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Sunday, June 28, 2009

SCANDAL! the most powerful Japanese Girl Band...

That's what their website says. Well, I don't know if they are the most powerful Japanese girl band, but I do know that they are a lot of fun to listen to.

If you went to SAKURA.CON in the US, you might have heard them before. They toured here recently. This group out of Osaka, Japan is hot and rising fast!

I admit it. I like Japanese J-POP. And I am always amused by the personas that J-POP bands will take on. SCANDAL is a girl rock/pop band. The four of them appear complete in Japanese school girl outfits -- the kind in male fantasies, rather than the reality. They all do their makeup so that they tend to look like clones of each other too! The male fantasy continues!

But beyond the hype, the music is fun and bouncy and the vocals are good.

Even beyond that, they really are part ROCK! You can definitely hear rock vibes and strong guitar musings threaded among the bouncy, girlish J-POP tunes.

That might actually qualify them for the most 'powerful Japanese girl band'...these J-POP fantasy dolls really can hit a rock beat and make it stick.

So give them a look and a listen...you might find yourself getting addicted to J-POP.

Their Myspace music site is at:
www.myspace.com/scandal4

Have fun!
CG Anderson

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

JPOP singer RayRi (RayLi) aka 玲里

Sorry it's been so long a wait but time for a music review. Between work, studying and new music players (MySpace) that didn't work well as well as buggy MySpace itself, it took a while!! I almost gave up on doing MySpace music reviews...I mean MySpace has gotten really really buggy and the new music player is even slower than the last one!

Time for a little JPOP again. Nothing outrageous. Just a great voice and some standard POP tunes. RayLi out of Japan fits the bill. Lovely to look at, in an almost androgynous way, and with a great voice, great range of voice and wonderful emotional delivery.

The only thing that really bothered me was the choice of tunes. RayLi has a great voice and knows how to deliver a compelling song. But, the tunes themselves were rather ordinary. Nothing really grabbed me.

I want the songs and melodies to match the power of this singer and this great clear voice with its clear, bright vocal range. I hope RayLi is put together with a really good songwriter and a great producer.

If that happens, I think another great JPOP star will be born. Not that 200,000+ listeners are wrong. I just think that that number could go way way way way way up!

Judge for yourself, RayRi (RayLi/ 玲里) is at:

http://www.myspace.com/rayri

Cheers!
CG

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The ARC goes online. (ARChive of Contemporary Music puts catalog online.)

The ARChive of Contemporary Music (known as ARC or ARChive) is going online. It will make its catalog of popular music, the largest in the world, available online to the public. The ARC also has the largest collection of sound tracks as well as film scores in the world.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to listen to the recordings online, but you will have access to the information about the recordings. There are more than 2 million recordings in the ARC, as well as millions of photographs, press kits, books, videos and other memorabilia.

The ARChive is physically located in Tribeca (New York.) According to the Associated Press, this public access is tied to an agreement with Columbia University.

The site location is here:
http://www.arcmusic.org/begin.html

For music fans, this opens up an invaluable treasure trove waiting to be explored.

CG Anderson

AP news article on ARChive announcement
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0LmTZQby952R7jj7smCCZXCEV8wD97IFTDG0

Friday, April 10, 2009

Help President Obama WHACK those pesky Bailout Babies from Wall Street and Beyond (free GAME) -- 自由なゲーム -- WHACK WALLSTREET


This is just a little, 30-second fun game I adapted from another game of mine. I couldn't resist. It needs Flash version 5 or above.

Help the Obama clones whack all those undeserving BailOut dudes. (Not the ones that deserve a hand, of course!) Use the fly swatter. You gain points if you whack the money grubbers. You lose points if you whack the clones. The clones and the grubbers are trying to whack each other as well (who wins is random when they hit.)

