I'm going to have to do a friends cut. I was just going to do it, but I guess it's bad form not to do a little note or something.

There's a number of people I had friended who I haven't talked to in months, who have appeared to have abandoned their journals, who I don't really have anything in common with outside of fandom, who I never really talk about anything substantial with, and/or who I know IRL but don't see/share interests with any more, and it kinda weirds me out not knowing if you're reading what I post or not. Yes, I have and use a ton of friends-filters based on subject, but still.

This doesn't mean I don't like you or whatever. But I've wanted to do this for a while and tonight I'm grumpy enough to do it. Those of you who I know from jrock, I'll still see you around for fandom stuff. Just not so much personal stuff, okay?

#1 calm-me-down song for Japan:
Higeki Ha Mabuta wo Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu by Dir en grey

#1 get-me-excited song for Japan:
Dear Tokyo by SID

I'm doing this even I was NOT TAGGED by elfling_eryn. >(

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

1. Sweet Powder--Merry
2. Blind Romance--Merry
3. Bruisy Night--Merry
4. The Shadow--Matsumoto Kazuyuki
5. Kyomu No Owari Hakozume No Mokushi--The Gazette
6. Drain Away--Dir en grey
7. The Final--Dir en grey

I'm not tagging anyone becuase I've done this before. I'll up the songs later this weekend!

I should have done half this post a week or two ago, but oh well. I've been doing my thing of listening obsessively to a few songs over and over, so I don't have a lot of new songs, even though it's been over a month. Here they are, though!

ROSIER by Luna Sea. I can not stop listening to this song. It's going to be my spring/early summer song, I can tell. Like Filth in the Beauty was last year, this will be the song that I'll be made fun of for rocking out to while driving on Route 30.

Melty Love and Sumire September Love by Shazna. Thank you so much, dazzlingdespair, for introducing me to the happy lovefest that is Shazna, and for modding melty_lovers, where I got these. To the people on my friendslist who were looking for happy songs? MELTY LOVE. I challenge you not to smile and do a little goofy dance in your head. Or for real. *flails* I LOVE IT.

The Final by Dir en grey. Dir en grey is one of those bands that I'm going to very slowly discover the songs I like and then listen to one at a time till I tire of it and find a new one. So.

Sympathia by Versailles. Epic metal ballad. I am SUCH a sucker for these. :D Songs that you can have your first dance to and then listen to on repeat when you break up and are wallowing in your angst are....well, I don't know what they are. Nostalgic for me? Yes, I think that's it exactly.

Quick post because I've suddenly developed a lot of new favorite songs lately. They are:

Kusatta umi de oborekaketeiru boku wo sukuttekureta kimi by Kagerou. LOVE. I don't think I've listened to a song this frequently since Sweet Powder. Though for different reasons. >_>; rudetuesday-If you don't know/have this song, try it!!

ROSIER Cover by High and Mighty Color. I was rocking to this at work today and Mindy asked if I was having spasms or something. Coincidently, elfling_eryn mentioned High and Mighty Color recently. I might have to find more stuff by them...

Tsuki to tawamure by Duel Jewel. This song makes me feel cozy. ^__^

Shuennokisetsu by Kagrra. I listen to this one because it makes me think of Spring. I want Spring to come so badly.

Glitter by Phantasmagoria. Because of this dorkery which made me laugh so much yesterday. <3 (And BTW, if anyone happens to have a better quality of this that they'd like to up for me, I'd really love you!)

I have some ground to cover since I cheesed out on the last song post. I'll start with the most disant and move to the present, kay?

PEACH by Otsuka Ai --Before I went to Chicago, I got hooked on the Hana Kimi drama, and after watching it all over the space of a few days, I got the ending theme song in my head. This has been renamed "VEET" at work. Don't ask.

Darkwave Surfer and Freeeze by Aural Vampire--After seeing DJ SiSeN in Chicago, I had a week or two where I craved a similar sound. This was the result. It was not a phase that Dave was thrilled with, but it was well received at work.

