The Blog-Tick Phenomenon

Not Greatest Site relocation

2012-01-16T22:18:00.002+09:00

Happy New Year to all you Blog-Tickers.

User redddraig, thank you for your post on the Buck-Tick English language livejournal community. As always, I'm touched by how many people still appreciate Not Greatest Site after all these years. This January marks our sixth anniversary! While we've got nothing on Buck-Tick it still gives me a bit of vertigo just thinking about it...

In any case, we are switching hosting services, which will require temporary closure of the site. We are NOT closing for good, so don't worry. However, please do not archive my translations. There are many reasons for the long delay in updates and for the transfer of hosting, but one of the big reasons is: I have written a completely new set of Buck-Tick lyric translations! They are improved in accuracy and readability, and in some cases, in singability! Over the years, I think I've improved a lot as a translator, in addition to gaining a great deal more insight into the meanings of the individual songs. Therefore, I would really like you all to, rather than archiving my old work, to enjoy reading my new work...I promise, the new site will be open very soon.

Thank you all so much for your support over the years. Your thanks are the only pay I get for doing this, so if you enjoy reading Not Greatest Site, please drop me a line and let me know :)

DIQ 2011

2011-12-30T20:56:00.003+09:00

This year's DIQ was a tour through Buck-Tick history, with one song from each album, in chronological order, plus "Sakura" and "Jupiter," during which Sakurai had the whole audience sit down, so we could "listen with a feeling of requiem for the earthquake victims." Whereupon, no one was able to see anything, not because you can't see when you sit down in the Budoukan, but because everyone was too busy crying their eyes out. Wild jets of fire shooting out of the stage during "Kyokutou Yori Ai wo Komete" was another high point. Props to the huge team of video jockeys who created the beautifully shifting landscape of PV clips, original video footage put together as a backdrop for the concert, and live video of the band members that was being filmed by track cameras and simultaneously broadcast to the large projection screen hanging over the stage. For the first time, I feel like I got a better view from the second floor.

Also, we have a lot to look forward to in Buck-Tick land in the coming year. Following the releases of the special anniversary boxes on March 7th, dear Mr. Sakurai's birthday, the band will be releasing their first new single off Lingua Sounda in spring 2012. In June, we can expect two shows at the famous outdoor venue in Hibiya Park, the Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo, where the Mona Lisa Overdrive Xanadu concerts were also held. Then the band will be playing a standing tour from June through July to support the release of their first full-length studio album off Lingua Sounda, in addition to a second tribute album! And we all know what that means...in September they are doing another festival! No word on where yet, I hope it's Minato Mirai like last time. The Yokohama business district deserves to get its eardrums blasted out by Buck-Tick! Following this, the band will be playing a hall tour from October through December, followed by the DIQ on December 29th. Save your money, and send your prayers to Sakurai that he doesn't drink too much, and to Imai, that he doesn't up and break his hand again.

If you are thinking of sending New Year's gifts to the band members, my recommendations are:

Imai: gourmet dried figs

Hide: Wii games

Toll: drugstore box wine

Yutaka: a gift certificate to Acchan ramen in Nagoya

Sakurai: Helene hairspray, and a dance belt...wait, maybe he doesn't need one after all.

Auto-Mod gets the prize for best bouquet.

Happy New Year to you all.

Imai Custom Guitar

2011-12-10T15:21:00.004+09:00

Displayed outside Zepp Tokyo after the concert last night, which included no hairsprayed Sakurai but did include a lot of aggressively ill-mannered fans. Fangirls: when you elbow your way in front of the person next to you and then scream "Acchan!" in a piercing voice, it makes Acchan cry.

On the other hand, pretty sexy guitar.

Next up, the DIQ.

Utakata no Razzle Dazzle Tour @ Akasaka Blitz

2011-11-24T22:02:00.005+09:00

After nine long months, Buck-Tick is back, and boy are we glad to see them again! According to Sakurai, they rescheduled the tour because they didn't feel they were in any kind of mood to play a good show, and they were worried the fans wouldn't be in the mood to enjoy a show, either. While at the time, I thought a good Buck-Tick show might be just what everyone needed to get their minds off their troubles, looking back on it now I think they made the right decision. In Tokyo in the weeks after the earthquake, aftershocks happened several times a day, train service was erratic, blackouts were frequent, food was missing from store shelves, businesses were operating reduced hours, and everyone was trembling in fear and anger about the nuclear accident. While certain problems that began that day won't be solved for years or even decades, things are a lot calmer in the capitol now. Life is a lot more secure. It's a good time to go to a rock show.

Rescheduling the tour meant that a lot of the rescheduled shows fell on weekdays, and that the order of the performances was switched such that some of us who couldn't manage to get tickets to the tour final the first time around discovered that magically, we now had tickets to the final show without having to do anything, and the final shows will be at Zepp Tokyo, not Akasaka Blitz...personally I think it's a wise choice; Blitz is an intimate venue and it can be really hard to get tickets to shows there. But despite the fact that the November 23rd show was the first of the rescheduled shows in the Tokyo area, and that they'd conveniently placed it on a national holiday, only a handful of fans showed up much in advance of the door time, to sit shivering on the brick walls lining the wide staircase beside the venue and get glared at by skaters on the temporary ice rink next door. Once inside the venue, however, it almost felt as if the intervening months had never happened...but for the fact that Imai is spinning quite a different DJ set this time than last time, featuring a lot less Django Reinhardt and a lot more Allison Mosshart, singing everything from the Dead Weather's fantastic grunge-blues number "Gasoline" to The Kills funky-folky-hip-hoppy "Gettin' Down," to a remix of "Satellite" off The Kills fantastic new album Blood Pressures, which definitely isn't as good as the original song. (Oh Imai, won't you please bring the Dead Weather to Japan? I want to see me a Buck-Tick vs. Dead Weather showdown.)

When the band came onstage at last, to the same stage entrance music as they'd used before rescheduling the tour, they were even largely dressed in the same costumes, with Sakurai in his shiny leopard-print coat and Imai in his horrible plasticized horizontal-stripes hipster jacket that now, I suppose, he is only wearing ironically because hipsters are totally over wearing brightly colored plastic jackets now. As usual, Yutaka came onstage first, looking distinctly older and heavier than he did nine months ago, no doubt due to the Law of Conservation of Buck-Tick Mass, which states that the total weight of the five band members must remain constant at all times. When Sakurai was at his heaviest Imai was at his most anorexic, but now with Sakurai and Imai both looking slim but healthy, Yutaka has to pick up the slack, or should we say, fat. Luckily, a round face looks good on him and he's still all smiles.

The one big fashion surprise came to us courtesy of Sakurai's hair. In 1988, with the release of Taboo, Sakurai stopped wearing his hair up, and was promptly asked by magazine writer bimbettes, "why did you stop?" Sakurai's answer? "Because I felt like it." The real reason? Because he was sick of being typecast as "that guy with the hair that sticks straight up." Soon the other members, excluding Toll, stopped wearing their hair up. "When will you put your hair up again?" they were asked. "When we feel like it," was their answer. And now, a whole twenty-three years later, here comes that day. Dear Mr. Yagami will always win at mohawks, but Sakurai was making a very respectable effort at the old Buck-Tick style, with his shorter, blacker hair combed back from his face and sprayed up into a bristling crown that took us all swoonily back to 1980's London. Back in 1988, the hairstyle I might call "the yellow dandelion" didn't do much to flatter Sakurai's looks (though perhaps they didn't require much in the way of flattery.) Now, however, at age 45 and with black hair instead of deader-than-dead-straw bleached hair, Sakurai had fans gasping and screaming as he took the stage. Could the paint-it-black dandelion possibly look that good? Yes, oh yes it can.

And no, there are no photos, cell phones and cameras are banned at all Japanese concerts and it's for the better. You can stroke the screen of your iphone every minute of the day, you don't need to do it while Buck-Tick are onstage. There will be photos once they get released by the press.

The set list stayed largely the same as the earlier shows on the tour, featuring a number of songs off Razzle Dazzle, a number of them not quite as good as "Sakuran Baby" which for some reason the band is still refusing to play. The projection screen of swimming sperm is long gone but Sakurai hasn't forgotten his dance moves, and when "Kyoki no Deadheat" came along, he was swimming up a storm, and enthusiastic enough to sex up the utterly forgettable "Mugen" with self-stimulation completely inappropriate to the tone of the song. Luckily, the show took a darker turn with "Zekkai." It's particularly poignant considering the circumstances of the earthquake, and how quite probably, some fans never lived long enough to attend the rest of the tour, mercy be on their souls. Many of the fans remaining broke into silent tears.

But since Yutaka already had his standup bass out and ready, there was only one song that could follow "Zekkai" and lighten the mood--"Lullaby III," of course. I'm guessing the fans will never vote it onto the new best collection, but all I have to say is, if you don't vote for it, y'all suck. This is a great song, and Sakurai even pulled out his old Tenshi no Revolver boa for the occasion (sure not to get caught in his hair now that his hair was pointed safely out of the way of the feathers.) The band members weren't at the height of their energy levels, but while, with the exception of Sakurai, they stayed fairly mellow all night, they were practiced and ready and made no mistakes.

Unfortunately, it wasn't always possible to hear their studio-perfect playing due to the sound troubles the venue was having. Halfway through the set, Sakurai pulled out his earphones and tapped at his microphone.

"Can you hear me?" he asked the audience.

"KYAAAAAA!" they screamed, but he didn't look convinced.

And for the record, as a vocalist if you are not getting your own voice fed back to you through the monitor, you have absolutely no way to tell if the audience can hear you or not. (Cue the Dead Weather's song "I Can't Hear You" if you have not heard this song listen to it immediately.) But soon it wasn't just Sakurai's problem, soon Hoshino was having problems, too.

"Are you okay, Hide?" Sakurai called, as Hoshino ran off stage and returned with a new guitar.

Apparently he was okay, and they rounded off the set with the red hot rock of "Makka na Yoru" and "Jonathan Jet-Coaster," interspersed with the tear-inducing "memento mori" and a very beautiful, somber, stripped-down version of "Rain."

Overcome with excitement, fans started screaming for an encore as soon as the band left the stage, but long minutes passed and still the band wasn't coming back. Venue staff ran frantically back and forth across the stage. More sound problems! It was taking them long enough to fix whatever the issue was that the head staff member had to come out and make an announcement.

"There's trouble," he said. "But we should have it fixed in a few minutes, so if you'll just wait patiently for us, we'll give you your encore."

And amazingly enough, this being Japan, they actually did have it fixed within five minutes. More Hoshino guitar troubles! But with a pop and a buzz, Hoshino's guitar came back online, and now the band was back onstage and slamming straight into "love letter." The sound balance had gotten an overhaul, and now Imai's vocals were huge, filling the whole hall without him really trying, a welcome change from straining to hear him all night. After "love letter" came "Spider," which Sakurai announced in an exaggerated haunted-house drawl of a voice.

"Spiiiiiiiiiiideeeeer!" he called, then started laughing at his own joke.

And then they were offstage, then back again for the second encore, with "Kuchizuke SERIAL THRILL KISSER," the cheap synth-heavy album mix, which in my opinion is a lot less fun to listen to when performed live than the single mix is, but at least the song is strong enough to make both versions satisfying.

The night was winding down. Toll had already thrown an autographed banana into the crowd, and now it was the last encore set (we could tell because Sakurai had changed into a tour t-shirt.) But he had one more surprise in store for the crowd before the band finished with "Rendezvous." Sick of wasting the potential inherent in his clothing choice of that flimsy kilt-over-tights combination, with a smirk and a flourish, he pulled the kilt straight off, and proceeded to parade around the stage in nothing but his t-shirt, belt, patent-leather high-heeled boots, and skin-tight matte-black Batman hose. There's this thing called a "dance belt" that male ballet dancers wear to keep everything "under control" as they fearlessly take the stage wearing nothing but tights, but, Sakurai isn't a ballet dancer and he doesn't own a dance belt...apparently he prefers to "let it all hang out," as it were. Just to add to the excitement of the fans in the first few rows.

"...A lot of things happened, but well...see you again soon," he said, and the audience laughed.

On the way offstage, Toll inadvertently slapped his little brother's posterior, and giggled to the audience about it once Yutaka had bounced away.

Well, shucks. What a rendezvous.

Set List:

01. Dokudanjou Beauty

02. Baby, I Want You

03. Madman Blues

04. Razzle Dazzle

05. Kyouki no Deadheat

06. Mugen

07. Django!!!

08. Zekkai

09. Lullaby III

10. Tango Swanka

11. Hamushi no You ni

12. Memento Mori

13. Jonathan Jet-Coaster

14. RAIN

15. Makka na Yoru

~en. 1

16. love letter

17. Spider

~en. 2

18. Kuchizuke -Serial Thrill Kisser-

19. Alice in Wonder Underground

20. Rendezvous

...

Found...

2011-11-19T12:05:00.002+09:00

...found taped to the inside of the door in the backstage restroom of a certain Tokyo rock venue.

Songs Promoted By Cayce, part 2

2011-11-07T22:14:00.002+09:00

Songs promoted by Cayce today. If you like these songs too, consider voting for them.

Do The "I Love You"

Victims of Love (Seventh Heaven version)

Tokyo

Misty Blue

For Dangerous Kids

My Funny Valentine

Taboo (Not Greatest Hits version)

Ao no Sekai

Maria

Hosoi Sen (again!)

Kalavinka (again! fuck yes)

Sapphire

Trigger

Black Cherry

Doukeshi A

Mr. Darkness & Mrs. Moonlight (cuz we all love Selia)

Lullaby III

Tango Swanka

寿記 06.11.2011 Catalogue

2011-11-07T21:59:00.002+09:00

We'll be releasing two special boxes on the same day in March, in cooperation with Victor and Ariola.

Two items

Catalogue Victor->Mercury 87-99

and

Catalogue Ariola 00-10

With this title, I wanted to give even more a feeling of just a pure informational label, or "cataloguing our history." I was the one who came up with the title.

I like it, I think it's very Buck-Tick-esque.

And I mean, I always wanted to put the name of the record label in the title of the album sometime.

...and actually, when you're talking about best-of albums, I always want to put the word "catalogue" in the title.

It's really easy to understand, and that's the point, right?

though, I have no idea what will happen from here.

About voting (this is important!)

I know a lot of people seem to think you can only vote once, or you can only vote for one song...

But actually, with the voting, you can vote for one song per album, per 24-hour period.

I think this system should give us some juicy results!

So have fun voting.

Cayce's two cents: Guys, what he means by "juicy results" is, vote for some different songs than last time.

More on Voting

2011-11-03T11:17:00.002+09:00

For voting, you need to list your name, age, sex, and prefecture of residence. For reference, 「女性」is "female" and 「男性」is male. Fukushima prefecture is 「福島」. Also my bad, you can vote for one song per album per day.

Songs promoted by Cayce today:

Telephone Murder

Embryo

The World Is Yours

Victims of Love (Not Greatest Hits version)

Angelfish

Yuuwaku

Hosoi-Sen

Kalavinka

Kain

Shanikusai -Carnival-

Limbo

Passion

La Vie en Rose

Motel 13

Yougetsu (the stupid album mix because that's all they allow you to vote for.)

If you like these songs, too, you should vote for them!

Rankings

2011-11-02T20:23:00.006+09:00

Voting is now open for the tracks that will be featured on Buck-Tick's new best-of collections, and the current list of rankings of songs has now been posted on the special 25th anniversary website. If you haven't voted, go vote now!

But, a word before you go vote. Looking at the rankings, all I have to say is, guys, can we please be more original? Despite the fact that Buck-Tick has at this point released a whopping 220 songs, I notice that every single track that was featured on the previous fan-voted best-of album, Buck-Tick Catalogue 2005, is also listed on this list of rankings, with the exceptions of the single tracks, as this time around, fans are not allowed to vote for singles or b-sides.

Now it's frankly a crime that fans aren't allowed to vote for b-sides. What, no "Yougestu," no "Paradise," no "Utsusemi," no "Rokugatsu no Okinawa," no "Asylum Garden," no "Down," no "Trans," no "My Baby Japanese," you say? Yeah, I know, Buck-Tick's list of b-sides coincides pretty heavily with their list of best songs ever, but I'm just going to hope the reason for the fact that you can't vote for b-sides is that they will be releasing a b-sides collection, too (maybe I'm about to start a rumor here!)

But, back to my main point, which is, let's steer clear of these album tracks that fans voted onto the previous best collection, that they now appear to be in danger of voting onto this new best collection as well. Putting aside the fact that many of these songs are songs the band has played so many times at recent tours that I get disappointed every time I hear them now, because from a band with such a wonderful back catalogue I'd really rather hear some variety (I'm looking at you, Muma, Baby, and Iconoclasm), what is the point of Buck-Tick releasing two best collections featuring more or less the same material? It's boring from the standpoint of the listeners, and it's stupid from a money-making perspective as well. If I already spent 3500 yen on Catalogue 2005, why would I spent another 3500 on a new best album that has the same damn track list minus "Aku no Hana" plus "Hamushi no You ni"?

So please, guys. The following songs were already included on the Catalogue 2005 track list. Please for the love of Buck-Tick being cool, don't vote for them again.

