#there's also that one song utada hikaru wrote about death and about how death is so sudden and unpredictable where the song ends abruptly

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Now I also want "I Love You" (edit: wait. Or is this song called "Deep River"? I can't tell) to be Kingdom Hearts IV's theme song. It would work so well! And it is really cool how the chorus sounds so much like "Simple and Clean."

Here's the link to where you can listen to "I Love You" :

[appears]

25th Anniversary

Ami Suzuki: SA (1999.03.25)

Like clockwork, as soon as Tetsuya Komuro got bored with his latest protege, he moved on to the next one. In 1998, he hopped from Tomomi Kahala to Ami Suzuki, who made her debut in July of that year with the single "love the island." She released five more singles after that until finally dropping her debut studio album SA in March of 1999.

Despite a public weary with his trademark style, now done to death with artists like hitomi, Tomomi, and Namie, not to mention his other projects like dos and globe, TK doubled down on his signature sound, particularly on the opening track "nothing without you": the keyboards, the synths, the funky rhythm and background vocals. Longtime collaborator Cozy Kubo's arrangement brings it all to a satisfying wistful lead-in to the second track. Anyone not already a fan can stop right there.

In terms of numbers, this album did really well for a debut, as expectations were high to for TK's next "It" girl, but in terms of quality, the music couldn't be a better representation of how dull, hackneyed, and by-the-numbers his music had become by then. The album still pulls out some solid songs that remind me how fun TK was at his best, songs like "alone in my room" and "white key" that do a great job of taking you back to J-pop circa 1996. But there are too many lazy melodies that don't get rounded out by the high-quality production we had come to expect. Mentally, I think TK was done with J-pop and ready to board the electric train right on out to Cyber TRANCE compilation town (you can especially hear this on the outlier "all night long," a sonic precursor to a song like "try this shoot," which he would write and release with globe two years later). He just couldn't compete with the rise in R&B and hip-pop that was beginning to sweep the charts with artists like Hikaru Utada and Mai Kuraki. It doesn't help that Ami Suzuki, like so many of the women he wrote music for, wasn't a good singer. Not as bad as Tomomi Kahala, and sufficient for the music we're dealing with, but noticeably patchy in places, and downright bad in others.

I sound really sour about this album, an album that for all my whining went #1 and ended up being the ninth best-selling album in Japan that year. To be honest, I still have a soft spot for this one, because it really sounds like TK is struggling to recapture a kind of magic that came so easily for him half a decade ago. There are parts of this that take you back to hitomi's early albums, and yet, the fight never stops being audible.

I still get nostalgic hearing TK's brand of 90s J-pop, and while there are still some good songs on here, I can objectively see that this was the last feeble roar of a dying dinosaur. It also really tells you nothing about Ami Suzuki as a person or performer, as she had both the good luck and misfortune to work with a producer so big, that it would take several more years for her to develop a light outside of his shadow. In many ways, she never did, as she always seemed to be at her best working under names as big as Yasutaka Nakata, RAM RIDER, and the others who featured on her best albums to date. In a really sad twist, the only way people got to know her as a person outside of music was during the scandal that followed her lawsuit against her management company. But that was years later. In 1999, while it may not have been fresh for any one else, it must have all still been new and exciting for her to get the chance to debut with a legend in the industry, and that hope and enthusiasm still shines through, albeit not easily, on SA.

Catalog Number: AICT-1050

[callunavulgari]

Year-In-Life | 2019

Or that annual New Year’s meme about yours truly.

1. What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before? Had abdominal surgery! I spent most of April either doped up or unconscious. Long story short, I had an ovarian cyst that they thought was twice as big as my fist. So they fast-tracked me to surgery, and discovered that while I did have an ovarian cyst that was pretty large, most of the issue was that my bowel had fused to my uterine wall. Or was it abdominal wall? Either way, my bowel was glued to where it shouldn’t be and very angry because it had a fairly large pre-cancerous polyp in it. Which I found out a week after the abdominal surgery, when I had to have a colonoscopy. Which leads me to...

