose sound just suddenly came up in my head was Orge You Asshole, so yes, they've been on REALLY REALLY heavy rotation as of late.


Orge You Asshole (mannn their songs are so damn upbeat!)
- かたっぽ
- しらない合図しらせる子
- ピンホール
- コインランドリー

plenty (I downloaded this band awhile back but didn't really play the album till now, quite good)
- 東京
- 後悔
- 理由
- ボクのために歌う吟

砂場 - 影炎 (This was the first band I listened to post the Japan  Disaster... I got this song from Quip 58 Sampler)

Multi Color Vox - Yellow (Holyshit!! This is an INCREDIBLE song!!!!!!! This song is TOTALLY Finch!! It could have easily been in Finch's discography except for the whole Japanese singing thingy... lols... TOTALLY. It's like the LOST Finch song that they forgot how to make! lols!)


Yeap, that's it... That's all I've been listening to for the past 2 months. But I'm checkign out new bands recently and I've added S.R.S and D.W.ニコルズ and hare-brained unity back to the playlist... So hopefully, I'll be able to listen to Lunkhead and Tsubaki soon again...

English:
.... it was a whole mix of Electro/Pop/Rock playlist....


Japanese..

12月8日
- Quite Cool band, for such a small band... I think they have good tunes.. If they're not defunct, I hope they come up with better stuff.

おとぎ話
- I could only find 1 e.p., so I guess it's not a fair nor complete assessment of this band... But in their e.p. Hellogoodbye, they sounded alot like the Beatles... Well duh, even the title was ripped from the Beatles. The second track off that e.p. is almost like a lift off Beatles' O bla di, O bla da... Seriously... Actually Pauchwheel's Real sounds like that too..



So! Do I fill the quota of 3 new bands a week?? Hopefully... Is anyone still reading this blog anyway! gee..

木漏れ陽が優しく降って
いつかの秋を思い出した
こんな風の気持ちよい日は
誰かに何故か優しくしたくなる

何もかも受け止められる気がしていた
でも何一つ受け止められてはなかった

世界はどれだけの事を思い出に変えて進むのだろう
だけどいつか忘れていくから悲しいけれど生きていける

君はいつも笑っていた
そして時々泣いていた
あの一言が言えたなら
僕らは今でも笑えていたのかな

たまに君の事ばかり思い出してしまう夜が来る
だけどいつか忘れていくから悲しいけれど生きていける

ああ僕らはどうしてこんなにも
大事な物ばかりをその手からこぼしていくのだろう

嬉しい事があれば笑い、悲しい事があれば涙する
当たり前の生活を抱きしめて僕らは生きていく
たまに君の事ばかり思い出してしまう夜が来る
だけどいつか忘れていくから悲しいけれど生きていける


Can't believe it took me SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO frigging long to feature this song. Epic Fail. =_=


This is the FIRST FIRST FIRST ever Lunkhead song I heard when I downloaded a J-indies mix on jpopsuki in July 2006.There were quite alot of the usual J-rock/J-indies band on that mix but I totally fell in love with Lunkhead's song only.

Of course, at that time it was IMPOSSIBLE to find anything Lunkhead online... I think there was only Chizu available... and then a few monts later when I got back to CA, Tsuki to Tenohira was also uploaded by then.


But I really, really, really loved this song and I still do very much. When I first heard this song, I thought it was absolutely beautiful.

The part of this song I love the most is the first chorus where Odaka-san sings, "Sekai wa dore dake no koto wo, omode ni kaete susumo no darou?"

I remember the feeling this part gave me was of someone who is trapped by troubles of this world, but he takes flight and fly away to the sky above...

I STILL don't know what this part means (Oh, How i wish I could ask Yoshitaro one day... But I think it's better luck asking Yamashita-san, because at least he can explain it in ENGLISH!)... That's because apparently, the part can't be translated... Grammatically, it doesn't make sense.

But, I can still remember those mornings I played this song on the train on the way from Boston to Framingham... I remember when the train passes Fenway Park, there is a part along that route where it comes out of a short tunnel and you can see the lights through the window... And I can still remember listening to this chorus play as I looked out of the window on one of those mornings...

