Meat Pies!
Just got back from a screening of Sweeney Todd. As a horror movie enthusiast and worshiper of the darkness, I loved this movie dearly. In my eyes, Tim Burton can do no wrong. 
All of the characters were deliciously morbid, as though the creatures from A Nightmare Before Christmas came alive. But to warn you, and this one is obvious, there will be blood. Obscene amounts. As Depp whispered to his dearest friend (his blade) "You shall drip rubies, you'll soon drop precious rubies." My personal favorite was of course Mrs. Lovett, though I can't help but wonder what it must have been like for Tim Burton to film his off-screen wife with his on-screen leading man? Anywho, the cast was bloody, and I do mean bloody, brilliant. I loved every moment of it, though I was grimacing through most of it.
See Sweeney Todd in theaters today.
And you, what do you think?
Lights and Voices
You'll have to excuse the looks of this place. I'm trying to remain simple and yet modern, which is causing some issues. The background will probably be changing daily until I stumble upon something I'm moderately pleased with.
Okay. Time to go underground. Well, sort of. In the Japanese pop scene, you can't be hot for longer than about a week. Even the pop titans cannot control the fact that an album or single will typically debut at number one, only to fall in the following week. J-Pop is just that competitive. So when you've got an artist that isn't a household name, sometimes it's difficult to chart at all.
Take Eri Nobuchika. She's never made it too big, though she remains one of the most underrated voices of Japanese pop music. Her voice is absolutely haunting, and probably the best out of all of the singers I've heard. Yet she's relatively unknown. So, this is for Eri. My favorite track off of her first and only studio album, nobuchikaeri, is the song "Voice." The song starts off with an electro-salsa beat along with tiny hand-clap beats, slowly rising and falling, but never losing its steam. The song's intensity starts to build, and the climatic crescendo is something indescribable. It's almost cathartic, really. The song is epic, and one of my favorite J-Pop songs ever. It's long, but it's worth it, trust me.
DL:
And you, what do you think?
Rebel Am I, Who Me? Oh, no.
I almost forgot. Before I go off to slumber, I really need to address Iio. The group formed a billion years ago and gained worldwide success with their still perfect single, "Rapture." Even if you don't think you've heard it, you have, you just haven't made the connection. Don't believe me? Give it a few seconds of play. Regardless, their album, Poetica, is equally impressive. One of my favorites off of the CD is "Rebel," a mid-tempo track featuring Nadia Ali's ever impressive, unique vocals. It's really wonderful.
EDIT: Actually, "Is It Love?" is a necessary post as well. The song is even slower than "Rebel," though there are plenty of club mixes out there from the time it was released as a single. The song is repetitive and chilled. The chorus' only line, "Is It Love?" is repeated endlessly, but it flows beautifully...I personally love it. I even heard the song on mainstream radio once while driving with my mother, who abruptly switched the station due to Nadia's inability to distinguish if it is in fact love. I couldn't find any YouTube links to the slower album version, but it's really quite fantastic, so I made a link for it.
DL: Is It Love? (Album Version).
You can buy Iio's Poetica at Amazon.
And you, what do you think?
Sexy Dance
Ay--Ayumi dancing sexily? That's Ayu's shameless! Seems Ayumi has decided to do a few choreographed moves in her latest promotional video for a song from GUILTY called "(don't) Leave Me Alone." A pretty simple music video...so to make up for the lack of visual stimuli...sexy dance!! It's like the "REAL ME" video revisited. Shock and panic follow. For non-Asian wannabes, Ayumi is known for song, not dance. That's why everytime so busts a move, an entire branch of her fanbase shudders and collapses. But yeah, cute video.
Be sure to buy Ayumi's upcoming album, GUILTY at Amazon
And you, what do you think?
Bad Decision
For God's sake ladies, get it together. You all know it's not the best track for the next single, so why bother? The song is too low in register! Here's the Girls warbling "Can't SingSpeak French" on the Friday Night Project.
You can buy Girl's Aloud fantastic Tangled Up at Amazon.
And you, what do you think?
If Only...