Just in good fun! Have a great weekend.

http://megaswf.com/view/06a933d3d91c3a3e8173e7bd5ffd4d12.html

Later!
CG

In Japanese:
これは楽しむためだけです。
これはただ少量、速い、面白いゲームです。 私は私が作ったもう1つのゲームからそれを改造しました。 私はそれを作ることに抵抗することができませんでした。 それは「Flash5」を必要とするか、あるいはより大きいです。

その Obama クローンがそれらすべての undeserving 緊急援助男をぴしゃりと打つのに役立ってください。 その蝿 swatter を使ってください。 もしあなたがその守銭奴をぴしゃりと打つなら、あなたはポイントを得ます。 もしあなたがそのクローンをぴしゃりと打つなら、あなたはポイントを失います。 そのクローンとその grubbers は同様にお互いをぴしゃりと打とうとしています(誰が勝つかが、彼らが打ったとき、任意です。)

ただ良い楽しみで! 素晴らしい週末を持ってください。

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Amazing Illustrator: Mike Correiro


As promised, links to great art by well-known to little known artists.


Check out the link to the Art of Mike Correiro. You may not know his name but you've probably seen his artwork. And if you do know his name, you know his artwork is fantastic.




Check him out!

CG

Saturday, March 21, 2009

すべてを MANGA 、アニメとイラストレーター芸術家と呼びます!

すべてを MANGA 、アニメとイラストレーター芸術家と呼びます!

私はこのごろ私の新しい新規操業のゲームベンチャーに取り組むことで非常に忙しいです。 そのために、私は新しいミュージシャンを再検討するより少ない時間を持っています。 私はまだ音楽レビューをしているでしょう、しかしより低度にしばしば。

それで、私は AhaBlogolicious を広げています。 最初に、新しい声がその Web サイトのために書くことであるでしょう。 これは Soothsayer117 です。 この人は将来のために Soothsayer117 の占い師予測を論じている短い論文をしているでしょう。 この人(Soothsayer117)はこれを非常にまじめに受けとめます。 (この配属の後に公表されるこの人間とのそのインタビューを見てください。)

しかしながら、この場所は娯楽目的のみために意図されます。 そのために、あなたが占い師予測を信じるかどうかにかかわらず、どうかこれらの予測が娯楽のために目的のみであると想定してください。 彼らは未来か、あるいは現在の出来事の保証を暗示しないはずです。

第二に、私はすべての芸術家に私に彼らのオンラインのアートワークへのリンクを送ってくれるように要請します。 これは彼らが見せて欲しいアートワークです。 レビューがされないでしょう。 しかしながら、素晴らしい仕事への善が選ばれるでしょう。 これらの仕事はその Web サイトに対して示されるでしょう。 その芸術家と彼らのサイトへのリンクについてのインフォメーションが同じく示されるでしょう。 これはその芸術家の仕事のさらに多くを見ることに興味を持った人たちがそうすることができるようにです。 これは芸術家がそこ(に・で)彼らの仕事が気付かれるようにするのを手伝うはずです。 このサイトは、多くによって読まれて、もう1つの開催場所を提供します。 AhaBlogolicious は常に芸術家とダンサーとミュージシャンを支援することに集中させられました。 この Web サイトは彼らの仕事がそのいつものサークルの外で気付かれるようにするのを手伝います。

これをする料金はなしです。 これをするための補償はなしです。 私は芸術家が彼らの仕事が気付かれるようにするのを手伝う方法としてあなたの仕事を見せることを望みます。 それで終わりです。 ただあなたのサイトへの URL リンクそして/あるいはその特定のイラストへの URL リンクを送ってください。 アタッチメントを送らないでください! ただ URL リンクを送ってください。 アタッチメントが削除されるでしょう。 (すみません。)

ご多幸を祈りつつ! あなたから便りをもらうことを楽しみにします!
シン・アンダーソン
(電子メールインフォメーションが私のプロフィールページにあります)

Calling All: MANGA/COMIC, ANIME and Illustrator Artists!

Calling All: MANGA/COMIC, ANIME and Illustrator Artists!

Because I'm very busy these days working on my new startup game venture, I find that I have less time to track down and review new bands. I still will be doing music reviews, but just not as frequently as I would like.

