Recently I have been listening to more music with female vocals, part of my growing appreciation for our most basic instrument. A bit has to do with my taste trending towards electronic for the past two years, where the voice is usually fractured and abstracted into pure sound. A bit has to do with ingesting kpop on a regular basis, where I cannot even begin to understand (thank goodness!) the lyrics besides the standard english word throw-in. This education has over time changed my experience and appreciation of "regular" english songs. Certain voices just do it for me: modest, sweet, clear. And then there are certain songs made on that one second where her voice hits exactly the right note or where the change is exactly what you wanted, and it is absolutely delicious.
she's hearing voices
Recently I have been listening to more music with female vocals, part of my growing appreciation for our most basic instrument. A bit has to do with my taste trending towards electronic for the past two years, where the voice is usually fractured and abstracted into pure sound. A bit has to do with ingesting kpop on a regular basis, where I cannot even begin to understand (thank goodness!) the lyrics besides the standard english word throw-in. This education has over time changed my experience and appreciation of "regular" english songs. Certain voices just do it for me: modest, sweet, clear. And then there are certain songs made on that one second where her voice hits exactly the right note or where the change is exactly what you wanted, and it is absolutely delicious.
black and blue
over summer i decided to wear more black, starting with a pair of black jeans hemmed and tapered to perfection (slim not skinny), which i perused almost every day. black, i realized, was the best color for lazy people cutting down on sloppiness.
but then i received the perfect jacket: a chambray blue with a hoodie (perfect for dc's unpredictable showers) and a form which swung gently from my body. best of all was the clever inner right pocket taken from menswear. so i started thinking about blue. the most humble of colors, always easy on the eyes. a color that gently sways between emotions.
then, my best friend, who surely has esp, showed up for our day adventure in the most perfect blue outfit--loose navy grandfather sweater, white and aqua sailor striped shorts, multi-colored blue sperrys. she fit perfectly.
i like how clothing and location harmonize. i remember seeing photos from the devastation in africa (here). they are tragic to be sure and mainly meant to be informational, but i was also dazzled by the colors in their clothing, the array of colors and patterns which looked beautiful framed in rust sunsets and barren deserts. wsj did a recent article on the sapeurs of the congo (here): "kin sapeurs, they tell me, adore yohji because his style is violent and brutal, in line with the spirit of their city."
similarly, i cast cities in different colors and feel myself gradually shifting my preferences. baltimore, a city of experimentation, of neons, prints, and mix-matching. washington, shimmering white and glass-blue accented in black like the sec building i pass by on my way to school. but while i find myself dressing more formal, with less colors and less strange shapes, bits of baltimore still peeps in. recently: a beautiful mediterranean-colored scarf swimming with fishes.
solanin
today i listened to adele's "someone like you" a few times. had a bit of a moment to be honest. i think i would much prefer to sing another farewell song,"solanin," from the same titled film. while the film disappointed me (i loved the original manga) this song was on continuous play for quite a while over summer.
later i found out the song was created by asian kung-fu generation. which was such an engrained part of my high school life (partly due to falling asleep daily with the music on) that i had to revisit other old favorites. i find myself having complete musical nostalgia every other month, remembering and reconfirming the best parts of my past. i am so glad to find them as sweet as ever.
Goodbye, that's enough
You can cope anywhere
Goodbye, I'll manage somehow too
Goodbye, that's what I'll do
later i found out the song was created by asian kung-fu generation. which was such an engrained part of my high school life (partly due to falling asleep daily with the music on) that i had to revisit other old favorites. i find myself having complete musical nostalgia every other month, remembering and reconfirming the best parts of my past. i am so glad to find them as sweet as ever.
The Pillows - Bran-new Lovesong
Asian Kung Fu Generation - Mugen Glider
Plastic Tree - Sink
Deadman - Sakura to Ame
MUCC - Waru, Arubeki Basho
study break
attempt to start a movie club at school was semi-successful. i reserved a study room on the fifth floor (like D-level in terms of function) of the library, but the projector was clearly made out for presentations not movie screening. so we huddled around my pitiful 15", glancing anxiously every now and then towards the door. our excuse had to do with criminal law...homicides.
thinking back on it, "fallen angels" was probably not the best thing to pick for a first movie gathering. unfortunately i couldn't find "in the mood for love" in time. i have watched this movie three times, once by myself. once with a few close friends who like art films. and this time with a group of new friends who are not well introduced to the genre.
being neurotic i was clearly most nerve-wracked with the final viewing. somehow i started finding the film too cool, too stylized, too empty of deeper meaning. i relaxed somewhat when takeshi kaneshiro did his comical routine as a night-time worker; it garnered a lot of laughs. but then the story went back to the hitman. silence and pretzel crunches. oh, why was everyone so crazy? did they always have to do slow motion and play "because i'm cool" for the pre-blood bath walk? is it necessary that she* looked completely unaffected in every scene?
by the end, i was half-twisting myself around trying to figure out why i liked the film in the first place. i dreaded the end of movie when i would have to face them under the light, see their stunned or worse bored faces, explain to them why i had to put them through this one hour and forty-minutes of torture.
after i launched into some preemptory apologies, gladly they said they enjoyed the film. it was different. it was good that they were introduced to this style of movie. they were never bored at any part. and then some light teasing regarding my personality...
and so, all in all completely not worth the anxiety...but i'm still getting inception for next time.
*i realized she looks like arimura ryuutaro's cousin. that nose!
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somewhat perfect place to put these photos from the most recent vogue china. tao okamoto by lachlan bailey. (full set here)
