Alcy's Journals

Daily Music Dose: Wink

Classic J-pop duet Wink was not only among the top selling groups of the time, their sound has had a strong impact on the state of Japanese pop music today. The group formed in 1988 after a magazine-sponsored beauty contest in which Sachiko Suzuki won the grand prize and Shoko Aida was a runner- up.

Wink's sound is infectious, and features a notable influence from Western dance pop of the era, compared to the more mellow sounds of most Jpop at the time of their debut. Their image also stood out significantly from other idol groups - notable for their solemn appearances, fashion choices, and simple dance moves.

Many of their hit singles were covers of Western songs (but with rewritten lyrics in Japanese), from artists such as Kylie Minogue ("Turn It Into Love"), Moulin Rouge ("Boys Don't Cry"), and The Rubettes ("Sugar Baby Love"). Some of their adaptations of these songs have become classic enough in turn to be covered by acts such as W and Puffy AmiYumi.

By the mid-1990s, Jpop trends were changing. In an effort to appeal to this new market, they released a Eurobeat-inspired single, "Jive Into the Night", although it only reached #92 on the Oricon charts. In 1996, after their final single "Angel Love Story", the duo disbanded. Both Sachiko and Shoko have gone on to release solo albums, in addition to appearing as TV personalities.

On December 30, 2008, they temporarily reunited for an appearance at the Japan Record Awards, though did not give a clear answer as to whether or not a long-term comeback was in the works.

æ„›ãŒæ¢ã¾ã‚‰ãªã„("Ai ga Tomaranai" - translates to Love is Neverending) ~Turn it Into Love~

å¤œã«ã¯ãã‚Œã¦ ("Yoru ni Hagurete" - translates to "Stray in the night") ~Where were you last night~

Sexy Music

æ¶™ã‚’è¦‹ã›ãªã„ã§ ("Namida wo Misenaide" - translates to "don't show tears") ~Boys Don't Cry~

æ·‹ã—ã„ç†±å¸¯éš("Samishii Nettaigyo", translates to "lonely tropical fish")

New Moonã«é�¢ã„ã¾ã—ã‚‡ã† ("New Moon ni Aimashou" - translates to "Let's meet under the new moon")

Jive Into the Night

ãã£ã¨ç†±ã„ãã¡ã³ã‚‹ ("Kitto Atsui Kuchibiru" - translates to "surely hot lips") ~remain~

Daily Music Dose: Velvet Eden

Japanese darkwave/visual kei band Velvet Eden was founded in 1998 by vocalist Dada (the longest remaining and most influential band member) and keyboardist Kalm. Two years later, Kalm left the band and was subsequently replaced by two different generations of new members, although the debut lineup had the most distinct sound and image.

The band's ethereal sound, often compared to Depeche Mode, is accompanied by Dada's deep-pitched and frequently distorted vocals, along with hypnotic performance. Their song lyrics are based on a series of stories created by Dada, often from the point of view of one or more characters (which include a fortune teller, spiders, and a prostitute named Alice, among others). His explanation of these stories can be found translated to English here: http://www.lerman.biz/asagao/velvet_eden/storyline.php

The band ended in 2002 when Dada, said to be displeased with the more rock-styled direction in which their music had been turning, suddenly didn't show up to a live gig. No official statement was ever released. Other members took turns on vocals for a few shows, before renaming the band to The Velvet (which has also disappeared without official comment).

In addition to his work with Velvet Eden, Dada is also known for an earlier brief stint with the band Pride of Mind, in which he was credited as Yusuke Gotoh (which may or may not be his real name). He has contributed artwork to Dir en Grey, and is also widely recognized as a drag fetish/fashion model. Kalm has also been involved with several projects - most notably, composing for Kaya of Schwarz Stein (a duet which Hora, a member of Velvet Eden's second lineup, had gone on to) and other artists - some of his new work can be found on his official Myspace.

