My NEWS post is turning into another course paper. Well, this was not uncalled for.

@темы: musings

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Rules Of Attraction

I've just been cleaning up my KAT-TUN picture folder (yes, I have that and it was pretty big) and apart from confirming why I like NEWS so much it made me think about what makes guys attractive. I mean surely someone like Yama Pi or Jin would be considered alpha Males and I can look at things objectively and I can see why they're so popular but personally have 0 interest in them. Then again my sexuality is very complicated. Out of all those hot Asian guys that I've been obsessing over I've actually only felt attracted to two.

@музыка: Prodigy - Firestarter

@темы: J-Pop, musings

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NEWS - Live Winter Party Diamond Tour

Now that I have watched all concerts 2007-2010 I can say with confidence this one is my favourite among the 4. Best production. Best setlist. Best costumes. Best Shige. But one thing at a time.

Production. I was very dissatisfied with LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! I don't think I've ever been so dissatisfied with a concert's production before. On the contrary Live Diamond is brilliantly produced. The thing is this whole tour was pretty much produced by the boys themselves, from costumes which were chosen by Shige to setlist and general choreography.

The costumes were much better than in previous concerts. The's only one set that's old-school JE and flashy but that's totally ok. One set was pretty much casual shirts but it was really nice. Also though there were quite a few juniors on stage they only came out at certain points and didn't interrupt the general flow so I didn't really mind.

The Setlist was great. I mean surely I warmed up to many songs but still it was a lot better than the one at LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! The whole scheme seemed pretty complicated with all the solos and duos scattered over the course of the concert but everything seemed to flow nicely and the costumes also matched the songs well. I felt such a great relief at Show Express since at Lx3 it was totally ruined for me. At any rate there were only 2 or 3 songs that I didn't like at all. Out of total 37. I absolutely loved I ZA NA I ZU KI in the concert. To me it's just a really perfect pop song. Smile Maker as well. And theit timing was just right.
The only thing that bugs me is the number of encores. Like, it was nice to see you guys but it's enough, go home already. Stop torturing the poor fans.

MORE

To add a pinch of salt the choreography still sucked. To the point where you can't even tell who messes up because everyone's all over the place. But you kinda get used to it after awhile.

I have always liked all sorts of collaborations and this concert had a record number of those. There were 5 solos and 3 duos and I actually liked all of them. Dunno what happened to Love Addiction but I'm kinda glad it wasn't there.

'Why' evoked very mixed feelings. I think it's a nice song but probably not for NEWS. The key is too low or something and everyone apart from Tegoshi fails it so bad. You can't hear Shige at all. The dancing was stupid too. But the setting was interesting and there was some serious chemistry between Shige and Massu. Though I'm not sure their voices go well together.

I also was quite surprised with 'Ginza Rhapsody'. The duo itself seemed really unlikely but somehow it seemed to work. Koayama's moves... I don't even know. Where did he get all that groove? I mean others did some stuff too but not nearly as much. He seemed to get a lot more confident. He really looked like a professional host to me.

Shalala Tambourine was pretty good. I mean I'm not going to say it was awesome but it was still better than all his previous solos. I think it's a fun song and you can tell he tried very hard but it was still more than he could handle. It was kinda pitiful as you watched Tegoshi slide out right after with Ai no Matador... Well, the song itself is kinda ridiculous and so was his outfit. But the little shit can both sing and dance so that seemed just somehow. Superman was cool. I was very unimpressed with the PV but the live performance was good. Massu's a really good dancer and though his voice isn't strong it's stable and it doesn't even waver as he does a fucking back-flip. Well done. YamaPi's solo was just.. YamaPi's solo. Pretentious and boring. Ryo, however, was pretty good, at least a lot better than his previous solo.

But the thing to be considered here is that Ryo and Shige both wrote their own songs, music and lyrics. I think they were also the composers for Share which is pretty good. At least on par with their other songs. I thought it managed to bring out everyone's individuality.

