Yoon Han(윤한) - LOVELESS Album Thoughts( K-Jazz/Indie)

01. Love is blind
02. 널 위한 노래
03. Morning Light
04. Dramatic
05. 처음으로 만났던 곳
06. Loveless
07. Stars
08. Smile
09. Afternoon in Praha
10. Sirmione
11. A windy day in Budapest
12. 편린 (여행을 떠나다)

  Yoon Han was and still kind of known as a Jazz Pianist in South Korea. What made his career climb in popularity was his involvement with the reality show, We Got Married: A show that pairs celebrities up with each other to act as a married couple. After the show, Yoon Han was put on many young adult female's radars as that guy who plays piano, can sing, and is tall.( Koreans tend to equate height with looks.) Han also took a different approach to his music, wanting to be known as a singer not just a pianist. Albums followed along with a few digital singles that showed a strong desire to prove that he had what it takes to be a full time singer. Loveless is his newest release to date.

  Han has more than what it takes to be a full time singer. Tracks like 널 위한 노래 prove that this guy can jump in line with the many other Korean singers and hold his own when his turn comes. The biggest problem that really holds him back is he seems like he doesn't want to commit to either just being an instrumentalist or a vocalist. He seems to want both sides of the spectrum and thats fine if he feels this is the best for him musically. It just makes Loveless feels like a push and pull off making the listener experience both sides when in reality, more people will come for his voice more than his piano playing. Especially listeners who have never heard his music before. I became a little frustrated at a select few songs on Loveless because I'm one of his fans that actually likes his singing and I would come across a track where he would sing for a short period of time then only play Piano. Some other tracks didn't feature him singing at all. I'm a lover of all kinds of music including Jazz but Yoon Han truly has talent as a vocalist and its sad that he's still known mainly as a instrumentalist than a singer in South Korea. The tracks he did sing all the way to the end are tracks that he nailed to the ground. A mixture of Jazz, Acoustic rock, and Jazz really set the mood for his voice to come in and charm all who listen. Perfect music to listen to over coffee in a coffee shop while peering out the window into the world. 

 Think of chocolate that's solid when you first place it in your mouth then it starts to melt into a smooth substance that slides off your tongue. Such is the wonders of Yoon Han's voice. The tone of his vocals is so rich but smooth like its trying to pull you into its sweet embrace for the duration of the song. When I first heard some of his music by chance, I was really attracted to his voice because he sounded nothing like the other Korean male singers I had heard at the time. Fast forward to the present, Han is still new and different ways to show his vocal talents. Loveless sounds more mature than Man On Piano did so that proves a evolution has taken place. I hope more vocalization will happen in future albums.  

  Loveless would have made a better mini album after you take away all the instrumental tracks or half instrumental tracks. Previously released singles like Hello and Beautiful didn't make the album which sadden me greatly. I would have taken those tracks over a Instrumental piano Jazz album  where he sings in maybe four out of twelve songs. Don't let this stop you from checking out this album or his other albums. Be warned that you might have to dig through the tracklist for the good songs. Of course, unless you like instrumental Jazz then knock yourself out. Forgot to mention he writes songs in English too.

Code:Breaker(コード: ブレイカー ) Japanese Anime Thoughts

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!! I might be a day or so late(depending on when you see this post.) but its the action that counts. Holidays like this always seem to come and go so fast. All of it seems like a blur to me. I went shopping and traveled to see my family. Then I opened gifts and traveled some more. Everyday is Christmas honestly. The only difference is people have an excuse to go out and spend ridiculous amounts of money on presents that may or may not be forgotten about in the future. I gravely hope that people who received gifts are thankful and the ones that didn't are thankful to see another day with their health. Many people in this world don't get the chance. Alright, long opening aside, I also finished up a new anime called Code:Breaker.

  Student Sakura, witnesses a boy burning a group of gangsters to ash using blue flames one night while riding the bus home from school. She tries to stop the boy with no luck. She then wakes up the next morning shrugging the whole situation off as a dream only to get to school and find that the mysterious boy is a new student in her class. Sakura later discovers that the boy's name is Rei and he works for the Japanese government as a Code:Breaker.

