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Post by molotov889 on Apr 27, 2006 23:57:53 GMT -5
Been somewhat busy, so all I can manage now is list of quick responses: AAA is Attack All Around. A somewhat-recent group of 5 males and 3 females (mostly early teens) who do mostly Eurobeat. One of my friends called them the "Japanese S Club 7 with 8 people". I guess that's sort of accurate. From what I've seen of their performances, they do a lot of dancing, and their bios include many aspects of entertainment. It's funny that you bought Around The World, because I just bought Amix World and should be getting it in the mail early next week . Glad to hear you're enjoying the new Globe music. It really is great. Yeah, I really like the rhyming scheme of Lost, but what really got me about that song is the rhythm. It just feels like a song that expresses itself in every possible aspect. Ami Suzuki has a pretty long career that was from back before she was with Avex, and yeah, TK was her producer then. I wouldn't be surprised if II Mix does study classical composers. For that matter, I'd pretty much expect any artist that composes its/their own music to do so. Kind of the same way anyone in any art-related field takes multiple art history classes. I may be picking up the II Mix Delta CD sooner rather than later as it comes out at about the same time Ryuichi Sakamoto's remix album of Chasm (called Bricolage) will be released, if I remember correctly.
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Post by Joseph on Apr 29, 2006 6:08:17 GMT -5
Of course, you're probably studying your brains out at this point in the year. So I can understand if you don't have as much time to drop by here as much, and that's cool. I just like to come here and talk since I hardly have any friends IRL, especially not ones who like Jpop.
As you'd expect, I so admire Tetsuya Komuro as a musician; he's come out with all those songs for all these music groups; it's almost like he's a kind of guy who can come out with a song on the spur of the moment... but no doubt music production is a lot more complicated than I'm thinking. I adore the two TK instrumental songs on Maniac disc 2 "To Solid Snake" and "Maunalua Bay." How would one classify Globe? Are they pop? Light dance? Rock? Does it really matter all that much anyways? By the way, the beginning of "Shift" is a baroque-sounding tune, and I love it. This is an example of baroque; every note is important. Globe isn't full-blown dance/trance like they used to be, but there isn't anything wrong with full-blown dance/trance.
In your review of Globe 2 Pop/Rock, you said that you liked "Love Goes On" because of the message that loves goes on. I can't help but wonder if you agree with what Globe is saying. Do you think that love goes on?
Ami Suzuki is my new favourite artist; her album Around the World is about 2/3 dance and 1/3 pop... it's my ideal album! By the way, the instrumentalist of the song "Around the World" is Y@suo Ohtani. This is the same guy who did the instruments for Nami Tamaki's "Reason," the song that first got me interested in Nami Tamaki! Y@suo Ohtani also did a song or two for Dream. It's like I'm a Y@suo Ohtani magnet or something! (You'll remember the two things I consider most important in any song - instruments and lyrics/message.) But unlike Nami Tamaki, Ami Suzuki's other instrumentalists are just as awesome as Y@suo Ohtani. I'm too lazy to figure out what their names are from the kanji right now. Her song "Delightful" sounds as good as quality German techno, which is great. Ami has all the "ful" songs - Delightful, Hopeful, Beautiful, Eventful.
I just read a "comic book" today called "How to Self-Publish Comics" (even though it was text-only - no illustrations). It takes a very business-oriented stance to comic publishing. I ask myself, "Why am I reading this?" Am I thinking about self-publishing comics or what? I'm not considering joining the comic world professionally, but technology does allow people to make their own books now. I'm definitely not in it for the money. The real motivating factor is just to 'get my message out,' sort of. My cousin said that she won't read my webcomic online; she's waiting for the book, lol. Truly, I just write short silly comic strips. How would I hold up writing a longer story?
My comic strip has suffered recently due to my other interests - sometimes I use it just to write down what's on my mind. I've been focusing on playing the piano a lot this week. I just got my big, definitive book of classical music for piano, and tomorrow I'm going to try to learn Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky. I only had 15 minutes to try it today before I had to go to work, so I really want to learn it. Tchaikovsky was Russian, but was influenced by German works, and I love the German style.
