Hikaru Utada’s “HEART STATION” PV

Hikaru Utada has been hyping her new single HEART STATION for the past month already and the looming February 20 release date is creeping up slowly…ever so slowly. The world finally gets a glimpse of the PV tonight and all I can offer is a disappointed sigh. The song is brilliant, that much is for certain; Utada has been incapable of releasing anything less than “pretty good” since Deep River in 2002, and this is coming from someone who used to hate the woman. It’s art-poppy and nostaligic in the saddest, most brilliant possible way, with minimal synths and breathy vocals, the same season Ami Suzuki is releasing “Bitter…” to promote the upcoming album DOLCE and at what point does it stop being coincidence?, and frankly, I’m just satisfied those whiney winter ballads are finally out of the way (thanks denominational holiday). But for a song so rich in elegance, wherefore art thou meaningful promotional video?

Utada is depicted wearing white amidst a crowd painted black to resemble shadowed, non-entities. Ooh. Symbolismmm.

X Japan’s “I.V.”

X Japan / I.V. / January 23, 2007

Remember last year in February when two early X Japan albums were remastered for a limited time and rumors began circlulating that the band would reunite and then nothing happened for a long time, following in the tradition of every other thing Yoshiki has ever said, but then stuff actually happened and I couldn’t muster even an ounce of excitement over it, even after once being, like, the biggest X Japan fan of all timez, mostly because I couldn’t think X Japan reuniting was a good thing without hide and wasn’t Toshi in a cult?, and then the song was released and I whipped up this quick post just so I could brag about liking X Japan before Yoshiki became even more arrogant?

I wouldn’t have been so opposed to this reunion except:

1. Yoshiki, circa 1998: “I will never play drums again.” Yoshiki, circa 2008: Cue panned shot of Yoshiki playing drums.

2. hide is still, um, dead and has been replaced in the music video with a guitar, a plush doll, and shots of him on a giant television screen. ‘Nough said.

3. Pata is still superfluous and Heath looks…exactly the same as he did 15 years go.

4. Goth Yoshiki. What exactly does this accomplish? (I find rhetorical questions the weakest argument tactic and thus, encourage speculation. Plus I’d really like to know.)

5. Toshi, circa 1998, pointing to a picture of himself as X Japan’s lead-vocalist: “That is not me. I don’t recognize myself.” Toshi, circa 2008: Cue panned shot of rocker-like wailing into microphone.

6. This song says Yoshiki all over it and little of any other band member. Fast drums, piano interludes, minor chords… Oh. Toshi laid some voc tracks.

7. Singing “endless rain” in the midst of fake rain. Verrrry clever.

8. The lyrics are like Yoshiki’s pre-teen poetry: “I’m calling you, dear / Can’t you see me standing right here?” Haven’t I made it clear? / I will do anything to rhyme, don’t you fear.

I don’t hate the song. It’s very hard to hate a song that relies heavily on nostalgia over originality, a song that demands you remember the days when X Japan weren’t relevent, they just were. And I’m not sure how much potential this song has to bring in new fans. Let’s ask Yoshiki’s pretentious glass piano. Standing in the (fake) rain. Ugh. So dramatic.

♫ Official Site
♫ Buy I.V.

Huzzah, I’m back

Bear with me while I deal with limited tweaking capabilities and get back into the swing of writing things besides “Dude, like, listen to this! now!!” It’s been four months and I am still weeping over lost hosting, reduced to carpal tunnel after restoring all old posts at both blogs (but unable to salvage any comments) and have been listening to more trance music than appropriate.

It is good to be back.