  Based off a 26 volume manga and compressed into a 13 episodes anime, Code:Breaker was created by Kamijyo Akimine. The manga never made its way stateside as far as I know so the chance for me to read it will more than likely not come. I saw the trailer for the anime a few times while waiting to watch other anime and my reaction was always, "I want to see this anime!". I got the chance after finding the DVD/Blu-ray pack for under $40.

  I never knew anything about this series and went into watching not expecting anything. My eyes just watched the first episode unfold quickly. As you can imagine, The story this anime is based off of is quite long so there was not time to beat around the bush. The first episode jumps into things and keeps one sailing to the next episode. Second episode slows down a little bit only to establish a firm ground of characters and character personality. I'm not sure why I thought Code:Breaker would be dealing with problems outside of themselves but the plot stayed stagnate after awhile. I started to notice that the story shifted to more emotional feelings in the two male and lead characters than anything else. This makes for a good anime if the two were to be in some kind of relationship however, that was kind of hard due to the circumstances of their meeting. More than one Code:Breaker exists making the anime more interesting while you try to figure out where these people with powers to control the elements came from. Well, you know they work for the government but how did they come into being? A big portion of the plot also deals with the idea of what is right and what is wrong. Can you continue to be right even if your becoming a killer to kill the people that have murdered others? Where do you draw the line?

   Each time Rei does an assignation job for the government, Sakura raises this argument toward Rei. The situation is kind of like watching two people debate each other over the value of life. Sakura has a very passionate heart and I believe all viewers understand her fight to make sure none gets hurt. She still becomes overbearing after awhile. When people are going around hurting others and wont stop unless someone kills them then thats a whole new situation altogether. I also never believed for a second that Rei was a cold hearted as he tried to come off as. He was doing what he has been taught to do most of his life. A kind of social avenger that gets rid of the trash(gangs, drug dealers, etc.) that pollutes all societies. Each personality of the other Code:Breakers were either weird or just unlikeable from the start. I did enjoy experiencing their different abilities and trying to figure out what they were.

  My pros for this anime was that it went by pretty fast. Do you know those animes you watch where you don't feel any particular emotion? I feel this way about Code:Breaker. The effects for the Code:breaker's abilities sequences are eye candy. Producers used a mixture of digital computer effects and drawing to give the finished product a strong punch. One of the big reasons episode 12 was the best episode out of the whole anime. Most of the action happens there and its pretty awesome to watch the characters go all out. Cons are defiantly an unlikable cast. Writers tried to make the characters have complexed emotions that didn't resonate well with me. I understood the reasons behind each character's actions by the anime's conclusion but things seems more forced than occurring naturally to me. Great looking anime overall though.

  Code:Breaker isn't the first on my list of recommendations. Watch it if you want to. Skip it if your not interested. Now I want to check out the manga version...

 

NEO PARASYTE F(ネオ寄生獣f) Japanese Manga Thoughts

    I never read the original version of Parasyte manga  since it was printed when I wasn't born yet. The tenth volume came out in 1995 and I was about 5 years old then. This publication has been re-released many times, in fact I could go to the local bookstore now and find a few volumes. Not the whole series but at least volumes 1 to 8 if your lucky. I did however watch the anime because of a recommendation from one of my friends. Parasyte: The Maxim was my first real exposure to the Parasyte franchise. It was such a great experience for me and an even better way for people like me who didn't read the Parasyte manga to know the series. Even to this day, I haven't read the manga but I did watch the live action films after seeing the anime. I've now also picked up this spin off manga called Neo Parasyte F.

  Neo Parasyte F is a collection of short stories by most popular Shojo(Manga geared toward young women.) creators to ever do the genre. I flipped through the book in the bookstore just to see the art, only to be pleasantly surprised that Yuki Kaori(Godchild, Angel Sanctuary, etc) did an insert story as well. No more pondering was needed after finding out this fact so I made my way to the cashier. The manga has about fifteen stories with each being by a different author. At the end of each story, there's a black page with translator notes, the creators name, works they are known for, and a tiny paragraph telling readers their thoughts on the creative process. I like how humble everyone was to be picked to be included in this project. Some authors seemed very nervous to have the public read their work while others were down right stroked as fans of the original manga.