I think it's pretty likely I will eventually get that Yamaha MO6 keyboard in the future, probably a 2/3rds chance. After all, I could help subsidize its high cost by becoming a street performer. Just kidding!!!
Maybe my Japanese isn't as good as I thought. My coworker and I were talking about anime and manga today and he mentioned a "hakama," and I was thinking, 'What the heck is that?' LOL. I have lots of goals: learn lots of audio courses, finish my Mandarin speaking course, read Japanese newspapers, catch up on my literature, be a webmaster, a cartoonist, and a pianist. Sometimes I just need a break from mentally exhausting hobbies.
The problem with me is I like to do everything for myself. The only way I can manage to do this is if I cut down on time with friends, but being alone too much can make you become disconnected and sometimes hysterical. Hence, the vicious cycle continues!
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Post by molotov889 on May 1, 2006 11:34:28 GMT -5
OK. I'm confused now. I just saw in my CDJapan newsletter that Globe is apparently releasing a mini-album on 06/28. According to them, it will have Soldier plus four new songs. I haven't heard anything about this, and apparently neither has Yesasia. It's not even mentioned anywhere on Globe's official site, not even in Marc's new blog section as far as I can tell. The time between Globe 2 and Maniac was really short, especially for Globe, but this just seems almost ridiculously fast. Maybe they're trying to regain some momentum and get back to the forefront of the pop scene? P.S. Olivia (Lufkin) seems like she's going to be coming back sometime soon, after taking a couple years off from her last album, The Lost Lolli. The same newsletter mentioned a single from her in connection with the NANA movie/manga. I'm excited about that too, but I kind of hope she tones down the rock from the last album, and makes something more like her first one, Synchronicity. If you're curious, she was one of the artists featured on the Option-Z compilation album that Move was also on last year. Right now, the only artist I wish there was more news from is Misia. She hasn't made anything in a while, and there are no more albums of hers for me to buy . I need more Misia! Oh yeah, and about Shift, I think I mentioned it before, but can't remember. When I saw the movie Thank You For Smoking, that same melody from the beginning of Shift (the baroque stye part you mentioned) was in the movie. I'm thinking TK borrowed that from some classical piece. Probably baroque, since you've identified it as such.
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Post by molotov889 on May 2, 2006 0:49:31 GMT -5
Joseph, I just realized that I recommended the wrong song from Memorial Address. I personally actually don't like Angel's Song very much. What you want is the track Memorial Address (the title track to the mini-album). It's 1000000000x's better. P.S. WOOT! Finally took the time to learn my new school's server system and now have my avatar back. That and some graphics for my LJ that I've been missing. Unfortunately, I can't find my last LJ background I made (from Boulder). Maybe I'll make a new one. But of what?
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Post by Joseph on May 9, 2006 0:49:15 GMT -5
I have been working on my first song diligently for the past week. I'm actually making progress. I've more or less finished the chorus, except for a little additional tweaking. And I'm also done the part just before the chorus (the bridge). It was amazing how I was just writing this part, looking online for just the right translation, and I when I put it to the song, it had matched the other bridge in rhyme and meter perfectly, through no intention of my own.
I've visited some songwriting websites to get some know-how. I learned that if you don't like your song, who will? Even experts don't get it right the first time, and if you don't love it, throw it away. It hit me today -- what am I going to talk about in my song??! I had one or two good lines saved from memory (it translates as "At the end of the battle, you can walk in the streets with honor again"), but I don't want the rest to be filler. For someone who is so picky about lyrics, the shoe is finally on the other foot. What will I sing about??
I don't know if it's more normal to write the lyrics or the melody first. I don't think it matters all that much anyway. Right now I have more melody than lyrics to fill them with. Either one you can come up with first, it does make progress. The lyrics will be almost all in Japanese (as yet, anyway). I'm starting to get the melody of my song stuck in my head already.
