Thursday, September 6, 2001

FREE STYLE Aaand Gackt's now designing JEWELRY! A ring and a necklace it looks like. Check em out! - MS - at 06:02 p.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

Wednesday, September 5, 2001

REVIEW: ANOTHER WORLD [GACKT] Released 9/5/01 Gackt's newest single, "Another World" hits stores today. I was going to do a longer, more in-depth review but I can't think at the moment and I've been postponing this article since Friday. ^^ Now that it's actually OUT, I thought I'd better post SOMEthing... The title track, is very rock-ish, not particularly Gackt style. The first time I heard it, I screamed, "OH my GAWD, it's a JROCK song!!" To which Ger promptly replied, "Well, Gackt IS a jrocker!" "But he doesn't normally sing JROCK!!" ^^ I thought it sounded more like a Siam Shade song. Ger claimed it was more Luna Sea-ish. It does bear a certain resemblance to "Rosier" but it's a lot lighter in tone. Very cute but Gackt just doesn't have that high screechy voice that make most rock songs work. His tone is just too warm. Good try though and the song as a whole is pure fun. It's just taking me a while to get used to what sounds like a Siam Shade song with Gackt on vocals. ^^;;; The second track, "Fragrance," can be described in one word: seductive. Or like a cheap perfume commercial. XD It's rather mysterious and soothing. Gackt's sultry voice fits it very well and the harmony is mesmerizing at times. The only bad thing about it... is... it DOES sound like something from a bad perfume commercial. ^^ Smoke, candles, silk sheets, you get the picture. It's a good song though and definately Gackt. ^_^;;; All in all, recommended for Gackt fans and jrock listeners in general, just don't expect anything experimental or anything even hinting at a "visual kei" sound. It's definately more on the commercial end compared to the entire Rebirth album or even Mizerable. Fans of his last single, "Kimi no tame ni dekiru koto" will enjoy it for sure. - MS - at 10:35 a.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

Wednesday, August 29, 2001

THEY MIGHT BE DRUMMERS Just got my paws on the "Foreign Sand" single by Roger Taylor and Yoshiki. It's amazing. Not surprising though considering the two involved. This is a collaboration between Roger Taylor, former drummer of the legendary British band- Queen, and X Japan's Yoshiki to produce two great tracks featuring Roger on vocals and Yoshiki's unique arrangements. "Foreign Sand" begins in typical X Japan ballad style, the melody and composition bearing more than a close resemblance to "Tears." There are several variations, but the guitars, the violins, and most definately the piano scores are all trademark Yoshiki. Taylor's voice is on the high side, like Toshi's, but has a softer, much warmer tone. Combined with the powerful lyrics, this song becomes another brilliant epic ballad, a must for Yoshiki fans and music lovers all. Just get it. Listen to it. Close your eyes. And feel alive. The second track, "Final Destination," begins rather softly, then builds up to an uplifting crescendo. It's a bit faster, a bit harder, but still weaves together a variety of musical ideas. There are a lot of instrumental bits interspersed between the lyrics; some are good, some take away from the mood; but all generally build to the soaring refrain. It's reminiscent of those old 80's rock songs- you'll just have to try it and see. All in all, this single is definately recommended. "Foreign Sand" is on Roger Taylor's album, Happiness but I haven't heard any of his other music so I can't say anything about it. These two pieces with Yoshiki though, are definately worth getting. ^_^ - MS - at 10:07 p.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

CORRECTION

Quick correction on Moonsong's "My Winamp Is Possessed" rant: Gackt's "Kimi no Tameni Dekiru Koto" actually translates to "The Things I Can Do For You." Thanks to Kameko Tsukitaka for pointing it out! ^_^ I would have posted this sooner but Ger archived and I... kinda forgot about it. ^^;; - MS - at 09:29 p.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

Friday, August 24, 2001

MOONSONG'S JROCK REPORT NEW RELEASES: 09/05 - "Another World" by Gackt [single c/w "Fragrance"] 09/12 - "FILTH" by Dir en Grey [single] 09/19 - "Hitohira no Jiyu" by Glay [single] 09/27 - Untitled by Siam Shade [single] 10/17 - "evergreen" by Hyde (solo debut) [single] RANDOM TIDBITS: Gackt "Secret Garden" B-side, "Nine Spiral" was used in a commercial in Japan. Malice Mizer Klaha, Mana, Kozi, & Yu~ki will be starring and composing the soundtrack for Bara no Konrei, a film scheduled to debut this October in select Japanese theaters. In September, a photobook based on the film called "Letters from Vampire -Chapter 1-" will be released as well. A promotional video, "Bara no Densho," is already available on pre-order at CD Japan. (Info from the Gackt and Malicious mailing lists.) New Sodmy Kamijo, Mayu, Aya, and You are planning to release their first single in late September. Two more are expected to follow. They recently did a live event under the name "WEREWOLF." (Info from Gomorrah.) (All release dates & other info were obtained from CD Japan unless otherwise stated.) - MS - at 06:54 p.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

