To be truly touched by something, I feel, is one of the most beautiful things in the world. It can be anything really: an artwork, a song, a theory, a gift, a glace, a caress (though I don't understand that one much)...
And so today I thought I would speak about Hora and Kaya's new album, Another Cell. Now, I know most of the people reading this won't be interested in Schwarz Stein, so I am going to use all of my glorious, yarare choujin-like inner strength and make this entry as Non-Otaku as is possible given that I am myself.

The song in question this time is Indwell, which was originally an instrumental released on Hora's second solo album, "The World." Now the reason I don't listen to most music on the radio is because it holds nothing special or powerful, and is simply a reflection of stereotypical views of this world and love, relationships, etc. It doesn't bring the listeners anywhere, and it doesn't try to show them something new, to connect with them on a level that words alone cannot provide. And that is why I was a Malice Mizer bandgirl, because they used their music, stages, photos, costumes, and even personalities to create worlds and stories outside of our own worlds. And the girls who would wear gothic and lolita, or cosplay, and go to the concerts, they became a part of those worlds for that hour or so that they remained inside the stage hall...protected from everything outside.

I feel that there's nothing like that anymore in Japan. I found it again in Velvet Eden, and in Kaggra, and then once more in Schwarz Stein. And perhaps ever so slightly in Selia's performances (though I tired of those rather quickly)...but with the rash of indies level band dissolutions back in 2001-2002 the visual kei scene appears to have been replaced by mainstreamed bands like Gazette and Antique Doll. Whatever it was that made those few visual kei bands shine through seems to have been lost. And so I no longer listen to visual kei, for as much as I could ever be said to have listened to it in the first place.

And having said that, I have been translating Hora and Kaya's diary entries and lyrics for the past 3 years (laughs). And I personally haven't been let down. "Inner Universe" was a beautiful CD, surprisingly enough \^o^ oh-hoh hoh hoh...not that anyone expected it to be bad, but I don't think they were expecting Hora to have a smooshy side (which he did). It was beautiful. Then came "The World."

Some people didn't like the album, pointing out that some of the songs were too short, or that a few were not as strong as they could have been, but...I saw "The World" as a story of a man's (or a god's) life experiences put into music form, and it create one of those worlds I thought to have dissapeared years ago. The story started with him being hedonistic and closed off from everything, but at "Inner Elements" finding something both inspiring and beautiful within himself and the world around him. Perhaps he fell in love in "Heavenz," which was only 1:30 minutes long because, well, love and happiness tend to disappear all to quickly, hm? *wry smile* But perhaps this was a creation myth, with the god creating the skies.

"The World" was his awakening to the world around him, or again perhaps him creating the world. But if that was so, then "Modulate God" was him being overwhelmed by it and becoming a single voice among the clockwork and rythm of everyone and everything around him.

Although I don't know what it was, "Spellbound" was finding something amidst everything else that made him happy, perhaps someone, and made him see the world in a new light...and "Indwell" was the outcome of finding that something and creating that world, the consequences of his awakening through that thing. When I first heard it I was struck by how lonely it sounded, perhaps not sad, but somewhat forgotten or isolated. I think there was a message in the CD that people were suppose to understand and learn from, something that had been learned from his own life experiences.Whatever it was, I think he wanted people to hear it and understand it, and learn from it.

Then when "Another Cell" came out a few days ago and I read the lyrics, they simply reflected what I had already understood from about Hora's message from "The World" *lyrics for Indwell here*
I'm almost tempted to say that something somewhat painful happened to him over the past year, and that changed him and how he saw life completely. I also want to say that the outcome wasn't a happy one but..Kaya, too, did say at one point that he sang "Funerary Dream" as if it could reach someone he world never see again. But then, you never can say for certain how much in a truly beautiful work is true, and how much is simply a fiction used to tell a truth. No? (laughs....?)

All I know is that one song has moved me more than anything I have ever heard. And it's not because of what I learned from it, but because that story I just told you is also my own story. And those lyrics, those are how I am feeling now.

Oh but there is one difference!

In that song, I see it as him giving up on whatever it was that he adored and lost due to his own weakness. But I'm still clinging on to my dreams...because, you know, everything is connected, and I like to think that someday, somehow (not destiny but...) these kinds of things have a tendency to work themselves out if they were meant to be. If not, I'm in trouble *laughs*...I have someone of my own I arbitrarily adore, was to weak to talk to, and would more than anything like to find again...and until I can, I'll just have to buy Buffalo sneakers (>_>)

So, you know? They kind have HAVE to work. Because dreams, sometimes they have to come true...
But if that something in the CD is someone who has died...well...death's always more painful for those left alive. Again, just my own personal angst and interpretations. But this is really what I see in the CD. And this is why I'm still translating after all these years, and because it makes me feel better just knowing they're still there.

Is this just the ramblings of a simple bandgirl? I often wonder myself....probably. Most likely. Yes (jibaku)

Oh, and just randomly, because she's cute and might not mind some promotion, as insignificant as it is, Kaya has a sister, Nomico....that name *orz n' lol* Anyway, my friend had me visit her site yesterday and it was cute but strangely traditional, so I decided to post the link here and see what happens.

http://nomico.babymilk.jp/

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