Hello friends old and new :)

Haha I feel like I post everywhere else but my own journal. Anyway, not too much going on here...

Umm... I've been checking out a lot of music lately and finding some great stuff from the world of j-rock. Maybe I will do a music post or something soon idk.

Just a few more days till the NEWS DVD, and K8 single. Good things, they are a-happenin. Oh! And the Koyashige/TegoMasu show! I already forgot when it starts but omg yay! I'm not really bothered Pi and Ryo aren't a part of it. Nothing against them, I still want a NEWS show, but I made it through Y3 without those two so, whatev.

( Dramas! )

Happy Halloween!

I'm very happy about the NEWS Diamond DVD. I wasn't expecting it but there it is. I'm especially excited about the special music clip portion. RECORDED SOLOS. God, every other group gets to have recorded solos and it would always suck cuz the only ones in NEWS with to have that were Ryo and Pi. Granted, there's TegoMasu and the KoyaShige songs, but still those aren't solos. FINALLY. FINALLYYYY.

Love Addiction. ♥ Koyamaaaaaa! I have wanted this forever. WANT NOW.

I remember liking Shige's Sha La La Tambourine (it reminded me of MONGOL800) so I'm really excited to see his too. Of course SUPERMAN will probably be cute since it's Massu. I honestly couldn't care less about Tego's Ai Nante... But I really dig code so that'll be cool, and I don't know what to expect from the MOLA remix but we'll see.

Speaking of Pi solos, Loveless, eh? An R&B ballad, you say? NGL, I laughed when I read that. It's going to be interesting I'm sure. I've been listening to Miura Daichi a lot lately and that's some real good J-R&B so my standards are quite high right now. Bring it, Yamashita! lol

At times like these I'm sad Kusano isn't around because we'll never get an awesome recorded version of She's All Mine. That's still one of my most favorite songs. Oh well, what can you do.

Anyway, I hope more goodness comes from NEWS.

I don't even know what to think about ABDC. One of my favorite crews is gone. D: I hope Rhythm City can continue to have nights like tonight.

Aside from the fab bottom two performances, it was pretty lackluster. And, as a Bollywood fan, I should be excited about next week's challenge, but I'm not. I dunno... maybe I should just hope for the best.

D'oh, I started this post earlier and then had to leave and forgot all about it.

Anyway...remind you of anyone?



This is Go in V6's new PV Guilty (in which they all look quite fab). I thought the pose was pretty cool.

Two gif posts in a row, well whaddayaknow.

This cracks my shit up so hard. lol



God, Ryo. Why must everything about you be small? XD

And how cute is this.



By the way, Koyama looks lovely in this CM. ♥
That is all. :D

I didn't know Koyama's doing karate. I need to start watching SC again. His arms looks so good. How I miss His Foxiness. I don't really know what's going on with anyone, which sucks because it's not like I don't have time to read/watch anything. It's those dramas! They've taken over my life. I can't remember the last time I saw a Kanjani8 show; gotta give them more love.

Although, to be honest, I should be focusing my attention on other, more important rl things...

Pointless update is pointless. I should eat, I am so hungry.

Last week was cool. Spent my birthday with ilaila and we caught up on a bunch of shows - mainly Shukudaikun and SMAPxSMAP. Good times.

Had dinner with my family on Tuesday. It was a joint b-day celebration for me and my brother whose birthday was on Monday. He took me shopping and got me Wii Sports Resort. It's really funnnnnn. :DD

Ummmm what else? I dunno.

ABDC was just aight for me tonight. When We Are Heroes and Rhythm City got called first I was all "Final two!" and my mom was like, "Isn't it a little early?" Uh.. no. lol
I missed what next week's challenge is.

Random but whatev, when that VMA commercial with Taylor Swift singing in the back of a cab came on, it went on for so long I was sure it would end with some joke like her getting into a car accident or something. But she just kept singing and then she stuck her head out the window and I was all, okay NOW something's gonna happen. But, no, she just kept on warbling. I am seriously disappointed. And kind of enraged.

I DVR'd Diddy's new Starmaker show or whatever it's called. I am so weak.

Anyway, I'ma go now.

