Thursday, January 17, 2002

HMMM Does anyone know if the same red-haired woman who appears in the PV of Glay's Yuuwaku is the same woman who was in L'Arc~en~Ciel's PV of Love Flies? - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 08:55 p.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Monday, January 14, 2002

AND MORE ALBUM NEWS! (AND OTHER STUFF) ...this time from Hyde. His first album is scheduled to be released on March 27 and is entitled Roentgen. You can go to Hydeist for more information, but right now all they have up is the release date and the name. Hyde seems to be the only one from L'Arc~en~Ciel making progress on his solo work. If Tetsu or Yukihiro is planning on coming out with anything new, I haven't heard it so far. Just as a tidbit of information, you can download clips and PVs of Hyde and Tetsu as well as old Laruku vids at Pieces, a Korean Laruku fansite. Not all the vids are up at once, but there are some very fun Tetsu and Laruku interviews. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 02:49 p.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Monday, January 14, 2002

NEXT NEW SODMY SINGLE STYLE by New Sodmy will be in stores 01/23/02. The maxi-single will include the following tracks: [1] CATWALK [2] PHANTOM [3] Audrey More info at the official website. Incidentally- Dir en grey also has a song named "Audrey." And one of Lareine's (Kamijo & Mayu's former band) first demo tapes was titled Dir en grey... coincidence? Things to ponder... - MS - Jiro: "OH! It's 10:23 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Monday, January 14, 2002

NEW DIR EN GREY ALBUM Dir en Grey's new album, Kisou, will be released on January 30, 2002. It will have 16 tracks. [Blurb from CD Japan] "Dir en grey's brand new album is their first in 16 months. Shows a wider range, with hard-edged dark numbers of their specialty like Filth, Jessica, and Embryo, and more laid back tracks that are almost gentle on the ears, though Kyo's vocals are as riveting as ever on these tracks. Embryo here is expected to be the album version." To preorder, go to CD Japan. For general album information, go to 'kane's site, which also has an interesting article about fans' reception of Dir en Grey during the Hong Kong stage of their Asia tour. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 12:30 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Sunday, January 13, 2002

SIAM SHADE DISBANDING NOTICE Siam Shade has announced that they are disbanding. Their last live will be held on March 10, 2002 at Nippon Budoukan. For more information visit the official webpage here or read the English translation of their disbandment notice here. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 04:46 p.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Sunday, January 6, 2002

HYDE'S NEXT SINGLE It's called Shallow Sleep and will be released on February 27. The image on his page shows the same coffin that has been on the covers of Evergreen and Angel's Tale, except it's all black with light shining out from it (like a eclipse...reminds me of the Finale video). There's not much other information other than that, but you can go here to look at the picture. And this isn't really related, but I thought some of you who are jpop fans would like to know: Kuraki Mai is releasing her first US album on January 22, 2002 under the name MAI-K. It's an English version album entitled Secret of my Heart and will contain all English remixes of past songs, including Secret (the title song). For more information, go to the official Giza USA site here. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 12:43 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"