I loved the MC. Koyama was the main speaker accompanied by Shige. Tegomass participated only a little, Pi made a few remarks and Ryo wasn't even shown. I have to say here I honestly don't know what function was Yama Pi taking as a leader at that point. The pre-concert speeches were mostly handled by Tegoshi while Koyama was keeping an eye on everyone even having to remind Yama Pi to sign his boards.Anyway I was absolutely charmed by Shige's speech. All that bitching about uchiwas and the bills was absolutely endearing. He's not a winner like Pi, that much is clear but he's so earnest and warm and human you have to love that. Also Koyama's little Shige promotion campaign was so damn sweet.

In terms of visuals I think everyone looked pretty good. Even Koyama which is a lot coming from me. But for me this concert was all about Shige. I think he's just amazing in this particular time period. I really like his hair but it's rather his general aura, his own unique charm. I can't stop looking at him and can't even comprehend how anyone can fail to like him.

Tegoshi made his cross-dressing debut in Murarisumu. I have no words for the song itself but I definitely think it went a level up with his appearance. But rather than that I was surprised he actually dressed back into the outfit for the encore. He clearly liked the attention it got him. But he did get hit upside the head by Koyama and YamaPi. And it seemed the skirt felt really awkward so he changed into a t-shirt for double encore.

Assorted screens as always:

@темы: NEWS., Concerts

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I am awesome again

This Sunday I was sitting at a bar and suddenly this song started playing and I was like "Hadashi no Cinderella Boy"! But of course it was that. It was some 90's pop song, I think it was E-type or something. I was like, OK. But today I was looking at the NEWS song composers and turns out it was composed by the Swedish team! Which is awesome because E-type is also Swedish, you know. That explains it.

@темы: match, yes, I have too much free time on my hands

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I Live to ship

I just watched Live Winter Party Diamond and it will probably take me at least a few days to finish the review but this little gem can't wait that long.

THIS. I swear there's more chemistry here than in all 3 of the Tegomass concerts. I wasn't even going to ship them but...

@музыка: Daft Punk - Around the World

@темы: NEWS., my!gif, slash

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“Okay, I forgive you.” Shige said against Tegoshi’s lips.

“I forgive you.”

“I didn’t…”

“Shige, shut up. Do you have a bed here?”

kumohime102, "Invisible"


Apparently I haven't read all Tegoshige fics in existence yet. Good. There's hope yet.

@темы: fanfix

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The shots were good though. Unexpected, but welcome. I kinda always wanted to do shots. Repeat in a week? y/y

@темы: musings

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"Why You Don’t Mess with Massu" - a gifset by me.

[Ya-Ya-yah 2004.09.26 Area Volleyball Showdown]

For Alex. Thank you for today.

@темы: NEWS., my!gif

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Tegomasu no Uta+Tegomasu no Ai

Tegomasu no Uta was a cute concert. It wasn't spectacular of course but it was nice. I didn't like most songs and 2 hours of concert was a bit too long for me. What else? Tegoshi is dressed like an 11-year old girl. A pretentious one. Koyashige crashed the party in Osaka - how sweet! and of course the pink Princess dress... Massu, that's not very princely of you!

The main question that this concert provoked in me was: Is Tegomass really Jonhnnies? Because their level is way out of line. The have good stages, good songs, good costumes, a cool band who can play any genre and a complete lack of juniors who always ruin things for me.

Tegomasu no Ai was great.

...

I think it was a very even concert, one without highs and lows. I haven't found any new song to love. They all sound good live but there wasn't even one that stood out too much for me. However, you could see that they improved since last tour. Highway sounded more powerful too but not as awesome as in TnM. I really like Kiss as the last song though. It felt very touching and you could see the boys getting really emotional. There was a lot of talking but I was able to get most of it so I enjoyed it. Also turns out Massu can play the keyboard. You! Why don't you play as a band already?

What I didn't like about the DVD was the extra footage. The songs were so random and without a proper introduction, it felt kinda messy. I'd prefer to just have them in the main concert. Well, apart from Boku no Cinderella. And then there was Ai no Naka de... which was very sweet but with the background footage it felt like a Tegomass love song. Not that I mind.

