4 posts from September 2009

At last -OZ- have released their first full album, 'VERSUS'!  I've been impatiently awaiting it for a long time, and it pretty much lives up to my high hopes.  -OZ- is a very talented young band and although their releases have been somewhat slow in the past, they display immense potential and are one of the best among the hard, newer groups around right now.  They manage to incorporate aggressive power and smooth melody with a force and persuasiveness that's unlike most of their contemporaries.
When at their best the compelling contrasts between the abrasive shouts and wavering choruses, the headbanging-inducing, fast-paced riffs, undulating solos, and uplifting passages they weave into their music make it addictive.  Although for me the vocalist Natsuki's voice took a while to get used to at first, and one could argue that he over-uses vibrato, his distinct growls, screams, and way of singing is a vital part of -OZ-'s sound and pairs well with their aesthetic.  It's got a certain charm to it and he's no small part of what makes their music stand out and be instantly recognizable.

'VERSUS' is dominated by hard, rough songs as is the majority of -OZ-'s discography, and features the previous singles "ATHENA", "DETOX", AND "VENOM".  The pitfall of many groups that make this kind of music with very heavy guitar and lots of screaming is that it can sometimes become rather repetitive or sound too similar.  For the most part -OZ- avoids this and brings a good variety of songs to this well-balanced album.  The guitar phrases, rhythms, and Natsuki's growling, screaming vocals have impressive diversity and are noticeably unique from song to song.  Almost every one has its hook or bright point, for example parts like the delicate guitar in "LAST Shell" that has an interesting Japanese flair reminiscent of koto, the staccato drums in "M.D.M.A", gentle, beautiful melody of "Breathe trees", whining guitars of "VENOM", and the catchy chorus and punchy bass solo of "FILMY".

I just have to say, "FILMY" is one of my favourites off the album, and I think they made an excellent choice in producing a pv for it.  The opening scream thrusts you into the steady, aggressive beat and that bass solo, though short, totally made the song for me (I'm a HUGE fan of bass solos <3).  Seriously, there is a dire lack of bass solos out there, so I'm completely in love with -OZ- for including one.  The pv is nicely made too, accentuating the best moments of the song and actually matches the lyrics quite well, which can't be said for all pvs filmed in chapels.

Anyway, I think 'VERSUS' is a brilliant first album for -OZ-, showcasing their strong points and how solid their skills are.  It's a great fusion of all the appealing aspects of -OZ-'s music.  It's guttural and cathartic, an at times violent spilling out of emotion and energy that resonates and makes one feel in a way that softer forms of music can't.  Of course there are numerous groups that make songs that do this, but it seems to be a focus for -OZ- and they display a particular talent for it.  If all goes well, I can definitely see the band becoming quite successful because their strength lies in the quality of their music, though their visuals may not be as extravagant or conspicuous as other groups.

So I've recently come to the realization that I'm a total academic masochist.  Compared to the average four courses per semester standard I usually take five, I have a double major and just declared a minor, yet I manage to get by with good grades so I don't know, I guess I've just gotten used to doing ridiculous amounts of work. o_0  Kind of strange to be aware of it though...but I like learning and figure I want to get the most out of my time here so it never really occurred to me to do otherwise.  I have to say though, this semester's looking like it'll be one of the toughest yet...I really ought to buckle down and get stuff done...>_>

On another note, I find myself increasingly annoyed by academia in general lately...I dislike the kind of pointless, self-absorbed, unrealistic theoretical pondering that goes on sometimes; it just seems like such a waste of time and doesn't contribute anything meaningful at all.  A lot of it just seems very out of touch with reality.  One example is a paper I read last week for my anthropology of gender class in which the writer postulates on the structure of family, status and experience of women in certain Polynesian societies, yet goes on to say in the end notes that she's never done any fieldwork in the region.  I criticized the author's structuralist argument for various flaws such as looking for preconceived notions found in Western society in Polynesian culture which may not exist as such, and making certain binary claims about the concepts of virginity and sexuality that were rather narrow-minded, not to mention questioning the validity of her work which was based entirely on second-hand accounts.
To this my professor replied that fieldwork isn't a prerequisite for "significant comparative analysis and grasping the big picture"...which kind of frustrated me because I felt what I argued pretty much indicated the fact that I think it is.  How can you go around making claims about the organization and experience of people in another culture if you've never been there and seen it first hand?  At least from my experience, what you read in books and second-hand accounts is never the same as experiencing it yourself, and I think it's very important to have that understanding before attempting to make any analysis.  That kind of academic scholarship really bothers me because it's mostly just an exercise in playing with theory.