  I came in reading this for a few stories that I liked the art for. I could of skipped most of the stories and only read the ones that I was interested in. It didn't feel right to do that so I read through each story one by one. One story might be one to four pages while others would be longer. The spin each creator put on their stories showed their love for the original but the attempted to bring a new flare to what was already created. What I really enjoyed if how some of the stories tried to expand the storylines of some of Parasyte's characters that was never touched on in the final half of the original story. Such as Shinji's father's view point of his son as he becomes a totally different person before his eyes and a look into what Tamura Reiko's child might have looked like in elementary school. Stories like these were touching enough to leave a lasting impression on the reader while making you want to go back and revisit the original. Besides that, other stories come with original content unique to this book that use the ideas that Parasytes are among us. These stores never end well but with a dark shojo manga creator like Yuki Kaori taking part, what do you expect? She's very dark with her work and makes no apologizes. This manga touches light notes in the course of the read through as well. Migi was the type of character that while cold hearted, had a unknowing sense of humor. A few stories use this characteristic to put side characters and main characters alike in laugh out loud positions thats a breath of fresh air before the storm. Placement of each story was done in consideration of what was coming after each story. The first few stories are pretty lightweight. Except the first story thats short, dark, sweet, and wastes no time setting off the manga as a whole. Then you have some light fun stories followed by some super dark content ending with some heart warming content.  The manga gives a little bit of everything for the fans. A manga created for the fans by fans basically.

  I'll be a little nit picky and say that I didn't care for all the art that made up a select few stories but the content of the this collect as a whole is very good. I'm will to over look my harsh arts standards just this one time. Don't expect this to happen again. I didn't like the art for the original Parasyte either. Hence why I still haven't taken the time to read it. Probably never will.

  Neo Parasyte f is a great read if you just want something to do on an off day or your a fan of the original series. I do recommend you at least check out the anime before hand if you know nothing about the world of Parasyte. You'd be a little more in the know when reading this. There's a lot of references to the original that only a person who knows the story would understand. Of course, you don't have to because Neo Parasyte F has plenty of stories that are not related to the original. Enjoy no matter what you decide to do.

 
 

Vanness Wu(吴建豪) - #MWHYB Album Thoughts (C-pop)

1. #MWHYB: the beginning
2. 不羈
3. IKYK
4. BASS GUN
5. 屬於你和我之間的事
6. 蹦蹦
7. 玻璃屋
8. 下一首情歌
9. 愛是你愛是我
10. Westside
11. #MWHYB

  Vanness Wu finally decides to come back with a new album. I've been seeing his posts around on social media for the past three years or so just chilling. Its like he travels a whole a lot and stays to himself. While seeing many of his posts, My thoughts were always "when you dropping a new album?" or "You better be working on some new music!". Internal excitement seems to peak when Vanness releases new tunes because he skip jumps music styles like he changes his hair. Last month #MWHYB was announced to be released before the coming of the new year.

  This album was said to bring a new musical direction to Vanness Wu's music in the form of dance disco mixed with electro pop. I really wanted to hear how this would come about. Wu's music can either be a hit or miss depending on the production of the song and the vocals.  The album, Different Man showed the he is capable of performing funky disco jams but within the shape of reason. I wasn't feeling the 80's disco tracks on #MWHYB because it felt like an awkward fit to him as an artists. Pop or maybe pop influenced songs work for him better as an artists. Vocally and style wise. The tracks in Different man had a pop outline that mad those disco tracks more fun and easy to remember. however, these tracks in #MWHYB sound stagnant like they don't have personality. Tracks that just don't go anywhere. A big redeeming factor was that Wu was smart and different focus only on this musical styles. He also brings back the dance pop that he go so good at. Its hard hitting and will get you back in the frame of mind that this is a Vanness Wu album. #MWHYB does a great job hyping up the listener with Wu's cool guy demeanor and catchy song choruses. The track list also takes a turn toward the slow mid tempo songs selection. I have always liked Vanness when he sings pop rock acoustic songs. Only thing he needs is the California beach along with a guitar. Somewhere in there an RnB track or two is thrown in the mix as well. If its not a track thats too soulful vocally demanding, Vanness does it well. Writing the song in English was a nice touch as the icing on top. My favorite song by Vanness is actually from his Japanese album he made years ago.(I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU.) Very funny right.... Maybe this is the main reason I like Pop oriented Vanness Wu over any other style he tries to come out with.