Talking about visuals Tegoshi's first costume surpasses every level of ridiculous so I just try to take it for granted. You know, the unchanging pre-teen girl fashion. But then Massu's a kind of has pre-teen boy fashion so it's ok.

Documentary:

Massu didn't give Tegoshi present for his birthday so he decided it was better late than never (or he won't get his next time). Tegoshi was really like WTF? "Now is the furthermost time from my birthday in a year". And of course it was very predictable in its abundance of skulls but Tegoshi seemed really delighted. Bless him.

KoyaShige visited like nice parents and you could tell they didn't just come to show off. It was really sweet. But I didn't really like the appearance of other NEWS members later on. They looked like they were forced into it. Tegoshi's cosplay was lovely though.

The part where Tegoshi was supposed to play the keyboard for Massu but instead he let the band guy play while he took a banana from somewhere and began to eat it in a very blatant manner. I don't even.

Also you have to Aww~ at how the babies got emotional at the end. Massu was trying so hard to keep it in and he was trying to calm down while Tegoshi talked but after a few sentences his voice cracked and he had to make a pause to collect himself.






Conclusion: Tegomass concerts are kind of amazing. There are no mixed emotions, isn't anything depressing or creepy except that they should be taken in small doses because otherwice your teeth might rot. They're like a soft warm blanket, a medicine for a sore heart.

@темы: Tegoshi Yuya, Concerts

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Ya-ya-yah

Even I'm surprised that I'm actually writing a whole post on this but I felt like it so whatever. Ya-ya-yah is really old and ridiculous and features very young kids. But I saw these kids as grown-ups so it was interesting to see how they got molded.

Note: That's a ToraShige. There were 10 different animals but...

The show started in January 2003 so at this point there was no NEWS, only the K.K.K. team. Tegomass joined by Autumn and Koyama went to become a co-host which was only natural since he was way too old to participate anyway. The show went for 4 years ending in 2007 but all of the episodes I was able to get except one are from 2003-2004. A lot of it was lame and I didn't really like most of the kids there but it provided great insight into early character development and some parts were really amusing. Like Massu's AiQ which was very pointless but super-adorable.

I have to say Tegoshi was kind of amazing even back then. There was the episode where they paranked him setting up a series of really unfortunate and embarrassing events but he didn't even waver. He was just a kid and a newbie but he didn't look lost at all, with a firm resolve he just kept saying that he did all he could and it wasn't his fault.

Also I could understand why Shige was talking about feeling 'elite' and then crushed. K.K.Kity existed for 2 years ending up with just 3 members with Koyama as the leader, they got on well and seemed to have some privileges as Koichi's special unit. Though they were secondary participants they still looked very confident. Then they were thrown together with Tegomass and 4 others and got lost behind the cool Senpais Pi and Ryo and the vocal prowess of the kid who just got there.

I did research and found out that Ya-ya-yah didn't really work out. Initially there were 8 members, but by the time the show began they were down to six. As the show was closed in 2007 two of those debuted as Hey! Say! Jump! while Taiyou left JE. Eventually in 2010 Shoon also left JE so the band was officially over. I quite liked the two latter boys, they were really cute as kids but didn't really grow up well.

@темы: NEWS.

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I remember debating whether I should drink the second strawberry screwdriver since (I already had an orange one) I wanted to look tough in front of my girl friends but at the same time I was already tipsy and really didn't want to get wasted in front of the guy I liked. Then I woke up with all of my body hurting like it was broken.

@темы: Dreams

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For what its worth

I still have the main post to finish and several other but I don't really feel like doing it so for now I just want to thank you four for coming into my life. I really am blessed to have you right now. Everything sucks so much but your warmth soother my heart in this cruel winter. Even if it's pointless and superfluous I love you.

@темы: NEWS.

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It's Friday the 13th. I never really cared about it. But she does now. I've been too caught up in my own problems but I forgot what it's like when someone close to you is going through hell and you feel helpless. I remember watching Memoirs of Teenage Amnesiac and thinking that the girl really reminds me of some one but sadly my premonition came true. It really happened. She decided it's her cross to bear, but it's ours, our lives won't be ok for a long time. My cycle shifted by 9 days from the stress. It's been so bad that my CNS did damage control and dulled my emotions so I don't really get upset anymore, there's only dull pain. But it's just the surface, I feel guilty every time I laugh. God help us all.

