Dear fellow readers,
Thank you so much for reading this blog for the last year and a bit. It’s been an absolute honour to have readers like yourself to read my words. I hope you’ve share the same enthusiasm I do about the correlation of music and emotions. But I am sadly going to stop posting here as my great friend and fellow blogger, pengie, has offered me to blog on her domain. I am like many others who are about started their pilgrimage from Blogger to Wordpress. The reasons are quite simple for my exchange of blogging engines, the reason I have used Blogger was because of its simplicity and ease of use, but now, as I’ve *tried* to find my feet in writing, I desire something more than just simplicity. And also, as my good friend has offered me a space, I could not refuse such a generous and selfless offer…I would be plainly rude if I did refuse, even in the most gracious manner.
I hope you all will follow me at my new home on unchained. I am deeply sorry about being a bother by changing blogs and RSS feeds but I truly hope you all will visit me on my new blog. There is only one difference between here and blogger however, and that will be the change of address. Everything will be the same and I hope you all come and visit. Here are the new links.
http://unchained.nu/secondblossoming - my new address
http://feeds.feedburner.com/secondblossoming - my new RSS Feed
Thank you so much for your patronage during past year and I am hoping you will visit me and change your old links from my old blog to my new one over at unchained.
Yours Sincerely,
SecondBlossoming - Michael
Edit: To open my new blog on unchained, I've written a new entry on THYME's "Aisuru Hito" on my new blog. Take a look as I turn myself into a girl for a few thousand words. I hope you like the colours haha.
Opening art entitled "Beyond the horizon" by agnidevi
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Sailing to Brighter Horizons
Friday, 2 January 2009
The butterflies have disappeared and the caterpillars are being born
Fuck me sideways, I’m already late. I honestly don’t know why I’m writing this now. I have a raging headache, my neck needs a neckbrace from headbashing last night, my pants smell of spilt beer, my hair is still waxed from last night and it looks like some guy from Dragonball Z, I’ve lost my voice completely after singing countless songs, I’ve only had 3 hours sleep and I still haven’t had a shower…so I’m sitting in my own filth after a night’s partying with great mates of mine. I hope your New Years were just as epic as mine. What a wonderful way to start 2009.
I think this year was for me to find my identity, both as a blogger and as a person. As a person, I haven’t hit the point yet. I’ve tried, although I haven’t given up. My identity as a person is quite muddled to say the least. But going to university and choosing what I wish to do for university definitely helps in creating paths for ways to find myself. But something I just don’t fully understand is when I graduate is “what should I work for?” Should I work for happiness and sacrifice the riches? Or shall I sacrifice happiness and work for money? For goodwill perhaps? For the goodlife? Or even as my friend Dave says, “WORK FOR SEX”.
It’s hard to sacrifice so much just for one thing, but will the benefit outweigh the cost? Will I regret such a decision? By sacrificing so much do I go past the point of no return? Can I interchange my choices? Or do I have to stay committed to one belief?
Should I change my life for better? Should I be selfish in my decisions? Or should I help the needy?
Am I taking everything for granted? Should I share my “wealth” of knowledge around? Should I work for the underprivileged?
Questions have been cluttering my head for months and I doubt it would be clear soon. So has my goal of self-identification been fulfilled?
Not even close. The idea of sacrifice and compromise is tough to swallow. However, the idea of moving forward and finding “Who I am” is more important than short-term pleasures.
Even a simple task for having an identity as a blogger is hard. The thought of being yourself seems simple at first glance, but as time keeps up with you, it slowly turns to utter calamity whether you want to achieve writing for oneself and your own feelings or writing for a wider audience which then you would have to conserve those raging feelings inside a concealed box within your head and write informatively. Balance of both? Wouldn’t work, you’ll either more bias to one or the other. Your heart is always to one, whether you want to fully express your feelings or whether you want to capture the readers’ attention.
I’ve tried both formats, one is bland and robot like, the other is tedious (at times) and you have to dig REAL deep which at times is energy-consuming and tiring. Although I prefer the latter, it’s hard to keep up week by week to write something. The main reason why it’s such an unreliable writing style is because that you have to wait for something significant to crack open your heart like a blood to a shark.
My goal during these holidays was to be writing, a lot infact, but I’ve done nothing except for my mink post, which felt in after reading it again was an entry which had a bouquet of emotions chucked into a blender and in the end all the flavours just negate each other and just taste bland.
