Through boylikesmusic, I was introduced and welcomed to International Wota and got to know a fantastic group of people who I enjoy chatting with on a daily basis. It was through this connection with IW that I started podcasting (thanks to pengie and wu) and released 2 episodes. Though I haven’t really been releasing, I have plans for another one. I won’t bother posting a release date since I have to think about content.

Though podcasting is the only “new” thing I’ve done this year, boylikesmusic has also served as a place for me to showcase the by-products of my hobbies: remixing, and stepcharting. I’ve been doing both long before I started this blog but just sent things out to friends who wanted to hear it via me sending the file to them personally. Now, I can just post it up on here and any one who’s subscribed can get it without me telling them, though I’m still guilty of doing some shameless self promotion through word of mouth and youtube… hur.

But anyway, on to the gushy stuff. I just wanted to thank all you high ups at IW for keeping things interesting and doing what you do. It’s a tough job and there’s no better people for it. I’m talking to you as well, sis. Special shouts to Ray, Pengie, Broom, Wu, Henkka, and Craig for covering me whenever they do. <3. I've been in the shower with 2 of you already as payment. I'd also like to thank the passengers of a white, unmarked van, a few stalkers, as well as anyone who's left a comment or didn't leave a comment but listened to or played a chart or anything from here. Without the interest, I just be writing and creating for myself.
Which is cool.
But.
I like comments <3.
Even if it's just to say I suck. :3

WIth that, I BAKED MUFFINS. *eyes pengie*
THEY'RE CORNBREAD.

Techno-Pop Sweetheart Aira Mitsuki returns after the (what I believe to be) success of her debut album, “C.O.P.Y”, with ROBOT HONEY. I say successful because C.O.P.Y sold just 400 copies less than Perfume’s Complete Best Limited Edition. For this entry, I’ll be commenting only on the PV while saving the actual music commentary for when I get the chance to listen to the single. All I’ll say for now is that it’s super-cute!

As for the PV, though it’s been out for a few weeks already, let me start by saying “finally”. ROBOT HONEY’s close-ups, dance shots, and a few situational moments and really showcase Aira who is pretty cute in the PV. I find her previous PVs to be perverse and often baffling since they didn’t really show her off unlike other female, or female-led, artists. Colorful Tokyo Sound NO.9 had some dancing but nothing particularly in focus. China Discotica had some close-up shots but they were pretty lifeless (kinda reminded me of a few of the early Berryz close-up shot PVs). GALAXY BOY was just … special >_<.

But onto PV specifics, while better than her previous, I can negatively scan a few things in the PV. For example, the dance is a little cheesy but that’s ok; it’s the good kind of cheese. A few of the close-up shots lack energy but they don’t keep it on her long enough for me to actually care THAT much. And those are the cons when I’m actually looking for them. Otherwise, everything about this PV is what I expect of PVs. The flavor overall is quite tasty. Cute. All the outfits are cute. Totally fits the song. I just need a translation. Also, the mini-Aira was adorable with her key-bow in her hair.

Overall, yay. I wonder how her next will do.

Tour of the Americas Flyer

You remember that feeling of being a kid at Christmas? I felt that 2 Saturdays ago while attending this show. The whole feeling of the night was something unforgettable. I actually watched We Will Rock You, the Queen musical, earlier that day which won’t get its own review post but it’s definitely worth a viewing if you can make it to one! A couple of things didn’t happen as they should have but the night was definitely awesome and intense given this is the group that, in my opinon, had the best album of 2005 (with Hold Your Color).