  Vocals for Vanness Wu suit pop the best for me. I think he can experiment all he wants to but keep the pop undertone to his music no matter what. Range for him is pretty high and when he gets to performing ballads you hear FALSETTO Then more FALSETTO! Love lyrics can't be sung without a male singer pulling out FALSETTO!!! No, but really.. thats the trend of today. I'm sure when this started but every male singer does this. I like it but I want to hear more love songs where guys don't have to sing up five octaves ignored to get an "AW" out of a girl. It also becomes a tiny bit repetitive in Vanness Wu's new album insert.(When slower songs are concerned.)

  #MWHYB fits perfectly into Vanness Wu's discography. Nothing made the album really horrible or anything. I just have personal tastes when it comes to his music. Another person might love this album from front to back and I'm happy if they do. I'll just keep continuing to skipping over the Michael Jackson disco tracks and dance to Pop Vanness Wu in all my glory.

BIGBANG(빅뱅)- MADE Album Thoughts(K-pop)

Track List:
01. 에라 모르겠다 (FXXK IT) 
02. LAST DANCE 
03. GIRLFRIEND
04. 우리 사랑하지 말아요 (LET’S NOT FALL IN LOVE)
05. LOSER
06. BAE BAE
07. 뱅뱅뱅 (BANG BANG BANG)
08. 맨정신 (SOBER)
09. IF YOU
10. 쩔어 (ZUTTER) (GD & T.O.P)
11. WE LIKE 2 PARTY

  This is the Kpop band I cared the most about back in the day when every other second Koren music was blasting out of my speakers. BIGBANG finally dropped their new album after having it's release pushed back constantly. To promote this album, the boys spilt up most of the title tracks into separate singles where each single represented a letter in the word MADE. After releasing the single for letter E, BIGBANG had their tour and YG kept stating that the album would be out at this time then the release date would be pushed back a few more months then a few MORE months. I wasn't even enthusiastic by the time MADE was actually released. Not like I would have been if BIGBANG had released new music back in the day.( A whole damn parade would have been in order if this was the old me.) a part of defiantly wanted to listen to MADE just out of love and respect for musicians that gave me direction into what I want to do in life. For that, I will always be grateful.

  MADE hits the market with a few new songs plus the songs that were previously released. The songs include, GIRLFRIEND, FXXK IT, and LAST DANCE. Nothing really outgoing or new was brought to the table with these songs. In fact they sound like songs from their last mini album. I'm sitting here now and honestly barely remember LETS NOT FALL IN LOVE or LAST DANCE. I know these two tracks were slow songs that didn't sound bad at first listen but it doesn't feel like "HEY WE BACK!". More like "Hey because we're  BIGBANG, fans will like what we give them.". Slower songs are a good strategy for a Korean audience since they love ballads any day of the week. FXXK IT tried to bring a little something new with hip hop mixed with techno beats. The chorus along with the full song is quite attractive, You will want to dance after the chorus plays a few time through. Also each of the boys vocals feels natural here unlike when T.O.P dances for too long or tries to sing. Lets be a 100 percent real here, if that man wasn't good looking, a shoe would be thrown at him every time he'd opened his mouth to sing. All the rest of the songs were old/forgotten just to be revived for this album. I will say that the order of the songs for MADE's track list was well thought out. The order of the songs created a fun album that never has a dull moment except for if you don't like ballads. This means that tracks like Bae Bae are not your cup of tea. A lot of time was given for these song to grow on me so I enjoy most of the songs from the MADE series. Sober made me the happiest as a long time fan because they took it back to their Remember album days in musical style. WE LIKE 2 PARTY will get you hyped up too with its pop rock instrumentation. BANG BANG BANG was a track that absolutely hated when I first heard it but it fits well in MADE. I've even listened to it a few times now. You don't want to catch me while i'm breaking it down as this song plays.


