I went to a dreaded barbecue, which didn’t suck after all, I’m happy to say.
There it was discovered that not only do I think most of the old-folksy music is boring, but I’m actually a psycho who likes to hate everything (ding ding ding; they’re finally onto me!). A lot of the time I don’t even have an opinion on the band in question, but since I’m not an avid fan I’ll rant about it anyway. I can criticise anything, it’s great.
Friend interrogates me. As you do. Surely I like something? Yes, yes, it’s just that… he’s probably never heard of them before.
“Try me,” he says. Cue more hesitation from me. He keeps trying.
“Like that band was on Kill Bill? 1,2… um. 3,6,5… or something like that.”
“What? They were on Kill Bill? There is a band with tons of numbers in their name, yeah. Like, 12012? Them?”
He doesn’t know. That’s… not exciting, no.
Now I may be overreacting a little bit, but it reminds me of a time in English searching for meanings of Shakespearean names. And I remember staring at the disambiguation page for ‘Jessica‘, displayed via projector on the whiteboard, and seeing “Dir en grey song” there.
It was weird (the most terrifyingly weird day of my life, oh my), considering how I like to keep internet/fandomvery separate from The Real World, but there it was anyway. In NZ, JRock’s incredibly unheard of, moreso than in the US (and definitely no tours), so if not for the internet, it wouldn’t exist for me. Now it’s like, these bands are actually real, what?
Yes, this friend saying ‘one‘ followed by ‘two‘ has made me all flipped out. It’s like two worlds are colliding – one tiny coincidence at a time…
Eeep.
I keep getting tired of layouts very quickly, it seems. Yes. The last one was too “blocky”, and the bright colours right next to each other didn’t really help that, I guess. Besides, I missed having a sidebar!
So this current layout is something of a flashback to hypocrisy and too many Photoshop brushes (but shh, I like all the mess, haha). Do I never learn. XD It features someone from Dir en grey – I’m not exactly sure who, but from the red hair in the original photograph I’m guessing it could be Die. Who caaares, I love the photography in the Shikaku photobook and couldn’t resist butchering it up with my mad Photoshop skilz0rs. Ahem.
Shortland Street returned to TV tonight after the Christmas break. This is New Zealand’s most popular, not to mention longest running, soap opera about people dicking around in a hospital. And for the record, I’ve never liked it, okay!?
It was just always on TV (an anonymous family member likes it… or at least, so it would seem, more than The Simpsons – what is this blasphemy??) and I caught onto some sub-plot involving some nurse and the king-of-all-nurses. The WILL THEY GET TOGETHER? related antics made me lol.
…Don’t get me wrong, though. I was still determined that the rest of the show still sucked.
Then the serial killer made his first appearance, months and months ago. And I loved it; whoever it was, knocking off characters and making me laugh with glee. Ah, soon the whole cast would be gone, then there’d be no more Shortland Street, yay! Of course then I had to turn into a detective to figure out who it was.
I’ve since realised I’m a poor detective: during all this Joey somehow became my favourite. There was some lulz to be had when he’d overhear some girl he fancied gushing on about someone, then to think he was the one being discussed. He’s an absolute sweetheart, with the classic ‘puppy eyes’ and this naivete about him. Foolishly I decided that there was no way he could be the killer.
Yeah. Dammit.
I also identified with him a little bit – secretly, I’m amazingly talented at misinterpreting things. What does this mean for me, now that he is the killer? Must… resist… murderous instinct…
I’ve relied on the knowledge that the writers are horrible (moreso than the actors!), but they’ve sucked me in and since left me traumatised. This evening’s episode of Shortland Street was… odd to say the least. Haha he can’t get a girl! Watch him drive around in a suspicious white van! Watch him fail trying to kill that same girl! Seriously, Joey. If she accidentally cuts herself on a knife, that is the perfect time to strangle her. First Aid is not the way to go!
Urgh, I can’t stop watching. It’s weak of me, and I’m sorry.
I decided to discover Miyavi’s magical solo roots. The quality of the music is sometimes noticeable; it’s not quite as polished, from a combination of the recording studio, as well as skill, giving the album a vaguely dull edge.
I find it really funny. You have Dir en grey and Gazette trying to prove themselves as serious, experienced muscians with their heavy metal, whereas Miyavi takes the opposite direction – and becomes colourful.
It’s impossible to say, however, that Miyavi started his single career off as an angry psycho. While it’s by no means pop, Miyavi’s never-ending perkiness leaks into every song. It’s refreshing from the metal guitars = buckets of angst routine. It’s also worth noticing that every song is immediately distinguishable from the other, which isn’t something that I encounter when listening to like this – even though it is my favourite genre, it seems.
His voice is sometimes deliberately croaky along the times when songs sound a tad more … menacing than usual, particularly clear in Coin Lockers Baby. It definitely adds the uniqueness of his music, but I have the feeling it’s to disguise that his singing isn’t very strong here. It’s not horrible, or even really worth complaining about, just evident compared to later work.
I especially wanted to listen to Girls, be Ambitious, having loved the remake of it on 7 Samurai Sessions – We’re KAVKI BOIZ, and while it starts off so well… nothing changes. It’s flat, which isn’t helped by the fact that Miyavi’s not as good at singing here – even if it’s not unbearable. There’s just much more variation to the remake, which is proof of how far he’s come.
Nevertheless, I love the way the album changes from Kusare Sotomichi he – Son of Bitch - to Night in Girl, also makes Night in Girl sound less random amidst the rock. Yes. I like that. Gagaku has a good balance of accoustic songs. Just like as the bonus track, Dear from … xxx is a quiet way to finish off the album, it’s another way Miyavi shows off his mad skillz on the guitar.
Conclusion: It’s not bad, there’s nothing overly synthesised or messed around with, it’s just very straightforward, and fun to listen to without choking on sugary crap. With Miyavi being a member in that ‘superband’ S.K.I.N, this is a nice way to look back, and reminisce, to Miyavi’s um, innocent beginnings. Aww.
Oooooooooooh, yes indeed! I’m hoping it displays all right where you are, and like always I’ve checked it in the latest versions of IE, Opera and Firefox. Apart from that, there’s nothing much to add. I’ve updated the Domain and Rebecca pages, including their general layout.
…It’s amazing how this post is rather short for a change, hahaha.