29.1.10

Battlestar Galactica

Congratulations Buck-Tick, you've been chosen to have your new single "Dokudanjou Beauty" used as the ending theme for the Japanese released of Battlestar Galactica (in Japan known simply as "Galactica.") The drama is slated to air from 1:30-2:30 AM on Tuesday nights, starting February 16th...more than a month before "Dokudanjou Beauty" is scheduled for release. Does this mean that fans will get to hear the song a month early? No one has any idea.

That new promotional manager is really doing his job. That's right baby. Sell your band. Sell 'em good. Cause men age like wine, and bands age like Benjamin Button...getting younger, hipper, and more technological every year.

28.1.10

Not Greatest Site 4th Anniversary

Four years ago today, we launched This is NOT Greatest Site, the parent site of the Blog-Tick Phenomenon. How much we've grown since then! Now, we are home to more than 400 lyric translations, and scores of articles, both translated and original, about the Japanese music scene. Warm thanks to all our not greatest fans and supporters around the globe! When we started, we had no idea we'd get so big or go so global. We deeply appreciate all your letters, and all your hyper love.

However, as some of you may have noticed, Not Greatest Site seems to have entered into a misty zone where we haven't been updating. Part of the problem is, as a two-person team, our time is limited. I sincerely apologize to all of you whose requests I haven't been able to fill. At the moment, I don't have the freedom to take on any big projects, but I hope to get those requests for individual songs done at some point before the next ice age (who knows, what with climate change and all, that might be sooner than you think!) Currently, Kame and I are working on building a new version of the site, and it's taking longer than usual. But though you may be wondering at this point if we're dream or truth, have no fear, you haven't miscast us. Even if NGS doesn't update, we are not dead, we're simply okaying ourselves to fly high once more. We will be back...just like the Terminator (except cuter.) We're planning on having a brilliant future for future.

In the meantime, what can you do to help us, you ask? Enjoy the blog! Tell your friends about the blog! Become a follower of the blog! Link the blog on all your home pages! Also, if you have any small requests or ideas for things to put on the blog, just drop me a line at themadaristocrat [at] gmail [dot] com. I can't promise I can fill all your requests, but I'd like to provide content that people would like to read. Happy birthday to us!

26.1.10

寿記 01.01.10 Stage Costumes -09 TDIQ-

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This was my stage costume from the live on the 29th.

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The concept for this one was "I'm running out of time."

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The color combinations and styles make one ask, "is that really okay?"

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My image was to wrap up something kitschy in a sort of hyper-element.

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Of course, I don't have the courage to wear this kind of thing in everyday life.

I don't want that kind of courage.

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"The costume"...yeah, here it is.

[picture]

The fabric of the jacket and the pleated skirt was something I saw while I was wandering around the city. I liked it immediately, so even though it was still summer, I decided to purchase it to use for my costume for the live on 12-29.

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I'm always the last one of the five of us to come up with an idea for my costume,

Or rather, I won't do it until it gets to the last minute

So every time I ended up giving our stylist Yagi a hard time.

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But this time, things will be fine.

I'm good to go.

I don't have to worry.

I mean, I've prepared this what, 4, 5 months in advance....

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All of you, when you were kids, were you conscientious about doing your summer holiday homework?

Were you the type who worked on it a little bit every day?

Or were you the bad type who did it all poorly at the beginning of the summer, and just lazed around for the rest of your break?

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In the future, I want to be "the sleepless hare."

If I did that, I'd beat the tortoise so fast, no problem.

Yeah, that's right, a super-powered hare...

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I was being nice to myself!

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I just played and messed around for the whole summer, and then at the last minute I'd be writing a month's diary all at once.

That sort of kid.

That was me.

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So, of course~~~~~~~~ it gets to the last minute, and finally this ant begins to work on his design!

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Buying the fabric early isn't everything.

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Also, this was a pretty complex design with lots of little details, like matching up the picture of Maria on the pleats.

