summer-and-the-perpetual-night - Tumblr blog

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watching the first pacifico show, the hide & seek reboot. what the fuck is going on, their actual performance is, unsurprisingly, on point but holy fuck Ryu doesn't seem very happy about it. Not that I expect him to put on an act for anyone else's sake, it just makes me kinda sad to see it.

edit: thank fuck i never thought i'd be so happy they left the mc in for once.

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Finally got a pair of Sennheisers, the 558s. They were on sale. Naturally I'm using Demo to test them out. I used to use Ammonite for this purpose, but Demo's so bright and pretty. On the surface anyway. Went ahead and did the popular foam mod. They were good before but oh my god now this album's even brighter and sweeter. More of itself, or something. It's really beautiful.

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these’ve been sitting in my drafts for like a couple years now so.

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I always assumed this song was basically a platree shitpost. Cool to hear an actual interpretation of it.

Life is Beautiful

Here I am with the first part of the themed week expected for last month, in “Lyrical Love”! Today’s subject is a song by the alternative visual kei band Plastic Tree, entitled Life is Beautiful and released as sixth track of their twelfth album Ink, come out on 12th December 2012. This song is one of their most engaging ones, because of its unique rock sound and of the theme dealt, which is more extended than that the title only, concerning deeper and crucial aspects of our existence.

THE MUSIC

Akira’s sweet and warm guitar introduces the song, with Ryutaro’s suave and simple vocals adding inside the theme, which is really nostalgical and enchanting; then the sound becomes more energetic and well driven by the rhyhtm and the piercing vocals, especially in the repeated parts, made for creating a distinctive effect. This song is a rocking, powerful and astonishing song, which leaves a particular mark after the first listening, even thanks to the several facets it features.

Lyrics (Romaji)

Hidarime niwa naite miemashita migime niwa waratte miemashita Meto meno aini shori dekinai kimochi ga imadaninanka arundesu. Hajimete Uenoeki heitta nowa mezurashiku yuki ga furu kurisumasu Shuuden wamou mukou gawa tooku ni icchi yau hikari wo miokureba taishouteki Tanoshi sugitakara shaberi sugitakara kondo wa damatte sekai no oto ni mimi wo katamuketa Kouen no oku no shoutou shitiru hakubutsukan de hakusei tachi wa towa no yume wo miteru Tatoeba konna utsukushii kyoumosouaruyounito isshun omou Matteru yuki wa tsumorisounimonai. Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days. Bokuwa kimi ga suki nafuri woshite kimi ga suki namonowo suki toshite Dakaramata dareka shirani sonna kanjou ga mebae unara zenbu sousuru Korerawo rokuon shita boku no utawo gyakukaiten shite saisei sureba Kioku wa kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru munashii jumon wo tonae dashite Kitte hatte itta kotoba zenbu chitte matte itte shimauyoudesu Tsumariwa bokura wa sekai dechiisaku meramera moeru gomi ninaruno.

Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days. Chiisaku fubukiku yami ga nande konnaniitsu made mo mada kirei Itsumo mienai okuga nanka kanashi kunaru hodoni tadakirei. Sonna kanjou nantoka dentatsu dekimasu younito tako ashi haisen de denkyuu wo Tenmetsu meimetsu jaku metsu shoumetsu hikari ni kidu ita minasama ni Arayuru kamen wo youishiteokanakya chinpu na kaijin hyaku mensou da Naiteru kao wadoudattarou? Waratteru kao hadoudattarou? Nee? Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days I, I, I, I, I, my, me, mine Ai ai ai ai ai maisugite Ai ai ai ai ai sareta idakedesu Was beautiful days, was beautiful Was beautiful days, was beautiful.

Lyrics (Translation)

My left eye could watch and cry My right eye could watch and smile And between my eyes there are still the feelings that I can’t elaborate. (I)

The first time I had gone to Ueno Station, there was an unusual white Christmas The last train already left, in contrast with the light that I could see moving away I had too much fun, I spoke too long and so now it was silent and the sound of the world is emptied in my ears I have a dream of an eternity, different from those stuffed animals in the darkened museum of the park For example I think for an instant to those days that seem so beautiful The fluttering snow seem to not have any plan. (II)

Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days. (III)

I pretend to like you, I like even what you like Therefore if those feelings bloom again in someone else, they will be whole I reverse these songs I recorded and when I play them Loading, loading, loading, my memories recite a vacant charm And all the cut-and-sewn words seem to spread, to float and to die We plan to become the little flames of the garbage which is burning in the world. (IV)

Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days. (V)

Even the darkness of the snow storm is still beautiful Even the inside which I can ever see, despite of the sadness, is still beautiful.

