An update...

It was only yesterday when I was saying that my feelings towards this blog were that it was becoming a chore, and that I'd likely move everything over to Beat Laments The World from now on and then leave this here.

But, then today, I saw something. Idolminded is having its anniversary and Ray posted a series of Blog Maintenance topics that got me thinking, especially this one.

I can't remember how long I had the pink theme. I remember I had a white one before it, but that didn't last more than a few months, if I recall, which means that I had the pink theme for about 3.5 years, somewhat longer then than Ray's annual change. It also took me back to something Dean (who used to write for Yonasu but dunno what he's doing these days) said not long back: that my theme was shit.

That, to be honest, was perfectly true. However, in my general feeling of disregard for this blog I gave not a fig and carried on regardless.

However, upon seeing Ray's blog today I started thinking. Then after thinking I went straight into blogspot's helpfully useless Template editor and started screwing around. That theme was probably up for about an hour before I thought, "hold on, I need a new banner."

I made the banner you now see, which is horrific and needs fixing, in about half an hour, and uploaded it.

"There, done," I thought to myself, clicking off and buggering off to do somewhat else.

Ten minutes later I was back and browsing template themes. I found one I really liked, then spent the better part of the next three hours tweaking it until it stopped sucking. The work on Blogger never ends...

The idea behind the new theme is a bit more of a Web 2.0 look, a more concise theme. You may see the posts in the slider bar: those are the top viewed posts. I have nothing to do with it. Don't blame me that the number of foot fetishists on the internet outnumber the ass fetishists, leg fetishists and hip fetishists by a significant amount.

I wanted a theme that was both clean and dark, because the interlude theme was a very dark grey and light blue theme I chose to stick mostly to those colours, and ended up with a black and light grey theme.

I also deleted some of the various sidebars, moved the album rating compendium up in the header and wrote a new About page.

Anyway, this blog did have a point, that being: someone, out of the kindness of your heart please make me a banner that doesn't suck. If you want to, there's a bunch of social media links at the bottom now where you can stalk me tell me if you want to make me a banner.

The other point is that the new theme has made me somewhat more receptive of the idea of continuing with this blog. Hell, you can't spend most of a day turfing out bits and pieces of HTML and Javascript and chopping and mending CSS without coming to fall in love with something again. So yea, I probably won't quit. Until I have to review the Berryz album and then I'll want to stop again.

Anyway, until next time.

Krv

9nine - Retrospection in Musica

I'll be honest, my feelings towards this blog are becoming almost certain that it's now redundant, a water-laden ship wallowing half-sunk upon the waves of the wota blogosphere. The few features I do now: the album reviews, the January idol list and the December Year in Reviews are becoming harder and more time-consuming to write. Of course, this is because when I started this blog I was very solely stuck to H!P, and then it was mostly Momusu. Of course, I expanded, and quickly, being DD will do that to you. Perhaps too quickly. My idol bodyparts list sank, I doubt I'll ever finish it. It's not that it's hard to write; indeed, there is very little writing to be done. It's that it's tedium. And that's the way I feel in general now about writing for this blog. Album reviews no longer flow like rivers from my fingertips. The new Berryz album awaits, unlistened to. The new Momoclo album beckons, yet the words of praise falter on my lips, the minor disappointment of Neo Stargate fresh in my memory.

Even on the other side, on Beat Laments The World, has my content slowed to a stuttering halt. I still write posts, of a surety, but I'm nearly a year since my last massive list post and no further ideas strike me. Those that do sit, awaiting but someone to stoke the flames. It seems then, I must content to idle, posting what unwelcome reviews I may, and generally existing until I regain somewhat of my sundered inspiration. I'm even considering moving everything over there (probably to Henkka's annoyance) and just leaving this place to rot in peace, a derelict monolith to the follies of youth. Another point in favour of that course of action is that Wordpress is decidedly less willfull than Blogspot, much as I disdain of the control panel in it. I've had to code half of this post fully, yet the other half was content with simple enters and Ctrl commands. I'm undecided though.

