acchikocchi: (misc // kachoufuugetsu)
For the anon who asked for this ages ago -- hopefully you see this! -- in honor of the fact that 1) Monday's concert was one of the most fun shows I have ever been to (and you will hear about this in more detail, sketchy concert report track record or no, because I have already typed up 90% of my impressions) and 2) this song almost made me cry live lololol.

Note on the title: I went with "Murmurs", like the sound a brook makes, because of the bridge. However though it generally means a rustling/swishing sound it can ALSO mean dry/dried up (さらさらした土), which in this case is an equally if not more valid interpretation. In fact I am still not totally satisfied with this choice and like many other things it remains subject to change.

Murmurs )

kana )
acchikocchi: (spirited away // glowing)
look, I actually wrote a gig report for once! )

setlist )

Bonus video: Wuthering Heights from the Montreal show, because it was fabulous
acchikocchi: (stock // winter)
Not a single person in my office is working, so far be it from me to spoil things. *g* Instead -

1. Just went through and cut some defunct and/or duplicate accounts, at least as far as I can tell - if I've made a mistake and you're still out there (or you'd like your secret clone account to have access), please let me know and I'll fix. I would never want to cut anyone who's actually reading. :D

2. I've been meaning to post about this for ages. The most excellent [livejournal.com profile] jana_nox translated several of my JE fics into Russian some time ago: One Thousand and One Tokyo Nights, Morning, Noon, and Night, Checks and Balances, and Low Key. Recently, [livejournal.com profile] zlobnyi_kisenok did the same for the Gokusen fics, Five Things That Never Happened to Hayato and Ryu and Maps. So there's the public announcement; they're all linked from my fic index in case anyone stopping by would prefer Russian. It goes without saying I'm beyond flattered. :D (And impressed! ♥)

(...things I wrote! In another language! This so exciting, I can't even say.)

3.The Weepies - All That I Want
Joni Mitchell - River

4. edit: via [livejournal.com profile] anamuan, The fab four of Japan's art scene. Read all the way to the end. XD
acchikocchi: (stock // fields of gold)
Röyksopp - What Else Is There (Thin White Duke Remix)
Spitz - Koi wa yuugure

Thanks to the identical chord progression, I'm unable to listen to the first without hearing the second. If I were the kind of person who taught myself to make mashups - but I'm not.

Will try and post annual seasonal music share soon.

--

In case I'm not the last person on lj to hear about the upcoming adaptation of John le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (which I read about five times in junior high, just saying), see the cast. So... that'll be the next big kink meme, I take it. With even less characters of color than Inception!

This is old meme to everyone in Sherlock fandom. I know. Next time tell me these things early and I won't be forced to repeat them to you.

--

This post is really my way of saying no, I have not started my Yuletide fic, and yes, I have instead written 5500+ words of self-indulgent AU in the last week. More, actually, because every night I have also significantly rewritten at least one major chunk of the story thus far. Which is not how I usually operate. As I was saying to [livejournal.com profile] winterspel, gee, it would be great if some day I could actually repeat my process from one story to the next... Starting to reach the uncertainty threshold, at which point I will probably have to post an excerpt under lock, because this is shaping up to be way too long - and too dependent on plot - to deal with in a vacuum.
acchikocchi: (stock // color my world)
5,000 words into Traumatic International Move Fic and stalling out something fierce. Have some catchy music with guitars instead.

Most recent find: Motel, from Mexico. Can't figure out who they remind me of (and their sound does remind me v. strongly of someone-or-something in particular), can't stop listening to their two extant albums.

Nada es como ayer
Olvidame
Tal vez sera
Y te vas
Ahi vienes


Second most recent find: El Canto del Loco, from Spain, the spiritual twins of Sheila on 7.

