Sweet Honey

Hey guys, it’s Miki. I’ve just deleted all of the old posts that don’t currently conform with what we’re changing this site into. Anyway, you can look forward to some new content starting next week!!

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so…I’m sorry for the long absence on my part….the intrawebs have not been agreeing with me…>_<

however…I have a few updates for you!

First off the “The Rose Trims Again” DVD comes out tomorrow…I’ll give a review after I get it.

I’m excited for it!

The next big news is my trip! I’m leaving for Tokyo, Japan on the 18th of may and will return the 7th of June.

 I have 6 concerts lined up so far, they are;

5/22
平成維新  / Ap(r)il / 愛狂います。 / ALiBi / A＆D / キャンゼル/

5/24

5/25
ルーシー / Like absolute myself/ SwallowtaiL-スワロウテイル-/ ネガ/ Since1889/

5/27
DOGinTheパラレルワールドオーケストラ/ CELLT/ HERO/

5/28

sarino, Filter Fish, コタニキンヤ (kotani kinya)-> OLD /

5/30

エルム /メルバ/ R. / ハドラー親衛騎団/ WONDER☆LAND/ ORTH†ёЯGE(盛岡)/

6/3

there may be changes to that line up.

kk that’s all for now!!

<3

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OMG…I know…finally right?

Okay…let’s get started shall we?

First off, here are the english translated lyrics as found in the lyric book. There will be underlining and note indicators but read through the song fully before you go to the notes. Also, keep in mind that this is my interpretation, I could be wrong. Feel free to input your opinion in the comments.

TOGURO (Coil)

“Killthe tounge”¹

“The Silence of the White“¹

“It bloats as words”¹

“Eagerness crawls near”¹

 

The crumbling temptation has a smiling face²

The blurred night bursts²

“Cover scars with scars”²

“Darkness, Doubt and Human Nature”²

“Crave each other like crazy”²

 

Shooting of the people that can adapt ◊

 

She picks the petals of the butterfly smilingly≡

Superiority≡

Scatter peacefully≡

Be broken so mount♣

Shut your eyes and yourself from reality³

The loser human drifts forever³*

It won’t be heard³

 

Shooting of the people that can adapt ◊

 

The demand and the gathering for the camouflage, the destruction of order in the lines ◊

Reality, entertainment, andthe nothingness opens up the wound³ 

You trace the answers with your finger♣

 

Dancing Slowly Forever Sick ³

¹: The underlined words in the first three  lines indicate death. I included the fourth line because if the first three lines do indicate death then the fourth line could indicate maggots anddecay. In addition, all of these lines have something to do with words or speech. I take this verse to mean either the death of language, or more likely, of the freedom of speech.

²: This whole 2nd verse points toward sex. It’s darker lines suggest S&M. The coupling of the 3rd and 4th lines is quite poignant. It suggests that darkness and insecurity are intrinsically a part of us as human beings and that those sides of us cause an inhibited need for sexual contact. In addition, the use of the word “Crave” (at least to me) suggests an animilistic urgency. It may, however, have less to do with sex and more to do with a generalized downward slope of morality.

≡: These lines are the few that overtly contradict themselves. The three lines suggest the torture of something smaller than yourself. The word “petals” is obviously meant to be wings. However, the fact that “she” is smiling during the act of wounding an exceptionally beautiful creature suggests either severe sadism, or, more likely as the word “Superiority” suggests, a need to display superiority. The addition of the third line suggest a calmness surrounding the violent act that has just occurred, which is quite contradictory.

³ : These  lines, when looked at together suggest that one of the dark sides of culture today is the intentional separationof ourselves from reality. It suggests that, although we do this to numb ourselves from the pains that reality will inevitably cause, in the long run we are hurt by it. It causes a sickness within us, as well as an inability to connect with other human beings. Leaving us essentially alone and unheard, drifting in our own world.

◊: Theses lines, contrary to the rest of the song clearly include an uprising within society.  They elude to the upheavalof what is considered the norm, or what is culturally acceptable. When considered with the rest of the messages contained within this song, these lines could portray the overthrowingof a centralized government. In this context, the girl with the butterfly would be a power hungry government who mistreats its people.

♣: I’m honestly not sure how these lines tie in withthe song. All I could imagine the first one to mean is an attempt at overcoming. You are broken but you should still try to overcome this? The second line is difficult because the question that is to be answered is not clear.  I don’t know, Suggestions would be appreciated!