Saturday, January 3, 2002

ONE LOVE I archived, finally. New layout picture is from the cover of Glay's new album One Love. I gave my brother One Love for Christmas and have finally gotten off my lazy butt and reviewed it here. Took me long enough ^^;; This is the longest Glay album to date, with 18 tracks, in which only four of them are singles, and two songs each composed by Hisashi and Jiro. That's right, two! Each! Coming up with so many original songs for such a long album is a feat in itself, but what's more impressive is that all of these songs are very unique. Glay's message for us in the new year is "One Love" - reaching out to all people, no matter who, with music. I think there are several songs in which the "One Love" theme is embodied on this album, and I've noted this at the end of each review. Keep in mind this is my opinion only! ^_^ For more info on this album go to 'kane's site here. 1. ALL STANDARD IS YOU The calm, soothing introduction, with Teru singing softly, gives you a bit of a shock when it suddenly dissolves into very-unclassical Glay rock. This song is the first indication that this isn't just another Glay album. Their sound is a little harder, more developed than it's ever been. Teru does sound like he's struggling to fit the vocals with the music, but that's more Takuro's fault than it is his. I didn't really like this song when I first listened to it, but there's just something about it that reaches out and grabs you. 2. WET DREAM There are parts of this song that could have stood out, but really all it is is one big jumble of noise. Not that that's a bad thing. The voice distortion here repeats several times throughout the album and reminds me of the female voiceover in the last track. Hard power chords in the guitars and bass...Takuro seems to be aiming for a very un-Glay sound here. The chorus has an edge but the melodic line is lacking. 3. SHITTO Techno Glay?!? The introduction sure sounds like it...reminds me rather of Hamasaki Ayumi, actually, and I'm not sure why, but it also reminds me of the intro of Kuraki Mae's song Perfect Crime. That aside, the techno feel quickly fades as we segue into Hisashi's guitar line. It picks up again in the verses and the chorus, giving the song a dance/club feel. There's a very catchy chorus line and the entire thing is very danceable, upbeat. The funny thing is that it doesn't really sound like a Glay song, but smacks of Glay all the same...Out of the original (non-single) songs on this album, this is one of my favorites. 4. HIGHWAY NO 5 Jiro's compositions have made me laugh, cringe, hide, and sit patiently at various times on various songs, but Highway No 5 was, to my surprise, a great song. The intro is just guitar, with the bass coming in about the second bar, and the beat just is classic Glay. The chorus has (you guessed it) car noises, and on this song for the first time we hear our familiar Glay sound coming back. If the first three songs were experimental, this one brings us a little closer to home. Jiro also sings (albeit with voice distortion) on the bridge. 5. FIGHTING SPIRIT From the title, I expected something upbeat, a kind of "I can do it!" gung-ho song. No such thing. This song has a steady, rather calming beat, and the chorus is standard and melodic, what you'd expect on any Glay album. Fighting Spirit has an almost "Heavy Gauge" album sound to it, perhaps because the chorus sounds faintly like the chorus from Saville Row. A nice song but nothing special. 6. HITOHIRA NO JIYUU The reggae song. I've already reviewed it as a single, so go read that if you want my thoughts. This version is called "Johnny the Peace Mix" which means that they added some whistle and bell effects to it. Otherwise it's still the same song. Takuro notes on this song that it took on a special meaning to the band after the terrorist attacks on September 11, as the title means "Every Man's Freedom." What more "One Love" symbolism could you want? ^^ 7. THINK ABOUT MY DAUGHTER As opposed to Fighting Spirit, I fully expected a slow ballad-type song for this. Again, I was wrong. Shows me never to second-guess Glay. I really don't know where they got the title, and the song doesn't really have anything to do with a daughter, unless you count the references to "her," which I guess could be counted. It's another upbeat song with a catchy chorus...sound familiar? It's Glay. I feel the "One Love" theme very strongly in this song, not just because of the title, but because the entire song gives the feeling of freedom. I didn't think I'd like this song, but in fact it grew on me. 8. VIVA VIVA VIVA Oh my. What to say about this song. It's certainly...interesting. The entire thing seems crafted from rejected parts of Glay songs. There are about 5 lines of lyrics, but Teru manages to repeat them ad infinitum for about 4:28 minutes, the chorus reminds me of Will Be King, the "viva viva!" of a bad Latino wanna-be song, and the "verse" lyrics of Hide's song Misery, except Teru sings "high and high" instead of "low and low." I will leave it up to you to make your own judgment, but as Moonsong said when I told her about Teru yelling "Viva Viva Viva!" through the entire song..."and I thought 'oh yeah!' was bad." Strangely enough, "One Love" actually makes sense to me in this song...if only it shows that the band isn't afraid to admit that they're crazy. 