Had to do three different bowel preps in less than a month! It’s really not fun, guys. But, I got a cyst removed, a polyp removed, a metric fuckton of endo removed, and got my bowel back where it should be. Also, they confirmed that I can have babies! Which I didn’t know I was so fucked up about until I started crying about it post surgery.

Oh, also I peed in a bedpan. That’s also something I’ve never done before. And and and, been sick on Christmas! - Adding Tanya later in this post means I remembered something else I’d never done before - jumped into a pool fully dressed. Then became... no longer dressed.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Still don’t remember what my resolution was which- hey, 2020 Heather! Your 2019 resolution is to legitimately lose weight (she says while eating cotton candy ice cream out of the tub) and quit smoking again. Also, maybe be engaged. But mostly, the weight and the smoking thing. 

As for 2019 resolutions- I can guess what they were, which probably boiled down to losing weight. I put on about 20 pounds after surgery and haven’t lost it, because shocker, abdominal surgery really fucks with your core strength. Pretty sure there was something in there about reading 100 books (done), beating 4 games (done), and write something original (done? technically?) and/or novel-length (negative). 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? High school people and a few old coworkers. Nick’s cousin and his wife just had their third kid though. I think it may have actually happened on Christmas. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? No countries. Went to North Carolina for our possible last beach vacation. In January we’re going to Vegas for our friend’s wedding, which will be interesting. They’re getting married on a ferris wheel by an Elvis impersonator. May also go to Maine this year, but not sure yet because I only have a certain amount of vacation time. 

6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019? Didn’t get a ring, yet. But we’ll see. We also didn’t get the house yet, so lets recycle those wants! Also, while we’re shooting big here, how about a better goddamn president?

7. What date from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Started my second big girl job on November 18th. Had surgery on April 12th. Not a whole lot else stands out. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got a new job! With more money and more responsibility and will look really good on a resume! Didn’t kill myself? Which sounds pretty morbid, but I had a lot of pain in my life earlier in the year. 

9. What was your biggest failure? Not... losing... weight? Because I really need to do that. The heartburn bullshit will likely go away. The sleep apnea thing will likely go away. Your health in general will improve. And you don’t even like food that much anyway!  10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I think I’ve had the flu twice this year and again, abdominal surgery, so yes. 11. What was the best thing you bought? I got nice clothes? Most of the other shit has been knick-knacks. I got more books. A new bookshelf!  12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I don’t know. Mine, I guess. I mean, 2019 wasn’t the worst, but it definitely has not been great.  13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I have a friend. Let’s call her Amanda. Yeah, her. She’s blown us off a lot this year, which really sucks. The rest of it is her own decisions that only affect us because it’s inevitably going to affect her in a terrible way, but the blowing us off and only using us as passes for free food and ways to do her laundry really sucks.

14. Where did most of your money go? Surgery! My OOP may have been met in April, but the surgery itself was $48,000. I’ve only had to pay about $6,000 because my OOP was 5k, but that still hurts. And my dental sucks, which means I paid out of my ass to fix my teeth. Also, I bought way too many clothes and books. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I do still appreciate having a job with decent money. The new job will have insurance after my 90 day probation period (yeah, because you can’t have health care for 3 months even if you work in health care because you’re new). I’m glad that I caught the polyp before it became cancerous. I was happy I could have babies. I got excited about the new His Dark Materials series and The Witcher series and Kingdom Hearts 3 and God of War, and probably at least a couple other fandom things.