My good friends at IW have been helping me out by smoothing out the path towards writing and hopefully a better person, although the influx of paedophile jokes don’t really help my reputation at all. Nevertheless, they’ve been good mates to me this year and I couldn’t find a better word than thanks. It’s a small work with little meaning for people who have done so much for me through these past 9 months.
Fucking Saaya Irie and her huge fucking chest.
That girl corrupted me for the days. After Saaya, I moved to the little girls of Hello! Project and they have totally ruined me, from the stomach of Maeda Yuuka to the legs of Chinami; they have made me fuck myself so many times this year. But I wouldn’t call myself as a predator on the street however. I don’t think my paedophilia thoughts have gone that far since there is distinction between idols and little girls in general. I think as supporters of these idols have placed them on such a pedestal that we forget these girls are only children and really shouldn’t be “idolised” in such ways. I mean, UFA can place any girl from the street into Berryz or C-ute and they will be idolised. However, if Airi was just a normal kid going to school, would it be the same? Perhaps not.
While I changed quite a lot since 2007, I’m still the same guy. I still portray a “meat and potatoes” outlook, but I’m a “ballad and tears/roses and candles” when I’m in my own space. I can come back from a hard night’s partying and sit down in front of my computer with my headphones listening to “Mikazuki” or “Sakura Mankai” and be watery eyed. I can go for runs and have testosterone running through my body but I’ll lie as still as a rock with my headphones on thinking of ridiculous things while Hikki massages my ears and my heart. “Last Forever” can comes on and mixed emotions come at me like a tidal wave crashing onto a beach.
Not even little girls can save me from this disease. Not even alcohol can break me, which is surprising since I would rather make a total fool out of me then reveal what I am deep down.
Album Picks
A Son Of The Sun – Uyama Hiroto
Before Wu introduced me to Nujabes, I thought Hip-hop shouldn’t be called music, but rather as rubbish. Of course, I was basing it on my basic knowledge of hip-hop being well, Souja Boy and all the mainstream crap. After he introduced me to Nujabes, my mind was blown away. The relaxation qualities in his music were sublime. It wasn’t rubbish, it was music. Classic ambient jazz fused with essences of hip-hop is what it was.
A few weeks back, Wu told me he found something better than Nujabes. At first, I thought he was kidding, until he sent me it. And you know what, it is. But for this to be my favourite album of the year is quite remarkable in itself. Firstly, it is hip-hop/jazz/ambient music and secondly, it has no lyrics, it’s just instruments. Just imagine café music, but with thumping beats in the background. It blends classic jazz with contemporary beats. At first this combination sounds f’d up, correct? But trust me, it’s absolutely sublime. I had my mates over for drinks a few days ago and I was playing this album and they just loved it. Its brilliant background music for drinking or relaxing or you can just chill to it by yourself. Either way, this is a stellar album blending the best of both worlds. This album deserves a lot of praise, and I couldn’t think of any more adjectives to compliment it.
GAME – Perfume
Do I even need to give an introduction for these girls?
Three girls, catchy tunes, captivating yet simple choreography, one super electropop group.
GAME is, to be frank, sensational. A collection of catchy tunes combined with three synthesised voices, is simple, but surprisingly addictive. While everyone says techno music is just repetitive music, Perfume puts a different spin on that perspective. The use of vocals of three girls and by not being a few repetitive words being muttered over a space of 10 seconds makes the world of electronica a more bearable place to the mainstream public. With their success of GAME, came the likes of Aira Mitsuki and SAWA. While on-stage, their catchy lyrics, simple choreography and their bubbly personalities captivate the viewer, they are nothing without Yasutaka Nakata. He is the one that makes their tunes, he is the creative one behind Perfume and if one day, his boundless creativity stops to a grind, our favourite electropop trio will disappear.
First 9uality – THYME
As I’ve said in my previous review of their album, it’s simple. Simple not in the sense it’s been half-assed made, but in the sense that it’s easy on the ears. Simple music which has been made well is stunning. I think the mentality that most bands have with the more complex the song is better it is. But when you make a complex song, you have more things that you can mess up on than you can for a simple one. For a complex song you have to refine so many things and usually you tend to miss a few things, with simple songs you have time to go over things and refine individual aspects of the song. I think that’s what THYME have capitalised on. As I’ve said, while it’s simple, it’s definitely not quiet. Thyme has the skill well when the song has a rockier or a softer background, and her band mates provide her the platform in which she works so well in.