Volverá <-- favorite (slow version)
Puede ser
A contracorriente
Una foto en blanco y negro
El pescao
Despiertame

Actually why don't you have all of A Contracorriente, cause my initial picks to upload included about half the album. XD;
acchikocchi: (sm // all ears)
Currently watching: World Cup, natch. My ultimate loyalty goes to Germany (WHO ARE LIABLE TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK ONE OF THESE DAYS) but I'd like to see East Asia and the country I actually live in do respectably as well. Also I keep dreaming about cheering for Spain so I must support them subconsciously.

Currently listening to: Masa's mashups. Try: The LAST Fear, Do Me A Poker Face, Resonant Habit (lollll), Physical 3, and for NEWS fans, Hold On ~Yell~.

Currently reading: [livejournal.com profile] guede_mazaka's Hit-verse, massive football RPS AU populated with - in roughly this order - hackers, sound engineers, punk musicians, recording industry execs, pop stars, doctors, dealers, magazine editors, public prosecuters, and hit men. (Needless to say, more pairings than one can shake a stick at.) Must be seen to be believed. Starts out with the mostly well-adjusted Germans but I've gotta say it was Cristiano Ronaldo the coked out multiplatinum pop star* and his manager/agent Ruud van Nistelrooy that hooked me. XD Though Alessandro Nesta and Zlatan Ibrahimovic just showed up and promise to make things even more interesting. I say it's brilliant for its sheer scope alone. XD;;;;


*I maintain my theory that if Ronaldo were an narcissistic yet undeniably talented and extremely pretty musician/pop star who threw temper tantrums instead of a narcissistic yet undeniably talented and extremely pretty footballer who threw temper tantrums, I'd be hearing a different tune from an awful lot of LJ fans. XD (Excluding [livejournal.com profile] enraged, maybe.) Me, I think his capslock drama is hilariously entertaining.
acchikocchi: (spirited away // densha)
and also a news update: I'll be shipping out for Japan in August, as I did get into JET after all. :D The period from application to departure is so long that it still doesn't feel very concrete, but I imagine it'll pick up once I get my placement.

--

Anyway, the point of this is recent discoveries:

I seem to be the last person to have heard of sleepy.ab, which is kind of surprising because they're right up my alley. Ambient and melodic, with a clear high-ranged vocalist and dreamy lyrics, but plenty of darker edges. Various tracks have also reminded me, at certain points, of Shugo Tokumaru, Muse, Fridge and the Sigur-Ros-et-al brand of melodic Scandinavian cold weather music. This is not surprising as they're from Sapporo and understand cold weather.* (The difference is that not all of their music is meant for COLD and ICE. XD;;) That's not to say that overall they sound particularly like any of those groups... I am really awful at the "group x sounds like the lovechild of group y and singer z after a pub crawl with band c" type comparisons so it's just, idk, freeform sonic association. Uh. Downloading would probably be a more reliable way to find out what they actually sound like.

Everything is from paratroop, their latest album, except "loop", which is from fantasia. I'm happy to upload more for any interested parties. :)

diver
do re mi
flee
insomnia
mori
loop

The hook for noanowa is that they have a cello-playing frontman (frontwoman), which as a former cellist I can't in good conscience resist. After love at first listen with "Haku", I then found that... the rest of their music is cheerful bouncy pop that sounds nothing like that. Well. Haku remains an excellent track, wailing cello and ethereal vocals and all. Sort of Björk-ish. Just give it a minute to get past the piano intro and out of the initial melody.

Haku
Haku live, i.e. cello action

Not so recent discoveries in the next post.


*It's hard to explain but some bands do cold climate music and some don't. Spitz doesn't, for one, winter music for Spitz is a cold day in Tokyo, no snow. As a matter of fact I can't think of a single snow or ice lyric off the top of my head, probably because Kusano grew up in Fukuoka. Versus the aforementioned Scandinavians - Sigur Rós, Kings of Convenience, Björk, Röyksopp, etc. - or the Arcade Fire. Or even GLAY. White landscapes broken by black branches.
acchikocchi: (sm // orly)
Hirai Ken covers Ne-Yo: Because of You.