Hurry Up Mode

Sexual XXXXX

Physical Neurose

Sakura

Angelic Conversation

Iconoclasm

Cosmos

My Fuckin' Valentine

Baby, I Want You

Rhapsody

Shippuu no Blade Runner

Flame

Long distance call

GIRL

mona lisa

Muma -The Nightmare-

Buck-Tick Special Boxes

2011-10-29T02:04:00.004+09:00

Smoking hot news has just tangoed and djangoed forth from the Buck-Tick press, and the 25th anniversary mail magazine even sent me a coy email warning me that "the website will be updated at midnight" and that I should "check the main page for more details." Even better than a Halloween scavenger hunt!

Anyhow, the announcement is:

In honor of Buck-Tick's giving all their old labels the finger, their old labels (Victor, Mercury, and RCA Ariola) will be cooperating and releasing two "special box" best-of collections on the same day in March, 2012.

The special boxes will have the scintillating and creative titles of "Catalogue Victor-Mercury 87-99" and "Catalogue Ariola (the label formerly known as BMG) 00-10."

The track lists of each CD will be decided by fan vote, with the voting scheduled to take place from November 1st to November 30th at 23:59 PM.

If, like last time, they ask you to list your home prefecture but you don't live in Japan, show solidarity with the victims of the disaster by saying you live in Miyagi, or Fukushima. Especially if you know, you actually live in Colorado's plutonium belt, or in a 3-floor apartment with a glass facade, a garden and a pool a mere 5 minute drive from historic Pripyat, because in that case you will have earned your solidarity giving rights good and well.

Also, if you just became a Buck-Tick fan five minutes ago: yay, welcome to the club, Buck-Tick are an indies band now and they need your moneyz. But be aware--first, fans voted "Muma -the Nightmare-" onto the last fan-voted collection. It has more than had its chance in the spotlight, please do not vote for it again. Second, Buck-Tick also has a lot of wonderful songs that are not "Dress," 'Romance," "Kuchizuke," "Baby, I Want You," "Cream Soda," or "Kimi no Vanilla." Which is not to say don't vote for these songs anyway, but, there are a lot of other good ones that are really worth a listen. For some recommendations on where to start, see this post.

P.S. Special thanks to Veronica Mendez, for being The Blog-Tick Phenomenon's 100th follower!

Buck-Tick Won't Die

2011-10-28T19:19:00.006+09:00

Next time you guys think the band is breaking up because you use Google translate to try and read Japanese, PLEASE email me instead.

Buck-Tick is NOT breaking up.

Buck-Tick is in fact, starting a new record label called Lingua Sounda. No doubt they have decided to do this because the godforsaken Japanese major labels still think that men with crow's feet can't sell records. But, seeing as Buck-Tick has given the finger to every label that tried to tell them what to do before, I'm honestly quite surprised it took them this long to strike out on their own. Here's hoping they sign some other artists as well. And quit it with the creepy figurines.

Sakurai Atsushi, on the formation of Lingua Sounda, says,

"We extend our deepest gratitude to the fans who have supported us thus far.

We have our music, and we have Buck-Tick.

From now until we die, no, even after we die, Buck-Tick's music will continue to live.

Whatever happens, we hope you stay behind us. And thank you."

There, you have it from Acchan now, so you don't need it from me.

This has been a public service announcement from your friendly Not Greatest Translator Cayce.

Btw, if you are not in the Fish Tank but you want the Fish Tank only DVDs anyway, my offer to sell them to you at a discount markup is real. If you're interested, email me. Themadaristocrat at gmail.

2011.10.12 Gothic Diary of a Fetish Dad

2011-10-12T21:29:00.003+09:00

A translated excerpt from Gothic Diary of a Fetish Dad, the blog of Genet from Auto-Mod. Will I translate Genet's blog regularly? Sorry, but no. But I thought you ought to read this one.

Today I Pigged Out on Edamame From Tochigi Prefecture (haha)

Yesterday's nightcap snack was a whole mountain of edamame!

Last night, my mom sent me a big huge bag of edamame that she picked by hand and bought from her neighbor who is a farmer, so I had them with my Hoppy, lightly boiled.

My family's house is in the southern part of Tochigi Prefecture, and I'm not sure of the details about whether or not there's radioactive contamination there, but while I suspect it's probably less than the government-set limit, I doubt if it's completely zero...!!

So today the radioactive contamination spreads to my stomach as well, and crazier and crazier rumors are raging, and still the Japanese government continues to hide everything.

And the media's going along with it, too...

But then sometimes, they release information after the fact! And then everyone is shocked by how high the levels of contamination are! (haha)

However, the anti-anti-nuclear movement doesn't seem to feel a damn thing when they hear the terrifying truth as the government slowly and quietly releases it (hah)

This goes for the food, and it goes for their proposal to raise the set age for receiving a federal pension to 70...are they trying to feed us poison to kill us all before age 70 so that they never have to pay us anything?

The whole reason the pension system went bankrupt in the first place is because this country put such an incoherent pension system in place, and Japanese nuclear policy all resulted from the government being too close to TEPCO, so it's really not surprising.

When you trace it all back to it's origins, it's the government that has ruined the nation of Japan, and the Liberal Democratic Party, who were the original instigators of all the bad policy are now pretending like they don't know a thing about it.

So that's how we end up all contaminated with radiation, and when we get too old to work we get thrown out on the street, I guess. Looks like Japan isn't going to be such a first-world country anymore!!

Whatever I eat, I just assume it's all poisonous, but obviously if I don't eat I'm gonna die (hah) So I guess I just keep living, and then when I get too old to work I'll keel over and die by the roadside.

So that's why I'm going to taste my fill of the blessings of nature in Japan, I'm going to sit in open-air hot springs under the beautiful sky, I'm going to drink a lot of sake made from delicious Japanese rice, and, well, if I'm internally contaminated, so be it.

I know it makes me sound like a complete asshole to say it, but how did it come to this? Whose fault is it that it came to this? I'm not going to forget it ever, it's etched in my heart forever and the Japanese people shouldn't forget it either.

Anyway, that's why I'm eating this mountain of delicious edamame that my loving mother sent me that she picked with her own hands.

Yes, this is the man who has an obsession with Hoppy, this is Genet, signing off!

...oh and I forgot to mention I also made an appetizer with baby tomatoes and feta cheese. When I put anchovies on top it came out tasting pretty good!

Scream for the Truth

2011-10-05T22:36:00.008+09:00

Following in the footsteps of long-time anti-nuclear activist Sakamoto Ryuichi, Dir en grey have launched a campaign called "Scream for the Truth," to demand that the Japanese government tell the truth about the extent of radioactive contamination from the Fukushima crisis. While none of the independent data and expert opinions I have looked at suggests remotely to me that radiation levels are so high that Japanese people "are at risk to not be able to able to travel to the USA or other countries in the future," it's very true that the Japanese government is not being honest with the public about the extent of the danger.

For one thing, clouds of fallout were and continue to be blown on the wind to other parts of the country from Fukushima.

For another thing, there is a hot zone extending from Ibaraki Prefecture through southern Saitama and into eastern Tokyo, and parts of this zone would have been declared evacuation zones according to the standards set after the Chernobyl accident.

Furthermore, huge amounts of radioactive water were dumped into the Pacific Ocean, and continue to spread.

Most worryingly, contamination of the food chain is likely to be widespread. Multiple reports have already come out about contaminated beef and tea, but testing on various foods in various prefectures has been conducted sporadically according to varying standards, and the results have not been well publicized (though you can view many food inspection results on the web sites of the various prefectures where the foods originated.) Furthermore, the radiation levels the Japanese government has declared "safe" for foods are still hundreds of times higher than international standards.

Also, the Japanese government has failed to adequately explain the difference between being exposed to radiation externally in the form of gamma rays vs. ingesting radioactive particles. Over the long time, ingestion of radioactive particles is a lot more worrying. Elements like cesium and strontium have long half-lives and can stay in the body for months, years, or decades, where they bombard the cells around them with a constant stream of radiation, increasingly the likelihood of cancer-causing mutations. But the Japanese government has failed to explain this risk, and also failed to instruct citizens on measures they can take to limit their exposure, or even provide detailed data about what places should be avoided.

A lot of Japanese musicians have been criticizing the government by signing onto petitions and anti-nuke campaigns (or simply bitching on their blogs), but it's nice to see someone making a big public stand. I hope more people keep jumping on the bandwagon. There have already been a number of anti-nuke demonstrations in downtown Tokyo sponsored by No Nukes More Hearts and other groups. If you are in Tokyo, we'll welcome you at the next one. If you don't live in Japan, in addition to sending us your prayers, the next time someone rolls their eyes at the health dangers of radiation, set them straight, please. I certainly don't advocate hysteria, but this is a big problem, it's not going away, and the first step to finding ways to combat it is admitting that it exists. (Also I might add that as time passes low levels of contamination will increasingly be showing up outside Japan. Fukushima is now a global problem. But that's also precisely why if you are planning on visiting Japan for a short period as a tourist you should not be unduly worried, though I'd advocate steering well clear of Fukushima prefecture.)

Sorry to be a downer, but all of us living in Japan are having to think about this every day and a lot of people are still having trouble speaking out. However, I don't feel comfortable remaining silent. Way to go Dir en grey.

Also, if you are interested in a lot of cogent, straight-spoken, easy-to-understand information and commentary on the Fukushima crisis and the world politics of nuclear power, try watching some of the videos on this website. The October 2nd update should be of particular interest to people hoping to debunk the assumption that the Fukushima accident is the result of Japanese "cultural issues," and people looking for more information on the ways the nuclear industry exerts a huge amount of influence over the bodies supposed to be regulating it.

The data to which I linked above was taken from a variety of independent tests (conducted by citizens cooperating with independent labs.) However, take all commentary on the Alexander Higgins blog with a grain of salt--while he includes many useful links to relevant news articles, in his own commentary he uses overblown sensationalist rhetoric and takes certain information out of context to blow it out of proportion, so keep your hats on.

Snapped

2011-09-24T16:23:00.002+09:00

Congratulatory bouquet from Buck-Tick in honor of Loopus's 15th anniversary. They always hire wonderful flower designers, don't they.

Buck-Tick Debut 25th Anniversary

2011-09-21T21:36:00.004+09:00

Congratulations, Buck-Tick, and sorry I didn't get around to posting this until now--my power was out and the wind was shaking my building at about a JMA seismic intensity level 3. But now I find, all that storming was just in honor of the fact that this September 21st, amid the driving rain and raging winds of Typhoon Roke (whooo!) you guys get to celebrate 25 years (oh lord) since your major label debut on September 21st, 1987! That's a big fat quarter-century, right there. Talk about a brilliant future for future.

Only, I wonder...since babies born on September 21st, 1987 are turning 24 this year, how exactly are they counting this anniversary as being the 25th anniversary? Was the day Buck-Tick went major also their first anniversary? I have heard loads of people on the internet talk about how numbers are different in Japan, and I know everything you read on the internet is true, but Japanese babies born September 21st, 1987 are also turning 24 today, so I dunno, you tell me.

Anyhow, the question at this point is, how can Buck-Tick's promo manager use the 25th anniversary as an excuse to make you spend money on glossy airbrushed photos of Imai when in fact, free, non-glossy non-airbrushed photos would be a whole lot better? Unfortunately, the answer to this question remains a mystery. The band's web managers have launched a special website to celebrate the 25th anniversary and they promise "one big epic announcement" on this website exactly a month from now, on October 21st. The website also features a mysterious counter, involving the number 66 emerging coyly from the forest of a young Yagami Toll's stick-straight hair. Does it mean there are 66 days left until the Buck-Tick Phenomenon explodes again? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, you can register for their new 25th-anniversary mail magazine. Literally all you have to enter is your email address. If you do this and then end up with a mailbox full of spam, well, just think to yourself that that spam came from Buck-Tick, and smile.

And if Typhoon Roke decides to turn rogue and head your way next, get your ass out into that rain and wind and start singing "Shipuu no Blade Runner" at the top of your lungs, because what's a little water, anyway?

Edit: Buck-Tick's web management appear to have revised the 25th Anniversary special site so that the "3" part of "365" is no longer hidden in Toll's hair. Good one guys. I guess it really is a year away...here's hoping they tear up Minato Mirai again with another huge outdoor festival.

Gekka Reijin subtitled video!

2011-09-19T23:06:00.004+09:00

I don't know who made this video, but whoever you are, thank you for using my translation! It makes me so happy to see it on the subtitles! Only next time, send me an email and let me know!

For future reference: anyone is welcome to use my lyric translations to make subbed YouTube videos. All I ask is that you credit me and link back to Not Greatest Site and/or Blog-Tick. However, I have now completed an all-new set of translations of Buck-Tick's entire discography, and I think the new translations are more accurate and have more style. They will be on the web soon (you thought I wasn't working but actually, I was), so if any of you out there are planning on making another subtitled video soon, please please please email me and ask for the new translation instead of just using the old one. Thank you!

FYI: Cayce's email is themadaristocrat [at] gmail. Not writing out the at-mark confuses the spambots so substitute the correct symbology accordingly.

Another Reason to Join Fish Tank

2011-09-14T22:31:00.004+09:00

In honor of the 15th anniversary of Fish Tank, Buck-Tick will be releasing not one but TWO, count 'em TWO, new Fish Tanker's Only live DVDs.

For those of you who enjoyed the clips circulating around the internet for a while of that stunning performance of "Lion" from the Fish Tanker's Only 2006 tour, now you get to see the whole show. The first DVD will be a release of Fish Tanker's Only Tour 2006 show held at Zepp Tokyo on September 3rd, 2006.

Set List:

1. Theme of B-T

2. Empty Girl

3. ...In Heaven...

4. Angelic Conversation

5. Gesshoku

6. Cabaret

7. DOLL

8. Passion

9. Sid Vicious on the Beach

10. Madman Blues

11. LION

12. Miu

13. Cyborg Dolly:Soramimi:PHANTOM

14. Candy

15. MAD

16. Ash-ra

17. Nocturne Rain Song

18. BRAN-NEW LOVER

19. Flame

20. Muma -The Nightmare-

21. DIABOLO

22. Utsusemi

23. Kagerou

24. ROMANCE

25. Love Me

Yes, you get your 13kai fix, fangirls. And if you think this is just about an ideal set list for a BUCK-TICK concert, then you agree with Cayce completely. And savor the video of "Utsusemi," because it's just as likely as not that they will never perform the damn song live again.

The second DVD will contain all the songs performed at the Fish Tanker's Only Tour 2009 show held at Zepp Tokyo on October 12th, 2009.

Set List:

1. Love and Death

2. Memento Mori

3. Les Enfants Terribles

4. Suzumebachi

5. Montage

6. MOTEL 13

7. Umbrella

8. Coyote

9. Kirameki no naka de

10. Lullaby III

11. Limbo

12. Jonathan Jet-Coaster

13. Katte ni Shiyagare

14. Tenshi wa Dare da

15. HEAVEN

16. Makka na Yoru

17. GALAXY

18. Empty Girl

19. Just One More Kiss

20. Alice in Wonder Underground

21. Revolver

22. Kyokutou Yori Ai wo Komete

If you wish that every time Buck-Tick played "Kirameki no naka de" and "LIMBO" at a live show, they would play both songs twice instead of playing Muma or Aku no Hana even once, then you agree with Cayce completely.

But, if you want this DVD, you have to wait till Christmas: both DVDs will be released on the 24th of December. The regular edition of each will cost 5250 yen, and the limited edition will cost 7350 yen and include a 100 page photobook (I assume different for each DVD) and a special box emblazoned with your very own IRL name and Fish Tank member's number. Read: if you think you are going to be smart and make money off non-Fish Tank fans by ordering a crapload of these and then reselling them on Yahoo Japan Auctions at a markup, you are going to have to be okay with having your buyers own a DVD that has your real name and club number on it. Or you could, you know, just sell the DVDs without the slipcase, at a discount markup. But if you pre-order the limited edition of both DVDs, they'll send you a Fish Tank 15th Anniversary tote bag, ABSOLUTELY FREE!

But, the fine print: to get all of this, first you have to have joined Fish Tank by October 23rd. And since so many people seem to be asking, a few words on joining Fish Tank:

They only accept cash yen. Yes, you have to send cash to Japan via registered mail if you want to join Fish Tank. That means putting cash in an envelope in the mail. My advice: don't write "To unscrupulous postal workers: this envelope has CA$H in it" on the envelope.

All their materials are in Japanese. They will send you extra information on special procedures for overseas members. These will also only be in Japanese.

The photos in the Fish Tank newsletter are few and far between, also small and pixelated. But a fangirl's gotta squee when a fangirl's gotta squee.

At least half of the photos in a typical Fish Tank newsletter feature fans, not band members.

Yes, being in Fish Tank does get you better tickets, but you won't necessarily get good tickets just by being in Fish Tank, in fact you are likely to get a lot of crap (read: you might be able to see the band members if you had binoculars) tickets. However if you are not in Fish Tank you are guaranteed to get crap tickets every time.

