Abracadabra! and Other Magic Spells

At last, after many delays and much anticipation, Buck-Tick have announced that their 22nd studio album, Abracadabra, will be released on September 21st, 2020, which also happens to be the exact 33rd anniversary of Buck-Tick's major debut. When the band released Atom Miraiha No. 9, Imai Hisashi claimed that numerology had nothing whatever to do with his choice of album title... but he also claimed that use of the word "Atom" in the title had nothing whatever to do with Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom (known in English as Astro Boy), yet shortly thereafter, he appeared onstage with his hair styled just like Astro Boy, and the band released officially licensed Buck-Tick x Astro Boy collaborative tour goods, so y'all can decide for yourselves whether to believe everything that comes out of Imai Hisashi's mouth. Buck-Tick then followed Atom Miraiha No. 9 with the album No. 0, adding further evidence to the claim that they have absolutely zero fucks to give about numerology. 

Fun fact about No. 0: the reign of the new Japanese emperor, Naruhito, which began on May 1st, 2019, is titled "Reiwa" (令和). This name was announced in March 2019, after much top-secret deliberation. The first kanji, 令, means "command of God," while the second kanji, 和, means "harmony," and is also used to refer to Japan and Japanese culture. So the meaning of Reiwa could be seen as "harmony [in Japan] under the divine order," or "the gods declare, thou shalt create harmony [in Japan]". However, Reiwa has a second double meaning: "zero-zero." Why? Because "rei" (零) is the word for "zero," and "wa" (輪) means "circle" (and of course, a zero is a circle). It was a Shinto priest who explained to us just how much there is to unpack here - one could imagine the gods ordering humanity to "reset to zero" for a new era, and create harmony in the image of the world's people holding hands in a circle around the earth. In numerology, the zero represents coming full circle, the end of an old cycle and the beginning of a new one, the alpha and omega in one, the emptiness of the void out of which arises all of creation. Meanwhile, as we discussed when Atom Miraiha No. 9 was released, in numerology, 9 represents the ending and completion of a cycle. That Buck-Tick followed No. 9 with No. 0 is definitely not a coincidence. But what's even more intriguing is the fact that No. 0 was released in March 2018, a whole year before Reiwa was announced. It's almost like they knew in advance. Spooky!

Now, they're releasing their 22nd studio album on their 33rd anniversary. This is an unusual move - in Japan, new musical releases are nearly always released on a Wednesday, and Buck-Tick has stuck with this release schedule for the entire length of time we've been following the band, and probably much longer. However, September 21st, 2020 is a Monday, and not only that, it's a national holiday - Respect for the Aged Day (Grandparents' Day). Buck-Tick have released a lot of albums in September - One Life, One Death (September 20th, 2000), Tenshi no Revolver (September 19th, 2007), Yumemiru Uchuu (September 19th, 2012), and Atom Miraiha No. 9 (September 28th, 2016) - but you can see that never before have they bothered to time the release date exactly to their anniversary. Why this time? 

It might have something to do with numerology. For the most part, numerology only uses the single-digit numbers 0-9, but the exceptions to this rule are the so-called "master numbers": 11, 22, and 33. In numerology, the master numbers are considered to have higher, more powerful vibrations. The 11 is the number of intuition, inspiration, awakening, and non-duality (the push-pull of the yin and the yang). The 22 is called the "master builder," because it is the number of taking the ideas inspired by the 11 and making them into realities. The 33 is called the "master teacher," because it is the number of transmitting messages from higher dimensions of the cosmos to the earthly realm. 

The number 33 is found throughout the lore of many religious, mystical and esoteric traditions. Lunar calendars, such as those used to calculate the timing of various religious holy days such as Ramadan, operate on 33-year cycles - that is to say, it takes 33 years for the months of a lunar calendar to return to their original position in the year. There are also 33 bones in the human spine - significant because many mystical traditions speak of spiritual awakening as the vital force rising up from the base of the spine to the pineal gland in the brain (the actual "third eye" structure in the brain), opening one up to experience of higher consciousness. The 33 can also be seen to represent the two triangles of the merkaba or Star of David, which in turn represent the principle "as above, so below" - the micro reflected in the macro, and vice versa. The upward-facing triangle represents the flow of energy downward from heaven to earth, while the downward-facing triangle represents the flow of energy upward from earth to heaven (or was it the other way around? or does it even matter?), with the human consciousness in the middle, living bound by earthly reality, while seeking for higher awareness. The 33 is a doubling of the 3, the triangle, considered the most basic magic number by magicians, witches and alchemists of all stripes since ancient times... and intimately connected to the magic of "Abracadabra," but we'll get to that in a bit.

