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With the announcement of the new solo project from Mr. Sakurai, and the release of the Ai no Wakusei super-duper collector box, we've been hearing a lot of Buck-Tick fans talking again about the side projects from the various band members. Surprisingly, though Mr. Sakurai appears to have more fans among the overseas crowd than any other band member, we've been hearing a lot of people say they didn't really care much for Ai no Wakusei, because the music wasn't written by Imai. And if that applies to you, all I have to say is...if you only like Mr. Sakurai when he's singing Imai's melodies, then for all that Mr. Sakurai's gothically handsome sulky glare may razzle-dazzle your pixie, the fact is, sorry, fangirl - you are actually a fan of Imai! Best admit it and get it over with.
In any case, we're curious to hear your opinions, so we're starting another dicussion thread post, about the following questions:
- Have you listened to all the band members' side projects (Sakurai's solo, Lucy, Schwein, dropz, Yagami Toll & Blue Sky, Wild Wise Apes)? If not, which ones have you heard, and which ones have you not listened to yet?
- Which side project did you like the best?
- Did you like Ai no Wakusei? Why or why not? Which is your favorite song, and why?
Please keep your responses polite, concise, and relevant to the topic. Also, if possible, please post under a name other than "Anonymous"!
Happy discussing.
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I have yet to hear any dropz, Apes or Blue Sky, so can't offer an opinion on those. (Though I'm inclined to think I'll probably like dropz, given what I have read of Mr Hoshino's musical influences).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I enjoy Lucy from time to time because some days, a bit of dirty rock n' roll is just the ticket. But of the Imai-featured side projects then Schaft and Schwein top the list because I generally like the industrial artists they worked with, and that kind of sound overall. They both regularly come up in harmonious rotation on my iPod's industrial playlist along with the likes of KMFDM, Coil, Front Line Assembly, Laibach and Cabaret Voltaire.
I like Ai no Wakusei just fine - it's a good mix of old school alt rock with an interesting roster of composers and Mr Sakurai's excellent vocals laid over them - what's not to like? It has a comfortable position in my goth rock genre playlist, where it sits well with its kith and kin, which in my case is largely UK '80s bands. I certainly like it enough to buy whatever he has planned next without question.
But i have never denied being an Imai fan. I like to share the love :)
I forgot to add my favourite song from Ai no Wakusei, didn't I? I actually have a hard time choosing, to be honest, because there's a spread of styles, all of which I like equally. But I think maybe there's a special place in my heart for Smell, and also Love (Dakishemitai) from the Sacrifice single.
DeleteI also wish he'd done more with the Xymox side project, by the way.
Since Xymox are still active and even played at Wave Gotik Treffen this year, I suppose we can't yet discount the possibility of further Xymox involvement this time :)
DeleteI would be totally down with that! I do hope we get some more in the electro/alt/goth line as was present on both Ai no Wakusei and Arui wa Anarchy.
Delete1.) I've listened to Sakurai's solo album, Schwein, Lucy and Dropz
ReplyDelete2.) I adore Sakurai's solo project :)
3.) Yes, I love the album :) My most favorite song from the album is Fantasy. I like its dreamy atmosphere and the lyrics has a hint of bittersweet melancholy, which contrasts yet fits so well with its dreamy, floating melody.
I love the whole album because it is so dark and raw, there's no fakeness or hiding. It's pure and the music is versatile too.
Also, if it's not limited to Ai no Wakusei, I'd say Tensei and Explosion are my most favorite songs from Sakurai's side project (sorry, can't really choose one :P). For Tensei, the melody is so dreamy and theatrical. It's like I'm in the lyrics, standing amidst the sea of red Higanbana, ready to go to the next life or some nirvana state :P Those lyrics are the best I've ever read in my entire life I guess. The same reason goes with Explosion. It's dark, dreamy, death-related which is so Sakurai (sorry for sounding like a high school girl but this is how I feel :p )
I had to go through both Rockarollicas, 3rd World and Ai no Wakusei today once again just to make sure that what I am about to say is how I really feel. Wild Wise Apes (oh boy, not the easiest thing to find) didn't really work out for me, though Industrial Sex is an interesting name for a song with Uta in it.