You can order items from the Fish Tank only section of the Buck-Tick web shop even if you are an overseas member of Fish Tank, however, it involves sending cash yen in the mail. Also, right now the exchange rate for the yen is sky high, which means all of y'all overseas fans will see that money shrink in the wash, and how.

If you live overseas, do not read Japanese, and do not plan to come to Japan to see Buck-Tick live, being in Fish Tank is not usually worth the money and hassle, in my opinion. The single biggest benefit it offers is getting priority for concert ticket reservations. However, when these DVDs come out, it does tend to sway the cost-benefit ratio. Which is, of course, why they release fan club only DVDs: to get more people to spend the money to join the fan club. But Buck-Tick ain't rich, they need your moneyz. So buy them sexy DVDs.

Or alternatively, if you want to buy them sexy DVDs but don't want to join Fish Tank, Cayce will be happy to sell them to you slipcase-free at a discount markup, let's say 10000 yen per DVD, shipping included. Or you could just send Cayce cash yen because you can't get enough of sending cash in the mail.

Prayers and Apologies

2011-07-25T22:48:00.002+09:00

Many apologies for not updating in so long.

I run this blog all by myself, and lately life has been getting in the way.

I promise I have not forgotten about it, and I will be posting again when I am able to. In the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions, or requests, please feel free to email me.

With the passing of Taiji from X Japan, Amy Winehouse, and Isshi from Kagrra, it's really been a dark summer for music so far. Say what you will about their various personal reputations, they were all artists and they were all human beings. I think their passing from the world leaves us a little more lonely.

For those of you who didn't know, the cause of Taiji's death is believed to have been suicide.

Amy Winehouse is believed to have overdosed on a lethal combination of various drugs, whether on purpose or not, it doesn't really matter. If you think her death is funny, or at least unsurprising, I ask you to just remember the darkest place you have ever been, and then imagining living there every minute of your waking life, and ask yourself you would do.

The cause of Isshi's death appears to be unknown. I admit this one is the one that strikes the deepest for me personally, since I was an avid follower of Kagrra in their early days. Like Kagerou, they were one of the last visual rock pioneers, with a fiercely original, eerie, beautiful sound, all shaped by Isshi's ethereal presence, fantastical interpretation of historical scholarship, and haunting falsetto voice. If you never listened to Kagrra, I urge you to give them a try, even if just as a memoriam. I would recommend some songs, but the list would be too long, so I'll leave it for another post. In the meantime, go on YouTube and search for some of their beautifully produced music videos.

May each of them rest in peace.

And all the readers of Blog-Tick all around the world, if you feel touched or moved when you read this post, then please, take a moment to stay silent and say a prayer for all the souls who passed on, in the Great East Japan Earthquake, and unrelated to the disaster. And then take a moment to hold your loved ones close, and pray for the safety, health, and longevity of all the rest of us who you love who are still alive, including the precious and irreplaceable members of Buck-Tick, because there are never too many prayers, and there no such thing as too much love.

寿記 11.04.2011 House of Surrealism

2011-05-16T21:46:00.001+09:00

The other day.

I went to an exhibit of surrealist art.

De Chirico, Dali, Magritte, metaphysical art...

Delvaux, Tanguy, "The Sweet Corpses," Man Ray, Ernst...

Breton, Duchamp, Automatism, "Fountain," Picabia

Violence.

It just explodes.

Denial

Attack

Destruction

Provocation

Creation

It's a great feeling.

Also,

I thought I'd buy some bread on the way home, so I went to this good bakery I know...

...？？,,what's this~~!?

Look what I found!!

So I'll go home, have my "surreal bread" and some wine, and savor the good memories from today.

Also, cheese and dried figs.

...and, anyone who was surprised by the title of the exhibit, "House of Surrealism"...I can tell you're from my generation.

...when are they going to bring back "House of Surprises" already? I mean, seriously.

IMAI 19:00

Imai x Hotei

2011-04-26T01:19:00.004+09:00

Imai will be participating in Hotei's 30th anniversary album, All Time Super Guest. So far, other "super guests" on the album include Nagai Seiichi (from the band Soutaisei Riron), the incurably fecund Miyavi, Imai Miki (Hotei's wife, doncha know), and Kobukuro (who I thought were incapable of making any other music than soulful ballads, but maybe Hotei will help them prove me wrong.) Collaborators previously announced include Dragon Ash and Cornelius, among others.

Imai will perform on the track "GUITARHYTM," alongside Nagai Seiichi, Miyavi, and Hotei himself. I guess they never said "too many guitarists spoil the band," so, stay tuned. No release date for the album has yet been listed, but you can check for details here.

寿記 04.04.2011 Bug

2011-04-11T08:06:00.003+09:00

・

I went out for a walk, and I found this shop that sold weird art.

・

I wondered if they had anything cool in there.

・

And, I kind of...bought this.

・

You want to see what I bought?

・

It's not actually that big.

I mean, it's smaller than your cell phone.

・

This is it.

・

What do you think?

・

・・・wanna see it?

・

Wanna see what it really looks like?

・

Here's a leading shot of it...

・

Wanna see a close-up?

・

Oh, I made it blurry.

・

What's that?

You don't like me teasing you?

・

Fiine, fine.

I'll show you!

・

・・・no, no, that's not it.

I made a mistake.

・

Ahaha

Okay, okay.

・

This is it.

Isn't it awesome?

・

There were even crazier ones, but as a beginner, I thought I should start with something a bit more modest.

・

Well, I mean, I have no plans to get obsessed with them.

・

All you experts out there, here you go...

・

Check it out.

・

Crazy!

IMAI 16:44

寿記 03.04.2011 Public Image Ltd

2011-04-11T08:03:00.002+09:00

・

The other day, I went to a photo exhibit.

・

Photos by Dennis Morris, who was the official photographer for Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.

・

This exhibit was photos of the Sex Pistols vocalist Johnny Rotten

After the Pistols broke up and he changed his name back to John Lydon, and started a new band,

・・・Public Image Ltd・・・「PIL」

・

John Lydon is one of my favorite artists.

It was really exciting to see a lot of photos I hadn't seen before.

・

Maaaaaan~ I ean, it was so exciting, I just wanted to play another live show.

・

But, he was always drunk, John Lydon.

・

There was a time when I listened to nothing but PIL.

・

IMAI 17:52

寿記 02.04.2011 Report

2011-04-11T08:02:00.002+09:00

・

I have a report to make~

・

As of Wednesday, 3/30, our collected earthquake relief funds totaled

2,460,580 yen.

・

Thank you all so much.

・

I'll report on it again soon.

・

Also, keep checking the official site.

・

IMAI 12:00

寿記 01.04.2011 It's been a while!

2011-04-01T20:41:00.004+09:00

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!HAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

♧ This is skull-baby!! ♣

Were you happily FOOLED all day today!? ♡♥

Well, WERE YOU? ♧

♡ kekekekeke ♥

There were totally PEOPLE who were FOOOLED by IMAI's stupid joke!! ♣♧

-But, of course you're all fine-

kukukukukukuku ♡♥

Because, basically, Imai is not such a nice guy

♡ He's an INFAMOUSLY DEVILISH rock musician!!! ♥

But♡ Those of you who were fooled by the JOKE

DESERVE to be fooled!! ♥

But, don't be upset about it♧

♥ Kiss ♥

hahahahahahahaha ♣♡♠♢

This is Imai.

I think that explanation was a little too easy to understand...but, on the other hand, if you thought I was serious, I'm in trouble...

So, I thought I'd make it patently obvious

I got loads of emails from people who either laughed hysterically, were miserable, or were shocked for about four seconds then realized the truth...

There were people who really believed it.

I'm sorry.

Oh yeah, and some people were really angry, too.

Guys, I am totally sorry

Oh yeah and I'm going to say it every year from now on, so don't be fooled the next time.

IMAI 20:22

寿記 01.04.2011 April Fools

2011-04-01T20:39:00.003+09:00

I know you were probably thinking, "could this possibly be true," but, you do know, right?

The thing that happens on April 1st.

...Well, whatever.

I mean, of course, basically it will never happen.

...and by that I mean, let's keep working hard today!

IMAI 12:00

寿記 01.04.2011 First of April

2011-04-01T20:35:00.003+09:00

The only excuse I have is...it was inevitable.

We were really trying to make it work.

I know, I know we hadn't even released the schedule for the new tour yet.

But, Buck-Tick...

We're splitting up. It's over.

Really sorry about that.

IMAI 00:00

寿記 29.03.2011 March 29th (Tuesday) Email

2011-03-29T23:35:00.002+09:00

I got a whole slew more emails today.

Thank you.

But, among them was an email from someone who is misunderstanding my purpose.

So, I'm going to write a little public message to that person.

To K.Y.-san

The link I posted on my blog, to the "Yokohama Romankan,"

It's not a link to a fan site.

It's the website of an art gallery.

The reason I posted the link is that, as part of the Yokohama Romankan charity auction,

I will be exhibiting some of my own work.

Also, with regard to your accusations that I am "waaay too pushy" and "totally full of myself"

on the topic of the Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake,

this isn't a matter of being "pushy" or not.

Actually, I did (with a certain irony) think to myself, to use your own words,

"Why are you being such a fucking tight-assed downer all of a sudden?"

But, that's really not the point.

The point is, I'm actually just writing stuff that's common sense.

Yeah.

And, well, it's my blog, so, I might as well write some of my own feelings.

And about your comment,

"you don't have to keep going on about it till your blog looks like a fucking billboard"

I really don't give a crap about advertising or billboards

I just want to encourage people to do whatever it is they can do.

And hmm, yeah...it's my blog.

And, whatever I get criticized as being, really "hanging in there" is all anyone can do, at this point.

So, people, let's all hang in there.

IMAI 22:05

All readers of Blog-Tick should know that since January 2006 (yes, you heard me, 2006) the Not Greatest Site/Blog-Tick team have had a strict policy of responding to flames in exactly the same way Imai so eloquently did: witty, level-headed public ridicule.

Also before you flame me and tell me that there is no Japanese profane interjection equivalent of "fucking," be aware that I translated this entry for diction and tone rather than for word-for-word accuracy...I wanted to give you a good feel of what the exchange might have sounded like if it had taken place in colloquial internet English instead of colloquial internet Japanese, and to highlight the difference in tone between the fan's email and Imai's response to the email.

Did I mention...Blog-Tick loves Imai?

寿記 29.03.2011 March 29th (Tuesday) Meeting

2011-03-29T23:32:00.001+09:00

The first time all five of us have gotten together in a while.

IMAI 11:18

寿記 25.03.2011 March 25th (Friday) Self Discipline and Indulgence

2011-03-25T15:37:00.003+09:00

Thank you for all your emails every day.

In a lot of emails, I'm hearing people voicing doubts about these things, "self-discipline" and "indulgence."

I know exactly how you feel.

I think a lot of people are being misdirected in the best way to channel their emotions and their desire to do something.

I'm sure you all know this already, but

What all of us who have not been directly injured by the disaster need to be doing is keeping the economy going.

The people under the jurisdiction of Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. will be saving electricity.

There are stores in Western Japan that are shortening their hours to avoid "indulgence."

But, for them, I think there is really no need for this excess "self discipline," in the form of saving power.

Instead of doing that, Western Japan needs to be building up steam economically, to help buoy up Eastern Japan, whose economy is currently largely at a standstill.

You have to use money, consume products and services, keep the economy going.

If you keep the economy going at full speed, it will be easier for the people who have lost their jobs to find new jobs.

Okay, we postponed the Buck-Tick tour, but it wasn't about "self-discipline" or about "indulgence," it's because there is a lot of danger and anxiety in the air and we felt there was no way we could have a live show without that interfering.

Even if we got people all sweaty and worked up in the live house pit, people would still be thinking, "somehow, I feel down..." or "overall, I just feel bad..."

But, yeah. Western Japan, I'm talking about Kansai, Shikoku, Sanyo/San'in and Kyuushuu, please, just keep spending money and keeping the economy going.

If you do that, soon we'll be able to announce the new schedule for the postponed tour.

For now, just sit tight.

IMAI 14:51

I'm going to put in my two cents now, because this is a hugely important point that Imai is making. Western Japan has been largely undamaged by the disaster, and the Western Japanese power grid isn't even connected to the eastern power grid, so saving power does approximately nothing to help with the power shortage up north, though profligate consumption of resources is not something I endorse. But Imai's point is, holding back on normal life activities because you feel bad or worried about the quake/tsunami/meltdown not only doesn't help, it's actively bad for the country. And to a certain extent this goes for people in Kanto, too. For example, a lot of stores may be closed, but if there are stores that are open, shop at them. If there are restaurants/bars that are open, go out to eat and drink. Go to work, and work as productively as you can. I know most of the readers of this blog don't live in Japan but I'm going to say it anyway.

寿記 24.03.2011 March 24th (Thursday) Charity Auction

2011-03-25T15:23:00.004+09:00

I'm participating in an exhibition and charity auction at the Yokohama Romankan Gallery.

I'm exhibiting three drawings I did for the mobile graphics download campaign.

They'll be up next to a lot of wonderful pieces by a long of distinguished artists.

Please come and see it.

[official home page]

IMAI 20:00

寿記 24.03.2011 March 24th (Thursday) Mobile Graphics Downloads

2011-03-25T15:20:00.002+09:00

About our mobile site fundraiser.

We finally made it so that Docomo users who are not paid members can download the graphics, too.

If you find one you like, please download it.

IMAI 16:32

A Picture of Romance

2011-03-24T23:09:00.004+09:00

It appears that our very own Imai Hisashi has made his first foray into the world of visual arts. We knew he was an avid patron of the arts and art collector, as evidenced by the photos he displays on his blog of the many pieces he has displayed in his home, but now, it seems, he's actually drawing pictures. Funny in a way, since Sakurai, with his illuminated kanji, eerily expressive cartoon faces, minimalist yet evocative big-eyed cats, and meticulously lifelike swarms of sperm, has hitherto been the band's most accomplished visual artist. (Fun fact: according to his biography in the Love Me book, Sakurai won several awards for his drawings when he was in elementary school.)

However, now it seems Imai is determined to upstage him! Imai will be exhibiting three works as part of the "Otogibanashi no Sekai" ("Fairytale World") exhibit at the Yokohama Romankan ("Romance Gallery") from Saturday, March 26th, to Sunday, April 10th. The exhibit will be open every Friday-Monday from 1PM-6PM.

The works to be displayed will be used as designs for the downloadable mobile phone graphic schemes Buck-Tick is using in their Love & Media Portable site charity campaign. Unlike the other works on display at the exhibit, Imai's works will all be for sale by silent auction. Bids can be made at the exhibition or by email. The starting bid is 5000 yen, with bids increasing in 500 yen increments. Bidding will close at 6PM on April 10th, the last day of the exhibition, with all proceeds to be donated to the Japan Red Cross disaster relief fund. So, all you fans who were wondering what to do with your refunded Razzle Dazzle tour ticket money, or who just happen to be lucky and rich, unlike most of the unlucky, poor world, bid away, knowing safely that your money will be used to (hopefully) send food and diapers to homeless babies up in Tohoku, or life-saving medicine to sick, elderly folks evacuated from the irradiated regions of Fukushima.

To send in a bid by email, send a message to this address with the following info:

1. The title of the work you wish to bid on

2. The amount of your bid

3. Your name

4. Your address

5. You phone number

6. You email address

Bidding opens at 1PM on Saturday, March 26th.

The works to be exhibited can be viewed here.

If this sounds to you like somewhat late in life for Imai to have taken up a new hobby, well, it has to be said that music is probably still his most shining talent...he may have to keep working if he wants to beat Sakurai at kick-ass doodling. But his concern and dedication also counts for a whole lot.

Edit: Buck-Tick have added photos to their Love & Media Portable Download campaign. To reiterate, anyone can download these things, only suckers who use Docomo may still have to have a registered, paid identity. What do I know, I use SoftBank...the worst service but the cheapest rates, and they have SMAP as their official posterboys.

Also, Buck-Tick's Twitter is still full of boring repetitions of the same old news.

寿記 24.03.2011 March 24th (Thursday) Email

2011-03-24T14:00:00.002+09:00

There's an email I want to share with you all.

I'm just going to post the original text, as is.

Day by day, little by little, the levels of radioactivity were going down.

We're so very, very grateful.

All those people at the site of the plants, who are putting their lives on the line for us--we can never thank them enough.

Yesterday I got my dispatch to come to work. I have rainy days off.

The other day, I heard from my father, who was talking to someone in the neighborhood, that people who had fled Fukushima were being placed in a special section in some restaurant, and the someone was asking them to be labeled somehow, as having come from Fukushima.

It really makes me sad.

And now all the television programming has gone back to normal.

My friend in Toyko was upset and asking me what to do because he missed out on a chance to meet someone.

People from Fukushima are just human beings like everyone else. Don't let yourself forget it.

IMAI 9:42

寿記 23.03.2011 March 23rd (Wednesday) Live DVD

2011-03-24T13:58:00.004+09:00

The new date for the release of our postponed live DVD has been decided.

It's April 6th.

IMAI 20:13

寿記 23.03.2011 March 23rd (Wednesday) Live DVD

2011-03-24T13:58:00.002+09:00

寿記 23.03.2011 March 23rd (Wednesday) Feelings

2011-03-23T15:18:00.003+09:00

By the way, there has been some bashing going on, talk of "hypocrisy" and "self-aggrandizement," but...