  Back to T.O.P and his vocals. He can hold a tune, thank goodness. So his input in Daesung, Sungri, and Taeyang's vocal game doesn't mess things up. G Dragon can kind of sing too but his voice isn't something he could make a full career off of in my opinion. Both of them do try to sing which is brave. I give them props for trying and not falling on their faces. The other three boys seem to have become even tighter as a vocal unit. Kind of surprising because I know they all are doing their own thing most of the time. They have their vocals in fixed formation no matter what though. Taeyang is still lead vocal because he has the most soulful sounding voice out of the three while Daesung and Sungri following close behind him. Rap has and always will be fire for BIGBANG. T.O.P and G Dragon don't play any games when it comes to their rapping. I realized how much I missed listening to these boys when I first gave MADE a listen and TOP started spitting bars on FXXK IT. This isn't suppose to be an emotional memory for me but I feel myself tearing up a little. If it wasn't for me finding BIGBANG, I would have never took learning Korean so seriously. Now years, later i'm not into Kpop much anymore but certain bands will alway have a place in my heart. BIGBANG has the biggest place among the others.


  MADE was a good enough album but It will never be has good as the old BIGBANG that cracked out hits like HARUHARU. I haven't heard a song by them thats BLOWN me away in a LONG time. I even recommend new fans to go and check out their older albums.(Even the Japanese albums are good.) There's a big contrast to the music they made then compared to what they are coming out with now. I will always love BIGBANG. I hope they stand strong for more years to come unlike 2NE1.......

Livingstone Vol 1-4 Japanese Manga Thoughts

   I'm back again with another manga that was short lived. What I mean by short lived, is that the manga conclude in a few of volumes. I try to post about manga that are already finished but most of the series these days are very long. You will never hear me talk about Attack on Titan any time soon in a post because that manga will live on for as long as Naruto, Inuyasha, and Dragon Ball did. A manga that stopped living recently is called Livingstone.

   Livingstone was written by Maekawa Tomohiro and drawn by Kataoka Jinsei. Maekawa created the series Deadman Wonderland which made waves in Japan and aboard even getting an anime which was featured on Cartoon Network's Toonami for a little while. I've only watched the first episode of the anime and haven't really taken the time to read the Deadman manga. Maybe one day.....


  Livingstone is a name of a company that the two main character's, Sakurai and Amano work for. Everyone's life has a plan and we all have a soul that turns into a rock called a psycholith when we died. If that psycholith breaks then is will cause a stain that affect everyone who comes in contact with it. This strange couple must stop people who are about to die from messing up life's plan. If your too far gone before they can get to you, They might just help you get to the afterlife faster.

  I picked up this title because i love grim reaper type stories. Also..... say what? I LIKE THE ART![insert me laughing.] Deadman Wonderland creator makes a new manga is bound to spark interest. I even bought volume one based a little fraction of Deadman that I saw. The story does well jumping right in to the life of these two boys. You notice right away that they have VERY contrasting personalities. In fact, One could be under the impression that these two are not partners at all. More like rivals who just happen to be working together. Amano doesn't give a fuck about much of anything. He just does his job. Sakurai has more of a heart and tries to think of the best way to handle each situation. Both are devil and angel united. Livingstone focuses more on the cases of people who go against life's plan while Sakurai and Amano clean up the messes. I quite loved each case as they let you see into different people's lives. The reason for why they wanted to end their life of why their life rate went down. The last two volumes deal more with the characters themselves than human cases. A lot of conflicts start to arise with Amano that will have you not knowing whether to be shocked or to cry. I'm surprised that this manga didn't stay around longer because the storyline could have gone on for more volumes but still a good storyline.

