15.3.14

Metaphysical Meteor

At long last, Buck-Tick have announced the release of their new single, "Keijijou Ryuusei" ("Metaphysical Meteor"), to be released on May 14th.  The track list is as follows:

1. Keijijou Ryuusei (music - Imai / lyrics - Sakurai)
2. Melancholia -ELECTRIA- (music - Imai / lyrics - Sakurai)
3. Victims of Love with Kokushoku Sumire (music - Imai / lyrics - Sakurai)

The single will be released in three versions - a regular version and two limited versions.  The limited version will come in a special package and contain a bonus video disc with clips from the Day in Question 2013 live in Kooriyama on December 23rd, and will be available as either a DVD or a Blu-Ray.  The track list for the bonus disc is as follows:

1. Steppers -Parade-
2. Hamushi no You ni
3. Rhapsody
4. Kiss Me Good-Bye
5. Taiyou ni Korosareta
6. Love Parade

In addition, Buck-Tick will be launching a FaceGramTweetSpace sharing campaign to promote the new single. If you FaceGram their thing and more than 200 people SpaceTweet it back, you get to listen to a sneak preview of the single.  Or something.  If you understand how InstaFace works, which I don't...though it was brought to my attention that apparently, the administrators of the Official Bestest Buck-Tick Fangirl FaceSpace Page refused to link to Blog-Tick because they don't like my sarcasm.  To which I can only say, my dear fangirls, you do know that Mr. Sakurai makes sarcastic jokes too, right?  It's not just me.  In fact, for all you know, Mr. Sakurai and I are getting drunk together right now, making sarcastic jokes about you. We're just not posting them on the internet because we don't know how GramBook works. Also, we're too busy laughing at cat gifs.

Of course, what those of you who read this blog for news are probably wondering is, what is a Kokushoku Sumire?  And all I can say to that is, look at the picture below and maybe you can tell me, because I have no idea. Though honestly, my biggest question is not "what," but "why?"


Actually, I have to confess that I do know who they are, and have even had the, um...pleasure...of seeing them perform live.  They were so, um...good...that I just about cried.

Anyhow, their band bio: Kokushoku Sumire (whose name means Pure Black Violets) are a self-proclaimed Lolita Band who got their start in 2004 and were picked up by producer Hoppy Kamiyama. Known for their trademark matching cosplay wigs, their music boasts squeaky violins and even squeakier vocals, drawing on classical and chanson influences to evoke the fantasy Rococo world that never was but of which all the lolitas dream while they weep gently into their teacakes at night - a world where all the wine has been turned into white sakura cherry chai tea, where all the bollocks have turned into biscuits, a world where little girls never have to grow up, but can sit daintily on white doilies and eat cakes all the livelong day, till they die pure and pristine and alone, fragile and virginal as the special snowflakes that fall oh so prettily on their chantilly-clad (but NEVER scantily clad) corpses.  A world where no more copies of Alice in Wonderland exist, so no pesky literati come along to point out that, judging by her misadventures and penchant for ingesting mind-altering substances, Lewis Carroll's Alice would surely have grown up to be a punk rocker and not a lolita.

Personal friends of Tim Burton and Uno Aquirax, Kokushoku Sumire have been involved in such wide-ranging activities as running a bar in Shinjuku's Goldengai district, composing music for Uno Aquirax's theatrical productions, and simply continuing to exist despite being utterly insufferable...though we suspect it was the second item that brought them into contact with Imai Hisashi, upon which meeting we have to assume that, taking a cue from Alice, they passed him a cute little brownie topped with a note reading "eat me," and Imai took that to mean this was a Special Brownie, and ate it, and was hoodwinked, because we just can't bring ourselves to imagine that he saw fit to invite them onto his record of his own free will while sane and sober (now I'm insane, but I must go when I go.)  And now we all have to suffer the consequences. The lolitas are preparing for world domination, and now that Buck-Tick have fallen, I think we're all doomed.

But before they come for us, let's fill our teapots with vodka and watch this wonderful videographic retelling of Alice in Wonderland by Siouxsie and the Banshees, just so we remember that the world was once a beautiful dark creepy place before it got smothered by pink sugar ribbons and frills.  You can pry the haterade from my cold, dead hands.



14 comments:

  1. Okay. I´ll consider all the Gothic Lolia artists that exist and give them a chance, but this is just...
    No. NO! JUST NO!
    All I can say is WTF?
    I really want an interviewer to ask them about this as soon as possible.
    I´m looking forward to the new single a lot, but this is just strange. I can´t imagine what the result of this cooperation will sound like and I do think that Imai was not sober when he (or whoever) invited them.
    Oh well, I´ll remain curious anyway...

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    1. I don't actually think it will be a big deal, really. But as I'd conveniently forgotten about Kokushoku Sumire's existence, I'm rather put out that I had to be reminded by none other than Imai Hisashi, who I thought would never betray me.

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  2. Now, if you can (I know it is hard) ignore the whole ideology and aesthetics behind gothic lolita, also ignore the girls' aparent inability to perform live, I think they would fall right into the mood and style of a Razzle-Dazzle-like arrangement of "Victims of Love", violin, hyper-theatrical vocals and all. Can't help but be excited about "Methaphysical Meteor", it's just such a weird title.

    Also, would you know, while everyone thinks Alice was about drugs, Lewis Carroll was actually just ranting about abstract mathematics (:

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    1. Here's the thing. Basically, Blog-Tick has two fundamental purposes. 1) to make fun of gothic lolitas and 2) to make jokes about drugs. Surely you've been reading for long enough to know that by now?

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    2. I know, I know (: Sorry, I am a bit of a know-it-all and sometimes can't resist annoying the drug people when Alice comes up. Do please never stop making fun of gothic lolitas.

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    3. Well, all of us know that all druggies are know-it-alls, Imai included. We all know he's perpetually high on math.

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  3. Eh, no need to get your knickers in a knot. The lolis will probably just be adding some strings to the arrangement. Even if they add some backing vocals as well, I really can't see them being all that prominent. Its not like there's a call-and-response section that they can take over, like in "Dokudanjou Beauty".

    What I'm more curious about is the implication of this. When Buck-Tick wanted to cement their industrial rock cred, they commissioned a bunch of industrial remixes for b-sides to the Sasayaki single. So maybe for this album they'll be using a lot of strings, so they've similarly partnered with Kokushoku Sumire for a b-side to mark this new direction.

    Ah, the magical time of rampant baseless speculation between a single's announcement and its release... :)

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    1. I don't believe it's known as "getting one's knickers in a knot," I believe it's known as "taking this golden chance to mock the eminently mockable" :P

      In fact, I doubt this collaboration means much beyond being one of Imai's periodic questionable ideas (and it's worth noting that the Dokudanjou Beauty thing was the fault of the label, not the band.) I don't believe the Sasayaki single thing was them trying to "cement" their industrial rock cred, either...I think that was just them calling up Daniel Ash because they could. If you could call up Daniel Ash, wouldn't you do it, too?

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    2. Well, I´m sorry Lawrence. I know I´m overreacting.
      I just tend to get these angry outbursts when I see certain ridiculous people and feel like sticking my head in a sand heap!

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  4. You just brought two of my fandoms together :)
    (I mean Lewis Carroll and Buck-Tick)
    But seriously, if Imai-san wanted violins, couldn't he have gotten Rose Noire or something? It worked really well for Issay...

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    1. You know that "Rose Noire" is just French for "Kokushoku Sumire," right? Imai is now living in Issay's doghouse.

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