Posts

Wow, I haven't written anything in quite a long time...and I don't even have any particular reason why I haven't been writing, especially for the past few weeks, since I finished the semester early this year and have just been relaxing and enjoying the break.  I suppose it's because I was working so hard non-stop all the time that once I had nothing in my schedule all of a sudden, I kind of didn't know what to do with myself.  Of course I caught up with translation requests and stuff, but there was definitely a period where I felt so restless and just plain weird that I couldn't get myself to do much of anything at all.  Sort of like I couldn't stand to do anything productive anymore, but conversely was irritated at myself that I wasn't doing anything useful. >_>

Well, now that Christmas is close and the holiday season is in high gear, we've been making obscene amounts of treats at my house.  So far we have gingerbread cupcakes with lemon frosting, candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, almond crescent cookies, ginger-lemon cookies sandwiched with apricot jam, and two traditional British Christmas cakes (basically a rum fruitcake with marzipan covering and white royal frosting).  Oh, and tomorrow the plan is to whip up a lemon meringue pie and start the preparation of the duck for Christmas dinner.  It's insanity.  There's only four of us eating all this stuff!  And I've certainly not been doing enough exercise to compensate for it since I came back...I've already noticed I'm losing muscle and getting a bit pudgier in places. -_-lll lol  Well, it's the holidays, so whatever...

I've actually already gotten most of my Christmas presents because I picked them out myself.  One was the GazettE's new DIM SCENE DVD, which was amazing!!  The guys were all in great shape and gave a really top-notch performance.  I loved the way they used the LED screens and lights and the crowd was just going crazy!  There were older people, little children, even BABIES in the audience and everyone was so riled up and excited it was infectious watching it...I wish I could've been there for real, it looks like it was such a blast!  Though Ruki's hair became increasingly annoying as it got frizzier from all the headbanging, his vocals were brilliant and I was also surprised and happy to see how outgoing Aoi was...he kinda stole the show (for me at least) with his singing, dancing, little MC, and all those cool moves.  And, it was great to watch Uruha play the guitar from 'DIM SCENE', 'Without a Trace', and '13 STAIRS[-]1' live...I've been dying to hear them since the album came out!
Though perhaps some of the performances of older songs on previous DVDs are still slightly better imo, DIM SCENE is a concert I find myself able to watch all the way through without skipping any songs at all, which is quite rare.  The setlist was superb and though RCE perhaps had more striking, singularly memorable moments like the opening of 'Gentle Lie', DIM SCENE more than makes up for it with sophisticated, gorgeous visuals, crisp images and good editing where you can see the members clearly, and a frantic, explosive, intense energy that rivals all their DVDs to date.

Since my old watch broke, my parents got me a new one as another present.  It's a sleek, elegant Skagen with smooth black leather strap, a very thin, shiny silver case, and crystal indicators.  I love how minimalist and small it is.  I always have trouble finding watches like everything else here, since I have small wrists, but luckily Skagen makes stylish petite sized watches. : )

Well, as I wait for Christmas to officially come, I've been spending my time watching lots of movies and episodes of a Japanese tv show called Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen.  It's the cutest thing ever, I used to watch it sometimes in Japan.  It's the perfect mix of cute, fluffy animals, funny happenings and touching moments, haha. ^_^  Oh, I'm also writing nengajo to send to my host parents since the New Year's coming up...2010 is the year of the tiger!

I'll also be working my way translating a good portion of girugamesh's new album 'NOW'.  I like the album but similar to 'Music', I think girugamesh are definitely still composing in a style that's akin to dance music in that it's best experienced not listening to the CD, but during a live where you can feel the energy of the beat and move to the music properly.  For sure it's not my favourite work by them, but still a fun collection of songs I'll be rotating through for a while.

キタ━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━！!!
Amid dreading the horrible impending doom and busyness that awaits me in my last stretch of presentations, papers and finals for the next two weeks, this announcement was like a ray of divine light in my life!  I cannot express how incredibly happy this makes me...I plan on pre-ordering it as soon as possible!  I can't wait to hear what they've been up to all these past months!

