Superfly - 0 Album Thoughts(J-rock, ballad, Jazz)

    Superfly is a singer that is mostly well know for creating insert songs for films and dramas in Japan. The group used to consist of two people: Vocalist Ochi Shiho and Guitarist Tabo Koichi, who lest the forefront of the group to now only write lyrics or play the guitar  occasionally. Ochi went on to have four number one albums back to back out of the six albums she has released in her career.(the other albums were #2 and #3 respectively.) Zero is the soulful rock songstress's first album in five years.

Tracklist : 

1. Ambitious.
2. フレア(Flare)
3. Gemstone.
4. 覚醒(Kakusei)
5. ハッピーデイ
   Happy Day.
6. Fall.
7. Lilyの祈り
8. 氷に閉じこめて
9. Bloom.
10. サンディ
11. Gifts.

    I'm going to have to get this post truthful. Superfly is one of my all time favorite Japanese female singers however, the single roll out for this latest album wasn't something that I was feeling when I heard them. Chi decides to came back to the music scene sporting a whole new image change along with a "softer" musical sound. You know I've always preached about changing up your musical style being alright as long as it's good but these singles like Bloom for example, were downright boring. Classifying them as plain old ballads was the easiest thing to do because these songs packed no spice to eat on. Even I saw in the comments of Japanese fans asking her where her hard rock sound disappeared to. So all of this lead me to be really hesitant to listen to Zero. I eventually decided to just out of respect for Superfly being a hell of a talent. Zero ended up being an alright album overall. Superbly saved it by actually having a good track list. The leading single(覚醒) she picked to represent the album was different for her, then again there were many layers of elements that connected to one another. Genres such as groovy soul, rock, and acoustic piano all come together to produce a track that doesn't sound like any other singer out in Japan right now. Fans looking for a tiny glimmer of the old days of Superfly will enjoy Gemstone as the track, while being a subdued version of classic Superfly, still gives listeners a bit of rock n roll energy they may have been missing. I still can't get over that this women came back looking like a discount half price version of Mika Nakashima back when her hair was short in the late 2000s. [INSERT ME LAUGHING] She even tries her hand at Mika's jazz style and ….. succeeds to my surprise. Mostly due to the women having such a good voice. The rest of Zero plays around with this idea of Superbly being a changed women after five years which shows in her music. Many of the tracks are doable because she really is one of the top five best female vocalists Japan has to offer. Zero could be considered her most experimental album yet. It doesn't quite reach the hight of her previous albums. That still doesn't stop the compilation from being something enjoyable.

   My friend and I always would joke about how loud Superfly sings. He would always say, " Damn she sings loud as hell!"I agree. She's like that lone person in a choir who is suppose to be singing in harmony with everyone in their section but is singing louder than everyone instead.[INSERT ME LAUGHING.] Maybe I should say her voice sounds loud because she has powerful vocals. Ether way, I was hooked when I first heard her sing a track for a film. I had to know who she was right away. I would love for her and a singer like Crystal Kay to do a collaboration together.

   Zero manges not to be a flop at the end of the day. I was bracing myself for the album to be one too. Zero did well in Japan sales wise, debuting at #3 on the Oricon Charts with over 80,000 units sold…. Probably the lowest of her career. I believe Japanese people weren't feeling her new musical change on a mass appeal level. She might not even care at this point though.

The World Between Us(我們與惡的距離) Taiwanese Drama Thoughts

    Recently, I've been into a lot Chinese stuff more than popular Korean stuff. You will see that I've done about two posts about Chinese pop culture things because I've been on a kick lately. My latest obsession has been the Taiwanese drama called The World Between Us or the literally translation, "The Outsiders". The drama was a production exclusively for HBO Asia and it aired for ten episodes. Many reviews for the drama have been people raving about storyline and characters. It also became the highest rated show on Taiwanese Netflix. Lin Chun Yang was the director while Liu Shih yuen wrote the script. Alyssa Chia, James Wen, Chris Wu, Yuu Chen, J.C. Lin, and, Pets Tseng star in the break out drama.