16. What song will always remind you of 2019? Face My Fears. Curse of the I-5 Corridor. Hadestown soundtrack. Transistor soundtrack. Wasteland, Baby! album. Billie Eilish in general. Lark of My Heart. But mostly, Face My Fears and Don’t Think Twice. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Sadder, probably? 2019 wasn’t great. ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter.  iii. richer or poorer? Technically probably on par with where I was last year? I didn’t save quite as much as I wanted to with the surgery happening. Also, my car needed some pricey repairs this year. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I do wish I’d written more this year, but I wrote a lot in October. Possibly more than the last two years combined, which was nice. And I read a lot. I kind of wish I slept more. Or ate better. Or worked out more. I’m just really tired this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Spent less time with doctors? But I mean, taking care of myself is good and I’ve never had that option before.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent it mostly sleeping. We got a bug that was either a really bad cold or a flu, so I’ve spent the last week generally shitty and sweaty and tired. First year that we haven’t been able to do Christmas basically at all. But we spent the hours between 6pm on Christmas Eve and 10am Christmas morning have the most restless goddamn sleep in the world and then opened presents and watched Love Actually and some television (the last two episodes of the Witcher!) while kind of napping on the couch, and ordered Chinese because it was hungry and the only thing open. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? Think I’m going to make the pirozki on Sunday, and then we’re doing a gift exchange with some of our friends at his mom’s house. 22. Did you fall in love in 2019? Eh. Still love him.  23. Best month for you this year? Clearly me having a good 2018 while everyone else had a shitty one guaranteed 2019 to be shit, because I honestly don’t fucking know. October was nice. So was August. But fuck most of the rest of it.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2019? Russian Doll, Glow, The Dragon Prince, Good Omens, Schitt’s Creek, The Terror, Chernobyl, Buzzfeed Unsolved, She-Ra, His Dark Materials, The Witcher... 2019 may have been a meh year, but it had some good shows. Of those, I think my favorite was probably either The Witcher or Good Omens, with His Dark Materials, Russian Doll, and The Terror tying for third. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Eh.

26. What was the best book you read? Red, White, & Royal Blue was probably my favorite. I also read Sanderson’s books this year though, which were also absolutely amazing. Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive were wonderful. It was a pretty great year for books too. Books and TV, well done 2019. Middlegame, The Ninth Gate, a lot of rereads. Best one was still Red, White, & Royal Blue though. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Do Utada Hikaru’s new Kingdom Hearts anthems count? Because Spanish Sahara by Foals, Obstacles by Syd Matters, the new Hozier album, and the Hadestown soundtrack were all wonderful musical discoveries. 28. What did you want and got? I don’t know. New clothes? A laptop? Confirmation that my ovaries work?

29. What did you want but didn’t get? Well, I lost the bet with Brandon. No ring by the end of 2019. No kids, either, but we aren’t quite there yet. No house. No perfect health? Is that a thing?

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I liked Into the Spiderverse a lot. Detective Pikachu. Rocketman.Frozen 2. Endgame was all right. I didn’t hate the new Star Wars. Toy Story 4. IT. It wasn’t a super great movie year for me.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? The big 3-0. It was all right. The night before we went to Fujiyamas with a couple of our friends, then on my birthday we had breakfast at First Watch, did some Christmas shopping, and went to the Zoo Lights a little after 5. Froze to death because it was snowing and shocker, when snow melts you get wet, but it was nice. Then had a late dinner at Mackenzie River, because it was one of the only places still open and close to our place.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hah! A better president and a ring is the only thing that I didn’t get from my wishes last year. ----Hmmmmm 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? I did not give up and buys Scrubs. Instead I have a perhaps slightly oversized work appropriate selection of jeans (for Fridays), work slacks, blouses/sweaters, dresses, and skirts. I spent a little too much on clothes this year. I blame discovering Torrid. 34. What kept you sane? Reading was really, really great this year. - STILL leaving this answer, three years running! 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Tenant made a shocking comeback after Good Omens aired. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 20156789. —– Ayyyyy, this was my response from last year, and apparently also the year before and the one before! Hello past me’s, don’t worry, it’s still getting worse. 37. Who did you miss? Myself. Also, my brother, who is still in jail almost a year later and still no fucking trial. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I don’t know. Oh! I do know! I really like Tanya. 

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: Tanya is awesome and pretty and fun and possibly at least a little bit crazy, but we all fucking are, come on. She got to come with us on vacation this year and it really made it interesting. Also, Shay and Alicia. I knew them last year, but got to know them pretty well this year.

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year:

Took this one about 20 minutes after midnight on January 1st, 2019 after my first successful round of Battleshots. The hat went to the winner. It is not the most flattering picture, because I had been drinking already before I had to take four shots of Satan’s cinnamon liquor.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year:

Taken on my birthday, at the zoo. Again, snow melts.