So, I am expanding AhaBlogolicious. First, a new voice will be contributing -- Soothsayer117. Soothsayer117 will be doing short articles discussing Soothsayer117's own psychic predictions for the future. Soothsayer117 takes this very seriously. (See interview to be posted after this posting.) However, this site is intended for entertainment purposes only, so regardless of whether you believe in psychic predictions or not, please assume Soothsayer117's are for entertainment purposes and are not to imply any guarantee of future or current events.

Second, I invite all artists to send me links to online artwork they would like showcased. No reviews will be done, but good to fantastic works will be selected and shown on AhaBlogolicious with information about the artist and links to their site for those interested in seeing more of their work.

This is to help artists out there get their work noticed by offering another venue, read by many. AhaBlogolicious has always been focused on supporting artists of all kinds, dancers and musicians -- and helping get their work noticed outside of the usual circles.

No fees to do this but also no compensation. I want to showcase your work as a way to help artists get their work out there, that's all. Just send an URL link to your site and/or a link to the particular illustration. Do not send attachments, just URL links! Attachments will be deleted (for safety's sake.)

Best and hope to see your work!
CG Anderson
(email in profile info)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Flumpool: J-POP foursome out of Osaka, Japan -- Flumpool: 大阪からの4人のJPOP男

Flumpool

My romance with J-POP music groups continues. Four cute guys that can sing. They aren't the kind of J-POP musicians that run around wearing bunny suits in order to get attention. Nor do they need to.

These guys are great. Well-paced music. Emotional. Fun. The music had a slight 'tinny' sound reminding me of the 1960s music scene. To set the scene, think of a small club in Liverpool. The sound quality isn't that good. Yet the foursome on stage definitely have a special quality. So instead of leaving, you stay and listen to the band.

Fast, driving beats. Great musicality. Great vocals. Great tunes. That keeps you in your seat -- wanting more!

Find their MySpace site here:

Have some fun -- check out these four musicians from Osaka.

C.G. Anderson

Machine Translation (with some human intervention to clean up the translation a bit):
機械翻訳(その翻訳をきれいにするためのいずれかの人間の仲裁で):


Flumpool

Jポップ・ミュージックグループと一緒の私のロマンスは継続します。 歌うことができる4人のキュートな男。 彼らは注意を得るためにうさぎスーツを着る走り回る種類のJPOPミュージシャンではありません。 同様に彼らはそうする必要がありません。

これらの男は素晴らしいです。 うまくペース配分された音楽。 情緒です。 楽しみ。 その音楽は私にその1960年代の音楽のシーンを思い出させているわずかな「ブリキかんを叩くような」音を持っていました。 その現場を設定するために、リバプールで小さいクラブについて考えてください。 その音品質はそれほど良くありません。 それでもステージ上のその4人グループは確かに特別な特質を持っています。 それで、去る代わりに、あなたは滞在して、そしてそのバンドに耳をかたむけます。

速い、運転の打つこと。 素晴らしい音楽。 素晴らしいボーカル。 素晴らしい曲。 それはあなたをあなたの席に置いておきます - さらに多くを欲して!

ここで彼らの MySpace 場所を見いだしてください:

若干の楽しみを持ってください - 大阪からこれらの4人のミュージシャンをチェックしてください。

シン・アンダーソン

Monday, January 12, 2009

California's Champagne Blvd and Japan's Orange Stones, Acoustic Rock Meets Soft Moog Kickin Rock

Time for music!


Any band that says Pink Floyd is one of its major influencers will definitely get my attention. On the other hand, I'll also be ready to criticize as well since Pink Floyd is one of the most innovative groups to come out of music. So if a band makes that kind of claim (even as only an influence) I want to make sure that they can live up to it. Pink Floyd wasn't their only influence listed but it was the first one listed. (I'll forgive them for also listing Michael Jackson.)

Champagne Blvd doesn't disappoint. Their sound, a mix of acoustic and rock with a bit of the adventurer thrown in, is an fluid and easy listen. So soft rock, yes, but with the unerring musicality and the melodious vocals, they represent the best of soft rock -- from bouncy to darker and 'moog'-ier, depending on...well...their mood, I guess.