I usually don't go shopping during Thanksgiving sale weekend because the crowds are murderous and I normally spend the holiday at home with my family, but this year I finish the semester so early it wasn't worth the trip back (since I would come back and then leave again in a week for X-mas break) so I've just stayed put in my apartment.  I went out on the dreaded Friday, but the crowds weren't so bad, probably because the rainy, windy weather put some people off.  I also popped out again today to get a few things I had my eye on yesterday...I ended up spending yesterday mostly on clothes, today on shoes.  Despite the dismal conditions outside, I managed to get some really awesome deals.  I bought some dressy collared shirts, a cute Silence & Noise strapless dress in blue, a pretty black sequined tank, and a pencil skirt that was almost 70% down from the original price.  Oh, and I replaced my favourite little clutch-sized umbrella that broke while I was in Japan.  I was excited to see they had it in silver this year, so I went for that instead of getting the black w/ polka dots like I had before. : )

I finally got a few pairs of shoes I'd be looking at for a while but hadn't been willing to take the plunge on because of the price.  Despite things being reduced, I try not to fall for that alone and always consider whether the final price I pay is really worth it for the item.  I'd been wanting to get some more adventurous, stylish shoes for going out in, so when I saw the deals on these gorgeous booties I grabbed them right away.  I seriously waited to the last minute on these.  They've been hot this season and selling like crazy, so I barely managed to get my size while they were still available.  I also got these super cute, versatile heels 50% off (I looove the 80's flair...I adore anything glam ^^).  And I didn't pay more than $65 for any of them. :D

I've been feeling so tired this week and I don't even know why...I'm just fed up and want a vacation for real.  I can't bring myself to focus on work at all, so I've been wasting most of my time going online, watching some stand-up comedy, and basically spacing out.  This always happens every year around this time when it's close to the holidays and the end of the semester.  Hopefully I'll manage to pull myself together enough to do a decent job on my next paper about mental illness that's due next week. -_-;

By the way, something disconcerting I've become more aware of recently is how many people find tattoos objectionable.  Of course most people from older generations who aren't used to it aren't too enthusiastic about them, but increasingly I've come across a lot of people from younger generations, even some my own age, that find them totally unappealing.  I get that not everyone finds them attractive, and that's perfectly understandable, but to go as far as saying they're disgusting or grotesque is very extreme and I found the fact that some people say such things pretty disturbing and shocking.  I suppose it's because within the social circles and scenes I'm part of tattoos are pretty common and considered a beautiful way of expressing oneself and embellishing one's body.  I mean, most of my friends and I find them very attractive when done in a nice way.  I think really cliche tattoos just picked out of a book without thinking much about it can be ugly and stupid, but if you get a tattoo that means something special to you done by a skilled artist, then it's a very beautiful thing.  I don't know, that sort of negative sentiment about them really threw me off because I usually think of tattoos as enhancing a person, not negating their other positive physical features and general attractiveness.  The same can be said of piercings, though I'm personally more picky about them.

Then again, I don't consider my values or preferences on most things anywhere near mainstream sensibilities, so I guess it's to be expected that I can't relate much.  But that does make it harder to carry on those sorts of conversations with the average person, especially in this country, because we generally have very little in common.

Haah, the last few weeks have been pretty crazy...I've been in the process of preparing applications, making sure recommendations are done on time, and writing a ton of papers.  So many deadlines to deal with...it's rather stressful. >_<  But now I'm almost entirely ready to hand in my application, which hopefully if I get in will mean I'll be heading back to Japan for another year, perhaps longer.  I'm really keepin' my fingers crossed on that, cause I know for sure that Japan is the place for me, at least at this point in my life, so I'm determined to find some kind of work there.  If all else fails, the only other place I'd want to be is NYC, or maybe the UK.  It's a tough world out there right now though, so naturally I'm a bit nervous about the prospects.

On another note, we watched the very interesting documentary 'Paris is Burning' in my gender class last week.  It's about drag, ball culture, and the gay community of 1980's New York.  It obviously deals with issues of gender and sexuality, but also poverty, racial discrimination, and inequality.  It's a really touching look at how these people dealt with the prejudice and hardship they faced in their lives by creating the balls and "voguing" as a way to express themselves and be who they wanted to be, imagine they could achieve all that they wanted, even if only for a little while.  I think the idea that fame lives within, that despite the limitations of the real world you can feel just as fabulous as any celebrity without the money or having people know who you are is something that can resonate with a lot of people.  It's also extremely interesting to see how certain aspects of gay subculture worked their way into the mainstream (e.g. Madonna's 'Vogue') and now influence the fashion industry that the voguers at the balls admired and emulated.