I also remember printing out the lyrics to the song and transcribing it to hiragana so I could memorize the lyrics... I remember I was memorizing the lyrics while I waited for the train from Framingham back to Boston and I still remember at one of the stops, I was holding the lyrics and trying to sing it with Odaka-san... DUDE, his PRONUNCIATION was TOTALLY DIFFERENT yo!!!

And most of all, I remember, it was this time that I liked Plastic Tree and Lunkhead... And it was around winter on the year before I left America. And I remember telling myself "I want to see Plastic Tree live... and I also want to see Lunkhead live," --- And i think that was the moment I decided that the only way to do that was to leave America to go back to Malaysia, because with the immigrant status that I was in, I could have never gone to visit Japan... And I wanted to visit Japan.... Because I wanted to go for LIVE... and to do that, I had to come back to Malaysia.

So..

That's how I came back.

Because of this song.

OK, here is つばき again.

These are two of the newer/latest Tsubaki songs that I really love. Kimi ga inakereba （君がいなければ） and Hikari （光）! I really like these songs coz I thought Isshiki-san's vocals are really powerful here! He sings really really really well in these two songs~ His voice has definitely matured since!


Actually, I'm sending it coz I am really sad for Tsubaki. I think they're an awesome band, would you not agree also??? But for SOME TERRIBLE reason, they just won't get popular... I think it's really sad!!!

I got to know Tsubaki after Lunkhead, of course, but at that time when I first saw Tsubaki live, I thought they were bigger than Lunkhead, since it was Lunkhead who was the support band for Tsubaki's tour. But within a year after that first live, Lunkhead actually became more popular than Tsubaki!

And then, after that, Tsubaki... Well, Isshiki-san anyway, in his blog introduced Merenge　（メレンゲ） to the readers. He spoke really highly of the band... And guess what? Not even 6 months after that, Merenge actually became even MORE popular than Tsubaki!!! Everyone (well most of the usual j-rock/pops/indies English-speaking listeners online) started listening to Merenge! MORE THAN TSUBAKI!

Then after Merenge, we found out about this other band People in the Box, through random downloads of course..... And guess what??? Five months later, People in the Box, which was almost unknown just last year, has now rivaled Tsubaki in popularity!!!!!

WTH!!!

I mean, okay, it's not a popularity contest, of course... But really, still... I think Tsubaki is an amazing band and people should know about them... I guess... Tsubaki is not one of those new and suddenly popular bands... I guess the more you listen to this genre, you'll find out about Tsubaki and at that time you'll only know how awesome their songs are...

SO I HOPE!

頑張って！つばき皆！！！


光〜hikari〜(Akeboshi Piano Version ) - つばき - Tsubaki

君がいないければ - つばき - Tsubaki

Well, yesterday was Art-School's live at Saitama's Heaven's Rock. It's the last live I had planned to go and also the last time going to live of a band I like very much....

Also, I realized today that today's live was at the same livehouse as the first time I saw Tsubaki and Lunkhead live 2 years ago!!! What a great nostalgic and befitting end!!!!




So I was thinking I must go for as many lives as I can while i am here... BUT IT SUCKS COZ THIS IS THE WORST TIME TO BE HERE COZ ALL THE BANDS ARE NOT TOURING!!! In fact ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLl the bands practically START touring on the very day I am going to leave Japan!!! 10/10!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!

And not to mention, I AM GOING TO MISS LUNKHEAD LIVE ON 10/1o by just SIX HOURS!!! Because i LEFT Malaysia on September 10th, my ticket expires also on October 10th!! IT'S TOTALLY SHITE!!!!

AND, I'm quite upset that almost ALLL the bands I want to see arent touring at this time and they'll only be touring middle of this month!!!!


But anyways, at least I got to see a few shows this time.

I went for:

9/11 - Kyoto Mojo - Tsubaki One Man Live
9/23 - Shibuya Yaneura - アナ/Tsubaki
9/24 - Shimokitazawa Club Que - Lost in Time/ セカイイチ
9/26 - Shindaita Fever - アナ
9/28 - Shibuya Club Quattro - Tsubaki
9/29 - Saitama Heaven's Rock - Art-School

Those were the shows I had planned to go..... (except Ana and Sekaiichi..... I think those came up last minute also hahaha)...

