Asian Kung Fu-Generation (which I proudly admit am a Fangirl) are bringing Nano-Mugen Fes. back!
Sadly, this only works for the cool kids living in Japan or traveling there. It’s a two day festival (7/20-7/21) with bands from the U.S, Japan, and U.K.
The rad line up is:
Asaian Kung Fu-Geneartion (duh)
Ash (who are also co hosting the festival)
Playing July 20th:
Phantom Planet
Stereophonics
The Young Punx!
STRAIGHTENER
ANALOGFISH
9mm Parabellum Bullet
Shugo Tokumaru
Playing July 21st:
HELLOGOODBYE
Third Eye Blind
ELLEGARDEN
Space Cowboy
ART-SCHOOL
SPECIAL OTHERS
8otto
With Hellogoodbye, Ellegarden and Space Cowboy playing it’s as if they are intentionally trying to break my already fragile heart.
If you check my iPod touch (which I hate btw) it would probably be difficult to recognize half the artists on it. Most of it artists are anarchists bands such as Crass, 80’s new wave bands like New Order and The B-52’s, and of course my favorite-Japanese Rock music (most which have appeared as theme songs for popular anime shows). So what’s the deal with De Novo Dahl? Well for starters, I’ve been on their MySpace page for the past three days, which has been taking up all my Japanese Rock music listening time. Their songs make me wanna shimmy in my underwear when no one’s home.
Also, Serai Zaffiro (the only female in the group and a cutie too!) plays the omnichord. WTF is an omnichord? I had no idea but after checking my favorite site Wikipedia I so want to play it. Yea, instead of getting a Keytar (AND THAT IS NOT LAME!) I’m going to get an omnichord. I’ll look so fucking awesome with and omnichord besides how often do you get say, “I play the omnichord”? It sounds better then “I play the Keytar. Hey, stop laughing! It’s a very serious musical instrument!”
Yea very difficult to work with that one.
If you see the music video for the song Shout it makes you go ‘aww’ no deep hidden meaning in this music video. It’s cute and simple and you want to jump in and dance against that colorful balloon covered wall. Heartbreaker (which is on my BFF’s MySpace page) is another good song. A notable lyric “I accept the challenge that you’re sending with your smile” reminds me of the dances you see in old 80’s and 70’s movies where the boys are one side of the gym and the girls on the other. Then the cute nerdy girl smiles at the cute nerdy boy. Sorry got carried away there. Heartbreaker inspired a script I’m working on. The melody and lyrics just make you want to sing along with lead singer Joel while walking outside to get your mail. For some reason every song reminds me of two cute nerds falling in love in computer tech class.
My favorite song by De Novo Dahl has to be Be Your Man. Reminds me of a harder version of surfer rock meets electronic. If they make a music video for this song, it should take place on a beach with a bunch of 50’s girls raving. Strange thing I notice is that every song sounds different to me. Well obviously, it’s supposed to sound different but it seems like every song is suppose to be in a different genre of music. Shout sounds like an indie pop song. Heartbreaker sounds like a dancing ballad and the beginning of Shakedown sounds like a 70’s disco song. Perhaps that’s the genius of De Novo Dahl? Make every song sound so different but keeps you dancing.
So kudos to De Novo Dahl. They go on the Coolness wall. The only wall in my room where it’s difficult to get your picture on. So far the only members are Lita Ford, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hot Hot Heat, Motley Crue and Woody Allen. I so need to take a picture of that wall.
Congrats, De Novo Dahl for making music that stops Josie from listening to Japanese Rock. That’s pretty powerful since Josie loves her Japanese Rock.
Anyone want to give me money so I can buy the album? Never mind I’ll just borrow it from Amanda. If she lets me that is.
