It's like an addiction

I was thinking about starting another blog, specifically for more personal entries (since this one is more or less just for fangirling and general interests, and the other is solely for creative works). I mean, it's not like hordes of people even read any of my blogs so what would really be the point of starting another one? It's quite simple really.

Hello, my name is Kryz and I am an attention whore addicted to blogging.

Also, I've found that my blogs are compartmentalised much like the rest of my life. A blog for fangirling, a blog for poems, a blog for personal entries. It truly reflects my need for organisation in my life.

Though, to be honest, my penchant for multiple blogs is a little more complex. Initially it starts off with my need for anonymity. Sometimes the attention whore part of me takes over and I make the blog public (this was the case with words laced with a little hate; shameless plug, hoho). In other cases, the blog is public but remains separate and completely secret, simply because it's easier to become someone else when no one you know is watching, and when you don't have loads of baggage weighing you down. And finally, it's because some people don't give a shit about my fangirling and would be more likely to read my entries if they maybe contained some nekkid pics had something to do with my life (this is debatable).

Multiple blogs also allow me to write in multiple styles. I can slip into different personas depending on the blog; for example, I write much more colloquially here and use more emoticons and the like to express myself, whereas on words laced with a little hate I adopt a more mellow, reserved style simply because of the nature of the blog.

I've been wondering if I should just link everything together though, except that I would lose the anonymity of that secret blog's name. Not only that, but then everyone would know the dirty, dirty things I do in secret, lol.

Listening to right now: FTIsland - 첫눈에 알아

P.S. This post has been sitting as a draft since Saturday, lol. I ended up not even editing it to make more sense.

This is the love of a fan

I'm really amazed at the love and dedication of fans. And no, this isn't sarcasm.

Recently, the GazettE announced that they would be having their tour final at Tokyo Dome. For those of you who don't know, to perform at Tokyo Dome is pretty big. Tokyo Dome is Japan's largest concert hall; if you play there, you know you've made it. And to play there when you're a VK band? Even better.

What truly blows me away is that I've read about so many overseas (I'm referring to mostly American) fans who have never been to Japan or even traveled, some who have never even left their side of the USA, who are sucking up their anxiety and saving up their moolah just to share in the Tokyo Dome experience.

I'm sure this sounds ridiculously trite because it's a concert, how hard could it be, right? Think about it. Japan is on the side of world, so first off it's expensive. It's also the day after Christmas but it takes about 14 hours to fly to Japan, not to mention that 26th in Japan can still be 25th in the US (this is really only applicable to those who celebrate Christmas, of course. Though it being the Christmas season also means that plane tickets are ridiculously pricey). Most of these fans don't speak a word of Japanese. Okay, maybe a few words. Like "konnichiwa", "sayonara", "kawaii", and "yaoi". The hotel pages might be in English (maybe), but the avenues through which you obtain the concert tickets are most definitely not.

It's hard being a non-Japanese-speaking fan of a band whose biggest (and most catered for) fanbase is Japanese-speaking. And as much as I make fun of fangirls even though I am quite obviously a huge fangirl myself, I have to admire their devotion to the bands they love. I can still call them crazy, but I can admire them too.

And man, I would TOTALLY be there at Tokyo Dome with them if I didn't have a good reason not to be.

Listening to right now: the GazettE - 奈落

"Hello, darling. Fancy a drink?"

I finally watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'll admit, I spent the first 10 minutes trying to remember what the heck happened in the first 5 books/movies and if I had even seen the 5th movie (I know, my memory fails).

Overall, the movie was good if you don't compare it to the book. I think this is fairly obvious since the majority of movies-adapted-from-books don't seem as good if you've read the book first. Of course, seeing as I have read the books, it's kind of a given that I would unintentionally make comparisons. But I really only have two beefs with the movie. One is that the movie is much more tame than the book in terms of action. This is understandable because there are time constraints, general flow of the movie, potential of overloading/confusing the audience, etc to keep in mind.
The other is that there is so much (too much, imo) emphasis placed on the personal relationships of the characters. Yeah, it makes for some great scenes but I found that it took away from the overarching plot line of "Harry Potter trying to kill Voldemort". It almost lightened the movie a bit too much when it should be a mostly dark, depressing film.
(Just for the record, I don't remember the books. If I remember correctly, J.K. Rowling did spend a significant amount of time developing the personal relationships but think about it in terms of percentages.)

One thing that I was really impressed with was the cinematography. The shots were amazing; the composition, the detail, the feel... if nothing else, this alone would have made it a good movie. And even though he didn't play a huge part in this movie, I was probably the most impressed with Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) cast-wise.

I enjoy the Harry Potter movies, I really do. But I think that anybody would benefit greatly from reading the books, even after watching them (I think I read the first book only after I watched the movie). For one thing, the books are great. And I find that reading the books, either before or after, makes everything fall into place that much more cleanly.

