My copy of SWEET BLACK just arrived this morning. It’s really cute how it arrived one day (Or a few hours [Because of Japan time]) before Maki’s birthday. Last year I ordered Utada’s discography/videography and it arrived one day before the release of HEART STATION. I’m full of stories when it comes to my international orders.
Here it is! The beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, SWEET BLACK [FIRST PRESS]!
SWEET BLACK [FIRST PRESS]
![SWEET BLACK [FIRST PRESS]](http://alvycunha.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sweet-black-first-press.jpg?w=300&h=259 "SWEET BLACK [FIRST PRESS]")
SWEET BLACK [BACK]
![SWEET BLACK [BACK]](http://alvycunha.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sweet-black-back.jpg?w=300&h=257 "SWEET BLACK [BACK]")
SWEET BLACK [BOOKLET-LESS COVER]
![SWEET BLACK [FRONT]](http://alvycunha.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/sweet-black-front.jpg?w=300&h=256 "SWEET BLACK [FRONT]")
I fell even more in love with the album once I saw it live and in color! At first I was concerned with the cover of the first press edition, but it’s only the booklet cover and it’s still amazing. The picture is very beautiful, actually, and it’s very unique and contains a distinct style of drawing, I really loved it.
The booklet does contain some explicit content, though… Which is very surprising because it looks so harmless, but I don’t understand much of the story-line since it’s all in Japanese, so to me it’s just explicit content, but there must be a very interesting story-line behind it that I’d love to understand! It looks like a very interesting 64 pages to read!
I fell in love with it all over again, especially for Candy. The PVs take a whole other atmosphere when watched from the TV screen and made me fall in love completely with the CD+DVD!
The full review will come out later, and you’ll understand why, when and where this Sunday, as ~12 weeks~ comes to an end!
I’m always impressed when I see Cardcaptor Sakura [Season 3] as my top post. It’s always there, no matter how many amazing posts I write, Sakura is always the reigning queen. It’s amazing. When I wrote that post, I got very few views, but then it suddenly exploded into the Top Posts list one week later and has remained there ever since. Every time another post snatches her crown, it’s a real feat… It doesn’t happen too often, and even if another post does get more views, the weird thing is that she’s still on the top of the Top Posts list. She’s that hesitant to lose her place. Not even the STRIPPER SONGS COUNTDOWN I prepared with .nodame was able to snatch her spot even though it gets more views than Sakura’s post on certain days.
Over the 1-year time period it’s been up, it managed to collect over 7,000 views and currently makes up around 15% of the views of HEART STATION. I’m very thankful for that, because it is an anime that I enjoy very much and have very sweet memories of. I used to watch it a lot when I was very small (Like in first and/or second grade), so re-watching everything last year was very surreal. Especially because I was watching it in Portuguese, the language I used to watch it in when I was a 1st/2nd grader. It was truly a surprise that a simple review that I wrote about the anime was able to grab so much attention. If I ever start watching another anime that I really like, be sure that there will be more reviews!
One thing that I like very much about Cardcaptor Sakura is the cheerful, feel-good quality of the soundtrack. Not only in the opening and closing theme songs, but also in the actual soundtrack of the anime. The instrumentals picked to set the mood through the show are just right and take care of their task so well. I really like the opening and closing themes for the second season, though! (Especially the closing) I didn’t like the opening before, but it grew on me:
Cardcaptor Sakura [Season 2 Opening]
Cardcaptor Sakura [Season 2 Closing]
I’m not sure, but I think these themes weren’t available for the Portuguese version of the anime, so the fact that there wasn’t a translation for the theme songs kind of helped, because translations have the tendency to slaughter original songs. Especially when it comes to TV shows.
The Portuguese version of Catch You, Catch Me is a guilty pleasure of mine, though. I don’t think it’s that bad!
Catch You, Catch Me [Original Japanese Version]
Catch You, Catch Me [Translated Portuguese Version]
I think they’re both really cute.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite episode because the show is pretty much surrounded by many mysteries that don’t seem like they exist until they’re actually solved, and this is great, because you don’t feel lost, and yet, you’re involved with the story line. The first season is my favorite, though.
I remember when there used to be a special set of shows called Toonami in the Brazilian version of the Cartoon Network channel, and it was on right when I came home from school, so I’d turn on the television and keep watching anime from 3 to 6. The ones that I most remember are Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, (Probably because they were the most successful) but there were more and little by little I start to remember random ones that I only watched for several episodes, like Corrector Yui, Super Pig (Even though Super Pig wasn’t from Toonami) and a few others. But Cardcaptor Sakura will always have a special place in my heart.
