Friday, March 27, 2009

Not feeling well...

Feeling really bleh lately...body doesn't seem to be keeping up with the amount of work I'm doing. My sleeping hours have been shifted to like...2, 3 a.m. even though I normally have class early the next day. My circadian rhythm is all screwed up right now. I'm surviving all the lost hours on pure will, stress and lots and lots of sugar. No wonder my body is feeling out of shape.

T_T Wish I could just drop whatever I have and just sleep and chill out, but I've got way too much to do...and I've come this far. I just need to survive for another 3 weeks. >< Hang on there, girl! After that, you can take your rest!

By the way, thanks to KM for showing me an interesting video, I've been checking out a Korean group called 2PM lately. Personally, the music is...not quite my kind? Well, it'll be more accurate to say that I think there's definitely room for improvement in terms of singing. But I really love their dances! They're definitely a group with huge dancing talent, and there's a characteristic acrobatics touch to their choreography.

The other Korean groups (like DBSK or Shinee) I'm into typically dance well too, but if I were to pick whether I prefer their vocals or their moves...I'd say their vocals. But 2PM has a very strong element of dance. Every member has a unique style and all of them can groove really well. It's also the first non-SM group I've come to notice. Looking forward to their growth as a group!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

New discovery!

Hahaha, it's finally that time again. The time I discover a new artiste I like and start fangirling like crazy. Righto, the music highlight of the month is this band:


Jrock band シド (SID)!!

From the left: Yuuya (Dr), Shinji (Gt), Mao (Vo) and Aki (Bass Gt). Guess my fav? XD

Haha, have been reeeaallly into them lately. Started off listening to Black Butler's OP, Monochrome Kiss...was really attracted to the style, so I checked out other songs by SID. Being relatively young in the scene of Jrock, I'm surprised they have settled on their own music style already. Started off as a Visual Kei rock band, they've dropped the image since 2006, so now they're going major. SID's music tend to lean to rock, but with some jazz infusions, so I find it refreshing.

Of course, Mao's vocals won me over with his somewhat 'light' voice. It's quite a big contrast from all the 'heavy' and breathy vocals I normally hear from Jrock. Likes of Gackt, Nightmare and even Larc tend to have really deep, heavy vocals...in a way, I guess their voice is the 'rough' type. Mao's vocals lean towards a lighter, somewhat smoother feel. His powerful vocals can carry off the genre they play, and he can still sing light-hearted songs with a pop-like feel. (LOL, ok, I admit it. I'm pimping 'em)

Of course, it'd be weird to talk about SID's vocalist. The other band members are great too. Aki and Shinji play really well, and a distinct feature in their music seem to be the guitar riffs. And Yuuya...well, he's one crazy dude, but he does the drums real cool. For all the music they've done so far, Mao writes the lyrics and Aki does most of the compositions...Shinji does some of it, sometimes. Of course, the one thing that really set them apart in my eyes is that they really can perform live well! That's like, a super important aspect I like to look at, and it's really interesting coz Mao sounds as he does in the records, which I think is really good. Many artistes sound good on the records, but they can't deliver in the lives...but SID carries it off well.

Haha, end of pimping session. XD But seriously, if you have a taste for Jrock, but find the music in the scene a little too much for you, I suggest giving SID a try. The songs they have are quite diverse, from the usual heavy Jrock fanfare to mellow ballads. Some recommendations: 涙の温度 (Namida no Ondo) and 夏恋 (Natsukoi).