Starting with the instrumental track, Nakata busts out the real drum kit like he did with Puppy love on the GAME album (it being my 3rd favourite track overall). Everything else sounds like good old Perfume to me. I especially love the hat line throughout. The bassline is fairly standard, nothing particularly rumbly but carries well. The real feature instrument is the piano and electric keyboard. The arpeggios throughout the song really add the dreamy effect and the simple touches Nakata adds in are the icing on an already delicious cake.

And for the topping? I like strawberries. There happens to be 3 strawberries with the names of a~chan, nocchi, and kashiyuka on this Dream Fighter cake. Like most Perfume singles, I find the melody to stick to me like syrup does on pancakes. Not the runny kind, but the really thick and slow kind. Hrmm… molasses?

I guess syrup should stick since the ladies’ outfits are a syrupy yellow and are really sweet in all senses of the word. As usual, they assume their roles as the classy one, the girly one, and the leggy one. I just have to say that kashi’s boots are definitely made for walkin’ if you know what I mean.

Product packaging is cute. Even the obi paper is textured and shimmery like the insert that has cute solo pictures of each of the ladies.

The B-side, Negai, is a nice treat for the quiet technopop types. People have been calling it macaroni part 2. I think that it feels a bit more emotionally charged than macaroni. It’s probably because it’s slower and less playful. As slow and chill macaroni is, it’s still got a bit of pep in its step. Negai, however, just makes me want to lie down and reflect on things.

Overall, love the package and hope this keeps going.

I think it looks pretty slick. What do you think?

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.

I need my Dream Fighter CD+DVD to come so I can get an HQ cap of that scene.
I’ll update it when I can.

In other news, I now have 6 draft articles.

*sigh*

Anyway, what I was trying to accomplish with this mix was my desire for it to be in a technopop styling. Based on the start of the track, I thought it was going to. But no. This is me doing what I thought Tan Tan Taan would be, in my styling.

Sup.

This remix has been pretty heavily influenced by the dubstep genre which I’ve been listening to quite a bit, especially the works of XI. I love the smooth rumbling basslines and deep kicks of the genre and wanted to give Dream Fighter the real dreamy sound that I’ve had imagined for it. The heavy use of reverb does the trick to provide the dream-like atmosphere. For some weird reason, with the Aaa~ part cut into fragments, it sounds more like a string instrument.

Anyhow, enjoy this latest mix.

I have 4 articles in draft and can’t seem to find any spare time to work on them.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at blmHQ. Life’s happening. Darn you, life.

Ah well. A person can only do so much.

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.

Perfume - Take Me Take Me: Expert 10
Lots of hands. I made it to get down and get funky. lol. I just wanted to have more opportunities to do my cross-legged thing. I should probably tape it so I don’t have to explain it though… ugh… lol nevermind. NEXT!

High-King - Cinderella \ Complex: Hard 10
This was definitely fun to chart because of how chaotic the vocals are (using chaotic in DDR terminology). I also wanted to play around with different timing gimmicks and I think it turned out well. I still think there’s room for an expert chart but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Kusumi Koharu - Konnichi Pa: Expert 11
I just made this for the lulz and maybe from a suggestion from Kirarin☆Snow of ★MINI MONI MANIA★ but it’s actually a fun chart… if you can handle jumpstream and 16ths at 165bpm. Doesn’t sound so bad when I say it, but it tires me out a bit.

C-ute - Tokaikko Junjou: Hard 9, Expert 12
This one I made a little while ago actually. I still have to make a medium for maiZe of fields of maiZe and BerryZ but haven’t quite gotten around to that. Nothing too groundbreaking in these charts but I find them challenging and the song’s quite fun.

Berryz Koubou - Yuke Yuke MONKEY DANCE: Expert 11
A few gimmicks ahead. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this song but since 5 came out, it’s been popping up whenever I put the album on and all I could see were arrows. These arrows.

Pendulum - Mutiny: Expert 11
12th notes make my life. This song has a lot of them thanks to the drumming pattern. Beware the minefields.

Pendulum - Showdown (Long Version): Hard 10
I made this for a friend to help her with her stamina, timing and jumps. You be the judge and watch this video of me doing it.

Enjoy!!

Also, comments, suggestions, and requests are ALWAYS WELCOME

My opinion of MEG, when I first reported on her, was iffy but optimistic, but now is quickly approaching fanboy status. There’s something about her singles that makes everything better regardless of your mood before listening. I find her to be the happy medium between the supercuteness of Perfume and the clubby epicness of Suzuki Ami and quirky enough to be compared to Otsuka Ai. What a combination…

I only watched the PV once before the LE CD+DVD came to my doorstep, mostly out of my fanboyish loyalties but also since I’ve been busy with life. I must say, while I do miss the neko suits, the real cats were pretty freaking cute. The “special effects” were fun to watch and MEG’s just beautiful as always. Oh, and the dance version PV on the DVD is LOVE for obvious reasons.

As for the songs themselves, I just can’t repeat myself enough when I say MEG’s singles put permasmiles on my face. PRECIOUS is textbook MEG technopop. If you don’t have the ears for electronic music, this might sound like every other MEG single. But for myself, the kicks are nice and heavy as I come to expect with MEG now, and the snare is full without being over-bearing. The electric piano, which is now a staple to this type of MEG song, opens well while the various synths carry the song well. While I don’t find the bass line to be as prominent as from other songs, it still peaks out at times and provides that steady foundation for the rest of the song to be layered on top of. Like most her singles, the chorus is incredibly catchy and gets stuck in my head. What really pulled me in was the bridge and the way she holds those notes. The end of summer mix doesn’t really do much more to the song other than offer a beachy feel with the acoustic guitar and extra percussion. Also, the electric piano has more presence throughout the song.

CANDY is a slower, chill song… that is, until about half way when Nakata pulls out the big guns: deep, dark kick drum and fuzz bass. While the bass is quiet and the song is only 90bpm, it doesn’t fail to entertain me. MEG spends the whole song in her higher registers which I enjoy for this type of song. I don’t know about how much staying power the song has but I’m enjoying it for now. I just wish Nakata went with a tempo increase or a different drum line but that would change the song’s feeling all together. I guess what I’m saying is that CANDY has remix potential.

All in all, another great single by MEG. She’s cute and quirky and makes me smile. If you enjoyed MEG’s previous singles, she doesn’t venture too far from her comfort bubble but I’m quite happy with her style and hope she keeps on going for as long as she can.