Over the weekend I listened to my entire Sparta Locals discog, so I think I've gotten all my mourning of their breakup out of my system. Godddddd. I am so glad I got to see them live. You bastards better have awesome new bands/solo projects.

Anyway, lots of new releases coming up so it's time to make a new list of what I'm looking forward to.

Ashita mata, waraeru you ni // Hanah (Aug 5)
I think Hanah is the best Japanese singer I have heard in a long time; wish I'd known about her sooner. I've been looking for good r&b and here it is. She's so different from the majority of what's out there, but I'm not going to get started on how much j-r&b has come to annoy me ('nother topic for another day). Anyway, the b-sides on the single sound amazing. Her indies album is probably great too.

Real Love // SAKURA (Aug 12)
She's back! SAKURA is one of my favorite singers of ever. Apparently this album is her return to r&b - she started out r&b then began working with her Hawaiian influences (lady loves her some ukelele). I've heard one song off the album so far and, while not exactly what I was expecting (still islandish), it wasn't bad. I wish she had song samples.

Guilty // V6 (Sept 2)
I can't turn away from a V6 release. I don't flail about them as much as I used to but the love is still there.

Rain // Domoto Tsuyoshi (Sept 9)
999! The Fish is back and he's using his own naaaame! Everything he does is highly anticipated. Everything.

Unknown single // THE BAWDIES (Oct ?)
I love these guys so much. This Is My Story is one of my favorite albums of 2009. I cannot wait for a new single. And Roy is purdy (he's like a cross between Matsuyama Kenichi and Narimiya Hiroki. i.e. dreamy)

Fog Lamp // OGRE YOU ASSHOLE (Oct 7)
These guys are so kickass. I listen to them and it's like... refreshing. I can't think of another band that sounds like them. I can't help but feel happy when their songs come on.

Ghost Apple // People In The Box (Oct 14)
Concept album. Curiouser and curiouser. Love the title though. Anyway, these are my mellow fellows. They have this post-rock heaviness which is contrasted by the singer's high vocals. lol that actually kinda sounded like I knew what I was talking about.

Necessary Evil // The Mirraz (Oct 14)
I love their manic style and wordy vocals. I couldn't sing a song of theirs without getting tongue twisted if my life depended on it, but damn it if it ain't fun to try.

That's all I can think of right now. Oh, Gomi Takahisa from lostage is gonna be on an album by miscorner/c+llooqtortion in October. Should be interesting. Guys named Takahisa are cool. XD (speaking of which, Massu on Karei Naru Spy!! YAY!)
I'm hoping for an andymori release; they've got two new songs at their site so maybe something's coming.

And Kanjani8 are gonna have something new at some point, right? I'd been reading about a new song. Lately I've been failing at fandom so I'm sure I've missed all kinds of info on everbody. I feel like I need more Koyama in my life but I never feel like watching HHS or SC. Anyhoo, I'm rambling so I shall go have a snack. Yes.

I forgot to post this the other day. My first attempt at a non-stop music mix. Nothin crazy or fancy.

( and away we go )

Monthly update! lol

Soo what up LJ. Last time I posted I was gearing up for Anime Expo. That was a success in most ways. ParaPara panel was cool. MoMusu concert was cool. Got two really, really purrrrdy Hangry & Angry photo sets and t-shirt. Only thing is I couldn't get Yossi's autograph; tickets to the signing were sold out. She showed up at the concert though so I did get to see her a little. Oh yeah, I also wanted and H&A doll so bad but they were 100 bucks!!! Oh well, whatareyagonnado?

Life could be better. I need to try harder. And not stay up til 3am.

Um... right now I'm playing faux DJ again. Haha maybe I should've gone into music production. Audacity can only do so much. Anyway, I came up with the "brilliant" idea to make a non-stop music mix for no reason other than I was bored and needed a project. At first I kinda hated it, but now I think it's pretty good for my first try. It was harrrd.

2009 has been pretty fab music-wise. July alone has had some great releases. Going to listen to Coming Century's Hello-Goodbye soon. I love the title track so I think the whole mini album will be good.

Well, I am hungry so I shall go find some lunch.

