My wishes over their airspace!
Posting from my mom's comp.
This sentence conceals two very important facts:
1) My mom has a computer. A laptop, even. She got really tired of using either my computer or Dehu's all the time, so she got one for herself. Needless to say, it's 2.4 Dual Core, and is used for absolutely nothing besides microsoft office. Also, she bought a wide 19" screen and a wireless keyboard/mouse set she can plug in when home. It kinda seems like she did it just to make sure it has NO disatvantages over my comp >< Even though it, well, doesn't have all my stuff on it. Which brings us to the next question- WHY am I using my mom's comp instead of mine? Well,
2) MY COMP IS DEAD ;________;
Well, there was a blackout the other day, and it's been functioning pretty much the same as a table since then. It's probably just a burnt PSU. I hope it is. When something is burnt, it's the PSU first. After that there's the motherboard, and then the processor. As long as the HD is intact, I'm good. And the HD's turn to burn up is near the end, right before the person using the comp starts going up in flames. But after all the rest.
So it'll be fine, right? >>;;;
I finally got to play Megaman ZX Advent. I still don't accept the name, but the game is actually great. It's almost entirely dubbed, which is kinda nice. Yeah, it's english, and some of the voice actors are inevitably BAD, but some are actually kinda good. And it's a refreshing innovation. It kinda makes you take all those characters more seriously. Many of them have very low, dramatic, manly voices, and while you'd give them the same voice if ASKED about it, when you only see their face and read text- somewhere in your subconscious (COLD YAM, as some would say >>;;) you treat them all like little kids. They're just so small and chibi and cute :3
The only problem I have is that it's a little messy. Usually there are 8 robot masters, representing 8 different "elements"...or..."Themes" (fire, wind, electricity, space, blades, sewer, clowns, etc :P) and when you kill them you get their weapon. And they're all sensitive to one other element. (think rock-paper-scissors. That's what inafune-sama was thinking of when he thought the games up ^^;) and it was all very clear and in perfect order.
So in Megaman ZX, you have 4 elements (biometals)...so the first 4 bosses you beat, you get to transform to a new type of megaman with a whole bunch of attacks, and the next 4 are the same elements - upgrading the megaman models you already have with new attacks and such. Which is more complicated, but nice.
The problem with ZX ADVENT is that every element (Biometal) already has a person matched to it, AND TWO pseudoroids created from it. And when you beat a boss, you don't get its weapon...or a Megaman-ish model you can transform to with some weapons....you get to transform to THE BOSS ITSELF. So you have 12 bosses, THREE of each element, and some of them move nothing like ANYTHING you ever get to control in the series, and it kinda feels like you play a platform game with about 15 different characters that you have to keep switching between to match certain terrain conditions, and wtf, THREE of them are ice-elementals that shoot icebergs, but only TWO of them can swim, and three more are fire-related, and where's my perfect order ._.
But please. Sage Trinity? Thomas, Mikhail, and.....ALBERT?! GEE, I wonder who they're supposed to represent! And I sure had NO idea which one was going to turn evil! ¬_¬;;
-----
L'Arc~en~Ciel have a new album out, called "KISS".
So after five of six full listenings, I can say what I think.
It starts off with Seventh Heaven, which I've already heard since it was a single.
That already brings up one of the main problems with this album- I've already heard HALF of it.
Out of 11 tracks, 5 were already released as singles. It kinda ruins the whole "new album" feeling, I guess. I'm also against starting albums with singles. It ruins the whole "opening track" feel that usually gets me giddy with anticipation more than anything else.
But whatever.
Seventh Heaven is an ok song. It has that low rock-ish feel that other opening tracks had, like Kuchizuke. It also has some nice old-school synth thrown in here and there. Not much to say about it.
Track 2, Pretty Girl, is awesome. It starts off with the classic fast tom beat (like in Janne Da Arc's "Messiah"), and then starts rocking pretty fast. What IS that instrument in the main riff anyway? Sax? o.O But I love how Hyde tries to sound all manly here. At times he even reminds me of James Hetfield of Metallica (kedo itsumo sokomade-yahh!!)
