New Year’s Resolution: try again to write regularly, this time trying a blog. I have often had trouble (OK, I have always had trouble) doing writing that wasn’t absolutely necessary either for school, work, or occasionally my own sanity. Even though I know that much of the phenomenon of Writer’s Block is pure indolent fantasy, I often seem to be at a loss for something to say. But I’m almost always listening to music, and often (lately) watching Japanese, Chinese, or Korean video or film, so what the hell, why not document what I’m listening to?
Like, right now, I’m listening to てんのみかう (Ten no mikaku), the 2004 solo album by Yuu (ゆう, full name 中島優美 Nakashima Yumi), the lead singer and guitarist for the Japanese punk-pop trio Go!Go! 7188. A rather hard album in spots, hard-sounding, that is, with loud guitar solos and the like. Every piece references food, and in fact the liner notes include recipes. She also uses traditional Japanese and Indian instruments on this album (well, other people play them, to be fair), which is a first for her or the rest of the band. The first pressing, which of course I pre-ordered (geek!), includes a DVD with a rather bizarre video featuring, among other things, Yuu wearing dog ears in her hair, a dog’s tail attached to her jeans, and a dog collar around her neck; and older man leads her on a leash around the streets of Kagoshima, letting her occasionally stop to check out garbage cans. See the sample on YouTube.