   A mass shooting in a movie theater changes the course of a select few people's lives forever. The deaths of their loved ones seem to make it impossible for them to pick up the pieces to restart their lives. Media and public opinion also don't make the progress any easier.

   The World Between Us centers around the subject of a mass shooting. Most viewers would think that this subject in itself is a eye catching topic enough to make a drama complete. A mass shooting is the core of the events that occur but the drama focuses more on the aftermath than anything else. Taking an inside depth on how the victim's loved ones choose to continue living their lives. Let me tell you, the emotional turmoil isn't an experience that make you feel good. Well- at least not at first. This drama could have been lazy by telling a story leading up to a society tragedy that would have taken up a whole ten episodes. Instead the storytelling does something that most wouldn't expect: The drama doesn't even truly show the shooting in its self. Viewers get a little taste then just imagination from the character performances. We get a Segway into other topics that tie into mass killing such as mental health and the death penalty which are very heavy subjects that this drama handles well. Most of all, The World Between Us makes the viewer question society norms not only in Taiwan but also in the world period. Is it just to blame the family of the killer because you want an outlet to lash out? Do the family of the murderer in question not get the human rights to be notified when their son ro daughter is about to be executed? All of these questions are raised when watching The World Between Us. I really connected with the scripts essence of forgiveness so that one's self can move on with their life. It can be really hard to forgive so a person who can, is the stronger person in my eyes. For ten episodes, the story sums up quite nicely and you feel satisfied seeing everything conclude.

   Cast performances are one to write home about. They honestly are very crucial to a drama like this. Broken people make good storylines. Though watching many of the characters is very painful. It was to me anyways. There were emotions dealing in denial of the events that happened. Other characters downright avoided the issue all together. Family bonds got destroyed all throughout this show. On top of that, Viewers will see that many of the characters's hearts are wounded as they barely live. I enjoyed each character equally since the story gives you enough background to know more about each of them. How all of them are connected outside of the shooting was well though out too. Bottomline is that the acting defiantly comes across as award winning. Chris Wu was my favorite performance as the lawyer who was torn between what he thought was right and other people's opinions.

   Certain sets on location look good. I want to say this drama looks like a mix of a web drama and a show you would see on Netfilx. Shots range from Taiwan's metropolitan city to a small as port town. All of these scenes give the drama a sense of emotional timing that is used well in the cast's performances. The opening sequence's graphics of The World Between Us is a perfect fit as well.

    The World Between Us is one of the best Taiwanese dramas in recent years. It's sad that many foreign people don't know about this drama yet. Still, I hope more people give this drama a try and I'm excited about rumors of a second season.

Savage(雪暴) Chinese Film Thoughts(2019)

 

    Savage is a 2018 mystery thriller that was directed by Siwei Cui( The Island, Bleeding Steel) and stars Chang Chen, Ni Ni, Gyangjie Li, Liao Fan, and Zhang Yicong. I don't know to much else about this film but I took a chance on it and here are the results….. I do know that the film was shown at various film festivals such as the Busan Film festival in 2018.





   Police men stationed at the China North Korean border get caught up in a thieves operation to transport gold across the border. One police man is killed while the other waits a year to seek his revenge. Will the white snow be stained with blood?

      Savage isn't the type of film that defines itself as different from the rest of the Chinese films out there in the mystery thriller category. The film does however point out flaws in other Police cop thrillers that could have been avoided over the years in Chinese Cinema. It doesn't try to fix what isn't broken while also adding nips and tucks here and there. Savage is a very stylishly shot film who's atmosphere draws out many emotions in the viewer. Plus the characters actually have solid back stories that make you care about them. Especially the friendship between the two cops and the girl they both loved. The villains also give you some kind of humanity that sometimes isn't well written out in other Chine film productions. Events that unfold are interesting enough to keep you wanting to know what's behind every snow covered tree or how the hell these people would risk their lives in a snow storm for some gold and revenge. You get a twist at the end that's simple yet very affective and action that doesn't feel too over the top but enough for you to enjoy. I would actually put this film on the same list as Zhang Yimou's Shadow for best Chinese films for artistic storytelling. Savage shines in places that other cop thrillers do not.