IIDK by Vidoll-- When I was in Johnstown last weekend, Dave said that if my ipod battery died, I could call him and he'd sing Vidoll songs to me. ^___^ This song made such a good impression oh him that he remembered the name of the band. That's serious. This is the man who can only visually identify Miyavi and Reita, and just recently broke himself of calling Reita "Rita". -__-;

Additional Cause for Sorrow by Deadman--Thanks to rudetuesday, I've fallen for deadman, particularly this song. Barbra, I really think you might like this song. Deep inside, though you may not admit it. :)

Shining by Girugämesh-- I should have listed this one two posts. I like most of the songs off this album, but Shining has more listens than any of the others. Although Dance Rock Night is close. Listening to them both now, I'm not sure which I like better. Both!

Orion by SID-- I love the title Sentimental Macchiato for an album. Maybe because hazelnut caramel macchiatos are my drink. And I love SID. Orion may not be the best song on the album, but it fulfills my cheese-factor needs. <3

GUREN by Gazette. I LOVE IT. LOOOOVE. And it has nothing to do with Uruha's lacy gloves and pirate boots. Let's just say that the last song I listened to this obsessively was Merry's Sweet Powder. Ruki's voice is particularly a;slkdjfsl and just.... Yes. I've listened to it so much in the past week, it's sad really.

And that's it!

Oh, saloma_lape, I was originally thinking of Guren as the song you'd like when we were talking, but I think you'd like the Girugamesh as well--it is rock though, so save it for your next cleaning venture! ;)

I can't sleep at all, so I figured I'd do my 1 year jrock anniversary music post. Here are the songs that got me into jrock. Miyavi, Malice Mizer, and Kagrra. What a blend. XD

Miyavi: Miyavi was the person who really hooked me. These were the first three jrock songs I burned onto a cd:
Jibun Kakumei. THE VERY FIRST. EVAR.
Ashita tenki ni naare. It still always makes me smile. :)
Kimi ni negai wo. This was the first one I played for Barbra. I still don't know how I feel about it. Despite our long-standing history with music and our mutual truce, I still wonder if things might have been different if I had picked another song... :P
Selfish Love--the intro and song. This wasn't on my original cd, but I sure listened to it on youtube enough while waiting for the album to arrive.

Malice Mizer: I actually discovered jrock through Malice Mizer, because I was searching for lolita fashion, and of course that lead me to Mana.
Illuminati. Shocker, I know. :D
Beast of Blood. I am so predictable...
Gardenia. Man, Dave hates this song. And I don't even know why I liked it so much, but I did.
Nocturnal Romance. Yes, I know now that this is actually by Moi Dix Mois. But when I was scouring for music (having not found the wonderful communities here on lj ♥ )

Kagrra,: I saw the Utakata video on youtube, and began searching for music. Somehow, I magically found someone who had zipped 29 Kagrra, songs. It made by budding jrock life.
Utakata. Koto=love. LOVE, I SAY!
Sakebi. More love.
Satsuki. I don't even know what to say about the Kagrra songs. They're just great. *nods*

And there you have it.
Mediafire's being assy, so I'm using megaupload.

I wanted to get this up, since I just nabbed the new Kagrra, album. I'm sure I'll be listening to that all day tomorrow. ^___^

Anyway, here's my current favs! These aren't really in any order--they've all been at the top of my playcount at some point since my last music post. I made a point to listen to previously unlistened-to songs while I was in Johnstown and got a bunch of new favorites.

Setsuna kusa by LiZ. Liz did her LiZ pimp post months ago, but I'm just now really getting into them. I (sorta) sing along with this one on the way to work a lot. It's got a very sweet sound and makes me smile a lot.

Screaming by La'cryma Christi. The more I listen to La'cryma Christi, the more I like them. I need to get more of their stuff, though. I've also developed this weird, yet unexplored, curiosity toward Shuse. I don't know what that's about yet.

