MayDay(五月天)- History Of Tomorrow(自傳) Album Thoughts (Mando-Rock)

01.如果我們不曾相遇 / Ru Guo Wo Men Bu Ceng Xiang Yu
02.成名在望 / Cheng ming Zai Wang
03.好好 / Hao Hao（想把你寫成一首歌） 
04.兄弟 / Xiong Di
05.人生有限公司 / Ren Sheng You Xian Gong Si
06.後來的我們 / Hou Lai De Wo Men
07.頑固 / Wan Gu
08.派對動物 / Pai Dui Dong Wu
09.最好的一天 / Zui Hao De Yi Tian
10.少年他的奇幻漂流 / Shao Nian Ta De Qi Huan Piao Liu
11.終於結束的起點 / Zhong Yu Jie Shu De Qi Dian
12.任意門 / Ren Yi Men
13.轉眼 / Zhuan Yan
14.What's Your Story
15.你說那 C 和弦就是... / Ni Shuo Na C He Xia Jiu Shi




   Mando-rock band MayDay is back with their ninth album "History Of Tomorrow" to the delight of long time fans. This group is known for their liveliness and fun filled in your face lyrics to will make history for tomorrow!(See what I did there? ) I'm don't know very much about this band as I listen to them on and off but they hooked me with the song OAOA from their last(?) album. They also have been active in Japan like many other singers in East Asia. Japanese band Flumpool and Mayday did a couple collaborations and Flumpool also did a cover on OAOA as a B side to one of their single. This band is running around on energizer batteries and I hoped that same energy was invested into making this album.


  "History Of Tomorrow" has a totally number of 15 tracks. They most have known the fans have been waiting and you either go big or go home. I can't tell you why my mind has a one sided view on how this band is suppose to sound. I firmly believe this is because Ive only really explored on side of MayDay and in reality, there are many layers to these guys and their music. The album starts out with an alternative rock sound pleasing my one-sided view of how I want them to sound. Their song hooks are addictively catchy and the songs are something you would like on the first listen. Not the third or forth. They come out next with a stadium rock sound that will put a lot of listeners in mind of Coldplay but MayDay takes that sound and uses it to convey their story not someone else's. Did I say that the lyrics are very encouraging for people in the peak of living their lives? This could be anyone from the age of 20 to 60. Meaning behind their songs tell the listener that its ok to fall down and get back up again but never lose that joyful spirit that living life brings. Ballads then start to appear on "History Of Tomorrow"'s track list to add a little bit of of a slow down period but things don't get boring. In this instances, MayDay decides to show their passion and sing with conviction with each note. I was doing fine with the flow of this album until Mayday decide to throw in different styles into their already working product. Jazz mixed with Rock starts playing through my headphones to my surprise. They styles merge well together thanks to the great production of the songs. We could have seen this crash and burn but instead everything works out perfectly to MayDay's advantage.

  Musical experiments like this are not for everyone since some people want to debate what real rock is and isn't. Rock music itself was created from other genres of music. MayDay is still considered a rack band to me as long as the core foundation of their music is rock. They don't need to be the hardest hitting band in the world to be a rock band.


  Ashin, Mayday's frontman is the magic behind that creation of this album. He also brings the songs alive by adding his vocals to the tracks. He can get really loud when he wants to be. Then he can get gentle like a child waiting for his mother to tuck him in at night. His voice is the highlight of the album for me as a person who puts vocals first before the instrumental production. Even the styles changes through out the album didn't slow him down. He seemed to be just getting started by the time the album had hit it's closing track. Got to put going to one of their concerts on my list of "Must do's before I died." Gosh, I have a lot of concerts to go to in Asia now. BETTER GET TO THAT HUH??

   Mayday's "History Of Tomorrow" told everyone that Mayday is still doing the damn thing and aren't stopping anytime soon. I just wish I was a long time fan but, never late than never. I've known about them for years but I need to go listen to their other albums.

John Park(존박)- Thinking Of You(네 생각) Single Thoughts(K-music)

  John Park has been around the block and back in the music industry. He first gained recognition for auditioning for American Idol and becoming one of the semi finalist. I still remember his audition and his back story of being Korean American and knowing how to speak Korean and English.. None can also forget comments about his ass were made! YES, I STILL REMEMBER THAT TO THIS DAY AND ITS BEEN SOME YEARS NOW.  Mister nice ass has just released a new single for the Korean indie music scene.

