Mokona Modoki

i sat down and romanized a few GO!GO!7188 song lyrics.  i can't promise that they're 100% accurate, but i did my best to look up the kanji to match pronunciations to words.  Lyrics are behind the cuts.


( Kataomoi Faitaa... )

( Kangaegoto... )

( Kamisama no Hima Tsubushi... )

verified by last.fm

Glittering Cloud (Locusts)  ~Imogen Heap

Using only song titles from ONE ARTIST, cleverly think of answers to these questions. Then tag 15 friends. Try not to repeat song names. It's harder than you think! It's best to pick a band with a large catalog.

i'm going to refrain from tagging peoples, but feel free to do this.
( In a nutshell... )

i swiped this meme from my friend sallow_carrot.  and i made a few ghibli and non-ghibli additions.

( Animation Go! )

The Red Queen
Fall On Your Knees
Peter Pan
Blade of the Immortal: Dreamsong
The Holy Bible  (maybe i'll actually read the entire thing this time around)

The Geisha Army.  founded 2001.  it started out as a fictional band i created and wrote short stories about.  a small rock band that had a great heyday in the massachussetts area.  i was quite proud of the band name as it really does have a strong image.  the geisha army came to life outside my stories as well.  i started recruiting friends to be part of my own personal Geisha Army.  i even made Geisha Army t-shirts for many of them.  and that's pretty much what The Geisha Army is and what it means.

5 albums that shaped my 2008
( the albums are... )


5 Stand Out Songs of My 2008
( and the songs are... )

Dir en grey @ The Marquee, Tempe, Az
28 November 2008

Dir en grey, a popular visual kei japanese rock back is currently promoting their latest album Uroboros with a US tour.  The recently played a show here in the Valley. prompting all our j-rockers (American and not) to crawl out of the woodwork, dress up to their Hot Topic nines and gather together on this auspicious night.  The opening act was a heavy metal band The Human Abstract.

( Let's rock. )

Wicked is a musical with songs by Stephen Schwartz, based on the Gregory Macguire novel Wicked:  The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  It is a story about the Elphaba,  her rocky relationship with Galinda (Glinda the Good) and the events leading to her becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.  The musical debuted on Broadway fall 2003, with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth starring at Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.  The musical songs performed by the Menzel and Chenoweth and the original cast were recorded and released on cd.  This album has been my current ear-obsession.

here's a little video from mr. alex shen, of Gashapon Shop fame. this is a little short he did for gamepro.com. it pertains to metal gear solid 4.
http://www.gamepro.com/video/player.cfm?vid=128700

check it out and vote ridiculously high on it. i'm sure he'd appreciate it. and it's pretty funny.

holy shoes!  when the hell did this happen?! O_O'  i can't believe this came at me out of nowhere.  i'm so excited, you have no idea, i have no idea!  http://youtube.com/watch?v=R7oacpg-TPQ

 

GO!GO!7188 is a three piece rock band hailing from Japan.  Their sound varies from song to song, album to album, ranging from your standard alternative rock to punk to a little surf rock.  They seem to draw from different sources that give their sound a little more life and colour.  The fifth album 569 is a prime example of this.

 

Hotel Cafe Tour 2008. March 11, 2008. The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ.



This tour has a long lineup of artists of all types, who are rotated between shows. Five to six artists perform at any one show. For The Clubhouse lineup included: Jim Bianco, Cary Brothers (co-organizer), Kate Havnevik, Greg Laswell, Jessie Baylin and Ingrid Michaelson. The show was divided into two sets. Each set featured all six artists, each peforming 3-4 songs at a time.

( --Set Two-- )

  

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool... (It will compromise the divination :-) )
7. When you're finished tag some other people to do it!

 

  

Here's the deal: People who have been tagged post their answers and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves. Tag 5 people. Those who are tagged cannot refuse (well, I'm saying you can refuse if you really don't want to do it). These 5 people must state who they were tagged by. You cannot tag the person who tagged you.

Note:  i will not tag, for i have no one to tag, but i do like to answer questions and surveys.

  

TRAVIS is an amazing live band.  they performed tonight at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ.

photo credit:  anne heefner, travisonline.com

   

演歌の女王 - Enka no Joou - Queen of Enka


This is a 10 episode Japanese drama that aired last winter. If you're not familiar with enka, it's a type of japanese music, mostly known for its melodramatic, sad themes and crooning nature. it's mostly regarded as music for the older generation, but it's a good piece of japanese pop culture.  you can wikipedia enka and come up with this lovely entry.

In this show, we follow Ookochi Himawari, a woman in her late twenties, still trying to realize her dream of becoming an enka singer.  Unfortunately, she is a woman of extremely bad luck and, perhaps, bad decisions.  At the very start of the series, she meets Hitoshi, an old flame who  just happen to be a pitiful excuse for a human being (he's always apologizing for being alive).  He quickly pulls her into more misfortune, and you're shaking your head at Himawari for ever listening to him.  This goes on for a couple of episodes, and it's almost unbearable to watch Himawari endure so much trouble because of him.  But soon more characters are introduced, and while Himawari's misfortune continues, the show becomes more interesting as she interacts with and helps these various characters.  As pitiful as Himawari appears to be at the start of the show, you come to admire her unselfishness and determination to help others before herself.

Slow start. Superb characters.  Random unfortunate events.  A heartfelt ending.  This all adds up to a a great show.  I'd dare say it's now one of my favourite dramas.

NOTE:  It's hard to review a show without talking too much about the events and risk spoilers.  This review is pretty lame.

  

after a little work, i figured out her tour schedule, and even got some ticket prices.  there may be mistranslations on my part. my apologies.



tour dates seen here:
http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/speedstar/-/Information/A008352.html#concert

Personal Notes:  she has a show on my birthday. i wish i could be there for that show.  and she has a show in sendai, lilly!  but it's ¥6500. i don't expect you to get yourself there.  still, wishful thinking, na!

  

at the end of this month, UA is going on a short tour in support of her latest album Golden Green. it'll last through the month of september. she'll be traveling across Japan.  i can only say i wish i had an opportunity to go. i've read she has an incredible stage presence and is an intuitive performer. i'd like to see for myself.