Oh man I'm sorry the concept just kills me. It's actually pretty good - decent arrangement and Hirai of course has the vocal chops to carry it off. (And the English pronunciation passes muster, too, aha.) It's not like he doesn't have a sizeable R&B-ish back catalogue, after all. But I can't help imagining what yr average Ne-Yo fan would think of this guy.

More music later.

edit: and of course I couldn't link Pop Star without watching it again. That remains one of Japan's best music videos ahahaha a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
acchikocchi: (stock // i heart music)
In all likelihood, half of my flist will know everything here and half won't know any. XD Except Ayaka.


Chara

I never did post the second half of the May concert reports. I've got it half-finished around here somewhere, and a proliferation of notes on the back of a handbill, so if anyone wants to read it I'll post? But I think [livejournal.com profile] nyonyo covered the same night, anyway. :) The point of that is, never got to expand on my thoughts on Chara, who has stage presence like none else, good lord. I'm hugely fond of Chara in general and have a Special Attachment to certain songs, but I had no idea she was such an excellent performer. She owned that auditorium. XD Anyway, I think I've posted an mp3 or two before but never made a concerted attempt to, to proselytize. Uh, Chara is amazing the end. Seriously, I think you can appreciate her from an intellectual perspective even if you don't batten on emotionally; of course I'm guessing this because I appreciate basically all music I like on a squishy emotional level. Aha. Her music runs the gamut from pure pop to funk influences to - idk, ambient? to wibbly acoustic guitar, so there is SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

Biggest hits: "Yasashii Kimochi" and "Swallowtail Butterfly ~ai no uta~".

You may already know her from: the film Swallowtail Butterfly ("Bandage" fans take note, it was another Iwai-Kobayashi collaboration), all-girl rock band Mean Machine, Tokyo Babylon image songs, the ED theme of Kimi ni Todoke, that one episode of cartoon KAT-TUN. XD;;;

Note: Newcomers to her music will probably be taken aback by her voice; for some it's love at first listen and for some it's an acquired taste. *g* Give her a chance even if you're not immediately convinced, because she does good music.

Tsumibukaku aishite yo
Tsumibukaku aishite yo (a scenery like me version) <-- from her self-cover album, just what I mean about wibbly acoustic guitar.
Milk
Yasashii kimochi
Private Beach
Isshoni kurasou
Aishitai no
Violet Blue
70%--yuugure no uta
Swallowtail Butterfly ~ai no uta~

Tsuji Ayano

A girl with a ukelele, what more do you want. Plus she does excellent covers - two albums' worth - Spitz, Chara, you name it.* (Arashi fans may be interested in her cover of "Happiness". Bet you never knew an acoustic ukelele version of Arashi could sound so good. XD) I saw her at Zepp Tokyo in... summer 2007? and, I mean, that was it, it was her and her ukelele in a chair on the stage. She covered Spitz's "Sunshine", actually, and by the end you could have heard a pin drop.

...huh, and apparently she was on NPR a couple years ago. I had no idea.

Sakura no ki no shita de
Ougon no tsuki (Suga Shikao cover) <-- ♥_♥
Kaze ni naru
Cherry (Spitz cover)
Happiness (Arashi cover)
Tsuki ga naiteru

Ayaka

I think everyone and their cat has head "I Believe" at this point, but I wanted to bring her up because I was looking up information the other day and I didn't realize a. she was going on indefinite hiatus and b. she was diagnosed with Graves' disease. DDD: She has got one of the most naturally beautiful voices. ;_; She was another performer from the second night of Kame no Ongaeshi, and hearing her voice in person was really something.

She said in her intro to "Mikazuki" that when she originally heard the music she told the producer (Kameda) she wasn't sure if she could do it, and it's true that in the original recording from 2006 she does the high note fine but it's nothing special compared to the complete effortlessness and clarity with which she now hits it live. Post-production? What's that? She obviously doesn't need it. It's the same quality that got me hooked on the first few notes of "Te wo tsunagou" - "mimi wo sumaseba..."

