28 February 2009

When I'm sad, a new hat usually cheers me up.

La la la laaaa, just singing to MARCH by STRAIGHTENER (I typed "La la la laaaa" because I don't want to spell out the actual words I'm suppose to be saying). I love this song, so emotional, I'm in harmony whenever this song is playing. Any who... Decided to add another entry (because I'm obligated to and...) because well a friend asked if I was actually blogging when I showed her my blog. Might as well right? Right, let's get rolling.

So reading week had ended and what was accomplished? Let's see...there's nothing to see because that is exactly what I had accomplished, nothing. Well nothing academically that is :p But socially (for a lack of a better word) I've been out and about. Went two concerts, first was on the 14th (yes Valentines and unfortunately no date, as expected) and the 21st.



The first concert was actually 5 bands playing with Cute Is What We Aim For headlining. Great show indeed and got to hear some new music from bands I've never heard of. Meg & Dia anyone? Dia by the way is my future wife, so yeah back off. They were the last band to perform before CIWWAF and man, I just instantly fell in love with their music. FEMALE MUSICIANS RULE!



The second concert was *drum rolls* LIGHTS! Oh my gawd, great show! From the opening band to the final act, I LOVED IT! LIGHTS shes such an angel, *sighs and takes a few moment to space out and stare in to the ceiling*. Sweet Things? Great band, kinda sound like Maroon 5, but a lot better! And I mean A LOT. The drummer was probably the best part of the band.



But back to LIGHTS. MAN I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! She played some new songs which were pretty bomb, cannot wait until her next release! She came back for an encore and I believed she did a cover and performed February Air in acoustic. Such talent, once again FEMALE MUSICIANS FOR THE WIN!



I've also ate a lot during that break as well, a lot of eggs in particular... just look.



This was after the LIGHTS show, me and my buddy went to a Japanese joint and I had Nabeyaki Udon. It was pretty good, just look at the piece of egg! The sushi on the other hand could have used some more work.



This? This was BEFORE the LIGHTS show haha. We stopped by Golden Griddle. We took forever to decide, so I just went with the breakfast stuff, because breakfast dishes rules. Quite the feast I had that day.



Now this was after the CIWWAF show and I must say, I NEVER KNEW STEAK WAS SERVED FOR BREAKFAST! Who ever thought of that was a genius! Muah* This was my friends sincere way of paying me back for allowing her to go to such a concert (I had an extra ticket so yeah).

Hey, at least I'm doing something with my life. Going out, band rehearsals! Speaking of which anybody interested in being a vocalist for my band? I wanna get this thing popping, I wanna play gigs so bad! I'm just waiting to explode on stage.



At Rehearsal Factory, that's my guitarist and drummer.

I might also be in a second band, though that I will fill you guys in on another time. That's if things go well.

Man I'm beat, I'm gonna head off.

Peace.

P.S. I got a new hat, yay!


11 February 2009

And she said na na na...MySpace?

As I sit next to the window on the 7th floor of my school's library, I'm listening to Blink 182 songs that belongs to an iTunes library of someone within the vicinity. I never knew iTunes was capable of allowing users to access the libraries of other users connected to the same network! Awesome, it has been too long since I've jammed to Blink 182, man these dudes rock. Have you guys heard they were getting back together? FUCKEN YEAH! But let's face it our bad boys are getting old and I'm not sure if they'll still have the same spark as they did years ago.

LET'S GO, DON'T WAIT! THIS NIGHT'S ALMOST OVER!

I'm so bored people, seriously, I got 4 more hours until rehearsal. WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO UNTIL THEN? HMM?! HMMMM?!?!?!??!?!?! The net is major slow, too many traffic with all the connecting users and what not.

So I had another quiz today, this one was much easier than the first one (which I failed by one mark X.X). I also pre-ordered STRAIGHTENER'S new album (Nexus) and their DVD (Emotion Picture Soundtrack 2) hopefully I'll get them within a week or two, unlike last time...

Two purposes for today's entry; MySpace and my Top 10 Songs of the Moment. Yes MySpace, I found out that my e-mail was registered to MySpace already (last year I signed up but never went on) so I figured "Oh why not?" and logged in and started fooling around adding people (bands and musicians I admire =P) as friends.