Variable and I were even talking about hiring a singer. There's this woman he told me about -- she has a degree in opera, she's an awesome singer, and she can sing in English or Japanese. This is fantastic of course!
With this songwriting hobby, my comic strip has definitely suffered in the past two weeks. I don't even have an idea for Tuesday yet! I'll take care of it tonight.
Of course, I can't wait to get Delta Two Universe later this month!
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Post by Joseph on May 11, 2006 5:54:14 GMT -5
There was a little mistake in my order at YesAsia. I was finishing up my order of Delta Two Universe and Ami Suzuki's new single 'Alright!', and it said the total cost was about $35. However, after I finished the order, my order had increased by about $9!
What happened was I had chosen my own Japan Mini, and it said it was free when I checked out, but after the order, an additional free Japan Mini was added, so my first Japan Mini was no longer free. This makes me frustrated. I submitted the problem to them, and they have resolved it by cancelling the second Japan Mini, so the price is back to $35. They were great in resolving this error.
I have been listening to Around the World constantly ever since I received the album. Ami Suzuki's my new favourite! Oh, I have been wanting to share one line from the Ami Suzuki song "Times." It roughly translates as, "If this isn't my summer for romance, I'm going to scream across this sea!" LOL. Ami has written all her own lyrics in the album.
I cannot wait to see DreamWorks' Over the Hedge next weekend. A week can seem so far away. I still have to buy Hoodwinked too.
Also, I was listening to Globe 2 Pop/Rock, and I noticed that almost all I heard was repeating notes. Globe uses tons of repeating notes, compared to Two-Mix, who doesn't use very many repeating notes. Two-Mix songs ascend and descend a lot in the notes, as is the normal baroque style. In Bach's song "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," there are hardly any repeating notes; he loves to go all over the keyboard. The exception on Globe 2 Pop/Rock is the song "Shift," with the baroque parts. Overall, I love movement in the notes, but repeating notes are necessary for some melodic consistency. It's just a style difference; neither one is right or wrong.
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Post by molotov889 on May 14, 2006 13:13:07 GMT -5
So, what are you going to name your first song? And what abou the lyrics? have they started coming along now?
I haven't listened to Ami's remix CD a lot yet. Mostly because I've been listening to the AAA remix one more. In general, the AAA one is a little more varied in music style, but I really like the Ami remix album, too. The style of trance and trechno on it is extremely similar to the type of Eurodance I used to listen to a lot. (Not the vocal dance0pop groups, but the completely techno groups like Flip 'N Fill, Jan Wayne, Svenson & Geilen, Ruudaman, etc...). I'll prolly havea reivew of the two CDs up soon, maybe even today. So you can get me full opinion on it from that, once I form it =P.
When do you think a tracklist will finally be released for the new Tow-Mix Delta album? It seems like it's getting kind of close to the release date to not have a tracklist announced yet.
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Post by Joseph on May 15, 2006 4:47:10 GMT -5
Oh, it looks like they pushed back the release date for Delta Two Universe to June 21. So now we've got a long wait. I've looked everywhere, but I cannot find the tracklist for it.
I've decided to name my song (and this is the first time I've mentioned it to anyone) "Light Encounter." I'm making moderate progress. I'd say I'm about 30% done writing the vocal part. I've been having good luck with the meter, but I'm still learning how to write songs. I've been paying attention to lyrics in music like mad the past few days to see what lyrics should be like. I've decided that lyrics need to be from the heart; they can't just be facts. I love the Nobuchika Eri lyrics you put on your blog. They are very special.
I've been strongly inspired by the bridge in the Two-Mix song Believe, which says, "I want warmth rather than explaining words." I wait and pray for inspiration good enough to use; often I can only write one new line of lyrics a day (honestly, I could use some help). After cartooning for three years, I've learned that inspiration comes-- it always does. I'm going to search on the Internet right now for a Japanese language reviewing service because the last thing I need is a pretty song that's grammatically incorrect.
By the way, it might seem like I'm really picky about lyrics and instruments all the time for songs I listen to, but the songs I buy all go into my collection, and I often like listen to it randomly. Not to say I don't have favorites, but it all goes to the big ol' audio list ultimately.