Lost Number by Kra. Now, I didn't like Kra when I first heard them, which was pretty early on in my jrock life. But I decided that I was going to give them a fair shake, given my....favortism...toward Yasuno. So I spent an afternoon listening to just Kra and found that they're not so bad after all. :D

Player by Ruvie. I really love Ruvie. They have a "sound" to me, and I haven't decided yet if their songs all just kinda sound the same, or what. But until I do, and probably afterwards, I will keep listening. I really like the instrumental part of this one, where the happy bit (that I swear samples from FF's Balamb Garden theme song) goes into a heavier bit with chimes. It's around the 3 minute mark. Anyway, <3. Oh, and anyone who can help with out with the Ruvie/Luvie conundrum--I'd appreciate it.

Another World by Gackt. This song is so ridiculously upbeat you can't help but smile and laugh at it. And it rhymes! Dave was excited to hear a rhyming jrock song. I would love to see Ilona dance to this song (when she's feeling all better)!

Schwarzchild by D. I didn't listen to this when everyone else was. I still remember Iris's flailing/laughing post over the "German" in it. So I'm behind. What else is new.

Ve-doro by Merry. Songs like this make me horny. Plain fact. Vocal tricks do it for me. I don't like the screamy bits at the end. Not big into screaming in songs. That's why I couldn't get into Burial Applicant for so long. But if I listen to Sweet Powder and the first 3/4 of Ve-doro, that's all I need. ^_~

Zero by Alice nine. Nao's drums at the beginning. That's why. I don't need any more reason than that. I love drums. (Yeah, news flash there, right?) But I do like the song, though. It's not as froufy as some of A9's other releases lately.

There you have it! I should have probably thrown some Giragumesh on here, but I haven't really narrowed the new album down yet. Next time!

I've had a couple of people friend me recently, and I have no idea who you are. That's fine--I like making new friends--but I would like to know a little about you (like what we have in common) and how you found me. It doesn't have to be much. It's not a college application essay. But if you want to read more than my song-of-the-moment updates and this post, then please. Say something. Either to this post or the header post on my main page. I have my journal set to automatically friends-lock posts, so I have to go back and edit them to make them public. So there's no hope that I'm going to slip up and you'll see some juicy tidbit on the sly. Not that I have juicy tidbits. >_>

COMMENT! You know you want to!

I've been pretty mellow this past week and a half, so a lot of my songs are too. *edit* Okay, so only half of them are. But that's a lot for me.

WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF SWEET POWDER BY MERRY. HOMYGOD. This song is like porn for me. And the PV? Guh. I need a Gara icon. WHO'S MAKING ME ONE??? *hopeful glances all around*

Sweet Powder (and Gara's gloves) pwnz all, but here's the rest of them:

es. by Duel Jewel. I know virtually nothing about Duel Jewel, but am going to learn because *runs off to look it up* Hayato's voice is joining Ruki's, Satsuki's, and Loki's in the category of "vocals that make me feel most like me." I know that may not make sense, but it's the way it is. Something with how it resonates.

Isho by MUCC. I'm sorta hot and cold with MUCC. It's like for every song I like, there's three that I don't like. So it takes me a while to find the ones I do like. But I like this one.

end-less by Exist+Trace. I don't have much to say about this one, except if I could sing, this is the type of song I can most see myself performing on stage.

Sabi by Sugar. I REALLY hope Sugar stays together after Koto leaves. I love Loki's lazy deep drawly gothy vocals.

Fragrance by Gackt. Gackt, WTF. I never expected to have him on the playlist (unless it was for Orenji no Taiyou with Hyde *fans self*) It still kinda makes me roll my eyes when I hear it, but oh well.

Promise by Duel Jewel. This song is so fluffy. Hm. Fluffy isn't the word I'm looking for. CHEESY. That's it! But I like it anyway. ^_^

Teru teru bouzu by Charlotte. Yes, I know that this sounds like a slow-dance song from when I was in 8th grade. Maybe that's it's appeal. x_x Charlotte is another new band for me, but I've liked most of what I've heard so far. And the fact that they had a comment where they were all wearing sweatervests didn't hurt, even if they were ill-fitting sweatervests.

Chiisa na Shiawase by SID. It's all enka and stuff, but SID is killer when it comes to these emotional sadness-tinged songs. And through headphones it's great because you can hear all the subtleties of Shinji's guitarwork.