Track 3 is My Heart Draws a Dream, another single. It kinda grew on me since then, but it's still only an ok song...I dunno. It tries very hard to create a climax near the chorus, but it kinda fails. Not every falsetto part is automatically beautiful. Even when it's Hyde.
I dunno, maybe if he didn't sound so stupid trying to say it. "My har jraw jur jree"!? WTF's that supposed to mean.
Track 4 is Sunadokei, probably my favorite non-single track in this album. It starts of with one of Ken's trademark guitar riffs, and the Chord Progression is VERY emotional and beautiful. Then Hyde stars whispering on top of it, as the rest of the band blends in one after another. It's all very quiet and pretty, and then sudden silence, some random english (COMPREHENSIBLE english, even) followed by a spiffy guitar *thwicket* sound, and then the chorus EXPLODES in your face with about a hundred megatons of AWESOME. You don't see such sudden outbursts of power outside Dir en Grey albums.
So yeah, from there it's the usual.
Great song.
Track 5 is Spiral. It's a nice song, with fast drumming and pumping bass. The chorus has a pretty nice hammering groove to it, and holy shit is Tetsu's backing vocals CRAZY in here. Why didn't he sing like that in his solo career o.o
Track 6 is called....I shit you not..."Alone en la Vida".
WHAT THE HELL.
But besides that, it's a great song XD
It's got an interesting vibe to it, with acoustic guitars at all kinds of directions and some piano dripping here and there. The chorus is very dramatic and does have a slightly latin feel to it, with the sappy melody and the bongos. The guitar work is also great. There's a whole lot of them in this song...clean, distorted, acoustic, left, right, center....and the solo is totally Ken-quality. He totally nailed that Santana style in there.
Track 7 - Daybreak's Bell! Ah, gotta love that song. Best in the album. Obviously, a single.
Ken, as always, starts up the song with an attempt to be a whole band of people on his own with one riff. Yukihiro also does that 8-bar long drum pattern all the time, that is actually pretty awesome. He COULD just go with a simple kick-snare-kick-kick-snare beat, and it would work, but this song deserves the best from everyone. Especially HYDE omg.
The chorus, like the rest of the song, is pretty low. Not even that catchy. But suddenly Hyde bursts off with an incredibly high line "My wishes over their airspace!" that is like a time-bomb. At first you won't notice it. Then it comes again. "My life I trade in for your pain!". Hey, that's nice. Whatever, right? But in the second chorus, when it comes in again, it sends suddenly shivers down your spine. Whoa. That's a pretty awesome chorus there. And by the third chorus, you already know when it's gonna come again, and you find yourself loving ALL of the chorus, because it builds up PERFECTLY into that line.
And then it's over, and you move on. But your fate is already sealed- that song WILL play in your brain, in loops, forever. And you didn't even know you like it that much on the first listen.
That single was the best B-Day gift japan has ever given me.
Track 8 - Well, nothing can move you after Daybreak's Bell. And Umibe isn't the song that would. The piano intro is kinda nice in a John-Lennon-y way, and the heavy crunchy guitars pound the verse into...nowhere. Sadly, the chorus fails to get ANY message across. At least to me. The only message I got was "Look how great our bassist is! doo-doo-doo-dee-dee-da-da..."
And Ken goes crazy in his guitar solo. And then Kyo starts screaming out the words, and it STILL doesn't work. I guess the melody is THAT boring.
Track 9 - The Black Rose.
I'm...VERY ambiguous about this song. I'll be straight about it- that piano intro, with 3 notes playing over and over again more and more quickly is...well...
.......the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. And I wish it never happened.
The song itself is strange, to say the least. It kinda reminds me of very old Laruku songs, from albums like Dune. Like Inner Core, Be Destined, or Voice. It's very chromatic and intense...and...well...weird. Then suddenly after the second chorus they go crazy with some Progressive Drumming and a weird brass section outta nowhere, and then BAM! Jazz.
WTF?! Then it's back to the chorus as if nothing happened. What the hell? But it's nice, I think.
It's at least original, you gotta give them that. After you kick them in the shin for that STUPID INTRO. GAH.