Say, are you just about done your school year, or what?
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Post by molotov889 on May 15, 2006 23:23:14 GMT -5
Moved back? =\ I was actually starting to look forward to it a good deal. Been listening to Delta One a lot more lately than normal. That, and AAA. God, I'm turning into a little AAA nut. Oh yeah, and those reviews? They'll be up in a little bit longer than I said. I just got 4 more albums in the mail today that must, of course, be reviewed, as well. =P Anyway, I like the name of your first song. I see a hint of T Kimura influence in the name, though. Those lyrics from Nobuchika are something else, aren't they?She's really, really talented, and pairing her with Shinichi Osawa as producer- it's magical. Really. When you get done composing Light Encounter, though, make sure to get a little clip up here. Yeah, I'm, almost done with my school year. Spring quarter ends in 5(?) weeks. We started late (mid-to-late September), so we end a little later. I'm looking forward to being able to concentrate on my research and just my research for the summer. Well, except for the two weeks I'll get off. EDIT: Woah, just checked Yesasia, and I'm this month's #4 reviewer. I have no idea how they determine it, but it's cool. Maybe I should get on those reviews pretty soon =P.
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Post by Joseph on May 17, 2006 1:59:07 GMT -5
Differences of writing lyrics in Japanese instead of English: - words do not have to rhyme (phew!) - pronouns are not used very much - no accented syllables; any part of the word can be emphasized - melodies are longer to accompany more syllables - the words are not catchy melodies in themselves; they have to mean something
I've been exposing myself to some of the best lyrics I could think of, like Sarah Brightman, Two-Mix, Sylver, and others. Even my mom knows that Move's lyrical style is to say a lot of random phrases in their song, like 'strong wind,' 'let's kiss,' 'jump for joy,' etc. I'm influenced by that style somewhat. After reading these, I've finally come up with a few of my own ideas (they're secret for now). Needless to say, if I ever get this song recorded, I'll also provide the Japanese lyrics with an English translation -- after all, I want Americans/Brits to understand what I'm saying!
I just learned recently that Bach had to write cantatas every week. Cantatas, in this sense, are mini-operas, with six parts, based on the scripture reading that day. He had to write a BRAND NEW mini-opera every single week! He not only had to write it (with Henrici his librettist -- which I think is a lyricist), but practice it and give it to the performers with enough time to rehearse it before Sunday. And he did the process every single week, in addition to his other church duties and other composing. How on earth did he do it?!! About 190 Bach church cantatas still survive today; most of them are available on recording. Boy, would I have liked to attend the St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig every week to hear his performances!
They say to just be yourself in composing. After all, if I try to be something I'm not, then the fans who liked my first song will be disappointed when I create something more personal for my second song. Being a person who is trained in the computer technical skill, it's sometimes hard to come up with words like emotional poetry -- I'm sure you can relate!
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Post by Joseph on May 29, 2006 21:32:06 GMT -5
Last week, I finally decided to buy Make Music Allegro. I ordered it with normal shipping, and it arrived the very next day! They included some candy in the order-- I guess that’s their signature because they’re “Sweet”water. You can just literally click the notes into the staves and it plays it. However, I usually prefer putting them in by using the computer keyboard. I just use the arrow keys, Enter, the number pad to choose the length of the note, zero for a rest, and Alt + and - for sharps and flats. It’s a smart program, and it’s easy to use, and has a lot of features available, including adding lyrics. The instruments were sort of hard to figure out at first, but now I understand how they work with the staves and the channels. My favourite feature is the Playback - you don’t need a MIDI device to hear it (like my sales engineer originally suggested). I should have bought Allegro a long time ago! It cost about $150, but it’s definitely worth it.
Now that I’ve learned how to use it, I’ve manually inputted Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Bach’s Two-Part Invention. They sound great. There’s even a feature that lets you scan in songs from a scanner, but the music sheet has to be lined up perfectly on the scanner for it to work properly.