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Not sure? There’s not a whole lot of new food we haven’t tried. One of the pharmacists brought in some authentic Indian food for one of the potlucks we had and I don’t remember what it was called but it had rice and eggs and was amazing.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? I don’t know. We saw both Hamilton and Les Mis this year and they both reduced me to tears. I also had some good moments with books and tv shows I watched with Nick.

44. What are you excited for next year? There’s a couple new books. The election. Some tv shows, I think? Games? I don’t know, man. I’m trying not to come off as horribly depressed but I am kind of pretty depressed and nobody will ever know because the only person who ever gets this far into reading these things is me, so- hello 2020 me, you were really sad on December 26th 2019 and honestly for most of the year, so I sure hope 2020 is the year that we fucking seize life by the horns or however that saying goes.

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019: I feel like my message from last year is fucking taunting me. Legit though, this is not the worst thing you’ve ever been through. You have a boyfriend who loves you, two wonderful cats that better not fucking die anytime soon, and like, I don’t know, working ovaries. A job. A car. An apartment that has a kind of shitty kitchen and a bath tub that might as well not exist, but is still an apartment! Which is more than some people have! 

I guess my message from last year (it gets better) is in almost direct opposition of this year, which is basically: it could always be worse. 46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Feed me sunlight, feed me air In a place where nothing matters Feed me truth and feed me prayer

(seriously, deliriously happy 2018 me quoting singin’ in the rain is taunting me wtf)

First Fandom of 2019: January of 2019 was pretty solidly Detroit Become Human. It hit me hard. Favorite Main Character of 2019: Jonathan Sims. I was a slut for the Archivist in 2019. Favorite Villain of 2019: Elias from The Magnus Archives, maybe? My only other response would be.. dun dun dun, Ben Solo aka Kylo Ron or whatever Favorite M/F Couple of 2019: I... am back on my Reylo bullshit. Favorite F/F Couple of 2019: Can I say Villanelle and Eve even if I didn’t really dip into the fandom? No? Okay, Catra and Adora. Favorite M/M Couple of 2019: Okay, so the three that got me this year was Hank/Connor, Jon/Martin, and Ryan/Shane.  Fandom That You Never Expected To Get Into: Um, Buzzfeed Unsolved. Never would have guessed that one. Also like, while I would have expected Detroit Become Human I never would have guessed my favorite ship. Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Sigh. Twas that Reylo smacking me in the face at the tail end of 2019. Fandom That Inspired The Most Crack: Insert shrug? I read a weird Buzzfeed Unsolved fic above Mothman giving the guys sharable dreams (that were sometimes weird and sometimes sexy) until they boned. Last Fandom of 2019: Sighing again. Reylo. Though Yuletide has made it so I’ve read a lot of Queen’s Thief stuff. Favorite Fandom of 2019: I think that Buzzfeed Unsolved was my favorite purely from a fic standpoint, but Detroit Become Human and The Magnus Archives were both really great too.

[7reasonswhyilove]

7 reasons why I love Utada Hikaru...

1. Her music videos

“Traveling” (2001) is one great example for an amazing music video of hers. The song is about creative energy and charting previously unknown territory. Directed by her then-husband Kazuaki Kiriya, it is one of many collaborations between the two that happened from 2001 to 2006 - basically the time of her most daring video creations. So colourful, aesthetic and energetic, the music becomes one with the visual experience in each song. “Sakura Drops” (2002), taken from the same album (”Deep River”) as “Traveling”, showcases a similarly breathtaking visual journey.

2. Her lyrics

In myself, I see no dreams, like unpainted pictures how many times must I fill this canvas? I'll abandon time as I hold a white flag overhead I am your unknown color now -  COLORS

Thinking too much, don't fall into desperation A world that changes constantly feels like tricking a child When people find themselves alone They realize the meaning of love -  GOODBYE HAPPINESS 

If the key is too high, it's okay to lower it the song has the strength not to change distress is only one passing point like a bracelet that's too big, things will slide into place - WAIT & SEE (RISK)

Looking up the translations for the first time has been a revelation. She writes and composes her songs all by herself (and even produces nearly all of them), making them even more heartfelt. They are about real, complex emotions, far more challenging than the usual “girl meets boy” pop song formula.