What's really important is that the money and supplies actually get to the right place.

(I mean, at times like these, you need to be careful of "smooth talkers")

(People also get taken in by rumors and chain emails)

(There are people who plot nasty schemes)

(Of course it's really foolish to put up collateral)

It's not easy to figure these things out sometimes. There's a lot to take in.

What's important is

Maybe there is hypocrisy and self-aggrandizement involved, but what's important is that the money and supplies go to the right place.

That's what the people in the areas hit by the disaster need.

The point is, to help them, in a practical sense.

Try not to use words like "hypocrisy" and "self-aggrandizement" too lightly.

If putting my name or face on a campaign gets more people to donate money and supplies, I'll put my name or face on that campaign.

Collect the donations, and send them to Tohoku.

That is the important thing.

Whatever my "feelings" about it are...that stuff can come later.

IMAI 13:38

寿記 23.03.2011 March 23rd (Wednesday) Jojo

2011-03-23T15:15:00.002+09:00

I got a bunch more emails again today.

Thanks.

Everyone's saying, "let's get the smiles back on our faces as soon as we can!"

People who get it will get it.

This guy's strong spirit will never be broken. It's amazing.

Hang in there.

IMAI 11:35

寿記 22.03.2011 March 22st (Tuesday) From a Classmate of Mine

2011-03-23T15:09:00.003+09:00

Today, I got an email from an old classmate of mine.

Apparently he's gone to Sendai to help with the earthquake relief efforts.

(He says he's staying on the floor of an office, in a sleeping bag!)

Hang in there!

Up north...

Basically, they have nothing.

Wherever you go, people are waiting in long lines in the cold, and there's all these little kids with their mothers...

It's painful to watch.

Let's all work and pray for a quick recovery!!

(His email to me)

...it's painful to imagine.

Yeah, let's hang in there!!

He sent me these photos.

I'm posting them, so I won't forget.

Let's hang in there.

IMAI 11:56

Points of Clarification

2011-03-22T00:26:00.003+09:00

Anyone can download Buck-Tick's charity graphic, only right now there is a bug that means that people registered with Docomo have to have a paid membership to download it. Users of SoftBank and au can download free. Since this is the Japanese mobile web, I am doubting it works outside of Japan. Those of you outside of Japan who want to donate, please, please do. Japan's economy was not in good shape before this thing happened, the country is in a lot of debt, and pulling through this crisis is going to take a lot of money. Every little bit counts. When you donate, the important thing is to make sure you are donating to a large, reputable organization. Putting money in collection bins on the street is not a safe option. Make sure you go through large, secure systems set in place by whatever aid organization is most reputable in your country.

Still no word on when Buck-Tick's DVD release has been postponed to. I'm not sure there will be for a while. With the severe power shortage and gasoline shortage continuing, business here is still very unstable and a lot of factories are closed for lack of fuel, power, and parts. I'm sure plans will all be announced in good time.

For anyone who worried, there are a lot of musicians rallying together to support relief efforts. Buck-Tick canceled their tour because a big undertaking like that takes a fair amount of electricity and fuel, plus given the state of the transportation system at the moment, it's unlikely all the fans could make it even if they had the shows. But lots of smaller events are happening all over. Everyone is donating at least some of the ticket money. Not a chance that one measly earthquake could kill the Japanese music scene in one blow. We're going to keep fighting!

Also for anyone who worried, Tohoku, Kanto, and to some extent Hokkaido, are feeling direct after-effects of the ongoing crisis. Western Japan (Kansai) and Kyuushuu are doing just fine...anyone who has friends there should not be worried.

For anyone living in Tokyo, I wouldn't buy fresh vegetables or dairy products labeled as coming from Fukushima, Ibaraki, or Tochigi. There is a distinct possibility that they have been contaminated with radiation. Probably low levels, but you don't want to eat that shit, it's nasty.

Oh an by the way, I was planning on translating Buck-Tick's Twitter, but so far they haven't said anything the least bit interesting. Oh, snark!

寿記 21.03.2011 March 21st (Monday) Hyper Rescue

2011-03-21T22:54:00.002+09:00

.

The hyper rescue.

They are really working hard for us.

.

.

.

Right now, it's raining here.

.

Let's keep it up today.

.

IMAI 08:49

Note: the hyper rescue team are the ones in the fire trucks dumping water on the nuclear reactors. To be honest, I'm not sure it's helping...radiation levels in Tokyo have risen slightly since the mysterious fire this evening. Please, all of you out there, keep sending us your prayers.

寿記 20.03.2011 March 20th (Sunday) Mobile Phone

2011-03-21T22:50:00.003+09:00

.

Thank you for all your downloads of our graphic scheme.

.

Right now, only Docomo customers have to pay to become a member before they can download it, but

We're planning to fix it by Monday

So just wait a little longer.

.

We'll also be adding more graphic schemes.

.

Lend us your "love, courage, and a cell phone" spirit.

.

We're strong.

.

IMAI 11:05

A note: "I have love, courage, and a cell phone" is a line from the Buck-Tick song "Rhapsody," off the album One Life, One Death.

寿記 19.03.2011 March 19th (Saturday) So Many Emails

2011-03-21T22:42:00.003+09:00

.

I got even more emails today.

.

Everyone's thinking hard.

About what they can do to help.

.

About the way everyone's buying all the food in the supermarket

About the blackouts, and the people who are on the front lines at the nuclear power plants.

.

Even here in Tokyo, rice, water, instant noodles and batteries...

They're all sold out, and have been for a while.

All this ridiculous buying up of everything is causing chaos.

Please, calm down.

.

It's really hard for the people who don't have power.

.

And the people who are on the front lines at the nuclear power plants, they've been putting their lives at risk from their first steps in there.

.

Everyone's doing what they can do.

.

At the company where one fan works, they've decided to donate all their profits to the relief effort.

.

Just staying alive, it's like you've just been born.

Let's keep living, and be strong.

.

.

.

This is always, the sky I see looking up from my house.

IMAI 14:50

寿記 19.03.2011 March 19th (Saturday)

2011-03-21T22:41:00.001+09:00

I read all your emails.

.

.

Let's live strong, for our friends.

.

IMAI 13:45

寿記 18.03.2011 March 18th (Friday) Email

2011-03-21T22:33:00.002+09:00

.
Everything you're thinking, everything you're feeling.
.
What you're experiencing.
.
I got a lot more fan emails today.
.
One from someone who was planning on buying tour goods, but decided to donate the money instead (wonderful!)
One from someone who just wants to make an ass of themselves going nuts at a live show (I promise it will happen in good time.)
People are also worried about my own personal health and well-being (I'm totally, totally fine, thanks for worrying.)
.
I got some emails from people who were having trouble contacting their families and friends, but found out they were safe.
And from some other people who haven't found their families or friends yet.
.
Aftershocks, rolling blackouts, the nuclear accident, and disconnected phone lines...
.
But even at a time like this, we're all hanging in there, and helping each other.
.
.
Thank you all so much for your emails.
.
.
Our manager was also finally able to contact his family in Iwate Prefecture.

IMAI 11:53

寿記 17.03.2011 March 17th (Thursday) Campaign

2011-03-21T22:29:00.002+09:00

.
Everyone's wondering, "is there something I can do?"
.
Well, we're collecting money.
.
We made a new mobile graphic for download.
.
All the proceeds from the downloads go straight to earthquake relief
To the Japan Red Cross.
.
Tomorrow we should have it up on the Buck-Tick website.
.
So, if you want to help us, please download our new graphic scheme.
.
.
I'm using the one with the hearts and the angels.
.

IMAI 20:54

寿記 16.03.2011 March 16th (Wednesday)

2011-03-21T22:27:00.002+09:00

.

Let's just stick with it

For just a little longer

It'll be all right

I know we're moving forward.

IMAI 23:09

寿記 15.03.2011 March 15th (Tuesday) Hang in There

2011-03-21T22:24:00.002+09:00

.

Today I got an email from a person in Tohoku.

.

Everyone's scared and uncertain, but they're hanging in there.

.

Hang in there!

.

.

Let's meet on the "Utakata no Razzle Dazzle" Tour.

I promise you we will.

.

IMAI 20:25

寿記 15.03.2011 March 15th (Tuesday) Hope

2011-03-21T22:14:00.003+09:00

.

My friend couldn't contact his older brother's family, or find out if they were safe or not.

His brother has a wife, and two kids, ages one and four.

They live in Kesennuma.

Apparently, their house got washed away.

.

But finally, my friend heard from them.

.

My same friend also found out that his cousin, who works as a firefighter in Kamaishi, is also safe.

But his house was destroyed.

.

Let's keep up hope!

.

I'm so glad...

.

IMAI 14:04

寿記 15.03.2011 March 15th (Tuesday) iTunes

2011-03-21T22:10:00.003+09:00

.

.

From iTunes, you can donate with a click.

.

.

This is great.

Let's hang in there.

.

IMAI 12:52

寿記 14.03.2011 March 14th (Monday)

2011-03-21T22:05:00.002+09:00

.

I got loads of emails from fans in Tohoku.

It makes me so happy.

.

Given my job, you gave me a little peace of mind.

.

.

It seems like you're all hanging in there

Helping each other and cooperating to get through this tough time.

.

There are people who can't contact their families, their relatives, or their friends.

.

I'm sure there are people who can't send email or check the Buck-Tick website.

.

Stick with it, stay strong.

I know you'll be fine, don't worry about us.

.

IMAI 14:40

寿記 13.03.2011 March 13th (Sunday) Meeting

2011-03-21T21:54:00.002+09:00

.

We just had a meeting with the staff.

.

About the scheduling for the remaining shows on our tour.

.

We'll be announcing it tomorrow afternoon, so be sure to check the official home page.

.

.

There were things we had to decide right away,

And I know we are informing all of you at the last minute, and that it's all very sudden,

...but, well, wait for it.

.

We're really trying to make the best possible decision we can, under the circumstances.

So please, bear with us.

.

I think all the staff members and the band members were in agreement.

.

.

There were at least 100 people from Tohoku who had tickets to the shows next weekend at Zepp Tokyo.

.

Are you all okay?

.

Hang in there.

We're strong.

.

I'm praying for you.

.

IMAI 19:29

寿記 10.03.2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle Nagoya

2011-03-21T21:26:00.003+09:00

.

3/5

Zepp Nagoya

.

You really went through the roof

.

It was so, so hot.

.

.

And, 3/6

Nagoya Diamond Hall -Fish Tanker's Only-

.

It was even hotter

Really crazy.

...all your craziness.

...I mean, just thinking about it, I'm sweating. (haha)

.

.

And,

This was Mr. Sakurai's birthday eve.

.

So there was something else to "look forward to."

.

.

But yeah...this "crocodile Acchan," what a great drawing from ages ago...

.

.

This is the original drawing

Actually, I drew it in the hotel room the night before (BAHAHAH!)

IMAI 13:00

寿記 05.03.2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle Niigata

2011-03-21T20:53:00.003+09:00

.

3/2

Niigata LOTS

.

This show was great again, everyone was really up

I love it when you guys are so into it.

.

But, if the crowd just pushes and pushes and you can't take it anymore, be sure to let a nearby staff member know that you want help getting out of the pit.

And if the person next to you looks like they're in trouble, be sure to help them out.

.

Let's have fun next time, too.

.

.

This is the amazing snow that I saw from the window of the train.

.

.

Also, to Yoko-chan's papa

Thanks for always sending us so many heaps of presents!

IMAI 00:00

What We Can Do

2011-03-21T13:41:00.006+09:00

Sorry for the late updates.

Buck-Tick is now official participating in one of the relief effort donation campaigns, as detailed in an announcement that went up on their home page on Friday, March 18th.

"What Can We Do?
We, at the Buck-Tick mobile site LOVE & MEDIA Portable, are participating in an emergency collection fund for victims of the Great Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake Disaster.

All the proceeds from downloads of the newest mobile graphics will be donated to the Japan Red Cross relief fund. Even customers who are not registered as members can participate (under some circumstances, Docomo customers may be require to register in order to participate.)
Let's try to do a little something for the victims and refugees.

We hope you all help us send them our heartfelt support.

For details, use the QU code at right, or visit http://bt-m.tpm.jp

BUCK-TICK/LOVE & MEDIA PORTABLE/BANKER"

SHOW YOUR HEART

2011-03-17T23:00:00.009+09:00

Gackt is sponsoring a campaign for fans to donate money to earthquake relief efforts via the Red Cross. He's lined up an impressive list of celebrities, including our very own Mr. Sakurai Atsushi, whom he no doubt has fanboyish dreams about several nights each week. Note Sakurai's conspicuously modest lack of a publicity photo. Imai is also on the list, also lacking a publicity photo.

Other notable names on the list include Gackt's band members Chachamaru and You, hide's ex band member Chirolyn, Izam from Shazna, Shinya from Dir en grey, fashion brand h. naoto, members of Nightmare, Duel Jewel, and Luna Sea, and many others.

Imai's message: "Words fail me when I try to imagine what all the victims of this disaster must be going through, but, in any case, just try to stay alive! Let's hang in there. We're strong. And all those who have lost their lives, may you find peace in the next world. Show your heart!"

Sakurai's message: "It's frightening, it's terrifying, it's miserable and sobering, and I'm sure it's making everyone feel powerless. No words we say can help to heal the victims of the disaster. But, behind the emergency broadcasts on the radio, in the bits of music that mingle with the static...I just want to be there. Be a piece of one of those songs. Maybe it sounds heartless to take no responsibility and say that this is something only time can heal, and people may be weak and overwhelmed, but at this moment, I would also like to believe that we are strong, and we are gentle. Perhaps this is all I can do at the moment, but I do it: I send you my words.

Show your heart!!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T22:42:00.005+09:00

I'll admit I totally forgot it was St Patrick's Day until just now.

Your faithful Not Greatest Translator is currently taking a breather in the countryside with slightly limited internet access, but will try to translate some more of Imai's blog soon.

The gist of things: a few more aftershocks have rocked Tokyo, but nothing really serious. Radiation levels were elevated for a while, but nothing harmful to health, and are currently back to normal. For those of you who wondered: yes, the Japanese government is being very closed-mouthed about the nuclear meltdown. No, it's not quite the end of the world yet, like the foreign media are apparently saying it is. The troubling thing is, no one knows where the situation is heading. It will probably be decided in the next few days. Also, an unusual cold front has set in, mercifully sweeping most radiation out over the Pacific, but also dumping lots of snow on lots of miserable elderly people sheltering in public schools and offices up north after having their homes destroyed by the tsunami. There is almost no electricity, water, or medical care, and the temperatures are below zero Celsius. For everyone up north, things are looking very, very rough. In Tokyo, to compensate for the extra electricity being used for heating, trains are running at half capacity, and train platforms are swamped with people waiting for hours to get home. Lots of foreign-run businesses have shut their doors. Lots of wealthy people have skipped town. All the fashionable stores on Omotesando are closed, to save power, and so are a lot of places elsewhere in the city. Still very little food on the store shelves, and a severe shortage of gasoline.

Buck-Tick has not yet issued details of ticket refunds, but they did send around an email telling people to make sure not to lose their tour tickets. On his blog, Imai is urging everyone to donate to the Red Cross.

All of you in Japan, please do everything you can to stay safe.

All of you overseas, thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please, continue to send us your good energy. The next few days may be the most difficult yet.

we knew this was going to happen

2011-03-15T19:54:00.006+09:00

The release of the Razzle Dazzle hall tour live DVD has been postponed. Till when, it hasn't been announced. Given the state of business in this country right now, probably, no one knows. Most of the record stores aren't even open, or they're closing early, and running on half power.

Also, Buck-Tick opened an official Twitter. For those of you, who, you know, "tweet," and stuff like that.

And for the record, last time he was asked about it in the FT newsletter (a few months ago), Sakurai didn't know what a blog was. So don't get your hopes up that he'll be updating personally.

And for the record, nuclear reactors are exploding in this country right now. If I come across as terse, please assume that has something to do with it.

Love From the Far East

2011-03-14T20:01:00.008+09:00

With rolling blackouts sweeping Kanto, two thirds of train service down, an impending food shortage, and more explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plants, it's clear that the quake crisis is merely beginning to unfold. Wouldn't you know it, Honshu actually moved 2.4 meters east. This is a big, big deal.

For those of you in Kanto/Tohoku: shut down all extraneous appliances. Make sure you have bottled water on hand (saving tap water in your bathtub and/or cooking pots and/or extra plastic bottles is a good strategy). To protect against possible radiation exposure, wear a hat and long sleeves outside. Go outside only when necessary. Eating kelp and brown rice also helps. Kelp contains high levels of iodine that can help protect against radiation-induced thyroid cancer (don't eat too much, though, because you can overdose), and brown rice can help protect against the damaging effects of radioactive cesium. Everyone, try to get plenty of sleep, and if possible, go and stay at a friend's house--it's easier to save power when you stick together, and less lonely, too.