Let me take you back to a time...A time where a girl named Britney had the possibility of a worldwide tour. A time where her nether regions weren't granted as many photo spreads as her face. A time without babies and divorces. Well, at least the last one. The time was 2006. The album, the horribly titled B In The Mix: The Remixes. Track six, the only newly recorded song from Ms. Spears, "And Then We Kiss." Well my friends, the day that the song leaked onto the Interweb, I happened to be home from school (some may call it coincidence, I call it my Britney-sense.) Once I heard the strings start up and the ambient songs swirling behind them, I knew this would be different. And it was. "And Then We Kiss" is where I wanted her to move toward. It features a more complex, adult sound that is still dance-ready and marketable, yet more sophisticated. I love everything about this song. It's one of my favorites, if not my favorite track from her. Come back to this, my sweet. You know you want to. Well...or--okay. Keep going to Starbucks. But then record more like this, please.
Buy Britney's B In The Mix: The Remixes here at Amazon.
And you, what do you think?
Knocked Up Teens...Not Just For Kids Anymore.
Going out to see Juno in an hour, I'll be back to let you all (myself) know what I thought!
EDIT: The showing closed as I went up to buy my tickets. Blasphemy. Therefore, we went home and watched Hairspray instead. Hello, Zac Efron.
Feeling a Bit...
"Rippin' Up The Disco" is the kind of song that embodies everything I like in a pop tune. Tongue-in-cheek, sassy vocals, dirty electro beats, and some assorted nonsense lyrics about discotheques. Now THAT'S music, people. Sounds like a mash of Alison Goldfrapp vocals with modern electro. Cruelly, this song was left as a mere bonus track for Kylie's latest album, X, surely one of the greatest injustices of the 21st century. Watch the track play above Kylie's camp-as-a-mofo "Your Disco Needs You" music video. Your tears will be made up of rainbows and sunshine.
You can buy Kylie's new album X over at Amazon
Christmas Cheer
In case you haven't noticed, it's Christmas. Because of this, I will begin posting some of my favorite Christmas tunes. To start off is my absolute favorite. If this one doesn't have you slitting your wrists and drowning your sorrows in holiday spirits, then you're a terrible person. Well, maybe it's just me. This is BoA's (Korean mega star)Meri Kuri (メリクリ), released in 2005. The song builds and builds to its eventual orchestral climax, and unravels beautifully. Isn't it just how all the best things in life work? Think about it.
Buy the single over at Amazon
And you, what do you think?
Gifted all natural at bursting the seams.
I've got a song in my head, which will be a common theme for this blog. It's Robyn's "Konichiwa Bitches," (I don't know why she spelled it like that either, fellow Japanese speaker) from her self-titled album released in 2005. I don't love the androgynous style she's got going on right now, but her music is still great. The song is a tongue-in-cheek rap, devoted to praising her hardcore style and her valuable assets. "One left, one right, that's how I organize 'em / You know I fill my cups no need to super-size 'em." And if that isn't contemporary prose at its finest, I don't know what is. The accompanying video is maddeningly ridiculous. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is an accurate portrayal of how she views of the world.
Buy Robyn's self-titled album from Amazon.
And you, what do you think?
Jamie-Lynn: The Saga Continues
Apparently, Nickelodeon is taking the teen pregnancy special idea seriously. According t
o the Associated Press, Linda Ellerbee (Remember her from Nick News? No, I used to change the channel when it came on too, but I knew her face) thinks it's important to address the issue.
Many of our feelings may be best expressed from a child's perspective. Look at what Rosie O'Donnell (and her daughter) had to say from her blog. WARNING: Cryptic Rosie dialogue approaches:
KC writes:
AS a celeb & mom what do U think Nick should do about Zoey 101? UR kids dont watch tv, but will they hear about this?here is how it went
mama u know the lady with the umbrella
and no hair
here sister is a teenager and she is having twin babiesand what do u think about that chels
teenagers can have babies?
yes they can
and it is never a good ideawell she said
y didnt she take pills that make u not have a babyhmmmmmmm
And you, what do you think?
But My Darling...
Utada Hikaru, 
Japanese pop star and future bearer of my babies, is releasing a new single entitled "HEART STATION" in February 2008. The song, "Stay Gold," will be featured on the single. Recently, previews of the song have been popping up from ringtone websites in Japan. Even though Utada's momentum has slowed in recent releases, I believe this one's got potential. It's got such an intimate, classic flow that reminds me of her very first R&B-tinged releases. Very warm sound...I really enjoy what I'm hearing so far! Click the YouTube link to listen to the 1:30 sample.
And you, what do you think?