ReplyDeleteSo, I admit it, I'm all the way for Imai. Next time I see B-T live I won't cheer for Acchanchan, no matter how provoking his hip-shaking extravaganza will be. I'll just go straight up to Mr. Imai and request some пожалуйста меня ох да sexual tacos from him. Ok, not really.
Lucy is a great band. In terms of music I would give Rockarollicas more credits than Ai no Wakusei. And by the way, kids, ANACONDA A GO GO is the only Anaconda song you should listen to. But I do love Ai no Wakusei, as a matter of fact the Explosion DVD was the first B-T related merchandise item I fished out from Ebay. And the reason I love it - it's not B-T. Both Sakurai's side projects appeal to me because of his experiments you won't see on your regular Imai-dominated album. I might be imagining things, but it feels like with Wakusei and Schwein Mr. Glorious Shiny Pants was able to go some other places and try out some other things. Though a few of B-T songs still give me the same feeling Ai no Wakusei does, the album is on the other level. And surprisingly (!), Lucy is not B-T either. Maybe because B-T does not equal Imai. Or Sakurai. I'm pretty sure the band consists of five dudes, but I might be wrong.
Long story short, I would take Mr. Imai's music over any other music and Mr. Sakurai's vocal and lyrics over everything (crossed out)... over any other vocal and lyrics. I wish they were in a band together. Oh wait...
~ Cayce's source of pirated stuff from Russia. Out.
But don't you think Imai should do a reboot of "Anaconda A Go Go" starring a featured rap from Nicki Minaj about butts? I mean, let's be frank - butts are kind of a big topic in Butt-Tickistan. Whoops, I meant Buck-Tickistan.
DeleteI'd have to scrape out my bank account to see them performing together!
DeleteI won't be surprised if the next B-T album brings this collaboration-with-ladies trend to a whole new level. Say, a new single called 血みどろのBUTT.
I was thinking more along the lines of "My anaconda don't have fun without dat Buck-Tick, hon!"
DeleteA bloody butt is never a good thing.
However, I do believe that Nicki could have kicked butt on Victims of Love.
DeleteOh my God, look at her PHYSICAL NEUROSE
DeleteI sort of forgot one part. So here it is.
ReplyDeleteAs for the favorite song from Ai no Wakusei, I'd go with X-Lover. Might not be the most poetically exquisite thing out there, but whatever. I'm a fangirl, I can like whatever I want! The next favorite would be Halellujah.
And if I absolutely had to choose from all of the side projects I had a chance to listen too, Schwein is my all times favorite. It has a little bit of everything I seek in music - Mr. Imai, Mr. Sakurai and Mr. Watts. And pigs! It has pigs all over the place. But seriously I came here from NIN, Ministry, Tool and Faith No More, And Schwein would be the closest thing to the scene I've been into since high school.
I have only listened to Sakurai's solo project. I enjoyed Ai no Wakusei. I have soft spots for Fantasy and Yellow Pig, though I don't think I can explain the reasons behind it as well as some of the other lovely people here.
ReplyDeleteI strongly encourage you to listen to Schwein, Lucy, and dropz as well!
DeleteI will! I'm still pretty new to Buck-Tick, so I'm still in the process of discovering lots!
DeleteMm, but can't we be Sakurai *and* Imai fangirls? Else I'll have to come to the realization that I harbor secret feelings for Hide too, and who knows, maybe it is Mr Hikaru's fault that I'm so addicted to Masquerade (:
ReplyDeleteHave heard everything but Wild Wise Apes, of which I know only a song or two. I guess I like Schwein best... selectively. As in, I usually forget that all songs that don't have Sakurai in the spotlight exist. Then goes Schaft (just what Mawb said), and then Sakurai's solo, so I don't exactly hate it - it is a good album, it's just that B-T have spoiled me.
