Forum - View topicHai Fidelity - L'arc~en~Ciel: Kiss
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perpetual159
 Posts: 32 Location: Washington D.C., United States |
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This new ANN feature is awesome, and you just made my day by starting it with L'Arc~en~Ciel, the one and only band that got me hooked to J-Pop/Rock/etc., and though I know a lot of people hate visual kei, I still love L'Arc, and I don't care! Furthermore, I love Hyde's voice. Yes, I'm definitely partial, but I'll still say it: whoever said that L'Arc is bored with their own music is seriously mistaken. They should watch their live concerts. And though I don't know a single thing about music--I don't play an instrument, or know how to read music--I love their sound. The good thing about this band is that they virtually have an awesome song for just about every mood you might possibly be in.
I have to say though that, personally, I wasn't really impressed with their last album... it was just kind of "blah" for me, compared to their past work. Some of the songs in Kiss were a little too "fruity" (i.e., Pretty Girl) for my taste, or simply not catchy enough like others in the past. I personally prefer their darker/hardcore stuff a lot more than their "fluffy" songs. But, you know what they say... everyone needs a little sugar in their coffee... I admit it, I enjoyed songs like "flower," haha! In any case, it was pretty funny to see their Seventh Heaven PV... hahaha... Hyde looks like he's having an epileptic attack as he "attempts" to dance, not to mention Tetsu's pseudo eye-rolling glances as he watches Hyde "dance". Still, the PV is pretty fun to watch, and after a while, the song kind of grows on you.... a little bit...! For the most part, L'Arc~en~Ciel has been my first favorite band... foreign and domestic (and I don't even speak or understand Japanese, so that goes to show how much I enjoy their music). I was hooked with Rurouni Kenshin's ending theme "4th Avenue Cafe" and later, as I began listening to Anime Academy Radio, with "Ready Steady Go", before I ever knew a single thing about this song being one of FMA's opening themes. I finally watched FMA, and the only good thing I found on that show was precisely that opening song, and concluded that the show wasn't all that and that it was pretty overrated... in my opinion. I didn't have a problem with what someone else said regarding the "loosely translated part." Zac made a good point... some people like to nip pick everything simply for the sake of argument. Furthermore, it goes to show that the writer is open enough to let the reader know that there are other possibilities for translation, and that whatever she chose to use was based on her subjectivity. Translation can be complicated like that; I know because I do it professionally. In the end, I'm glad she bothered to translate, at least it gives me--virtually the only anime dork who knows VERY LITTLE Japanese--an idea of what the song's name might translate to. |
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bonbonsrus
 Posts: 1537 Location: Michigan, USA |
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Since reading this the other day I have had Karma Chameleon stuck in my head.
I don't think Culture Club ever got enough love. |
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LauraOrganaSolo
 Posts: 110 |
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Let me preface this with a note that I really like ANN as a whole. I enjoy the majority of its columnists -- but this review made me laugh.
First of all, what kind of title is "はい fidelity?" What is that supposed to mean exactly besides LOL JPZ? It doesn't make any sense. Second, the author makes it sound like she's intimately familiar with the rest of L'Arc's music but her comments make it sound like she's only listened to their anime theme songs. For example, there's nothing "typical" about Hurry Xmas. L'Arc fans everywhere were falling over themselves at the surreality of it, and even more shocked that it was written by Hyde LOL FAITH & AWAKE ALBUMS of all people (as opposed to bassist Tetsu, who has, in the past, showed a penchant for pop songs I can only describe as genki -- refer to "Blurry Eyes" from DNA Squared). Regarding L'Arc songs that potentially hurt one's ears, the author's ignorance is reflected in the fact that she's clearly never heard their Ectomorphed album, Best C/W ("A Swell in the Sun," "hole"), Dune album ("Taste of Love"), or "Inner Core" from Tierra. This isn't me saying "THESE SONGS SUCK LESS THAN SPIRAL" or whatever (if I wanted to do that, I'd say "You haven't heard a L'Arc song that hurts your ears till you've listened to 'C'est La Vie'"), it's a matter of musical technique and the presence of a lot of discord in the melodies of some of the above songs. On the other hand, I could be wrong and Rachel is some kind of Big Name Fan somewhere, but the impression that I get is that she isn't as familiar with L'Arc as she is attempting to sound. I'd rather she say straight out in her review that she isn't exactly some kind of L'Arc expert than confuse readers who don't know a L'Arc song from a Glay song. MY POINT err, kind of: interested readers, don't spend $30 + S&H on Kiss just because of this review (because at least the author and I agree that this album is definitely not the highlight of L'Arc's career, and you might be disappointed and angry that you spent $30 + S&H to import it). Get Tofu Records' more affordable domestic North America releases of Smile, Clicked Singles Best 13, and Awake. Or hell, even vocalist Hyde's third solo album, Faith. |
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Zoe
 Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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Just to be clear, I'm speaking on the "loosely translated" bit from a readability point of view--not as a translation issue.