                               



   The single contains two tracks, one being the title song, Thinking Of You(네 생각) and the second song is called Higher. I've followed this guy since he started his career in Korea in 2012. It shocked me to see him still singing and not only singing but making good music. Both of John Park's albums("Knock" & "Inner Child") brought a new flavor to the South Korean music industry to was not very well known to listeners. Park takes music styles of Jazz, Soul, RnB, and alternative acoustic sounds on top of smooth romantic youthful lyrics to produce songs of emotion. The vocals of Park is what stands out to me the most. This single just continues to prove this fact to me.

    "Thinking Of You" starts with a mid tempo beat with Park singing in a soulful pattern along with backup singers.. The tempo stays the same as the song progresses but more instruments are added such as Piano, Drummers, Guitars, to uplift the energy of the song. If a person's voice could be a food, then John Park's voice would be the icing on a butter scotch crumpet. The tone is so smooth and relaxing. Perfect for Jazz but I want him to continue to experiment with his sound. He has done rock alternative songs before too which also go well with his voice. There's also a rich full deepness to the low register of his voice that Ive heard in only one other Korean singer, Yoon Han. I'm a fan of both singers since they are bringing a new sound to South Korea. Both singers will make that body start moving while putting you in one of the most relaxed states you have ever been in.

  "Higher" is sung completely in English as John Park is American born and has wrote English songs for his album before. Both tracks have to do with a strong sense of love between two people that uplifts him above the negative things that may come his way in life. The chorus made me raise my hand and start swaying while singing along. That melody sounds so nice and relaxing. I needed some John Park in my life right now. He seems like he feels very comfortable here as he plays with his voice switching from high and low ranges.


  I'm very proud of John Park for continuing to make music in an industry that is mostly ruled by being popular over your actual music content. Please continue to stay true to yourself. I hope a day comes that East Asians of American decent can have a successful career in America. Keep doing your thing man.

Check Out Some MVs Below:

99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi(99.9 -刑事専門弁護士-) Japanese Drama Thoughts

   "Japan's conviction rate for criminal cases is 99.9 percent. A person who is prosecuted is almost always assumed to be guilty. In such a disadvantage situation, This drama is about a group of lawyers who tackle difficult cases to find the truth hidden in the remaining 0.1 percent. These are their stories."

  I gave this drama a try for the same reason everyone else tuned in, Masumoto Jun of Arashi stars in this drama. We as viewers are being kind of superficial but this is how it works with finding good dramas to watch. You either walk into a random drama blindly and hope that its good or you watch drama based off of who was casted.(I look at the plot also.) Many of my favorite Japanese actors and actresses choose interesting scripts to act for and Arashi does this the most. So I'm always excited to see what dramas they will be involved in creating.

  99.9 -Keiji Senmon Bengoshi was added to my drama lineup in the mist of me watching the Korean reboot of "The Good Wife".  These are both two lawyer dramas and I normally don't watch dramas that have the same subject matter back to back but 99.9 would not let me go. The shooting was mostly done in Tokyo right in the center of the city where most of the bustling crowds are alive. I noticed that the shooting style is one I have seen before so I'm guessing this isn't the first drama Ive seen by this director. City shots containing the mid movement gliding of the camera in motion gives a the viewer an idea of how big Tokyo, Japan really is from above. The lawyers travel many places but the drama is shot to have a central place featured in each episode while having places such as the office, the jail, and the bar as recurring areas. The director knows how to shift from different angles with ease to make sure the action is not only shown but intensified. I always loved how when the killer is uncovered the camera angles will constantly change angles to show the different character's reactions in the span of a short period of time. A shaky camera angle is also added in there sometimes. You have various shots that show the bigger picture while also being active and all over the place.  I can't imagine how many takes had to be done in order to create the final product of what was shown on television.