     The performances helped move the film along but didn't make or break the film for me. I enjoyed Liao Fan's portrayal of the stone cold villain who's relationship with his brother(play by Zhang Yicong) had emotional depth while at other times felt as cold as ice. I connected with their hot cold brotherhood by the end of the film though. Same sentiment goes for Chang Chen and Gyangjie Li as the two copes who were at the the wrong place at the wrong time. A huge focus is put on how tragedy  affects a person to the point that they can't move on. Greed also plays a big part of some of the characters's driving emotions. I couldn't help but feel sorry for characters on both sides of the fence though. All of the characters had their reasons for doing what they did. Even if it doesn't make some of their actions right.

    How the director decided to shoot this film was everything that Savage needed and more. Just the scenery of the snow covered landscapes were enough to to set this film in a whole league of its own. Some of the drone stops were so well done, including the actions scenes when shot from different perspectives. Seeing a dead body laying in the snow from above has some much emotion in it that scenes like these are what Savage such an artistic thriller you will never forget. Having the film as a blu-ray only release was a plus too. Blu-ray gives the film a whole new experience.

      Savage was good because it didn't try to break the mold and be this amazing film. Siwei Cui just brought to the screen what he envisioned. Nothing more, nothing less.

G.E.M(鄧紫棋) - City Zoo(摩天动物园) Album Thoughts(Mandopop)

     I belive I've written a post about G.E.M before when she released a couple of singles last year that led up to this new album release to kick off the new year. She's an artist that has been in the Chinese music scene since the early 2000s, getting her big break after wining a music competition. The rest is history as G.E.M is on her seventh album titled City Zoo. G.E.M is also an occasional actress.

01. 摩天动物园 
02. Fly Away 
03. 透明 
04. 很久以后 
05. Walk on Water
06. 萤火 
07. 灰狼 
08. 差不多姑娘 
09. 好想好想你 
10. 别勉强 (ft. Eric Chou 周兴哲) 
11. 多美丽 
12. 句号 
13. 依然睡公主 

    City Zoo is the first full length album that I checked out by G.E.M. Her names floated past me for years but didn't give her the time of dat until last year. Now, I'm a huge fan of this women. Such was the reason City Zoo's sudden release was a big deal for me. The album is names after the title track used to promote the album which can be classified as a dark pop anthem easing into the sweet dreams of listeners only to turn their happiness into nightmares. G.E.M wastes nothing on making this album a masterpiece fit for a songstress that's earned her place at the top of the Taiwanese music scene. City Zoo as a track has a slick beat drop that would make Rainie Yang cry but enough mainstream appeal to have you singing along long after the track has left it's impression. Much of the album has this same dark pop kind of feel. Producers who worked with G.E.M worked together to create a sound for City Zoo that commands attention right from the start. One of the problems that I noticed is that the tracks sometimes felt like clones of one another. Not to the point that it stops City Zoo's greatness, However a lot of dark pop tracks in a line will have you hearing double. Tracks don't really go into a mellow realm until toward the closing of the album. Even her ballad tracks are still top notch vocal greatness. She adds icing on the cake with a duet featuring pop star Eric Chou. City Zoo leaves on a powerful note as G.E.M's songwriting abilities seem to never peak, just like the range of her beautiful vocals.

    I love the fact that there hasn't been a track vocally that I have hated by G.E.M. Everything she graces her fans with is always high quality music. Every single track that came on in City Zoo had G.E.M continuing to show why she is such an amazing vocalist. No matter if it is her first or seventh album, G.E.M never seems to quit presenting why she's a singer loved by many. Rainie Yang's album should have been of this same caliber. Sorry I keep throwing shade at Rainie but it's only because I want her to create better bodies of work musically.

   City Zoo was an album that after I listen to it, I immediately wanted to listen to the album again. G.E.M will forever be one of the top female singers in Taiwan. Doesn't look like she's going anywhere any time soon.