I used to collect several volumes of the manga (In Portuguese) when I was younger and had all the Clow Cards (Which came with a special Sakura Club magazine), but I don’t have them anymore (The manga and the cards), and in the peak of my Sakura drive, I really wanted to get them back. The first volume, though, is out of print and I’d have to auction it off. The auctions were unsuccessful so I ended up buying the first 3 American volumes of the first season. I guess that’s the equivalent for the first 6 volumes of the Portuguese version:
My 3 Volumes
I’ve read 3/4 of the first one, but put them aside because of school and everything else, but I plan on restarting my graphic novel reading and not waste my super cute American version manga.
Because this week I’m setting up a fantasy mood of memories, who else better to feature other than Lorraine, Carole and Bhavya?
Sakura & Syaoran
They’re the oddest, most hilarious group of BFFs. It’s really hard to describe them because they’re like a mixture of dreamers with an edge that each of them have in a different way. I think it’s better to break them down individually.
Lorraine: Lorraine is so sweet and bitter at the same time. It’s a good mixture, definitely, if you’re on her bright side. I’m so thankful that she stops by every once in a while to comment on my poems and posts, because it surely means a lot! We had some conflicts in the past, but she was also really careful with her words whenever she was involved, and this shows how she really cares about the people in her life! She’s like bubblegum, and you need to chew your way to the fruity interior, and once you’re there, the added flavor will make it worth it!
Comparing someone with bubblegum is so weird. But I think it’s good enough! It makes sense, doesn’t it?
She’s very respectable and knows how to have a good time. She still has a dreamer side to her, and was my anime partner when we were small! We sure have many stories to share from back then and now! And I love it! She’s truly special!
Carole: Carole is more on the cute little friendly side. She makes friends very easily and is also someone to go to when we want to have a good time, especially through conversation. She’s also very careful with her words and this quality makes friendship last so much longer! Because I’m so dramatic and unpredictable, I might end up with a conflict with her as well, but it doesn’t last long because she’s just that social and cute.
It seems like she likes to exercise her creativity because she loves to write stories and drawing. She shares a blog with Bhavya, entitled
“Even though we’re far apart, our friendship lies in our heart..”
and they both write about their experiences, Carole in Brazil and Bhavya in Singapore!
Bhavya: I think that her MSN nickname says it all: Magic Dreamer. She moved to Singapore, but still keeps in touch with us through her blog and whenever we see her online. She’s a sweet Indian girl with a big heart and a naughty side, that’s right Bhavya, we all know it, very open-minded, friendly and supportive of all her friends. She changed a lot since the last time we saw her (It has been 4 years) and we have hilarious conversations.
Just like Carole, she loves writing and drawing and they’re like partners in crime in that area. They have book-long stories together and I admire that, because it’s something I surely don’t have creativity enough to keep up with! Her sense of humor is hilarious and her exotic manners make our times together really funny.
I really appreciate all the support they gave me through these 2 years, and HEART STATION wouldn’t be the same without their kind words! Thank you!
Filed under: Pop Culture
If any of you have been checking out .nodame’s blog, 「♥」asian pop attack 「♥」 (Which you should, because it’s one of the best blogs ever) you might’ve noticed her Top 15 Reviews post, where she recommended some really amazing songs! One of them was Set It Up Now by Lee Jung Hyun. I became immediately addicted to the song and I loved it how .nodame described it as an awesome Stripper song. Now what makes a good stripper song according to .nodame?
To me, a good strip song doesn’t necessarily need lyrics for seduction, only a seducing beat. If it has that underlying beat to it that makes you think of dark and deep recesses, makes you swing your hips and toss your hair, then it’s a good song to strip to.
That’s when we decided to join our A-pop addiction, our writing skills and our inner strippers and make a super hot countdown of the best stripper songs! Here’s .nodame’s very accurate (And entertaining) review of Set It Up Now!
Lee Jung Hyun – Set It Up Now
.nodame Stripper song. Seriously. But an awesome stripper song. It’s very ethereal sounding, with a water drop and this weird acid trip like quality. Lee sings with this light, breathy sound to her voice, one not normally heard when listening to her music.