The Star of David / Merbaka (3D Star of David, two interpenetrating tetrahedrons, said to be the structure of the human aura)

Then there's the whole study of the mystery of "angel numbers," also known as synchronicity numbers - those numbers you just keep happening to notice everywhere. Does this happen to y'all? Like every time you happen to look at the clock, you see that it's 11:11, or 2:22, or 4:44, or what have you. Or you pay for something in a shop and the total comes out to be 11.11 or some other repdigit. Or you see repdigits on you social media accounts, in the number of likes on your tweet or views on your video. Or you see them on license plates, billboards - the list goes on. And it seems to happen a lot, completely spontaneously. Maybe you see the same non-repdigit numbers over and over, for example, double numbers like 1313 or 2020, or palindrome numbers like 3223 or 4884. Maybe you keep seeing the digits of your birthday, or some other personal lucky number. It's not just you. It happens to lots of people, often far too often to be mere random coincidences (do random coincidences even exist? We're not sure they do. If you want to have fun with this, speak this spell out loud, and mean it: "Hey, universe, show me 2357!" Watch and wait for 2357 to show up. If you meant what you asked, it will.)

As the name "angel numbers" suggests, many people believe that these numbers are messages from guardian angels or higher dimensions, and numerologists, occultists and psychics have used the principles of numerology to attempt to translate the meaning of the messages (for in-depth further reading on this topic for those interested, we recommend this site). Because of the fact that the 33 is a higher octave of 3 (the Trinity), and the fact that 33 represents the link between heaven and earth, 33 (and longer sequences of 3's) as an angel number is seen as indicating the protective presence of angels (or spirit guides or whatever you want to call them). As we discussed in our article on "Datenshi," angels and heaven are a major theme in Buck-Tick's work, going right back to Seventh Heaven and "Angelic Conversation" (which is jam-packed with esoteric symbolism, but that's a topic for another article). Not directly relevant, since Buck-Tick are probably not scholars of synchronicity number meanings, but interesting all the same. The foundational belief behind numerology is that numbers express the fundamental truth of the universe - a belief shared by quantum physicists, just not in the same way. So, maybe it's not necessary to have overt knowledge of the numbers in order to employ their meaning. Maybe they just come out.

All in all, 33 is one special number! It might just be coincidence that Abracadabra is Buck-Tick's 22nd original studio album, but since they have the chance, it seems like a one-of-a-kind chance for some magical hoodoo that they should release their 22nd album on their 33rd anniversary. The 22 - building inspirations into realities. The 33 - sharing transcendental magic with the world. That's exactly what B-T do, right? And Abracadabra is magic that goes back a long, long time.

These days, when most people hear the word "abracadabra," they think of stage magic - the guy in the fancy suit waves a black stick over his silk tophat, says "abracadabra!" and pop! out of the hat comes a rabbit. Everyone knows that stage "magic" isn't magic at all - just deftly worked illusion. Real magic - that's an entirely different idea, spanning thousands of years of occult study, and in fact, "abracadabra" was once used as a serious magic spell.

In fact, the word "abracadabra" is so old that no one knows where it originated from, and some even claim that it pre-dates Babylon and the mythical Tower of Babel, and is therefore a word from the universal language which humanity supposedly spoke before the destruction of Babel. The reason cited for this is that "abracadabra" even today is used more or less universally across human languages without being translated. Obviously, evidence doesn't support the idea that everyone spoke a universal language before the time of Babylon - language is constantly evolving, and groups of people separated from one another will naturally evolve different languages over time, that's just how language works. But the idea of an ancient language of the universe, handed down by mystic scholars and used to work magic, is an idea that surely goes back to before Babylon, so the notion that "abracadabra" is a word from such a language isn't as silly as you might think.

There are various other theories about the origins of abracadabra, though none of them can be substantiated, because the archaeological evidence is long gone. According to one theory, abracadabra comes from the similarly ancient magic word "abraxas" or "abrasax," found in Gnostic texts and on ancient carved stone talismans. Just like abracadabra, nobody can say for certain where abraxas originated (Greece? Egypt? the Middle East?). The seven letters are thought to represent the seven planets that were known to the ancient world, and the word itself was used to refer to the "Archon of the 365 heavenly spheres," the Gnostic supreme being. The word itself may have been derived from the Ancient Hebrew words "ab, ben, ruach hakodesh," or the similar Ancient Greek words, "ab, ben, rouach, hakadōs," meaning "Father, Son, Holy Spirit"... which brings us back to abracadabra, because another theory is that abracadabra was derived from those words, and rather than abracadabra being derived from abraxas, abraxas was derived from abracadabra.