Track 10 - Link.
Finally it's on an album! The single was used as the intro for the FMA movie.
This version is a little different...it's more bass-y and has a different ending.
But sadly...I never liked this song.
It's just....too much.
I like cliche songs. I usually don't care about corny pop songs when it's Laruku. But this one is just too much. It's a song that makes you say "Aw, come ON!" over and over again.
The verse is cliche. "Hey lookit me, I'm an anime song. Schoolgirls with Katanas, or something!"
So you say "Aw, come on!" and wait for it to go anywhere.
Then there's the bridge.
Cliche.
"Still anime. colorful people flying around. Bishes. That weird animal char everyone loves/hates. Hey look! A giant robot!"
-"Aw, come ON!! I hope the chorus is unique."
And it is.
It's the biggest pile of sugary CORN in the UNIVERSE.
All the anime chars from before DIE, due to JPOP OVERLOAD.
........."I-I-I...I don't...I...but...Oh. come. ON!!!! ><;;;;"
Basically, this song is "5th Avenue Cafe" on some SERIOUS crack.
Track 11 - Yuki no Ashiato.
I'm....really trying to be professional and serious about this song, and not sound like I never listened to it fully, but...
well...
it's boring, and that's all I can say about it.
Ok, it's groovy. Obviously, it's Tetsu on bass. Cute violin all over. Hyde really rips his heart apart in the chorus. But then it ends and you forget any of this song ever happened.
Bo-ring.
The end.
Oh wait, there's another song...
Track 12 - Hurry Xmas. Another single.
Remember the "aw come on" from Link?
Multiply it by a million and then SHOOT yourself in the BRAIN x_x
Laruku had some jazzy songs before, like Secret Signs and Sell my Soul, but this isn't a "jazzy Laruku rock song"...it's outright, plain old big band jazz. Swing rythm, walking bass, huge brass section, jazz scale, everything. Y'know Frank Sinatra? THAT.
Holy shit the guitar solo is great.
Other than it being a crazy Disney-ish jazz escapade, I have nothing to say. Just listen and be flabberghasted.
Oh, oh, and in the end of the song, Hyde says something about..."Christmas time has come today"..."Christmas time for you and me..." (*barf*)...."Kissing in this holy evening"...and then...
"Thank youuuuuu, Jesus!"
..........
And then a sudden silence.
It almost sounds like he just said that, and then the whole band just stops, turns to him slowly, with shocked looks on their faces XDDD
Tetsu: "Dude. What. The. FUCK."
Ken: "THANK YOU JESUS?!?"
Yukihiro: "Are you trying to sell me something?! Go away!"
Tetsu: "I can't believe we've been playing JAZZ for, like, 4 minutes now."
Yukihiro: "What the hell were we thinking. *leaves*"
Overall, it's a pretty solid album. It loses your attention here and there, but it has a few keepers. I'll definitely add at least some of the songs to the Laruku hall of fame.
Too bad so many of them are singles.
So that's about it. Friday I met with Shai, Dehu, Era, Eli o.o, Krumpet, and Tai, and we played poker. Strange notion, us doing less-geeky-than-usual stuff. But it was fun nontheless. Eli's a citizen too now. Gonna be alot easier to meet now. Even thought the one who closes the most is Krumpet and he's gonna be the LAST to get released :P
My and Dehu recorded some more MOTIF stuff. We added an awesome piano to the Stars Chorus. It's even MORE dramatic now. Ha HA!
Army tomorrow. Feh.
My hair is too long, I need to get a haircut soon- GAH, I CAN'T BELIEVE THE ARMY IS MAKING ME SAY THINGS LIKE "MY HAIR IS TOO LONG"...WHAT HORRIBLE TIMES ARE THESE ><
Gotta think of something happy....something happy...
Tuesday = Gaia, yay~
-----
~Quote of the Day~
Dehu: "Where are we going?"
Era: "First we're going to pick up Maya,right?"
Ikis: "Dude, Kyo's voice is freaking HIGH."
Era: "Wow, could you be any more off-topic?"
Dehu: "RECIPE FOR STRUDEL! Here goes:..."