Because, we're all going to be really lonely without Buck-Tick. A new announcement was posted on their official home page today:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Tour 2011 "Utakata no Razzle Dazzle" Live Performances

Saturday 3-12 (Zepp Osaka)

Monday 3-21 (Zepp Tokyo)

Saturday 3-26 (Okinawa Namura Hall)

Saturday 4-2 (Akasaka Blitz)

Sunday 4-3 (Akasaka Blitz)

Fish Tanker's Only 2011

Sunday 3-13 (Namba Hatch)

Sunday 3-20 (Zepp Tokyo)

By decision of the band members and the staff, due to the major earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku on March 11th, the live performances listed above have been postponed indefinitely.

Fans who have tickets in their possession will be reimbursed for postponed/cancelled performances. Be sure not to lose/throw away your tickets.

The fan club tickets for the performances on April 2nd and 3rd at Akasaka Blitz have not been shipped yet. Please wait for more details on the procedure for these performances. More information will be posted soon on Buck-Tick's official home page (this site), and the Love and Media Portable page.

We extend our heartfelt prayers to all the victims of this disaster, pray that all those who lost their lives will rest in peace, and pray for a swift recovery for the damaged regions.

MESSAGES FROM THE BUCK-TICK MEMBERS

"All you fans who were looking forward to the live performances in Tokyo, Osaka, and Okinawa, we are very, very sorry. A terrible disaster has occurred. It is very sad, and very real. I'm sure many of you are worried and scared. If there's anything that we, the band, and you, the fans, can do, it's to help send a little more aid to those in need--food, emergency supplies, and anything else that may be required. All of you who carefully saved your pocket money to come and see our tour, please, send it to the earthquake victims instead. However you choose to donate, it doesn't matter, just try your best to do your part.

Spring may be a long time in coming for eastern Japan, but I know that the spring will come. I promise you, we will all meet again. We will sing together again. Looking forward to that time, let's keep our heads up.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end.

All those many, many souls who passed away in this calamity, may you find peace in the next world. All the families you have left behind send you their prayers of mourning."

-Sakurai Atsushi

"When I think about this disaster, words fail me. Please...just stay alive.

I'm praying for you.

Let's hang in there together.

We're strong."

-Imai Hisashi

"After discussing things carefully, we decided to postpone the rest of the shows on the tour. Many lives were lost in this disaster, and those who were left behind cannot run away, from sadness, pain, and fear.

My heart is full of pain when I think about how this is actually happening.

We haven't decided when yet, but when the time is right, we promise you, we'll play you some shows again, and show you all a great time, so please just wait patiently with us.

Let's each pray, that at least one more life may be saved."

-Hoshino Hidehiko

"After conferring with the other members and the staff, we decided to postpone the rest of the tour. We sincerely apologize to all the fans who were looking forward to the shows. We'll announce the new tour dates when we set them, so until then, just wait patiently.

I look forward to the time when we can meet again.

In the meantime, I'm praying from my heart for everyone's safety and swift recovery."

-Higuchi Yutaka

"When I think about how terrible things are for so many of the earthquake victims, I have no words.

All I can do is hope that we'll be able to get things back together into a normal routine as quickly as possible. I'm praying from my heart."

-Yagami Toll

If that doesn't have you in tears, you probably don't deserve to be a Buck-Tick fan. Also I might add that the band members are victims, too. Everyone is a victim. Society is in chaos, people are stuck at home without power, half the businesses in the city are shuttered. All you readers around the world, please pray with us...it's not about religion, it's about human hope.

寿記 12.03.2011 POSTPONED -Osaka Razzle Dazzle-

2011-03-12T07:55:00.004+09:00

The show is postponed.

This situation is just too unstable.

Everyone, be careful.

Are you all okay?

Have you gotten in touch with your family, friends, and all your loved ones?

Earthquake victims, and everyone near the epicenter

Hang in there!!

Yeah, hang in there.

IMAI 03:19

Earthquake Emergency

2011-03-12T07:27:00.004+09:00

For those of you who hadn't heard, an 8.8 earthquake struck yesterday, March 11th, at 2:46 PM off the coast of northern Honshu, Japan. Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures were worst hit, by the quake and also by the huge tsunamis that followed, inundating the coast and sweeping away masses of cars and buildings. Here in the good old Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area (or should we say, Not Greatest Tokyo Metropolitan Area?) the quake shook up buildings, knocked over massive filing cabinets, caused the ceiling of the Kudan Kaikan to collapse, broke up roads, knocked out power to Kawasaki City, and caused a fire in the Ichihara oil refinery which caused the oil refinery to subsequently explode (I must say, it's not every day that you see an exploding oil refinery.)

The quake also stopped all train traffic for hours, stranding hundreds of people in places like Shinjuku and Shibuya stations, and forcing hundreds more to walk home along highways, many kilometers in the cold and dark. Local hotels took in refugees who lived too far away to walk home over night. Emergency stores were brought out from company warehouses, and in some offices, with no one able to leave, the managers hit the convenience stores as fast as possible, carted back armloads of Yebisu beer, and treated the company underlings to a party.

The quake was followed by at least 12 aftershocks, many of them measuring more than 7.0 at the epicenter, which wasn't so much an epicenter proper as an entire fault line. Tokyo traffic patterns are still in chaos, while the damage, especially in northern Honshu, is still being assessed, though it is undoubtedly severe. The confirmed casualties already number in the hundreds, and hundreds more people have lost their homes and their fields. It sure isn't "business as usual."

Which brings me to my announcement, which is: not rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail may be able to stop Buck-Tick, but unfortunately...quakes can. The following notice was posted on the band's website a few hours ago:

Utakata no Razzle Dazzle

March 12th @ Zepp Osaka

Fish Tanker's Only 2011

March 13th @ Namba Hatch

Due to the large earthquake that struck yesterday off the northern Pacific coast of Honshu, traffic patterns within Japan are in a state of chaos, affecting the ability of the band members and staff to travel safely, and safely transport the band's equipment.

The band members want to put the safety of the fans before anything else. Currently, it has not been decided whether or not the performances this weekend will be cancelled.

In the event of a postponement or cancellation, fans will be reimbursed in full for their tickets, so please await announcements about a reimbursement procedure. Do not discard your ticket or ticket receipt.

We extend our heartfelt prayers to all earthquake victims, and pray that all those who lost their lives in this disaster may rest in peace. We pray for swift recovery in the regions struck by the quake.

Yeah, it sucks big hairy monkey balls, but read between the lines here: the Buck-Tick members are all safe! However, what with aftershocks and all that, the danger here is not over. All our readers overseas, please send us your prayers. And everyone on the Pacific rim, beware of tsunamis.

Happy Birthday Sakurai

2011-03-07T22:21:00.004+09:00

Hey fangirls and fanboys, happy Sakurai Atsushi's birthday to you! Sakurai Atsushi is now 45 years old...officially too old for you!

But! Birthday! Now you have an excuse to sit around eating chocolate skulls and wishing that your landlord would let you keep a cat so you could send Acchan a photo of your cat and have a whose-cat-is-the-cutest contest, and an excuse to play that special Buck-Tick drinking game that involves all the Buck-Tick live DVDs your own, absinthe on the rocks, and taking a sip of it every time Sakurai grabs his you-know-what, because if you're going to get seriously inebriated, you need a good excuse. Or, in the case of Blog-Tick, this is your excuse to write pointless fluff posts to keep the readership hooked :D

So yeah. Happy birthday Sakurai Atsushi, cause without you, the song lyrics would be clean, the cats would be less loved, there would be more spare alcohol, fewer creepy smiley faces, fewer cartoon sperm, and fewer fangirls. And if your age were an angle, and there were two of you, you could each be a base angle in a right isoceles triangle, the most romantic of all polygons.

And, without you there would be no Buck-Tick, and that would be a downright tragedy.

寿記 01.03.2011 Zepp Tokyo "Music and People vol. 8"

2011-03-01T23:47:00.004+09:00

2/20

Zepp Tokyo

We did a three-band event with Kegawa Maries, Polysics, and Buck-Tick.

Why on earth did they pick these three bands!?

But actually, as an event, it came together well.

Miraculous choices!

We played so well at that show, with such a good feeling.

It was awesome!

At the wrap party, I talked techno-pop with Hayashi-kun from Polysics.

(Not techno! Techno pop!)

The next day, I put Hikasu's famous album Uwasa no Jinrui on my ipod.

Let's go drinking again sometime.

IMAI 02:30

Kuriyama Chiaki Buck-Tick Tie-Up

2011-02-22T20:23:00.009+09:00

According to Buck-Tick's official home page, Hoshino Hidehiko and Sakurai Atsushi will be participating in Circus, the debut album by Kuriyama Chiaki. For those of you who don't know, Kuriyama Chiaki made an, um, stunning debut in the illustrious Japanese film Battle Royale, with a followup in Kill Bill. Apparently she even won all sorts of awards, such as, "best hot actress whose full time job is to appear on film in a school uniform and get covered in fake blood." But she's not just a pulp actress, she has a serious job, too! In fact, she's the official spokesmodel for UNIQLO! And now, can you believe it, she's making her debut as a singer, too!

Will her music be as inspired and original as UNIQLO's fashion?

My original guess would have been, yes...but, seeing as she most likely won't be writing a note or a word of it herself, I may be wrong. Her newest single "Delicious Seasons" will feature Shiina Ringo as lyricist, composer, and producer, with arrangement instrumentals by the members of Tokyo Jihen. And the album "Circus" will feature Sakurai Atsushi as a lyricist and Hoshino Hidehiko as a composer, arranger, and producer, in addition to the likes of Tomoyasu Hotei and Satou Taiji, among others.

What I want to know is, why didn't Ringo, Hotei, Taiji, Hide, and Acchan all just get together and make an album already? Oh right, I know the answer! Because that's the state of the Japanese music scene these days...in this post-AKB48 world, you can't sell an album unless you paste some Pandora Chobit doll in as the "star."

Oh wait...make that, "porn star."

Seriously, couldn't she try to look less like a porn star?

Nope, guess not!

If this album makes it to the top of the charts, I will officially cry.

Edit: I'm sure you're all interested in listening to the album anyway, but do us here at Blog-Tick a favor by helping us give fake idols the finger and make sure you pirate the album instead of buying it ;)

Memento Razzle Dazzle

2011-02-21T23:21:00.002+09:00

They may look like a normal white towel and de-labeled bottle of Volvic, and they are. But that misses the point of mad fan fetishism, which is: that towel may be bone dry now, but it started its little life soaked in water, curled up and tightly gripped in the dexterous guitarists' fingers of Hoshino Hidehiko!

And the water bottle, oh the water bottle! It may have never been unsealed and had its contents sucked out by that smeary lipsticked mouth, but...for a brief period of time, it was in fact the possession of Sakurai Atsushi! Zomg!

If the pick looks like confetti, that's just because Higuchi Yutaka showers them upon the audience several times per show. But, it belonged to lil U-ta~~!!! Come on guys, ain't it time for a squee?

Gifts from the band members to some lucky fans on the latest tour. And, to put your minds at ease, I can tell you all that no one was kicked, clawed or black-eyed in the receiving.

寿記 19.02.2011 TEENAGE EMOTION

2011-02-21T22:57:00.004+09:00

The other day, on February 1st

I went to "live house Budoukan."

It was Hotei's 30th Anniversary and 49th Birthday live show.

Hotei also played songs by Boowy and COMPLEX.

I just kept imagining all sorts of possible set lists.

The opening S.E. was "BEGIN FROM ENDLESS"!!

That's Boowy!!

And, the first song was..."TEENAGE EMOTION"!!!!

That's just..."!!!!!!"

For a second that's how I felt.

This song...

My favorite Boowy album was Instant Love, but

"Teenage Emotion" is probably my favorite song that they ever recorded.

And they opened the show with it...that made me really happy.

The show was fantastic all the way through to the end.

Happy 30th Anniversary and Happy Birthday!

This is a story from about 27(!) years ago now...

From when I was 18 years old.

I was sitting with my friends on a bench outside Laforet Harajuku, killing time.

"Wait? Isn't that Hotei?" says my friend.

Me: "Where? Where? Oh, there he is!"

Friend: "Shall we ask for his autograph!?"

Me: "Who has a pen! A pen! A marker!"

So we borrow a pen from a store nearby.

And I got him to sign my jacket.

And on that day, I just happened to be wearing

The same jacket Hotei is wearing in the photo on the back of the Instant Love album jacket, but in a different color.

(My prized possession)

Hotei-san, do you remember?

(And oh god...has it really been 27 years since I was 18...)

IMAI 15:00

寿記 19.02.2011 With Mayo-san

2011-02-21T22:52:00.003+09:00

The other day I went out to dinner with Kawasaki Mayo.

Mm...yeah...we drank quite a bit.

And we ate a lot of sushi...

And...he's a fun guy.

Very.

IMAI 12:45

寿記 19.02.2011 B.G.M. List ~utakata no Razzle Dazzle~

2011-02-21T22:49:00.003+09:00

This is the track list of the songs I've been playing in the live houses before the show starts.

I think these are mostly songs by pretty major artists.

Give them a listen.

This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us ・・Sparks

Burger Bar Baby ・・Alien Sex Fiend Curse

Ball Of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today) ・・Love & Rockets

bohemian like you ・・THE DANDY WARHOLS

This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us (with Faith No More) ・・Sparks

Rock Show ・・Peaches

Girls and Boys 　・・Blur

Driving South ・・The Stone Roses

Ddiamondd ・・Battles

Der Mussolini ・・D.A.F.

Anarchy In The U.K./God Save The Queen/Pretty Vacant/No One Is Innocent (Medley) ・・Sex Pistols

Anarchy In The U.K. ・・Sex Pistols

Genocide ・・Meat Beat Manifesto

Delicate Terror ・・My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult

The Prestidigitator ・・Naked City

Cities In Dust ・・The Newlydeads

American Porn Song ・・16Volt

Dirty Window ・・Metallica

Aisha ・・Death In Vegas

I might change it up soon...

IMAI 12:15

寿記 07.02.2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle -Sapporo, Sendai-

2011-02-21T22:43:00.003+09:00

2/11

Sapporo Factory Hall

I always had this image of Sapporo fans being chilled out

But it was crazy!

It was hot.

Everyone was so into it, you were all smiling and it was a great show.

2/13

Zepp Sendai

Sendai was great too.

Hot, and full of smiles, and just bangin' sexy.

It was so much fun I kept smiling in spite of myself.

In Sapporo, the restaurant we've always gone to was celebrating its 30th anniversary.

We had a party with everyone.

Congrats Hide! And thanks!

IMAI 12:00

寿記 07.02.2011 UTAKATANO RAZZLE DAZZLE Shinkiba

2011-02-21T22:35:00.002+09:00

2/06

Shinkiba Studio Coast

We were feeling the excitement!

It was great.

Awesome.

I saw lots and lots of happy faces

I just feel wrapped up in your passion, and your sweat and all sorts of other things

From head to toe, it's like you clean out my body and clear my mind

It feels great

Makes me wanna do it more and more.

Come see us again.

Oh yeah...and this is me.

Because I got email from fans asking, "who is this?"

This is also me.

...and, the guy who took this without my permission

is Higuchi Yutaka (bass)

IMAI 16:00

寿記 06.02.2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle -Shinkiba-

2011-02-21T22:30:00.003+09:00

2/05

Shinkiba STUDIO COAST -mobile site members only live-

It was hot~

It was reeeally, really awesome~!

Let's have fun again today

Oh yeah, today I tried putting my hair up, for the first time in a really long time

And just as I was thinking..."This will be a pain in the ass since I don't remember how..."

My hands and fingers just remembered how to do it, all on their own (haha)

Yeah, so come see the show tonight.

IMAI 16:00

寿記 06.02.2011 night

2011-02-21T22:26:00.002+09:00

Kouchi

Photographed by Higuchi Yutaka (bass)

IMAI 15:00

寿記 04.02.2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle -Hiroshima, Kouchi-

2011-02-21T22:19:00.003+09:00

1/28

Hiroshima CLUB QUATTRO

We did it like bang bang bang bang bang bang BANG!

Something like that?

Hiroshima.

Yeah, cause rock-n-roll is wonderful.

1/30

Kouchi BAYS SQUARE

Awesome~!!

Way too much fun~!!

Really, wonderful.

...honestly, it's not a fetish, or something...but I am a "factory fancier."

When we're riding the night bus on tour, and we go past these giant factories, my heart starts beating faster.

Yeah, they're best at night.

IMAI 20:00

Utakata no Razzle Dazzle Tour @ Studio Coast

2011-02-07T22:37:00.002+09:00

Another fantastic show. More fantastic than usual, in fact. Perhaps a live report will make its appearance on here, if I have time.

Utakata no Razzle Dazzle Live Report

2011-02-03T00:30:00.005+09:00

BUCK-TICK

FISH TANKer's Only Tour 2011

Tour 2011 "Utakata no Razzle Dazzle"

January 22 & 23

Live @ Yokohama Blitz

With the growing visibility of hipster culture, irony is all the rage. Here on Not Greatest Site, we’ve been cultivating irony since long before American Apparel was able to charge $50 for a simple t-shirt, and handlebar mustaches came back in fashion (wait, handlebar mustaches were ever in fashion?) Really, I think we were cultivating that irony for our own amusement and the amusement of our lovely readers…I don’t think we ever expected that Buck-Tick was going to do the irony thing. But judging from the first two days of Buck-Tick’s Razzle Dazzle standing tour, I’m getting the impression that this time around, intentionally or unintentionally, irony is a part of their game. Imai even started the evening off with a little nod to all those kids over in North America with their sampling machines and big ugly glasses, by playing the Dandy Warhols’ “Bohemian Like You” first thing over the PA as the fans filed (or rather, ran like foaming wild dogs) into the venue.