  Matosumoto Jun was casted along side Veteran actor Teruyuki Kagawa, and actress Eikura Nana.  Ive seen both costars in other dramas especially Kagawa. He's always casted for these angry old man type of roles that make you laugh as a result of his antics. Kagawa and Kagawa constantly butt heads when they are together but their interactions are what make the show funny. With that being said. EVERYONE IN THIS DRAMA IS A LITTLE WACKY. Not one character has a normal trait about them. If I went to their law firm, I would think I had taken the wrong entrance and ended up in a mental hospital. Matsumoto Jun is the craziest of all of them. He acts as a man who goes about his day with a smile on his face, loves adding his own sauces to foods, loves word games, and has amazing power to recall everything a suspect has said to him just by playing with and unplugging his ears. Weird? I know. Eikura Nana is a Japanese wrestling fanatic and is freakishly strong.(She drinks her milk and takes her vitamins obviously.) The rest of the characters are there for more comic relief and to starts conflict behind the scenes like we need anymore. Jun is the engine for this show for the most part. Had he been a bad actor, the rest of the performances would have crashed and burned like a car accident. He got to that point in his mental state that a screw is missing somewhere. The way he reactions and views situation are completely different than a normal human being but this doesn't  affect the character,s strong sense of wanting justice for people who have been falsely accused of crimes. This is the only instance where all the characters seem more human than comical.

  Each episode deals with a different case. You will find as you watch more episodes is that its not about whats one the surface but what lies below the surface. The lawyers not only have to catch the killer but they also have to prove the person charged with the murder innocent. Some cases span from years ago to the most recent but each actor and actress did their part to make human emotion a huge part of why someone would hurt another person, a person they might not even have met. I also got a kick out of the facial expression of the real killer when they get caught. Its like a Scooby doo episode," I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you metaling lawyers!!!!!" This drama contains a lot of references to Japanese pop culture new and old. If your not familiar with the history of Japanese pop culture than a lot of the jokes made might be lost on you. Japanese viewers must have laughed until they cried though, as this show has no filter with the jokes being thrown around. I don't think a season two will be made of this drama because its feels like the incompleteness was done on purpose to show that these lawyers have taken on a never-ending war.

I JUST CAN'T...... HAHAHAHA

  Japan is one of the masters of taking wacky and mixing it with serious to make 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi. Anytime you throw a scene of a group of children dancing with big smiles on their face in the middle of a dark movie, you know that Japan is just experimental.
 

 

Mountains My Depart(山河故人) Chinese Movie Thoughts(2016)

   FINALLY my city has a day that doesn't have weather that came from the depths of hell. This summer has been one of the worst in terms of weather. It tries to play games with a person too. One times its hot as a fire cracker, another time its raining like whoever you believe is up there in the sky is on their period. I'm not going to stop talking about this now because we will be here all day and none wants to read a blog post full of complaints.... right? So on this nice chill day lets discuss my thoughts on a Chinese film I had the chance of watching yesterday titled "Mountains May Depart."

   "Mountains May Depart"(山河故人) was directed by Jia Zhangke (贾樟柯) and stars his wife, Zhao Tao(赵涛). This husband and wife team have worked together on a hand full of works causing them to be well known in the world of China's underground indie film industry. The film's plot tells sets the pace for the span of time involving three friends, two men and one women set in the era of China's capitalist experiment.(I guess this is still kind of going on.) The film is told in three parts which are the dates of 1999, 2014, and 2025. 


  To advent watcher of Jai Zhangke's directorial works, you know that many of his films are shot in the city of Shanxi or areas around the city. "Mountains May Departs" shows China in its most raw detail. The beginning of the film wants the viewer to know that China has( had?) problems with its economy and the working class people are greatly affected by this fact. Shots show people making about from day to day trying to earn money by own stores, seeing certain goods, or doing dangerous hands on work. One quality I always seem to notice about the setting in Zhangke's films is the condition of the buildings and the overall dumpy look of the slums in China. These slums have families in them who want more out of life and try their hardest everyday no matter the odds. Scenes of streets and the inside of homes give a homely touch the the films already raw telling nature. Our three main characters also wish to get away from their daily workaholic lives so this is where shots of lush green fields full of tranquil grass the glides oh so slowly in the breeze  and the valley that symbolizes emptiness from departure. You know how a valley is made up of the deep part in the middle and the two sides that are separated by that deep part? Its like a symbolism of departure that time causes some of us to do in this life. The actually city of Shanxi looks like a palace with its uprise apartments where the rich who benefit from the government's capitalism are living. The storyline also takes you outside of China but this will not be discussed here as I feel this would ruin the film and I want everyone to fully enjoy the experience.