Why, hallo there, LJ. I haven't updated in over a month. What can I say, my life is boring.
Still kind of WTFing over MJ. So weird...

Just sittin here, listening to my 5 star playlist. It is pretty nice.

Anime Expo next week. Going to the parapara panel and, if all goes well, I will be seeing Yoshizawa Hitomi. OMGYOSSI! I know I haven't paid much attention to Hello! Project lately (not that it matters cuz most of the ones i care about ~*graduated*~), but Yossi has never stopped being an idol fave of mine. I hope to bring home an autograph and some sort of Hangry paraphernalia, preferably a doll.

I should go to bed since I'm not really doing anything. Spent the last couple of hours trying to fill stuff in on my family tree. I'm kind of obsessed with it for some reason. Last night while searching the internets I came across myspage pages of my half-sisters whom I don't know at all and, man, talk about two different worlds. They're probably not bad people but I found myself irritated by the self-proclaimed bad bitch with pics of herself flipping the bird. :|

Watched the first hour of Race, which within the first few minutes I labeled "the most ridiculous Bollywood movie I've ever seen," but then it got kinda good so I will have to finish it and see how it turns out.

And... I think I just realized I missed Better Off Ted this week. Damn it. Oh well, I watched a majority of the episodes online anyway. Now I have something to do instead of going to bed. I don't know why I am making sleep my enemy. I love it so.

Oh, how nice, Rainbow came on. The SC version with Kusano. ♥
What a pleasant way to end this entry. :)

My hair looks like a hot 80's pageant mess. D: That's what I get for asking for something different.

Anyway... let's see... Shige's Rockstar's SEMINAR starts tonight, doesn't it. I bet he's nervous, what with his having to get his freak on on stage. Good luck, kiddo. XD

What else. Oh, yes, dramas. Operation Watch Eleventy Dramas This Season is going well. I think I'm currently at 13. So far I haven't seen any I want to stop watching so here's hoping for a complete season of everything.

Ah, as much as I'm looking forward to MR. BRAIN I'm gonna miss Godhand Teru. Yuuta's so cute and dorky and the drama has a silly but endearing quality that makes me wanna hug it. Oh well, whatareyagonnado. And Kame's guesting on MR. BRAIN and I'm cool with that. Kame and Kimura. That shot of Kimmy all up in Kame's face cracks me the hell up. Happy to see Ayase Haruka again and as for Mizushima... Haha, I'm pretty over him. I like him but was never super crazy about him to begin with and now it's like... I want to put him away in a box somewhere for a little while. Maybe he'll be super fantastic great next season. We'll see.

The Takki/Ryo drama sounds interesting. I haven't seen a Takki drama since Majo no Jouken, but that's one of my all time faves so I'm looking forward to next season. The whole hands of a god/devil thing is very intriguing.

So I hear KAT-TUN have a concert or something? Haha, kidding, I'd be pretty blind to not see all the dome stuff. Jin's duet with Crystal Kay is pretty nifty.

Hmm with all the new release I need to make a new CDs I Want List.
Dance Floor Monsters // the telephones (July 8th)
eight-hundreds // MONGOL800 (July 8th)
Kanshou Chuudoku // FLiP (May 20th)
Spirit // V6 (June 17th)

Is that all? I thought there were more.
Chozen ParaPara!! presents Campus Summit 2009 ～ 15th Anniversary～ (June 24th)

Gah I just found out NORISIAM-X changed her name to URALi. Must check out her new album. If her PV is any indication, I think I'm gonna like it. :D Haven't listen to J-HipHop in soo long.

Hey May,
Thanks for all the cool peeps. Koyama, Yoko, Ohkura, Inocchi. I ♥ u gaiz.
And Jim! From THE BAWDIES. He's adooorable. ♥
I've got lots of honorary ice cream to eat!