Anyway, onto more positive things...I'm looking forward to tomorrow because a classmate and I were chosen to participate in this new program run by an organization that funds scholarships and donates to our library...basically they take students out to lunch at ethnic restaurants and have them talk about the culture it represents.  They've chosen Japanese for their first outing, so we get to have a nice Japanese lunch for free. ^^  It also means we get to miss Japanese class, but unfortunately we still have to turn in all the homework the same day and I still haven't finished it yet. -_-; 

Actually, I've kind of been distracted and watching manzai instead, hahaha!  One group I've been watching a lot recently is Black Mayonnaise, they're really funny.  It feels so good to hear them speak in Kansai-ben...I miss hearing the dialect, since in academic settings you only hear the standard Tokyo accent.  It's so much more melodious and exciting to listen to.  Some manzai is really hard to understand though because they talk at such high speed with such strong accents.  But here's an interesting act of ブラマヨ's that's fairly easy to understand where they talk a bit about Kyoto (they're Kyoto natives, actually)

I've been neglecting writing about new releases for some time now, mostly because I've been busy with real life work and spending my remaining free time translating for my other blog.  But after all it's a better use of my time and there's more interest there anyway. ^^;  So right now I'm honestly just procrastinating because I'm sick of doing my crazy amounts of Japanese homework (I've been at it for most of today, slogging my way through kanji study, an essay revision, 50+ sentence translations, and a four page reading comprehension worksheet). _|¯¯|O  Why are my Japanese sensei always so insanely ambitious?  Admittedly though it does me a lot of good, since if I were allowed to just sit on my ass and breeze through the class the lack of pressure from constantly having assignments due and needing to mentally prepare for class so I won't come out of there shamefully picking up the scraps of my shattered self-esteem would mean I'd never improve.

Hm, well anyway there's a bunch of releases coming out soon from artists like ScReW, D, and heidi., although so far none of the previews except maybe those for heidi.'s new album 'Panorama' have particularly struck me.  In fact, the pv for D's new single 'Tightrope' was pretty disappointing.  The song is alright, but rather mediocre and unmemorable despite its heaviness which wins some points with me, but the worst for me was the pv.  It just looks washed out and not very well put together from a cinematographic perspective, not to mention the obvious, overdone, and trite imagery.  I think it's the most awkward pv I've ever seen from D...a lot of the members' posing is so stiff and the scenes with Asagi as the "dog" and the man flailing in "fear" against the fence are just awkward to watch.  The whole idea just isn't very original and certainly not executed as well as it could be...the whole thing comes off as being tacky and cheesy rather than aggressive or sexy.

However, D'espairsRay's new single 'Final Call' is catchy and fun, and the pv is edgy with high contrasts between the vibrant colours, light and dark.  The line "Why can't you love me, baby?!" really makes you want to sing along, as dorky as that would be. : )  The song is upbeat and somewhat similar in sound and composition to 'REDEEMER', but has a sultrier feel to it that's played up in the pv's imagery and the lyrics.  I'll be translating it as soon as I get my hands on the kanji.

On another note, I just have to say, if I wasn't already decided on getting the GazettE's DIM SCENE Final DVD, then for sure these tantalizing, gorgeous photos would be more than enough to convince me! *o*  I mean, just WOW...I have no words!

So apparently the DVD of the GazettE's DIM SCENE tour final at Saitama Super Arena will be released December 16th, and I'm thinking of getting it despite the probably fairly high cost and the fact that I currently have no way to play it due to region coding (oh, how I hate the coding system) but I've been wanting to get a multi-region player for years so maybe this can be my motivation to finally invest in one since I really want to see the live and it supports the band, of course.  So I guess I ought to start saving up for it now. ^^;  (Btw, I absolutely LOVE their new looks, especially Aoi, Ruki, and Kai! <3)

Anyway, I've finished my first full week of class and all is going well...they're very interesting, though the assignments are already piling up.  I'm trying to get three of my short 1-3 page papers (all from my art classes) out of the way this weekend before the bigger papers come up and also so the following weekends will be freed up and I can actually do other things besides just work.  My Japanese sensei said she wants us to make blogs and post about stuff in Japanese every week throughout the semester, which is an idea I like and look forward to, but also somewhat worry about since it means I'll then have to maintain three blogs, which I'd like to keep posting in regularly but I don't know how successfully I'll manage that with all my other work.  まあ、とりあえず頑張ります！

We also have a stupid p.e. requirement so I'm taking pilates, which is nice since it's less intensive than doing a "real" sport or something that involves exercise machines.  I'm relatively flexible and fit, and can walk all day without getting tired so I figured it wouldn't be too hard on me, but we had our first class a few days ago and I have to say, my "core" (basically all the internal muscles of the torso that are the main focus for this exercise routine) were unexpectedly sore afterward. ^^lll  When you're doing the exercise it doesn't seem strenuous at all or like it's working your body too much, but you really feel it later! >_<  Well, I suppose by the end of it I'll have better abs and upper body strength (we had to do push-ups!  I freakin' hate push-ups...).

Also, this is rather random, but I've recently discovered what a delicious combination pomegranate flavour Chobani greek yogurt and cinnamon Kashi Heart to Heart cereal make.  It's great, I seriously recommend it!  I was very happy to discover the new expanded store in the dining hall sells Chobani yogurt, it's all natural greek yogurt...good stuff.  Before all they had was one crappy brand that didn't taste very good and only stocked three flavors. -_-;  It was utterly pathetic.