   The performances were what you would expect from this kind of cultural telling of life in China for many people living there. The acting doesn't feel like your watching a film, but a documentary about the issues that go on with Chinese families living in that time frame of 1999 and even today. You also see sprinkles of love and lost between the three main characters as the they try to make sense of whats happening between them in the mist of their country's struggle. The only thing they really have is music which plays a huge role in many of Jai Zhangke's films. Sometimes you need to feel connected to something or you will break. All of the characters in "Mountains May Depart" look their happiest when music was involved. Music is a very big tradition in Chinese culture and it brings even the most heated enemies together.Of course, I'm talking about music exclusive to China. Not the music that has foreign influence. The best acting happened during the later part of the film in its closing ark. Here we have a great portal of what it means to never forget your culture and where you original came from. I don't care how many different languages you speak, or how many different races of people you meet, you will always be the race you are born as. Wear that with pride and love who you are. This was a very big conflict in the closing of this film and I loved every minute of what I saw. 

   I believe that people who watch this film will have different opinions on the plot and how it is paced. We could say that its very disjointed but there is never a true problem with keeping up with the story. The opening ark was slow but there was content that sets up the rest of the film. I have a couple of questions about the emotions of certain characters and why they did what they did but thinking about it now, We know it was because of their living conditions. I'm not sure why I thought this film would have to do with love surviving across the span of time.... Well, A love did survive across the span of time but not the kind of love that I was expecting. This really is the beauty of this film. 

  "Mountains May Depart" and many other filmography by Jia Zhangke are never given the "ok" to be licensed officially by the Government in China. These films have no filter on the story they are trying to tell. I would say check this film out if you want to see more into real Chinese culture along with a interesting plot. 

THANKS FOR READING!!!!!!! (^.^) 

Norn9: Var Commons: (NORN9 ノルン＋ノネット) PS Vita Game Thoughts

   Norn9  would be the second Otome game I have played. The first one was Hakuoki(薄桜鬼 〜新選組奇譚〜 ) which introduced me to the Otome gaming genre. I also really liked the Hakuoki anime but I have yet to finish the whole series yet.  Lets continue to discuss Norn9: Var Commons that is available for PS Vita Playstation portable(North America release.)

  I bought Norn9: Var Commons during my Christmas shopping spree. I had read a little bit about the game online and even before that, what caught my attention was the cover art. I guess you can say I'm  very materialistic in this manner. I like things that look good to me..... in the beginning anyway. I knew this game was an Otome game and when I hear that term, Hakuoki comes to mind.  Otome games are mostly geared toward women and the player normally is surrounded by hot men who you have your pick of. Depending on your actions in the game, you become closer to one of the men from the group. 

  Norn9 takes this same formula and mixing things up. You have your pick of three different female characters and then you have your pick of three male characters associated with that character. You are not allowed to chose whatever male character you want right off the bat though. You have to play as whoever male characters are unlocked then when you play through their story, A new guy's story will be unlocked. I was very frustrated by this so I ended up playing as Kakeru with Seri being my leading man. The main goal of the game is to increase your affection meter toward your leading man. As the game progresses through its chapters you will be presented with various choices that will increase your affection meter if you choose the correct choice. Some choices are also timed to make the game a little more tricky so I suggest to be ready for these instances. If your affection meter is not high enough by the last chapter that will result in a bad ending. Getting a bad and good endings are ok because you want to experience both and it will unlock the screen shot in your gallery. I got the bad ending and was not happy but I see what I did wrong. This game is setup to be played many times but i'm interested in playing it a second time at this moment. 

  Norm9's plot seems like a simple one at first. A 12 year old boy is whisked away to another world where he is then taken aboard a ship that contains other people from different parts of the world with abilities. They're being commanded by a divine entity called THE WORLD, to be placed in different parts of the world with the sole purpose of stopping a war that is about to break out. This game is presented in novel like format where you just read and watch the action unfold until the choice option comes up. If your a reader like me then this will not be a problem for you. I know these types of games are not for everyone and that's fine by me. You also have the options to open your menu, save your game, re-listen to certain lines, and check your affection meter. Each character in the game has a voice actor but all the diolouge is in Japanese which is a love it or hate it for some people. Your opinion is your opinion and I'm not getting involved with that debate. I'm interested in the language so this was a neat experience for me. My displeasure for this fact comes in with the way some of the characters were voiced. More like the volume at which Seri would talk to be precise. There were times that I really had to strain myself to hear him. I also tried turning up the volume on my console and he still speaks like his voice was done in his throat. I learned after I completed his story that you can increase the volume of characters voices in the settings menu.(This must have been made with Seri in mind....) 