Speaking of The Bawdies, they continue to blow my mind. Acoustic! dsflakslovethisband. They really, really need to come to the U.S.
Hehehe, "sowwow." Oh, Roy. ♥
And they're not immune to bouts of geekery either. The looks on their faces after Marcy delivers his final comment kills me every time. XD

Anyway, that's my pimpage for the day. I'm off to see what Yoko goodness the fandom has to offer lol. XD

I like Koi no ABO but I wanted to make it different so I tinkered around with the song andddd here's what I got. :DD

( NEWS vs. Black Eyed Peas - Koi no ABO (boom boom pow mix) )

Since I've been checking out a lot of new Japanese bands lately (new to me, anyway), I thought I'd make a post about 'em.

( YT embeds ahoy! )

Snagged the album from Vendy earlier and I really like the album. Not gonna lie though, I was kinda worried cuz the last few singles I didn't love as much as their previous stuff but I'd say the album is quite solid. :)

Kanjani8 know how to please fans. Let's run down a list of what you get if you were to get both editions: New group songs, new solos, sub-unit songs, making of PVs, making of the album.
That's a lot of shit. Can't ask for much more than that. Dude, 25 new songs. Well, I guess technically it's 22 new songs but you get my point.

Not really in the mood for a full review but I will say I noticed there's a lot less funk this time around, but I'm not complaining. Anyhoo, I guess just I'll ramble nonsensically a little about the solos.

words // Barry ~ Talk about stripped down. I like his voice but he could stand to pull back a bit at times. The piano is badass.
no-no-no // Tacchon ~ hot dance track, love it. A fave. PRZ TO PAHOMANCE NAO!
Airairo // Yasu ~ this is so him. Loooooooove this song. My top fave perhaps?
One's shadow // Hina ~ Nice song; a little jazzy, a little funky
Wanshan Ronpin // Maru ~ I... don't get Maru lol. The song starts off with some funny tribal sounding chanting and then it turns into like, Happy Maru Sing Time! Pa Pi Pu Pe Pon! and... I just can't. The song is cute in spots but... yeah. Sorry to say, but I only really like the chanting parts.
413man // Yoko ~ Oh, Kimi-kun, how I adore thee. The song is really sweet. ♥ Another fave. I think my heart grew a little from listening to it.
Half Down // Ryo ~ You hit those high notes, Ryo! I like it; it's the type of song that will stick in the brain.

Oh right the unit songs.
Glorious - a bit on the melodramatic side for me but okay. Good effort with the English; they're almost there lol.
Kicyu - So so cute, I love it. ♥
YOU CAN SEE - I didn't know what to expect from these two, but I am really diggin this track. Laid back, more on the R&B side. Cool stuff.

Since I'm talking about new releases, a quick mention of The Fish! aka Tsu-yoshi. Very good stuff, but way mellower than I was expecting. He has such pretty songs but I think I need to be in the right mood for them since they're not as upbeat this go round.

( Oh! I forgot about my list of CDs I want. Must update. )

SWEET JESUS. The Koi no ABO PV is HI-LARIOUS. Just GAH. My stomach hurts from laughing. Very cute twist that I did not see coming. And I am so grateful for it cuz it's exactly what I was hoping for. XD

Koyama looked mighty fine and Shige Rockstar was being really weird but still managed to look hot. And his hair after the... transformation was spectacular. Actually his whole look was fab. Elvis Shigeaki is the man.

Massu was cute and bouncy and Tego's primping was funny. Ryo makes such funny facial expresions and he continues to wave like a 4 year old little boy LOL. The KoyaTego dorkery was cute. Pi's gum chewing makes me laugh cuz he's such a jaw flexer and he actually put that to use. XD

I didn't think I was that big of a fanspazzer but apparently I am cuz when Kei grabbed that chicks arm I was all *LE GASP!*

I need more Kei + sunglasses in my life. ♥ (but the normal sized ones ROFL)

If anything deserves Making Of footage on DVD it's this PV, damn it. *sigh*

Man, I haven't posted in a while.

Well, let's see. Last night Ilaila and I went to the last show of the Japan Nite 2009 tour and it was amaaazing. We were there mainly to see Sparta Locals but everyone was pretty fab. If you live anywhere near where the tour is happening, I highly recommend going next year. It's a good chance to check out bands you may not be familiar with.