VAMPIRE – 9mm Parabellum Bullet
‘Termination’ and especially their previous EP’s were killer, masterpieces of fast edgy rock. I was surprised when they released ‘VAMPIRE’, maybe because they’ve been out for so long on their tours. VAMPIRE is …full of surprises. It’s a mix of slower rock but they mix in their traditional fast edgy and aggressive side as well. Listen to “Hide and Seek”, it definitely caught me by surprise. But it’s not all just pots and pans smashing against each other, its good catchy music that is favoured well not with just me, but with the Japanese public as ‘VAMPIRE’ reached #1 on Oricon. While 9mmPB are hard to get into first, their crazy complex and technical riffs will get your head banging in no time…a complete contrast to THYME and their ‘first 9uality’.
Would I say it’s better than Termination? Yes, while they haven’t changed, their songs on ‘VAMPIRE’ are much more melodic than some songs on ‘Termination’ and thus feel more complete, but ‘The World’ and ‘Gjallarhorn’ still sit on top. But this album is a must listen for 2008.
23 – RYTHEM
After I heard ‘Houki Gumo’ a few years ago, I fell in love with this duo. But since then, I’ve forgotten about them until I heard ‘23’. I love this album mainly because of how easy it is to get into. From the RnB styled “Love Call” to the swing-based “Like a Friend”, it’s like a buffet of different genres into one single album. But traditionally, an album which has more than two or three genres stuffed in it would usually be a plane without landing gear, which is well…not exactly brilliant to say the least. But these girls have pulled off something spectacular not just by making an album with variety that doesn’t suck ass, but because usually these girls have ties with piano and acoustic guitar ballad ties which does get a bit tedious. So with a twist here and there, the album doesn’t sound like it’s a track played over and over again. A beautiful album with variety pulled off correctly.
Café Buono – Buono
I love these girls, I really do. But it’s not just their beauty that makes me love this album, it’s how they included three girls from two groups and made a group which its music was centred on guitars, bass and drums. I wouldn’t call “Café Buono” or even Buono! To be a world apart from what Hello! Project are, because there is still the poppy idol element in their songs which is pretty much embedded in their DNA after they sign the contract. But what is different is not the yummy tight leather pants, or even the pimp hat, or even the heels that Miya wears; it’s the consistent usage of guitar, bass and drums and the mixture of girly idol pop which gives it a nice rockier feeling but keeps the innocent schoolgirl playground feeling which is only apparent in a few Hello! Project songs. ‘Café Buono’ to me is hard to define. I couldn’t call it a rock album just because it just isn’t but I also couldn’t call it a pop album because of the ballads inserted in it are absolutely gorgeous and the just the emotion from their voices are touching even though they are only 13-16. The harmony from all three girls in”Kimi ga Ireba” is flawless in execution, simply sublime. A well made album which is good from start to finish.
Single Picks
Remember – HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR
‘Remember’ is hard to give an overall summary with simple words such as passionate or chilling but it is hard for me to come to terms with. It’s my favourite single because it holds a special significance for me. For a vocalist that is leaving a band which was one of the first JBand’s I know…it’s not exactly easy to swallow. While it is the song is for Maki, I feel there is a hidden message of it also symbolising a brand new beginning for the band. While “Remember” is symbolises something significant for me, it’s not the only reason why it’s up there. “Remember” isn’t some sort of sappy song with crying sounds entwined within the song, it’s a hard rocking song in typical Haikara fashion. While Maki’s voice tries to vocalise thoughts into emotion, Yuusuke raps for future of the band and stays composed even though the woman that brought this band alive is now leaving. The B-sides on “Remember” were fantastic especially the live of their debut song, “Pride”. It’s a fantastic single, not just because of its significance but because it dives straight back into what Haikara are known for.
Kurage, Nagareboshi – Ai Otsuka
A beautiful ballad not only touches the heart, but touches the soul within. Ai’s heartfelt voice adds another layer to the already soothing sounds of the harp and piano playing. Ai hiding “Kurage, Nagareboshi” for several years from her producer until she felt it was the right time to release it is quite special. While the thought of her declining popularity may have something to do with it, but the essence of “Kurage, Nagareboshi” being not just another one of her love ballads is a nice feeling. The PV is amazing mainly because of where it was shot. The scenery of that place was just amazing, the long grass, the piano in the water, the tide going out, clear night…beautiful.