ã�Œç•°å½¢å§«ã� ("Igyou Hime", translates to "Deformed Princess")

"Maze"

ã�Œã‚µãƒ¼ã‚«ã‚¹ç—…ã�("Circus Byou", translates to "circus illness")

ã�Œäººå½¢å¨¼é¤¨ã� ("Ningyou Shoukan", translates to "Doll Brothel")

"Sad Mask"

"Street of Alice"

RESIDENTS OF WASHINGTON STATE

http://approvereferendum71.org

VOTE TO APPROVE REFERENDUM 71! PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS!

I saw a long line of bigots lining the streets today, and it really made me sick. Don't let this turn into another Proposition H8! Please repost this link and spread the word, this issue isn't getting nearly the attention it needs to.

Anyone want a free movie ticket?

I have a Fandango code that expires on Halloween that I won't be able to use. If anyone wants it, just comment. I'd hate to see it go to waste!

Lockerz

So, recently I joined an awesome social media site in the making: Lockerz. It's still in pre-launch stages, and lots of features have yet to be added (including a store, games, music, and video features), but it's already off to a great start...with awesome free prizes! ♥

I just got my Orange Micro Crush amplifier the other day...great practice amp, no screech feedback no matter where you put it or where you go with your instrument, very portable and can even run off a DC 9V battery. I'm impressed by the sound quality - I plan on getting a full-sized Orange amp in the future!

Some of the other great prizes available include snowboards, iPods, video games and game consoles, Skullcandy headphones, designer handbags and shoes, paintball guns, sunglasses, laptops, cosmetics, and more - completely free, no shipping charges. You can even redeem for charity donations!

All you have to do is earn points ("PTZ") - it's as easy as logging in daily, answering a simple question (along the lines of your personal tastes and opinions), and sharing the site with friends - with more opportunities on the way.

Membership to the site is invite-only, so if anyone wants to join, leave me your email address by comment or private message (no disposable email services). Feel free to ask any questions! ♥

Daily Music Dose: Tiffany

Although best known for her stint as a teen idol in the late 1980s, Tiffany has worked across many genres; a dynamic artist that is still releasing albums to this day. She got her start singing in early childhood, with an avid interest in country music, and toured with George Jones and Jerry Lee Lewis at a young age. She has credited one of her biggest inspirations as Stevie Nicks, which is evident in her vocal styling.

However, it wasn't until 1987, at age 15, when she released her self-titled pop debut album and became a household name via the innovative The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87. Her first single was "Danny", however, her first (and best-known) hit was a cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now", which shot to the top of the Billboard charts - with "Could've Been" later following suit. Her followup album, Hold an Old Friend's Hand, featured top single "All This Time", as well as "Hearts Never Lie", a duet with Chris Farren.

In 1990, in addition to the release of The Jetsons Movie (to which Tiffany contributed 3 songs + the voice of Judy Jetson), her album New Inside took her in a different direction, leaning towards a more urban, R&B-influenced sound. Its title track features a rap from Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block (whose careers she is largely responsible for the success of - they first gained popularity as her opening act) under the codename "Dennis Cheese".

Recorded shortly after the birth of her son Elijah, 1993 saw the Asia-only release of her fourth album, Dreams Never Die (this was rereleased internationally in 2005 by former manager/producer George Tobin, with bonus demo tracks added). This album has a smooth, light rock sound, with some tracks (particularly "Sam Loves Joann") clearly showing her country influences.

After an unsuccessful attempt to break into the Nashville country scene, her next album wasn't released until 2000's The Color of Silence, which received great reviews and drew comparisons to Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, but was ultimately only available in limited quantities due to a distribution error and limited promotion. This album shows a more soulful side and features several songs which Tiffany co-wrote, for the first in her career - which she has continued to do on all subsequent albums. The first single, "I'm Not Sleeping", is a duet with Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugz n Harmony.

In 2005, she independently released Dust Off and Dance, an electronic album which generated significant airplay on dance stations and topped the CDBaby sales charts. Although sharing the same title and genre, it is unrelated to the 2008 track she recorded with Hydra Productions.