The song starts out light, but then explodes into the the strip happy track that it is. (”Explodes” is a little strong, but I honestly couldn’t think of a better word). Even then she’s not singing, just whispering and going “oooh.” Her youngest sister wrote the song, and if this is what she comes up with, then she needs to write more.
Certainly one of the best (Stripper) songs out there, really addicting and just awesome! It’s what started it all for this countdown so we hope you enjoy as you listen to our very eclectic mix of this wonderful non-genre that will get you stripping in no time!
Tila Tequila – Stripper Friends
Alvy Obviously, Stripper Friends was made for the strip club, but not because it’s dark and liquid like most songs under this non-genre, but because it’s strong and fierce with fun lyrics. It still has a certain dark quality because of the energy of the instrumentals, that are just made for dancing to… just not the normal kind of dancing. Tila’s vocals are really simple and alluring, and matches the synth of the instrumentals really well. This song is by a girl who used to take her sister’s ID just to get some money in the strip club, so it certainly has the stripper quality we look for, with obscurely fun lyrics as a plus.
Stella Soleil – Runaway Crush
.nodame There’s just something ethereal about this track, from the light beginning to the piano at the very end. A lot of it can be contributed to the synthesized orchestra, and some to the light guitar, but a lot of it has to do with Stella’s high, breathy way of singing. There’s a definite hesitation that works with drawn out melody, and those two combined with Stella’s little “oohs” and “aahs” makes for a great track that has you getting in touch with your inner stripper. Not a beat goes by that doesn’t have me rolling my shoulders, hips, and softly bopping my chest.
Britney Spears – Breathe On Me
Alvy Breathe On Me is a lot more obscure and a lot sexier when compared to Stripper Friends. It’s a mixture of hypnotizing beats, Britney’s breathing and soft vocals with that edge that seems to be present in Set It Up Now as well. The lyrics are pretty much sexual and simple, making the listener blush or want to follow Brtiney’s orders. It’s pretty slow-paced, breathy and it lacks the energy that Stripper Friends has to spare, but that only sets the mood to the song, making it perfect for this countdown. In The Zone and Blackout both have pretty good songs for this non-genre that are worth checking out.
Kyoko – ENAMEL
.nodame You know, this song sounds kind of scary when it starts out, but the beat! Oh, the beat! This is the type of song that has you on your knees wiggling back and forth.
I think the highlight of this song is when Kyoko starts the chorus. The drums, guitars, and synth with her not quite but almost raw voice will make you swing your hair with a prompt follow up of your fingers running through it.
Koda Kumi – JUICY
Alvy This song is pretty different from the others because it doesn’t have that full stripper quality, but it’s one of Kumi’s most sexual songs and one that people can certainly dance to.
It has a bit of a dirty vibe to it, with playful yet raunchy instrumentals and Kumi’s sexy vocals. She proves this song is undressing material on the PV, where she’s teasing the dancers with her moves and the naughty atmosphere of the song and setting, it’ll certainly get you in a naughty mood.
Kalafina – serenato
.nodame Kind of surprising, huh? If there were an instrumental version, I would have used that. But alas, I shall use this one.
The bongos, bass, and instrument that I can’t remember the name to give this a renaissance sound that reminds me of belly dancing. Belly dancing = body rolls. Body rolls = sensual seduction.
First listen of this song will have you doing said body rolls, right out of your clothes. (That’s right, I said that XD)
Christina Aguilera – Nasty Naughty Boy
Alvy Nasty Naughty Boy is metaphorically VERY naughty. Even though Xtina uses metaphors to replace what she’s really trying to say, we sure know what she’s talking about quite graphically. This song is more cabaret-styled, like her whole Back To Basics album, with that vintage, old school sound. This song will surely make you blush as Christina sings out the lyrics with her beautifully strong voice. I see The Pussycat Dolls presenting something like this in their lounge, just like Xtina when she was featured with them.
Annie Lennox – Money Can’t Buy It
.nodame There’s a reason why Demi Moore danced to this in “Strip Tease.” Get yourself a pole and BLAST this song!
There really is no way to describe how this is a great strip song. It’s one that you have to experience.
I could go on about the piano, the bass, or the way Annie rips into the chorus at the end. Or I could talk about the very ending when the song reaches it’s climax. But I believe it’s best to hear for yourself ;)
Chocolate (Radio Edit) – Kylie Minogue
Alvy Out of the whole list, this song is my #1. I love it to death. The album title says it all: Body Language. Chocolate (Radio Edit) is very sexy, and not as explicit as other songs on my list, and that’s what brings a naturally sexy song. The beat and Kylie’s voice set the whole mood, leaving the lyrics as detail. It’s that good. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it and it’s perfect for this countdown. Kylie is known for her sex symbol image, and she surely lives up to that with this song. This song just melts you down like chocolate.