*: The original Japanese text says something about saying good bye,  so the english translation may not reflect the orginal japanese text accurately, however, as my Kanji skills are limited, I cannot do any better, therefore, we must live with it. Y_Y

In summary, the song (possibly…@_@) begins with the death of free speech, one of our most basic rights. This coupled with a decline in morality and  power hungry governments cause people to retreat into their own minds. Although this causes temporary relief, in the long run, it damns us to solitude. And in the end this condition becomes a disease that we blind ourselves to. The title ties in too in that the word “coil” is synonymous with the word spiral and this songs seems to depict a downward spiral of sorts.

As a side note, I’m looking at this song from a worldly point of view, however, it can be directly applied to Japanese culture. Between overall discontent with their government to their reliance on portable forms of entertainment, this song paint a fairly accurate picture of the more negative side of modern Japanese culture.

The End

Comments/CONSTRUCTIVE input is encouraged!

<3

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This is something that I’ve been thinking doing for a while now, and should be a continuing series (for a while at least). I will jump around a bit in these little posts and I may confuse you. And please, please keep in mind this is opinion — Don’t be offended.

____________________  

It frequently comes to my notice that by limiting myself to that which I can afford to buy, I miss out on some really great music. Of the many albums that many many jrock/visual kei reviewers mentioned as ‘amazing’ or ‘album of the year’ for last year, I have heard one: Dir en grey’s latest.

Partly, this is definitely due to choice. I only buy that which I like. And since the break-up of TINC, and Phantasmagoria; I have to admit that I have my bases covered. I simply do not have the never-ending amounts of money to listen to EVERTHING that is released. Besides, I often don’t like the part of visual kei scene that many of the reviewers like an awful lot, the part that floats happily into American rock and will one day be completely indistinguishable (MUCC is a good example of this IMO). 

It is also due to my moral objections to downloading. If I didn’t think it was so wrong; I would probably download. But, being a person who intends to work in the music industry (after college), I’ve spent a lot of time researching and thinking about downloading, and its effects. Like that it could effect my job or ability to get a job; or that it is artistic theft. Even as a audio engineer, I will (to a small degree) put my artistic flair onto a musical work. Which led to the realization that:

One day, downloaders will be stealing music that I’ve personally helped to create.

BUT, poor college student ranting aside, I rather like having my own niche taste. I know the quality of music that I listen to, and although I deeply lament the lost chances of Kagrra, (who rock) and D (who are equally awesome) to come into my CD collection; I can also reveal in the fact I am unique in the visual kei fanbase: I buy everything I listen to. I’m going to be contrary here and remind you that many of us buy everything we listen to. This is not meant to be a rant on downloading, or even a remark about the poor economy (which sucks), but just a comment on, well, I guess ourselves.

You see, much of what I like, you like. BUT (that little word just keeps coming back), much of  it all is simply ignored. Like Ayabie’s outstanding single Meltaway released last spring. Maybe it has something to do with Ayabie making softer rock, or that they once (and always?) flirted with the Oshare end of the scene. And it’s not that we don’t all listen to it, but as I was told at an Ayabie concert this past summer by a self-described ‘hard-core jrock fan ‘ “Ayabie is our happy fan music okay?”.

My general response is “well Ayabie rocks my musical world okay?” I don’t get this hard-core thing. Why must music be ‘hard-core’ in order to be good? AND what defines hard core? For example, I think Ayabie is ‘hard-core cute’, and ‘hard-core melodic’, but that seems to defeat the meaning of the phrase.  This really is the meat of what I’m talking about. This idea that music must be ‘hard-core’ to be good. We shouldn’t stand for this. As fans, we are limiting ourselves by buying into this idea that in visual kei, only hard rock, metal, or some combination of the two are the ‘good’ music. 

Afterall, visual kei is full of wide and varied music. It stands to reason that there is good music everywhere we turn. The question is then: Why doesn’t the album of the year listings reflect this?

Miki

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Matataki… / Aioria

Lyrics by Sarino Music by Misa

Please note this is the album version, not the demo tape version.

utsurona kage wo utsushidasu tsumetaku somari ochite yuku

nagare tsuzukeru toki ni ikitsuku basho wa aru no kato

haruka tooku ni chiri bamerareta negai wa shidai ni atsumari

yami wo kirisaki subete wo terashi dasu kitari hanatsu

fusaida hitomi wo fusagi shimitsuku kioku oite
kieta shizukesa no naka de kurubeki unmei no toki wo

suikomarete yuku     negareru sama ni madarana iro no kurayami ni

tokedasu shite yuku     tori nokosareta hakanai omoi ga

yurameku     jidai no naka de toori sugi yuku kono toki ni

furue kogoeru KIMI wo mitsuketa mamori yuku beki kagayaki wo

kirameku     kono shunkan wa subete wo kirei ni kagayakasu

“KIMI to BOKU to ga deaeta koto no kiseki wo mune ni habata kou”

Transliterated by Miki (01/07/2009)

Note: The usual rules apply. Credit me and link back to Sweet Honey if you post this elsewhere. If my romaji is abused (i.e. posted without a credit and link back), I will discontinue posting it.