These emotions I feel as I could somehow transmit them are only bulbs in an overloaded circuit Trembling, blinking, dying, vanished to all the others I have to prepare each disguise, the clichè faces of a mysterious person What about a crying face? Or maybe a smiling one? Hey? (VI)

Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life is beautiful Life, life, life, life, life was beautiful days Was beautiful days, was beautiful days I, I, I, I, I, my, me, mine Too, too, too, too, too unclear Love, love, love, love, love is all I want. Was beautiful days, was beautiful Was beautiful days, was beautiful. (VII)

THE WORDS

Like all the songs by Plastic Tree, this one has been written by the singer Ryutaro Arimura, whose distinctive style can be perceived during the reading of the text. If you look carefully to the original lyrics, there’s a thing more than the rest which quickly comes to the eyes, or better, it would come if the song plays on during the reading: the musicality. In fact all the words used here have a phonetic analogy, with the repetition of syllables or even expressions, a feature which means a lot for the comprehension of the text and they likely represent an image, a feeling, a mood, a memory, shortly something which comes out from the reader’s mind. And this important element leads to the meaning of the song itself, where the title already carries the main message. Life is a beautiful thing, not meaning that it is like that and enough, but rather it is beautiful what composes it, the single days spent in it, the little details, good or bad, concrete or abstract, make it a thing worth to be experienced, as we will see in the following analysis. And now… let’s analyze the song!

I) The text starts up with a direct reference to the protagonist, in particular to a part of his body, his own eyes. While the left one is watching and crying (Hidarime niwa naite miemashita), the right one is watching and smiling (migime niwa waratte miemashita) and between them there are the feelings he can’t elaborate yet in his mind (Meto meno aini shori dekinai kimochi ga imadaninanka arundesu), meaning that the eyes are the vehicle of his most important feelings, while the rest is put in a state of uncertainity, as the life itself leads.

II) Then he says that the first time he went to Ueno Station (the cultural heart of Tokyo), there was an unusual white Christmas (Hajimete Uenoeki heitta nowa mezurashiku yuki ga furu kurisumasu, a really nostalgical setting, where the snow symbolizes the concept of beauty), where the last train, which just left, created a contrast with the light going far away from his sight (Shuuden wamou mukou gawa tooku ni icchi yau hikari wo miokureba taishouteki, a contrast between urban and natural elements, which recur throughout this text). But in that moment he had so much fun (Tanoshi sugitakara) and spoke so much (shaberi sugitakara) that now everything is silent (kondo wa damatte) and the sound of the world empties in his own ears (sekai no oto ni mimi wo katamuketa), in a peaceful but lonely setting. Then he says to have a dream of an eternity (towa no yume wo miteru), different from the stuffed animals seen in the darkened museum of the park (Kouen no oku no shoutou shitiru hakubutsukan de hakusei tachi wa, where the animals are symbol of a fake interpretation of reality and the museum of the park is another reference to Ueno) and for an instant his mind goes to an example of this eternity, such as the beautiful days he spent (Tatoeba konna utsukushii kyoumosouaruyounito isshun omou), while the fluttering snow has not a peculiar plan of itself and it won’t leave for a long, long time (Matteru yuki wa tsumorisounimonai).

III) The refrain sequence, entirely written in English, encloses the meaning of the text, already mentioned above: the life is a beautiful experience, or better, the days inside of it are beautiful (the repetition of the lines is linked to the musical use written above, along with a symbolic meaning).

IV) In this sequence, the protagonist talks with someone else, probably a person who loved, saying that he pretended to be liked by her (Bokuwa kimi ga suki nafuri) and even started to like whatever she liked (woshite kimi ga suki namonowo suki toshite, synonym of deep and strong love). So if the feelings he had for her would bloom in someone else, they would be whole, and so more authentic (Dakaramata dareka shirani sonna kanjou ga mebae unara zenbu sousuru, probably he felt that he was not a good mate for her and their relationship ended). At the end, he finds himself to reverse the songs he recorded (Korerawo rokuon shita boku no utawo gyakukaiten) and when he plays them again (shite saisei sureba), they load more and more, until his memories recite a vacant charm (Kioku wa kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru kyuru munashii jumon wo tonae dashite, the power of music in evoking the past is underlined in this line, somehow linked even to Plastic Tree’s concept) and the cut and sewn words inside them seem to spread all over, fluttering and finally dying (Kitte hatte itta kotoba zenbu chitte matte itte shimauyoudesu) and in that moment he realizes that each one of us is planning to become a little flame of the garbage which is burning this world (Tsumariwa bokura wa sekai dechiisaku meramera moeru gomi ninaruno, a strong critic to contemporary society, which has been always a relevant element of their songs).

V) This sequence is identical to the third one, repeating itself twice.