Bennie K – HI-EXPLOSION with DJ HIGH-KICK
.nodame Pretty surprising, listing a fast song on here. But that’s the beauty of it. It gets you jumping, and the next thing your know your clothes are off!
The way the girls go about dragging out the notes in a very lazy manner (during some parts of the song) really makes your (or at least, my) inner stripper take notice.
The music is fast, but there’s this underlying beat that screams “wiggle to me”, and during the rap your hips will definitely wiggle. This is definitely a pole song, one meant for swinging fast and hard. I like to think of this as a 60s stripper track.
Caution while you listen to the songs and be sure to hold on tight to your clothes! We hope you enjoy our recommendations and have lots of fun, because we had lots of fun compiling them for you!
Thank you so much, .nodame! You’re the sweetest! ♥
SWEET BLACK feat. MAKI GOTO
「SWEET BLACK」
2009.9.16 Release!
【CD】
01. Queen Bee with BIGGA RAIJI
02. Lady-Rise
03. Candy
04. TEAR DROPS with KG
05. Mine with KEN THE 390
06. Fly away
07. Plastic Lover
08. with…
【DVD】
01. “Fly away” MUSIC VIDEO
02. “Lady-Rise” MUSIC VIDEO
03. “with…” MUSIC VIDEO
04. mixiドラマ完全版
Lately, my tweets have all been about how Maki’s music is amazing and about all the wonderful things that are coming out about her lately. Just today, the cover art for her first avex project, SWEET BLACK, came out. At first I wasn’t liking it at all, it was too random, especially because I was expecting something pink and black (Because of the whole theme behind the SWEET BLACK collaboration), but now I’m really loving it just for that same reason, it’s beautiful and unexpected and I think it’s really cute for her first mini-album.
I’m really excited about it! It comes out next month with 4 brand new tracks (Since Fly away, Lady-Rise, with…, and Plastic Lover have all been released previously) and the DVD comes with 3 music videos. If you pre-order it, though, you’ll get a deluxe 64-paged booklet with a special cover and a bonus documentary/drama.
I want to pre-order it so bad, I love every single song that came out by her recently and I’m sure this mini-album is going to be amazing. Some radio rips have leaked into the internet but they’re still not enough to quench my thirst for more Maki.
Plastic Lover (Club Mix) was released yesterday as part of HOUSE NATION’s new compilation, Aquamarine. I’m still crazy looking for it and I can’t find it anywhere, but I think it’ll come up soon.
Which means:
Meme: Top 5 Albums
- List your 5 favorite albums
- You can repeat the artist, but try to add some variety
- Comment about each album
- Compilations can be on your list
- List your favorite tracks off each album
- Put up the download link, if you wish.
JunniorKöpke, a friend I got to know through twitter, has his own blog as well. It’s in portuguese, though, but if you’re familiar with the language, I recommend you stopping by, because it’s always really fun and cute. Today, he put up a Top 5 Albums Meme and I decided to participate as well even though it’s so hard for me to pick favorite albums or songs. It still looks like hella fun, so lets begin! Be sure to join in as well and follow the rules above!
ULTRA BLUE
Artist: Utada Hikaru
Released: 2006.06.14
ULTRA BLUE was released maybe one month before I actually started to listen to Hikki like crazy, like it was meant for me to get addicted to her. This is what drew me into her work so much, and this experiment with synth and Utada’s beautiful vocal range make this album breathtaking from beginning to end. This is like a morning album, with really soft tracks like 日曜の朝 (Nichiyō no Asa; Sunday Morning) and Making Love that I really like. I loved to see Utada experiment with a more contemporary style, since she usually focuses on R&B, but this album is very pop, but with an original twist that only Utada can offer. This album also brought got more attention from new fans for containing the Kingdom Hearts II theme song, Passion. Certainly one of her best!
Favorite Tracks: Keep Tryin’, BLUE, Making Love, One Night Magic, WINGS, Be My Last, Passion.