In other things Japanese, has anyone seen the documentary The Great Happiness Space? It's about a Host Club in Osaka. I found it utterly fascinating. I got it from Netflix. Anyway, after watching it I can totally understand how someone could fall for the false romance of a host club. And the one host looked like he could be Uruha's brother. The one top-performing host said that Uruha-host was "lacking charm" but who gives a flying fuck about that? I'd pick him, that's for sure. Anyway, I defintely reccommend watching it and you can d/l it here!! \(^_^)/!!!

If 300 megs at one shot from megaupload is too much at one time for you, I split it into 50 meg batches on mediafire. The links are down in the comments, and can be joined with HJsplit.

I don't have tons of time, so you'll be spared my usual rambling about the songs. :P

Coming Closer by L'Arc~en~Ciel. Big hearts. But you know how I love to sing along with Hyde.

雪月花（ボーナストラック-Setsugekka by Kra. I don't really like Kra, despite my Yasuno fetish. This song has sort of wormed its way in, though Keiyuu's voice kinda works my nerves.

Lhasa by La'cryma Christi. OMG I LOVE THIS SONG. Everyone I know in RL who has listened to it loves it as well.

Mirai Kono by La'cryma Christi. Makes me smile. :D

Mahora by Nightmare. For some reason I never really listened to this, although I have listened to Yuki Sou a lot. (Yuki Sou preceeded this song). I love Mahora x124098320.

Kimi no koe to yakusou by Ayabie. Stolen from Cristal, and moved to the top of the playlist. <3

Hello by Hyde. Hyde. Nuff said.

情景の彼方 (joukei no kanata) by Danger Gang. I just dl'd some Danger Gang stuffs this past weekend and am pretty keen on them. All girls, btw!

It's been too long since I updated a music list. :P This list is already about a week or more out of date, but I still want to post it. Given the funk that I was in at the time of my last music posting, I decided to make a "happy" playlist of songs that kept me upbeat and wouldn't fail to make me smile. With Japanese songs, I don't always read the lyrics/translations, and just go with the feel of the song. I know that's a discredit to Ruki and the others who write such awesome lyics, but until I learn more Japanese it's going to be based more on sound than story, unfortunately.

Anyway, here's my top songs:

Black Cherry by Acid Black Cherry-- Yaaaaaasssssuuuuuu. <3 Some songs are forever linked with the video images in my mind and this is one of them. Also, remember my indecision on my "crush list" between Nao and Shinji? Well, they're both kicked to the curb and Yasu is SO ON this list. But, singer aside, I love this song with it's jazzy rock and raunchy lyrics (yeah, checked 'em on this one!!) Dave also likes this song a lot, and uses it to practice picking out English mixed in with Japanese. I could babble about my love for this song forever.

Cubic'「L/R」ock by Ayabie-- This is one that I saw the PV for first, and it was SO CUTE. I hadn't ever listened to Ayabie before, but really liked this album when i heard it. Which leads me to...

Ai no uta also by Ayabie-- Why I like this but can't stomach Jpop...I have no explanation for it. But this has got to be the fluffiest happiest giddy-with-love song ever.

Regret by the Gazette-- I know Ruki, so I know that they lyrics to this don't match the music, tone wise. But still it's on my happy list for the reason above. And I did just look at the lyrics, and dang if I didn't miss the English bits, and put in English for some of the Japanese. *fail*

Paradise Lost by Ruvie--I like Ruvie a lot, though I don't know much about them. I don't have the lyics to this, so I don't know what's going on. But it sounds kinda hopeful and I LIKE IT.

Caramel by SID-- Hee. This song is so nice and mellow, sweet and comforting. Just like caramel. <3



Credit goes to silvery_night for the Ayabie and probably the Ruvie. I'm not sure where I picked up the others. >_>

I decided to do a music update because I just got a new load of songs, so I'll probably be all wrapped up in them. I'm also coming off a being-sick-makes-me-emo period.

BUT~! Before the songs, a wee celebration. Today, I read my first word in Japanese. It was "welcome" written in hiragana, and it was on a back-to-school poster in the ESL office. I sounded it out, one character at a time, just like on Sesame Street, and then was like, "Oh!! OH!! It means welcome!!" Talk about a lightbulb moment. I was grinning the rest of the day. So, YAY ME!!