I know it's been said before, but I really do believe that the LGBT movement and women's rights are among the most vital issues of our time.  Fighting to improve women's rights would also do so much to help alleviate poverty all over the world, and finally surpassing the hurdle of equality for all genders and sexualities would help push many other equality movements as well.  It's so sad and hard to understand how people can be so close-minded, intolerant, and downright despicable to other human beings sometimes, especially when it's a dispute over something like who we love.

Moving to the music front, I can't stop listening to 'LORELEI' by DELUHI!  I love how they mix in that arabseque acoustic solo and the Middle Eastern influenced sounds...it's really beautiful and goes surprisingly well with their metal style.  Although incorporating that kind of aesthetic has been done to an extent by various groups before, I think DELUHI is the only one so far to continue drawing the theme through their music more consistently, rather than it being just a phase.

In other news, the Lady Gaga's video for 'Bad Romance' is out and causing quite a stir.  It certainly has some impressive visuals and outrageous fashion...it could take a while to deconstruct all of what's going on here.  I like how she injects intelligence, serious creative direction, attention to visual elements, and avant-garde style into the cesspool of mainstream pop.  She also has good sensibilities, is level-headed, and represents values and a female presence I find far more relatable and real than the sugary, vapid plasticness of most other normative women in pop.  Although she works in pop, she does have a sort of rockstar-ish, dirty and tough atmosphere that's very appealing.  People always give dance, electronic, and pop music a bad rap, but I don't think that comes from a problem with the medium itself, but rather is the result of misinterpretation, lack of knowledge, and the uninspired way it's used by some artists.

Across the pond, Patrick Wolf has put out a video for 'Damaris' off his album "The Bachelor" that was released just this summer.  It's quite surprising, although the concept and presentation is fairly simple, because most of his music videos thus far have been either solitary or with groups of dancers/characters, but never featured such an intimate two person relationship.  The parallel between Patrick alone at the grave and the scene with the two of them lying together in white was particularly beautiful and well done.  It's at once sweet but heartbreaking, and we get to see yet another vulnerable side of Patrick that's very different from the other two videos from this album.  In 'Vulture' there was vulnerability in a physical sense, while 'Hard Times' focused more on strength and overcoming difficulties.  Though his work has always been eclectic, I was quite happy to see him bring a bit of the traditional English aesthetic back into his videos visually, because I will always be enamored of his 'Wind in the Wires' period with all that great imagery from Cornwell.  The video for 'Damaris' also has a definite mythical quality to it that goes perfectly with lyrics.  I can't say it's my favourite video by him, but it's certainly another wonderful addition to his body of work.

I just have to say I'm really excited about カラス, the new self-proclaimed neo-visual kei super unit made up of Tatsurou from MUCC, Hiroto from Alice Nine, Mizuki from Sadie, dunch from jealkb, and Kenzo from Ayabie.  They first got together at this year's JACK IN THE BOX event, but now they're going to record a studio version of an original song they made together!  I wonder if the unit will stick around and put out a few significant releases or just fade away like S.K.I.N. did, but for the time being I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the song, which is called 'LASTICA'.  It sounds very interesting from the preview clip on their myspace (the last few seconds sorta remind me of the British band Muse's work in a way...a little futuristic but more industrial).  I think the whole group and the sound is refreshing in the midst of the current v-kei scene...I always love it when artists collaborate and mix things up because it's just a great opportunity for new creativity.  I also find it very interesting that they're actively using the term "neo-visual kei"...perhaps this represents a move among artists to really take hold of that term and clearly define it for themselves, since it's been more of a word used by the media and attached to bands thus far, so the meaning of it has been relatively vague.