Sunday, August 12, 2001

THE END OF THE RAINBOW? All great things come to an end, certainly, but when it comes to jrock, I know it's not just me that hopes they never will. Unfortunately, bands do break up and life does go on. What band am I talking about now? If you haven't heard, maybe you ought to check out some of the L'Arc~en~Ciel fansites out there. Yes, L'Arc~en~Ciel. No, the band has not broken up yet. Yes, they just released a new single, the ending theme for the Final Fantasy movie. Then what I am dooming and glooming about? Maybe you have or haven't heard of Tetsu69. Tetsu, as in Laruku bass player Tetsu. As in the L'Arc~en~Ciel band leader. Tetsu recently released his first solo album, a single album consisting of two songs, Wonderful World and Tightrope.. I'll review the album further down, but I think it more important here to concentrate on the news of Yukihiro attempting to go solo. His first solo song is being released on a video game OST coming soon. As if this wasn't enough, now Hyde is going solo. He has his own website and first couple songs are in the works. So what? Big deal, right? A couple of good artists have decided to expand their horizons and explore a little. Hmm...what happened to Luna Sea? Ryuichi went solo...and then Luna Sea disbanded. The same thing happened with X Japan. Going solo, I believe, is an indication of a band member's decision to not concentrate on the group as much, but instead to strike out on his own. Not frustration with the band, but maybe a need to prove that he can be just as good without the group. That his success doesn't have to be dependent on a group of three or four other people. And it might also be a sense that he doesn't want to be hemmed in by having to have all his ideas approved by the band. In solo work, your ideas are your own. You don't have to share them. Unfortunately, when that same group isn't being supported fully by all members, things go wrong. As in, bands split and go their seperate ways. Call it "musical differences," or "change in vision," or what you will, it happens. Tetsu, Yukihiro, and Hyde. Three out of the four Laruku members. What about Ken? I haven't heard anything about Ken, but with the other band members striking out on their own, he'll likely have at least something to say about it, if not starting a solo career for himself. Laruku was a good band...a great band...but their last few releases haven't been as spectacular as their earlier successes. L'Arc~en~Ciel is at a point where they have to try something fresh or lose the band, and maybe this solo work is the band members' ideas of something new and exciting. The thing is...will it cost Laruku the band? Back to Tetsu's single. Wonderful World is a poppish song that's very Tetsu-style (Tetsu does write most of the songs for L'Arc), while Tightrope is heavier rock. As the backup vocal for Laruku, Tetsu has been singing for quite a while, and he doesn't have a bad voice. Apparently, he has also decided to try his hand at playing guitar, and while it's obvious he's not entirely comfortable with the instrument, he's not bad, either. The strange thing about this album is that, if you listen to Tetsu sing, he sounds like...Hyde. And the songs could be...Laruku songs. And I don't know how Yukihiro's and Hyde's solo songs are, but I'm willing to bet anything that they will be very much like Laruku songs. Going solo is all good and well, but at some point the band is going to have to make a decision to be Laruku together or apart. And if L'Arc~en~Ciel does split up in the near future, it's going to take more than prior fame to bring these musicians back into the spotlight. Gackt did it right. His first single, Mizerable, has a lot of the MM influence, but it's very obvious that he had already begun to discover his own style and break away from Malice Mizer. Hide was another artist that knew how to gain back a following. Instead of trying to be a one-person X Japan, he combined his X Japan past with a new songwriting style and image. My point is, Laruku is a band, not four people. Once the band starts to split, it will take more than mutual agreement for it to come back together. The most likely path I see for Laruku is that they will disband. If not this year, then next year. I am the last person in the world to hope that this prediction comes true, but if they do disband, I am hoping that they will take the Laruku legacy and continue to make good music...as individual people. There's no use hanging onto something that's gone (as witnessed by the flounderings of the former Luna Sea members, or even Kamijo with his new band). Enough blabbering from me. Just some news on the Laruku front. - Ger - at 04:02 a.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E

Wednesday, August 8, 2001

OOPS ^^;;;;;;;;; Err...long story, but the gist of it is that I confused my personal blog with this one while editing and archiving and ended up archiving and deleting the wrong stuff. SO If you wanna read past entries, go to the archives at the bottom of the page. ^^;;; Gomen nasai! *runs away* - Ger - at 11:16 a.m., Kamijo still can't hit high E