...the reverse side of beauty..//..Mantified

A Jrock commentary journal (at least most of it is).

Sunday, June 20, 2010

New desktop...decisions decisions...

What the shit what the shit what the shiiiit....I can't decide which wallpaper to use for my desktop! D: Either I'm going to use the new MySpace header (squee!), the Neo Genesis poster (!!), or Uru's portrait.

*brain dead*

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Where's the Choosing?

I was told really early in the term that they were going to "choose which students to enter the fashion show". But lately...seems it was their original intention to shove all of us into the show. What gives?

My workmanship is shit. And because of this, I have to redo 2 of my garments. What the shit?

So...where's the "choosing" in all this? I would very much like to know.

At the end of the day, I'm just glad that it's almost over. I honestly cannot afford another year of not sleeping and doing terrible things to my liver and kidneys.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

No More Pain [PV] and Neo Genesis 45

Firstly...the latest edition of Neo Genesis is out! May I just scream...I LOVE THEIR NEW LOOK!

The outfits certainly look really exciting, particularly the way the zippers run on Ruki's jumpsuit. Kai, for sure, looks more like Reita's brother with his new hairdo. And Uruha's sporting Miyavi style eye make up (which doesn't seem to suit him though).

I don't like Neo Genesis' new cover page layout though, I liked that white block of text with that font.

Okay okay, I'll stop here for now. Or else I'm going to be procrastinating even further more at this point. :P

But for now! Dig into KAT-TUN's latest PV No More Pain. It's got the Rescue look to it, really sci-fi with all that black armor. Kame, as usual, looks hot in that diva style eye make up, though I preferred it back in his Lips look. Tatsuya really stood out in this PV - that...I like. Why? Because he's normally shying away in the background in the other videos! Maybe it's that butterfly on his face doing it? LOL. He could probably start pretending to be Reita and put random things on his face. XD

Okay, back to work!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

[SHIVER] preview - and record change

Finally! A preview of the song!



If it gets removed from YouTube for copyright reasons, the preview can also be heard at the Kuroshitsuji official site in the back track or on their offical homepage (watch or skip the flash introduction then click on number "10" to find the preview).

I love it - it's old school GazettE that sounds like Regret and Zakurogata no Yuuutsu, which we haven't heard in ages. I was secretly hoping for a ballad like Distress and Coma or another Before I Decay, but they aren't going to release singles that are too similar to their previous ones in consecutive sections. As in the TV interview with Reita and Uruha a few years back (around the release of Hyena), Uruha stated that whatever next single they'll release, they'll use it to break the previous image. It keeps things exciting and me always anticipating whenever something new comes up. So fat chance of another hardcore for me!

Another news is that they've switched from King Records to Sony Music. Initially, I was almost freaking out because I thought they were going to be some commercialized band, but the last line in the entry by Music Japan+ states that they're still part of PSC. Which brings some relief as I do not want to see them being associated to the likes of...I don't know...Johnny's Entertainment (nothing against the Johnnies, but given it's pretty much a boy group manufacturing company...hahaha). I would very much like the GazettE to remain true to themselves by creating songs they want to do - not because they're forced to associate themselves in some marketing scheme to grab more money.

Having said that, I guess I don't need to worry so much. Alien Ducky has translated Ruki's blog, and boy is he mad at the fans for misunderstanding the GazettE's association with the anime!

"What I want everybody to not have any misunderstandings about is the fact that it is not a song made to match an anime.

I have said so a number of times even in interviews and such, I absolutely will not, and cannot make songs or write lyrics in this fashion."

Well, thank God! Not that I have anything against them having a theme song with anime, it's just the fear that they might have changed musical directions. Or some nutty anime fangirls who will jump up and down around them because of the anime rather than because of their music.

And about commercialization? He really did make a strong statement.

"Next, there are also people telling us not to turn into a commercial band, but this is a foolish question.

I’m not about to go and make amends to the GazettE from it’s beginnings.

I’m human too, so with age my thoughts change too, and there is a part of me that grows into an adult.

What doesn’t change, what cannot change, is that we will play the music we want to play."

Thank you very much! As long as they remain true to themselves and continue to do what they do because they want to, I'm happy. I truly believe this is what artists should do: do it because they want to rather than do it because they're forced to. *more rave points for the GazettE*

The rest of the blog entry can be found in Ducky's Translations Blog (which I instantly hit the "follow" button just because I need more information and am really interested in what they say in interviews. XD)

Having said all that I just realized how much I hate doing art that's imposed on me. Is it because of this that I'm starting to resent some of the things I do? Is it my pride is getting in the way of thinking? I honestly don't know. Right now, I'm just too flustered and panicked to think clearly.

