最近、あまりロックには興味ない。特に、1960年代くらいの化石のような音楽はもうどうでもよくなった。ま、あのころのロックが原点なのはわかるけれど、いつまでもそればっかり聞いてたりするのは、もう無理。

で、最近本屋なんかで立ち読みして思ったけれど、今でもロック雑誌なんて、この時代の音楽、要するに50年くらい前のロックなんかをツラツラと編集してるわけなんだねえ・・・・・いつまで、そんなのやってんだろう。今の時代のならわかるけれど、かれこれ40年や50年前・・・・・そんな音楽の雑誌作ってて楽しんだろうか。進歩しない自分がいやにならんのか？それとも、歴史のお勉強なんだろうか・・・。

で、ロックギタリストなんてのもいまだにジミーペイジだとかジミヘンだとかクラプトンだとかジェフベックだとか・・・・呆れるわ。

ところで、そんな伝説のギタリストでちょっと不思議なのは、なんでジミーページだとかキースリチャーズとかジョージハリスンあたりが、名ギタリストにリストされることがあるんだろう。ギターだけ聞くなら、滅茶苦茶へたにしか聞こえないんだけどねえ。　歴史的なバンドに在籍したから、そうなってんだろうけどね。なんたって、名曲でギター弾いてるんだから、強いよなあ。

名バンドにいたってことで、名ギタリストになれたってことなんじゃないかね。ソロじゃ絶対つまらないギタリストなのは事実なわけで。

ジミヘンドリックスやジェフベックあたりは、ロックの名ギタリストっていわれると納得するけど、この上の3人くらいになると名ギタリストはちょっと？？？？になるなあ。だって、このあたりのギターなら日本人でもよほどもっと巧いギタリストいるからね。でも、隣にロバートプラントだのジョンレノンだのヘロヘロになってももちこたえるミックジャガーだのがいるから、なんかカッコになっちまってたわけだよね。

それにしても、この手のロックはあと50年後もまだ同じこと繰り返して語られてんだろうか・・・恐ろしいわ。

Jazz pianist, late Bill Evans is one of my music idol. I think more or less I’m influenced by his music.

I recorded a new song for a image of New York City, and the result was just a bit like Jazz taste.  Not especially I had Bill Evans in my mind when I wrote this song, New York City Night, but something of his tune ” You and the Night and the Music” might have influenced me for playing this song.

This is not “Japanese music”, but as I’m Japanese, this could be one of them ??

Anyway, this is new one from my works.

This music is not one from any famous musicians in Japan but from my own works.  I love creating music. When I used to work for radio media, producing music is one of my works then.

Not having been working for long time on music, something told me to start it again.

Today’s recording technique is really advanced compared to the one we knew before.  If we prepared all the necessary recording equipments by ourselves, maybe it would have been more than 10 thousand dollars AT LEAST.   For  enough situation, actually we needed to pay more than 20 to 30 thousand dollars.

But now, DTP or desk top music changed our music creation style.  Probably the cost needed for that is about one thousand dollars for starting, and all the melody and rhythem can be created inside the PC.  This is really amazing.

That change of recording environment moved me to tackle music creation again.

Please check next song if you have time.

This is not directed by Hayao Miyazaki, but it’s truly a Ghibli flavor work with a lot of love and color in the movie.

Arrietty is directed by a member of Ghibli, Hiromasa Yonebayashi with story planned by Hayao Miyazaki and the producer, Toshio Suzuki.

Some works of Studio Ghibli, such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, or Ponyo in the Cliff, were also carried into American theaters, however, Arrietty would be the biggest theater promotion ever for Studio Ghibli.

Actually, Hayao Miyazaki says that overseas success is a kind of bonus for them because Ghibli firstly didn’t expect any success or worldwide fans in the world.  In that sense, no matter how the theater numbers are more or less, Hayao Miyazaki would be pleased with the fact of this release.