Somaru Yo – chatmonchy
The reason why “Somaru Yo” is up here is because this single is a definite return to “chatmonchy has come” roots. The vocalisation of raw emotion is every present here like it was in “chatmonchy has come”, which is a contrast to their singles before “Somaru Yo” as it focused more on the music rather than telling a story from the heart. No, my head isn’t a bit warped, because that’s what I feel about chatmonchy in all seriousness. It feels like Ecchan tells me a story from her heart and the music only helps the flow of the story when listening to Chatmonchy. “Somaru Yo” is chilling, almost numbing, but it’s the feeling I’ve been waiting for so long for chatmonchy to ‘give me’.
Dschinghis Khan – Berryz Koubou
Yes, it is quite ridiculous, although to be fair, ‘Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance’ was worse. Why do I love ‘Dschinghis Khan’ so much…I think it’s quite a mental song, but it’s not as mental as ‘Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance’ but it’s not as bland as ‘MADAYADE’. Watching Berryz perform this utterly ridiculous song helped me like it even more, especially the dance moves. I mean seriously, I was dancing to this stupid song with one hand holding my notes trying to remember stupid biology notes for my exam the next day.
Take me home tonight…
2008 was an awesome year of great releases, with indie rock and electropop groups spawning out like t-shirts in a Chinese sweatshop factory. But these groups aren’t left to collect dust or to be placed in some dark warehouse; they have exploded onto the stage with electrifying hits and small bands are tasting success. It’s hard to understand what has triggered such an influx of indie bands appearing from nowhere as the reception of indie bands have slowly increased when compared to electropop which has pretty much hit hard on the industry with the much hyped “GAME” having instant success. And with such success comes artists who want to cash in on Perfume’s extraordinary success of “GAME” such as MEG, Ami Suzuki, SAWA, Aira Mitsuki…While I think expanding the electropop genre with different artists is a good thing for the genre, the original Perfume and their producer is what keeps the boat rowing. I personally think, once Perfume finishes off…which is blasphemous for me to even mention that…the whole era of electropop will come crashing down. Perfume are special, the public love the girls, no doubt about it, and with such love breeds success. If the girls can keep the Japanese public behind them and if Yasutaka Nakata can keeps his beats fresh, then the era will consist to exist because Perfume is pretty much the “flagship” group of electropop in Japan. But if Perfume disappears, there cannot be a replacement.
International Wota is my whanau or my big extended family, which sadly I’ve been spending less time with, both on #wotachat and my lack of write-ups doesn’t exactly help either. It’s not like I’m TOO busy to do any write-ups, but it’s the mentality of me doing only write ups on other stuff that interest me except for Hello! Project. I think this approach is highly flawed as it only allows me to cover only a few blogs and those blogs aren’t exactly my favourite, or rather, bring up and articles which interest me except a few such as Rockerica. Rockerica’s persistence in bringing her readers fresh releases from J-Rock is amazing, and her writing style is very elaborate and complex but very easy to get into. While listening to the track you’ll slowly sense her writing is true to her heart and to her passion of J-rock is undeniable. Her UROBOROS review was absolutely spectacular.
So perhaps, I should try and change my attitude in write-ups and actually start to enjoy covering funny and enjoyable posts which are lacking in the blogs that I find bland, posts such as “Yurina gets owned by a Tomato” from Shirow at Wotaku Now! are ABSOLUTELY fantastic! I couldn’t stop laughing. Witty captions with perfectly timed screenshots are a thing of beauty.
International Wota is an incredible resource and I’m ever grateful to be part of this fabulous team of people from all around the world with one aim, and that aim is to spread the love of Japanese music to the world. It’s a simple aim, but that single one aim has brought over many friends and people I would classify as extended family. We are by no means just focused on Japanese music, we love each other like a big family, it’s “a whole lotta loving”.
But International Wota wouldn’t be here without the effort of the bloggers themselves. Hours and hours of work are spent on writing for others enjoyment and such a feat must be admired because of how bloggers strive to post regularly which means a lot work and a lot of thinking goes into a post which is read in less than 5 minutes. When here’s an input, there has to be an output. And the lovely contributors, editors and admins of International Wota are the output. Their relentless dedication to the site has not just lead to the fruition of a successful site, but the fruit of their success breeds seeds which grow into more trees, hence the rapid expansion of this community of bloggers and “bloggers for bloggers”.