Here's the link: http://www.myspace.com/earsplugged ADD ME!!!

And now on to more serious business, TOP TEN WUDDUP?!
  1. Sealion - Feist
  2. Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk
  3. Back In Your Head - Tegan and Sara
  4. Marble - THE NOVEMBERS
  5. MARCH - STRAIGHTENER
  6. Ghost Dance - LITE
  7. Pill - BOOM BOOM SATELLITES
  8. Lightning - STRAIGHTENER
  9. Ghost of a Beautiful View - ART-SCHOOL
  10. バースデイ - THE NOVEMBERS
Not in specific order by the way, I thought I'd add the number listing to make it look neat and professional (=

That is all for now, kudos!

10 February 2009

Top 5 Dead or Alive...sounds familiar?

It has indeed been awhile since I've last entered a post to my dearly beloved prestigious blog. I've been meaning to make a post in regards to my top (fill in the blank). For this post I'll ramble on about my Top 5 Bands. Not really sure if it is going to be in specific order though...

1. ストレイテナー (STRAIGHTENER)



Never have I heard a band so capable of mixing and meshing melodic sounds with hard hitting fast tempo rock. These guys can pull off all styles, these dudes totally broadened my perspective on music. With so much emotions bearing beneath the vocals, you can literally feel their passion emitting from their instruments. If there is one thing that these boys don't lack, it's heart. One of the greatest live bands in my opinion. Besides Hinata is in the band, what more can I say? :p

Recommended songs:
- Killer Tune [Natural Born Killer Mix]
- MARCH

2. ART-SCHOOL




I'm not sure whether it was Black Sunshine or Under My Skin that I heard first (while browsing on Youtube), but whatever it was I was so captivated by their sound. Riki sure knows how to compose music and especially write them catchy hooks! I just love ART-SCHOOL's music from Fiona Apple Girl to their latest Illmatic Baby, this band has that sound that everybody could love. Like a true indie band ART-SCHOOL has yet to reach the popularity that this band deserves! Whatever 'it' is, ART-SCHOOL has it. Also another great live band!

Recommended songs:
- Black Sunshine
- Lolita Kills Me

3. ZAZEN BOYS



In the beginning (like most bands I listen to) I had trouble getting into these boys. But after giving them countless tries, I've grown to love this band. Their unorthodox deliver to music is quite different if not very unique. Capable mixing math rock with just about anything from rap to slow jams and now adding the synth with groovy rifts, this band has probably covered all sorts of genres. Though I'm not a big fan of their new stuff (just give me a few more listens :p) I love their older stuff (you know, when Hinata was still in their line-up), I just prefer the ZAZEN BOYS that utilized the guitar more often then the new sound they have now.

Recommended songs:
- 半透明少女関係
- Friday Night

4. THE NOVEMBERS



She Lab Luck, Youtube that video now! This is probably the only band where when I first heard their song I instantly fell in love. Actually second, ELLEGARDEN was the first haha. These guys are very different from the bands above, one song they're playing heart pounding music with fast tempo fused with multiple effects and guitar chords, the next they're playing low tempo ballads-ish. One minute they're dark and omnious the next it's bright and soothing. These dudes rock! Watch out for these bad boys! Cannot wait for their next release entitled Paraphilia.

Recommended songs:
- She Lab Luck
- Chernobyl


5. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION & ELLEGARDEN



I thought it was only right I grouped these two together because well, they were the first two bands that really got me into Japanese Rock. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION are, well let's face it, Japan's Rock and Roll icon. ELLEGARDEN are just up there with them, if not greater. Obviously I've heard of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION from their opening of various anime (Naruto and FullMetal Alchemist), ELLEGARDEN on the other hand was from Youtube (gotta love Youtube eh?). When I first heard ELLEGARDEN I was really amazed by their sound, especially how their vocalist can sing so well in english, he probably speaks it better than I do (seriously...). When I first started playing the bass guitar, the first songs I covered were by these bands, I gotta pay homage to these dudes.

Recommended songs:
- Kimi to iu hana (ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION)
- Stereoman (ELLEGARDEN)

Honorable Meantions:
- 9mm Parabellum Bullet
- Blink 182
- The Fall of Troy
- Ogre You Asshole
- Paramore