Two years later came her seventh album, Just Me, with single "Feels Like Love", loaded with pop-rock and gentle pop ballads.

Tiffany has also contributed tracks to many compilation and tribute albums, with original tracks as well as covers ranging from U2 ("New Year's Day" with Front Line Assembly) to J-pop megagroup Morning Musume ("Sexy Baby").

Recently, she has announced to the press that she has a new country album in the works, although other details have not yet been released. Tomorrow (October 2) marks Tiffany's 38th birthday!

"Feels Like Love"

"All This Time" (embedding disabled, but this one is a must)

"Feelings of Forever"

"Can't You See"

"Could've Been"

"Open My Eyes"

"I Think We're Alone Now"

Daily Music Dose: Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

A unique blend of garage rock with heavy blues and British punk influences, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant formed in 1988 in Tokyo while the band members were attending university, and their lineup was finalized in 1991. They have cited inspirations from The Stooges, The Who, MC5, The Roosters, Gene Vincent, The Clash, Iggy Pop, and Kiyoshiro Imawano. Their first major label release was 1995's Wonder Style, produced in London by Chris Brown, who had previously worked with Radiohead and Pink Floyd.

During a gig in Los Angeles, The Brian Jonestown Massacre members were so impressed by the band that they told Alive Records owner Patrick Boissel about them, which led to the United States release of their Gear Blues album in 2000, and a subsequent US release in 2001 - a best of compilation titled Collection.

Their often eccentric usage of English is highlighted by their name, which is derived from Thee Headcoats and a former bassist's mispronunciation of The Damned's album Machine Gun Etiquette. A billboard advertising their 1997 album Chicken Zombies and single "The Birdmen" (alongside the band members wearing football helmets spelling "F U C K") is featured on Engrish.com.

After the band's 2003 breakup, vocalist Yusuke Chiba, with his uncommon blend of ragged screams and perfect pitch, went on to the bands ROSSO (with bassist Toshiyuki Terui from Blankey Jet City) and The Birthday. Guitarist Abe Futoshi died on July 22, 2009 of an acute hematoma.

"The Birdmen"

"Dead Man's Galaxy Days"

"Electric Circus"

Daily Music Dose: X Japan

The single most successful and influential rock band in Japanese history, X formed in 1982, adopting the name X Japan in 1992 to avoid confusion with the American punk band X. With their flamboyant glam rock look, they are largely credited with pioneering the visual kei movement, though in later years the band's image toned down considerably.

Their sound is best described as a mix of power metal (among their harder rock singles include "Easy Fight Rambling", "Standing Sex", and band anthem "X") combined with orchestrated, heartfelt ballads (such as singles "Crucify My Love" and "Endless Rain"), with many songs falling somewhere in between (such as "Silent Jealousy" and ã�Œç´…ã�["Kurenai" - translates to "crimson"]), and a clear influence from classical music as much as from rock. One of their most notable releases is "Art of Life", a 29-minute song of varying speeds released as the sole track of their fourth album, which bore the same name. The album "A Music Box for Fantasy" consists of music box versions of some of their most popular songs. Since the band's recent reformation, they have released one single, "I.V.", which topped iTunes charts on its release day and was the theme to Saw IV.

The band dissolved in 1997 when vocalist Toshi quit; however, they reunited in 2007 and are currently active today. Legendary lead guitarist Hideto "hide" Matsumoto died in May 1998 of an apparently accidental self hanging; although Sugizo of Luna Sea, also one of Japan's top rock bands, joined the band in 2009, he is not a replacement member - the band frequently uses unreleased previous recordings of hide's work in addition to several touring support guitarists, including Richard Fortus of Guns N' Roses and Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit and Black Light Burns.

Many members have worked on side projects, most notably drummer/pianist Yoshiki (who also composed and produced the vast majority of the band's works), who in addition to producing the soundtrack to Repo! The Genetic Opera, spending a short time in the pop group Globe, and recording a single with Queen drummer Roger Taylor, is also a member of supergroup S.K.I.N. alongside Gackt, Miyavi, and Sugizo. hide also released several solo projects from 1994 until his death, alongside the bands Zilch, and Spread Beaver, which had a more alternative rock sound.