Stripped
Artist: Christina Aguilera
Released: 2002.10.26
Before there was Utada, Kumi and Maki, there was Xtina. Stripped is simply atemporal, with 20 tracks of pure emotion and Christina is yet to create something as edgy and different (Or controversial) as Stripped. She came a long way from her teen pop debut in only one album. This is an incredible album that connects with any age group and ranges from R&B to rock. Xtina certainly surprised everyone with her vocal skills and the effort put into this mature record that set her career much further than her pop teen image would have brought her. With tracks like Beautiful, Dirrty, and Fighter, she was able to convey emotion through her voice like nowhere else and it’s album that contains so much variety that even though you’re not an Xtina fan, you’ll still fall in love with it. Her best album to date and a huge personal favorite of mine!
Favorite Tracks: Walk Away, Loving Me 4 Me, Impossible, Underappreciated, Get Mine, Get Yours, Dirrty.
Kingdom
Artist: Koda Kumi
Released: 2008.01.30
Kingdom, just like ULTRA BLUE, was the first album that drew me into Kumi’s work. I love every track of this album, and I loved just how ambitious Kumi was by making one promotional video for each track. Not only is it a musical feast, full of range and variety, but also a visual feast, with one music video for each track. No fan misses out with this release. The album lacked promotion because of the amniotic fluid overreaction scandal. It’s still my favorite Kumi era, not only spawning a breath-taking record, but also an incredible tour. Many of the songs in this album take me back to the times when I still getting myself familiar with J-Pop and what better way to ease myself into the language transition than with Kumi’s musical variety? Kingdom offers R&B, ballads, kawaii songs, everything to make the listener satisfied. She’s a bit of the Japanese Christina Aguilera in a way, for conveying emotion in such a good way and with so much variety. Kingdom certainly crowned Kumi as one of my queens of J-Pop!
Favorite Tracks: 秘密, 愛のうた, BUT, 恋の魔法, 愛証, あなたがしてくれたこと, WONDERLAND, MORE.
EXODUS
Artist: UTADA
Released: 2004.09.08
EXODUS is atemporal for me. You can listen to it whenever, wherever and still have the best time. This ‘Utada meets electronica’ style is unbeatable and she can pull it off like no one else. The intricate beats of her music don’t get in the way of her voice, and yet, it’s so perfectly blended into each song, that it’s impossible to recognize how genius this album can be, even though it lacked proper promotion. This is so modern Tokyo electronica meets the New York style, which I think is what Utada wanted to convey, but this album does lack a bit of the Japanese Utada that we know and love. If this girl can make it work without having one bit of her Japanese self in it, she can do anything because nearly every track of EXODUS has a life of its own, so original and impossible to be imitated. And what an awesome life that is. I’m still waiting for her to get all crazy and alternative to release us an EXODUS II. One of her best, definitely!
Favorite Tracks: The Workout, Easy Breezy, Tippy Toe, Hotel Lobby, Animato, Let Me Give You My Love, About Me.
Sanmon Gossip
Artist: Shiina Ringo
Released: 2009.06.24
Sanmon Gossip is genius. That’s all there is to it. It contains amazing examples of experiments with electronica, jazz, rock and just that Shiina quality that no one else is able to replicate. She sounds so sexy in this album, no matter what the song is saying and what the overall feel of it is, it’s like we always get that quality treatment from Shiina’s vocals, making every song a masterpiece on its own. It must be so easy for her, because I was scared while I was looking through the album. Every track is incredible, I don’t know how she can pull it off. It’s crazy, beautiful, amazing and most of all, sexy. Song titles like Temporary Virgin (One of my favorites) make my day. I’m glad there’s someone out there who can be so bold and crazy and still look like a complete jazz diva while doing it! That’s just the enigma behind Shiina, and as long as it’s unsolved and mysterious, like her music, I’m going to love her work to death.
Favorite Tracks: 流行, 0地点から, カリソメ乙女, 二人ぼっち時間, マヤカシ優男, 色恋沙汰, 丸の内サディスティック (EXPO Ver.)
I wanted to add some variety into the Top 5 for you, but there are certainly many other albums that are worth mentioning and that I was crazy to add, but I decided to pick the ones that not only contain lots of variety for a wide range of listeners, but also the ones that are more atemporal and just that album you can pull out whenever you wish and relive an amazing musical experience.
Be sure to check some of them out, because they’re truly really amazing!
Entrance to the festival
I loved to attend the 30th edition of the Tanabata Matsuri last year, which also celebrated the 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, but we weren’t able to stay for too long and enjoy all that the festival had to offer, so this year, I wanted to bring my friends, and Sofy came with me!