VI) Life is so beautiful that even the darkness coming from a snow storm is a beautiful thing (Chiisaku fubukiku yami ga nande konnaniitsu made mo mada kirei) and even its inside, which he can’t see, despite of the sadness it brings, is beautiful too (Itsumo mienai okuga nanka kanashi kunaru hodoni tadakirei), making even bad and meaningless things more appreciated by the protagonist. The feelings he has, as he could transmit them to everyone, are defined by him like bulbs in an overloaded circuit (Sonna kanjou nantoka dentatsu dekimasu younito tako ashi haisen de denkyuu wo, meaning that they are overloading his soul), which trembles, blinks and dies, fading with all the rest (Tenmetsu meimetsu jaku metsu shoumetsu hikari ni kidu ita minasama ni); so he needs to prepare his own disguises in order to go forward, creating several faces for a mysterious person (Arayuru kamen wo youishiteokanakya chinpu na kaijin hyaku mensou da) and finally he asks to his partner what face she wants more, the crying one (Naiteru kao wadoudattarou?) or the smiling one (Waratteru kao hadoudattarou?, linking to the fourth sequence, to the part where he pretended to be as she wanted, another strong love proof).

VII) After the refrain is repeated, there’s another little sequence, with the first line in English, where he repeates all the manifestations of himself and of what he has of his own, which is really too unclear, too uncertain (Ai ai ai ai ai maisugite) and the only thing he really wants is the love (Ai ai ai ai ai sareta idakedesu), because it was what makes his days more and more beautiful, giving to him a reason to live on.

Life and the little details and events which compose it, good or bad, right or wrong, are the best gift ever received for each one of us. Plastic Tree use an existential theme, inside a melodious and nostalgical sound, for reminding us that our existence mustn’t be wasted and rather it must fulfilled in each its part, whether you like it or not.

That’s all folks! See you with the next part of the themed week, in “Let’s Listen to”!

Thanks for the reading!

*Sorry for the delay*

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I decided, to do subs for this! The translation is not mine, @jacintoo made it.

I’ll do the other 2 also. Maybe this week. And I also plan to do a full sub for all the Live DVD-s too. If anyone wants anything else subbed just ask!

Also i want to tag ppl who i think would be interested, cuz i have -1 followers and nobody will see this x’D: @summer-and-the-perpetual-night @ame-ni-utaeba @charleywng @jellyfishromance

And i made a Hungarian version. That translation is mine:

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2016/09/23

Note : When Ryutaro announced his career solo, i translated the two previous tweet and then the message on his website which you can find here and here.

Pla_kenken : we did talk a lot (^o^)／

Note : This is Kenken’s answer to Ryutaro’s tweet about the 4 members of Plastic Tree gathering to talk before the announcement.

Pla_ryutaro : I run in Kyushu.

（・ to Nagasaki ・）/

Note : Nagasaki city, from Nagasaki prefecture, is in the Island of Kyushu.

THE_NOVEMBERS : This is a beautiful work.

Pla_ryutaro : A lot happened, We made a beautiful work. （・ Music・）/

THE_NOVEMBERS : I took part in Arimura Ryutaro (from Plastic Tree)’s solo project. I always thought that it was certain Ryutaro-san and I would have a good compatibility, in reality it was perfect. Stay tuned.

Pla_ryutaro : I met Tadashi-kun while having a walk in Nagasaki to find castella. the both of us hanged around. As a result, we had Dorayaki.

 （・ Eating while walking ・）/

Note : Castella are Japanese sponge cakes. Nagasaki is famous for them. Dorayaki is a Japanese red bean pancake.

hirotoshikuroda: I took part in Arimura Ryutaro’s solo project. It is quitedifficult for me to put into words all my thoughts and all the gratitude Ihave for him. It was a first for me to record a guitar in such a precise and delicate way. We were able to make an amazing work. Thank you so much.

Pla_ryutaro : Yes. We were able indeed. （・ Hiro ・）/

hirotoshikuroda : I’m also glad we made a wall of disruptive sound with Kobayashi-kun from the Novembers and both our guitars. Hatano-kun from People In The Box did the arrangement of the songs in such details and didn’t play the guitar (lol), but he allowed us to complete all the other songs. And of course, Arimura Ryutaro himself made it happened.

Pla_ryutaro : Somehow, Hiro, Kobayashi-Kun, and I were also masters of rehearsal as we were a guitar dojo. （・ The three of us ・）/

hirotoshikuroda : the work of my adorable kouhai Tamifuru and Toriki fromthe band “chouchou merged syrups.” in charge of the rythm section, andNomu-san for the sound creation, were also a lot of fun. In short, it wassuper fun ! !Thank you so much !!

Note : Kouhai is someone’s junior in an organisation/group.

