J-ROCK no zatsugaku

J-ROCK no ZATSUGAKU

'ZATSUGAKU' means miscellaneous knowledge (sorry for my poor trans. ^^;). This is a page where I record all the fun stuff that I've discovered (so I won't forget them! ^^;) All info are from my magazine/video collections or while browsing some JP websites. I'll not translate everything, I'll do only the ones that I like. ^_^

* Note: all translations are done by myself unless otherwise indicated, please don't take anything w/o my permission.

* Note 2: there is a great possiblity that the info may not be exact from original. Cuz I have to translate it into normal English, and of course - my translation skills is bad ne...gomen! ^^;;

* Note 3: If there's anything you would like to contribute, feel free to e-mail me!! And the most important of all, if you discover any translation mistakes,
I plead you to e-mail me as I'm very eager to learn. m_ _m

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~ From SHOXX Vol. 51 Cover ~ HYDE

Interviewer: What do you do in your spare time?
HYDE: I watch videos and read books.
I: What kind of videos?
H: Well, these days Tet-chan (Tetsu) was always blabbing how good
Gundam is (Lourdes: Tetsu is a great Gundam fan, but his recent love is Evangelion)
, so I thought "Okay, I'll try to watch a Gundam movie!". So
I went to the video shop and tried to rent vol. 1, 2 & 3 of the movie set,
but they were all rented out. -_- So I was like'Ah~~What should I do?' Just when
I started to leave, I bumped into Tet-chan at the door.
(L: ha, seems like they live close to each other! Wish I was
in that video shop!) So I asked him "Did you
rented out the whole set of Gundam?" , "Nope! I came to return some tapes" he said.
I: So what did Tetsu rented out?
H: Oh, it was some other Gundam series. I stood there, wondering what I should rent
and Tetsu came and recommended me to watch 'DANBAIN'. Right away I rented the whole
TV series - 12 in total. It took me 2 days to finish them! But gee..they were
not interesting at all...-_-.
I: So did you skip or stop in the middle?
H: Oh, no way! The rental fees costed me 5000 yen! I had to finish it no matter what!
(laughs) So the next day I was kinda 'part-asleep, part-awake' and finished the tapes
from morning to 9 pm straight. Gosh, the opening/ending theme song got stuck in my head
for a long time ^^;;

H: I received a lot of Manga (comic books) from fans around my birthday!
I: eh?? But you didn't tell people your b-day!
H: I didn't!! But they seemed to know!! (L: Jan 19 or 29 ^_^) They sent me
lots of poems, photos and books every year!

H: I always love reading horror novels, then I would get scared (doki doki) all night,
which to me is a lot of fun ^_^.

Hyde likes Michael Jackson - he loves 'Thriller' and 'Dangerous'. He also went to
see MJ's live in Tokyo Dome.
H: When I went the Michael Jackson's live in Tokyo Dome, I was like "Ah~I wish someday
I would have a live here.."
(L: HE DID!! 12/23/97 L'Arc-en-Ciel Reincarnation in Tokyo Dome!! Your dream came true
Haido!! ^_^)

I: During L'Arc-en-Ciel Lives, I see that you move very gracefully and smoothly.
Espciallly your wrist. (L: just see 'Secret Signs' in Kiss me Deadly 96)
H: Yeah, I practice break dance! (L: WHAT??? ^^;;)
I: Really??
H: Really. ^_^
I: So, you have a very flexible body because of practicing it?
H: Yeah, back then, I went to take break dance lessons.
I: For how long?
H: About 1 to 2 years.
I: I'm shocked. (L: me too!!) Why did you thought of going to such classes?
H: Oh, it was my friend who tempted me to go. It was a professional dance school ne!
(L: Shall we DANCE? ^_-) Because I felt that I was lack of exercising, so I thought
"Why not? Dancing is a sport too! Let's go!" I went to classes once a week ne!

