Prayers and Apologies

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

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The other day.

I went to an exhibit of surrealist art.

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

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

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Breton, Duchamp, Automatism, "Fountain," Picabia

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Violence.

It just explodes.

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Denial

Attack

Destruction

Provocation

Creation

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It's a great feeling.

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Also,

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

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...？？,,what's this~~!?

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Look what I found!!

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

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Also, cheese and dried figs.

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

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

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IMAI 19:00

Imai x Hotei

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

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

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I wondered if they had anything cool in there.

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And, I kind of...bought this.

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You want to see what I bought?

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It's not actually that big.

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

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This is it.

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What do you think?

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・・・wanna see it?

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Wanna see what it really looks like?

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Here's a leading shot of it...

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Wanna see a close-up?

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Oh, I made it blurry.

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What's that?

You don't like me teasing you?

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Fiine, fine.

I'll show you!

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・・・no, no, that's not it.

I made a mistake.

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Ahaha

Okay, okay.

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This is it.

Isn't it awesome?

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

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

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

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Check it out.

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Crazy!

IMAI 16:44

寿記 03.04.2011 Public Image Ltd

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The other day, I went to a photo exhibit.

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

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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」

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John Lydon is one of my favorite artists.

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

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

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But, he was always drunk, John Lydon.

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

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IMAI 17:52

寿記 02.04.2011 Report

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I have a report to make~

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

2,460,580 yen.

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Thank you all so much.

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I'll report on it again soon.

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Also, keep checking the official site.

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IMAI 12:00

寿記 01.04.2011 It's been a while!

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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 ♣♡♠♢

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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...

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There were people who really believed it.

I'm sorry.

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

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Guys, I am totally sorry

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

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IMAI 20:22