Another theory posits that abracadabra was derived from the Aramaic phrase "avra kehdabra," meaning "I create as I speak," or "I create like the Word." That's a powerful idea, considering that real magic is, in its essence, the act of directly reality through force of will. Alternatively, others believe that abracadabra was derived from a similar phrase, "avra kadavra," meaning "let it be destroyed." Whether these are actually two different phrases, two different translations of the same phrase and one of the translations is wrong, or they're two different meanings of the same phrase and both of the translations are right is not something we've been able to discover, and perhaps nobody knows - Aramaic is a very old, very dead language. But if "avra kadavra" makes you think of avada kedavra in Harry Potter, you're right on the money - this is indeed where J.K. Rowling got the idea for her killing curse incantation.

So, were the ancients using "abracadabra" as a spell to kill each other? Far from it! In addition to divining the future, one of the most important applications of magic in pre-modern times was for protection and healing. Since pre-history, healers, witches and shamans were often one in the same - the people with knowledge of both medicinal herbs and of the unseen realms of spirit and energy. These days, we've been taught to laugh at the crazy or silly-seeming medical practices of the past - but there was often a lot more to them than Westerners brainwashed by Big Pharma like to admit, and not only are the effectiveness of herbal remedies and traditional therapies such as acupuncture and sound healing being verified by high and mighty modern research, but the real therapeutic value of plant medicines such cannabis and magic mushrooms, which were used by shamans since ancient times, is being re-acknowledged. (Did y'all know that used correctly, psychedelics can be far more effective at treating depression than any anti-depressant ever? Studies in peer-reviewed journals show! No wonder Imai's so happy!) This ancient healing magic was not all hooey, not remotely.

However, "abracadabra" was most likely not effective at what it was designed for - as a ward against the plague. Yes, you heard right. That's why the original meaning of the phrase may be "let it be destroyed." The aim was to destroy the plague. The first known appearance of "abracadabra" in print was in the writings of Serenus Sammonicus, physician to the Roman emperor Caracalla in the 2nd century C.E. Sammonicus recommended that sick people should wear an amulet around their necks with the word abracadabra inscribed as an inverted triangle, losing one letter per line. The gradual reduction in the letters was supposed to slowly drive the sickness from the body. This triangle is called an "abracadabrangle." (And you thought "abracadabra" was an awesome word!)

The concept caught on, and these abracadabra talismans were all the rage throughout Europe during plagues, even as late as the 1700's, when Daniel Defoe scoffed at them, writing,

"People deceiv'd; and this was in wearing Charms, Philters, Exorcisms,  Amulets, and I know not what Preparations, to fortify the Body with them against the Plague; as if the Plague was but a kind of a Possession of an evil Spirit; and that it was to be kept off with Crossings, Signs of the Zodiac, Papers tied up with so many Knots; and certain Words, or Figures written on them, as particularly the Word Abracadabra, form'd in Triangle, or Pyramid...

How the poor People found the Insufficiency of those things, and how many of them were afterwards carried away in the Dead-Carts."

We can only imagine what a field day he'd have had in 2020, smugly looking down his nose and feeling superior both to conspiracy theorists and people who dare to go outside and have fun alike. (It's a fact that complaining about the behavior of others so that you can feel superior provides 100% immunity to the coronavirus!!!)

Honestly, Danny (can we call you Danny?) If you're gonna die of the plague, you might as well do it in style... and these abracadabra charms are stylish as fuck! They're even more stylish than Buck-Tick printed masks! And they're still in production today, based on the old designs.

(Please, guys. Tour goods. Even if there's no tour. Please make us some silver Buck-Tick Abracadabrangle necklaces. We will gladly wear them even if it means we get smugly sniffed at by Daniel Defoe. You will pry our gothic occult jewelry from our cold, dead bodies as they lie pickled in hand sanitizer in refrigerated morgue trucks in the queue for another slapdash coronafuneral... just kidding, goths are immune to the coronavirus!)

Abracadabrangle charms were also often put over the doorways of houses to keep the plague out, possibly in a nod to the final plague of Egypt in the Bible.