I hope 2009 will be just as success not just for me, but also for others as this is just a new beginning, because if you try and believe hard enough, it will happen. I wish everyone a very happy new year, a year of happiness, prosperity, good luck and good health.
Kind Regards,
Michael - SecondBlossoming
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Album Review: Shalom - mink
I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m more or less a person who has a double personality. I’d keep an image of myself for my friends and family, but I have a totally different persona when I’m within my little box. I know it sounds lame but I’m the red roses, candles, soothing music, aromatherapy and poems type of guy...secretly. I mean if people ask my friends what type of person I am, instead of being called “a steak and potatoes kinda guy”, they would say “oh he’s a red roses, candles kinda guy” and I’d look like such a bloody wanker.
I have a HUGE affinity for love ballads, mainly by female vocalists. The softness of their voices and them using song as a vehicle to express their hearts is a beautiful combination which cannot be surpassed. Hikki, ayaka, Namie, Ayu, aiko, chatmonchy, Momusu Sakuragumi are just only some artists who have created/sung ballads which have melted our hearts over and over again. Even listening to words that I cannot understand, I’m still in love. I look up the translation which only makes it worse which ends by me want to tear out my heart to stop it beating so fast. My heart sways extremely quickly with these sorts of ballads and I’m slightly embarrassed about having such an attraction to them since well, I am a guy.
Mink is a female Korean vocalist who sings in Japanese. The words “Made in Korea” are abbreviated into “mink”. She only sings in Japanese despite her Korean heritage which I find pretty distinctive since artists with Korean descent who sing in Japanese usually would have a Korean release of some sort, like Younha for example. To add to this distinctive trait of hers, her voice is what defines who she is. Her voice is nothing like I’ve heard before. She generally sings in a breathy and quiet tone but she kinda of fools you, since you’d expect the whole song to be soothing and quiet, but she can pull of spectacular notes with impeccable precision. Her change in vocal quality gives a feeling like she’s like a cocoon when she’s singing in her breathy and quiet voice, struggling to vocalise her thoughts and emotions. She realises that she can’t take it anymore which then slowly crescendos into an eruption from her shell and she releases into a butterfly with her emotions released in the air with every flap of her wings.
Her 1st full-length album entitled Shalom is well, full of ballads. Given, she is a solo vocalist and I wouldn’t expect her to sing some headbashing testosterone flooded rock song, so her repertoire of genres is quite limited. But if you are able to manage the monotonous downpour of ballads without trying to shove a screwdriver through the back of your head, then you’re in for a treat. While her ballads are soothing and relaxing, it also feels like she is offering her a piece of what she is feeling through the song, whether it may be the hardship she is going through or the eternal bond she has with her lover. While the songs on Shalom may not be as raw as let’s say, “Renai Spirits” from chatmonchy, they’re definitely not fabricated feelings. In Renai Spirits, Ecchan starts of soft but then will pour her heart out at you after that initial introduction to “put you in the mood” in what she wants to say to you while she sobs on your shoulder. But with mink, she seems to be as I said before, in a cocoon, waiting for until she can’t take it anymore shown by the consistent heaviness in her voice until she breaks out and then lets it all out, compare that to Ecchan where she just says, “Fuck it, you’re having it face first whether you like it or not, I gave you a warning at the start.”
‘Like There Is No Tomorrow’ is a beautiful ballad but it fills all the descriptions to what I’ve said. She starts of heavy, breathy and quiet but slowly cracks are shown in her shell until she releases herself from her cage of concealed feelings. I just love how she finishes of the second to last ‘tomorrow’ with great flair and power, a complete contrast to the first few minutes of the song.
While the majority of the songs on Shalom are ballads, there are some nice upbeat ones which refresh the listener before he/she starts sobbing their eyes out again. ‘Secret garden’ is a treat as it is an upbeat song from the mountain of ballads. It has the essence of acoustic guitars being the lead accompaniment which is a nice change from being used as a base for mink’s ballads. The rhythm throughout the song is nice and catchy, perfect for summer afternoons with a beer in hand.