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Mr. Yagi told me mine was the hardest design to make.

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But, whatever. We made something cool.

(hm? What am I saying here?)

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You can't walk the path to being a super-powered rabbit, you know.

[picture]

There are my boots and accessories.

[picture]

And here's my brooch shaped like a castle, and the Alice pendant shaped like an awesome broken, melting watch.

Also, part of my image this time around was "Imawano Kiyoshirou."

IMAI 19:00

23.1.10

Buck-Tick History Museum

A few crappy images of items from a friend's collection.








Photographs by Cayce.

21.1.10

Question & Answer, FT. 054

How would you describe your own personality?

Yutaka: Hot-headed.
Toll: Otaku.
Hide: Surprisingly? Natural-acting?
Sakurai: (evil cat face)

How do you pass the time when you can't sleep at night?

Sakurai: Reading
Hide: Reading, lately
Toll: Booze
Yutaka: A man's aesthetic

What items do recommend to help keep warm in the cold?

Imai: (dog picture)
Sakurai: (cat picture)
Yutaka: Curl up in a ball.

18.1.10

寿記 25.07.09 Kurihara Kiyoshi-san

This is a true story.

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Many years ago, I was searching for a place to live.
I was looking for an apartment for lease.

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I went to visit a possible place.
There were two apartments on the same floor...two households...?
One floor, two pads.
That is to say, I would have one neighboring apartment.

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I wonder what my potential neighbor's name would be, so I checked the name on the mailbox in the entrance hall.
....Mr...Kurihara Kiyoshi... his full name was written out.
....!? ....wait, what? Who is this? I know this name!
Is he a staff member? Someone old classmate? An upperclassman from my school? Someone I've seen on TV? The proprietor of a bar I go to?
Of course, it's not Kiyoshi from Lucy.
I thought about it while I rode up in the elevator.
....! ....wait? ...still thinking...! ...wait! ?...??
Wait, hold on!!? ...can it be!? ...no way..!
!!!!....Kiyoshirou!?
!!!!&$#%QズェXRCTVY!!!!!

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That's the real name of Imawano Kiyoshirou.

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The elevator arrived.
I walked in front of the door to Mr. Kurihara's home.
I saw a few bicycles in front of the door to Mr. Kurihara's home...I'm quite sure of this detail.
There was a child's bicycle, with a name written on it.
..! Wow! It's the name of his oldest son, Ryuuhei-kun! This is for real!

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It's really Imawano Kiyoshirou!

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This is craazzzzy!!!!!! Oh my god! And what does this make me? What is this feeling?
I could be his neighbor!
Would I go introduce myself to him when I move in? Would I bring him some little present?
Would I end up riding the elevator with him sometimes, by accident?
That would be sooo cooool~~<3

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(My fantasies continued multiplying of their own accord)

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In the end, I didn't rent that apartment.
Even though it was huge, which was great.
I couldn't stand the color of the walls and the kitchen. (I regretted it a bit.)
I ended up renting another apartment pretty nearby.

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A few days after I moved, I went to an okonomiyaki restaurant near the station.
There were lots of autograph boards and posters on the walls.
I drank my beer, wondering if Kiyoshirou were a regular customer here.

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It's a very precious, wonderful, secret experience (memory) of mine.

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Thank you so much!
I'm so grateful!
Yeah!

IMAI 20:09

13.1.10

Tenshi no Zawameki 2

Excerpted from Tenshi no Zawameki, copyright 1990 by Matsumoto Kiyori. Translated from the original Japanese by Cayce.


1988 June 4th, at Shiodome PIT

It was two days after Buck-Tick had played at the PIT. Toll and U-ta came backstage to hang out.

"On our days off, we like to come see our friends' bands," U-ta said, with his usual friendly smile.

The bands playing today were Super Bad, Der Zibet, Kinniku Shoujotai, La-Ppisch, Bo Gumbos, Rogue, etc.