"Endless Rain"

ç´… ("Kurenai", translates to "crimson")

"Say Anything"

"Dahlia"

"Silent Jealousy"

"X" (live)

Whereas most Japanese visual bands fall into the genres of hard rock and/or gothic, Psycho le Cému's music has a more upbeat, pop-rock sound. Most of their songs are extremely catchy and could be described as cheerful or very romanticized, occasionally incorporating electronic beats and traditional instruments.

The band formed in 1999 and in addition to their Japanese fanbase, has acquired a fairly large international following, even having two short tours in the United States. They are particularly well-known for their use of cosplay - their videos usually feature fantasy themes involving magic, science fiction, history, or mythology, in which each member typically takes on a certain character role.

In 2005, following lead singer Daishi's arrest for methamphetamine abuse, the band went on hiatus, returning briefly in 2006 with the release of album ~Epilogue ~ èªžã‚Šç¶™ãŒã‚Œã‚‹ç‰©èªž (Kataritsugareru Monogatari - translates to "handed down story"). In June of 2009, the band reunited a second time for their 10th Anniversary - Legend of Sword tour.

ã�Œæµªæ¼«é£›è¡Œã�("Roman Hikou", translates to "Romantic flight") - a cover of the 1990 hit by Kome Kome Club

"Prism"

ã�Œæ¿�æ„›ãƒ¡ãƒªãƒ¼ã‚´ãƒ¼ãƒ©ãƒ³ãƒ‰ã�("Gekiai Merry-Go-Round", gekiai translates to "intense love")

"Love is Dead"

ã�Œå¤¢é¢¨è»Šã�("Yume Kazaguruma", translates to "Dream pinwheel")

Daily Music Dose: Malice Mizer

(1992-1994 lineup)

(1995-1999 lineup)

(2000-2001)

Formed in January 1992, Malice Mizer (ãƒžãƒªã‚¹ãƒ»ãƒŸã‚¼ãƒ«, pronounced mah-lease me-zehr) is among the most well-known and influential Japanese visual kei rock bands.

Taking cues from classical music and French pop, among other unlikely genres, Malice Mizer had a very distinct and innovative sound and image which constantly evolved over the course of the band's diverse lifetime. Their peak of popularity hit at the time of their Merveilles album, which took a bit of an electronic direction, especially on tracks such as "Ju te Veux"and the bondage anthem "Illuminati".

The band is as much of a theatrical presentation as musical - their videos and stage acts feature elaborate costuming and thematic elements which serve to enhance the songs themselves, and the band also released two movies - silent films featuring the band's compositions as soundtracks.

There were three major, defining eras of the band, each with a different vocalist: Tetsu until 1994, who was replaced by Gackt, who left the band in 1999 to start his solo career. Klaha took over as vocalist until the band's "indefinite hiatus" was announced in December 2001. Also in 1994, original drummer Gaz was replaced by Kami, who died in 1999 of a subarachnoid hemorrhage - after this, no drummer was credited as an official band member.

Gackt is now particularly notable as one of Japan's top selling male solo artists of all time. Klaha was previously known as a member of darkwave band Pride of Mind; after Malice Mizer's hiatus he also released solo works. Founding member Mana (perhaps best known for his development and popularization of gothic lolita fashion) went on to Moi Dix Mois, which has also achieved success. Rumors of a reunion abound; it has been confirmed that all members of the final lineup are again in contact with each other.

ã�Œæœˆä¸‹ã®å¤œæƒ³æ›²ã�("Gekka no Yasoukyoku", translates to Moonlit Nocturne)

"Illuminati"

ã�Œè™šç„¡ã®ä¸ã§ã®éŠæˆ¯ã� ("Kyomu no Naka de no Yuugi", translates to Nihilistic Game)

"Gardenia"

"Garnet"