So it is well known that I am in love with Hot Hot Heat. Though I would cry if they ever broke up (knock on wood) the solo side project of the guitarist Luke Paquinis very good. Even if he were to pursue a solo career not sure the heat would break up after all he isn’t the original guitarist. He replaced guitarist Dante DeCaro back in 2005. I have been a fan since the whole Luke Paquin age so I’m not sure how I would feel about that. No matters at least great music would come from it. Luke Paquin’s music is freestyle / acoustic / folk. It’s great which is for the most part the only thing you need to know about it.
Plus side: Great music.
Down side: EP has been “In Progress” for a good while now.
Check his myspace to listen to the song “Anna Lee” that song is my personal favorite.
This Sunday I saw Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Here’s my two cents on it.
We open up with a hot guy singing then BOOM Johnny Depp with his crazy hairstyle (which I’m a little jealous of) joins in. So we get a flashback on Benjamin Barker’s former life and Todd goes “That man is dead” to Anthony. Then we meet Helena Bonham Carter’s character Mrs.Lovett. She starts off singing in a high pitch and when she actually speaks her voice was so low it threw me off track. Another thing that kept bothering me was that I was never sure if Mrs.Lovett’s hair was black, chestnut brown or red. I know it had to do with the lighting and everything but at one point when Mrs. Lovett and Todd are in the marketplace her hair changes from black to brown then black then back to brown. Maybe I was just seeing things but it was really pissing me off. Also during her daydream scene her dresses where very beautiful and unique. This defiantly fuels my desire for a Victorian wardrobe. Okay back to the movie: Well when Anthony first sang it sounded as if it was the wrong melody. Also the film was very bloody. One of my worst fears is getting my neck cut open or my ankles (thanks Hostel) so I kept getting chills. Unless you’re a fan of Kill Bill and all of Terrintino’s movies you should be okay. Overall the film was great it had romance, blood, humor oh and that guy from Borat is in it too. Yea this was a movie that I would defiantly buy the DVD when it comes out.
Lita Ford the Chinchilla gives this move a “Tail up” rating
Other notable actors: Alan Rickman (Dogma and Harry Potter), Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Lemony Snickets, Rockstar), Sacha Baron Cohan (Borat, Ricky Bobby, Ali G) and Jamie Bower the cute guy who played Anthony Hope.
Yes I know this blog is a bit prolonged since the new year was earlier in the week but I thought I would still post it. As I rang in the new year I decided to leave a comment on the profile of my favorite band Hot Hot Heat. After I finished the comment I went back to their page for no real reason. The song “My Best Fiend” began to play. I sat there and listened to that song I thought what a great band to start off the new year with. “My Best Fiend” is off their new studio album Happiness Ltd. It is a really good album that I think everyone should listen to. It was released September 11th 2007.
They also have a digital EP titled Happiness Ltd. - EP that was released on itunes December 18,2007. It was released on other music sites January 1, 2008. On this EP there is three new songs as well as acoustic covers of a couple of songs from the Happiness Ltd album. I would highly recommend it plus the cover is nice to look at.
If you have a chance you should really see them in concert, they put on a great show. If all is right I will see them for the fifth time February 9th. They are that good that I want to see them way more than once.
Vanessa Loring: Your parents are probably wondering where you are. Juno MacGuff: Nah… I mean, I’m already pregnant, so what other kind of shenanigans could I get into?
The film Juno was filled with many quotable witty lines. I found that to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of it. Another big plus is the soundtrack. I thought the soundtrack was amazing. I’m going to be looking into those artist in the future.
Here’s a plot summary I got from wikipedia.org:
The movie opens in the fall where after three pregnancy tests in Rollo’s store, Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) discovers she is twelve weeks pregnant by her close friend Paulie (Michael Cera). She calls her best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby), and decides to schedule an abortion. In front of the clinic, Juno encounters a pro-life classmate protesting, alone, outside the clinic. Juno enters the clinic, but leaves, unnerved and overwhelmed. She returns home intent on carrying the pregnancy to term and to give the infant up for adoption.