Also, shifting over to fashion again...though there's no way in hell I could ever afford these (or rather, permit myself to spend so much on one pair of shoes), I can't help ogling and admiring this absolutely amazing-looking pair of Fifre 120 Christian Louboutin ankle boots. *_* They're so pretty....but so, so outrageously expensive. T_T  Just looking at the price makes me want to curl up in a ball (let's just say I could feed myself for half a semester with the money it would take to buy these).  But they are lovely to look at...Louboutin always makes such gorgeous, classic designs. <3

Ugh, I have yet another paper to write this weekend, and I have no idea how to approach it because the topic is so vague...what a bummer. -_-;  I'm also hoping to translate DELUHI's new mini-album 'Yggdalive' in the near future...I don't have time to do a full post and rant on in detail about it, but it's pretty awesome so anyone who hasn't heard it yet should go give it a listen!  Leda's guitar work is love as always. <3  There are deliciously heavy metal-inspired riffs, some seriously high powered drumming, uplifting choruses, a sweet bass solo, a few funky/popish moments, and the shockingly soft and smooth "Hoshi no nai Yoru ni".  DELUHI has really expanded their horizons beyond my expectations with this release, proving they can rock a number of different styles skillfully and naturally.  For a first effort I was surprised how well they pulled off a lot of the new influences and styles.  Plus the sound quality of their work has taken a significant step up from previous releases as well, which is great.  I also can't wait till the full version of the "REVOLVER BLAST" PV comes out.  At first I wasn't too keen on it, and it's still not my favourite track, but the full song turned out to be a lot heavier than the chorus let on.  Here's some more samples:  "Wake Up!"    "Follow the Future"    "Flow Snow"

I'm pretty excited for next week because the new coat I ordered should be arriving.  It's a really cute black and white pleated Victoria houndstooth coat by BB Dakota.  It was so much cheaper than I expected (even less than the average for a similar coat at many other, more popular brand stores...but I think they tend to hike the price) and definitely miles away from the $3,650 or so price tag on the Alexander McQueen designs it takes inspiration from. >_<  I'd actually been endlessly debating over whether to go for a black or a white coat but this one totally solves that problem.  I can't wait to wear it with my tall, black suede high-heeled boots. :D  I've been refreshing my wardrobe lately not only for the fall/winter season, but looking for more sophisticated, classic pieces, because I've realized I need to expand beyond my existing functional/casual and not-so-work-appropriate rock-inspired looks.  I need more mature, career oriented items too but it's always so hard to find my size in those areas.

In other news, the GazettE's manager posted some more interesting anecdotes today.  Apparently the band hasn't been meeting up a lot lately since they're making songs and on break, but they had a photoshoot and such recently and when he and Kai were talking about posting photos on their blogs Kai showed the manager a certain photo on his phone and Sakai asked "Is this a pro wrestler?" to which Kai said "No, it's me!" and was like "See, look!" and proceeded to flash his newly buffed-up arms!  Then the manager was all like, "Wow, they've gotten really big!" 0_0.  I knew Kai had started working out to increase his muscles (he even got a personal trainer, I heard) but now I'm really curious to see how much of a difference there is!  Is it that drastic?! o_0  Also, apparently Aoi decided to invite everyone at PSC to dinner (they made a reservation for close to 20 people, he said) and Aoi paid for them all!  Sakai was super happy and said, "What a manly thing to do!  You're the best!  Thanks!" lol ^^;

I can't believe I managed to write two 6-8 page papers in three days...and I'm quite happy with the results, though I don't know how they'll do under my professors' scrutiny. @_@  One was for art history on the presence of the idol in Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning's paintings (which I actually enjoyed writing), the other was a more grueling analysis of the application of psychoanalysis and Foucault to the anthropology of gender...that one was pretty complex, so I'm not as confident about it.  I always find it easier and feel better when writing about the arts because they're something I believe in, whereas I tend to be very suspicious of theory.  Anyway, now I'm totally burnt out, but I still have a mountain of other work to catch up on. =_=;;

Speaking of being burnt out, I read the GazettE's manager's mobile post today where he revealed that Aoi forgot what date it was and was the only member not to send Kai a happy birthday text.  Supposedly it went like this:
あっ今日もう30日だったっけ？？まだ26日だと思ってた(笑)
Ah, today's already the 30th??  I thought it was still the 26th(lol)
あっ！！忘れてた｡まじごめん！！日にちの感覚がなかった｡
Ah!! I forgot. I'm so sorry!! I lost track of the date.