Okay, so songs. Be I'm back on a Rentrer en Soi phase. I started listening to Shinwa when Aleilisth's cat died and just didn't stop. That just started my little ReS playlist which also included Misery Loves Poisonous Blue, Thorny Rain Break, Jude, and Just Mad Pain.

Throw in some SID in the form of Aijsai.

THEN! Bust out the Sisters of Mercy (gasp! a non-Japanese band?!) with Marian and Nine While Nine. And Flood I and Driven Like the Snow. OMG, I love every song on First and Last and Always and Floodland. Forget all the new songs I just got. I need to listen to SOM for a while. Again. I will always come back to Sisters of Mercy, no matter what. Listening to them puts me back in DuBois, driving at breakneck speeds through the superhumid nights, either back to Johnstown or on those rare occasions to Pittsburgh to go to see Switchblade Symphony or the Cruxshadows. I MOURN MY LOST GOTH PAST. T______T


And when it all got too much, I turned to LM.C's ~Sora~ *headdesk* LM.C. WTF has become of me? I lose all my gothpoints.


So that's me musically right now. If you take any Sisters of Mercy, let me know, because I'm nosy and want to know if you like it. I also want to make sure they work and are listenable, and I'll fix them if not. Even though I technically am doing my song-of-the-moment posts for my own recordkeeping, I'm always curious about who's downlaoding what. ^__^

Knowledge of jrock is spreading to those I love. Yesterday I read a portion of an interview to Dave. When I said "Reita" he said, "Wait, he's the one with nose strap right?"
"Yes," I grinned.
"What band is he in? Gazette?"
"Yes!"
"And that's the same one as Mindy's guy...the Pretty One?" (Uruha) (note, Dave does not think Uruha is "pretty." It's just our way to identify him.)
"YES!"
"And you like the drummer for them."
"Well, I like a lot of drummers, but yes. Eeee! I love you."

And then I used the Shunkashuutou video to show him the video function of the ipod, and he was amused and oddly fascinated by it. But I think that was because "the school was just like one in any anime." (Yes, it's a Japanese school...) "What band is this, now?" "Alice Nine." In my head I was all HA I'VE GOT HIM NOW!! But if I can identify a 40 ton hopper by sight and know a dozen train line logos, then he's obligated to know more than Miyavi and Malice Mizer, right?

SO, that being said, here are my current top songs:

Libra, by MUCC. I unapologetically like this song. There's songs that I feel a little embarrassed about liking, and that I don't want anyone to listen to because they'll make fun of me (shut up, Jess) but this one I DON'T CARE. Tease away, Mindy. You're still going to hear it at work.

Misshistu Orgel, by Dolly. I want to hug this song. And find the lyrics for it so I can learn it.

Yokusou, by Sugar. I can not get enough Sugar lately. In refined or musical form. And I think the bassist, Koto, is my long-lost Jrock twin brother. Especially since I have freshly re-dyed hair. (finally I have one, Aleilisth!)

People Error, by the Gazette. Yay, quiet piano. <3

Spell Magic, by Acid Black Cherry. Thanks to coiled_iris, this is on *everyone's* list. XD

Yay, more of me uploading and fangirling over songs you probably already know!!! Because I rock like that!

My current number one song that has totally blown away all other songs on my playlist:
Utsukushii, sekai by Ruvie (Luvie? I've seen it both ways) I love it. LOVE IT.

One day I listened to nothing but it and my #2 song: Ouka saki some ni keri (voiceless) by D. Yes, I know, Iris, *fail* for the voiceless version. But I wasn't thrilled with Asagi's voice in it. But the PV for it kicks so much ass. Though Isshi handles a fan better. But Asagi pwnz the sakura petals.

Speaking of Isshi, Gion (Kien) by Kagrra, is on heavy rotation. Yay, Kagrra. Did I tell you that I have a Kagrra, bumper sticker on my car? I think it's the coolest thing (since I lost my Sisters of Mercy and Black Tape for a Blue Girl stickers with my old car).