Thank you, Miki

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So…I went to the Dir show in Sauget illinois as well as the one in chicago..and since Miki already has the Chicago one covered…her’s my say on the Sauget show.

It was Ballin’!!! The venue was really small and in a bad part of town so only like 200-250 people showed up. I got to be front row again. This time, I was in front of Kyo. Closer to Kaoru and Toshiya than Die. Because I wanted this show to be etched into my memory, I stood still alot…This made Kyo, Kaoru, and Toshiya stare at me alot. It was neat!

All of them were REALLY into the show. The two that came out afterwards were Shinya and Toshiya. I epic high-fived Toshiya and shook hands with shinya. I went through the line twice. One time was for me and once was for Amber (my totally omg bff!!! lolololol) and toshiya looked at me in way that may have gotten me preggers…that sly dog! LOL It was fun times…I’ll post more of a review when I have time. Set List later too….sry…I’m busy right now…but be prepared ’cause my Song reviews are gonna be epic in content…I’m even doing lyric analysies…so yeah.

bai bai for now.+

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I’m not 100% on this setlist – I will be talking it over with my collages. ^^

Set List
1. Sa Bir
2. Obscure
3. Grief
4. Agitated Screams of Maggots
5. Spilled Milk

6. Disabled Complexes
7. Agitated Screams of maggots -unplugged-

8. 蜷局

9. Conceived Sorrow
10. 艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み
11. 凌辱の雨
12. GLASS SKIN
13. Hydra -666-
14. DOZING GREEN 

15. Repetition of Hatred
16. Merciless Cult
17. The Final

ENCORE:
1. Kodou
2. 凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃
3. Cleaver Sleazoid
4. Saku
5. The IIID empire

I have a feeling that they did Saku and then Cleaver Sleazoid, but I’m not sure. AND I think I’m missing a song from Marrow somewhere. I’ve seen a couple of other setlists running around with Spilled Milk and The Fatal Believer on them — I don’t recall either of these songs being performed.

[EDITTED]: I’ve moved RoH down towards the bottom, and put Spilled Milk in.

Full report later.

Miki

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Yet another Phantasmagoria best-of release. How many are we up to now? Seriously. Anyway, I bought it. I don’t have any of the other ones & well *shrugs*.

Dejavu ~ Stanctuary of Revival ~

08/20/2008 (but CD Japan got it in November) / 6300 yen / UCCD-193

走馬灯∼PAST SKY~:Originally only available on Kisaki Chronicle, Soumatou ~PAST SKY~ is a soft, pretty song whose lyrics have a gentle message about moving on. The melody suits Riku’s voice to a ti or should I say do? (>< Sorry solfege joke, couldn’t be helped). This one is :D

Unknown zero distance: This one is from under the veil, released at the end of 2006. Unknown zero distance is a fun song to listen to, but it is most definitely not one of their best songs.

神創曲 -Variant Jihad-:  One of Phantasmagoria’s singles, Kousoukyou-Variant Jihad- is a fan favorite. It features all of the hallmarks of a good Phantasmagoria song: harpsichord, Riku singing and screaming, interesting duel guitar lines, and a wild melody dropped into an arrangement that is constantly changing.

fairy times memory – another tale -: This acoustic arrangement of fairy times memory is a bit of a retreatment of the song. A pretty, but sad song about lost love, fairy times memory might be one of their best songs, and this arrangement is simply gorgeous.

狂想曲 – Cruel Crucible- : This is another single from Phantasmagoria in a series of three (kousoukyou, kyousoukyoku, and gensoukyoku). Kyousoukyoku is a faster paced song and the lyrics speak of the destructive nature of love. Like it’s sibling Kousoukyoku, the arrangement of the music is quite wild and jumps smoothly from music style to music style.

．．．Lost in thought: Lost in thought opens with classic Phantasmagoria keyboarding (an instrument that the band really makes excellent use of to help cement their sound). The song is driving and spellbinding. The arrangement of the music really backs up the feeling in the lyrics and Riku’s vocals.