I’m about 90% done composing my song “Light Encounter.” However, I’m only half-done the vocal part because I still need more lyrics. It’s for two techno instruments, harpsichord, harp, vocal, bass, and drum. It will be about 4 minutes long or so. In my song, the bassline is least artistic part of the song; I’m barely paying any attention to where I’m putting the notes -- they’re just a lot of systematically repeating notes. It’s very sectional; you’ll be able to tell where the beginning, middle and end are. I hope it won’t sound too annoying. Light Encounter is meant to be an upbeat, dancey baroque-ish song with Japanese lyrics. I can make more gritty songs later. As you prob’ly know, you can’t add real vocals to MIDI songs, so maybe someday I’ll do that separately.
I’ve decided to come up with a name for myself as a music artist -- Myth Guard. It’s short for Mythical Guardian, a name I’ve always imagined for myself if I became a musician. Myth Guard songs are completely composed by me-- I’m not using any pre-existing loops. I will also make a webpage for Myth Guard where I will host MIDI files.
Time to come up with my “release date” for Light Encounter. I’m thinking maybe June 14th-ish. I will also email the song to Variable shortly for advice on the song.
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Post by molotov889 on Jun 4, 2006 1:55:47 GMT -5
Myth Guard sounds like a pretty cool name. A little 80's hair-band, but still cool =P. I really like the name of the song, tho. Light Encounter has a nice sound to it. Still looking forward to the release!
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Post by Joseph on Jun 7, 2006 4:58:27 GMT -5
Thank you; glad you like the name. Yesterday I just read that there is a "mythical guardian" dragon figure that protects the Forbidden City in China! My silly little MIDI file is still charted for release on June 14 (although it's now completed). Myth Guard's website will be simple at first. I've finally finished the lyrics too. I've just sent an order to get the Japanese lyrics professionally proofread for a small fee (if only I had a Japanese friend instead). I will of course include the romanized and translated lyrics on the site too.
I have a book of wisdom called "Live, Learn and Pass it on," and in it somebody said, "When most people set life goals, most people aim too low." I don't want to be one of those people. I'm strongly considering upgrading to the real, professional version of audio composition software -- Make Music Finale, the kind they use in real Hollywood movie soundtracks. After all, Finale isn't harder to use than Finale Allegro. From the screenshots I've seen, Finale is the exact same layout as my program (Allegro), it's just that the voices sound better and there's tons of extra features, and you can save it as a quality MP3! Heck, Allegro uses the same file type as Finale, so I can just work from the same song file. But I've decided that I will only upgrade if I make more than one song.
I'm going to go to finalemusic.com right now.
You can even add-on a "virtual instrument" program called Kontakt 2 to get a huge selection of instruments. I don't need millions of instruments-- just thousands! Brad told me about a video game singer named Jill Goldin, and maybe if I do this, I'd like to ask her if she's interested in singing my song!
But enough about me. I heard that you were feeling lonely. I'm here for you! I imagine you are probably about at the time when you are doing finals, so I'll understand if you can't talk much these days. As you know, technology and engineering can be so complicated. At least since you're not on the East coast anymore, you don't have to worry about hurricanes.
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Post by Joseph on Jun 10, 2006 4:25:58 GMT -5
Good news - since I'm a registered Allegro user, they will let me upgrade to the full version of the professional program Finale for only $300! Finale comes with a high quality orchestra virtual instrument program - it's the real deal. They use it on popular TV shows and even U2 has used it. It's the next best thing to hearing a real orchestra! With this "trade up," I could also get a discount on Kontakt 2 (which I will need because I don't want to limit myself to classical music). The probability that I will upgrade to Finale before year end is very high. I really have to ask myself how much is in my budget, don't you too?
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Post by molotov889 on Jun 10, 2006 11:34:18 GMT -5
Wow. Yeah, it's starting to sound now more like you're on the road to being pro. THese are some serious investments you've been making for just a hobby, you know? It'd be cool if you do go pro. We can all be like "we know that guy." Maybe establish a WoMG- World of Myth Guard. ;D
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