SID's Natsukoi gets lots of play in my car, and Phantasmagoria's Mikansei to Giruto is floating out there and wanted to be on the list as well.

And Wither and Fentre~into the sky remix~ are both very high on my list still. I heart Rentrer en Soi's non-screamy songs. And Leah taught me how to say their name. XD



Credit goes to silvery_night for the Ruvie album (Thy soul, be beautiful (TypeA)).
Credit goes to yamipandora for the D album (Ouka saki some ni keri-Normal edition).


I don't like this conversational-y link format. I'll go back to lists the next time. Hmph.

I came into work 45 minutes to meet with someone to prepare for an 8:00 meeting. That person didn't show up till 8, so I was left doing everything myself, in a mad panic I might add. The kicker is that I had planned on coming in early to work on MY stuff, not to do someone else's work.

I've been listening to the following songs on constant loop today:
DLN
Fenetre~into the sky remix
Wither
Binetsuka de shatjitsu shita shinso wa atesaki fumei no tegami to naru

Those are my "curl up and vegetate songs." If I was a crying sort, they'd be my "lay there and let tears slowly leak out" songs.

And then, to top it off, I had to take my boss's daughter to the college today, and she had her ipod in. I told her to just plug it into the converter, since I usually like her music choices. She was all happy: "Oh, great! I'm toally obsessed with this song, and it sound so great in a car." A few lines of instrumental music go by. "What is this?" I ask in a low voice. "Oh," she replies perkily, "Guns and Roses!"

Guns and Fucking Roses. On the heels of the MUCC thing. So that wound was all reopened, and I ranted to her about it.

I was offered the opportunity to work from home this afternoon. It's tempting, but I don't have access to all my stuff then, and I can't really afford any more delays on some of these projects. But.... We'll see.

The songs I'm into right now, in no particular order.... Like I did before, clicking on the title will let you download the song. C'mon saloma_lape and _emases_. You know you want to get some jrock goodness.

Otegami--SID I loved this song right off the bat, and then I saw the video for it. And so began my unhealthy obsession with Aki.

Nausea and Shudder--the Gazette My current rocking out song. Yay.

Izon no Niwa--SID Iris knows why.... this song is the smex.

Ochiwa--Naitomea I don't know why exactly. But I've been singing it lately.

Chizuru--the Gazette <3 Ominous with a hint of desperation in Ruki's voice. What's not to love?

Glow in the Sun--D Still on the list. :)

And aleilisth, I'm stealing your link for Rentrer en Soi's Fenetre~into the sky remix~, because that is going to be on my list effective immediately.

I see my theme this time is dramatic and/or sexy. That works for me.

Don't be surprised at the lack of Stacked Rubbish songs. It usually takes me a while to get hooked on a song. They'll be on future lists, I'm sure. But not Calm Envy.

And what's that? Kagrra's feeling left out? Maybe next time, boys.

I am weirded out by the squirrels around here. They don't hop around like squirrels are supposed to move. They *stalk* instead. They creep around on all fours head low and tails straight back so they form one long line. They stalk like cats alligators. And it's weird.


I'm also irked because it's pouring down rain and my umbrella was here at work. Bleah.

Ah, and here are the songs I'm into right now

Yell--SID It's so poppy, but I need upbeat songs right now. And it's a damn catchy little tune.

Glow in the Sun--D This song is a guilty pleasure. It's sweeping and dramatic, and makes me happy.

Nyappy in the World 2--AnCafe Again with the upbeatness. And I can't help but think that this is one of those songs they would remake for a kid's album and have kid's singing it. BUT I DON'T CARE.

Q--Alice Nine I almost have it all memorized, though I haven't really worked at it. And I sing the English parts all mangled-like too. Is that normal?

Yuki Sou--Naitomea This one was on my "sleepy songs" playlist since the beginning, but at the end so I never really heard it. But it apparently has gotten to the point where it wormed it's way into my subconscious and I quite like it. Especially the quiet bit at the end where there's some random chords thrown in.

Edit--I forgot a song!
EDIT EDIT--Okay, I've edited this tiny post twice. That's doin' too much, as Dee would say.
EDIT EDIT EDIT--You can get the songs if you click on their names. :D