3. Her live shows

She is able to perform live like no other. Her vocals sound exactly as amazing as on the CD and she is able to constantly deliver with an amazing energy throughout a whole concert. And most of all, she can transform a song into a live bomb! While I already like the studio version of “Devil Inside” (from her English-language 2004 album “Exodus”), it is the live version that I definitely ADORE!

4. Her experimental mind

She is not afraid to venture into more experimental fields, producing songs like “Passion” (2005) (with another Kazuaki Kiriya music video) or “Kremlin Dusk” (2004). She is a hugely successful artist and somehow also manages to fit these experimental tunes in her repertoire..

5. Her joyful melodies alongside saddening themes

Watch the live version of “Goodbye Happiness here

Sounding like quite a happy song with playful melodies, “Goodbye Happiness” is actually about a saddening topic. And how she delivers this in one package makes it ultimately bittersweet in a way I could just cry with a smile on my face, singing along that catchy tune.

Oo all of creation goes 'round and will go 'round Oh oh oh darling, darling No one can ever take your place Only you

6. Her Evangelion theme songs

When the reboot film series “Rebuild of Evangelion” began in 2007, Utada was asked to provide a theme song to the first installment “Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone”. Being a huge fan of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series from the 90′s, she agreed and wrote the song “Beautiful World” especially for this occasion. Lyrically very fitting to the franchise, it can be seen as another way of looking into the feelings of protagonist Shinji Hikari. Not being brave enough, yet still trying his best. The beautiful melody and atmosphere, the top-notch production, as well as the association with the anime made this my second favourite song of hers.

After a remix of “Beautiful World” served as the theme song to the second installment “Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance” (2009), she was asked again to make a song for the third film “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo”, released in 2012. “Sakura nagashi” breaks my heart each time I listen to it. The sorrow, the pain that the death of a beloved one that come through in this song hurts like nothing else in this world. Yet, she can present all these emotions in such a grace and beauty. I cannot find many words that would do this masterpiece of a song justice, other than that it is one of a kind and one with the world and themes of Evangelion. My very favourite song of hers.

7. Her ability to evolve

Just a few days ago, Hikki (how her fans affectionately call her) dropped a new song, along with a music video featuring herself dancing a contemporary choreography by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Fukiko Takase. What blows me away the most is how she manages to make her melodies even more interesting the older she gets. She explores so many different harmonies, especially on her latest album “Fantôme”. While she may not be among the avant-garde in terms of arrangement and production, she is definitely able to keep her music interesting. This is very much apparent in her newest song “Forevermore”, which is carried by a string arrangement (something she has perfectioned recently) and her vocals, which together give us a mesmerizingly dreamy mix.

Still, there are many more reasons why…

...like her hauntingly beautiful smash-hit “Flavor Of Life”, her iconic debut single “Automatic”, the bittersweet “Final Distance” or her ability to create an actually quite original Christmas song. The aforementioned seven at least give a good overview over why I love Utada Hikaru.

[idolisnotdead]

Seiko Oomori - kitixxxgaia - Review

If you’ve read this blog before, you probably have a pretty good idea of my completely unbiased admiration for Seiko Oomori and everything she does. “Unbiased”.

So let’s just get to it. Less than a year, by about two weeks maybe to be precise, Seiko Oomori follows up her critically acclaimed major sophomore album (fourth overall) TOKYO BLACK HOLE with something even bigger, even more political, even more honest, and even more ambitious. I’m going to start off by changing my previous opinion. TOKYO BLACK HOLE is like an 8.5 now. Stay with me, here now and buckle up; we’re going for a ride, my friends.

The same week the United States got unleashed with the marvel of Drake’s More Life – a notably emotional return to form that also doesn’t shy away too far from the newer territory Toronto’s first celebratory hero has been invading – Japan was hit with something similarly parallel. Seiko Oomori gave us her fifth album kitixxxgaia on March 15th. Just like Drizzy, Seiko has given us an equally emotional experience, that still covers her recent sounds while almost giving us a slight return to her punk roots save for the general lack of an obvious acoustic guitar in most of the mixes (though it’s worth noting that it’s still there, just buried in the mix; I’ll get to why such a jam-packed mix actually works in a minute).

