Sunday, May 23, 2010

九州へいきましょ!

sorry 'bout the lack of updates, but its to compensate for the flood of posts that will be popping up 2 weeks from now :P

posts filled with bandwidth draining photos from Kyushu, Japan!

I will be lugging my laptop around so I might find time to upload photos during the trip. And hopefully I can get free Internet access in the hotels that I'll be staying. It'll also be my navigator of sorts - Google maps!

Tong-ing 100yen every 15mins to use a computer in a hotel lobby is something I wouldn't want to experience again. Not when the keyboard is configured to display Hiragana. I remember going through 500yen just to send off a couple of readable emails trying to arrange a meetup with a friend over there :S

Occasionally if I manage to hook onto some free Wi-fi while on the move, I'll probably tweet some photos from my lousy 2mp E63 camera phone, so look out for that :D

I must apologise beforehand though. This trip, unfortunately, will result in my carboon footprint being excessively large, mostly due to the fact that it will be a driving trip. My persuasive powers weren't enough to sway my dad to go train-hopping, nor was my attempt to change his mind to choose a Prius over a Wish.

Kinda fits the title of my blog, eh? *sigh*

Well, I guess 2 weeks of not being at home and playing games on my PC probably eases some of my guilt. Economists call it "opportunity costs" - I call it "lame reasoning just to make myself feel better".

Anyway! Green ideals aside, it'll be a good trip. I've already planned out a half-day YUI-stalker itinerary (her hometown is Fukuoka, one of the cities I'll be visiting) :P I'm just praying it doesn't rain too heavily. Plus I've heard the Hakata ramen there is heavenly :D

Just a lil' info about my itinerary - Fukuoka -> Nagasaki -> Kumamoto -> Beppu -> Oita -> Fukuoka

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Oh and if you're reading this and somehow feel the need to contact me, just drop me a message on FB/twitter/email. I won't be contactable by phone, well, at least not willingly. Roaming charges = $$$

Friday, May 07, 2010

Rock 'n' Roll Circus

No more sidetracks this time.

Ayumi Hamasaki's latest album, Rock 'n' Roll Circus contains 15 tracks, 5 of which are singles, 7 are new songs and 3 interludes.

I mentioned before that its another "business as usual" album right? That was indeed my first impression. Well, after listening to the songs a couple of times, I take it back. Compared to her previous not-so-impressive albums such as Next Level, Secret and (miss)understood, this album has a mix of songs that try to break free from the generic pop, rock and ballad concoction and actually succeed, one thing which Next Level didn't manage to do (too much electronica for my liking).

I would place it on the same level as Guilty, one of her better recent albums.

Do note that I'm talking from a totally musical standpoint, as I haven't really taken a good look at the lyrics yet.

As a whole the album sounds pretty dark, with just 2 song providing a little sunshine. Some of the better songs:

Microphone - this is the reason the album has the words "Rock 'n' Roll" in it. The use of the organ during the opening and ending is epic, as well as the floor-shaking guitar riffs combined with her powerful vocals. If there's one song to look forward to in every new album of hers, its the rock anthem. If she wasn't a J-pop singer, she'd be the frontman of a kickass rock band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMAntfxf420

Sexy Little Things - I didn't like the song at first. After repeated listens I discovered the reason why. It was different! Its a cheeky and fun little song, and although I don't care much for the electronic music, it does fit in pretty well. Definitely a refreshing change from the usual pop/rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B73K8pJYjgo

Don't look back - the opening hits you like a hammer. A sitar! Followed by a tabla! Not to be racist here, I did feel the urge to bob my head a lil' bit while listening to this song. Another breakthrough song, especially with the infusion of the Arabian/Indian inspired background music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn3sI4OFn_k

RED LINE ~for TA~ - the most meaningful track on the album. Apparently this song was written to encourage a fan who had suicidal thoughts. It's an uplifting song that certainly deserves to be placed among the best "last tracks", alongside "Who...", "Memorial Address" and "untitled -for her-". Coincidentally, "untitled -for her-" was written and dedicated to her close friend who committed suicide that year.

"If you have a feeling of despair, please remember
This day called today on which you are going to give up,
Is the tomorrow on which somewhere, someone didn't want to give up.
And that I'm tightly, tightly
Holding your hands"

it ends with her singing the chorus A capella, definitely one for the fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC9EUb0PUdY

Well, thats it! This album may signify better things to come in the future from Ayumi Hamasaki, and has been described by many as her "comeback album", considering the quality of her albums haven't been very impressive since My Story. Something to look forward to, definitely.

I bought a CD.

When was the last time you bought a CD?

Alright I'll give you some time to think. Rabid fans of *insert popular musician/band here* exempted.

Can't recall? Not surprising really - its the worst kept secret. Fact is, CD sales are tumbling. Remember Sembawang Music? It used to be THE place to go to get the cheapest CDs on sale, compared to inflated prices from the likes of HMV and Tower Records. Where is it now? Gone. Even the gigantic Tower Records has left our shores.