This sentence conceals two very important facts:
1) My mom has a computer. A laptop, even. She got really tired of using either my computer or Dehu's all the time, so she got one for herself. Needless to say, it's 2.4 Dual Core, and is used for absolutely nothing besides microsoft office. Also, she bought a wide 19" screen and a wireless keyboard/mouse set she can plug in when home. It kinda seems like she did it just to make sure it has NO disatvantages over my comp >< Even though it, well, doesn't have all my stuff on it. Which brings us to the next question- WHY am I using my mom's comp instead of mine? Well,
2) MY COMP IS DEAD ;________;
Well, there was a blackout the other day, and it's been functioning pretty much the same as a table since then. It's probably just a burnt PSU. I hope it is. When something is burnt, it's the PSU first. After that there's the motherboard, and then the processor. As long as the HD is intact, I'm good. And the HD's turn to burn up is near the end, right before the person using the comp starts going up in flames. But after all the rest.
So it'll be fine, right? >>;;;
I finally got to play Megaman ZX Advent. I still don't accept the name, but the game is actually great. It's almost entirely dubbed, which is kinda nice. Yeah, it's english, and some of the voice actors are inevitably BAD, but some are actually kinda good. And it's a refreshing innovation. It kinda makes you take all those characters more seriously. Many of them have very low, dramatic, manly voices, and while you'd give them the same voice if ASKED about it, when you only see their face and read text- somewhere in your subconscious (COLD YAM, as some would say >>;;) you treat them all like little kids. They're just so small and chibi and cute :3
The only problem I have is that it's a little messy. Usually there are 8 robot masters, representing 8 different "elements"...or..."Themes" (fire, wind, electricity, space, blades, sewer, clowns, etc :P) and when you kill them you get their weapon. And they're all sensitive to one other element. (think rock-paper-scissors. That's what inafune-sama was thinking of when he thought the games up ^^;) and it was all very clear and in perfect order.
So in Megaman ZX, you have 4 elements (biometals)...so the first 4 bosses you beat, you get to transform to a new type of megaman with a whole bunch of attacks, and the next 4 are the same elements - upgrading the megaman models you already have with new attacks and such. Which is more complicated, but nice.
The problem with ZX ADVENT is that every element (Biometal) already has a person matched to it, AND TWO pseudoroids created from it. And when you beat a boss, you don't get its weapon...or a Megaman-ish model you can transform to with some weapons....you get to transform to THE BOSS ITSELF. So you have 12 bosses, THREE of each element, and some of them move nothing like ANYTHING you ever get to control in the series, and it kinda feels like you play a platform game with about 15 different characters that you have to keep switching between to match certain terrain conditions, and wtf, THREE of them are ice-elementals that shoot icebergs, but only TWO of them can swim, and three more are fire-related, and where's my perfect order ._.
But please. Sage Trinity? Thomas, Mikhail, and.....ALBERT?! GEE, I wonder who they're supposed to represent! And I sure had NO idea which one was going to turn evil! ¬_¬;;
-----
L'Arc~en~Ciel have a new album out, called "KISS".
So after five of six full listenings, I can say what I think.
It starts off with Seventh Heaven, which I've already heard since it was a single.
That already brings up one of the main problems with this album- I've already heard HALF of it.
Out of 11 tracks, 5 were already released as singles. It kinda ruins the whole "new album" feeling, I guess. I'm also against starting albums with singles. It ruins the whole "opening track" feel that usually gets me giddy with anticipation more than anything else.
But whatever.
Seventh Heaven is an ok song. It has that low rock-ish feel that other opening tracks had, like Kuchizuke. It also has some nice old-school synth thrown in here and there. Not much to say about it.
Track 2, Pretty Girl, is awesome. It starts off with the classic fast tom beat (like in Janne Da Arc's "Messiah"), and then starts rocking pretty fast. What IS that instrument in the main riff anyway? Sax? o.O But I love how Hyde tries to sound all manly here. At times he even reminds me of James Hetfield of Metallica (kedo itsumo sokomade-yahh!!)