We decided to attend the festival on the 12th, the day when HEART STATION completes its second anniversary. It was a lot better because the festival started on Saturday, so it was basically already initiated and we got to enjoy it more!
Bamboo charged with wishes
We arrived at the other end of the festival this time, behind the stage, and we walked through the tents to check out what they were selling while looking for some Japanese food. There were many gift shops around us, full of little Japanese goodies that ranged from traditional to just contemporary and adorable. We looked around for a while before we got to the sushi booth. We ordered some hot rolls and california rolls for us and after we were done eating, decided that it’s time for that yearly wish that we hang up on the bamboos distributed through Liberdade. Sofy and I went for the yellow scroll (Meaning money), and wished for success, money, and I wished for happiness as well. After some time trying to figure out what to write and how to write Mega-sena (I ended up telling Sofy it was written ‘Mega-cena’), we went to look for a bamboo to hang them up, and we decided to put them up in the bamboo with the most wishes because we figured it’d give our wishes more energy from the other wishes… If they’re getting granted, ours better be granted too!
Beautiful balloons decorated the whole festival
We went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. The waitress basically attacked us with her eyes when my father was oblivious to the fact that it was a Chinese restaurant and asked for sushi. She looked really mad and she wasn’t even Chinese… She had a bit of an attitude, but she was fun. I felt embarrassed that my parents had no idea it was a Chinese restaurant and kept asking for Japanese food. The name of the restaurant was Shanghai! Of course they’d only serve Chinese food. We wandered around some more, looking at the little booths that covered the streets and it was a lot of fun because everything was really simple but very cute and adorable. We reached the stage again, and stood there, listening to the band that was playing. They had performed two songs and I had this feeling that I’d be listening to some
Man watching the show through his window
Utada soon because it is a Japanese festival. After they were done, the man took the microphone and said that they’d be performing a beautiful ballad. I already took out my camera and waited for them to start First Love. He said that the ballad was broadcasted several times in Brazil, and I remembered this from my research for Utada’s fanbook, so I was already jumping up and down. When he said First Love, I told everyone to start filming and filmed it myself as well. It was beautiful and I was so happy that they performed an Utada song! People were even watching the performance from their homes.
After the dose of Utada that was so happily injected into our ears, we went to look for little gifts for our friends who unfortunately, couldn’t be there. We returned to the little gift shop we were liked and I bought gifts for Cary, Chris, JUNIOR and Rapha-cat. 3 out of the 4, I’m going to have to ship off because Chris, JUNIOR and Rapha-cat live far from me, but I hope they appreciate what I bought them!
The weather was so good yesterday and we had so much fun. When we were leaving, I took my time to photograph 3 balloons that reminded me of JUNIOR’s famous quote, “eu gosto de estrelas”! (“I like stars”) In the car, ready to go home, we drove by a really odd church that seemed to be more of a gay pride church and a shop very much in the mood for HEART STATION’s second anniversary because it’s called Station! Here are the three masterpieces that caught our eyes while we left the city of São Paulo:
"Eu gosto de estrelas" - JUNIOR
Pride church
"Station" Shop
We had a lot of fun, and I got to read some really sweet comments about HEART STATION’s second anniversary when I got home. It was great to spend time with Sofy and the festival was delicious, beautiful and certainly inviting us to join in once again next year! Hopefully with a much bigger group!
A friend of mine, Rapha-chan, is a big fan of the ravex project, where many avex artists come together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of avex and the 80th anniversary of the artist, Osamu Tezuka. He showed me the PV of the song Golden LUV featuring Maki Goto, and ever since I first heard, I couldn’t stop listening to it.
When I had finished downloading her albums, I was expecting something really pop, because she used to be involved in Morning Musume and Hello!Project, so she had that idol figure to her that could only mean bubblegum pop. I was right, and even though her work is a lot better than the diabetes-inducing bubblegum pop we hear out there today, it lacked that element of originality and fun instrumentals that Golden LUV brought to the table.
Some time ago, Maki Goto’s brother was arrested for thievery, and this dropped her from her label, similar to Kumi’s scandal, but lighter. This brought Maki to Los Angeles, where she restarted her singing and dance lessons. Apparently, Maki’s parents trained her since she was a child to become a Japanese idol, and during this break that Maki took, she was signed with the avex label and a change in her image took place (Including a nose job, as you can see below):
That is the Maki from Golden LUV! She has 2 digital singles released through the avex label, fly away and Lady-Rise, plus Golden LUV, released through the ravex album, trax. Honestly, I was so happy she had that nose job. It was so hard to look at her. Her work is amazing now! avex did a great job, and I’m really looking forward for Maki’s new releases, because all her singles have been amazing ever since she changed her record label!