  The art and music of Norn9 is its best feature. Each landscape and character design was done with a fantasy feel. Be ready for the music to get stuck in your head as my mind keeps re-playing certain tracks. Everything from seeing the different places in the ship to the outside world looks like its contents could just suck you into their world. The colors used for the sky scene were just breathtaking as well as the cut scenes of romance with your guy. All of this was eye candy overloaded. 

   My biggest problem with this game is it takes along time to get anywhere. The character's are enjoyable but it feels like the game tries too hard to have just the right amount of romance with a very deep storyline. I actually started wondering at one point if the story would ever take my character off the ship. The storyline I played was a deep one and it had a good emotional value for my character and the leading man. It was just kinda of boring until your romance starts really blooming and the story gets to the main conflict. Lighthearted conversation is good too but don't depend on just that to progress a story such as this. Mind you, I haven't played all of the characters and Im sure there are more pieces to this story but like I stated above, I don't have the interest to play ALL of the characters at this moment. Maybe in the future. It is nice to know I have a game to come back to if I'm having a slow day. 

   If you want a novel in the form of a game with a little of your input added in, Norn9: Var Commons is for you. I feel like this game showed me that the choices I make in relationships can be selfish at times. That bad ending was a wake up call that I didn't need. 

THANKS FOR READING!!!! (^.^)

FTISLAND(FT아일랜드)- Where's the truth 6th album Thoughts(K-ROCK)

Track List:
01. Out of Love
02. Take Me Now 
03. Lose
04. 가면
05. 너에게 물들어
06. Stand By Me
07. Paparazzi
08. Wonderful Life
09. We Are…


   I believe that you guys should know by now that I've hinted numerous times that i'm no longer a huge kpop fan. however, i still check for the acts that I grew up listening to such as Shinhwa. FTISLAND is also apart of that group of kpop(?) artists i still mess with along with a few new acts. I can safely say that these boys have had my rocking all through my middle school and high school years. They started going back and forth to Japan and I began supporting their music releases there as well. Now here we are in the present with an FTISLAND fresh from Japan with a new Korean album "Where's the truth?"

  The fact that they decided to name the album this is really funny because Ive been wondering where was the truth in FTISLAND's music for a little while now. Don't get me wrong, they have had some amazing releases in the past few years..... but that was mostly in Japan. Its not secret to anyone that this band use to be extremely popular in Korea but time is never easy on people in the industry especially when you want to do music that speaks to YOU and not just the masses. FTISLAND started their career as mostly a ballad pop rock group that played it pretty safe with their music choices. Each boy is easy on the eyes and their songs spoke mostly to teenage girls around the ages of 15 to 19. They have shown foreshadowing signs that the change of direction in their music was coming someday with songs like "Girls don't know"(여자는 몰라) and "Bad Women"(나쁜 여자야 )but these songs were dime a dozen. They probably had to beg their record label to even include songs like these because they are pointing the finger at the same girls who were consuming their music. That lyric change during the last part of bad women is also not slick. I guess they didn't want female listeners to feel totally attacked. 

  "Where is the truth" is FTISLAND saying fuck it all, lets just make the music we want to make." They are still well known in South Korea but i don't think its nowhere near the popularity they use to have. The boys have shown signs for awhile that they wanted to switch their sound but Korea is not about the rock and roll life in the mainstream so they migrated to Japan where they gained a good following doing the music they wanted to do. This album is just a Korean version of the musical style they were doing in japan. I was actually surprised at the amount of English thats used in each song on the album. The structure of the choruses and the english combined together give the songs a slightly western touch. This isn't a bad thing as most modern Korean music is influenced by its western counterpart and you wouldn't have one without the other. "Take me now" is just so hard hitting and edge that I'm not sure mainstream Korean audiences can take this type of sound. They probably won't win on music shows but that's ok. You get coolness points for me for being true to yourselves and not a sellout. Songs like "Out of love" and "Stand By me" tell the story of girls who have done a guy wrong when he has done everything to keep the relationship stable. you can't go wrong with the sounds the boys produce to make a solid rock record. Their guitar and drum playing has advanced so much that I almost thought they bundling up and changed. At a lot of times while listening, I found myself singling along and heading banging to the beat. "Paparazzi" catchy cuteness proves that their pop side is not completely dead but the song goes along with the album smoothly. 