While the ballads are spectacular, there is a problem with the amount of ballads in ‘Shalom’. It does get a bit tiresome after a while, plus there are no extra instruments to capture the listeners’ attention as the ballad progresses. Everything is given to you on a silver platter to begin which is well, boring. Strings, percussion, acoustic guitar are shown to you within the first 30 seconds which leaves the listener waiting in anticipation for something special except for the increase in volume in both the vocalist and the instruments as the song begins to have more substance.
Mink puts another perspective on female vocalists trying to make their mark. Her breathy voice is presented well in all her all tracks on ‘Shalom’ which is her selling point. While “driving a screwdriver through your head” is a bit over exaggerated, the listener may well find getting quite frustrated at the lack of variety through the album.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Album Review: moumoon - moumoon
I’ve been waiting for so long for this. When ‘more than love’ came out, their full length album was announced and I was going to write something on ‘more than love’ purely because it’s just a sensational single flooding with emotion (I mean, the title gives it away…) but I decided after knowing that they were going to release their debut full-length album in a few weeks to wait for it and then review it.
Moumoon, which consists of lead vocalist YUKA and Masaki Kousuke (guitars, keyboard, piano, programming, chorus) have released their first full-length album on the 12th of November. I first found the duo back in 2005, a year after Do As Infinity broke up which funnily enough they also opened for Do As Infinity for their free live in Yoyogi Park on the 30th of September.
They have only released mini-albums and singles before this and I’ve always wondered during my time listening to them when they would release something bigger. I’m sure they wanted to take it slow before they start making bigger jumps and with all these small steps they would slowly refine into a band capable of standing out of the crowd. Given, the mini-albums consisted of a few AWESOME songs, but the others failed to give me an impression of a consistent duo which could consistently produce awesome songs all the time.
Moumoon have created an album a jam-packed album filling it with past songs from their mini-albums, singles as well as album songs. The variety of songs follow extremely closely to their ballad roots from their past releases which at first glance, was a bit tiresome since I wanted something loud and dynamic. I was hoping their album songs were as memorable as their singles (I remember you, Tiny Star, more than love), unfortunately as “most” album songs do, they were songs which I passed as just unremarkable when compared to their singles. But, there are a few gems such as the ‘myself’ and ‘Sunrise’.
I think the main reason this album let me down was because of the lack of lively songs such as ‘Do you remember’ and ‘PINKY RING’. I couldn’t enjoy the album songs as much as I did with the singles. Instead, I spent more energy trying to understand the focus of the song. Don’t get me wrong, I respect them for creating something unique, but none have the same flavour and the vibe as some of singles, especially ‘more than love’.
What really got me into moumoon wasn’t because of how beautiful the ballads were, but how the vocalist, YUKA, sung in English. I know it’s weird to be interested in a Japanese band where your main focus is the vocalisation of English words but with a combination of YUKA’s ethereal voice and her accented English, it’s like instead of me getting Mai out of the closet, she comes out herself. I’ve grown accustom to listening to vocalists singing in choppy or slurred yet understandable English. But hell, it’s a great change to actually hear a vocalist who can pronounce it and sing it beautifully. YUKA has an undeniable unique accent when singing in English. Her voice stays fluent during the transition from English and Japanese lyrics, unlike others who try to force it out like they’re choking on words. The second to last line of ‘more than love’ is a beautiful example of her fluent and elegant transition from Japanese to English.
Masaki does more than just paint the atmosphere with his creativity; his understanding of individual atmospheres and his ability to mix and match makes every single song sound different from any other and with this understanding he provides an atmosphere which YUKA can work within it, rather than being lost and working around the atmosphere or worse, against the given atmosphere. Like for ‘Sunrise’, it starts with an ethereal, choir like ambience until the drums kick in giving it a whole new contemporary feeling but the violins maintain the cathedral-like feeling. ‘Do you remember?’ is just like sunrise. It gives you a sense of calmness until that guitar riff rips open the introduction. The combination of a ballad with the strength electric guitar provides a sense of fullness while balanced with the calmness of a ballad.
While moumoon have created sublime singles such as ‘Tiny Star’, ‘I remember you’ and ‘more than love’, they’ve fell short in creating an album an album which is full and memorable. Given, that this self-titled album was released a few weeks after ‘more than love’ so I’m pretty suspicious if this was rushed or if these tracks were already made before. But while it isn’t memorable, YUKA and Masaki both have undeniable talent in the fields. Hopefully both of them will enlighten their audience with fuller releases which can achieve the same essence as their previous singles.