Anyhow, it wasn't until much more recently that "abracadabra" became adopted as a word of choice for stage magicians. In a now-scientific world, with the microbial causes of disease understood, magic wards against illness began to seem silly (then again... people in 2020 are drinking bleach and dying, to try and stop themselves dying of the coronavirus, so... compared to that, an Abracadabrangle seems quite sane and logical.) Anything resembling "real" magic came to be ridiculed by the global hegemony of materialist science. Abracadabra and other magic words are lol. Let's cut naked ladies in half with saws, pull rabbits out of hats, and drink to the fact that now, at last, we know everything there is to know, go to bed snug at night knowing that no witches, ghosts, gods, or aliens exist, and they never have. We are very smart, with very selfish genes. Ancient peoples were primitive and superstitious savages.

The thing is, it's actually a big, mysterious world out there, full of a vast number of things we don't understand. We don't even understand gravity! So many years and so many particle accelerators later, and physicists still have not a clue what made Newton's apple fall. What we call "matter" is 99.9999% "empty space." Why? What is the universe, really? Those primitive and superstitious savages claimed it was a living, breathing, conscious being. So did Sakurai Atsushi, on Yumemiru Uchuu. Can we be so sure that they're wrong? 

Meanwhile, the US government just announced last week that UFOs are real, and that the extraterrestrial explanation appears to be the most likely one, and we have exactly zero idea what the UFOs are or how they work. And guys... didn't we tell you at the beginning of the year that 2020 was going to be the year the aliens landed? Keep your eyes, hearts, and minds open, and your alchemical homunculus flasks at the ready. The world just might turn out to be far more magical than you think. Buck-Tick knew Reiwa was coming. The ancient wisdom of Buck-Tickistan is a very, very deep well. What else do they know that they have yet to reveal?

Whatever it is, it's surely not on the English version of the special website promoting the release of the Abracadabra album. This website, which in addition to being the most boring, lazily designed site we have ever seen, was very definitely NOT written by Cayce, tells us:

"The latest album "ABRACADABRA" released by BUCK-TICK, a rock band that has been shocking many times with its own musicality, on the anniversary of its 33rd debut.

Along with the rapid changes in the way music was delivered, the band continued to evolve as an immobile and lonely entity."

Here, kids, we're going to teach you another cool-sounding word: "gobbledygook." The definition: "language characterized by circumlocution and jargon, usually hard to understand." What exactly does that mean, "immobile and lonely entity"? Do they mean like a lone UFO just floating up there in the sky, not moving? We're pretty sure Buck-Tick *did* come from outer space, so that's plausible, but... no. What they were trying to say is "unshakable and fiercely independent." Translators: proving to you that yes, words ARE magic, every day of the year. Have a word problem? Hire a translator today! (Real talk, it actually hurt us with physical pain to read the English version of this site. Buck-Tick badly need a different web management team.)

Anyway, the big news about the release of this album is that, for the first time since Taboo, the album will be released not only to CD, but also to cassette tape and *drumroll* VINYL! (And, you know, digital download and streaming services, yawn, snore. But oh wait... it was because of us putting pressure on them that they did that! You rock, Blog-Tickers! And for overseas fans in this age of no-international-shipping-from-Japan, it's a damn good thing they took our advice or they'd have lost out on a lot of potential money from their overseas fanbase.)

As far as the vinyl thing goes, we have a personal confession to make. After every Buck-Tick concert, the venue staff pass out feedback questionnaires about the show to all the fans, and we've noticed over the years that they really take this feedback to heart. Over the course of the past few tours, we've been consistently offering three specific suggestions on the questionnaires: 1) release an acoustic album or play an acoustic show, 2) offer a fanclub-sanctioned ticket trading service, 3) if you want to play something catchy and repetitive, please play "Ai no Uta" instead of all those bop-bop songs, 4) release commemorative LP versions of your post-Taboo back catalog.

The ticket trading service is a shambles, but they did it. The acoustic section of Locus Solus was almost as surprising and exciting as finally hearing "Ai no Uta" for the first time in our thirteen years of following the band on every tour. And now, an LP version of Abracadabra!  Knowing the Japanese fanbase, we find it unlikely that many other fans besides us, if indeed any at all, would have made these same suggestions. The type of Buck-Tick fan who goes to shows and writes questionnaires is, to put it politely, not the kind who owns record players. Yeah, vinyl is having a major comeback and all the cool kids are doing it. Maybe it's all coincidence. And it's not like we signed our questionnaires "Hocus Pocus, Alacazam, Love, Cayce." But we kind of don't believe in coincidences. We're pretty sure that words are magic. Abra-ca-fucking-dabra!