 Hongki is one of the best frontmans a band could ask for. His voice contains a range that is fit for not just one type of music. One of the charms of this band is that they have such a strong vocalist that's sings a music genre opposite what people would think his voice would be associated with. What type of english classes was this boy taking over in Japan?? His english pronunciation is near perfect. I'm not sure how good his speaking is but he was singing in english like he was fluent. The vocal tones of his voice contain a raspy resonance in his midrange and then when this dude really lets his voce rip you hear vibrato for days. WE ALSO CAN'T FORGET ABOUT JAEJIN!!! Thats my boy and he still be holding it down with his backup vocals. He has a very nice voice of his own. 


  FTISLAND's 6th album is their freedom of expression to put out the type of music they want to. We need more brave artists in the Korean music industry like these boys who don't care so much about winning music shows, and chart positions. We as humans have to realize that popularity doesn't last forever and there will always be some other new group that people might say is better. The important thing is to keep making music for the fans that will love you because it's you and not your popularity. Something to think about.  

Leo Ieiri(家入レオ)- We Album Thoughts(J-POP)

 These singers love to have easy titles for their albums.... V and now We. Maybe they just want an english title but they don't want something too complicated.......

01.僕たちの未来
02.Brand New Tomorrow
03.君がくれた夏
04.恍惚
05.Party Girl
06.I Wish
07.we
08.Hello To The World
09.シティボーイなアイツ
10.さよなら Summer Breeze
11.そばにいて、ラジオ
12.Every Single Day
13.オバケのなみだ.

  Leo Leiri, The Yui for this generation. I feel really old because many people don't remember or never knew Yui but Leiri started working with Yui's old producers when Yui decided to jump ship. I didn't really pay Leiri any attention until her single "Silly" was used in a drama I was watching. From there I checked out a couple of songs and liked what I heard. Now I keep my eye out and when she releases new material, I try to give it a listen. The album "We" was no exception to the rule. 

  This album pretty did much the same thing Ohara Sakurao's album did with getting a little too hyper active and happy with a more pop sound than a pop rock sound. I feel Leo Leiri has a little more of a hold on the music she releases but at the end of the day, she also wants to sell major units. The way to do that is putting out music you feel everyone will like even if if it messes up your own unique artistry. Lets face the facts.  In this life, you can't make everyone happy. There will always be someone who won't like you just because... YOUR READING THIS BLOG POST!!!!! (no, I'm just kidding....) The same principle applies to music. Yes, you might sell more albums if you try to appeal to everyone but will you be happy in the long run doing music that isn't really who you are? Also what about the fans who like the music that represents the real you? Its a really important thing to think about. I didn't like most of the songs in this album. The only songs I like were the singles and a song called "Every Single Day" which is the only song that holds a light to the singles "Hello To The World" and "君がくれた夏". "Hello To The World" is such a bad ass song and I love everything about it! the track tells the listener to never give up using catchy word play, raging electric guitars, and in sync background vocals. "君がくれた夏" is a great cool down song that showcases Leiri's ability to relax her listeners with vocals calm like a ripple that glides so slowly across a pond in the early hours of the morning. This track should have been placed after "Hello To The World" not before it. I almost forgot about this track but "恍惚" isn't a bad track either. The song starts slow with a mid tempo beat and just out of nowhere gets very loud with a whole band backing Leiri up. I love all of that and more. 

  Leo Leiri has a nice voice. Its not anything too out of the ordinary but she's good enough that you will remember her depending on the song you hear. She definitely has the magic of having to make songs that will get stuck in the listener's head down to textbook science. I just wish she would take the intensity that she has in some songs and spread that to all her music. I feel that sometimes she fall short with making albums that could be great all the way through to the end. Not just a few songs here and there. 