Not that anyone bicycled onto the stage in skinny jeans and no socks, or that Imogen Heap showed up as a guest vocalist on “Dokudanjou Beauty,” or that Sakurai has decided to experiment with facial hair again (underage fangirls can be pleased to note that he’s still clean-shavenly pretending to be less than his 44 years). But when you try to take the big, brassy, Broadway bravado of the Razzle Dazzle live experience off a dressed-up theater stage and pack it into a rock club, you have to either take it down a peg, or poke some fun. For those of you who are not familiar with the touring conventions of Japanese bands: last fall was the hall tour, and the band played in auditorium venues, with big stages and assigned seating. But this winter is the live house tour, and now the band is playing in more intimate live venues that are mostly standing room only. The smaller stages can’t accommodate the big sets and stage effects of the hall tour, so the live house tour is more about direct interaction between the band and the fans, and the fans and the fans—boy do things get sweaty and hands-on in that mosh pit! But, Razzle Dazzle. There were top hats and scene changes and Hollywood lights. Without all the pomp and circumstance, wouldn’t the grandeur of the experience suffer?

Enter the irony. What the band wants to say to you is, “We’re Buck-Tick. We don’t need lights, or sets, or cool costumes, to dazzle you little pixies all the way to Solaris. All we need is our own strange, eccentric selves.”

On the first night of the tour, Imai seemed to be the one who was taking this idea the most seriously. He wandered onstage with his usual oblivious expression, but he shocked all the fans anyway—after Cher tresses for Kuchizuke, diagonal bangs for the Razzle Dazzle hall tour, and finally, for the Day in Question, a red and black two-tone bob that would have looked at home on a female My Chemical Romance fangirl just entering the 8th grade, Imai has finally simply given up, returned his hair to a neat dark brown, and cut it all off like a regular old salaryman. His businessman look didn’t stop at his hair, either—this time, he’d ditched the white satin balloon pants and elf shoes of last fall for a straight, simple pinstriped navy suit. At least the suit was velveteen, and he was wearing wraparound sunglasses, otherwise I’d have start to worrying that we’d all ended up working for Buck-Tick, Inc.

Sakurai, for his part, was employing another classic hipster fashion tactic—the “everything ridiculous and retro is cool” strategy. He appeared on the stage to wild cheers, dressed in a sort of re-interpretation of his outfit from the “SPEED” PV so many years earlier—broad-brimmed black hat trimmed with peacock feathers, ruffled wine-red shirt, and a loose, swishy black sarong, over a pair of lizard skin boots and skin-tight matte black spandex tights. “Noo, don’t tell me Acchan is wearing tights, that’s just terrible!” the girls immediately began whining, but seeing as the first thing he did when he got onto the stage was turn his back to the audience, hike up the sarong and run a narrow, black-fingernailed hand over one of his muscular buttocks, I’m not quite sure I can reconstruct the logic of the fangirl mind.

Hoshino, Higuchi, and Toll weren’t bothering to participate in fashion irony, and had instead chosen to appear in their usual minimalist suit-clad elegance, with Toll’s hair as razor-sharp and gravity-defying as ever, but perhaps this was some sort of statement in and of itself (actually I suspect they just don’t give a damn.)

Of course, as per usual, they made the fans wait for a good hour before coming onstage. But this being a fanclub-only show, they had extra special treats to entertain the eager crowd—footage from the Razzle Dazzle tour final, held on December 29th at the Budoukan, projected in tantalizing little snippets onto a good old-fashioned movie screen that had been set up in front of the stage. They went through two or so rounds of the Budoukan footage before hauling the screen offstage and, in keeping with the “we’re so over it” vibe of the evening, the roadies came onstage in full view of the audience to make last minute checks of the band members’ instruments. This happens quite frequently at small-scale indie shows, but Buck-Tick usually keeps it all out of sight behind a curtain. This time, I guess they were just feeling Bohemian like us! The roadie tuning Imai’s guitar, clearly not capable of Ziggy Stardust-style left-handing, had flipped the strap around so he could hold it right-handed. Behind him stood several sound techs with silver laptops that had been pasted over with large Buck-Tick tour stickers, one of them left over from Buck-Tick’s original “Buck-Tick Phenomenon” concerts more than 20 years ago.

They tapped the drums, thrummed the bass, and then, at last, took the lights down. But even before the lights went down, the crowd had already compacted violently and instantaneously into the railing, leaving the fans in the front row gasping and screaming in pain as elbows, shins, and the pyramid studs on leather belts dug invasively into their soft tissues.

“Please, calm down,” a venue security guard called into the crowd. “The fans in the front row are having trouble breathing, please, please, stop pushing and step back a little.”

It was nice that they even bothered saying that, but of course, it fell on deaf ears…though I might add that I really don’t understand why fans can’t be a wee bit more considerate of each other at shows like these. Twenty centimeters doesn’t make much of a difference in your ability to view Sakurai’s superhero tights (oh wait I forgot, you don’t want to see them anyway!) but it does make a hell of a lot of difference to the people in the front row…or more specifically, to their ability to breathe.

Since this first night was fanclub-only, the stage entrance music was “Theme of B-T,” in the same classical strings arrangement as the Day in Question 2008. The band members slouched onto the stage looking a little sleep deprived, like they always do at the start of a tour. Sakurai, in particular, had bloodshot eyes and seemed a little glazed, but this ended up being quite appropriate for the opening set, the point of which seemed to be “vampires ARE, they are not dreamed up by Mormon soccer moms.”

To capture this dark mood, the stage lights stayed very dim as the band opened with “Kuchizuke,” then continued with “Gekka Reijin.” Then, as if things weren’t dark enough already, they followed “Gekka Reijin” with a very beautiful rendition of “Yougetsu.” Sakurai stalked and swished across the stage, trailing his sarong behind him, as eerie lights shone up from the floor, making it appear that his skin had turned a vivid, acid green. On the instrumental break, the band members turned and looked at each other, jumping up and down and striking their instruments in unison while Sakurai just glared at an arbitrary spot on the floor. But just as they’d lulled us into the perfect intoxication of their dark world, the lights came up and Sakurai hailed the crowd.

“Fish Tank!!” he cackled, looking as always as though he wasn’t quite sure what he was saying, and was even less sure of what he was going to say next. “Our first concert this year, and it’s for all of you in Fish Tank! I love you all…Happy New Year…please come to the rest of the tour…now, let’s Razzle Dazzle!”

Toll clicked the drums, Imai whispered “one…two…three…ACTION!” And the band ripped into the eponymous song.

Though I was initially unsure about it, “Razzle Dazzle” has begun to emerge for me as one of the star tracks on the album. There’s something so glam rock and something so Broadway about it; part Chicago (yes Imai admits being inspired by Chicago the musical), part West Side Story, part Gypsy, with those sleazy burlesque brass riffs and Sakurai poking the round head of his skull cane through the round hole he was miming with his other hand, thrusting it a few times for good measure, just to make his meaning abundantly clear. Yes, he’s sure got a gimmick (if you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, watch this video). It was great to see this song with all the Hollywood lights but it doesn’t even need it. The band are more than in-your-face enough to carry it off without sets, and in the live house, the bass vibrated in a much more satisfying, full-body manner.

Likewise, with “Deadheat,” which the band played next, now that they have established a set of stage directions with the hall tour, they don’t even need the tech bits anymore to keep it going. Gone was the background projection screen and the computer-animated sperm along with it, but that didn’t stop Sakurai from miming swimming along with them as if they were still there. During the hall tour, his rendition of “Deadheat” had grown more and more explicit, including not only bouts of sperm-swimming but also a ridiculous move he kept performing on the line “Whatever could be left of love...” (here he rubs his hand suggestively between his thighs) “…it’s a one-way ticket…” (here he pulls his hand away, turns it over, and looks at it, scrutinizing carefully) “…no way!” (he pulls his head back as if surprised by what he has just seen, then tosses it away, turns to the audience, and grimaces). Hoshino, in this intimate setting, was even able to muster up a little attitude, strutting along the edge of the stage and wailing out his big guitar solo, but with an awkward smile on his face, he still seemed reluctant to make eye contact with the fans. This is another one of the best tracks on the album, mostly because it leaves the listener with the distinct feeling that the entire thing is a big, backhanded joke. If this doesn’t survive into the set lists of future tours, it will be a damn shame.

“Mugen” followed “Deadheat,” and then Sakurai addressed the audience again.

“Fish Tank! Since I love Fish Tank, I wanted to, you know…do all sorts of stuff…like this, or that…” he winked, and paused while the audience laughed. “But we don’t have much time, so…what I mean is…let’s…let’s tango, tango, tango …Tango Swanka!”

Watch out, Buck-Tick…if you keep this up you will already have played all my favorite songs before the encore. I know the most popular track on the album is “Hamushi no You ni” but personally, I’ll cast my vote to “Tango” for the catchiest. It’s clear the band loves to play it, and there’s something about its musical similarity to Lucy’s “Anaconda a Go Go” that allows Imai to show off a little more of his front-man style…though he still didn’t manage to do a high kick on the line “one, two, high kick!” I am still waiting! Come on, Imai, you can’t sing and kick at the same time?

But perhaps he was just saving his energy for the next song, “Hamushi no You ni,” the popularity of which indicates to me that Buck-Tick fans all secretly just wish Sakurai Atsushi were actually Kylie Minogue. Then, though there was no lowering of a special glittering curtain this time, the swagger in Sakurai’s step as he settled his hat back on his head let us know what was coming next—“Django!” They couldn’t not play it at the standing tour. Sakurai held the microphone stand out horizontally at arm’s length, shoving the microphone into the faces of random fans just in time to get them to scream “Django!” Imai, meanwhile, has added his own mouth to the song’s already robust percussion—during the instrumental break after the first chorus, he stuck his finger into the side of his mouth and pulled it out to make a popping noise that, with the help of electronic amplification, filled the whole hall (that’s right, hall, with “Django,” Imai’s got you all popping in his mouth…I didn’t say that yes I did.)

When “Django” had finished, the band members paused for a moment to sip some water, and Sakurai addressed the audience again.

“Since it’s a live house tour, after all…” he began, then lost his thread, and paused before starting again. “Since it’s a live house tour, there are some songs we thought we should definitely play…this is one of them.”

And all of a sudden, the band crashed into the violent opening chords of “love letter.” How fans manage to dance in such close quarters is beyond me, but it’s certainly painful. Luckily, “love letter” was followed by a more static, less violent, but no less anticipated song—“Madman Blues,” which I ought to add to my list of the best Buck-Tick songs you’ve never bothered to listen to. Lately Toll has been getting a lot of mileage out of playing up his “old man” act (he’s not quite there yet—Takahashi Makoto, who was the drummer of Boowy, is ten years older than Toll and still drumming up a storm.) Anyone who’s ever tried playing the drum part of a Buck-Tick song knows that the rhythms can be oddly stiff and unexpected. Toll hunched over the toms, striking them as if he was trying to surprise someone with his next move, but though his face may have looked tired, his rhythm never faltered. Meanwhile, his brother seems to grow younger with every passing year—in contrast to his stone-faced look from the Darker Than Darkness tour, Higuchi was now smiling and swaying while he played the “Madman Blues” bass line, which has got to be one of the best bass lines Buck-Tick has ever created. Sakurai fell back from the front of the stage, leaning toward the back curtain and letting Imai take center stage for these vocals, but vocally, the best part of this song is the end, with Sakurai singing the Japanese lyrics layered over by Imai’s calls of “Welcome to my Territory!” Those words never sounded better than when spoken by the one-of-a-kind strangeness that is Imai’s voice. Who would you sing along with?

They followed “Madman Blues” with another surprise—“Voo Doo,” in its first live performance ever. The recorded version of this song may have lacked a little something, but that something was there in the spark of the live performance. Not quite as psychedelic-rock fabulous as “Motel 13,” but edging in that direction and perfect for a live house tour.

Next came a series of (new-ish) old favorites—“Spider,” “Dokudanjou Beauty,” and “Baby I Want You,” before the band finished off the main set with a rousing “Memento Mori.” But coming back on for the encore, the band members were forced to play out the commercialistic fantasies of their hard-selling promotional manager. Sakurai still sounded confused as he made the announcement.

“Since it’s a fanclub show, after all…and soon, Yutaka’s gonna be THAT…” Yutaka ran past Sakurai, wiggling his behind. “I mean, we’d like to take a commemorative photo. And we have our photographer here.” Sakurai reached out his hand to the photographer, who bowed to the audience, then lined up the band so they were standing in front of the fans, facing the back of the hall. These photos of the band with the fans are being distributed in another completely pointless promotional lottery campaign, but I’m sorry, I didn’t bother to read the details.

Luckily, the photo-taking didn’t take long, and then it was back to the show. Now it was time for the real fanclub-pleasing. Time to play really OLD songs! First, the band played “Hurry Up Mode,” followed by “Empty Girl.” I couldn’t help but think about just how smooth and cool Sakurai was on “Hurry Up Mode,” as compared with his nervous, jerky dancing of 20+ years ago. “Empty Girl,” too, was so slick and smooth it was hard to recognize at first—Imai had ditched the clean guitar for a more fuzzy effect, punctuated by liberal use of the whammy. The old-song fun continued in the next encore, with “Sexual XXXXX!” (not quite as sexual as it could have been, but the band did seem tired) and “Physical Neurose” (clearly, Imai loves this one.)

Lucky Fish Tankers—they even came back for a third encore, with “Makka na Yoru.”

“We’re playing another show here tomorrow,” Sakurai said. “This is the last song now…but come back tomorrow for some more this and that. I love Fish Tank!”

And, in a slightly surprising but certainly not unwelcome move, the band ended the show on as dark a note as they had started it, with “Diabolo.”

FISH TANKer’s ONLY Tour 2011

January 22nd live at Yokohama Blitz

Set List

SE. Theme of B-T

01. Kuchizuke

02. Gekka Reijin

03. Yougetsu

04. RAZZLE DAZZLE

05. Kyouki na Deadheat

06. Mugen

07. TANGO Swanka

08. Hamushi no You ni

09. Django!!! –Django the Dazzler-

10. love letter

11. Madman Blues –Minashigo no Yuu’utsu-

12. Voo Doo

13. Spider

14. Dokudanjou Beauty

15. Baby, I want you

16. memento mori

~en. 1

Commemorative Photoshoot

17. HURRY UP MODE

18. SEXUAL XXXXX!

~en. 2

19. EMPTY GIRL

20. PHYSICAL NEUROSE

~en. 3

21. Makka na Yoru

22. DIABOLO

The next day, more or less the same crowd of fans was back in the windy wastes in front of Yokohama Blitz once again, huddled together against the cold but stripping off their outer layers anyway, in preparation to dive headlong into the sweaty tangle in front of the stage. The tour had only just started but that hadn’t stopped fans from decking themselves out in tour goods right away; the designs this time are based on vintage playbills and make obvious use of the Broadway/showbiz theme. So far, the item with the most unique design is the tour pamphlet, which comes in the form of a deck of oversized playing cards, each bearing the image of a band member, sometimes embellished with details from the Aquirax Uno album cover (most of the queens are close-up shots of musical instruments, but naturally, Atsushi Sakurai is the Ace of Spades.)

This being a general admission show, it could be considered the official start of the tour. This time, the stage entrance music was not “Theme of B-T,” but Imai’s new remix of “Razzle Dazzle Fragile,” which sounds more or less nothing like the original version, but which was hard to concentrate on between the ecstatic screams of the crowd as Higuchi bounced out onto the stage, followed by a more stately procession of the rest of the band members. This time, the band opened with “Dokudanjou Beauty,” again mercifully free of any female backing vocals—for the record, Lucy, the vocalist featured on the album mix of this track, is Japanese. Most of the Japanese Buck-Tick fan base seems to think that she’s foreign because she has an English name and sings in English, but actually she is the vocalist of Lazy Guns Brisky, a Japanese all-female punk band, and “Lucy” is a stage name.

Tonight, as well, Sakurai and Imai at least could arguably have been borrowing more elements of hipster fashion—this time Imai having ditched his “I’m so ironic” businessman outfit in favor of the hipster favorite “I’m so cool because I’m wearing a really, really ugly jacket.” The Jacket in Question was made of a thick, semi-rigid plasticized material patterned with narrow, horizontal stripes in black and tomato red. Sakurai, for his part, was trying out the “animal-themed costume party” look, in a close-fitting suit of sleek-furred leopard-print fabric, with high-heeled boots to match, accessorized with a red silk neck kerchief and a vaguely Spanish-looking black hat. It was a brave attempt; what broke it down partway through was that the suit with its matching boots was so designer-label beautiful that it made Sakurai look more like a runway model than a loft party leopard wannabe. And on mentioning runway models I might add that some close field inspection confirms my previous suspicions that rumors of Sakurai having developed a beer gut were unwarranted. He might have been a bit thicker at the beginning of the hall tour, but the Law of Conservation of Buck-Tick Mass states that while individual band members may lose or gain weight, the total weight of the band members must remain the same at all times—thus, as Imai has stopped looking dangerously anorexic (was it all those New Year’s gyoza?) Sakurai has gotten nice and slim again (but there never was a beer gut, only extra flesh and a lack of Mr. Yagi being able to outfit Sakurai with pants and shirts that actually fit him).