XI on the ones and twos

The show was going on the same night Nuit Blanche was going on in Toronto. I could care less about contemporary art. I don’t have the mental mind state for it. But anyway, I just found out today that the opening act, Mystical Influences, couldn’t make it out. I’ve never heard of him before and I thought it to be odd that they start a Drum & Bass show without a D&B DJ or something. Ah well. Upon further research, I found out that another local DJ made it out that goes by the name XI. He spins grimy DubStep tracks. I wasn’t in the mood for it that night since it was I was expecting D&B but I’m actually listening to his mixes available for download off his MySpace while writing this up. It’s pretty hypnotic. But anyway, I got into Kool Haus half way through his set. Wasn’t feelin’ it but it was good for what it was. It’s pretty fkn awesome now that I’m listening to it while in a mood to listen to it. As expected, there was a decent crowd just camping the stage area waiting for Pendulum to come on. The people I was with at the time wanted to sit in the lounge area so I went with them for a bit but then we decided we’d get in on the crowd action. We managed to sneak into the middle and hung out there for a bit then they left me for one reason or another and I managed to get a spot right up against the front fence. Best place ever.

Kodish's Kit of Doom

So Pendulum gets on at 12 something and I’m just going bananas while they start off with Showdown, off the In Silico album, then directly into Fasten Your Seatbelts, my favourite track off the Hold Your Color album, which was just intense live. That and everyone around you is jumping. I probably crushed some poor person’s toes. Or maybe a few people’s… I dunno. I didn’t care. All the rest of the songs blur from here on out but I was having a hell of a time. I know they did Mutiny and it was awesome. I know they did The Other Side because that was another fun mosh song. It was too bad that there was no Tarantula or Masochist. Either way, I think it was one hell of a show for THEIR FIRST SHOW IN CANADA. wtf.

Post show, you can ask me about what happened if you care. I’d rather not put it up here just in case XD It’s kinda lulzy now that I think about it but… heh.

PENDULUM. LIVE. IS. AWESOME.

Hit them up if you’re into live D&B.

Also, I put up a video of Mutiny on Youtube. See if you can find it before they take it off.

Also, Pendulum’s Official Website. That might come in handy for people who want to know more about them.

The winner is off the forthcoming debut album of Aira Mitsuki, “COPY”, called Galaxy Boy.

It’s a happy, epic, club techno-pop song whose melody sticks to you like a skin-tight shirt on the hottest day of the year. Right out of the gates, the tune of the chorus infects and her signature voice dazzles. Instrument selection is nothing new but still manages to keep it all fresh. I’d have to say that the bass line (even with a low quality PV rip) makes me smile. I don’t know what it is with songs with this particular bass pattern, it just makes me happy.

My only beef with Aira Mitsuki is the quality of her PVs. None of them are very entertaining and Galaxy Boy is no exception. IT IS HORRID. She had a dance for Colorful Tokyo Sounds NO.9 which sparked a controversy and I haven’t looked for lives for her other two singles but none of them make it to the PV. If my being a fan were based solely on PV quality, frankly, I wouldn’t be one. So in my case, you can say that her looks has nothing to do with her success. I like the sound of that.

If you’re wondering why love the world didn’t win song of the summer, to be honest, it had to grow on me a little. I’m in love with it now but I wanted something with a little more *unf* like what we have here with Galaxy Boy. But anyway, expect a full album review after the album releases on September 3rd. Until then, party on!

Buy from CDJapan
Copy [Limited Edition] Aira Mitsuki	Copy [Regular Edition] Aira Mitsuki

Audio Only.
Good for exercising.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dm0tiempjze

I gotta start off by saying HOLY FKN CRAP. I SAW MAXIMUM THE HORMONE.

Now that that’s out of the way…

I took the train downtown because it’s been snowing penguins and polar bears all day. I picked up a friend and met another friend in the subway system and, together, we enjoyed an awesome dinner and some hot sake to warm ourselves up from the trek from the subway station to the venue. We arrived at a small but cozy club and they were, just chilling in a corner prepping.

While the first band in the showcase came on, I decided to go up and ask MTH to sign my CD. The language barrier was a bit of LOLful. I walked up to Nao and I just pulled out the my sharpie and CD and did the mock signature hand wave over the paper and said “Sign, please?” And she asked if I spoke Japanese, I said No :( But then, one of their people came up and said something that sounds like “official” which ended up being “after-the-show” but Daisuke-han came up to me and said “After the show, I promise!” full out english which was awesome. Then Nao high-fived me and said “OK!”