Animation environment is not so easy for workers of production in Japan.  To live, they need constant success in Japan first of all.  Studio Ghibli is no exception.  But the hard competition in the animation market of Japan consequently grows the quality of works and real animators.  Under less competition,  it’s surely impossible to keep such high level of entertainment.

Fans in Japan also know that.  We fans don’t care much if the works of Japan are successful in other countries.  It’s a pleasure if world fans know the works of Japan.  Moreover, we would be pleased if animators give us better things than we’ve ever enjoyed.

Anyway, I hope Studio Ghibli would keep on producing that high quality job enough to bring us more joy.

Hatsune Miku is already a well known anime character in Japan and in the world of anime fans.  It’s natural for anime fans that characters should have reality and fans often think  as if the characters are alive in this real world.

That desire is already realized in the concerts.  Some many know it but for anime beginners it could be a hard thing to understand.

Japanese people like to bring any kind of dreams into being, with the endless efforts, the engineers and animators again did such a great job.

They finally brought the anime characters into real world.  Characters sing and dance in the concerts, which was not rare in the past either, but this time they look like real human with complete 3D figure.  Faces changes along with emotion, and detail expression like hairs, fingers, foot steps, eyes blinks, and natural looking body moves impress us just like we are enjoying their concerts in the real world.

This concerts were already carried out in 2010, however, the rumors of this concerts never fade away from fans topics.  Some say Miku and Luka should have shows in the 2012 Olympic games in London, which is not a joke but fan’s serious request.

Just one look at the show, like it or not, this instantly takes your attention and after all you would be surprised with the quality of the show.  I, too, was amazingly impressed with this show, and I could not move from the screen for views by repeating many times.

Also about the music of Hatsune Miku or Megurine Luka is made by using Vocaloid machine, which was invented by Japanese music instruments company called Yamaha. Through Vocaloid, no singers for the CD is required. The voice is made by synthesizing the computer sound, however, the “voice” really matches well with the animation characters.

Actually, the CDs of Hatsune Miku were accepted all over the world, not only in Japan. This new production can easily go over the language barrier that used to exist when the real human voice was recorded.

As this way, the singers are sold through CDs, online download, and ” real concerts ” of 3D characters.

Yoshiki of X JAPAN did it again.

This time Yoshiki composed the theme song for Golden Globe Award of the United States for the first time in the history of Golden Globe Award.  Yoshiki says that it’s such an honor to do that, and he added that he never dreamed this kind of event over himself when he started X JAPAN.

Yoshiki is already recognized as the icon of Asian rock stars, but fans and people around him know his talent is not limited only in rock music.  Yoshiki’s talent has no border.

Together with the increasing popularity, Yoshiki once composed a song for Emperor of Japan.  It means, at that moment, nobody in Japan can deny his irreplaceable talent of music. Also Junichiro Koizumi, the ex-prime minister of Japan, often said he is a fan of X JAPAN. After all, Prime Minister Koizumi invited Yoshiki to the welcome meeting for American President, George Bush in Japan.

As we all know, X JAPAN broke up in 1997. However, their fans never forgot their music.  When they got back in front of us as X JAPAN by reunion, lords of fans filled the concert stadiums of Japan in 2007.

More than 35 countries gave them concert offers soon after the reunion. This is really incredible.  Who imagined this phenomena when they said ” that’s it ” in 1997?

Yoshiki writes super hard rock music, moreover, he also writes tear-dropping beautiful songs that never leave from human heart.

He is already in the middle of 40′s in his age.  But he never looks old.  Anything related with Yoshiki, or X JAPAN never gets old.  Fans know it.

Some months ago, a new unique film reached my attention. That was a film making story about a famous Japanese Sushi Chef, called JIRO.

He runs a small sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, the name of it is Sukiyabashi Jiro.  But the Sushi restaurant is always full of sushi lovers who made reservations for dinner some months before the tasting day.