Mikazuki
Te wo tsunagou
Konya mo hoshi ni dakarete... (live)
Okaeri <-- Zettai Kareshi theme for those keeping score at home

Cocco

Amefurashi
Kumoji no hate
Kemono michi
Mizukagami

UA

Soramimi bakari
Oyako bashabasha
Summer Melancholic
Mizuiro (live a cappella)
Kasa ga nai (Inoue Yosui cover)

Amano Tsukiko

Ningyou (Meg Mix)
Bodaiju

Yano Maki

Ookina tsubasa


*HA, like I'd get through a whole music post without mentioning Spitz.
acchikocchi: (stock // i heart music)
Inspired to do this one by [livejournal.com profile] pithetaphish's excellent, excellent "BANDAGE" write-up. I hadn't really paid attention to the lyrics until I looked at it with an eye to translation and in the context of the film it's kind of, um, heart-breaking. D:

LANDS feat. Akanishi Jin - Genki (acoustic version)

Genki )

kanji )

romanji )
acchikocchi: (stock // fields of gold)
I heard the LANDS album with [livejournal.com profile] winterspel today and this is the one that hooked me.

LANDS feat. Akanishi Jin - Hatachi no sensou

War, Age 20 )

kanji )

romanji )
acchikocchi: (stock // winter)
Better late than never? No Christmas jpop this year, sorry, it's all choral, i.e. a lot of singing in Latin. So. You know. If you like that sort of thing.

Harvard Glee Club:
In dulci jubilo
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming
O magnum mysterium (Jacobus Handl)
Personent hodie (Holst)
Ave Maria (Franz Biebl)

Chanticleer:
In the bleak mid-winter - My favorite. Music by Holst, lyrics from a Christina Rossetti poem.
A hymn to the Virgin (Britten)

Choir of New College, Oxford:
While shepherds watched their flocks by night - Have patience with the wandering flute intro. XD;
I wonder as I wander

Liedertafel:
Away in a manger
Once in royal David's city
O magnum mysterium (Tomás Luis de Victoria) - Not a typo but two pieces by the same name. This one is v. different from the Handl. And very pretty.
acchikocchi: (stock // vinyl)
1. So give me the lowdown on SM Entertainment as a corporation. How do they recruit/train/market/etc., especially in comparison to JE? Info on shady business practices and lawsuits and things of that sort also welcome. XD ...How does the Korean music industry and market compare to the Japanese in general, actually? There is no such thing as tldr in comments here.

2. Favorite Korean artists/songs/albums/music videos? I am woefully ignorant. Pop, not pop, what have you - hit me. (Assume I know basically no one except Park Ji-yoon, since that's... true. Oh, and BoA.)
acchikocchi: (spirited away // at sea)
Flisters in the Phillippines, I'm thinking of all of you. Be safe tonight.

--

For [livejournal.com profile] asinful. ♥




(mp3)

kana )

romanji )

rough translation )
acchikocchi: (Default)
Kame no Ongaeshi, 05/02 )

Spitz )

Hata Motohiro )

KREVA )

JUJU )

Hirai Ken )

Shiina Ringo )

Finale: Spitz + assorted others )


...and that's just the first night. To come: Chara, Suga Shikao, Ayaka, Do As Infinity, plus song samples for both nights' performers.
acchikocchi: (spirited away // mura)
There's so much I've been meaning to post about, argh, and I just can't seem to find the time or energy. A fraction of that is that:

1. This year's round of [livejournal.com profile] jentfic_remix is open for sign-ups, and if you were one of the people who were dissatisfied with the original system of match-ups last year, this year the moderator has said she'll be checking everyone's fic journals to see what there is to work with plus there's the option to state preferences in the sign-up form. Am I going to sign up? Oh, probably. (Cue disbelieving laughter from everyone on the flist at this time last year.) Besides being what you might call a glutton for punishment, it's a surefire way to make sure I actually write something, and challenge fic generally turns out better than my average. XD;

