Globe Forum?

[ynygma]

Hello All,

Globe is my all time favorite J-band!

I have been searching the net for a Globe forum and quite frankly can't find much on Globe at all on the net...in English that is.

Personally, I think Keiko Yamada has the greatest female vocalist voice I have ever heard. It really is a shame that you can't find much information about Globe.

[Joseph]

Hi Ynygma. Nice to meet you. I don't know if there is an English Globe forum, but there are a couple Globe fans on this forum, including myself. Keiko does have a great voice, doesn't she? Is there any information on Globe that you are specifically looking for?

I saw in the other thread that you also liked Two-Mix. I am the biggest Two-Mix maniac! I still think they're the best. As my friends on this forum could tell you, there was a time in my life when I listened to Two-Mix almost exclusively.

[molotov889]

Just wanted to say hey as well since I'm a big fan of Globe as well (they're actually my favorite band, period). It seems that Globe isn't quite as well known outside of Japan as other J-pop artists, so that may have something to do with the lack of forums. If you really wanted to, you could always start your own.

Just curious: what's your favorite Globe album? Mine's definitely Lights 2, with Love Again and Outernet as my second favorites (I've always had a hard time differentiating beyond my favorite with Globe).

[Joseph]

I think I'm reaching the point where I need to buy a new CD because there's no one CD that I listen to constantly anymore. I'm constantly switching CDs in the CD player, figuring out what I'm in the mood to listen to. These days, I can only listen to a Move album once through before I switch it out (except for the few songs that I think are outstandingly stellar). One song that I could listen to over and over is II Mix Delta's "Kibou no Shizuku," but there's not a lot of great music I'm looking forward to that's coming out these days. Do I really only like dance pop? Why does dance pop have a history of lacking sophistication? Where is the good dance pop these days?

[molotov889]

I'm having the opposite problem right now. I've bought so much new music in the last few months that I really feel I still don't know half of it yet. After this month, though, things seem to be calming down, so maybe it'll give me a chance to become more acquainted with it all.

[Joseph]

Have you bought "This is Hyony" yet? Because you have to tell me how it is. Lol. Believe it or not, I've rediscovered Every Little Thing. A friend of mine gave me Every Best Single +3 and Eternity. ELT fulfills my need for sophisticated lyrics with pretty melodies. Listening to them makes me sure that I would probably like Day After Tomorrow.

When I get tired of my music, I have a feeling I will fairly quickly purchase Globe 2 Pop/Rock and Ami Suzuki's Around the World. At least, that's the current plan unless I change my mind.

[molotov889]

Yep, I sure did. Wrote a review of it, too. It's in the "As Promised... Many Reviews" thread of the reviews forum. I've recently gotten some Clazziquai Project music and man, they are SO good! Have finals and projects this week, but I'll try to post reviews of my recent purchases next week.

[Joseph]

Well so you did! It looks like you are pretty familiar with Lee Jung Hyun's earlier work as well. Do you have all her Korean albums as well? Tell me a little bit about Clazziquai Project. What type of music are they? Do you think that I would like it (i.e. do they sound like DDR? lol)?

I don’t know why I didn’t tell you this before, but one of the reasons I’ve been slow at getting new music is that I’ve recently taken up listening to audio lectures. There’s a company called the Teaching Company, and they provide audio ‘courses’ which consist of lectures from nationally-renowned professors from real universities. I just got into it about a month ago. The first two courses I got where How to Listen to Great Music and the History of the English Language. The lectures in most of the courses are 30 minutes each, but the music lectures are 45 minutes each. Right now I’m on lecture 30 out of 36 for English and lecture 21 out of 48 for Music. They are kind of like audio books. Their website is teach12.com and the price of one course is anywhere from $20 to $100 if you buy them on sale. The non-sale prices of some courses can be a few hundred.

And that’s not all. I got so into the audio learning spirit, that I also bought an audio series on how to speak Mandarin. I’ve always been fascinated with Chinese, but realized I needed speaking lessons because it can be so hard to pronounce. Japanese is not the one and only language that I can learn (although it is my biggest focus). Just ask my colleagues at work when I brought an Arabic book to work and was practicing reading the words. I bought my Chinese-English dictionary a month or two ago, and VariableRush on this forum also said that he is planning on buying a Chinese-English dictionary too. Though I must say, this simplified Chinese can drive me crazy sometimes - I much prefer traditional Chinese writing because it’s better looking, smarter, and more similar to Japanese characters. If only I could find a great traditional Chinese dictionary at my bookstore.

