Come to the Dark Side...we have J-rock

Before I begin detailing our NYC adventure from Saturday, please refer to the map here, so you can follow our little hiking trail, as I reference the neighbourhoods we visited:

http://walkingmanhattan.com/images/manhattansubwaysouth.gif

Also, I’m trying my hand at thumbnails with this post...

CRAP! The thumbs aren't working! They don't link to a larger photo! I know nothing of HTML, & my editing attempts yielded nothing worthwhile, so I'm just gonna include links to the larger versions. Sorry, guys. If anyone knows how to actually make it work, please let me know!

( And now, on with the show... )

Courtesy of my brother, Johnathan, who turned me on to these vids. ^_^


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3eeGTFH_Fo
Seasons After - Cry Little Sister; a re-working of a song from the original Lost Boys movie soundtrack.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzTZeeMCUBk
We Are The Fallen - Bury Me Alive; Ben Moody from Evanescence's new band ~ remember how, ever since Gackt fronted Malice Mizer, all the vocalists Mana has worked with sound just like him ~ deep, emotive, & pseudo-operatic? Well, Mr. Moody pulled a Mana move, 'cuz this chick sounds awfully close to Amy Lee, & even has a similar look!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thbyOdo7bf4
Dead Before Sunrise - Crawl Back In; Chester Bennington from Linkin Park has been moonlighting with this outfit.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onssZDX804k&feature=related
Red - Ordinary World; there's no official video for this, I guess it's a bonus track on their album or something...but it's a cover of a song by one of my all-time favourite bands, Duran Duran! I'd never even heard of Red 'til my brother told me they'd covered this song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lopTPrkE4Jo
Atreyu - Lonely; this video shows the band in Japan!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X5lbZi6UUo
Flyleaf - Missing; I already love this band, but I haven't gotten their latest album yet, so it was fun to watch this new vid from them...except it's so short! Good song, & the vid style reminds me a little of "Tonight, Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins, if anyone remembers that one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRXpbZMfG_0
Goo Goo Dolls - Home; lots of Asian goodies in this one! Not sure where they filmed it, but Johnathan tells me the bass player either lives or used to live in Japan.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc8hbSM1zVo
The Killers - Read My Mind; I actually told Johnathan about this one. Gachapin (famous Japanese muppet-like character) getting into a capsule hotel bed with one of the band members at the end...priceless!


http://new.music.yahoo.com/radford/
Radford - Control (no video, select it from the audio list); Johnathan didn't have anything to do with this one, it's the end credits song for the film "Night of the Living Dead 3D", a re-re-make of the original George A. Romero classic, which I watched at my mom's. This one has Sid Haig in it. And nudity. Nothing uber-extraordinary, but it had some interesting/amusing moments, & they took it in a very different direction than the original (& its 1990 re-make). I liked this song quite a bit, tho'.


These are my own discovery. ^_^ Some Phantasmagoria that I'm in need of, but prob'ly won't lay my hands on 'til I get back to Japan, since their stuff is impossible to find here. XP I'm just linking them here 'cuz I want to come back & take some screenshots. ^_~


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvVxe8bPd4U
Kami Uta; the last single they released before disbanding. Among their harder numbers...but even so, Jun is being cute, blowing a kiss & licking his guitar! XD


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-oRZhN2Eic&feature=related
Past Sky; don't know if this was a B-side or another single or what. It's almost too "happy" to hear after Kami Uta, but it's got some sweet live footage. ^_^


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEbYU4iEMzA&feature=related
Holy Crap!! (No, that's not the name of the song! XD) There's an actual video for Actuate Eden!! How did I not know this?!?! Doesn't look like the same strip club from the new Vamps video, tho' LOL. XD Note to Jun: stop being so darn cute! XD


I'll post about my weekend soon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TQz699-Cic

Ladies & gentlemen, we have lift-off! :D

I CAN WATCH THAT!!!

And I did. Just like I told my grandpa I would. :)


There's a massive story goes along with this, but I'm too worn out to type it all up now. Stay tuned for the adventurous details!

( EDIT: Okay, so here's the story... )

Anywho, feel free to post video clips now, 'cuz I can see 'em! ^_^

I'm making this one public so a non-LJ friend or 2, who might find it of interest, can have access to it.

Anybody who knows anything about J-rock (or who's listened to me babble on about it for the past several years) knows that Mana never speaks in public. He hasn't done so for many, many years.

However, there are 2 occasions on which he has publicly allowed his voice to be heard (there may be others, but I think these are the most well-known). And after I checked out that thing for my brother (LJ friends, see previous post), I went & found them!

These are the short versions, clipped from lengthier interviews, since my YouTube access is very, very s l o w.

The first one is from way back in '96, during Malice Mizer's "Voyage" days (their 2nd album, the first they did with Gackt on vocals). During band introductions, Mana...well, introduces himself. It's quick; translated, it comes out to something like, "I'm Mana, guitarist."

The second one's the jackpot. From the "Merveilles" era (that's the 2nd album they did with Gackt), 'round about "Gekka no Yasoukyoku" (Moonlight Nocturne, you can tell from the outfit), the interviewer (you gotta wonder what's going through her mind!) asks Mana why he's sitting on the floor (no, I didn't directly translate this, I read about it). He answers something to the effect of, "Because it's cute." (Listen close, & you can hear him say "kawaii", which means "cute".)

Anywho, I'm off to fight evil...I mean, I'm going to work now.