2. So, um, I triumphed over the spring fare sales and seem to be going to Japan for two weeks next month. Aha. :D The plan is to head up into the central mountains, specifically around Takayama, where forecasts tell me there will still be cherry blossoms (I have never seen a cherry blossom in my life) and then down to Kansai, to see [livejournal.com profile] gnine and [livejournal.com profile] xparrot in Kyoto and do some hiking. :) (And then spend a couple days in Tokyo at the end not for any particular reason nothing to do with that concert nope not me. >_>) So if anyone wants to meet up and lounge around the Shima Hanto peninsula or hike one of the Kumano Kodo trails or, well, anything else, let me know. :)

3. Keep meaning to post about Vienna Teng's new album, keep changing my mind on what I think. A couple tracks in the meantime:

Antebellum (edit: link fixed)
Kansas
St. Stephen's Cross

4. I understand that most of my flist does not quite appreciate that hockey is in fact the most perfect sport ever created and that Cornell hockey in particular is the pinnacle of it all but -- coming back with twenty-four seconds left in regulation to tie the conference semifinal and drive it into double overtime with the ultimate win yessssssssss yes yes yes regardless of what happens tomorrow we are going to the NCAAs. It has been TOO LONG. Happy. So happy.

5. BSG finale: ....................*whimper*
acchikocchi: (i finally saw the daite senorita pv)
So I thought a great way of verifying my perception of Graham Coxon would be to check out J-fandom and see what the doujinshi were like the consensus is over there (the consensus is to call him "megane-kun", which right there validates most of my thoughts). Dipping one's toes in the nebulous "Western music" fandom is a dangerous proposition, ahahaha. This means everything from the Beatles to Nirvana to MCR/FOB/PatD/etc. to Radiohead to Erlend Oye to the Libertines and company -- like, all on the same website, sometimes. The rockslash vs. bandom vs. bandslash people would be thrilled; here's the answer to those thorny terminology problems! XD

This is the first time I've seen the English terms slash, fanfic/fanfiction, and -- notably -- RPS in Japanese fandom. (And in one notable instance, incest.) Kind of threw me, actually. *g* I think I've mentioned before about the ridiculous lengths Japanese JE fansites go to hide and/or protect themselves, generally involving elaborate puzzles to determine passwords and URLs (as presumably they have much more to fear, ahahaha), and while there's a little bit of this here far fewer sites are protected and the splash pages are much more up front about what you'll find behind them. To a disconcerting degree, when you're used to vague explanations that generally consist of, "If you don't know what 801 stands for, please press your back button". XD;; For the ones that did have some sort of protection, the questions almost always seemed to use one or more of those English terms. On a shallower note, the site design and graphics are on average way beyond the average Japanese fansite, which generally remind me of the mid 1990s.

Oh, also, all the site owners have last.fm accounts. XD

The quality of the art itself is generally fantastic, as expected. *g* The bandom people would go crazy if they knew what they were missing. (Interested parties -- in any of these areas -- may apply for relevant links. XD) As for the subjects, I was expecting, you know, Blur, Oasis, Franz Ferdinand, the Libs, the Decaydance label bands, etc. -- I was not expecting to come across fanart of, say, SebastiAn or Ed Banger (aka "Ed-ojisan). XD;;; The former is especially popular, for the record. The feeling was similar to the first time I heard D.A.N.C.E. in the credits of cartoon KAT-TUN. "Wait... but..." And then there's Bloc Party -- I mean, every time I saw a drawing of Matt Tong, it was like "Oh look, it's Oshitari Yuushi."

Other popular subjects: Alex Kapranos as a cat.