BTW, it’s Canadian Music Week in Toronto which is kinda funny depending on how you look at it. It should be renamed to something like Music Week in Canada since with Canadian Music Week, one could assume all the bands are Canadian which is far from the truth. It was this time last year when I was first introduced The Pipettes via the Toronto Star (one of the city’s most read newspapers) and they’re totally from the UK. *shrug*

So the first band in the Kathedral CMW showcase was this Australian band called Late Nite Access and they were pretty cool. The funniest thing was that everyone was a good 3-4 metres away from the stage as they performed. The second that they finished, everyone moved up. It was pretty clear that everyone was there for MTH. That and looking in the audience, there were enough Asians and even a few DeathNote fanboys/girls in gothy cosplay. Skipping to post MTH, there was practically no one at the stage. Everyone was off getting their stuff signed by the four and taking pics. My friends, who were waiting for me to get my stuff signed, said that the band going after MTH didn’t even do anything since there was no one really paying attention. After I got my stuff signed, we ducked out but I had a good reason: The last train out of Toronto back to eastern suburbia left at 12:15am. MTH’s set ended at 11pm and I still had to get my stuff signed which took a little bit considering everyone else in the venue was trying to get their stuff signed as well. I made it back to the train station a good 15 minutes early and everything turned out great.

Rewind two hours. Everyone rushed up to the stage and I managed to get a front row spot on the right, right in front of Ryokun. I can’t quite remember the whole setlist but they played all the ones I really wanted to hear minus the classic ROLLING1000tOON. I can remember What’s up, people?!, Buiikikaesu!! Zetsubo Billy, Koi no Megalover, and a few songs I recognized but just can’t quite recall. They’re totally fkn awesome live. My words definitely can’t bring put the experience to justice… Just go watch them. Totally high energy. Totally high everything. Everything was perfect.

Post show, the roadies were taking their amps off the stage and one I noticed a pick fell off one of them which my friend picked up. Totally awesome. Except that she got it signed by Ue-chan. Completely awesome. Then she gave it to me. For the win. This all happened while I was off getting pics and my CD signed by Daisuke-han, Nao, and Ryokun who were at the other end of the club. Totally awesome people. Daisuke said “We’ll be back soon!” after he signed my CD and I snapped my pic. When I walked up to Nao, she’s like “OH! YOU! I REMEMBER!!” She asked “Not Japanese?” I said yes. “Uhh, chinese?” I said No and replied with “Filipino.” She said “OHH. So like Japanese then?” I said yes XD. Then I snapped my pic and shook her hand and said arigatou! Ryokun was awesome enough to draw the dude on my CD and I snapped the pic and said arigatou and went on my merry way back to the pals who were around where Ue-chan was. Then I did the signy thing with Ue-chan and snapped the pic and my friend presented me with the pick.

I smiled all the way home. The trek through the snow back to the subway station was nice and warm since all the rocking out got all of us worked up. I’m still all starstruck and in awe of what just happened… Hands down, AWESOME NIGHT.

I can’t say anymore other that I have to leave for work in 2 hours
and I haven’t slept. Damn you, Daylight Savings Time.

UPDATE: What fun would this post be without a little video…?
Koi no Megalover. Visit the youtube page for a short description of the story behind the taping. Sorry for the shakiness. You can’t rock out standing still. It’s just impossible.

UPDATE 2: Other videos are starting to come up including this one filmed from the left side, backstage.
Here’s them doing What’s up, people?! I actually regret not recording this myself but thanks youtube user! I’m visible for most of it in my Raptors (red) 7 Bargnani Jersey with my Black Argyle Hoodie.

UPDATE 3:

Dear Member:
This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by VAP INC. claiming that this material is infringing

on both videos. The funny thing is that the 2nd video I put on this entry was from the people traveling with MTH probably for a Special Edition or Limited Edition release or whatever and they put it up on youtube and their record label took it down.