GAH.

I definitely need a break. I just got K.O.ed last night. I need to do a few more fucking all-nighters this week to finish my work.

Enough of that.

And finally, had I gone to the V-Rock festival last year, this is what I would have seen:



GAZEROCK IS NOT DEAD. *continues drooling at Uruha's wavy hair*

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Vidoll

I...don't know what to say for this group. Yet I have this strange compulsion to make a commentary about Vidoll.

Methinks they're a curious band. Obviously, as music is the most important factor (followed by visual fashion styling and the PV art), so I'll just comment on their sounds.

As much as I like Jui's voice, it's been a hit and miss journey of Vidoll discovery for me. When I listened to Gothicaroid, it's as though I was listening to early GazettE - not the style I particularly admire when Ruki does it because it makes him sound like his voice hasn't broken yet. Vidoll's stop and go staccatos are not as difficult to listen to, though I suspect it might be because Jui's voice quality is gentler, softening the grunt effect. Then when I downloaded Orihime, my first reaction was: "VERSAILLES!!!!!" Can you really blame me when one of them (Shun or Giru, I still can't tell who's who yet) looks like a non-Renaissance styled version of Hizaki and there are repeated drum sounds that sound totally similar to Versailles' trademark beats? Only it's less Baroque and more upbeat.

They do have some plus points though. I suspect it may be my preference for vocalists who can sing the baritone ends and/or I prefer ballads and hard metal compared to things like...bubblegum rock that screams SuG, Antic Cafe or Kra. (Note: I'm not saying I dislike the said groups. They're just not my cup of tea. Is it because I'm such a depressing person? Hahaha.) I do like some of Vidoll's pieces - Innocent Teens is upbeat without the layer of sugar coating called "kawaii" (yes, there is something called "too kawaii" that exists), Blue Star is also a fast one that's got a strange sense of gentleness without being too cute, and my favourite so far...Cloud. The ballad is light, definitely not overwhelming with cheesiness, and ideal for easy listening.

Did I just give Vidoll a rave point? I might have. But whether I'll be a devoted fan in the long run (like I am for the GazettE, KAT-TUN, Koda Kumi, Miyavi, and lately Luna Sea and SUGIZO) will depend on whether their overall music will win me over enough to want to buy their CDs. I pay financial support to artists I like!

He's finally finished this project! And gave a super lengthy commentary too!

MySpace Blog

After reading all that, I simply cannot wait to listen to this. I'm certain it's totally made of WIN and EPIC. I cannot blame him; he got me totally mesmerized in Synchronicity the moment I listened to it. Recently, it seems he's more focused on making musical poetry of all sorts - I probably prefer this compared to his earlier solo works where he sings more. Although his voice isn't as godly as Ryuichi's, he's very well suited to the airy more electronic new age sounds. Maybe it's the voice quality?

Hopefully, a proper Luna Sea announcement will come soon after, but of course, that will depend on the other members too.

Finally, you can also read his thoughts on the current political situation in Japan. He is, after all, a modern philosopher too.

Okay, time to stop procrastinating. =P For now, Fatima to keep you company.

Finally! The title of the GazettE's new single's announced! It's called Shiver and will be the anime KuroshitujiII's opening song. I've never heard of the anime before, maybe because it's new? But we'll see if it'll actually interest me. I've already placed my orders...so I'm SO going to get my first press when the entire package from CDJapan's going to be delivered to my door after Film Bug II is released (saves me on separate shipping costs and my mail signer's time for having stuff delivered in one go).

Can't wait! *along with a couple of magazines I bought on the site*

Some more news. Luna Sea announced REBOOT in their MySpace page along with the following video. We're not sure what it means, but hopefully we'll be seeing something substantial soon!



I've also been following Luna Sea's SUGIZO a lot lately too. He makes really beautiful music and is possibly one of the most talented musicians and composers I've encountered. You know how most musicians have a tendency to stick to one genre of music and hardly ever do any crossing over? Being classically trained with the violin, his ability to play various guitars and the bass, the way he dabbles in different styles is simply amazing. I'd love to speak more about him, but for now, I leave you with Synchronicity from his 2001 film Soundtrack (he also did all the music for the film).

Only the last 10 seconds kind of grossed me out though. Hahaha.



I should get a new layout some time. I hate it when the YouTube embeds spill over to the other side.