Left standing are HMV, which has since vacated its megastore at the Heeren, and a couple of smaller shops sprinkled over the island like Gramophone and Music Junction. It used to be the fact that in every shopping center you'd find a CD store. Not anymore.

The point is, buying a CD nowadays is a rarity. Nowadays, getting an album means downloading it, legally or illegally, not heading down to HMV and paying 20 plus dollars for a piece of plastic and some paper. Besides, who listens to CDs anyway? Everything fits into that tiny thing in your pocket called the mp3 player. You don't carry boomboxes or discmans around anymore.

And so I am proud to say this - I bought a CD.

Speaking of which, I had to overhaul my CD/DVD drawer just to accommodate the new CD which I just bought recently, Ayumi Hamasaki's Rock 'n' Roll Circus. It was full to the brim when I opened it to slot in the new addition. I had to migrate the DVDs into another drawer, clearing a ton of junk from that drawer in the process. And that was just the Japanese section of my music collection. The remnants of my English/Mandarin listening days are stuffed into another corner. I'm running out of storage space.

Here's the part where I stop and think about how convenient it is to store hundreds and thousands of CDs worth of music into a single hard drive.

+1 to the growing list of reasons "Why we stop buying CDs"

So why did I buy a CD?

The only reason I can think of is this - musicians depend on CDs to make money, so they can use that money to make good music which we listen to and appreciate. CDs are the holy grail to all musicians, especially to the newbies hoping to strike it big. Its a common consensus - the day you make it is the day you release a CD. Not a playlist of Youtube videos nor a digital album distributed over the Internet. Its the physical, piece-of-plastic in a jewel case CD.

I always say this - if you support the artist, buy their CDs, as long as they're within reach and within financial means. I'm lucky enough that stores here actually stock some of the more popular Japanese artistes (overseas versions at reasonable prices, not those crazy imported ones in HMV), although I do wish more were available.

Without people to listen to their music, buy their CDs or cheer them on, musicians are as good as nothing. So take heart, fellow music lover; somewhere, out there, with every CD you buy, with every song that plays on your mp3 player, you are being appreciated.

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Before this Internet age, can you remember the feeling of buying a CD of your favourite artist from the store? The feeling of opening the cover, looking through the included booklet, sitting back and listening to songs you've been looking forward to listening to?

I still get that same feeling each time. And that, is the reason why I buy CDs. Sure, I admit to a bit of fanboyism, but hey, at least I have a reason for it.

This post was supposed to be an album review, but uh, guess I got a "little" bit sidetracked :P

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Post-exam activity #1 - Don't Say "Lazy"

What does a guy do alone at home the day after he finishes his exams?
.
.
.
He watches anime!

Alright, I suppose this doesn't apply to the generic "guy" in the street, more to the inner otaku in every one of them.

I've been a huge fan and rabid follower of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood even though the storyline matches the manga word for word. Its got something to do with getting a kick out of watching all the special effects blaze to life, something you can't get from reading the manga.

But even I must admit, I've been watching too much FMA. Its getting too emotional, too serious to really enjoy watching. Its more for the story, really.

Which was why, in the midst of studying for the exams last week, I chanced upon an anime which I knew was around but never bothered to watch. Yes, call me Mr. Lag. This always happens to me, yes?

K-ON!

When I first heard the opening theme song on Youtube, I nearly cringed at the overly cute vocals, even though it matched the entire theme well. I didn't know at that time, but K-ON! was one of the most popular animes in Japan when it was first aired. After watching a few episodes I kinda knew why, and well it sort of made for a good post-studying pre-bedtime activity :P



In a nutshell, K-ON! is about a 2 high school girls, Mio (Bass) and Ritsu (Drums) forming the "Light Music Club" (Kei-on in Japanese) in their school. Short of members, they go on a recruiting spree and manage to recruit Mugi (Keyboard) and Yui (Guitar). Packed into 13 episodes with practices, high teas in the music room, desperate crises, new members, training camps, school performances and many epic, L-O-L moments, I'd say K-ON! is definitely not the kind of anime you'd wanna catch for a strong storyline.

Rather, its that kind of anime that brings a smile to your face after a long day at work/studies, no thanks to the antics of the 4 girls, each with their own set of unique characters. Its more of a brainless, overly cute comedy than a music-oriented anime, even though the music aspect first drew me to it. Not that the music isn't good; the ending song "Don't Say Lazy" is catchy, as well as the songs the girls perform on stage "Fuwa Fuwa Time" and "My Love is a Stapler". Yup, strange song titles indeed.

Its currently into its 2nd season now, and while I can almost predict the story already, I'm gonna follow it just for the laughs and entertainment value. If you happened to walk past my room while I was watching K-ON! in hall, you'd have noticed the wide smile on my face, with the occasional outburst of laughter. I hope it didn't look weird :x

K-ON! is freely available on Youtube for those who'd like a peek, so go ahead and have a laugh :)

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In other news, Command and Conquer 4 didn't live up to my expectations. After just 4 campaign missions I gave up. More on that in a later post, perhaps.