MONSTA X WE ARE HERE 2019 WORLD TOUR CONCERT DVD Thoughts

IN MEMORY OF…..

   First off, let me begin by say that this is my first post of 2020. Funny enough the content force me to look back on the amazing year this Korean boyband had…. That is until a few months toward the end of 2019 where one member was forced to leave the group and Monsta X was engulfed in scandals. Wonho's departure was one of the many incidents that shook the Kpop world last year, with fandoms rallying together trying to beg the guy to come back not realizing that his whole true reason for leaving had more to do with sacrificing himself for the careers of the other members. This dvd does make you return to Monsta X before everything went down. Some might call it bittersweet.

   Here is another Kpop concert dvd that claims to be a "World Tour" while always managing to film only in Seoul, South Korea. If you're going to add the word "world" on to the title, make sure that I see more than just east asian people in the crowd. The concert itself was decent…… for what I came for anyway. Monsta X performed all the tracks I wanted to see live flawlessly. Shoot Out was staged the same way it was on the music shows which to be honest was a tad bit of a disappointment. I feel sorry for the fans who follow Monsta X around and have seen every single live performance of Shoot Out or Alligator because you don't get any new take on the performance choreography. What was different about this concert than all the others I've seen is that I.M. and Jooheon(Joohoney) are excellent hype men as the two rappers of the group. There's never not a time that the two aren't hyping up not only the other members, but also the crowd. Their ad-libs added a new strong presence to the tracks that wasn't there in any of the other lives. Wonho also felt more open in general during this concert. He was smiling a lot more, just having fun joking while Monsta X had speaking opportunities. I got to clearly see the parts that he contributed to the group cause honestly, he didn't seem like much to me before outside of having a great body. Monsta X talks for a long time most of the concert and this was my biggest con if I were to have one. Music artists are suppose to talk since you want to see their personality but I didn't come to the concert to spend long periods of time during the show listening to the guys joke among each other. Get your point across then move on the the next song. The setlist could have had more songs in the time it took for them to talk to the crowd. Heart attack was one of the tracks that I really want to see them perform at this concert. Instead Oh My! made the cut from that album which is alright. I'll take what I can get overall. Some of the subunit solos were cute…. not my cup of tea thought. Mohae got cute staging that I enjoyed until I started freaking out at how long Rodeo(one of my favorite tracks by them) when on for. I guess that was the extended encore?Who's bright idea was it to let the guys use water guns when the crowd has electronic light sticks and when Monsta X themselves having on face mics that're full of electricity? One of the members literally gets his whole face wet then the members proceed to talk about how dangerous it is. DUH!  All of those guys had the time of their live on that stage doing the most hot mess type antics that you ever will see from a Kpop Concert. I honestly didn't make it to the credits which is odd for me. Once I saw that I had passed the last song, I was done watching. Monsta X was gearing up for another long as hell speech that I didn't have time to sit through as I shut the dvd off. Love the fact that you guys want that connection toward Monbebes however, I'm a fan that wants a bit more music than talking. I want to know you guys while getting my money's worth. Concert dvds aren't cheap either. Does this make sense?

   Many of the camera angles were ordinary. You get to see that Monsta X concerts have good turn outs when the camera floats above the stage or shows a shot of the full arena. Sound was also good. I do wish that Korean people would go a bit easy on the backing vocal track during lives. Certain members didn't have a problem since they have loud voices. Yeah…. I'm talking about you Joo Heon and I.M. but others got over dubbed at their vocal parts. Wonho would go in and out while Shownu and Minhyuk eventually tapped into the fact that they had to sing louder than normal. Wonho would sometimes lose his assigned spot when they did choreography and would have to move down so the other members could come into formation. Nothing gets past me. I see everything but if you don't know what to look for, you wouldn't even notice the mistake. That's how professional they are live.

    I would say this dvd is for hardcore fans. I'm not a hardcore fan of Kpop period but I do have standards when it comes to Kpop concert dvds I buy and I've seen better. Not that this is the worst, just not super amazing for the money you might spend.