But anyway, enough lamenting. As some of you may know, 9nine released their new album CUE not long back, and this has given me the opportunity to further rack myself with tedium. As I did with Tokyo Girls' Style, I'll do a bit of a music retrospective, and review all of their albums, due to me being yet to review any of them. Of course, that means hours of listening and writing for me, and probably a lot of time reading and getting bored for you. Good thing the tedium cuts both ways, I guess.

Anyway, I'll touch briefly into 9nine's history. They're all on the LesPros agency, and formed at some point in 2005 and worked up to an indies debut called Sweet Snow in 2006. Then they released some digital singles (seemingly their preferred method of distribution), starting with Shine, and a few physical ones, alongside two albums on Victor, which endured until halfway through 2010. Then they redebuted under Sony, and released some actual singles. The Victor era was exemplified by weird release strategies and hardly any sales or promotion, the Sony era practically the opposite, though these reviews will decide on the most important factor: the music.

PVs are scarce. The indies stuff is nigh unfindable, the Victor stuff given but brief snippets, and the Sony stuff hidden behind SMEJ's great anti-gaijin firewall. Of course, pretty much the only PVs on youtube are the ones for the songs that aren't on any album. Great.

Momoiro Clover Z Really Do Rock My Fucking World

After a conversation with wu on twitter I realised I'd been a bit lacking in regards to actually making a coherent and non-list/FAKSM Momoclo post. Usually I put all my nuggets of wisdom into album review posts, but as Momoclo are approaching 2 years since their last it's been a little difficult. However, with the release of their second album, 5th Dimension, only a month away I figured I'd do an in-depth and comprehensive post on why they kick my ass on so many levels. This will, of course, mean that this post will be unbearably long and no doubt boring to those of you who have no interest in Momoclo. However, it may awaken some of you to your inner nutcase and allow you to safely descend to the depths of being a mononofu without fear of reprisal. On the other hand, this post is basically just to convince wu that Momoclo are probably the ones most likely to get him back into J-idols, so if you're not wu then you could probably give this post a miss. But why would you do that when I have lots of crazy Momoclo links?

So, where to start? For a change, not the beginning, because the beginning is boring and if we're taking this post as a mental guide to Momoclo then I may as well channel Sheogorath and make as little sense as humanly (or Daedrically) possible.

Thus far in Momoclo's storied careers, the biggest change they had to endure was the departure of Hayami Akari, the Blue rapper. Granted, other girls left while the group was in its formative stages (Kashiwa Yukina would later join Nogizaka46, and Takai Tsukina joined SKE48 before rejoining Stardust for some reason), but none of them had as big an impact as Akari. She was their subleader (and by all rights a slightly more effective field marshal than the minorly batshit insane Kanako, or the majorly batshit insane Reni before her) and in charge of all the rap parts in their songs. She was also the most mature and serious member, and probably had the smallest fanbase. Yet it's telling that now, two years after her graduation, blue glowsticks are still a notable staple of their live shows, and the group is prone to opportune shout-outs in her direction at any given moment, most especially at last year's Kouhaku. The second album is even being released on the second anniversary of her departure. In any case, one can certainly mark a delineated line through Momoclo's history at this point, and the beginning of their "third era", so to speak. Assuming that the first era was the pre-debut and Indies days, and the second era the major singles before Akari's departure. Nowadays, the lineup is just five: Kanako (red, leader), Shiori (yellow), Momoka (green), A~rin (pink) and Reni (purple, ex-leader).

This departure led to some of Momoclo's known insanity (hardcore nationwide touring at a young age in a crappy van will do that to you) seeping ever deeper into their music. Granted, Ikuze! Kaitou Shoujo, Pinky Jones and Chai Maxx got on my prog list, but it seems that with every released single they plumb as yet unconquered depths in the human psyche just by descending deeper into madness, whether that be through song structure, timbre, highly relevent lyrics or just the damn imagery.

Which brings me to the next point. Momoclo's PVs, aside from mostly being silly, irreverent and referential, seem to have a theme or plot, especially nowadays. A quick runthrough since their major debut:

Brainstorm This!

So, Morning Musume have come out with a "Loose Shot" version PV for their next single, Brainstorming, the release of which is about 7 weeks away still. The early reactions I've seen seem to have reached a consensus that the song is good, the dance is amazing, and that Ayumi looks delicious in twintails.

So, let's take a look at the video, shall we?