Toll had his hair down and gathered back into a ponytail. When I remarked on how long it was, he said, "I've just been growing it out like this, and now it's 40 centimeters but I can still make it stand up totally straight, so at this point, it's like a challenge. I'm just going to see how long I can grow it!

What a characteristically Toll-like answer.

Meanwhile, Der Zibet's vocalist Issay was having some trouble getting his hair to stand up.

"Why don't I give him some of my Helene Super Hard spray?" Toll suggested.

It turned out Toll had two bottles of his beloved hairspray tucked into the band's equipment van. I was surprised enough that the band was coming to the venue on their days off in their equipment van, but I was even more surprised that they always had a box of hairspray bottles in there, too!

6.1.10

Insights From Sakurai Atsushi

Excerpted from the band member psychology section of FT 054. In this section, the members are presented with fake psychoanalysis tests sent in by the fans. This time, the normally closed-mouthed Sakurai was very free with his opinions. Let's see what he had to say.

And for the record, this interview occurred during the after-party at the final show of the Memento Mori Rebirth tour, on Halloween in Okinawa. Though of course, no ethanol-containing beverages were present at this party, since that's illegal in Japan.


Question 1. You're wandering aimlessly through a department store. In the stationery section, you notice that a small item has fallen off the shelf and landed at your feet. What do you do?

A. Pretend you didn't see it and walk away.
B. Put it willy-nilly on the shelf nearest you.
C. Find out where it fell from and put it back in its proper place.

Sakurai: I'd kick it!

FT: Please choose from the answers provided!

Sakurai: Fine, I pick C.

When one item falls from many, it represents failure at finding a job in society. How you respond to the fallen item situation indicates your relationship towards society, your attitude towards your job, and your motivation.

Sakurai: I'd kick it! (laughs) I was right on! Only a weakling would leave it alone! (laughs)

If you put the item back in its proper place, it means you believe your job can improve you as a person. You're the ant-type* who works hard and tries desperately to find a unique job only you can do.

*Ant type, from the fable of the grasshopper and the ants. The grasshopper was lazy, and the ants were hard-working.

Sakurai: I'd pick the thing up, but I'm a lazy bastard, I'd like to just swing from a tree all day!

Imai: God, this discussion got so heavy all of a sudden. It was just about picking up an eraser, okay?


Question 2. You're out to dinner with a group of friends, and the room has only one long table in it. Where at the table do you choose to sit?

Sakurai: Does it matter where the doors and windows are?

FT: No.

Sakurai: Then I pick the corner.

(All the members pick the corner.)

Your appetite for food is strongly correlated with your appetite for sex. What position you would choose to sit in at a group meal indicates how you behave sexually with your partner.

Sakurai: Sexual appetite! There it is again! (Sexual appetite is a common subject of the band member psychology section.)

The people who sit in the middle of the table are the types who will make out with their partner excessively in public, without regard for the people around them. The people who sit quietly in the corner are the types who won't touch their partners in public very often.

Sakurai: Well, I'm a Westerner, so I'll just suck face wherever, whenever. (laughs) Okay fine, I'll just eat naked, right in the middle of the table! How about that? (laughs)


Question 3. Write an E on your forehead.

(All the members write the E correctly, except for Sakurai, who writes it backwards.)

Sakurai: Oh, I wrote it backwards.

How do you write a letter on a part of your body you can't see? From this test, we can separate people into two groups. If you're the type of person who writes the letter so that it's backwards when other people look at you, you're the type who doesn't care at all what other people think of you. We could say you're self-centered.

Sakurai: Hahahahaha! There are nights when I worry so much about what other people think of me that I can't sleep. But if I did that every day, I wouldn't be able to do my job. Fiiiine, I'm self-centered! (laughs)

4.1.10

寿記 06.07.09 07/02/09 NHK Hall

The last day of the Memento Mori Tour.