NomNom_GJ : Now that it has been revealed … on november, the 23th will be released, by Arimura Ryutaro from Plastic Tree, “the collection of one’s personal work”, for which I took part as programmer and keyboarder.☆

Anyway, we did our best to aim for a good work, so thank you for your consideration.

Pla_ryutaro : It has been a long time. It took shape little by little. We made a very good work.

（・ Music・）/

NomNom_GJ : That’s true. We had ups and downs. I guess we spend a lot of time. I’m glad I was able to do that collaboration with you, Taro-san （・ Gratitude・）/

Pla_ryutaro : As it was, with Tadashi-kun we went to an instrument shop, a pet shop and Hamburger restaurant which we liked the atmosphere.

（・ Nagasaki ・）/A good place

tamifurunosuke : This time, I took part in Arimura Ryutaro’s first solo project. I did all my best to meet even just a little Ryutaro-san’s objectives. Everyone, please look forward this project.

Pla_ryutaro : Tamifuru-kun, it was some great beatings. The recording was fun. （・ Stage ・）/

hirotoshikuroda : the news topics on Twitter !! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

Pla_ryutaro : （・Ouah・）/ Ouah, ouah, ouah

Note : the website Ro69 released the news about Ryutaro’s solo project and it made its way to the Twitter news which is very good for a visual-kei musician, as they’re not the most mainstream type of music out there.

Hatano_Hirofumi : “Announcement”, I took part as a producer to one of the songs of Arimura Ryutaro (from Plastic Tree)’s solo album set to be released 11/23. he let me take responsabilities of a very nice song, a deep song I’m fond of. I’m excited for it and I want to listen to the other songs as well.

Pla_ryutaro : To me as well it became a song I’m way too fond of. I want people to listen to it. （・ Quickly ・）/

trisryt : I took part as a bassist in Arimura Ryutaro (from Plastic Tree)’s solo project.  Stay tuned!

Pla_ryutaro : Toriishi Ryota-san (nickname), the town studio practice like free researches during the summer holidays. that was fun. （・ Rehearsal ・）/

Pla_ryutaro : Just before as we were going home, he told me he was excited for tomorrow’s Pura live, and also for my solo activites. It made me so happy. I’m excited too. Being able to express myself so much,  Then, those castellas he gave me at that moment, a sweetness too kind.

（・ Tasty ・）/

Note : Ok, it’s a bit difficult, because I feel like Ryutaro is talking about Tadashi as they spent their day together, he tweeted about it before and he is saying there “on our way home”. BUT, he wrote this tweet in such an ambiguous way I feel like it could also be translated by “everybody who told him they were excited for his projects” and etc.  In short, he just seems very very happy.

Pla_ryutaro : it seems that tomorrow will be sunny.

（・ Megane Bridge ・）/

Note : the Megane Bridge is in Nagasaki.

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me: god i'm depressed. me: i know what'll help, i'll listen to demo. genkeitepu: this is wonderful it's like a musicbox exploding in slow-motion i feel so much better. fuyuu: everything i love is dying. manegoto: everything i love is still dying but i'm ok with that.

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guys demo arrived and for like twenty minutes I was full-on gibbering fangirl but now I’m sleepy and thinking I’ll listen to it tomorrow because oh my god when did I get so fucking old?

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I was gonna wait until the election was over to get back on tumblr. But apparently it's going on for the next four years so.

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Hi, I know Plastic Tree for like 2 years now but I feel like I don't know anything about them... I absolutely love them and all of their songs but I can't find any information in english about them.. I know that their drummer changed a quite number of times and who the band members are but I feel like I know nothing of their personal life, like... what they do in their free time and what they like the most and stuff like that. I'm sorry if these questions sound stupid, I'm a bit new here...

I tried going through my blog looking for relevant posts to link but realized my blog is mostly shitposts so. Um, from what I’ve heard from older fans, Platree’s a very private band.

That being said, if you’d like some stuff in English, I’d recommend the purasubs channel on youtube. In particular the Bokuyaku Monologues are pretty interesting. The band talks about how they got started. (Ie, lots of drinking and an altercation with an electric fan.)

I don’t have a link to the translation atm unfortunately, but this is an old interview wherein one of the hosts drinks too much and apparently goes on and on about what a beautiful complexion Ryu has. I laugh but now that I’m thinking about it I kind of feel bad for Ryu…

Anyway, sorry this wasn’t more complete, but if you have any other questions I’ll do my best.

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Hay, I was totally not stalking your tumblr today, and saw you taking about pura lives. Are you in JP? I don't know any other pura fans out here and would LOVE to go to concerts with other pura fans I vaguely know!

hahaha oh my god i am too old to tumblr. I think (hope) I sent a reply already, but just in case:1) really sorry took so long to reply...2) I am not in Japan3) I hope you got to see them. ^^