Juno and Leah look through magazines for couples seeking to adopt children and finally come by an ad from Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). Juno breaks the news of her pregnancy to her father Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) and her stepmother, Brenda “Bren” MacGuff (Allison Janney), who both support her decision to put the child up for adoption, but also make clear that they would have supported her choosing an abortion. Juno and her father visit the affluent Lorings in their suburban home where the high-strung Vanessa is put off by Juno’s diffidence and sarcasm, but Juno and Mark form a bond over their shared musical interests and disagreements. Mark reveals that he was once in a punk band but now writes commercial jingles; Juno teases him because Vanessa has restricted all his hobbies – Les Paul guitars, song writing, and comic books – to a single room in the house.
Several weeks later in the winter Juno goes to receive an ultrasoundwith Bren and Leah, where a misconstrued comment by technician’s prompts in a verbally harsh rebuke from Bren, which results, we later learn, in Bren, Leah and Juno being escorted off the premises. After the appointment, Juno drives to the Loring residence unannounced to share the ultrasound picture with them. As Mark works as a composer for commercials in his studio, only he is home. He welcomes her and they begin to discuss their shared interests in alternative music and horror films. Vanessa returns home and is caught off-guard by Juno’s presence but forms a strong attachment with the picture, then Juno comes across a collection of baby items and Vanessa reveals that a previous adoption fell through. When Juno enters her house later that night, her stepmother tells her to avoid carrying on a relationship with Mark because he is married and there are “boundaries” issues. Juno, only 16, scoffs and says that just because Mark is married doesn’t mean she can’t be his friend.
When Juno is in the final weeks of her pregnancy in the spring, she visits the mall with Leah and covertly observes Vanessa playing intently with a small child. Moments later, they run into each other and Juno explains that the baby is kicking. Vanessa asks if she can touch Juno’s belly. Vanessa fails to feel the baby move but Juno encourages her to speak intimately at her stomach, and the baby begins to kick.
At school, Juno, to her displeasure, learns that Paulie asked Katrina De Voort to go to prom instead of herself and has a falling out with him. Juno returns again to visit Mark alone to talk about their music interests. Juno plays Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” for Mark; he reveals he has fond memories of the song because it was played at his prom in 1988 (before Juno was even born). When Juno rests her head on his shoulder, Mark reveals he is leaving Vanessa. Juno is visibly upset. As Mark tries to explain that he no longer loves Vanessa, he realizes he had taken her extreme youth for granted, even if they had some shared affinities.
Upset at the prospect of the outwardly perfect family falling apart, Juno storms out of the room in tears. Vanessa is in the next room and confronts them and Mark then reveals that he is not ready to be a father. Vanessa tells him that she understands he wants to hold on to his youth but she needs him to mature and step up to be a father to their child. As Juno watches their marriage fall apart, she runs out. As she is sitting in her van on the side of the highway, Juno writes a note on a discarded receipt, leaves it on the Lorings’ doorstep and drives away. Juno returns home and her father gives her advice about finding love and being in a relationship. Juno realizes that she loves Paulie and stuffs his mailbox full of his favorite orange Tic Tacs that night. At the track field the next day, they reconcile and begin a relationship with a public kiss.
Juno ultimately gives birth to a baby boy; she decides not to call Paulie because he had a very important track meet that day, which he wins. When Paulie sees Juno is not in the stands cheering for him, he runs straight from the track to the hospital in only his running gear. He climbs into her hospital bed to console Juno who is more distraught over giving up her child than she realized she would be. Juno and Paulie agree it is best to not see the baby because they never felt as if he belonged to them, but rather was always meant for Vanessa. Vanessa claims the boy from the nursery as Bren looks on and says she looks exactly like a new mother: “scared shitless”. In the baby’s nursery at Vanessa’s house, Juno’s note on the receipt is framed on the wall: “Vanessa, if you’re still in, I’m still in. -Juno.” The film concludes with a final kiss between Juno and Paulie after they sing and play The Moldy Peaches‘ song “Anyone Else But You”.