It’s amazing to see that the west and the east were both delivered promising projects by two of their biggest masters of music and emotion. It’s amazing to see just how far some shitty kid from Koenji has come in just five years since her official debut PINK in 2012. It’s amazing to think that that’s six albums if you count PINK, seven if you count the mostly self-covering Pink Tokarev album of 2015, which was otherwise an off-year for everyone’s favorite singer to imitate.

The only word I can describe how kitixxxgaia sounds with is “big”. And several other adjectives. Maybe “gigantic”. Maybe “colossal”. It’s a fucking huge album, pardon my French. This is potentially Seiko’s first Ringo Sheena-level album (let’s just forget that SUNNY happened for a minute). There’s a lot of religious imagery and a heavy aesthetic. I’d highly suggest on your first listen, you watch the music videos for every song that has one. So start with the “Dogma Magma” video, then the “Hikokuminteki Hero” video, listen to “IDOL SONG” normally, then when “Gutto Kuru Summer” comes along, watch that video too. And so on.

kitixxxgaia is heavy in its use of a very specific aesthetic, which takes influence from Christianity (and a hint of Mexican-style Christianity at that), weddings, quite a bit of Dadaism, and it’s all absolutely drenched in shades of pink and lighter blues. It’s the kind of album that’s best to be experienced both by listening and watching, as I said before. There are heaps of promotional images that came along with the album and the original “holy trinity” singles that lead up to its release, and I’d suggest maybe even just looking through those around Twitter and wherever else you can find them (maybe I’ll compile what I can find and make a post later this week) while you listen to the songs that aren’t accompanied by music videos. It’s the kind of multi-media work that could induce a sensory-overload in someone with synesthesia, like myself.

Now before I even get into the music of it, I want to point out the name of the album itself. Just the name kitixxxgaia (say it in English how you want, I generally say “Kitty Gaia”), much like her lyrics, takes some wordplay. In Japanese, the word “kichigai” - short for “[anta no] ki ga chigaimasu”, though nobody would ever say it that formally - is essentially the closest the Japanese language can get to the level of offense that words like (cover your children’s eyes) “fuck” or “cunt”. It doesn’t mean the same thing, but it’s that sort of level of offense, though deeper seeing as Japan is culturally much more introverted than we are over here.

Kichigai could loosely be translated to “you’re fucking crazy, man; you’re out of your goddamn mind.” Not in like a “woah dude that’s a fucking siiiick tattoo of a wolf” kind of way, though. It’s an insult, not a term of endearment. Adding the “a” to the end, Seiko turns it into “kichigaia” (キチガイア). After a day or two, she officially changed the name to romaji, now calling it “kitixxxgaia”, censoring it (possibly for management, cultural, and radio airplay reasons, but we don’t know specifically) by making it English and with three x’s in the middle. This name, to me, holds two simultaneous meanings, again, much like her signature style of lyricism.

The “kiti” could be interpreted as “kitschy”, a word referring to style in poor taste, much like our girl Seiko’s aesthetic. The word “gaia” is the personification of our planet Earth in ancient Greek texts. So it’s a “Kitschy World”.

“kitixxxgaia” in its original meaning, “Crazy Fucking World”.

Now to the music: Seiko has never let us down with a strong opener, and this might be the most in-your-face, unexpected opener, titled “Dogma Magma”. “Come on up to the emotional stage!” she blurts out before a gong bangs in your face; the remainder of the measure in silence before another hits with a choir on top, just underneath a piano playing downward arpeggios, and below that, some intricate string work, each instrument holding its breath. After the four bar intro, we crescendo up to the main song. Enter a not-quite shibuya-kei type beat – syncopated and staccato-like drums underneath a jittery, major piano progression. Behind it all is Seiko’s voice distorted, seemingly having a conversation with God.