~From CD-DATA 10th Annervesary Book

There's a section in this CD-DATA where artists list the albums that they
think are best in 1987-1997.

Penicillin
Hakuei - amiyumi by PUFFY
H: I liked the title, so I bought it! Then I found the contents are great too!
I listen to it alot. Even now, I keep track of PUFFY's TV/magazines appearances.
(L: ??!!! Suprise suprise! )
Hakuei - Missing Link by Penicillin
H: Penicillin's first full album (indies). We put a lot of effort into it.
My favorite.

Chisato - REVIEW~Best of GLAY~ by GLAY
C: I always liked GLAY. I've liked GLAY ever since their single debut.
They have great music and lyrics. I have lots of other favorite albums, it is
hard to choose, but this is one I really like.
Chisato - Pureness by Okamoto Mayo
C: It was around '96's Fall, I repeatedly listen to this CD. When I listened to this CD,
it gave me a gentle/light feeling and I liked it. I listened to it before I go to sleep.

GLAY
JIRO - BELOVED by GLAY
HISASHI - RED WARRIORS BEST SONGS COLLECTION~RED SONGS~ by RED WARRIORS
- JUST A HERO by BOOWY
- tenshitachi~ANGEL by The Street Sliders
TERU - BEAT out! by GLAY
- THE BLUE HEARTS by TRAIN TRAIN (globe's Keiko chose this too)
- The Best of Dreams - REBECCA
TAKURO - Shepherd Moon by ENYA
- Morning Glory by OASIS
- FLOWERS for ALGERNON by Himuro Kyosuke

KUROYUME
Kiyoharu - IN UTERO by NIRVANA
- easy listening by THE MODS
- The Very Best of THE ROOSTERS by The Roosters
Hitoki - Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette
- NEO FASCIO by Himuro Kyosuke

~ Sugizo X Ryuichi Interview ~ 1996 after STYLE

I = interviewer
S : What's up? Hey, isn't Ryu playing with the dogs?
R : Yeah, now I have 2 dogs, POLO and NORORI!!
S : I like dogs too!! In my home there are 3 dogs, one is the mother and
the other are the kids. We have them
since I was 10! Oh, they've been with me for 16 yrs now!
I : So, now you're living alone, what kind of pet do you have?
S : me? I have turtles!! (L: CUTE!! I used to have one too)
They are Mikky and MARORII! One is a girl and the other is a boy.
Whenever I return late at night, these
two would be having "XXX", i'm quite worried...(L: ^^;;;)
R : Ha ha ha!! Well, my two dogs are both male, so I don't need to worry
about anything like that! Ha ha!!

I : So when the two of you are making new songs, do your pets listen to them?
S : My turtle listens! But I don't think they would understand. (laughs)
R : Hey! My dogs do seem to understand!!
S : their master's voice??
R : Yeah! Well, at that time whenever Luna Sea's CM is showing on the TV,
they would run to the TV screen! (L: Waa~~Cute!!)
S : Really????

I : So, now you two are off and having personal times with your pets, do
you guys stop doing any sports??
S : Oh, not really, the both of us just went to the gym to do some boxing
not long ago!
R: It is interesting!! When you see your competitor fell infront of you,
it is the type of sport that make
you feel you really had won. Because personally, my mind is "weak" and
this sport makes me feel a sense of
nervousness, just like Music does to me.
S: Yes, I do agree. A boxer starts with nothing but than you move up and
up...that kind of sportsmanship is what I put
into music too. Both of us have the same point of view towards the
relationship of sports and music.

I : How long do you usually play boxing?
R : Well, for seriously boxing practice, we stopped for about half a year
now.
S: Because the hitting and stuff would make our hands swell! Which makes
it difficult to play guitar.
So everytime we're in the Recording or Live period, we would have to stop
practicing.
R: for the sake of our health status too, so we don't do harsh training.
other wise we would not show our best during lives.
S: well for me, I smoke, I drink, it is difficult to keep good health!
And I sometimes might vomit after a hard drink.