Took us a little while to find the place but we made it and much to our surprise there was only one dude waiting. Can you blame us for being cautious though? Japanese bands don't come around that often. We were pretty close to the stage so we had good views of everybody. I think Ilaila was able to take some nice pictures. It was a lot of fun (moshers and super gross sweaty geekizoid notwithstanding).

Lineup:
FLiP - Four piece all female band and the cutest little things you ever did see. But they certainly rock out with the fierceness. They are very nice, too. I got my picture taken with them and they all gave me a hug. XD

Omodaka - Like. IDEK. He's something you HAVE TO see live because just listening to the music will not do the experience justice at all. He uses handheld games to make music. I'm talking DS, Game Boy, PSP. WATCH HIM. You prolly can't see it well but there's a woman on his screen who pops up and sings. The whole thing is just really cool.

SA (Samurai Attack) - I am not much into punk but they totally killed it. I thought the lead singer was hot lol. He had total like retro yankee biker hair (complete with comb in back pocket - which he used). The whole band was awesome and, actually, we got there so early we saw some of them show up, but we didn't know who they were. Their fans are very hardcore. There was moshing and body surfing and one dude kept getting on the stage. XD

detroit7 - Two girls and a guy. I would've liked them so much more if I could hear her vocals better. But as far as musicianship goes, they were great. The lead chick playing guitar was great to watch. I likened it to watching Yasu play. You can tell they love what they do. I'm at their myspace right now and... I think I need their albums.

Sparta Locals - Way crazier than I thought they'd be. I enjoyed them a lot. There was a minor mishap when the the singer's guitar strap broke or something and his guitar fell but it was like nothing cuz they still sounded awesome and he performed like a mad man. He jumped into the crowd and it was all very exciting. The other guitarist was so cool to watch with his long hair flyin around. He smashed his guitar at the end of the last song. They are all so cute. They signed my CD booklet and I took pictures with them all, too.

I love that the bands stuck around to talk and sign stuff and take pics with fans (and even sell their own goods). That's definitely something I never thought I'd get to do.

Good times. Let's do it again next year! (btw, I found out GO!GO!7188 did the tour in 2007... *sigh* such is life -__- )

Perhaps I'm jumping the gun but I'm already looking forward to the spring dramas. As anyone would, I always get excited when actors I like are put together. Plus most dramas look good on paper so I get all "OMG I NEED TO WATCH EVERYTHING!" until they actually air and I start filtering out the crap.

One's been kind on my mind though. Atashinchi no Danshi. Now, as this is a Horikita Maki drama, excitement doesn't exactly come easy for me. But the plot's sucked me in. If she's gonna look like this for a little while, how can I pass that up? She's homeless and gets taken in by a rich dude with 6 sons. You know what that means: ikemen. Fuji are some crafty bastards though. They haven't released the names of the sons yet and according to the drama's site, they're going to reveal each of them (I'm assuming one by one) from March 12th through the 17th. Dunno the odds of any of them being Johnnys but, oh well, no matter.

In other news, I'm on twitter now if anyone is interested in my daily nonsense lol. http://twitter.com/riikabob

I see the Rescue PV has finished. I shall take a look.
[edit] Best part: Jin's dance break. But I have a thing for locking so... XD

With all these new releases looks like I need to start another List of CDs I Want. It's hard keeping all this straight.

- GO // lostage (03.25) (pre-ordered! huzzah!)
- Pinhole // OGRE YOU ASSHOLE (03.04)
- paraphilia // THE NOVEMBERS (03.18 interesting title)
- Sora Utsukushii Ware no Sora // Tsuyoshi (04.10)
- Bigaku My Beautiful Sky // Tsuyoshi (04.10)
- Puzzle // Kanjani8 (04.15)
- THIS IS MY STORY // THE BAWDIES (04.22)
- Chozen ParaPara!! presents D-1 Grand Prix 2009

Gah, that's more than I realized.

I haven't listened to RADWIMPS in a while but their album is probably gonna be good.

I feel like I should be more excited about Utada's album but I'm not. Come Back To Me does nothing for me (it's not bad but I dont think it's great either); maybe the other songs are better. I'll probably end up snagging it.

Anyway, guess I'll go to bed now.