On a side note, the LEGO Harry Potter game looks ridiculously cute. And I would like to visit the Harry Potter theme park in Florida if I ever get the chance. Previews are a wonderfully great marketing tool.

Listening to right now: SS501 - Unlock

P.S. I chose probably one of the most trivial quotes from the entire movie as my title, lol.

Something a little different

I was on Youtube the other night checking out a song by Cécile Corbel that she did for the new Ghibli movie, The Borrower Arrietty. I was curious about her since she's obviously not Japanese but she was singing the song in Japanese. Turns out that she's a celtic harpist and singer from Brittany, France.

A little more random link-clicking and I came across this video. It's the music video for one of her songs called "La fille damnée" and the song that I am currently completely addicted to. The lyrics are interesting, and sound like something you would hear in an old folktale. I don't usually go for such high voices (and to be honest I didn't really like the first couple of songs I listened to) but she sings really beautifully and delicately, and I love her voice in this particular song.

Unfortunately, I keep listening to it over and over again so it'll probably lose its novelty by oh, say, Monday?

Listening to right now: Cécile Corbel - La fille damnée

Aoi, why do you tempt me so?

I've been occasionally checking Aoi's twitter (and the translated tweets on someone else's account) and it seems that he's been experimenting with replying to (or RT-ing... I don't really know) random people's tweets.

OMG. Total fangirling moment right there.

Perhaps this is a just another prod in the back from the powers that be to get a Twitter account. I mean, just think, what if by not joining Twitter I'm missing out on the chance to potentially befriend and subsequently marry Aoi or maybe even Reita if by chance Aoi then introduces me to him omgomgomg get a personal reply from Aoi?

Of course, the fatal flaw in my grand scheme is the fact that my Japanese skills are practically non-existent. And Aoi's English skills probably even more so. Although, a few of his latest replies were in English.

I wonder how massively fangirlish I would look if I joined Twitter and every single one of my tweets were to Aoi?

Listening to right now: the GazettE - THE INVISIBLE WALL (btw, this is quite possibly one of my favourite PVs from the GazettE. I am ridiculously fascinated by Ruki.)

I heart SS501

So it seems that I've been really out of touch with K-pop lately... so much stuff has happened in the last few weeks. Like SuJu's Shin Dong getting engaged. What? When was he dating? Gotta give the man props though for managing to keep his relationship under wraps.

SS501's former agency, DSP, also released an MV for their song "Let Me Be The One" (which is actually a cover of an Andre Mieux song). The MV is really just a compilation of various clips from performances, backstage, etc but it's so touching. Coupled with the ballad, it almost feels like a foreshadowing of SS501 breaking up. There hasn't been much news about their current situation in terms of signing with new agencies (aside from Kim Hyun Joong) or about anything related to them, really.

I usually try to keep my fangirling thought processes on the down-low but I'll admit that I will actually be very sad if SS501 disbands. They may not be the most talented group out there, or the most popular, but they are the only K-pop group that I have consistently fangirled followed ever since getting into them (which admittedly was not that long ago). Watching them makes me smile, especially when they're together.

I mean it's not like if they break up I'm gonna sit in a corner and cry or anything, and it's supposedly highly unlikely that they'll break up. But the "Let Me Be The One" MV has such sad clips that it just puts you (or at least me) in that kind of mood/mindset. SS501, 화이팅!

Listening to right now: SS501 - Let Me Be The One

P.S. I figured it out... the D'espairsRay song "LOVE IS DEAD" reminds me of the 1984 song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. And consequently every cover or song that sampled it made thereafter.

Cellists and... rock?

Dir en grey just announced their North American tour for this year and I'm considering going to one of the shows. I haven't really listened to them in like 5 years so I'm a little skeptical about going through all the trouble of traveling to see them, not to mention that I'd also be doing it by myself. On the other hand, it would be a great experience to see them live, regardless of whether I'm familiar with (or even like) their newer music.

They're headlining with a Finnish band called Apocalyptica which consists of 3 classically trained cellists and a drummer (according to Wiki). I admit, I was intrigued and so I'm looking them up on Youtube right now. Their music is quite interesting; I like it. To be honest, before I Googled them, I was expecting some kind of stereotypical power metal or heavy rock band with tonnes of screaming and whatnot. I'm pleasantly surprised that they're totally not, and they kind of make me want to go to the concert even more now.

There are a few other upcoming concerts that I'm also considering: Yoshida Brothers, D'espairsRay, and VAMPS.

I first heard a Yoshida Brothers song back in April on Pandora but I never went out of my way to listen to more of them. So I listened to a bunch of their songs today at work, and I wouldn't mind going to see them live except that their dates/venues aren't quite as convenient for me.