   I would say check out Leo Leiri's songs one by one to see if she's for you. Check out this album if you like. You might find something you love that i didn't. Please enjoy. 

Ohara Sakurako( 大原櫻子)- V album Thoughts(JPOP)

     There will most likely be two post on Japanese music coming your way. I just thought I would get my thoughts down and out of the way while everything is fresh in my mind. Let's start with Ohara Sakurako and her Sophomore release titled "V".

  

1. Odorou (踊ろう; Let's Dance)
2. Daisuki (大好き; I Love You)
3. Kimi wo Wasurenai yo (キミを忘れないよ; I Won't Forget You)
4. Yuuki to Hohoemi (勇気と微笑み; Smile and Courage)
5. Melody (メロディー)
6. Manatsu no Taiyou (真夏の太陽; Midsummer Sun)
7. Kokoro (こころ; Heart)
8. Sign (サイン)
9. Tremolo Rain (トレモロレイン)
10. Dear My Dream
11. Kimi ni Naritai (君になりたい)
12. September
13. Scope

   



   I gained interest in miss Sakurako when she made her film debut in "A Liar and His Lover"(カノジョは嘘を愛しすぎてる) where she also aided in providing her voice for the film's soundtrack. She was only about 16 years old then so it was amazing to see such a young girl with strong vocals and passion to back them up. I immediately went on a search to find more of her music just as her first album "Happy" was released.(It would have been nice to have seen the film's bands: Mush&Co and CRUDE PLAY continue to make music but they were both destroyed. Only Ohara Sakurako survived.) 

  "Happy" was her album to show japan what she had as a singer and this album, "V" is her basically appealing to the masses so that she will keep selling. More than half of the tracks are sugary pop and this can be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. Lyrics in each track have to do with young love considering Sakurako has just reached the age of twenty. She's a very cute and her overall package spells out "Kawaii girl with a good voice." People will buy her albums because she's very cute and can sing pretty well. This whole concept is just lost on me though. I didn't come here to see her be cute without trying, I came to hear this girl strum on her guitar and sing her heart out like she did on a few tracks from "Happy's" library. This side of her is kind of lost in V's ever so sugary, cavity creating, tracklist. I don't mind the cute style so much but when the style gets to the point that its so watered down that you know these tracks were made just for the money, then we have a problem. I'm not sure how much say Ohara Sakurako has in the music she going to be performing but my guess is she didn't have much of a say with what songs that would be used for the album V. I started to lean towards boredom really quick because almost all the songs until track seven  have that happy go lucky beat that made me either want to skip the song before it even began or bear it and rip what little bit of hair I have out along the way. Sakurako's voice couldn't even save these songs and she sings each one well. The last half of the album that include songs "Sign", "Kokoro", "September", and "Scope" makes me think that maybe someone let the poor girl do a little bit of the songs she ACTUALLY wants to sing. "Dear My Dream" is a new style for her and even this song works and I enjoyed listening to it. "September" takes bluesy saxophones and Sakurako's guitar blending them together for a upbeat style that sounds fresh and new while accompanying her vocals. "Sign" and "Kokoro" are the reasons i still give her a chance musically. She needs to leave the gimmicks alone and just sing songs she wants to. 

  There isn't much to say about the vocals. This girl has what it takes to fill arenas based on just her talent. She has a magical quality about her that only comes out when its just her and a guitar. Its a amazing to say the least. Her voice is on the high side and she sounds young but there's also a strength that can't be matched.

  Ohara Sakurako isn't an artist where I would recommend all her songs. I have yet to like a full album by her but I do like select songs here and there. Everyone is different of course and her albums might appeal to you. Japan seems to have liked it. The album debuted at 3. on the Oricon charts so I'm happy for her. 

No.10 Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street(烟袋斜街10号) Gay Chinese Web Series Thoughts

   I could not tell you how to say the name of this show to save my life. I was telling a friend about this show and he kept asking me the name and I had no idea what the english name was.... Someone could hold a gun to my head and ask me what the name of this show was and I STILL would not know. Well, I kind of know now, Its No. 10 Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street or No.10 YanDaiXie Street.