As the filter cuts off, Seiko enters with some of her most provoking, forward lyrics ever written: (rough translation by yours truly): "Once upon a time there was something other than [just] male and female. Once upon a time there was something other than [just] white, black, and yellow [people]. Once upon a time there was something other than [just] yes and no. These things had always always existed, but it was then instead decided that they didn’t [exist].” she sings, touching on the recently hot topics of gender, race, and consent.

She continues “When I opened my eyes I was Japanese. I’m a goddess but I’m too uncomfortable in this inconvenient body to go outside without makeup on.”, a clear reference to body positivity clashing with self-esteem issues, and likely even cultural pressure in Japanese society. “Dogma Magma” has cuts into a more punk style chorus, reminiscent of “Magic Mirror”. “What will you do during the revolution? Just one heart? Fuck you, fuck [you] all, because this is war!” There she is. That’s the Seiko we know and love.

Track three is of note because it sort of takes me back to when she used to advertise herself as an idol during the Zettai Shoujo era for extra shock value. A clever parody on idol music and culture, “IDOL SONG” could almost pass off as a generic denpa song à la Band Ja Naimon!.

“JI・MO・TO no Kao Kawaii Tomodachi” (roughly “JI・MO・TO’s Cute-Faced Friend”) is certainly one of her most out-there songs, with a catchy, sugary hook, an almost rap verse not too different from what she did with “Zettai Kanojo”. It’s light, it’s bouncy, and it’s really good. This whole album is really good. Good. Good. Good. Good. It’s good music (Cruel Winter, when? I need answers, Kanye!).

Speaking of rapping, two songs later, Seiko gives us the ultimate collab for this generation of J-pop. Much like Ringo Sheena and Utada Hikaru’s “Nijikan Dake no Vacation” (roughly “A Vacation For Just The Two Of Us”), “Chikyuu Saigo no Futari” (roughly: “The Last Two People on Earth”) opens up eerily, with a huge texture and an oozing sub bass that launches into this groovy, dark, rhythmic masterpiece. Seiko begins “Dora-chan, warmest welcome to the 21st century, where mass production has made humans more like robots. Justice is brought by violence, the death penalty is given immediately unless you’re cute.” Seiko is soon interrupted: “I’m being forced to be stupid, these frames in front of me are out of my league. Fuck you, guidance! In my head, I’m punk.” Is that voice DAOKO? You bet your ass it is, and she is spitting that truth all over this track.

God there’s so much more to cover for this album but I really don’t want to ruin too much of it by blabbing on. Up next, continuing with the album’s religious themes “Pink Methuselah” brings a familiar sound with a twist – once it kicks in, it’s very clearly Kenta Sakurai (ex. Izukoneko, current Maison Book Girl, TOKYO BLACK HOLE’s “SHINPIN” producer) behind the producer’s chair on this one, but unlike “SHINPIN” from Seiko’s previous album, it’s not just another Sakurai song. It’s very clear how much Seiko added on top of what he did, and it’s like the perfect blend of both of their signature styles.

The album also features a menacing, full-piano self-cover of °C-ute’s “Mugen Climax”, a song that Seiko wrote for the extremely popular Hello! Project group. Now, she’ll never avoid Ringo Sheena comparisons – after all, Oomori’s debut album Mahou Ga…’s artwork pays direct tribute to Sheena’s legendary 2000 album Shouso Strip’s artwork - but what hearing this self-cover (which makes °C-ute’s version almost unlistenable) makes me want is a self-cover album from Seiko once she garners enough writing credits, much like Ringo Sheena’s Utaite Myouri.

The thing here about kitixxxgaia is that the album finishes off differently depending on the version you have. There are three versions: Dogma, Karma, and Gaia. Every version comes with a second “disc” that’s a DVD/Blu Ray; Dogma comes with a live Blu Ray of ZEPP Tokyo stop of the Tokyo Black Hole Tour, Gaia comes with live audio of that same show as well as a DVD of all of the album’s music videos, and Karma comes with a live DVD of a few different shows from last year. Each version also has a key difference  to the main album – the final track is different.