One element of the stage concept for this tour was an original culture we developed ourselves.

Some of our keywords and hints were "flames," "wings," "mechanical but ugly," "ugly but beautiful," "brass," "verdigris," "strange patterns," "hieroglyphs," et cetera.

Something aboriginal-looking, but developed.

Hyper, but not cyber.

Maybe I could explain it more clearly by saying, "Nausicaa, not Akira."

Of course, that's not the whole idea, and it would be impossible to fully realize the atmosphere of those movies anyway...

I think it was a stage set that evoked the atmosphere of the memento mori album very well.

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Thanks to the staff!


It's been a while since my horned helmet made an appearance. That was interesting.

It was the perfect costume element for memento mori.

But, I couldn't wear it when I had my hair up in a bun with chopsticks.

(The version in the picture is the flowered version.)


This was the last day.

I had a great time! It was so much fun!

I loved seeing the expressions on the faces of everyone in the audience! Yeah.

But,

The best thing...

And album tours are usually like this for Buck-Tick...

The new songs start to feel just like old songs,

And everyone gets so excited...what I mean is,

There's really nothing better, I think.

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I'm so proud of Buck-Tick, and of our audience.

And then after the show, at the after-party, we got excited all over again.

So many of our friends came.

Of course the party went on till morning.

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Thanks for coming! Thank you all

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"We ♥ had ♥ a ♥ great ♥ time ♥..."

See you at REBIRTH! It's gonna be a blast...♥ kekekekeke"

IMAI 4:19AM


1.1.10

寿記 05.07.09 07/01/09 NHK Hall

The first of the two days.

As the tour went on, we fine-tuned our sets and staging.

The stage has a great atmosphere. It's gorgeous.

As the tour went on, I got more nervous about my performance and guitar-playing.

Concentration is very important.

I even start to worry about how I hold my pick.

The more shows I play, the more nervous I get.

Why, I wonder? It's a mystery to me, I don't get it myself.

But, I have to let myself enjoy performing.

One theme of the memento mori album and tour is "dance."

It doesn't matter what kind.

Just get into it with your whole body, even if you're just kicking your leg up and down, or stepping with your feet.

If you feel good, it's even okay to just stand and stare.

If you get excited, it's OK.

When I play "message" or "coyote," I just stand there, but I'm still excited.

If you're having fun, it's OK.

Today, the burners we used for special effects on "memento mori" (the things that spit out the flames) increased in number. I had to check their positions before the rehearsal.

The staff member in charge of the burners saw my costume and said, "You could be in trouble with that! It's gonna get fried! You're gonna burn!" I started laughing and got really excited.

"...it's not something to get excited about!"

"...but, I'm not gonna burn, yo"

"...well, if you catch on fire, do something about it...please!"

The pressure was on. It made everything sexier!

The torches on 'Carnival' also had a great vibe.

The lighting for 'Tenshi wa dare da' got more hyper, and made everyone more excited.

It was really a great show.

After the show, I went out for Italian with Yoko-chan, and Morio, the bassist from Lucy who isn't Eiki-chan, along with a number of other friends.

It was Morio's first B-T live. He raved about the memento mori album!

But he said he didn't like the title song.

Well, we talked about a lot of things. Mostly Mori did the talking, though.

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Also, the picture of me and Yoko-chan has nothing to do with anything. It was taken in the winter a few years ago...I think.

The silver skull cane is the one Sakurai-san was using on stage.

IMAI 6:03AM

寿記 03.07.09 09/07/03

The memento mori tour is over~

All the faces in the audience looked so happy.

Yeah! I love you guys! I love you!

It makes me happy too.

Makes me feel good.

It's my nutrition.

I feel so good, I'm going to gonna go drink some beer now.

Special thanks to all the staff and all the event organizers!

I'm so sorry we didn't manage to take a group picture on the stage.

I wanted to take one of everyone.

I'll write something again tomorrow.

IMAI 22:15