Before I go back, I wanna go for:

10/3 - Zher the Zoo Yoyogi - Prof. Moriarty&Smiley-Todd (I just discovered this band when I was randomly checking out Kyoto indies band in a shop in Kyoto)
10/5 - Shibuya O-West - Under The Counter
10/6 - Shimokitazawa Club Que - Monokuro
10/9 - Shimokitazawa Club Que - D.W. ニコルズ (I REALLY REALLY wanna check them out!)

As you can see, they are totally RANDOM bands.... ahahahah... Some bands I had just casually checked out....

Actually on 10/2 there are 2 REALLY cool shows... For Hare-Brained-Unity.... and also Art-School again... But Aki-san has a party for me on 10/2, so I can't go :( But it's okay, coz I get to meet people at the party and have fun too :)

Shimokitazawa Club Que is having a special anniversary live events... So alot of cool bands are playing there everyday... But I'd really like to check out other Shimokitazawa live houses like Garage or Shelter...... But I don't know the bands that are playing there....
Also, Shibuya has alot of small livehouse too... But I don't know which ones they are and I don't know the bands that are playing at all..

There are sooooooo many other bands I wish to see but I miss them by just a week!!!! T_T

I TOOOOOOOTTAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY want to see

PEOPLE IN THE BOX (I REALLY LIKE THEM YO!! And I just found out....... I missed their live in Osaka by ONE BLOODY DAY!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And I also want to see:

hare-brained-unity
メレンゲ
髭(HiGE)
Base Ball Bear
Radwimps

AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!!!!

BUT WHATEVER IT IS... I MISS LUNKHEAD LIVE AND THAT'S THE WORST TRAGEDY!!!!!! I waited TWO YEARS only to miss it by SIX HOURS!!!!!!! T______T

Sigh, I really feel like crying ok!!! :'(


Anyway, I will blog more about the live I had gone to later....

But before that, jus something about yesterday's Art-School live................... Riki Kinoshita is DAMNNNNNNNNNN quiet person!!!! SERIOUSLY.... The band practically played 10 songs before he FINALLY said "Konbanwa, Art-School desu." and that was it!!! He was like "Ahh...Ahhh" and totally didn't know what to say!! He even said "What should I say?" (in Japanese, of course)... Dang!!! He's damn quiet!!! lols~ but he's also DAMNNNNN cool!



By the way, this is my friend Aki.... He writes for biking, outdoor and travel magazines and models for those clothing companies too...



I think he looks damn cool here... lols

アナ (Ana) is an amazing band live! I only got to know them 3 days ago when i went to see Tsubaki but they were amazing live!!

When I saw them on Wednesday, their live reminded me of the The Format's show in New York which I went with Michelle 5 years ago.... Except..... format was headlining that night! ahaha...

Anyways, I got Ana's CD and actually, their songs are actually quite electronic (of course) and mellow.... But during live, their songs just transforms and they inject a radiating energy into the songs in their live performance! Really different! Awesome!


Actually, when Ana first got on stage and put up such an entertaining set, they reminded me alot of Days Away and Ana has also been around for 11 years...

It's like, although not many people know them, I really admire them for persisting in their dreams for such a long time despite everything...

And how I admired Days Away because even though they were playing only a 5 song set to a bunch of people who didn't know them, they always cared about perfection of their sound and music...

Same goes with Ana, I really admire how they really put on an amazing show despite it being a short set and not many people know them... I also admire how they are so much at ease on stage and take it up like it was their world (it IS their world!)... and Okubo-san and Ouchi-san really engage the crowd amazingly well, even though the crowd barely knows them or when the crowd is quiet...


On Saturday's show, there were less people there and I think compared to Wednesday's crowd, they were less enthusiastic, perhaps.... Before Ana got on, I was wondering how they'd take up the show... If they were gonna be less engaging or less energetic than Wednesday's show...

But when they got on stage, they just did their thing and they just performed as they did on Wednesday...

A really good band live..! I wish I could go for their show again!!! It's incredibly enjoyable even though you don't know any of the songs! Seriously! hahahahah


Check them out!

HP: http://www.a-naweb.net
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mysspaceana


Ana Pictures that I took: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=317762&id=903000264