   No. 10 Yandaixie Street is a web series with each episode being 20 minutes in length( Some of the beginning episodes were shorter than this.) with it's plot centering around two young men, one a weirdo novelist, and the other kind but quiet pet caretaker who meet in the pet caretaker's online chatroom concerning the novelist two per hamsters. They decide to meet in person at the pet caretaker's physical shop at No. 10 Yandaixie Street and our story begins....

   This drama was shot in downtown Beijing China for the most of the duration of the drama. toward the middle of season 1 the location changes a little bit as our characters branch out and show us a little bit more of their worlds. I'm not very familiar with the different parts of China but it looks like they went from city life to more rural type of setting in a few shots. I worried about the direction this series would go in because the setting for the earlier half of the show was set in the pet shop.... caretaker pet shop??? ..... pet hotel???? I'm not really sure.... help a brother out here...... Anyway, the angle used for shooting make the viewer think they are watching the action unfold in the corner of the  shop which is already small to begin with. Its a cute kind of small but the angles switch during different intervals depending of the context of the situation. One of the main characters also lives in the pet shop unsurprisingly since its very common for people to live above their businesses.  You can only feel like a totally creeper during the bedroom scenes. These camera angles make sure they are always above the action or to the side of the shot.(Don't worry parents, the action stays PG-13.) The scenes out of the shop are mostly street scenes, restaurant scenes, and other characters houses. All these scenes were filmed to the best of what they had to work with. These web series are low budget but the creators always make sure to treat each shot with care so each actor's performance is shown perfectly. The scenes when the two main characters are spending time together make me want to go eat my life away because they remained me that I'm forever alone. (Ok, I'm joking... I don't really believe this.)

     No. 10 stars a whole new cast of young actors, making it one of the beauties of watching these web series. You get to see a new actor's beginnings and maybe even see them again in the future with for success and say" I remember when he was doing web dramas!!!".  I didn't really thing to much about their acting at first because nothing stood out about their performances. I did think that Luo YiHang / Alan (罗一航)(Liang Ze (梁泽) had some past issues looking at the way he seemed more withdrawn from people. He is very kind and thoughtful but he also doesn't let himself get to close to people even with him having to talk to people everyday because of work. Gong Zheng (宫政)(Hang Hang (杭航) has a more outgoing personality that gets right up in your face. He's really selfless and gullible too. I guess being a popular novelist will do that to you. He adds a lot of comical relief to the show with his rambling on and on about stuff that none would care about if he wasn't cute. What makes things even funnier is that he thinks what he says is really important. Yang Xi / Colin (杨曦) as Hu Wei (胡蔚) and Kang Rong / Kevin (康榕) as Qi Ji (齐霁) were also great additions to the show since all the characters being in the pet shop at the same time causes egos to clash and it so entertaining to watch. I know the pets just look at their owners bickering and just shake their heads while they wonder when their next mealtime will be. Lang Ze and Hang Hang have great chemistry together as their feeling blossom and the chemistry is so good the line between friendship and lovers starts to blur leaving viewers wondering what will happen next. 

   We have another drama that takes a very simple storyline and creates a fantastic series. I'm finding that people in this day and age are definitely finding more methods to creating great content without a fantastic storyboard and tons of money. You don't need of of that. The thing that holds this drama together is the acting in so many words. The acting brings to life the main concept of being gay and finding true love while being gay. Believe it or not, the whole notion is not as easy as it may seem since there are more heterosexual people in this world then there are homosexual people. As homosexual or gay people, we sometime we end up loving someone we meet in everyday life just because a connection is there. It does always have to start out as a romantic connection. If you act on this feeling and the person you like is heterosexual, what do you think would be the end result? Do you take the chance and press your love? Then what? Here we have main concept of No 10. Yaidaixie street. The series also tackles the problems of really loving someone or just loving the idea of that person. Can love override sexual preference? Wow! Some thing to think about!!!!! MY MIND IS WORKING!!!!! The director just doesn't stop there either! He also throws a few cliffhangers in there to make you wonder if your still watching the same show!

   I'm officially addicted everyone. I heard season two is in the works and I surely hope so. This web seres wasn't as popular as Heroin(Addicted) so there is less of a chance that this will get banned. I have yet to have seen the special episode for season 1 but hopefully youtube will have it uploaded soon. Happy WATCHING EVERYONE!!!!