Track 3 is My Heart Draws a Dream, another single. It kinda grew on me since then, but it's still only an ok song...I dunno. It tries very hard to create a climax near the chorus, but it kinda fails. Not every falsetto part is automatically beautiful. Even when it's Hyde.
I dunno, maybe if he didn't sound so stupid trying to say it. "My har jraw jur jree"!? WTF's that supposed to mean.
Track 4 is Sunadokei, probably my favorite non-single track in this album. It starts of with one of Ken's trademark guitar riffs, and the Chord Progression is VERY emotional and beautiful. Then Hyde stars whispering on top of it, as the rest of the band blends in one after another. It's all very quiet and pretty, and then sudden silence, some random english (COMPREHENSIBLE english, even) followed by a spiffy guitar *thwicket* sound, and then the chorus EXPLODES in your face with about a hundred megatons of AWESOME. You don't see such sudden outbursts of power outside Dir en Grey albums.
So yeah, from there it's the usual.
Great song.
Track 5 is Spiral. It's a nice song, with fast drumming and pumping bass. The chorus has a pretty nice hammering groove to it, and holy shit is Tetsu's backing vocals CRAZY in here. Why didn't he sing like that in his solo career o.o
Track 6 is called....I shit you not..."Alone en la Vida".
WHAT THE HELL.
But besides that, it's a great song XD
It's got an interesting vibe to it, with acoustic guitars at all kinds of directions and some piano dripping here and there. The chorus is very dramatic and does have a slightly latin feel to it, with the sappy melody and the bongos. The guitar work is also great. There's a whole lot of them in this song...clean, distorted, acoustic, left, right, center....and the solo is totally Ken-quality. He totally nailed that Santana style in there.
Track 7 - Daybreak's Bell! Ah, gotta love that song. Best in the album. Obviously, a single.
Ken, as always, starts up the song with an attempt to be a whole band of people on his own with one riff. Yukihiro also does that 8-bar long drum pattern all the time, that is actually pretty awesome. He COULD just go with a simple kick-snare-kick-kick-snare beat, and it would work, but this song deserves the best from everyone. Especially HYDE omg.
The chorus, like the rest of the song, is pretty low. Not even that catchy. But suddenly Hyde bursts off with an incredibly high line "My wishes over their airspace!" that is like a time-bomb. At first you won't notice it. Then it comes again. "My life I trade in for your pain!". Hey, that's nice. Whatever, right? But in the second chorus, when it comes in again, it sends suddenly shivers down your spine. Whoa. That's a pretty awesome chorus there. And by the third chorus, you already know when it's gonna come again, and you find yourself loving ALL of the chorus, because it builds up PERFECTLY into that line.
And then it's over, and you move on. But your fate is already sealed- that song WILL play in your brain, in loops, forever. And you didn't even know you like it that much on the first listen.
That single was the best B-Day gift japan has ever given me.
Track 8 - Well, nothing can move you after Daybreak's Bell. And Umibe isn't the song that would. The piano intro is kinda nice in a John-Lennon-y way, and the heavy crunchy guitars pound the verse into...nowhere. Sadly, the chorus fails to get ANY message across. At least to me. The only message I got was "Look how great our bassist is! doo-doo-doo-dee-dee-da-da..."
And Ken goes crazy in his guitar solo. And then Kyo starts screaming out the words, and it STILL doesn't work. I guess the melody is THAT boring.
Track 9 - The Black Rose.
I'm...VERY ambiguous about this song. I'll be straight about it- that piano intro, with 3 notes playing over and over again more and more quickly is...well...
.......the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. And I wish it never happened.
The song itself is strange, to say the least. It kinda reminds me of very old Laruku songs, from albums like Dune. Like Inner Core, Be Destined, or Voice. It's very chromatic and intense...and...well...weird. Then suddenly after the second chorus they go crazy with some Progressive Drumming and a weird brass section outta nowhere, and then BAM! Jazz.
WTF?! Then it's back to the chorus as if nothing happened. What the hell? But it's nice, I think.
It's at least original, you gotta give them that. After you kick them in the shin for that STUPID INTRO. GAH.