Maybe it was thanks to the warm-up period of yesterday’s live, or maybe it was thanks to that hot leopard print, but whatever the reason, the band were much more energized and engaged with the crowd this evening. Though the first half of the set list consisted largely of songs the band had also played the day before, the band members all seemed more animated and interested in interacting with the crowd. Sakurai, who the staff members had provided with a legion of pre-opened, label-free bottles of Volvic, showered the crowd liberally with water, often via the intermediary of disposable paper cups, which he used and then cast aside until they littered the stage.

With “Baby I Want You,” the second song in the lineup, the band was already revved up to full power; Sakurai playing his usual games of tag with the grasping hands of the fans in the front row, and Imai and Hoshino coming down front and center for guitar solos, but still not deigning to actually touch anyone. After “Baby” came the heavy drone of “Madman Blues” again, followed by “Razzle Dazzle,” “Deadheat,” and “Mugen,” even more up and kicking than last night. On “Django,” Imai kicked and spun all over the stage, repeating his lip-popping performance during the instrumental break, while Sakurai stomped the tall heels of his leopard boots on the floor to great effect. Throughout the hall tour, Sakurai had been pointing to Imai on the line “the bastard’s a trickster,” but now, instead, he wiggled his finger in circles at a spot near the front of the crowd. I guess we’re all tricksters, now.

As “Django” finished, the lights went down and roadies rushed onto the stage, furiously exchanging instruments and cables. Time for something different—Higuchi’s much-loved standup bass. This could mean only one of several things, but the jangling Spanish chords emanating from Imai’s guitar were starting to make things clear pretty quickly—time for “Zekkai,” one of Sakurai’s perennial favorites and so much better with that acoustic bass. When “Zekkai” had finished, the roadies didn’t even come on to take the bass away again…we were in for another treat.

“Alcohol?” Sakurai cooed softly into the microphone, as Imai began tapping out a few chromatic notes on his guitar. The audience giggled.

“Alcohol?” Sakurai asked again. “Come on…give me some…sake?” The fans laughed again.

“Oh…sake…” Sakurai repeated. “Oh…sake? O-sake?” he wandered in the direction of Imai, who was playing more chromatic chords.

“Oh…Sakurai?” he said at last. The audience roared with laughter, and the lights came up on Imai’s guitar as the band launched into “Lullaby III.” No cheap barstool this time, and (too bad) no skull-baby either, but this is a great song, another one of Sakurai’s favorites, and probably in a minority when it comes to popularity, so I was particularly glad they played it.

From here, they took the heat back up, with “Tango Swanka,” followed by “Hamushi no You ni,” and “Memento Mori.” After “Memento Mori,” as if bringing the album track listing to life, they continued with “Jonathan Jet-Coaster.” This time, with his physical performance, Sakurai made the second verse more about death than sex, singing “my body’s a honeycomb gushing flowing Virgin Oil” while miming shooting himself full of holes.

Then, unexpectedly, the lights went down low and silver, and the band struck up the second Tenshi no Revolver track of the evening, “RAIN.” It’s possible that they haven’t played this song since the album tour, and while it seemed a little bit cheesy and overblown in comparison to the rest of the album, in retrospect, it sounds sober and mature compared to the Hoshino faux pas of “Message” and “Mugen” (the latter redeemed by Sakurai’s excellent vocals, the former redeemed by just about nothing.) But in this context, the retro kayoukyoku style of “RAIN” blended elegantly with the dance and show tune elements in many of the Razzle Dazzle tracks. “RAIN” could just as easily have been the end of the main set, but the band chose instead to finish on a more violent, rock-n-roll note, with “Makka na Yoru.”

Almost as soon as the lights had gone down and the band members left the stage, the fans near the front of the hall began singing happy birthday to Higuchi. It was likely that some sort of public acknowledgement of the bassist’s birthday had been planned, but perhaps the fans were jumping the gun a bit. It took the band a long time to come back onstage, and when they did, it was with a cake with no candles, and Sakurai back in his sarong and tights, but with a tour t-shirt on top, as if he’d intended to make a full costume change but had decided to give up halfway. “Noo, Acchan’s wearing a tour t-shirt? That’s horrible!” the fans started whining again…but they were missing the point. Superhero tights, a sarong, and a big, sloppy, sweaty band t-shirt…how much more ironic can you get?

But naturally, it was Higuchi himself who ran onstage first, fairly bubbling over with excitement, going down the front edge of the stage from one side of the hall to the other, slapping the hands of the fans in the front row.

“Since, you all came here for the tour,” Sakurai began haltingly, standing over the unlit cake. “Thank you all for coming here for the beginning of the tour, and celebrating U-ta’s birthday. Happy birthday, U-ta!”

Higuchi smiled and waved again, coming over to the microphone. “Thank you all!” he called to the audience. “I’m…forty-four now!” He’s 44 and he still looks 15. Fans should be lining up for the privilege of genetic recombination with some of this miraculous age-resistance! In fact, it’s like he’s growing younger every year.

Without bothering to cut the cake or show its design to the fans, Sakurai carted the cake offstage again. Was the cake decorated with another one of Sakurai’s amusingly spot-on caricatures of the band members? We may never know, since Imai’s blog has yet to tell us. But back onstage once more, things weren’t going as planned. Imai was strumming his guitar, but no sound was coming out.

“Looks like we’re having some technical difficulties,” Sakurai said after a few minutes. “I guess we’ll just have to be patient…”

After five minutes or so of frenzied efforts from the guitar techs, Imai’s guitar was back online for “Kuchizuke.” But when they tried to follow up with “Gekka Reijin,” it lost its sound once more, meaning that the band played almost the entire song sans Imai. Too bad.

It was a Sunday night and it wasn’t a fanclub-only show, so evidently the band wanted to finish things up early and not bother to grace us with a third encore. Still, they had some tricks up their sleeve. When they came back onstage again, it was Toll who came out first, and stood in the corner of stage right, Sharpie in hand, meticulously autographing a single firm, yellow banana, which he then tossed into the waiting arms of the crowd. Imai wiped his face ostentatiously with a towel and tossed that in too, then Higuchi, not to be outdone, followed up with a shower of bass picks. Even Sakurai handed out a Volvic bottle or two before the band members took their places once more, and started up with a much-loved song they haven’t played in a while—“Zangai”!

“You make me so happy,” Sakurai said after the song was finished. “We only have one more song, but…” he paused as the crowd shouted that they wanted more than just one more song. “We only have one more song tonight, but we’re playing more shows soon, so please come! But before then…sing it with me, in honor of U-ta!”

If they’d played a rock version of “Happy Birthday to You,” with Sakurai singing in English, it would have been pretty damn ironic, but instead, they played “Rendezvous.” Guess they really are serious after all.

For more information on hipster culture, click here.

Tour 2011 Utakata no Razzle Dazzle

January 23rd live at Yokohama Blitz

Set List

SE. Utakata no RAZZLE DAZZLE

01. Dokudanjou Beauty

02. Baby, I Want You

03. Madman Blues –Minashigo no Yuu’utsu-

-MC-

04. RAZZLE DAZZLE

05. Kyouki na Deadheat

06. Mugen

07. Django!!! –Django the Dazzler-

08. Zekkai

09. Lullaby-III

10. TANGO Swanka

11. Hamushi no You ni

-MC-

12. memento mori

13. Jonathan Jet-Coaster

14. RAIN

15. Makka na Yoru

~en. 1

Happy Birthday to U-ta

16. Kuchizuke

17. Gekka Reijin

~en. 2

18. Zangai

19 .RENDEZVOUS

寿記 24.01.2011 Utakata no RAZZLE DAZZLE Start!

2011-01-24T22:54:00.004+09:00

1/22 Yokohama Blitz -Fish Tanker's Only-

It was really relaxed, and I had a great time.

Live houses are great.

(And this has nothing to with anything, but I'm lonely right now, so I thought, an angel might be nice...)

1/23 Yokohama Blitz

Yeah, it was awesome.

Even though, I had some guitar trouble and it broke in the middle of a song...

...but, this kind of stuff happens!

Razzle Dazzle works well in a live house setting.

And live houses are always hot! Physically and mentally!

So, if you feel sick or you need water, be sure to call one of the staff members.

Maybe I'll throw a water bottle into the crowd. If I do, be sure to pass it around and share it.

(Though, I suppose you have to worry about catching viruses or other infectious diseases, and all that...)

But, yeah, let's have more fun.

IMAI 22:00

Imai posted this entry while I was busy translating some earlier entries of his. Way to go, Imai! We are blogging at the same time, it must mean we have something deep, fundamental, and possibly mystical in common! Also, we were both at Yokohama Blitz yesterday! What a coincidence! And we're both thinking about blogging with live reports! Well, he already did it, but mine will be coming in a little while...

寿記 21.01.2011 Done with Rehearsal

2011-01-24T22:51:00.004+09:00

The "Razzle Dazzle Fragile Tour" is starting.

I made a new version of the S.E., "Utakata no Razzle Dazzle."

Now it's time to have fun.

IMAI 13:15

寿記 21.01.2011 Gyoza

2011-01-24T22:45:00.002+09:00

This is a story about New Year's.

I made gyoza.

Two kinds: ume-shiso and regular flavor.

I made about 100 of them.

I fried them up quick as a flash.

Then I got sick of fried gyoza.

Shirosaki Jin put them in the soup to make gyoza soup.

Feel free to put this picture on your desktop.

IMAI 13:00

寿記 15.01.2011 Pretty Soon...

2011-01-24T22:30:00.008+09:00

....mnnnnnyaaaaaaaa!

...I slept a lot.

Pretty soon, we're gonna start it up again...

A lot of things, I mean.

First of all, while I remember a lot of old songs, I'm starting rehabilitation practice.

When I'm finished with that, it's back to rehearsal.

Yes, yes, all in good time, all in good time.

This year for New Year's we got everyone together and had a party.

Kacchan, Kiyoshi, yukihiro, and I played Mariokart.

When I'm drunk...what I'm trying to say is...

PuyoPuyo with Yanagihara Kanako.

When I'm drunk, of course...what I mean to say is...

I can't wiiiiin!

I feel like I can never manage to win.

Never.

I had so much confidence, too...

Really.

Even though up till now, I pretty much just lost...

It's the frog.

It was totally in the well.

I'm sorry (tears)

damn

This is my revenge.

IMAI 10:30

Happy New Year and Apologies

2011-01-24T22:24:00.003+09:00

A happy belated new year to all you Tick-Bucks, Tank Fish and Blog-Check-Tickers (wait, shouldn't that be Blog-Tick-Checkers?) Not that the New Year is belated. Simply that the happy is belated. Or at least, the happy wishes, from me. Better late than never and here they are!

My deep apologies for going MIA for so long. Blog-Tick is a one person team, and the danger of that is that when the lead team member is kidnapped for ransom by Real Life, there are no auxiliary members to take over. Life may indeed be as fragile as a razzle dazzle.

In any case, I am back now, with more content to follow shortly!

Masquerade Translation

2010-11-14T03:10:00.005+09:00

Der Zibet's song "Masquerade," originally released on the 1991 album Shishinuki -Downer Side-, featured Sakurai as a guest vocalist. Issay (Der Zibet's vocalist and main lyricist) wrote the dark, brooding lyrics in Sakurai's image. Nineteen years later, Hikaru (Der Zibet's guitarist and main composer) successfully persuaded Sakurai to participate in creating a new recording of the song for Der Zibet's self-cover album Nostalgic Future, which was released on Wednesday. Yeah, I know you guys have been waiting for this one forever. Translation, as always, by Cayce, and don't you dare repost this without linking me.

Masquerade

Lyrics: Issay

Music: Hikaru

My tangled, melancholy heart

Drifting through a masquerade

Where anyone could be a clown

Faltering in lies, I’ll show you how I laugh and cry

Beneath the mask

I sing in fear

A clown without a shadow

Pretending to joke for you as I stumble

We dance too much on clouds of cigarette smoke

Dancing with the fleeting shadows

We dance too much with bundles of flowers

Clinging to our fleeting memories

Search for a dear face

In a broken mirror

Sink to the bottom of yourself

Reckon with your naked heart, all locked away

Collect your sighs

In the empty bottle

Throw them away, out the window

Show me how to loosen my tangled love

Weep at my smiles as I dance to much

Laugh at my fleeting tears

As we cling to yesterday, when we danced too much

And tomorrow, so far away

マスカレード

作詞：Issay

作曲：Hikaru

哀しくもつれた心が

漂うマスカレーとでは

誰もがピエロになれる

嘘に揺られて泣き笑いをしてみせる

仮面の下で

脅えて歌う

影がなくしたピエロ

ふらつきながらおどけたふりしてみせる

踊り過ぎる紫煙に乗り

遠ざかる影と踊る

踊り過ぎる花束

遠ざかる記憶を抱きながら

割れた鏡の中に

なつかしい顔をさがせ

自分の底に沈み込み

隠しておいた裸の心かみしめろ

空のボトルに

ため息つめて

窓の外に捨て去れ

からみはじめた想いをほぐしてみせろ

踊り過ぎる笑顔に泣け

遠ざかる涙笑え

踊り過ぎる昨日と

遠ざかる明日を抱きながら

Masquerade

Lyrics: Issay

Music: Hikaru

Kanashiku motsureta kokoro ga

Tadayou masukareedo de wa

Dare mo ga piero ni nareru

Uso ni yurarete naki warai wo shite miseru

Kamen no shita de

Obiete utau

Kage ga nakushita piero

Furatsuki nagara odoketa furi shite miseru

Odorisugiru shien ni nori

Toozakaru kage to odoru

Odorisugiru hanataba

Toozakara kioku wo dakinagara

Wareta kagami no naka ni

Natsukashii kao wo sagase

Jibun no soko ni shizumikomi

Kakushite oita hadaka no kokoro kamishimero

Kara no botoru ni

Tame iki tsumete

Mado no soto ni sutesare

Karami hajimeta omoi wo hogu shite misero

Odorisugiru egao ni nake

Toozakaru namida warae

Odorisugiru kinou to

Toozakaru ashita wo dakinagara

Blogger Updates

2010-11-06T17:59:00.002+09:00

I discovered that I hadn't been able to change text colors because the text color changing feature of Blogger's interface no longer works in Google Chrome. Yes, Blogger is operated by Google, and Chrome is Google's own browser. And yet, to change the text colors I have to edit this blog in Firefox instead. Please Google, work on better product integration.

Solaris Translation

2010-11-05T21:58:00.004+09:00

Solaris

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Imai Hisashi

Then one day I’ll become a butterfly

Then one day I’ll fly into the sea

Then one day, one day I will meet you

Then one day, love will come to me

Is there something you’re wishing for

In the season of goodbye

Then one day, you’ll become a fish and

Then one day you’ll swim into the sky

Then one day, this dream will be over

Then one day, you will close your eyes

There is something I’m wishing for

In the season of goodbye

God, oh please give me a dream

Let me oh let me oh let me dream

Even if it’s an illusion

Far in the morning when I awake

I know I’ll see you in a dream

Tiny so tiny are you at last

Vanishing into the heavens

Love yeah, with your love, a love so vast

I feel you eveloping me

There is something I’m wishing for

In the season of goodbye

God, oh please give me a dream

Dream yeah a dream yeah give me a dream

Even if it’s a delusion

Far in the morning when I awake

I know I’ll see you in a dream

Tiny so tiny are you at last

Vanishing into the heavens

Love yeah, with your love, a love so vast

I feel you eveloping me

Note: Solaris is a very famous science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. The novel was inspired by Lem's thoughts about "xenobiology," or alien life forms. The novel focuses on human scientists studying the planet Solaris, which is entirely covered by a sentient ocean. Solaris and the scientists fail to communicate in a way that leaves the scientists examining their own humanity. The novel has been dramatized on film multiple times. The most famous of these is the 1972 film by Andrei Tarkovsky, though a more recent version was made in 2002, starring George Clooney.

These lyrics are 100% singable with the original melody. If they come across with just the slightest tinge of religious undertones, that is not Sakurai's fault or intention, it's the fault of centuries of religious writing in the English language that I cannot erase just by waving a magic wand.

Also, for the record, all the photos used to illustrate the Razzle Dazzle song translations are copyright Cayce, excepting the photos for "Kuchizuke," "Dokudanjou Beauty," "Django!!!" "BOLERO," and "Razzle Dazzle."