I: Ryuichi, so you don't smoke, what about alcohol??
R: Well, depends on the situation. When it is romantic and mood is good,
I will consider drinking some.
S: Oh!! I think alcohol is really does a lot of tricks and plays a great
role in "Love". Really is a "Love Medicine"

I: What type of girls you two like?
S: ah, for me, I like Western girls, Ryu likes Japanese girls. (laughs)
R: Yeah! True. I like girls with a simple beautiful face.
S: as for me, it is the opposite. I like foreign/unique faces.

I: Do you have any "lost love" experiences??
S: yeah!! But up to now, I still think Love is fun.
R: really.
S: men and women have different points of view in love. For Men, when
they first found a women he liked, he would want to be
with her 100%. But then once they're together in the house, and when they
see more of each other, the feeling would turn cold. This
kind of stuff is very common.
As for Women, she would have a very strict opinion as to
the first guy she go out with. But as time pass, because she
had somehow changed the guy to the way she want, the true side of the guy
would not be seen.

R: Ha, for men, Somehow it is hard to marry the first love.
they always marry the second girl after the first love. But once they get
married, the feeling is totally not the same.
S: Me, I might get married (or might not), but a sure thing is I really do
want to have children!!!!
R: yeah, having a second generation of yourself is kawaii ne!
S: yeah, hey, when we are composing songs, aren't we also give birth to a
new life too? Whenever we're playing our
songs, doesn't it seems like our children (songs) is growing up
everytime??
It is really amazing you see.
R: Yes, it is really that kind of meaning. It really is important to us
that the songs grow with us. It is really a big thing.

~CD DATA (4/21-5/5) LUNA SEA COVER~

- As everyone knows, Kawamura Ryuichi produced a group called "Say a Little Prayer"
(a 3 girls group) during his solo year. Well, this group is going to release a new single
called "Shinai" and the producer this time is R.K!!! Composer is a R.K,
lyricist is also R.K. @_@ For sure that 's little monkichi Ryuichi of Luna Sea!!!!

~"RADIO MAGAZINE WHAT'S IN?" Inoran X Ryuichi interview 4/18 (songs played: STORM/Kono sekai no hatede)

- DJ: "What would you do if you suddenly changed to a girl?"
- Ryuichi "Oh! Change to a girl? I really want to do ballet dancing!!"
- DJ: " If you're on a deserted island, which member would you bring with you?"
- Inoran "Ryuichi!"
- Ryuichi "haha..if tonight you're with another member, your answer would be different ne!"
- Inoran "^_^" (smiles)
- DJ: "What animal does Inoran looks like to you, Ryuichi?"
- Ryuichi: "A little cat. Inoran has a little cat himself too!"
- DJ: "What animal does Ryuichi looks like to you, Inoran?"
- Inoran: "Miniature Dachshund" (L: a kind of dog that belongs to the "Hounds" group.)
[at the end of the interview we hear Ryuichi making doggy noises...^^;;;]

~ "Shine Out Shine Away" Luna Sea selected interview from R&R Newsmaker No. 119 ~

Ryuichi
- "It was said that Japanese is a culture where its music, melody always comes first. But in our case, we really don't
know how our music actually "start". Of course there are times where we based first on melodies, but there are also times that
they just come from a single word or a monologue. And because we're such a band, the existence of a vocal I think, is
extremely important." (L: err.......)
- What's so interesting about Luna Sea?
"Recording, LIVE, or whenever we make sound, many many things can happen out of expectence. Therefore, we're always in
a totally fresh mode when we make music."
- "Shin-chan gave me some lyrics, Sugi-chan gave some idea..etc..etc..Everyone contributed and made things happen."