Give them a listen and see what you think:
www.myspace.com/champagneblvd


Orange Stones

Then again, when I got a quick listen of Orange Stones, out of Japan, there was nothing easy or soft rock-ish about them. This rock band may be 'moog' as well, but it runs polar opposition to soft acoustic rock bands. Hot, vital and pushing the speed limit is how I would describe this vibrant and energetic rock band. POPOUT was my favorite as the jumpiest, but the 60's moog feel with rounded tones and deep vibes in the other songs was just as welcome. This band is a mix of hard and soft and psychedelic experimental fun.

Give them a listen and enjoy the ride:

http://www.myspace.com/orangestones



Enjoy!
CG Anderson
cganders1@yahoo.com

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Rise and Fall of the American Empire ?

OK, winter break is over and soon I'll be filling up the blog with music reviews again...but for a moment a slight digression, if I may...skip to the end if you want to see where I'm going with this.

I spend a good portion of my time watching television, though notably I spend a very high percentage of that time watching documentaries and educational programs like those on the History Channel. I try to avoid the reality shows that masquerade as documentaries.

I spend more of my time watching channels like the History Channel and National Geographic (avoiding all the horrific animal-attack shows) as well as a lot of cartoons and anime (though I avoid Adult Swim and its toilet-humor, unfunny, imbecilic, cheap to produce stuff.) Anime like Bleach and Moribito I do watch.

However, I do watch the commercials for all the prime time shows and I'm sickened to note that reality shows are still alive and kicking (kicking us when we're down, I mean.) They are still cheap to produce (and show it), go for cheap laughs (and show it) and are still voyeuristic, sensatinalistic and even more cruel. Howie's new show is a prime example -- let's play cruel jokes on people, really make them cry or feel horrible, and then laugh at them. It's a new low NBC (not ABC, sorry).

I had high hopes for NBC's (not ABC, sorry) new international dance competition show -- showcasing the best from around the world -- and I was soon disappointed, mostly by the obvious bias in judging that even the dancers noticed...and the obvious manipulation by some of the judges to help their teams by downgrading major competitors, not to mention their self-centric attitude. Do they really think that the only thing called dance involves Western ballet and ballroom based moves? Do they really think that dissing 2 time world champions and calling them inferior, or other champions, saying they need to 'improve'...really makes us think that they are being unbiased, fair and for that matter, knowledgable?

Interestingly enough, to me the fairest judge was the one from China, in spite of the abuse he and his country was taking (one judge even rolled her eyes when asked to judge a Chinese dancer of national fame--time to hit China because you can, is it?) The back row, minus India, all lost my respect within an hour of watching their childish and obvious tactics.

Needless to say, I'm not watching it anymore. I'd love to see more of some of these performers, especially China, but I'm not sitting through anymore "We're better than you and I'm the expert" bull anymore.

Given the economic times and my penchant for watching the History Channel, I did notice one thing that bothers me more. A program called the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire detailed the Roman empire and how it turned to greater acts of cruelty as entertainment -- this done to entertain its populace and keep them from rebelling. It also began to have a leadership that didn't earn the right to rule but was given the throne. I noticed two trends:

1) cruelty became entertainment and accepted as 'fun'
2) corruption increased when people were given privileges without having to earn them (leaders that were given their position -- as emperor -- abused their power in ever increasingly extravagent ways)

I looked at the Greeks, too, from Classical to Helenistic (where the Helenistic age all went into greater cruelty entertainment and greater excesses as people didn't earn their power.) They fell to the Romans.

What happened when Rome fell? (at an unimaginable height of cruelty and excess and corruption)...the dark ages began.

The 'Holy' Roman Empire began and eventually that fell when the Renaissance (and then the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, the split of church and state --though not entirely) began and people began to rebel against the abuse, cruelty and extravagence of the church.