As my personal recommendation, Dogma is the ideal version. Karma and Gaia finish off with new songs, but Dogma closes out with an acoustic re-recording of the Zettai Shoujo single “Kimi to Eiga” (literally: “Movie With You”). Since the closest thing we get to ‘acoustic’ on kitixxxgaia is “Mugen Climax” and “Orion Za”, this is a necessity to the album’s closure and really puts into perspective just how far Seiko has come since her humble beginnings.

The Karma song is called “Ramen no Hanashi” (literally “Ramen Conversation”) and the Gaia song is called “M”. “M” is another piano song, cutting in at just over 6 minutes. “Ramen no Hanashi” also does a similar job to “Kimi to Eiga”, being a full-acoustic track, and it’s a bonus that it’s a new song as well, so if you’re looking for a fully new experience or you’re not familiar with the Zettai Shoujo classic, maybe the Karma version is more for you. Either way, it’s a really nice way to end the album with some retrospect.

IDOL iS NOT DEAD gives kitixxxgaia a perfect 10/10. 11/10. Screw it. Whatever. It’s so goddamn good, just stop reading and go listen oh my god

[sneek-m]

Chelsey (@yllo-line) tagged me to share four albums I’ve been into recently. Which was actually tough! I spend most of my listening time checking out albums I haven’t heard, and unless I’m driving, I don’t really play music. Really, the only other album I put on if I’m not going through a new title is Fantome right now. But here’s four for you.

Only Kyary’s album is available on streaming services. Utada and Amuro’s singles on those albums are tough to look up proper uploads on YouTube. But don’t mind me: I just like to complain about my obsessions not being on shareable via streaming services!

Fantome by Utada Hikaru [Virgin/Universal Music Japan, 2016]

I’ve been listening to “Hanataba wo Kimini” from this album since watching her sing it on last year’s Kouhaku. It was really something seeing the lyrics written out as she sang it, and reading along made me come to terms with just how much Fantome potentially deals with her mother’s recent death, back in 2013. (She wrote “Hanataba” not long after.) I’m drafting a more extensive writing about it in my head, so I’ll save much about how I feel about that song for that.

And really, the lyrics on “Manatsu no Tooriame” (another ballad about loss that is just crushing!) makes me appreciate the Japanese language in general. In her Fantome interviews, Utada talked about how she turned to Japanese literature more as she began her life outside of Japan and her celebrity life there after announcing her hiatus. I feel that want to re-connect with your home so much right now, and Fantome really represents that part of me. I think a Record Club week for this would be splendid

I Am... by Ayumi Hamasaki [Avex Trax, 2001]

I’m slowly phasing out of A Best, a benchmark for Ayu’s first taste of success, and into the next step of her career in I Am... and Rainbow. I would also love to spend a week talking about I Am... It marks such an interesting time of her career where she now has to deal with her mega-stardom. The album itself sounds like a star on the brink of seizing everything in the world. The music sounds just fucking massive, but Ayu somehow manages to twirl everything around her finger. I could talk someone’s ear off about “Evolution,” really.

KPP Best by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu [Unborde, 2016]

My parents gave me this greatest hits CD for Christmas, so it has been in my car stereo for a bit now. I spin disc two more: “Ninjari Bang Bang,” “Invader Invader,” “Kira Kira Killer,” “Mondai Girl,” “Sai & Ko” -- all it’s missing is “Fashion Monster,” maybe my favorite Kyary song.

181920 by Namie Amuro [Avex Trax, 1998]

Eh, this is more of last week’s selection, but why not, let’s throw this in because I seriously only listen to three albums right now. In an episode of Perfume’s A-chan’s radio show, she talked with two members of Scandal about their heyday at artist schools and how there’s always at least one group dancing to Namie Amuro. They proceeded to play “Don’t wanna cry” from Sweet 19 Blues, and it has been stuck in my head since.

181920 is a greatest hits album, compiling her hit singlew from her debut “Body Feels Exit” to the classic “Can You Celebrate?” I tend to go straight for this when it comes to Amuro; I’ve written a bit much about how I feel about her albums. It might be a testament more to how unstoppable Testuya Komuro was at his peak because these songs are really the foundation for my love of her music. She sounded so, so cool as a 19 year old, and man, I feel so much of that effortless cool from her 20 years later.