Solaris

作詞：櫻井敦司

作曲：今井寿

ある日　喋喋になって

ある日　海をゆく

ある日　君と出会って

ある日　愛を知る

お願いがあるの　さよならの季節

ある日　魚になって

ある日　空をゆく

ある日　夢が終わって

ある日　目を閉じる

お願いがあるんだ　さよならの季節

神様　夢を

夢を見せておくれ　幻でもいい

目覚めの朝遥か　夢で会えるね

小さな　小さな君はやがて空になり

大きな　大きな愛で僕を包むよ

お願いがあるんだ　さよならの季節

神様　夢を

夢を　夢を見せて　幻でもいい

目覚めの朝遥か　夢で会えるね

小さな　小さな君はやがて空になり

大きな　大きな愛で僕を包むよ

Solaris

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Imai Hisashi

Aru hi chouchou ni natte

Aru hi umi wo yuku

Aru hi kimi to deatte

Aru hi ai wo shiru

Onegai ga aru no sayonara no kisetsu

Aru hi sakana ni natte

Aru hi sora wo yuku

Aru hi yume ga owatte

Aru hi me wo tojiru

Onegai ga arunda sayonara no kisetsu

Kami-sama yume wo

Yume wo misete okure maboroshi de mo ii

Mezame no asa haruka yume de aeru ne

Chiisa na chiisa na kimi wa yagate sora ni nari

Ooki na ooki na ai de boku wo tsutsumu yo

Onegai ga arunda sayonara no kisetsu

Kami-sama yume wo

Yume wo yume wo misete maboroshi de mo ii

Mezame no asa haruka yume de aeru ne

Chiisa na chiisa na kimi wa yagate sora ni nari

Ooki na ooki na ai de boku wo tsutsumu yo

TANGO Swanka Translation

2010-11-05T21:49:00.008+09:00

TANGO Swanka

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi/Imai Hisashi

Music: Imai Hisashi

The siren in my brain, outlaw syndrome emergency

Operetta spirits endorphins all flying free

I’m running through yeah, running through like lightning flashing

One, two, high kick whoo!

OH OH R&R

I love those hands of yours

I love that hair of yours

I love that sweet smell that is only yours

Not kidding anymore

Not dreaming anymore

Come on and love me now oh Baby

Let’s back-alley tango

Tangling your legs with mine

Anybody, kiss me

Come on give me love this time

The siren in my brain, pleasure RAZZLE DAZZLE BUBBLE FRAGILE

Petticoat showtime, alibi’s your easy true form

In the blood red moonlit night, the phantom thief comes

One, two, high kick whoo!

OH OH R&R

I love that sin of yours

That darkness of yours

I love that sweet smell that is only yours

Not kidding anymore

Not dreaming anymore

Come on and love me now oh Baby

In your forehead Bang! Bang!

Maybe a little ugly

Don’t anybody touch me

Bestow your love upon me

I love those hands of yours

That darkness of yours

I love that sweet smell that is only yours

No, you think I’m kidding?

It never comes again

Come on and love me now oh Baby

Let’s back-alley tango

Tangling your legs with mine

Anybody, kiss me

Come on give me love this time

In your forehead Bang! Bang!

Maybe a little dirty

Don’t anybody touch me

Bestow your love upon me

Note: Imai wrote the spoken-word parts of these lyrics, and Sakurai wrote all the rest. You can sing both parts of this translation with the original melody/rhythm. Also, it's possible that Sakurai was writing in two voices in this song, as he did for "Cabaret." Some of his diction is very rough and crude, while some is very high-tone. I tried to express this in my translation, as well as a little of the double-entendre behind that phrase "back alley tango." (I thought maybe I was reading it in until I saw the first stop on the live tour, where Sakurai made it abundantly clear with which parts of himself he chose to grab at which times what this song is all about.) The "One two high kick" line is a direct reference to Imai's indiosyncratic style of dancing.

TANGO Swanka

作詞：櫻井敦司/今井寿

作曲：今井寿

脳内　ノ　サイレン　だ　禁断症状　EMERGENCY

オペレッタの亡霊　飛び散ってるエンドルフィン　魂

駆け抜ける　駆け抜ける　電光　閃光

1.2. ハイキック

OH OH R&R

お前の指　お前の髪

お前のその匂い

冗談じゃない　もう夢じゃない

愛してくれBaby

路地裏TANGO　足はもつれて

誰彼kiss me　愛をちょうだい

脳内　ノ　サイレン　快感　RAZZLE DAZZLE BUBBLE FRAGILE

ペチコート　ショータイム　アリバイは　写楽の正体

真っ赤な　月夜　密やかに　怪盗参上

1.2. ハイキック

OH OH R&R

あなたの罪　あなたの闇

あなたのその匂い

冗談じゃない　もう夢じゃない

愛してくれBaby

こめかみBANG! BANG!　何て醜い

僕に触んな　愛を下さい

お前の指　あなたの闇

お前のその匂い

冗談じゃない　もう二度とない

愛してるぜBaby

路地裏TANGO　足はもつれて

誰彼kiss me　愛をちょうだい

こめかみBANG! BANG!　何て汚い

僕に触んな　愛を下さい

TANGO Swanka

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi/Imai Hisashi

Music: Imai Hisashi

Nounai no sairen da kindan shoujou EMERGENCY

Operetta no bourei tobichitteru endorphin tamashii

Kakenukeru kakenukeru denkou senkou

1.2. Haikikku

OH OH R&R

Omae no yubi omae no kami

Omae no sono nioi

Joudan na nai mou yume ja nai

Aishite kure Baby

Rojiura TANGO ashi wa motsurete

Dare kare kiss me ai wo choudai

Nounai no sairen kaikan RAZZLE DAZZLE BUBBLE FRAGILE

Pechikooto showtime aribai wa sharaku no shoutai

Makka na tsukiyo hisoyaka kaitou sanjou

1.2. Haikikku

OH OH R&R

Anata no tsumi anata no yami

Anata no sono nioi

Joudai ja nai mou yume ja nai

Aishite kure Baby

Komekami BANG! BANG! Nante minikui

Boku ni sawanna ai wo kudasai

Ome no yubi anata no yami

Omae no sono nioi

Joudan ja nai mou nido to nai

Aishiteru ze Baby

Rojiura TANGO ashi wa motsurete

Dare kare kiss me ai wo choudai

Komekami BANG! BANG! Nante kitanai

Boku ni sawanna ai wo kudasai

Mugen Translation

2010-11-04T00:35:00.004+09:00

Reverie

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Hoshino Hidehiko

My body rising to the sky

A symphony of love

Ah I am born now

And you, you wave your hands to me

From far across the waves

Ah bright and shining

All the love is raining down

Time to bloom now

Staining my face

Evening shower raining down

Now that world and this one

Mingling

Nothing at all

Is this an illusion

Nothing at all

Or is this a dream?

My spirit rising to the sky

A symphony of love

Ah yes it’s playing

And you, you wave your hands to me

From far across the dreams

Ah dear and tender

I am overflowing love

Melting in the heavens

Passing away

Outer space, the universe

And with you now

Melding

Everything is here

Is this another nightmare?

Everything is here

Or is this what love is?

My spirit rising to the sky

A symphony of love

Ah yes it’s playing

And you, you wave your hands to me

From far across the dreams

Ah dear and tender

My body rising to the sky

A symphony of love

Ah I am born now

And you, you wave your hands to me

From far across the waves

Ah bright and shining

Note: Singable with the original melody. No, I did not add any of the cheese, it was all there from the beginning. So if you think this song sounds too much like L'arc en Ciel, Luna Sea, or god forbid, Gackt, please take it up with Hoshino and Sakurai, not me.

Also, for the record. The word "maiagaru" means "to soar" as in, flying. "My body rising to the sky" is, for once, not a sexual reference, in any way. Just had to make that clear.

夢幻

作詞：櫻井敦司

作曲：星野英彦

舞い上がる体　愛のシンフォニー

ああ生まれる

あなたが手を振る　波の彼方

ああ眩しい

愛が降り出す　咲き乱れよ　頬を染め

やがて夕立　あの世と今　交わる

何にも無い　これは幻

何にも無い　これは夢か

舞い踊る魂　愛のシンフォニー

ああ奏でる

あなたが手を振る　夢の彼方

ああ愛しい

愛で溢れる　空に溶けて　無くなる

やがて大宇宙　あなたと今　交わる

全てが在る　これも悪夢か

全てが在る　これが愛か

舞い踊る魂　愛のシンフォニー

ああ奏でる

あなたが手を振る　夢の彼方

ああ愛しい

舞い上がる体　愛のシンフォニー

ああ生まれる

あなたが手を振る　波の彼方

ああ眩しい

Mugen

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Hoshino Hidehiko

Maiagaru karada ai no symphony

Aa umareru

Anata ga te wo furu nami no kanata

Aa mabushii

Ai ga furidasu saki midare yo hoo wo some

Yagate yuudachi ano yo to ima majiwaru

Nan ni mo nai kore wa maboroshi

Nan ni mo nai kore wa yume ka

Maiodoru tamashii ai no symphony

Aa kanaderu

Anata ga te wo furu yume no kanata

Aa itoshii

Ai de afureru sora ni tokete naku naru

Yagate daiuchuu anata to ima majiwaru

Subete ga aru kore mo akumu ka

Subete ga aru kore ga ai ka

Maiodoru tamashii ai no symphony

Aa kanaderu

Anata ga te wo furu yume no kanata

Aa itoshii

Maiagaru karada ai no symphony

Aa umareru

Anata ga te wo furu nami no kanata

Aa mabushii

PIXY Translation

2010-11-03T23:51:00.005+09:00

PIXY

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Hoshino Hidehiko

You know I’m not really the devil

I’m just like an angel

Gossamer your wings flutter Dance Dance Dance

Your shining butterfly scales go mad

Now with you, I want to Dance Dance Dance

This scattering love pulls the rainbow

And now I shower in your honey

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely) (1)

Ah, out of a dream into a dream on dream

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

You know he’s not really an angel

He’s just like the Devil

Now folding your wings ah we Kiss Kiss Kiss

With secrets and ruin in our embrace

All over you, I want to (Chu Chu Chu) (2)

Ah pulling your thread pulls the rainbow

And now I shower in your love

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

Ah, out of a dream into a dream on dream

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

Out from the space of the darkness

I hear you calling

Gossamer your wings flutter Dance Dance Dance

Slicing right through the atmosphere

Now with you, I want to Dance Dance Dance

This scattering love pulls the rainbow

And now I shower in your honey

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

Ah, out of a dream into a dream on dream

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

And now I shower in your love

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

Ah, out of a dream into a dream on dream

(Oo lah, ooh so lovely)

(1) Sakurai spelled this line in Japanese as “urara.” It’s a word play on the chorus nonsense syllables “ooh la la” and the word “urara,” meaning “bright and lovely.” Translated as “ooh la la” in honor of Goldfrapp, whose music this song irresistibly reminds me of, though probably that wasn’t Hoshino’s intention.

(2) “Chu” is a colloquial, childish word for “kiss.” It could literally be translated as “smooch.” I left it as is in this translation because leaving the meaning obscure adds back a little of the sensuality and eroticism of the live performance.

This translation is also singable in English. Sorry these translations are a bit late, I have had quite a lot packed into my schedule, not least of which some more shows on the Razzle Dazzle tour!

PIXY

作詞：櫻井敦司

作曲：星野英彦

僕は悪魔じゃない　まるで天使さ

翅をふるわせDance Dance Dance

光る　鱗粉狂わせ

今はお前とDance Dance Dance

飛び散る愛　虹がかかる

あなたの蜜を浴びて　ああ

（うら　麗らら　らら）

夢から夢へDream on Dream

（うら　麗らら　らら）

奴は天使じゃない　まるで悪魔さ

翅を折り曲げKiss Kiss Kiss

秘密　破滅絡ませ

今はお前とChu Chu Chu

糸を引いて虹がかかる

あなたの愛を浴びて　ああ

（うら　麗らら　らら）

夢から夢へDream on Dream

（うら　麗らら　らら）

暗黒宇宙彼方　君が呼んでいる

翅をふるわせDance Dance Dance

大気圏を突きぬけ

今はお前とDance Dance Dance

飛び散る愛　虹がかかる

あなたの蜜を浴びて　ああ

（うら　麗らら　らら）

夢から夢へDream on Dream

（うら　麗らら　らら）

あなたの愛を浴びて　ああ

（うら　麗らら　らら）

夢から夢へDream on Dream

（うら　麗らら　らら）

PIXY

Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi

Music: Hoshino Hidehiko

Boku wa akuma ja nai marude tenshi sa

Hane wo furuwase Dance Dance Dance

Hikaru rinpun kuruwase

Ima wa omae to Dance Dance Dance

Tobichiru ai niji ga kakaru

Anata no mitsu wo abite aa

(Ura urara rara)

Yume kara yume e Dream on Dream

(Ura urara rara)

Yatsu wa tenshi ja nai marude akuma sa

Hane wo orimage Kiss Kiss Kiss

Himitsu hametsu karamase

Ima wa omae to Chu Chu Chu

Ito wo hiite niji ga kakaru

Anata no ai wo abite aa

(Ura urara rara)

Yume kara yume e Dream on Dream

(Ura urara rara)

Ankoku uchuu kanata kimi ga yondeiru

Hane wo furuwase Dance Dance Dance

Taikiken wo tsukinuke

Ima wa omae to Dance Dance Dance

Tobichiru ai niji ga kakaru

Anata no mitsu wo abite aa

(Ura urara rara)

Yume kara yume e Dream on Dream

(Ura urara rara)

Anata no ai wo abite aa

(Ura urara rara)

Yume kara yume e Dream on Dream

(Ura urara rara)

寿記 02.11.2010 Jack-o-Lantern

2010-11-03T14:03:00.003+09:00

I love doughnuts.

What a beautiful sight.

IMAI 05:52

寿記 30.10.2010 go on the "Razzle Dazzle" Shibuya 10/27.28

2010-11-03T13:54:00.003+09:00

It was at the Shibuya Koukaidou...no wait, now it's C.C. Lemon Hall.

We played some shows there.

It was a really great two days.

Everyone seemed like they were having fun and that's great!

And "what's-his-name" and "what's-her-face" and friends came to see the show, too, which made me really happy...

Thank you very much.

And as I was reading all the congratulatory emails from the fans, I also got one from a friend I haven't heard from in ages!

So I invited my friend to the show on the 28th.

(He? She?) showed up, along with (his? her?) daughter. [Japanese rarely uses gendered pronouns so it is impossible to tell if this friend of which Imai speaks is male or female.]

Thanks!

At the party after the show, I had a conversation with Mr. Uno, even though it was only a very brief one...and we took a commemorative photo of the five of us with Mr. Uno.

Thank you so much.

Yoko-chan was the same as always.

IMAI 20:00

寿記 30.10.2010 now that you mention it...

2010-11-03T13:47:00.003+09:00

I had a birthday.

I got all sorts of "congratulatory emails," "presents," and "barolos"...

Fruit

Cappuccino

Cake

And this was how I celebrated.

Thank you all so much.

IMAI 19:00

寿記 28.10.2010 10/28

2010-11-03T13:43:00.003+09:00

And, tonight, not again...

IMAI 13:37

I know, Imai, I feel your pain. I didn't know there enough water in the whole world to make that much rain...how can it manage to rain like that just about every other day?

寿記 28.10.2010 B.G.M.

2010-11-03T13:40:00.001+09:00

This is my list this time.

I Saw Stars・・Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli & The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

Heavy Artillery (Artillerie Lourde)・・Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli & The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

GESSO・・The Spoil

Djangology・・Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli & The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

B・・The Spoil

Just One Look・・Klaus Nomi

Hallelujah・・Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli & The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

HIGH-HEEL BLACK・・The Spoil

You Sexy Thing・・French Cowboy

Swing Guitar・・Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli & The Quintet of the Hot Club of France

Baltimore (feat. Bobby Gillespie)・・Turzi

Track 28・・Stockhausen

GIRLS AND BOYS・・AMWE

Plaisanterie Classique・・Brigitte Fontaine

Opening・・Koudlam

Track 52・・Stockhausen

The Space in Between・・How to Destroy Angels

This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us・・Sparks

Love Song・・Koudlam

Fur Lined・・How to Destroy Angels

BAR・・The Spoil

Tonight・・Koudlam

But, I'll probably change it up soon.

IMAI 03:00

寿記 27.10.2010 10/27

2010-11-03T13:37:00.002+09:00

Let's have fun tonight.

IMAI 14:11

寿記 26.10.2010 go on the "Razzle Dazzle" Toyama and Niigata

2010-11-02T00:23:00.002+09:00

We haven't played in Toyama Prefecture for 22 years.

But we had a great time playing there again.

I'm saying, the "vibe," was good.

Great.

That "vibe."

Of course it was.

On the opening number, R.D.F. Extended, when everyone started clapping...

That was...

Come on, keep doing that from now on...(evil grin)

It just makes me excited.

But, clapping on that other song,

The rhythm just gets off and then it doesn't sound good, I think...

Thank you~~

~~~

And then, Niigata.

It was awesome.

Are you Niigata fans always this energetic?

I felt like you were just jumping up and down the whole time...

It felt great.

It was such a fun live show.

Thanks~

And by the way, Yoko-chan's dad, thanks for being so supportive, every time. Thanks for everything.

IMAI 15:30