The lesson we have learned today is that Japanese fandom will always surpass my expectations. XD



Related: Further reading reveals Noodle (the Harajuku Girl of Gorillaz) has a crush on Graham. (Direct quote: "Who rocks harder, Jimmy Page or Graham Coxon?" "Graham, of course!") Oh, Damon.

Not related at all: Neil Gaiman's plugging Momus on his blog? I am so disappointed. XD

two b's

Dec. 13th, 2008 01:04 am
acchikocchi: (stock // i heart music)
Finals are over yet mysteriously I am not actually less busy, for Reasons That Shall Remain Unnamed for another couple weeks. I tend to use a reward system to motivate myself to study/work/complete various other obligations and the last couple weeks the reward has been rewatching Battlestar Galactica, or at least my favorite parts (i.e. not so much with the prophecies and cylon baseships and eyes of jupiter). Observations:
- They're auctioning off pretty much every single piece of the props and set in January, coinciding with the premiere of season 4.5. While I am not nearly crazy enough to pay the prices these are expected to command, I kind of like the idea of having, you know, a Viper in my basement. (Or having Kara Thrace's dog tags, because Special Destiny aside, my attitude towards Starbuck is nothing less than starry-eyed hero worship.)
- Song I most want to see a BSG vid to: Lo Fidelity Allstars' "Battleflag". Oh please. Oh please oh please.
- Felix Gaeta = Percy Weasley?? (either way, Felix Gaeta = ♥_♥ Why yes, I have been wriggling in anticipation of the webisodes, why do you ask...)



The other thing that's been consuming my minimal free time:

- News of the Blur reunion has caused my thus far fairly dormant and musically-confined interest to supernova. (Considering I got into their music in high school it's a miracle I was as clueless about the interpersonal drama as I was, because I would have eaten it up -- that would have been during the period of, ahaha, intense friction, and of course I heard all about Graham Coxon leaving but otherwise I really didn't pay much attention to... any of the members... I mean I didn't even know Damon Albarn was part of Gorillaz until a couple years ago. ^^; [livejournal.com profile] wintersjuly was treated to the, ah, unique pleasure of receiving emails detailing my fascinating discoveries roughly every 15 minutes.) Reading up on everything that's been occuring has been great; I said to someone it's just like watching a giant real-time roleplay of the standard JE/bandom/popslash reunion fix-it fic. Glorious. XD
- I was going to say, to be clear about why this is so appealing, just like the fic I wrote only in Britpop instead of JE, but upon further reflection that isn't quite true; the equivalent of TAY*J would be more along the lines of if Graham Coxon returned to form a special unit with, oh, Noel Gallagher. ...when you put it that way the feelings of certain people towards the tay*j fic are completely and totally understandable to me. (The analogy has its flaws but work surprisingly well when you take into account the -- the aesthetic differences at hand. So to speak. XD)
- Further proof that bassists are always the coolest: Alex James also has a degree in astrophysics and was the "Artist in Residence" of Oxford's astronomy department ahahahaha. I think I'm in love.

This has also reminded me of an old webcomic I used to read called Nova Next Exit. (The connection is that one of the characters was based on Graham Coxon... of course.) Sadly, it looks like it's long since disappeared -- anyone else remember it? Anyone else have it saved if I wanted to reread it, or know anyone who has
acchikocchi: (stock // fields of gold)
Edit: Oh, and I almost forgot, leak of new single GET. *_* (I act all calm, haha, you should have heard me when I found it.) Let me know if you are an interested party...


...Yup, this band is still my favorite.

As always with Kusano Masamune lyrics, there's a healthy dose of personal interpretation involved. Also this is not exactly the most coherent translation in the world as my primary concern was just to share the song and some inkling of its meaning with whatever victims I could. The song is here. P.S. 胸痛くなるほど好き。

06/15/10: Translation edited significantly; I've still got the old version if for some reason someone's looking for it.

kanji )

romanji )

translation )

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