Bitches Aloud has put together a really cute unofficial single called GOLD Lady, which features Maki Goto’s latest singles and it comes in a CD and a CD+DVD version. The instrumentals and PVs aren’t in top quality, but the whole concept is really fun. It comes with 6 tracks: Golden LUV, Lady-Rise and Fly away. All of them are amazing and the registration to their forum is worth it! Especially since the digital singles have no cover art or things of that sort. It’s all really neat and the booklet that comes with each version is different, as if it were an official CD and CD+DVD release. Remember, if you’d like to distribute this single, you need to credit Bitches Aloud:
Also, brought to you by Bitches Aloud, so if taken, please credit Bitches Aloud or I’l personally rip off both of your arms and then I’ll eat them :D ^^ xD.
I’m really looking forward to other releases by Maki Goto under the avex label because she sounds and looks great! I love Fly away, so make sure to check out the PV and judge if Maki’s dance lessons payed off:
Cycle 12 caught my attention because of one contestant, Allison Harvard. As soon as I saw her for the first time, I noticed how different she was and how awesome this season would be because of such an edgy, different contestant. I felt the same way about Melrose back in cycle 7. Some might say Allison is awkward, weird and not America’s Next Top Model material, but it’s what makes her so unique. Her look is so striking for such a young girl, and it’s this mixture of awkwardness, beauty and cuteness that caught my eye, she’s not like the other contestants. Her most remarkable feature are her eyes, that are so big and blue and how she looks like a porcelain doll, according to Tyra and the judges. The weirdest thing about her, though, is her obsession over nosebleeds. When the competition began, she was the creepy girl who looked like a porcelain doll obsessed with nose bleeds, but as the competition progressed, she proved that this doll has personality and edge to get where she wants. Unfortunately, like Melrose, she got to the top 2, but didn’t come back with the title of America’s Next Top Model.
When it was announced that the top models were coming to Brazil, I got worried, because Brazil is portrayed as a country of sex appeal and Allison is the sweet, quiet girl of the group, but she impressed me. She kept getting really positive critique from the judges, being that before she came to Brazil she was the girl with one look. She kept growing as a model, but her worst fear was the runway. She was really awkward, and even though she wasn’t disastrous, she wasn’t stellar at all either, she was just walking. On the last episode, though, Allison brought her top game and rocked the runway. She did mention she had practiced, and it showed, because the quirky girl from previous runway challenged was nowhere to be found. She brought it all while Teyona looked like a stripper waving her weave into the air. Allison brought sexy, cuteness and beauty to all her movements and made her quirky personality a special, different quality that was hers only.
I think that her most impressive shots are of the later episodes, when she came to Brazil, my favorites being from the Carmen Miranda shoot and the Cover Girl shoot. Before she came to Brazil, though, she did take a really impressive shot with Ciara! She looks a bit feline, I’m not a big fan of the lion-like hair, but her lips, eyes and cheekbones look so impressive! She’s like an angry cat.
I was really surprised when she wasn’t the winner, because she caught so many people’s attention and I’m such a big fan of hers. She used to take amateur pictures before America’s Next Top Model, and was nicknamed Creepy-chan because of the peculiar pictures she took, but she earned many fans this way.
Both, Melrose and Allison have caught my attention since day one of cycles 7 and 12, and it’s really unfortunate that they haven’t won, but I feel really proud that they came this far, since both were finalists!
One of my favorite songs in my music library and one of the best I’ve ever listened to is How Many Times, How Many Lies by The Pussycat Dolls. The instrumentals just seem to sing with the vocalist and the lyrics are beyond words!
How Many Times, How Many Lies
They would try to tell me something
Oh, but I was hearing nothing
When they said you was just playing me
I didn’t listen
I didn’t want to
You couldn’t find a blinder fool
I’m here
Searching through the wreckage
Wondering why the message never got through
And I found I misplaced all of my faith
How could I put my faith in you?How many times?
How many lies?
How long you been sneaking?
How long you been creeping around?
How many lies?
How many times?