幻想曲 -Eternal Silence-: Gensoukyoku is one of the best songs, and a fan favorite. Its a slower, softer song with amazing music and a melody that beautifully fits Riku’s voice. AND, it has a triplet in the melody (how awesome is that?). The lyrics are touching, and the sense of yearning in them them flows right into the music.

Material Pain:  Phantasmagoria’s first song, it will always be the song. Material Pain forms the foundation of their sound. It has every main feature of Phantasmagoria’s music in it; the keyboarding, the heavily gothic feel, desperation, ever-changing arrangement, shifting vocals, and all of those other goodies. Moreover, the lyrics showcase ideas that would become themes for Phantasmagoria.

未完成とギルト:  Mikansei to guilt is another early song that cements Phantasmagoria’s sound. Its also a fan favorite.  It is a must listen.

NEVER REBELLION: Probably well-known for the furi, NEVER REBELLION is an early song where Phantasmagoria’s love of keyboarding really came into focus. The song is a specticual of sound – speeding through different music elements the way one might drink water. But it always returns to the basis of the arrangement.

光に降る雨: Hikari ni furu ame is a slower song with a driving guitar line. The lyrics are simply gorgeous and Riku’s performance outstanding. There is a great deal of gentliness in this song and the treatment of it.

Pixy false: Pixy false is a song that the band kept coming back to. First released on their second single, Moonlight Revival, Pixy false has that extra something in it, its a fantastic song. It has been re-arranged, re-recorded, and re-released repeatedly. Dajavu features the re-arrangment of Pixy false.

NEO ARK: As we head to the end of the album, we get to the meat (?) of it all. NEO ARK is one of those songs that might not be as good as a recording as it is live. NEO ARK features the theme of God that threads through many of Phantasmagoria’s songs; in fact it is one of the first songs of theirs to have this theme. NEO ARK was not released on a Phantasmagoria release until it started to appear on the end of career best-ofs.

神歌: Kami uta is important. There is a reason it is at the end of Dejavu. The version of kami uta on Dejavu is the re-recording that was put out in Japan in July of 2007. It is one of their heaviest songs, in fact for Phantasmagoria it is unaplogetically heavy.

The DVD in Short:

Hide Summit footage: barely worth it. It’s interesting, but that is about it.

Soumatou ~PAST SKY~ P.V. : Clip montage.

Special CM: not worth it.  

Photobook: Has the final(?) photoshoot in it, features their final costumes.

The end.

Miki

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I.E. I feel like spamming the blog today!

Jun, Kisaki, and Iori — from Jun’s birthday live.

Jun’s Brithday — Why is Gizmo there?

I have no words for this (E’m – grief on Halloween).

Bonus:

Rametan skateboarding!!

(taken from rame’s blog).

Miki

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Is Toguro
蜷局
(track 5)
I’ve decided to take this review thing one song at a time ’cause the album is that epic.
However, I’m not quite sure in what order to review the songs because (even though it may be the easiest way to do it) I don’t really want to do it in sequential order. This only causes a problem because doing it out of order will make it harder to understand the flow of the album. To remedy this, I have decided to post an overall review first, which will NOT be all-inclusive but will serve to help me to explain the flow of the album. After which I will post reviews for the individual songs…starting with Toguro because I like it the best. I’m turning this into a bigger project than it has to be but I’m doing it mostly for myself (sry gaise) as it will help me to better understand and appriciate the album.
SO…off we go? (@_<)

Sa Bir:

Groaning intro song. It is obviously remeniscent of Macabre’s ‘Diety’ with the exception of pronounced vocals. Kyo makes some screaming and groaning/chocking noises through most of it. The string instrument in the song plays oriental music. Perhaps chinese? I’m not one-hundred percent on this yet though.

Vinushka:

Very long song running at 9:37. Almost as long as Macabre – Sanagi No Yume Wa Ageha No Hane. This is their second longest song to date. Much like Macabre, it uses alot of drum solos and groaning guitar riffs (groaning is the best way I can describe it). Kyo’s voice really gets to me in this song. It is heartbreaking at points, very quiet and beautiful. It starts out slow then after a while it picks up then slows back down. Most of the song is in flux. All in all it’s a very impressive, progressive rock type song. Most of the influence here sounds indian. Also, Kyo says ‘Vinshuka’ not ‘vinushka’…fail?