[molotov889]

Man, I wish I had the time to learn a new language (Korean or Japanese, preferrably). It actually could be a good asset for the area that I'm going to be going into, but to do that at the same time I'm trying to get my Masters/PhD? I'm going crazy with the amount of work I have already!!!

But yeah, I do have all of LJH's music. I found her on (of all places) DDR 2nd Mix Korean where she had Wa and Ba Kkwo on there. (Again with the DDR, huh?) That was quite a while ago too, so I've been following her for some time. If you get This Is Hyony and like some of the Korean songs, I can point you to which albums they came from.

P.S. Just got Fly Me So High yesterday, and I'm, listening to Sunday Funday (for the first time!!!). It's pretty good. I thi nk I remember you saying you really liked the lyrics is why you liked it so much?

[Joseph]

Yes, I like the lyrics, especially the opening ones: "Yes I'm movin' on, going on my way / In the sunny day from here to faraway / Never show you I'm cryin' in my mind / Yes I'm movin' on, it's Sunday Funday." It was my favorite song a few years ago-- it really sticks with me. Although the rest of the song has some strange Japanese lyrics, like "It makes me fly in the coastland winds" and "the blue cloud is rising." I even did a translation of Sunday Funday on Crazy Move Castle. I like it mostly because it's a perfect fusion of new trance and older-style techno in a wonderful melody, like the song Fly Me So High.

Honestly, I've been thinking I'll just get "Magic to Go to my Star" instead of This is Hyony. What do you think about that? By the way, what's "Hyony"?

Out of curiosity, how is how well do you know Japanese? How many words do you think you know? People like Brad use their Japanese-English dictionary to look up words they don't know from time to time.

I've finished the first 4 units (out of 10) of my Mandarin course so far. I've learned some beginner phrases, like greetings and stuff. Perhaps two of the most important phrases I've learned are "I don't speak well" and "I don't understand what you're saying." Lol. I've been using many language learning ideas in my comic strip lately, for example this one. www.amongwolves.com/archive/102-1.jpg
If I were in your place, I wouldn't really want to learn a new language either. After I finished college, I was free to study what I wanted, but I just don't have as much energy to do so. The audio language course is a happy medium.

Studying baroque and classical music in my audio course has made me realize how bad much of today's music is. I don't like ear-wrenching guitars and drums and screaming and negative lyrics. This is not what I think good music should sound like. It should be pretty, fun, upbeat, and intelligent. As a general rule, I like music with a strong beat or bassline, even what would be considered dance music hundreds of years ago. Today, it really is still all about Two-Mix and Smile.dk with me.

[Variable]

This world is made of Peace & Love!

[molotov889]

Hey Joseph, I just got a Yesasia product alert that II-Mix Delta will be releasing a new album on May 25th. Sounds like something you might want to keep an eye on.

[Joseph]

Hallelujah! I have been praying for this. Another II Mix Delta release! I use CDJapan newsmail... I wonder why I didn't get the artist newsmail on it. Nonetheless, thanks for letting me know, because I didn't hear about it. The only information I found on it was on II Mix Delta's official website (which is a shadow of their former website Little Station), and they said, "Immediately following the first album release, the second album recording has already started! The product is expected."

I cannot wait for this release. I'm going to be preordering it shortly, but I don't have to right away because there's no way I will forget about it. Who can compare to Two-Mix? I can't think of anybody who makes music like them anymore. I appreciate the members taking time out of their busy schedules to make this new mini-album. Long live Two-Mix!

Molotov, what is your favorite Western music? Do you listen to Western (American & European) music at all? Just wondering.

After I get my DVDs, audio lectures, and comics, CDs are next on the list, but with the understanding that nobody can beat Smile.dk and Two-Mix, IMO.

[molotov889]

Haha! I like their definition of "immediately." Although, it seems this one's supposed to be a full album this time around? I don't know if I'll preorder it right away, but I'm sure I'll pick it up by the summer. Like I said, I've got a lot of music to still enjoy right now. (Trying to write a bunch of reviews right now, in fact.)

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I used to listen to a lot of Western music. Mostly pop/punk like SR-71, NFG, Sum 31, Fenix TX, etc... As you know, I listen to some techno, but lately (as int he past 2 years or so), it's been exclusively Asian, pretty much. I get some Western exposure from my significant other, but that's about it.

LOL!!! I think this thread is turning into the new "August" thread. Maybe we should start a Joseph/Molotov discussion thread.

[Joseph]

Good idea! I'll call it "Mo & Joe thread." We really need it.