@темы: family, angst

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I discovered this awesome thing on Twitter - there are these NEWS bots, specifically NEWS pairings bots that post relevant pictures and quotes every several hours. Someone did an awesome job with these. There are lots of magazine cuts and the text is typed out nicely and easy to translate. You can also see the popularity of pairings in Japan by the number of followers.

Shigetego - 7,531

Shigemasu - 6,872

Tegomasu - 9,469

Koyatego - 8,859

I didn't find Koyashige one surprisingly, nor Koyamassu. But I don't care about those anyway.

By the way, I've always wondered how the pairing names are decided upon. I mean they always use them in magazines and stuff. Somehow the order always seem to match by idea of who should be... you know, theoretically.

@темы: NEWS., slash

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Weapon in Mind

The end of the year proved to be a solace in terms of music.

It's a good album. The main themes are still the same but the music has changed. Songs like 'Fuck you' and 'All the love' are very unusual. Somehow adding some catchy beats to these sad vulnerable songs worked well. Though I've only been following Maria for several years I can see her mature with every album and it makes me feel glad. Though her problems are quite different from mine I can still identify with it. I guess it's partly because we're the same year. Or because rather than an artist I see her as a deeply hurt girl trying to mature and find her way in life and I can't but sympathize.

@темы: review

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父よ、あなたはえらかった

The timing for this movie couldn't have been more perfect. Obviously my first priority was Shige but as soon as I found out what the movie was about I knew it was going to be good and I was right. Although it touches upon the subject of politics and the significance of civilian protests the main point is the generation gap and learning to understand what really matters. I really like how it basically tells a story but doesn't force a conclusion upon you. I think it's very warm and touching without being ridiculously idealistic and sappy like a lot of Japanese movies.

From a more personal point of view I could really identify with Masaru. Not just his character and life situation but the way he was basically just an observer of the events, the teller of the story. I think Shige did a pretty good job. I really liked his singing parts too. Shige isn't a great singer but his voice is nice and low and it's so good to see him play guitar. I especially liked the scene where he sings Kiseki, that was how I found out about this movie in the first place. It's really random and sloppy and so lovable.

@темы: movies

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I was glad when she brought a bottle of Martini last night. I uncapped it and got to drinking. I had like two full glasses of it but even then I was stark sober. This is a fucking curse with no escape.

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The tiny sliver of hope of several days ago now seems like a drunken vision. Hope seems like an old artifact I can't afford. No matter how much I try there are things outside my room, outside my house that will crush any peace of mind I might have found for a fleeting moment.

@темы: myself

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Has it been 4 years since I quit smoking? And yet on days like today I crave a cigarette so much I want to cry. But that's a luxury I cannot afford.

@темы: musings

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I'm at the stage of avidly reading NEWS interviews, mostly those from the last two years and I'm really charmed. They are so damn adorable and funny and sometimes I want to quote half of the stuff they're saying. Today I totally fell in love with the DUET 12.2011 - NEWS WARM PLACE. It's a detailed group account of that one time Shige invited everyone to his place and deeply regretted it afterwards. Or so he says.

M: Ah, the 8th November is the anniversary of my entrance in the Jimusho!!
S: Really?! Let's celebrate it at Massu's place!
K-T-M: .....
S: Why so silent?
K-T-M: Shige's place is obviously better.
S: Why!!
M: Because our warm place is Shige's home.
K: The place where we can relax.
S: I don't feel relaxed at all!
T: Hushh! Why do you have to say this! You know we all love you, no?
S: You don't love me, you just love to have a place where you can do whatever you want.
K: You never change~ Shige is the one who can always heal us!
T: It's true!
M: Of course!
K-T-M: We really love Shige a lot, right? So we'll come to play with you again!
S: Ok, I'll change house.
T: Eh? In a bigger place?!
M: To do that only for us...

The perfect combination of trolling and Member Ai.

@темы: NEWS., inter:views, Shige is my spirit animal