Track 10 - Link.
Finally it's on an album! The single was used as the intro for the FMA movie.
This version is a little different...it's more bass-y and has a different ending.
But sadly...I never liked this song.
It's just....too much.
I like cliche songs. I usually don't care about corny pop songs when it's Laruku. But this one is just too much. It's a song that makes you say "Aw, come ON!" over and over again.
The verse is cliche. "Hey lookit me, I'm an anime song. Schoolgirls with Katanas, or something!"
So you say "Aw, come on!" and wait for it to go anywhere.
Then there's the bridge.
Cliche.
"Still anime. colorful people flying around. Bishes. That weird animal char everyone loves/hates. Hey look! A giant robot!"
-"Aw, come ON!! I hope the chorus is unique."
And it is.
It's the biggest pile of sugary CORN in the UNIVERSE.
All the anime chars from before DIE, due to JPOP OVERLOAD.
........."I-I-I...I don't...I...but...Oh. come. ON!!!! ><;;;;"
Basically, this song is "5th Avenue Cafe" on some SERIOUS crack.
Track 11 - Yuki no Ashiato.
I'm....really trying to be professional and serious about this song, and not sound like I never listened to it fully, but...
well...
it's boring, and that's all I can say about it.
Ok, it's groovy. Obviously, it's Tetsu on bass. Cute violin all over. Hyde really rips his heart apart in the chorus. But then it ends and you forget any of this song ever happened.
Bo-ring.
The end.
Oh wait, there's another song...
Track 12 - Hurry Xmas. Another single.
Remember the "aw come on" from Link?
Multiply it by a million and then SHOOT yourself in the BRAIN x_x
Laruku had some jazzy songs before, like Secret Signs and Sell my Soul, but this isn't a "jazzy Laruku rock song"...it's outright, plain old big band jazz. Swing rythm, walking bass, huge brass section, jazz scale, everything. Y'know Frank Sinatra? THAT.
Holy shit the guitar solo is great.
Other than it being a crazy Disney-ish jazz escapade, I have nothing to say. Just listen and be flabberghasted.
Oh, oh, and in the end of the song, Hyde says something about..."Christmas time has come today"..."Christmas time for you and me..." (*barf*)...."Kissing in this holy evening"...and then...
"Thank youuuuuu, Jesus!"
..........
And then a sudden silence.
It almost sounds like he just said that, and then the whole band just stops, turns to him slowly, with shocked looks on their faces XDDD
Tetsu: "Dude. What. The. FUCK."
Ken: "THANK YOU JESUS?!?"
Yukihiro: "Are you trying to sell me something?! Go away!"
Tetsu: "I can't believe we've been playing JAZZ for, like, 4 minutes now."
Yukihiro: "What the hell were we thinking. *leaves*"
Overall, it's a pretty solid album. It loses your attention here and there, but it has a few keepers. I'll definitely add at least some of the songs to the Laruku hall of fame.
Too bad so many of them are singles.
So that's about it. Friday I met with Shai, Dehu, Era, Eli o.o, Krumpet, and Tai, and we played poker. Strange notion, us doing less-geeky-than-usual stuff. But it was fun nontheless. Eli's a citizen too now. Gonna be alot easier to meet now. Even thought the one who closes the most is Krumpet and he's gonna be the LAST to get released :P
My and Dehu recorded some more MOTIF stuff. We added an awesome piano to the Stars Chorus. It's even MORE dramatic now. Ha HA!
Army tomorrow. Feh.
My hair is too long, I need to get a haircut soon- GAH, I CAN'T BELIEVE THE ARMY IS MAKING ME SAY THINGS LIKE "MY HAIR IS TOO LONG"...WHAT HORRIBLE TIMES ARE THESE ><
Gotta think of something happy....something happy...
Tuesday = Gaia, yay~
-----
~Quote of the Day~
Dehu: "Where are we going?"
Era: "First we're going to pick up Maya,right?"
Ikis: "Dude, Kyo's voice is freaking HIGH."
Era: "Wow, could you be any more off-topic?"
Dehu: "RECIPE FOR STRUDEL! Here goes:..."