  Deadman Wonderland and this manga have the same art style. It something about the way the artist draws the mouths, eyes, and facial structure that makes the characters look super depressed. All the character's eyes here look very vacant like the one's dealing with the people trying to die look dead already themselves. When I really sat down to think about it, Kataoka's covers remind me of mugshots the police takes of people they arrest to send to jail. Very few people smile in mugshots and if they do, its because they got a screw lose in the head. A story filled with slapstick humor and emotional relationships still insures despite the gloomy atmosphere of the art. The presentation is almost criminal at times but then your reminded how human even the most cold blooded person can be deep down inside.

   I'm going to be more like Amano's personality. Some things in life shouldn't be given a second though. The notion really isn't worth the energy especially when dealing with people who don't care about you. Livingstone taught me to live life based on your own plan and don't sweat the small details. Continue living.

Kim Feel(김필)- from Feel Mini Album Thoughts(K-rock)

Track List:
01. 사랑 하나
02. 성북동 (Seongbukdong) *Title
03. Tell Me
04. 괴수 (Feat. 강이채, 고상지)
05. I Feel You

   I ran across Kim Feel's music just being curious about trying out new Korean music at the time. The cover of his first mini album caught my attention too just based on how it looked. He had on a hat with is covering his face and his hand holding a guitar. Wasn't sure if he was rock at the time but he seemed to be so I listened to some music videos on youtube then I listened to that album. Kim Feel is mostly know for competing on the singing competition Superstar K back in 2014. He was runner up and signed a recording contract like most people who are on that show do. Many famous artists promoted his debut album on social media by twitting and sharing his cover picture on their instagrams. From Feel is his second mini album after a steady release of digital singles and drama OST insert songs. 

 It might be a stretch to some people to call Kim rock, depending on what you consider to be rock music. Of course, there are different types of rock music like hard rock, pop rock, and acoustic rock. To some people if rock isn't hard rock then its not rock. As long as you have a guitar in your hand and playing it while a band consisting of other guitars and drums back you up then its rock music to me. You don't have to be screaming and braking guitar strings. This album comes back produced using a more dark quality of sound. Kim playing his acoustic gutter hasn't changed but from Feel brings in a classical orchestra. It gives his music that Italian style that also reminds my of Gain of Brown Eyed Girls old music before she started selling out to the cute concept. The mixture of both classical and rock fits perfectly for the subject matter of his lyrics. He seems to have had a lot of problematic relationships in the past because his lyrics are what I like to call pleading lyrics. They seem to also be asking someone for something or trying to figure out on what grounds a relationship stands. One could also call this album more on ballad rock side of things. The first two tracks are definitely more like that and they sound similar to each other in my opinion. "Tell Me" got the band playing their instruments a little harder than the first two tracks and it made me proud. You don't get a lot of rock in mainstream Korean music unless its watered down for mass consumption. Indie Korean music has a ton of rock bands though. "Monster" was the released as a digital single then rereleased with this album for a reminder of how good the song was. (an overall greatly produced song.) "I Feel You" backtracks to the soulful Kim Feel that was more apparent on his first album. I think this track is a nice surprise switch up since the other tracks are in a completely different realm.

 Vocals that come from Kim Feel match his image. Its a grubby and raspy voice thats perfect for acoustic live sessions and it brings out the emotion of his emotional lyrics.  He has a kinda of bad boy rocker image going on with the tattoos and the manly face. As a gay man who is attracted to every race, I always loved seeing Korean guys with tattoos. I'm not sure why but I'm attracted to it. Wait... I think its because I was always used to seeing East Asian men presented in one way. Nerdy: glasses, and very clean cut but different types of Asian men exist in the world.(I find nerdy attractive too. I'm nerdy to a degree.)

  From Feel has me sold with the last three tracks on the album compared to the first two tracks. I just find them boring. From a music standpoint, the whole album was very well produced and Kim Feel put his heart into each track.