9. PRIZE Hisashi's first contribution to his album. I've always like Hisashi's song writing, and this song is no exception. As with Jiro's song, this is a more nostalgic journey into the past style of Glay rock, though the chorus reminds me of Think About My Daughter in a very general sort of way. It's very singable and the guitars are signature Hisashi. 10. MERMAID I never really liked this song as a single, so on the album I usually skip it when listening to the CD. It came out a while ago, so all of you have probably made up your minds about it anyway. Next! 11. MISTER POPCORN This song reminds me of one of those songs you hear at carnivals on the merry-go-round. As I said above, Jiro songs have had me in all kinds of fits, but this song is just...strange. And not just because of the title. The drums give it a very "simplistic" feel, and when the tempo changes at about the 56 second mark, it quickly becomes repetitive. There are some Star Trekkish noises and then Jiro playing around with his bass before the beat returns to what it was at the beginning, picking up again for the second turn of the chorus. Quite...Jiro. 12. DENKI IRUKA KINYOUNA SHIKOU Oh my. Again. "Sunday, We got to drive to the beach // Dived into the sea, all day // The rain cloud spread finally to the sky!! // The sky began to cry, too bad... // I'm singing in the rain It's my way // So funny, happy fine days!!" This song makes me laugh every time. Other than that...really no comment. It sounds more like a kid's song than anything else, especially with the female? falsetto? child? vocal that comes in and joins Teru on the bridge. As a side note, Hisashi wrote this song. 13. STAY TUNED Out of all the singles that were put onto this album, I like Stay Tuned the best. The radio introduction at the beginning just hooked me and the beat is typical of Glay, yet not. This is another of the songs on this album that have "One Love" written all over it, and as the title states, it's a promise to fans that there are great things yet to come. Which I firmly believe. You've probably heard this song before, so I won't bore you with my comments. If you haven't...get it. 14. KIMI GA MITSUMETA UMI The song opens with distorted guitar and then turns into a chorus of voices humming over it. Teru does some straining of his voice here on the verses, and the chorus is catchy, as usual. Other than that, there's nothing too unique about this song, though I really like the distorted guitar. 15. MUYUUBYOU This song has the meter and feel of 50's type swing/big band jazz, which is rather odd, but after you get used to it, it's refreshing. It's a style that Glay hasn't used before, and this is a great album for that kind of experimentation. The female background vocal that appears in the chorus and in other different spots throughout is a very strange addition to the song, but I suppose you get used to it too. In all, not bad. 16. CHRISTMAS RING This, I suppose, is Glay's Christmas present to fans. Teru's voice strains horribly on the high notes, and there's not too much about this song that's memorable, except for the "Christmassy" lyrics. Towards the end, there are a whole bunch of special effects added in to (I think) mimic the sound of the wind blowing, which makes the ending rather "lonely." I'm not quite sure what they're trying to achieve, but in any case, the effect is scattered with the entrance of... 17. GLOBAL COMMUNICATION I love this song. As the title "one love" actually comes from the chorus and is probably where it all started, I have a special attachment to it. Even if you can't understand Japanese, the music itself shows you what they mean in this song about reaching out and touching all people. 18. ONE LOVE ~ALL STANDARD IS YOU~ A reprise of the first track done by Hisashi, all instrumental. This track begins with basically the same sound as the first, but quickly proves to be quite different as the piano comes in softly, melting into the drums. Very haunting. The female voiceover may jar some people, but I find it actually very appropriate for an ending to this album, tying everything together. So that's Glay's new album. How do I rate it? I believe it's Glay's best album to date. Don't get me wrong, I love Hai to Daiyamondo, but I also believe that Glay needs a new sound in a new century, and One Love has exceeded my expectations. With this album, Glay branches into unexplored territory, showing they're not afraid to let go of what they've been doing for the past ten years. Yes, some of the songs aren't the greatest. Yes, sometimes their "experimentation" doesn't work. And yes, I do miss, overall, the Glay sound on every song that's become so much a part of them. But all in all, it's a gamble that I'm glad they made. If you haven't gotten One Love, I suggest you do so. If just for the message, because it's an important one. - Gerald - Jiro: "OH! It's 03:26 a.m., and Teru just broke another window!"