I've heard a few D'espairsRay songs but I never really got into them. I recently heard one of their more recent songs, "LOVE IS DEAD", and it's rather catchy although it reminds me of some old song (maybe 80's era?) that I can't quite put my finger on. Again, however, the dates and venues are somewhat inconvenient for me.

And last but not least, VAMPS. I'm not a big fan of their music but Hyde is <3 so I would totally go see them just to be a little closer to fulfilling my dream of touching him indecently see him live. This one is still a bit far into the future so I haven't checked yet to see how practical it is for me to go.

So far the Dir en grey concert is looking to be the best bet here, so I better start looping their songs like crazy to force myself to love them brushing up on their latest songs.

Listening to right now: D'espairsRay - LOVE IS DEAD

Thank heavens for black and white

I've been looping the GazettE's new single "SHIVER" all day and... it still hasn't really grown on me yet. Both the PV and the song itself are not that impressive. The PV is not that interesting, and not as good visually, compared to some of their other PVs. Thankfully, it's in black and white though, so my eyes are spared from their cringe-worthy dye jobs.
There have been other songs by the GazettE that I didn't like at first but looped simply because the PV was visually appealing. Case in point: "REGRET". Unfortunately, that's not the case with "SHIVER".

The song itself isn't anything spectacular but it isn't all bad either. It's just... plain. On a related side note though, it also happens to be the opening song for the second season of the anime Kuroshitsuji. Ruki would like to remind everyone that "SHIVER" was NOT written specifically for the anime, it just happened to be chosen as the opening (apparently diehard Gazefans find the anime tie-up to be a justifiable reason for sending hate mail to the GazettE).

Just watched the Kuroshitsuji II opening and it looks kind of interesting... the animation looks pretty good too. I've never read the manga past maybe the first couple of volumes, and from what I've read those characters aren't even in the second season, so it's highly unlikely that I'll bother watching the anime (either season 1 or 2).

I've also seen some pictures of the GazettE's new look from other magazines and I'm happy to say that they do look better than the pictures from that first magazine I saw. But overall, I still don't really like the new look. Perhaps it'll grow on me the more I ogle them, hohohoho.

Listening to right now: the GazettE - SHIVER

It is cheesed with power~

A while back when I first started really getting into the GazettE, I said that Ruki's voice was so annoying that I almost didn't bother listening to any more. I'd just like to retract that statement and redeem Ruki.

Admittedly, his voice can be annoying, e.g. in the song "Cassis", but overall he's actually a really good vocalist. His voice really grew on me after a while, and even though I don't necessarily consider him to be one of my favourite vocalists, I can definitely appreciate his talent. One of his strong points is the intense emotion that he infuses into his singing. I've watched videos of their performances and Ruki just fascinates me. It's as though he's acting out every song, feeling every emotion in every word. Not to mention the charisma and energy that he exudes on stage.

I've also listened to almost all of their releases, from 2002 to 2010, and he has definitely improved as a vocalist, in my opinion. I don't too much care for his style of singing in their earlier stuff though so perhaps I'm just biased in that sense.

Ruki also pens the lyrics for all of the GazettE's songs and although I have not looked up the majority of their lyrics, the few that I have looked up have impressed me. Granted, a part of it probably has to do with how they're translated but even so, I'm still impressed by the subject matter as well as the imagery/metaphors that he uses in his lyrics.
(I'm aware that there are many lyricists who use similar subject matter and have great lyrics... but this post isn't about them, and neither am I trying to compare anyone.)

"Taion" is written about a Japanese girl, Furuta Junko, who was tortured and murdered in the late 1980's. "Without a Trace" is about one of their fans who committed suicide (if I'm not mistaken), and the song as a whole is so touching; it's probably one of my favourite ballads by them. "Guren" is full of imagery which some people speculate represents a miscarriage (or so I've read). And "Filth in the beauty" is about a father sexually abusing his daughter.
Of course, this doesn't mean that all of Ruki's lyrics make sense. See that title? "It is cheesed with power"? Those are the very first words in their song "SILLY GOD DISCO". Yeah. I like that Ruki tries with his English, and oftentimes (though not in this particular case, lol) he does manage to get the gist across but like with all good Engrish it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Not to mention that half the time you can't even tell when he's singing in Engrish, haha.

I believe that Ruki is also responsible for a lot of the band's visual stuff, like album designs, stage sets, PVs, etc etc (don't quote me on this). Regardless, the GazettE is always visually incredible to watch. Though a lot of it probably also has to do with the camera work and directing skills when it comes to PVs and live DVDs.

Also, the man owns a ridiculously cute chihuahua. And gold pants. I think this is reason enough for Ruki love.



Listening to right now: the GazettE - Before I Decay

P.S. And just for the record, I strongly dislike the GazettE's new look. I'm hoping it was just that particular magazine because they don't look too bad in black and white (as per the "Shiver" PV... more on their new single another time).

P.P.S. I take no credit for any of these images.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Ruki sounds pretty awesome live. :3