Red Soil:

This song was initially my favorite. The beggining guitar riff and vocala really got me into it. The cultural infuence behing this song is hard for me to to pin, but if I had to choose, I would say most likley india…..perhaps. Kyo’s vocals and shinya’s drumming REALLY make this song for me. The only bit that was a bit off-putting was a bit where kyo is making jibberish noises. It takes you out of the song a little.

Dokoku to Sarinu
慟哭と去りぬ:

This song starts out intense with a heavy drum and base. The bass actually really stands out in this song. The vocals are great but not the best part of the song. Alot of it is fast-paced and intense. The bridge is very good and the layering of the guitar was executed perfectly. It’s a very well-made song. It effectivley blends the angsty and rage-filled sides of dir.

Toguro
蜷局:

As I said before this is my personal favorite. It starts with a guitar riff (I believe it’s Die actually…will check to make sure though) before Kyo starts singing. This song defenitely has Indian influence. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of traditional Indian songs. It gives him room to show off hiss full range of notes. Toshiya does well in this song as well, as well as Shinya. They both help bring out that dark rich texture to this song like they did with Macabre. In addition, Kaoru and Die both shine in this song. Kaoru even gets to whip out his citar! That’s actually probably why I love this song so much, it really displays all of the band members’ strengths. It ends quietly though.

Glass Skin:

Full review (albeit a bit flawed by a crappy computer) can be found here
the only thing is that the album version is in english…very…incoherent english…(>_<)

Stuck Man:

I believe this was a live only track origionally. The album version is very cool. It makes you want to dance a little. The only upbeat-ish song on the album, it helps break the monotony of the album. It’s very different form the Macabre theme as well. It really reminds me of Vulgar. Kyo uses his death metal growl alot in this song. The base is amazing. The drums are jazzy. This song belongs to shinya and toshiya. It ends with much screaming.

Reiketsu Nariseba
冷血なりせば:

Another screaming start to a song. This one sounds a little russian or something. It makes me thing of the poverty stricken Jews in russia (Think ‘Fiddler on the Roof’) but it mixes that kind of music with straight out metal. After about 1min 30 sec the song turns slow and instrumental then kyo comes in with that traditionally oriental singing. The song goes back to being hardcore and ends that way.

Ware, Yami to te . . .
我、闇とて･･･:

This song starts slow and somewhat abruptly. The guitar sounds acoustic and kyo’s voice is soft for quite a bit of it. The drimming in this song reminds me of Macabre and the bass is a bit sporadic, but in a good way. This song is one of the ballads. Kyo’s vocals are remeniscent of glass skin. The guitar riffs are lite and remind me a bit of Mushi. It is a very good song. It evokes emotions easily with it’s desparing tones.

Bugaboo:

This song starts ominously. Kind of scary, but when you thinks it’s going to get loud, it doesn’t. Kyo’s voice is silet in the intro. The song finally picks up about 40 seconds in but not nearly as violently as you excpect it to. The song goes back to being beautiful with kyo’s despairing screams. Kyo’s voice is not at the forefront of this song for the whole of it. Alot of the focus in this song is directed toward the guitar. The guitar in this song has that twangy oriental sound to it some of the time. I think that Kaoru and Die probably had fun with this one. Also, there is alot of the deathmetal groan in this song. the song ends like it began.

Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
凱歌、沈黙が眠る頃:

Review can be found on this page.

Dozing Green:

I’m gonna keep this short ’cause if you’re a fan, you’ve heard this alot. But this song is great. Strong guitar, strong bass, strong drums, and strong vocals. The guitar in this song holds true to the rest of the album and it is (like Glass Skin) entirely in english. It’s a bit more understandable than Glass Skin though.

Inconvenient Ideal:

This is the ballad of the Album. And, like all of Dir’s ballads, it’s amazing. However, it is not passive as some of there others have been. That is to say it has its intense moments. Every part of it has you shivering. It is a beautifully sad song. Sometimes kyo sounds like a siren in this song. Kaoru and Die’s guitars sing with each other and Shinya and Toshiya bring depth to it. The ending is a fade into silence, the perfect ending for an album like this.

Okay…that’s all for now. Sorry if the spacing is a little whacky…but i’m too sleepy to fix it right now and I have to work tomorrow so Imma go to bed.
Also, if someone has a problem with my reviews, chill, nothing you say matters to me so what I say shouldn’t upset you either. That’s really just a blanket statement for the intrawebs in general.So yeah. night night…I leave you with random Miyavi!

Pictures were obtained from his blog archives which can be accessed through www.o-re-sa-ma.com.

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