All told, the album will be released in five versions, one for each of the five band members. They are, as follows:

Special Precious Limited Edition CD (Acchan version because he's the most special, precious band member said all the fangirls who will buy this version of the album)

5,500 yen + tax / with BluRay

5,000 yen + tax/ with DVD

(ooh look it's a 555 Abracadabrangle! Acchan-chan's life path number is 5! Spooooooky!)

The BluRay/DVD will contain a music video for the new YOW-ROW mix of "Kemono-tachi no Yoru," otherwise known as "Night of the Beasts ~tryhard fanboy mix~". It will also contain a multi-angle version of the music video for "Moonlight Escape," with one cut for each band member, as well as the music video for "Kogoeru."

In addition, the limited edition will come with special packaging, as well as a lottery ticket to enter to win goods signed by the band members* (please please please let it be a signed Abracadabrangle!) and a link for streaming the contents to your love, companion, and codependent addiction in this time of social distancing especially smartphone until September 30th, 2021.

*Please note that though the Buck-Tick members are immune, YOU can get coronavirus from signatures. Enter this lottery at your own risk.

**That was a joke don't take it seriously also don't microwave your mail.

Regular CD Edition (Toll version, because he is simple and honest, and the regular CD was the older brother of the limited edition CD)

3,000 yen + tax

No frills on this one - just the album, on high-fidelity SHM-CD that can be played in all players. Also contains a lottery ticket to enter the lottery to win signed goods, and a link for streaming the contents to your smartphone until September 30th, 2021.

Analog LP Edition (Hide version because of that fake or are they real wall of records he keeps getting photographed in front of, and because he's a trendy hipster)

4,500 yen + tax

Contains a 2-disc set of 180 gram vinyl LPs, with the whole album on four sides. Also comes with a special poster, a lottery ticket to enter the lottery to win signed goods, and a link for streaming the contents to your smartphone until September 30th, 2021. Doesn't contain a free download code like every other record released these days, because the B-T management are money-grubbing bastards, and they want you to punish you for wanting the album on vinyl by forcing you to buy the album twice if you want it in high-fi digital instead of ripping it by hand from the vinyl to your computer. Yes, Cayce has software for digitally ripping vinyl. Yes, digitally ripping vinyl is a pain-in-the-ass process that requires manually dividing up the tracks in a DAW (for those of you laypeople, that's a Digital Audio Workstation, sound-editing software). Yes, Cayce will also buy the limited edition CD in order to get the DVD. But come on.

Cassette Tape (Imai version because the curly reels of tape look like the curlicues on his guitar, and on his shoes)

2,800 yen

Contains a lottery ticket to enter the lottery to win signed goods, and a link for streaming the contents to your smartphone until September 30th, 2021. And super hipster bragging rights that you bought the album in the cheapest physical format and that format is a cassette tape. Listen to it on your Walkman. (Fun fact: yes Cayce has a cassette tape player. Yes, we also have software for digitally ripping cassette tapes. No, we're not going to rip the Abracadabra casette tape and those cheap fucking bastards should have provided a download code.)

High-Resolution Streaming (Yutaka version. Yutaka himself is a high-resolution stream.)

48kHz 24-bit format, close to the original master tapes. To be streamable by special software apps: Rekochoku, mora Hi-Res, and mora qualitas. No word on the price but they'll probably make you pay 500 yen each time as if it were a gacha-gacha. Because if you are gullible enough to buy into the scam of streaming, you deserve to be scammed.

Digital Download/General Streaming Services (One streaming service per B-T behind-the-scenes collaborator, including Yokoyama Kazutoshi, Cube Juice, Yow-Row, Mr. Tanaka, etc. - they couldn't do it without you) 

No word on the price, but the album will be available on major digital download and streaming platforms starting September 21st. For details on the streaming and download platforms, go to the Abracadabra official site.

Whoops, that was six formats, not five. Numerology is hard work!

As we mentioned before, the Japan Post is not currently shipping internationally, less out of a fear of the virus and more out of a lack of sufficient transportation, it seems. However, it's unlikely that this lame situation will continue forever, so if any of y'all are interested in ordering any of these items through Cayce, shoot us an email. We will purchase them for you and hold them for you until international shipping to your country resumes.

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As if that weren't enough new info already... Buck-Tick have also released the new album's song titles and writing credits, though they say that the order of the tracks has yet to be determined. So, in no particular order, here goes.