Enough to make my ears moan for more?
Probably not. Although, if my ears had a cock, it would be tingling at the sensation that moumoon are only going to get better.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Change my life - Ai Takaoka
It’s difficult during these times; not just myself during these examinations, but people around the world who are suffering from the financial crisis. Well, I know for sure it’s definitely hard for me since these examinations means one step closer to whatever I want to achieve/be in life, but when compared to people suffering from the financial crisis, my problems are suddenly minuscule.
I’ll complain about how hard I have to work, how much material there is, how much uncovered material I have to study, how I have look for another job these holidays…etc, but when these problems are compared with losing your house, losing your job, getting lower wages, not being able to feed your family, not spending enough time with family because you have to work to keep the family functioning, eradication of certain liberties; it’s a whole different story. Personally, I don’t know what they are going through and I don’t want to be in their shoes because I probably wouldn’t be able to cope. I’m too used to having these luxuries and I know I’ve been taking them for granted. I honestly can’t imagine myself not coming home to a computer screen, a roof above my head, food, the comfort of a bed etc.
Then I look at myself, I whine and complain about small problems and I feel bad. Because my life doesn’t suck, it’s brilliant. I have what I need and more. The people who are losing their jobs, their lives suck because they can’t feed their families.
Takaoka Ai’s latest single entitled “Change my life” is her tenth single, and it’s as just as glorious as her previous album “fiction”(I’ll probably write on her album later but I’m too cluttered these days) . Her soothing voice resembles similar vocalists such as Michelle Branch and Alanis Morissette, which isn’t surprising since Alanis is one of her favourite artists. And with all of her releases, the acoustic guitar is a fundamental foundation to “Change my life”. It is a sensational ballad; it has uplifting characteristics coupled with a cheerful tone as it progresses, and the title and the tone couldn’t have been any more appropriate in such miserable times.
It’s weird because all the new songs I’ve heard recently after ‘Remember’ have only been for entertainment value. YUI’s latest was bland compared with SUMMER SONG, SCANDAL’s DOLL was just fun to listen to, Tan Tan Taan! Is the product of Koha feeding the other two Milky Way members cocaine, JUMPER is just epic, MADAYADE is just weird and I would be extremely surprised if Oogoe Diamond made me think as hard as I did with ‘Remember’. No new songs have made me think and ponder until today when I listened to ‘Change my life’.
The first verse feels like she’s treading through life, slowly and without direction. Her back is slumped not just because of her situation, but also of her guitar on her back. As the song progresses, the chorus kicks in, and when it does, it feels like she whips out her guitar that she’s carrying from her back and breaks into a song to lift her spirits. The chorus feels much more uplifting because she knows she must ‘Change her life’ in order to stop this cycle of depression. As the song comes to an end, the uplifiting feeling of the song feels like its parallel with her spirits and she feels like she must change her ways in order to ‘change her life’.
My analogy is TOTALLY different from the PV. But it would have been nice if it was something similar.
I’m here at my desk, miserable, studying for these examinations which inevitably determine my future; in fact going to tertiary education has already somewhat already determined a portion of my future. These exams will ‘change my life’ to the point where I will change from a student and conform to the working class. I know it won’t stay the same forever, but it just makes me think of the future and what it holds. Will it be bright and spirited as the chorus or will it be gloomy and droopy like the first verse? Seriously, it’s scary. But, what fun would it be if you already knew your future?
Taking small jumps into the unknown this year has changed my life. Registering my blog for International Wota and appearing in #wotachat has changed my life this year, not just with the obvious paedophilic signs, but having a bond with people’ 5000 miles’ away is special. I slowly made my mark in the community (HURRRRRRR), I learnt about other people, they learnt about me and I learnt about myself. Exploring other subjects, trying out for a competitive major, discovering Hello! Project etc. has changed my life.
Takaoka Ai has done what she has always done best and that is to compose beautiful ballads. But she instead of using a traditional melancholic tone throughout the ballad, she instead uses a more cheerful and positive tone. A sense of optimism is apparent as the song progresses especially in the chorus, showing her hopeful attitude towards the future and that everything will "be alright" in the end.
Maybe this is how we are supposed to act in these troublesome times?
“It’s alright”.