Were you here deceiving
While I was here believing in youI got to put the blame on myself
Should’ve known with everyone else
Just knowing they knew you was just bad news
I should’ve walked out (I should’ve walked out)
I should’ve seen clear (I should’ve seen clear)
I’m glad your sad ass is out of here
I’ve gone and thrown out all the records
All the ones that ever reminded me of you
I’ve gone and tore up all the pictures
‘Cause there was not one shred of truthThere were so many times
There were so many lies
I don’t know why I stayed on you
There were so many days
There were so many games
I should’ve thrown your sad ass out
But now the game is through
I’ll never trust in you
I’ve finally got wise
I opened up my eyes
Your game is overI’ve gone and thrown out all the records
All the ones that ever reminded me of you
I’ve gone and tore up all the pictures
‘Cause there was not one shred of truth
Love the times, love the lies
Recently this song has taken a whole different meaning for me, and it made me love it so much more. My situation has nothing to do with love, though, especially now that it’s so far from that. I’m really upset about everything because it just reached a whole other level, it takes two to tango, and honestly, if you ask me out to dance, I’ll rock you out.
I’m a pretty honest person, lying isn’t my nature, and I like people to tell me the truth straightforward, with no hesitation. I don’t need to be protected from the ugly all the time, and if there’s something people have against me, I’d rather hear it right then and there. To be fooled is like building fake feelings off a true base, or vice versa, even, and I hate it. I don’t respect it one bit, especially in my case. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, but it’s not like I ever wanted it to come.
Now that I look back, I went completely berserk. I guess it was just that if I didn’t do what I did, nobody would do it for me, and this type of argument did happen before, it brought me down, and I understand why these types of arguments come up, but if they do come up more than once, it’s because there’s some truth to what that certain person thought about me.
Maybe I should have stayed cool, just went along with it, but it was frustrating me. I guess now it’s too late, but let my pain be the reason of your pleasure (Isn’t that what blogs are for?) and enjoy the beautiful live version of How Many Times, How Many Lies!
I’ve been thinking a lot, especially now that our 4-day weekend began, and I’ve been so happy lately because of a balance I found between my personal life and my internet life! Our school has a shared values program and every quarter we get to meet up with other students and share our thoughts about a certain topic, and this time it’s what we have up on the internet about ourselves. I met some really amazing people online and I’ve had no problems with it so far, and even though I know that some people go through real trouble because of the internet, it’s not my case (I think…), and the conversation might get a bit heated if some hypocrites start saying that internet exposure is as bad as running around naked in a dark alley by a bar like they always pretend it’s like.
I’ve also been thinking about what’s becoming of me now that I began communicating with so many different people I don’t know personally, and I feel like I’m opening myself a lot more, breaking out of the rest of my shell and as much as it’s hard to admit, I’m getting a lot more friendly… No, maybe it’s just that “kawaii” side of me that awakens and makes me sound friendlier. I don’t know, since I’ve been labeled the “nice one” of Utada.com.br… I think it’s just because they don’t know me in real life and assume that I’m so sugar-coated.
One thing I also noticed is the fact that depending on the language I speak, I act a certain way. Portuguese is my cute-sugar-coated-friendly-guards-down language, while when I speak in English, I’m the I-don’t-care-about-that-bitch-so-talk-about-something-I’m-actually-interested-in language, which is really weird. Maybe I’ve been so exclusive to speaking English daily that the last time I spoke in Portuguese daily, I was in like 4th grade, and the 10-year old Alvy got trapped within the language and it’s being released now that I’m using it daily again to talk to my friends over at Utada.com.br. Or maybe I’m just over-thinking this and nobody understood what I’m trying to say.
Maybe I should start naming my alter-egos like Tila Tequila and her alter-ego, Jane. Any suggestions for good me and evil me? I’ll see if I can think of something and I’ll share it when I figure it out! But if you think of anything, let me know!
Okay, Now it’s time for some awesome quotes by our favorite generic Jessica Alba, Danny Noriega!
If you call me fat again, I’ll spray your ass with mace
I’m a purple, sexy, intense, vampire ninja pickle
I fell in front of one of my crushes and I turned red as a cute little tomato and I ran. THAT was TMTH!
These quotes have got to be my favorite ones out of any others in the world! They’re so cute! Well, maybe not the first one, but I feel like the first one is something I’d say.
Is it only me or is this post random and completely unlike other posts I’ve written? (With the number of bad names, going from my alter-egos to Danny Noriega and then to my bilingual disorder?) Uh-oh… Another alter-ego kicking in?