RADWIMPS(ラッドウインプス) - Human Bloom(人間開花) Album Thoughts(J-Rock)

Tracklist

1. Lights go out
2. 光
3. AADAAKOODAA
4. トアルハルノヒ
5. 前前前世 [original ver.]
6. ‘I’ Novel
7. アメノヒニキク
8. 週刊少年ジャンプ
9. 棒人間
10. 記号として
11. ヒトボシ
12. スパークル [original ver.]
13. Bring me the morning
14. O & O
15. 告白

  I'm in this funk recently where I have to listen to a lot of new Japanese rock music for no reason. I feel like I want more and more and more songs to listen to in my spare time. This healthy or could be unhealthy condition called me to finally see what Japanese rock band Radwimps's music was all about. I've hear their name pop up constantly over the years but bands like One Ok Rock took my attention during my middle school and high school years. My timing for really getting into this band came at the moment that they have reached the peak in their careers. They accomplished this by using one of the most smartest promotional strategies ever.

   Human Bloom is Radwimps second album technically this year. It is also their second album to hit number one on the Oricon charts. Their first number one album was a tie in to a soundtrack for Japanese biggest Anime film of all time currently, Your Name. What the band's record label did was basically released the film's soundtrack with the band's name stamped on it because they did a few insert songs. Most of the tracks on the album are just instrumental tracks used in the film. I'm going to keep this a hundred percent truthful with everyone. I do not count this as an album for Radwimps. I see this more as a ploy to get Radwimps more attention using a film that people knew had a chance of being huge in Japan and it was. The whole thing was kind of cheap because Radwimps didn't get that number one spot because of their talents showcased in a brand new album. They got number spot because they rode off the popularity of a film. Soundtracks are not for me and I rather have a whole album with vocals.  Don't get me wrong, they did well to get more people to listen their music but we all know this whole thing was to boost their popularity even more. Then their real new album with fifteen new tracks comes out soon after. Better release their true album while people are still buzzing about Your Name. The singles including the original versions of the songs used in Your Name had me very tuned into this album.  Things start out like Radwimps know that they are going to have listeners listening to this album who have never picked up a one of their albums before but did so because of Your Name. A good chunk of the songs are pop electronica rock but they take each track in stride. Its like they start at the bottom of the staircase and quickly more their way on up. With each track they gain more and more power lyrically, and style wise. I felt like their lyrics are like diary entrees telling a story and weaving to together a personal space for the listener to full understand the guys in Radwimp's artistry. Human Bloom had me going from one kind of music to the other with rock being the core sound. Rock comes out more strongly on a select few tracks and its like your listening them live and want to start jumping. When this band wants to hit their gutters and drums hard, THEY HIT HARD and I'm here for it. "AADAAKOODAA" was the track that made me fall out of my chair. Radwimps came out with a hard beat and rap skills. I was like "WHO IS THIS BAND AGAIN????" Now, its one of if not favorite track on the album. The best quality this band has is that they are open to crossing the line that is rock n roll and bringing back pieces of different types of music across that line. There are a variety of different styles of music that compose their sound and you never know what you will get. I think the best to word to describe them would be experimental.

  Their vocalist is a middle tenor. At first I was going to say he was another high pitched vocal frontman but i'm listening to Radwimps as I type this. He has a high part to his voice but its not hurt fully to listen to like some other bands. He can rap pretty well for a rock singer. I was surprised at his flow when I first heard him.

  My cons this time around would be that older fans might feel that this album is too mainstream compare to their other albums. You can see Your Name written all over this album. Accept for a hand full of tracks, most of the album could have been use in the film. I'm saying that as a person who hasn't even seen the film yet.

 Human Bloom was the first album I listened to by Radwimps in full. I'm very happy for their new found success and I hope they continue to be that band that can bend their music without destroying the essence of who they are. 2016 must be the year for rock musicians in Japan.

 

One Way Trip(글로리데이) Korean Film Thoughts(2015)

  One of my friends let me know about this film a year ago. Then I looked up the movie posters and watched the trailer. just from the poster, I could see this film was going to bring an emotional fueled ride to the viewer. I wanted to watch this film but I had to wait for a chance where I could purchase a copy of the DVD. I got my hands on a copy obviously or I won't be writing this post. The film is entitled One Way Trip or Glory Day if you can read the Korean title.