-_-;....
Aoi you mean, terrible person...apparently Kai was pretty down because he didn't get a text from him. ^^lll  Of all the members Aoi seems to have been taking their vacation to the extreme from what he said in the latest magazine interviews.  Apparently he's been spending his time doing nothing but playing video games and chatting anonymously with people on the network (in some cases finding out that they like the GazettE) and practicing guitar while waiting for his game to load.  -_-lll  No wonder he's lost his sense of time.  I do feel bad for him though, because the reason why he's been practicing guitar at home (which he said he hasn't really done before, only playing while working on composing, recording, and pre-pro) is because at Saitama Super Arena he got nervous and there was a point where he messed up and his fingers just wouldn't move.  It seems Reita covered it up for him, but he said he felt like he wanted to die in that moment (it's in Shoxx, if I remember correctly). T_T  Poor guy.  So now he's working on leveling up his guitar play and getting more serious about why certain phrases just don't come out when he's composing, which is admirable and very responsible of him, I think.

Also, totally random, but I'm going insane cause I can't get this song out of my head: Bad Romance

I'm in the middle of my busiest weekend of the entire semester right now (two papers and a proposal due on Monday! >_< ugh) so I'm not going to be around for a while, but I just couldn't resist sharing this image!  Man, I love Yoshiki...he's such an adorably dorky and funny person.

Also, the pv preview for DELUHI'S 'REVOLVER BLAST' off their upcoming mini-album is out!  It's hard to comment on the song from such a short clip, but the members have interesting new looks...Juri and Aggy look very different with the change in hairstyle, but overall they seem to have gone a little simpler and less elaborate with mostly monochrome outfits this time around.  I look forward to hearing what styles they've put into the mini-album as well as if they'll stick with this toned down appearance or move back to their previous, more flamboyant fashion at some point. 

So I've been watching the V-Rock Festival footage and happened to see ViViD's set and interview.  I haven't really been keeping up with them since I'm not a huge fan of any of the indie PSC bands and they didn't spark my interest from the early material I saw and listened to.  I think it's a bit strange and like a reversal of the normal order of how things go that because these bands are on the label they're able to play Budoukan and Makuhari Messe just half a year after they formed in ViViD's case, and although I'm sure it's super exciting for the band members, it sort of undermines the classic dream of working hard to get to Budoukan and all that...hell, at the PSC anniversary live they even had the indie bands perform to playback, which is not what I'd consider really playing at the venue.  If it were me I'd find that somehow disappointing...it's like you didn't make it there by your own effort and merit, you know?  Which I suppose is true and I think the bands realize that...for example ViViD said how it was amazing that they had the opportunity to play at the festival so soon after formation and how grateful they were to their senpai and fans.  It's certainly good for the band, but in terms of how PSC runs it's indie division and how these young bands are getting discovered, put out there, and maturing is interesting to watch.

But anyway, aside from that issue, I got to learn a bit more about ViViD from their interview and found it amusing that Shin the vocalist started a visual kei band because of the GazettE....he's apparently a big fan (and it totally shows...even on his online profile XD).  It's cute really and yet so weird because there's this whole generation of very young bands appearing now that got into music because of bands from the GazettE's generation.  For someone like me who grew up with bands like Dir en grey, Kagrra,, Pierrot, and Plastic Tree, then watched as bands like Alice Nine, the GazettE, and girugamesh grew and became major players in the scene right now it's strange to realize that a whole new generation is forming already.  It's also personally a bit disturbing cause these guys are like, the same age or younger than I am!  It makes me feel so OLD! ^_^;;

Getting back to the point, since they've now popped back up on my radar I checked out ViViD's latest single, '69-II'.  It's kind of generic and I can't help but feel that everything about their look is somehow recycled material from other PSC bands.  The song itself is fairly good but lacks a unique spark, I think.  You can definitely hear that most of the members are fans of abingdon boys school, it has a similar "rock with popular appeal" sound going on and Shin's singing has a strong, smooth quality that's reminiscent of Nishikawa's.  I'd say it's all in all a good effort.  They're still just starting out so once they find themselves and their own creative niche I think they could make some cool material.