Jiro is renowned not only in Japan but also worldwide.  Michelin gave Jiro 3 stars, which means this restaurant is ranked as the top level in the world.  In Tokyo there are more than 1000 or maybe much more sushi restaurants, and it’s said Tokyo has 160,000 restaurants approximately.  Among them, only 11 restaurants got 3 stars in Tokyo. Jiro is the one out of 11.

He was sometimes  picked up as focus of TV program before in Japan.  With all he is over 86 years old,  his sense of talk was incredibly sharp and he had absolutely strong philosophy in the work of sushi chef.  He says he has not yet seen the top of the sushi cooking,  what’s more,  he says he doesn’t know when he would be able to see the satisfactory taste as the final top level.

In a sense, he might be said to be stubborn.  However, that’s really a nature of Japanese chef’s nature.

When the director of the film first came to Jiro,  it’s said that Jiro refused it because filming often disturbs his work, and he has no more interest in promoting himself through media.  As the time runs, Jiro noticed director’s passionate attitude to get to know the secrets of sushi.  After that, gradually Jiro changed his mind and started becoming friends with the director.  And with the friendship,  the filming finally started.

The film of sushi chef Jiro is finally completed.  I’m also a sushi lover.  I want to see it somehow.

**a little note:  His restaurant is crowded and needs reservation. Also it’s expensive.  There are not many menu.  Usually when we take our seat, chef starts making sushi after some confirmation for favorites. Then we just eat when he makes for us.   This is not usual style in Japan, but this style certainly exists especially when the chef has pride in his cooking.

A song of Okinawa by Rimi Natsukawa is one of my favorites among Japanese songs.  This is really good in original version, however, it’s also nice to hear in covered version by some foreign artists.

Firstly,  Okinawa is small islands situated in the south part of Japan being far from the main island.  It’s a tropical weather place just like in Hawaii.

Long ago when I was first in Hawaii, I thought these 2 places, Okinawa and Hawaii, are pretty similar, especially in the heart of the people.

That’s why people in Hawaii also like this song of Okinawa, Nada sou sou.

There are 2 good cover versions, which are by Teresa Bright and Kealii Reichel.  Both are really great Hawaiian singers.  Please enjoy.

Click here for Kealii Reichel’s Nada Sou Sou or Ka Nohona Pili Kai.

Also a New Zealand singer, Hayley Westenra also sings this song in her beautiful voice.

To be honest, I didn’t know until recent days about Sora Aoi.   Recently she often appears on international news on internet and she seems to be very famous ( or popular ) especially in China.

I don’t often watch TV in Japan, so she might be on Japanese TV programs sometimes but as far as I know, I’ve never seen her on TV.

A news says that she has career as a  Japanese AV ( adult video ) actress in the past, and if it’s true, that might be a reason for less exposure in Japanese TV programs.

Probably she has been focused in the magazines or some fans’ media also in Japan.  Actually I found some videos of her works on YouTube. They seem to have been uploaded by Japanese fans.

If the news is true, she is the most famous or popular Japanese girl in China now.  I don’t know the reason for that popularity in China.

I remember that in China some Japanese stars, such as Momoe Yamaguchi and Noriko Ssakai, became famous through TV programs of Japan.  But the news says that Sara Aoi is the most famous ever in China among Japanese girls.

I will try to collect more information about her from now on.

Ayumi Hamasaki, a Japanese female singer, was reported today to divorce her husband soon.

Detail of the news is not enough.

About a year ago, she got married an Austria born actor. The happy time for two of them were for 1 year only, and Ayumi Hamasaki expressed the reason for this result is because she does not want to leave Japan especially in this timing after the heavy damage of earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

They seem to have been planing to live in the USA together.  Ayumi says that for the first time, it could be a kind of matter of place to live.  If so, it could be overcome by traveling between Japan and the USA.  But at the end, she says she noticed it’s an issue of minds of the two.   It means she and her husband are no longer in love for each other.

I’m not sure about this news in the detail,  so this information is just a quotation from Japanese news service.