Inoran
- What do you think of the responses on "SHINE"?
"yeah..I heard a lot of 'it's pop' or 'it is not like before'...etc..everyone was kinda 'surprised'? But none of us ever felt that way.
In fact, we're happy that fans got 'surprised'!"
- So what is your definition of a pop image?
"Pop...it is just something that it comes down to be...hmm...sound is beautiful, melody is pretty...something like that, right?"
- Something like "I for you"?
"Luna Sea's songs are classified in many different categories by people. Our songs in the album "STORM", "I for you",
"SHINE"...etc.. are just songs that we love and that we think they are beautiful."
- So how was the recording of the album?
"It was my happiest recording session ever."
- Do you mind telling us which of the songs in the album are by you?
"Sure! They are 'VELVET', 'BREATHE', and 'UP TO YOU'."
- The AKOGI (acoustic electirc guitar) part of "BREATHE" is by..?
"That was played by Sugizo-kun. Although I am always the one to play the acoustic/AKOGI parts....during past times we
even played the counter melody part together.....but when I play a song and Sugizo-kun plays the same, it becomes
two different songs!
Our style, our timing...are different. As for "BREATHE", we wanted the Sugizo "rhythmic feel" and therefore he played and I didn't."
(L: LOVE the syncopatic feel in the intro!!)
- Was it decided at the beginning that "UP TO YOU" would be the last song in the album?
"After the song was done, I said 'So for sure this would be last song in the album??' and everyone replied 'Yup!'."
- There are people who follow everything one by one...like the last song to be recorded would be the last song in the album.
"For me, I'm very 'scattered'...I don't always follow the order of things.....^^; I'm like "Next, let's record this one!!"...^^;;;
However, as for some acoustic parts that happens in the middle of the song, and that they require a very delicate
tone and touch....I must be wide awake, fully concentrated to accomplish that. ^_^"

Sugizo
- About making of the album "SHINE"
"I always try to find the best way for the band and for myself to express at the same time. Questions such as "Really this
is good?" or "Can they really be satisfied by this?" are always asked among members. However, we don't say it,
and these questions are kept in heart. If we say it, we'll defintely fight. (laughs)
- I'm like the "Mission Impossible Captain" (L: wierd trans..I know..gomen..^^;;) in the band.
I'm a "Let's plunge into it man!" that kinda type of person. ^_^ (laughs)
- "Whenever there's a problem in the band I would go 'wait a second, that's going too far'...yes..I can be such a calm person.
However, at most times, I don't think at all! And yes, when I'm unconscious (L: not necessarily means he's drunk, but rather
like "blank" ), my nervous self would be revealed.
- "Although it is no mistake that this is our best album ever, at this point however, I'm still very unsatisfied in regards to
many things that we haven't been able to accomplish. This is what I first realized.. Luna Sea is a wonderful band, but we're not yet
to become the strongest band."
- talking about how Luna Sea is now having more medium tempo songs such as "I for you", "With"..and how they developed
a larger scale of music..etc.......
"I remembered the time when we decided "MOTHER" to be the single cut, it was like 'We Luna Sea does not only play
up-tempo songs, STUPID!'"
(laughs)

- "Maybe, just maybe, that the dark, shadowed part of Luna Sea is all because of me being there." ~ last sentence said by Sugizo
with a bitter smile on his face.

(L: Shinya & J fans, I'm very sorry that I didn't put up a part for J & Shinya m_ _m ...L is very lazy...gomen..)

Little Summary:
- In the album "SHINE" the composers & their songs are as follows:
"VELVET", "BREATHE", "UP TO YOU" ~ INORAN
"Time Has Come", "STORM", "SHINE", "Unlikelihood", "ANOTHER", "BROKEN" ~ J
"NO PAIN", "I for You", MILLENNIUM", "Love Me" ~ SUGIZO
- Lyrics of "BROKEN" was co-written by Ryuichi and J.
"Yup, Ryuichi wrote first, later I joined him and we finished it together. Because there are words that I really want to express in this
song" ~ J
(L: Guys...I beg you to check out the lyrics........*_*)

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