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FanFicGuru
Posts: 159 |
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Thanks for this column. I think it's very nice to see ANN spreading out into the music field. I've been wanting to pick up more J-pop and J-rock...and hopefully this column will help me spread beyond those two genres.
Thanks again. Great work. 
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LauraOrganaSolo
Posts: 110 |
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If you're not familiar with L'Arc~en~Ciel, I would not recommend spending $30 + S&H on Kiss (OR buying a cheap bootleg
 ) just because of this review (because at least the author and I agree that this album is definitely not the highlight of L'Arc's career, and you might be disappointed and angry that you spent $30 + S&H to import it and then be like L'ARC SUX and then you'll be missing out on almost 20 years' worth of awesome albums).
Get now-defunct Tofu Records' extremely affordable domestic North America releases of Smile, Clicked Singles Best 13, and Awake. Or hell, even vocalist Hyde's third solo album, Faith. These are all way better introductions to L'Arc, I think. |
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Deacon Blues
Posts: 395 Location: Albuquerque, NM |
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I can't exactly say this is a true music review. You are critiquing nothing but the music and instead are skipping over the meaning of the song and how it relates to the music, which basically defeats the purpose of what it is setting out to do. Like Laura said, these songs are tied to their compositions and not just half-heartedly strung in there. Perhaps if you actually took the time to have someone explain the theme of the song or even have someone interpret it for you it would do you a lot of justice instead of writing an extremely biased review based on blind assumptions.
As for Zak screaming about fans regarding the translations: This is debatable. The interpretation is solely based on the translator, therefore in the case of the review it shouldn't be necessary. One could also argue the same with episode titles on this website as well, but that's a topic for another day. |
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Cassandra
 Posts: 1356 Location: Birdsboro, PA |
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A majority of these reviews are going to be written shortly after the CD comes out. My Japanese skills are not good enough to translate entire songs in order to discuss the meaning of the lyrics and, since the CDs will be fairly new, there won't be any translations available online for at least a couple of weeks after the column is written. The column will pretty much focus on the sound of the music and the "vibe" that comes off the songs instead of some deep meaning hidden in the lyrics. |
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Cassandra
Posts: 1356 Location: Birdsboro, PA |
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I'm actually quite familiar with all of L'arc's works. I actually listen to them on a daily basis and Spiral is still the only song that causes me physical pain. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Is there a particular reason you chose to be condescending and insulting about this rather than phrasing your criticisms like you're speaking to another human being?
Yeah you're right, I sure was screaming about that. I was leaping up and down shouting at the top of my lungs with steam coming out of my ears. Boy, you sure are a fair and reasonable person! Thanks for stopping by the forums and making the community a better place, Deacon_Blues! The title is supposed to be a catchy play on words, it doesn't "mean" anything. |
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Zoe
Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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It just occured to me that this is a play on the book/movie "High Fidelity." Something that will probably be lost on most readers. |
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Cassandra
Posts: 1356 Location: Birdsboro, PA |
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High fidelity (hi-fi) is a term used in audio quality. Hi-fi is high quality, lo-fi is low quality. |
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Zoe
Posts: 898 Location: Austin |
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Now if the title was "Hai-Fi" I would have made that direct connection, but as it is, every time I hear "High Fidelity" I think of John Cusack and of Jack Black jumping around 
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Deacon Blues
Posts: 395 Location: Albuquerque, NM |
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Sorry, but I tend to tell it like it is, which is exactly how it is. It wasn't stated in a condescending fashion at all. I stated a simple truth.
Yeah you're right, I sure was screaming about that. I was leaping up and down shouting at the top of my lungs with steam coming out of my ears. Boy, you sure are a fair and reasonable person! Thanks for stopping by the forums and making the community a better place, Deacon_Blues![/quote] Fine, I'll admit that "screaming" wasn't the most appropriate word to use, however, I know that you get quite a few complaints about it, and you do tend to vent all too often through sarcasm in most of your postings on the site about it. Simple fact. All in all, the point of the review would be based on an interpretation from an individual, namely how they choose to interpret it. The review is opinionated, so if someone doesn't agree with it (someones interpretation of the song), well that's their own problem. They can argue that in the forum for that reason. The title is supposed to be a catchy play on words, it doesn't "mean" anything.[/quote] |
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FanFicGuru
Posts: 159 |
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Just so you know, nobody will have to "import" this if they don't want to, as it is available on US itunes. I looked it up the other day and it's available for 9.99 to purchase the entire album. So, unless you're big on getting the actual CD and insert, etc. You won't need to spend the S&H on it, just slap it onto your MP3 player. Enjoy.
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