I used to do this on my livejournal every year, but since I've kind of stopped posting there and this blog seems to be the slightly more relevant/active one, I'll be doing my annual year-end review here. To start off, as per the usual here is a table outlining the games I've played, books I've read, movies and shows watched.
Thursday 31 December 2015
Tuesday 8 December 2015
FNS 歌謡祭 - Arashi [2015.12.03]
FNS Kayousai is my most favourite year end music special. Why? Because unlike Best Artist which is turning more and more into a Johnny's fest every year, and Music Station which tends to just focus on more current Jpop stars, FNS has a good mix of everything--and they literally mix it up! I love seeing the collaborations between groups and singers, and hearing older classic songs spruced up with the latest singles.
All in all, as a music show I think FNS has the most to offer and is the most entertaining. With that being said, ever since the great fiasco of 2011, Arashi stopped appearing live on FNS which made me not really watch it anymore. This year though, they were there, which got me really excited because that meant that a) they were going to collaborate and b) hopefully they would sing live again?
Well. A was partially true but I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for B. I mean, at the end of the day I don't mind if Arashi lip syncs. I really don't--I'm not here for there spectacular singing voices anyway. BUT. The thing is, at FNS, it is so obvious that everyone is singing live. You can hear it. Even if you don't necessarily recognize the song and have never heard the recorded track, you can tell just from the sound of their voices that they are singing through a microphone. Arashi? Yeah. Nope. And the reason this bugged me?
BECAUSE IT MEANT THEY DIDN'T DO A SINGING COLLABORATION. I was so upset! I loved when Arashi did their collaborations in 2009 and 2011. They were really great and super enjoyable and fun to watch. And at least for their version of Hatenai Sora in 2010, it was obvious they were singing live. But no. This year, they did a "collaboration" with Momo Clover Z where the girls just back danced for them. And obviously the girls couldn't sing a long because Arashi was lip syncing (and they were, it was obvious). If you listen to the sound of Arashi vs the sound of literally anyone else who performed, it is obvious those voices aren't coming from the mics. Or--if they were (which I think for Ai wo Sakebe they kind of were)--it was accompanied by heavy backing vocals.
Honestly. Part of me feels like the only reason they appeared live this year was because Matchy was there. If they didn't need to support their sempai (seriously watching all the Johnny's standing front and centre pretending to enjoy Matchy's performance was so embarrassing... I wonder what everyone else though), then I doubt they would have showed up. I wonder if they'll even bother showing up next year or if it'll be back to sending in studio recordings again :|
Also. Finally. What the hell was up with MatsuJun's hat?
Oh. This was supposed to be a performance review wasn't it? Um. I thought it was cute that MatsuJun shook the hand of that MomoClo girl before they left. Ai wo Sakebe had Sho making faces as usual and Jun looking super happy. Uh............ yeah. I don't even remember what song they did in between Wish and Ai wo Sakebe. Did they do song in between? You can tell how impressed I was with the performance. Sorry. I love Arashi, but guys, no one is going to freak out if you sing out of tune okay. We all saw the 2011 fiasco, you can't get worse than that. Seriously. -_-;;
All in all, as a music show I think FNS has the most to offer and is the most entertaining. With that being said, ever since the great fiasco of 2011, Arashi stopped appearing live on FNS which made me not really watch it anymore. This year though, they were there, which got me really excited because that meant that a) they were going to collaborate and b) hopefully they would sing live again?
Well. A was partially true but I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for B. I mean, at the end of the day I don't mind if Arashi lip syncs. I really don't--I'm not here for there spectacular singing voices anyway. BUT. The thing is, at FNS, it is so obvious that everyone is singing live. You can hear it. Even if you don't necessarily recognize the song and have never heard the recorded track, you can tell just from the sound of their voices that they are singing through a microphone. Arashi? Yeah. Nope. And the reason this bugged me?
BECAUSE IT MEANT THEY DIDN'T DO A SINGING COLLABORATION. I was so upset! I loved when Arashi did their collaborations in 2009 and 2011. They were really great and super enjoyable and fun to watch. And at least for their version of Hatenai Sora in 2010, it was obvious they were singing live. But no. This year, they did a "collaboration" with Momo Clover Z where the girls just back danced for them. And obviously the girls couldn't sing a long because Arashi was lip syncing (and they were, it was obvious). If you listen to the sound of Arashi vs the sound of literally anyone else who performed, it is obvious those voices aren't coming from the mics. Or--if they were (which I think for Ai wo Sakebe they kind of were)--it was accompanied by heavy backing vocals.
Honestly. Part of me feels like the only reason they appeared live this year was because Matchy was there. If they didn't need to support their sempai (seriously watching all the Johnny's standing front and centre pretending to enjoy Matchy's performance was so embarrassing... I wonder what everyone else though), then I doubt they would have showed up. I wonder if they'll even bother showing up next year or if it'll be back to sending in studio recordings again :|
Also. Finally. What the hell was up with MatsuJun's hat?
Oh. This was supposed to be a performance review wasn't it? Um. I thought it was cute that MatsuJun shook the hand of that MomoClo girl before they left. Ai wo Sakebe had Sho making faces as usual and Jun looking super happy. Uh............ yeah. I don't even remember what song they did in between Wish and Ai wo Sakebe. Did they do song in between? You can tell how impressed I was with the performance. Sorry. I love Arashi, but guys, no one is going to freak out if you sing out of tune okay. We all saw the 2011 fiasco, you can't get worse than that. Seriously. -_-;;
Monday 7 December 2015
Once Upon a Time - Ranting about Season 5 (SPOILERS!!!)
So last year (wow, only last year) I got into the ABC drama Once Upon a Time. One of the very few English dramas I watch, and besides Modern Family, the only American show I have ever followed while it was airing. Basically, that means that I like this show a lot.
Or at this point, I am very tempted to say that I liked it. Why? Because season 5 has been such a train-wreck. (SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT - LIKE REALLY SERIOUS ONES - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
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