I don't like the way it all comes together. It feels like I'm hearing a Mission song, PIG song, Foetus, Theatre Brook, Masami Tsuchiya etc, with Sakurai's vocals on top. So many of these songs could have just been lifted from an album of those who wrote them - hell, no less than three ended up on one! I find Sakurai's versions totally superior, and I know since he restricted himself to singing and writing (some deliciously wicked) lyrics, he couldn't have done a better job giving the album a separate identity, but still... And then some songs just don't click with me at all.
I guess I Hate You All and Shingetsu are the most serious contenders for a favorite song. The first is just brilliantly wild like that, and I love Sakurai's singing in the second.
See, I think the musical diversity of Ai no Wakusei is one of its main strengths. If it had been one composer throughout, I am not sure it would have been half as memorable.
DeleteI agree that the songs by some folks (Watts, Thirlwell and of course Hussey as you say are good examples) have less of a considered "writing for" and more of a "here's one I made earlier" air to them, for sure. But that's more of a negative mark for effort against the writers and doesn't diminish the album as a whole for me (well okay, I do reserve the right to laugh at Hussey's songwriting a bit just because old habits are hard to break but still... :) ).
On the whole I enjoy the shift and change of the musical styles, because it is Mr Sakurai's gothic sensibility (both lyrically and vocally) that brings it all together - as much as I laugh at Sacrifice (see above), it's one of the best interpretations of Mr Hussey's work that exists in the world.
Ai no Wakusei was in effect a debut album for Sakurai, and he handled it remarkably well in that light. I'd guess there are things he'll do differently now, with another decade of experience and growth of confidence/self knowledge under his belt, and with that in mind I have very high hopes for his new venture.
For me, his vocals are most compelling against the sparest of musical backgrounds, much like David Sylvian's, so I have my fingers crossed for more sultry electronic beats. But I guess we'll see - I have confidence in his discernment!
If there had been only one composer... I've caught myself wondering if that would be better. He would have to do as good a job as Imai, and I do not see this happening, so I guess you have a point there. You're also right about the confidence and self knowledge - Sakurai does seem to have a singular artistic vision and knows his strengths as a vocalist. I only hope the people he chose to write songs were able to play along.
DeleteI am hyped about The Mortal, though. The bits in Arui wa Anarchy where Sakurai was left to do his thing, like Mudai and Keijijou Ryuusei, were brilliant. I also hope whatever he does will shift a bit the dynamics in B-T; for me the best thing about Ai no Wakusei was that we got Juusankai after that. Imai dearly needs a reminder to exploit Sakurai's talents more, instead of just writing whatever he feels like (:
Okay, I know probably no one will return to read this or cares anyway, but I have been listening to the album so much since I wrote that comment. Don't know what happened, I guess I hadn't really given the songs a chance ever since I was first getting into B-T and heard this, I was mostly rotating a couple of them. Then I stumbled on Sacrifice from the live and suddenly it all clicked. Read all translations again as well. Hallelujah, Taiji, Wonderful World, Wakusei, Neko... damn. I just feel so bad about this comment that I had to go back and spam you with this, sorry again (: I guess foolishness and insolence go with being young.
DeleteI've only listened to Atsushi's, I've heard a few songs from Lucy but not really my cup of tea. Imai's voice ads some extra to songs like My fuckin' Valentine, but I can't listen to it on full albums, sorry :P
ReplyDeleteI really like Ai no wakusei, I think my favorites are Yellow pig or Wakusei.
I prefer buck-tick over Atsushi's solo though, but I think he did some pretty nice stuff there... Looking forward to the remake *_*
I honestly did a little happy dance when I heard about Sakurai's new project. His Sacrifice single is what got me into this crazy band in the first place. I was without internet and in a pretty low place in my life, and I must have listened to my (don't kill me, please) pirated rip of that single two thousand times. At the time I had no idea who the smoky-voiced singer was, but Wonderful World rocked my own world like nothing else, and was a rare bright spot in my depression.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love BUCK-TICK and Imai's songwriting, Ai no Wakusei and all of Sakurai's singles have an extra special place in my little rotten heart, which I guess puts me in the minority. Here's hoping for as much gothic cheese as the first album.
i liked x-lover, sacrifice and yellow pig from ai no wakusei
ReplyDelete