(Along the same lines of things I never knew: Did you know that priests used to be able to marry? And the reason the church changed to celibacy - with abuses allowed -- was because they didn't want the priest's property to go to his family? They wanted to keep it --i.e. isn't that greed? envy? ) It fits with the items I noted about the fall of a civilization.

Only now are we realizing that stuff we think we invented during the Renaissance and afterwards, was actually previously invented by the Romans, the Greeks, the lost Minoans, ancient China, etc. Things like water engines, flush toilets, complete gearing systems including computers as well as engineering that actually could shear mountain faces off and drill systems that went through moutains to create a way to 'drain' a lake! And yes, China did know about gunpowder as something other than a fireworks thingy -- they had landmines, torpedos, missiles and even firing systems that fired off multiple missiles (arrows to explosive missiles) at one time.

So what, you ask?

Imagine how far civilization could have come if such knowledge hadn't been lost -- or supressed by the new fanatic intolent religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (all based off the same god and prophets and basic belief system and all three systems encouraging supression of spirit and knowledge -- while encouraging a strict hierarchy where a few control the masses.) (This was why so many leaders liked the idea -- it gave them power. Ask Denmark, Norway and Sweden...they'll tell you.)

I know I sound severe about those religions, but I'm looking at it from the perspective of what shaped those religions and what religious leaders did while in charge of those religions. It's just plain disturbing. It's the basic tenets of some of that justification for doing harm and the organized power structure that I really worry about.

The British Empire Fell, the India Empire (s) fell, China fell, Japan fell, Soviet Union fell, Germany fell and so on and on and on -- they all seem to have corruption, excess, abuse of power, lack of worthwhile earned leadership and cruelty to others and their own, not to mention a sense of privilege, 'we're better than you' and arrogance.

I see a lot of reality television where cruelty is the entertainment. I see a lot of power and excess and people abusing that power. I see a lot of good ol' boy insider situations where people get their power without really deserving it, without earning it. I see this reflected in television, politics, institutions and average people defending their abusive actions.

So perhaps the American Empire (sorry, let's be precise...the American Republic) is about to fall as well very soon, if it's not already falling...

Will we see another dark age? And which religion will try to keep us in the dark this time? How much knowledge will be lost and how much life?

Who exactly will emerge as the next great empire, I wonder? China maybe? Successors have always needed vision, drive, intelligence, natural resources and unfortunately, a strong military -- but with leaders that earned their position that don't abuse that power.

I'm researching and compiling a list of things the new empire will likely need in order to reach dominance, and adjusted it for modern views and realities....right now, no one is in a good position to achieve empire status...but tolerance, innovation, intelligence over fanaticism still are requirements...other items like resources, vision, power and so forth are lacking in those that might be the next big empire...

Maybe the three big (organized hierarchy) religions with the common me-only-me base will be supplanted as well? (and yes, as I noted before, I was researching a bit....check your real history, all of them were reacting to political events around them, Roman occupation, war, cruelty-as-entertainment, slavery...so they had a good reason to believe others outside their group were bad and to be killed -- still carry that attitude to excess and you get what? How much blood needs to be spilled?)

I wonder.

So while there's still time before the end of it all, I'll just focus on talking about music and for the most part, keep my mouth shut about the rest. (After all, in all those situations, those that tried to point out the problem found themselves discounted, disparaged and killed off.) I'd rather not be killed, thank you very much...nor disparaged. Discounted, I'm not sure. :)

So I won't do this type of off-the-cuff, unedited, unplanned editorial very often. I'll stick to music and trying to make people laugh (but without abuse and cruelty -- or toilet humor -- if at all possible. No guarantees, even I occasionally like that stuff...I'll admit that I like the anime Shin Chan, but in small doses!)

But for the few of you that read this, in agreement or not, thank you for taking the time to do so.
OK, I'll shut up now. :) (thanks)

CG Anderson
very tired and sad at the moment, 2008 has been a very sad year for me...but music does make me happy, so I'll be back to doing that soon...thank goodness for musicians, artists and writers, you keep me sane(r)!

cganders1@yahoo.com