  Glory Day also known as One Way Trip internationally was directed by Choi Jung- Yeol and includes the cast of Ji Soo,  Suho of kpop idol group EXO, Ryu Jun Yeol, and Kim Hee Chan. The plot tells the story of four young teenage boy who are friends. They decide that the want to go on a trip together because of of the boys is going into the military soon so this may be the last time they have a chance to be together for awhile. During the trip, the boys come across a women who is being beaten by a man. The boys try to help the women and end up killing the man accidentally. Now they are wanted by the police and the women tells the police that the man never beat her and everything was the boys fault.

   This film wasn't shot in any special kind of way. Probably because Glory day still counts as a more indie film than mainstream film. Director Choi Jung Yeol has never done much fancy camera shots when it comes to presenting his films. He mostly shows you the whole picture like the setting and the actors. His shots focus strictly on the actor's facial expressions for the emotional value. I find that many K-indie films focus more on human emotional expression and the emotions will to connect people to one another. While shots show you wants going on, you get more facial shots than anything else because of the films subject matter, Pure youth thrown into a situation where its forced to grow up really fast.

   Plot development goes a little like this, show the result, then backtrack, then go back to the present time. You might find things a little confusing if you have a serious case of ADHD and can't focus on one thing too long. Paying attention to the build up in the beginning is very important. Here is where the film introduces the viewer to all the boys and you get a feel for each individual personality. This important information will hold you over to the next scenes as several new developments take place Simultaneously. The best part is that the viewer is like a fly on the wall as these boys friendship along with responsibility is put to the test. I could only sit back and gasp for the certain duration of the film . People do shocking things when they are pushed in a corner. Still very exciting to watch none the less.  

   Ji Soo performed very realistically as the boy who was the leader of their group. He starts off not knowing what he wants to do in life. Only moving along with the flow and taking his friends with him. Youth is a time of bliss but you have to remember that youth leads to growth as well. Some people aren't ready for the growth stage into adulthood while others brace themselves for the impact.(for example, going to college or working toward your dream.) The characters in this film also represent a fraction of a specific type of generation thats growing in South Korea. Korean culture sets a timeline for people's lives. Your expected to go to college, be married by a certain age, have children, and start a family. However, college isn't for everyone and marriage/children isn't for everyone. Each individual has their own ideas for how they want to live their life. None of the boys in Glory Days wanted to do the things they were taking apart of minus Ji soo's character. Their parents made them do those things because they felt like they were helping their sons have a good future. I don't care how much money you make form having a good job, if your doing something thats not making you happy then your not living a fulfilled  life. More and more people in South Korea's younger generation are doing as they please with their lives. They don't always go to college or get married. They do whats the right fit for them. I also don't mean not going to college an an excuse because your lazy. College is a wonderful opportunity that should be taken if you want to go. Glory Day's main characters wanted some away time from the controlling life style so they took a trip. They then made a decision that seemed righteous at the time but changes their life has they knew it. Thats why I always say REALLY THINK about the result and reaction before you make a decision to do something. Once you make your decision, you don't get any repeats or rewinds. I know it can be hard to level your head out in the heat of the moment but people really need to think about themselves too. I don't step in people's drama or in the middle of fights because I know people get themselves hurt that way and I'm not coming home to my family in a body bag. None should have to go through with an experience like that. All the actors and actresses did a great job playing their roles to bring this film together. The appearance of Kim dong wan of Shinhwa as Ji Soo's character's big brother was a cool surprise too. He and Ji Soo had some really good scenes ripe with actor chemistry. This film really is an emotion driven experience that took all the actors and actress to hold their weight. Everyone had to have talent for Glory Day to be a successful film. Even Suho was on his A game.

  My only complaint is that the film feels like it drags sometimes but the middle all the way to the end makes up for the waiting around you have to do. The time the film spends getting you involved with the characters sets the viewer up for the gut punch the plot gives you by the end of the film. We now, have another Korean film that I can said I relate to very much. Not the situation but being forced to grow up quickly because of unexpected life events. I'm sure we all been there at one time or another. Glory Days just wants to bring all of us together to let you know others have been there too.