PEACE（SE） (music: Imai Hisashi)

"SE" stands for "stage entrance." This is the instrumental music that plays while the band comes on stage during live shows. Raise your hand if you, too, wish Buck-Tick would release an SE compilation album. That's a questionnaire suggestion we made that they haven't taken us up on.

URAHARA-JUKU (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Ura-Harajuku, or "backstreet Harajuku" is the internal area of Harajuku between Omotesando and Meiji-doori, away from Harajuku station. For many years, especially in the 80's and 90's, this was one of the edgiest, most interesting fashion spots in all Tokyo. These days, it's gentrified as hell like the rest of the district, and its glory is mostly gone, though a few vestiges remain here and there. This title is a pun, however. "Urahara" means "reverse" or "contrary," and "juku" means "cram school." A cram school on how to be punk? Yeah, Buck-Tick could definitely teach that school.

Datenshi - YOW-ROW ver.  (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

I know, you know, I know this song already. (Singable with the original melody!)

MOONLIGHT ESCAPE  (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Reportedly a catchy, retro number in which Sakurai passes on some wisdom from his hard-knock life to the sad boys and girls of the world. More on this one soon.

Kogoeru ("Frozen") - Crystal CUBE ver. (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Hoshino Hidehiko)

Mixed by Cube Juice. A Hide song that gets its own PV. Amazing! We have our fingers crossed that Sakurai wears a pale blue sparkly dress and lets it GO!

Kemono-tachi no Yoru ("Night of the Beasts") - YOW-ROW ver. (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Cube Juice already had his way with the song and proved himself to be an artistic, tender, and passionate lover. We bet Yow-Row's version is full of dubstep and finishes fast, like a teenage boy. The robot who writes the English version of the official site translated the title of this song as "Beasts' Night," because not only do robots have no sense of poetry, they also don't read Not Greatest Site.

Tsuki no Sabaku ("Desert of the Moon") (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Hoshino Hidehiko)

Reportedly a medium-tempo number with a Japanese-style tribal beat (according to Sakurai).

Maimu -Mime- ("Dancing Dream") (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Another pun here - Sakurai spells "mime" with the kanji "mai" (dance) and "mu" (dream).

Villain (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi + Imai Hisashi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Interesting title! Must be about the past life in which Acchan-chan was a Romanian vampire and Imai was Hugo Ball.

Dance Tengoku ("Dance Paradise") (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Hoshino Hidehiko)

A dance number by Hoshino Hidehiko. This one must be tropical rock for sure.

Que Sera Sera Elegy (lyrics: Imai Hisashi / music: Imai Hisashi)

"Que sera sera, whatever will be will be? The future's too hard to see, que sera sera" - go the lyrics to the original song. If this is an elegy for that philosophy, does that mean we get to learn to see the future?

SOPHIA DREAM  (lyrics: Imai Hisashi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Omg is Imai dreaming of another woman? How dare you cheat, Imai! Shame! And with the Goddess of Wisdom, no less! Then again, given that Sophia is known for her wisdom, not her sensuality, perhaps it's a merely intellectual affair. Or perhaps, this is about Jung's archetype Sophia, the most highly evolved stage of anima integration, in which a man has fully integrated his feminine aspect to the point that he sees women as fully developed individuals with all the same range of qualities as men. A man at this level of anima integration has fully accepted, and can make full use of, his feminine energy. See what we wrote about the Divine Feminine in this article.

Eureka (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi + Imai Hisashi / music: Imai Hisashi)

Ancient Greek for "I've found it!" Famously, Ancient Greek polymath Archimedes ran out of his house naked shouting "eureka!" after stepping into his overflowing bathtub gave him the idea to measure the purity of gold alloys through displacement of water (other metals are less dense than gold, and thus take up more space than pure gold, and thus displace more water - this is how you tell if the goldsmith is cheating you.) Imai says that he wrote this song last, and it took him about five minutes. He says it was born out of his nebulous sense of rage and frustration at the pandemic. Rage, Imai, rage!

Boukyaku ("Forgotten") (lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi / music: Imai Hisashi)

The official album site has this translated as "oblivion," but the kanji literally mean "forgetting and retreating," so this is only oblivion in the sense of something completely forgotten, not the nothingness of the great void. Therefore, we're better than "forgotten" is a better translation. But we'll have to see the lyrics to know for sure.

So that's the album! There are a total of 14 tracks, which is generous of them, though we don't understand why "Rondo," masterpiece as it is, was not included... but who knows, maybe it just didn't fit the vibe. We'll have to wait and see.

More info on the other news from Buck-Tickistan coming soon.