gorgeous day: reredefined

Those of you who've been around for a while might remember last year's Lucky Man Challenge, where we voted on which Arashi concert is best based on the performance of "Lucky Man" alone. This time I wanted to give it a try with "Fight Song", one of my personal favorites and, according to listeners of Jun's radio show, fans' second favorite coupling song, after "Still..."

Based on Nino's original composition, with lyrics put together by Arashi, in concert this song ends up being the one where they do the least singing and the most messing around. And who doesn't love Arashi messing around?

Below the cut you'll find every officially recorded performance of "Fight Song", with all of the antics and tomfoolery intact. If you've got 27 minutes, give them a listen -- and more importantly a look-see -- and help decide which version comes out on top!

( Fight Song Challenge )

I'm not going to try to translate because English can't begin to capture how beautiful the Japanese is [insert Inez's usual gushing about Japanese here], but.

I realized in the middle of the night that Kanjani8's "Michishirube" gets me crying, without fail, in 20 seconds with this line:
サヨナラは言わないで　歩いて行くよ
また会えるその日まで　忘れはしないよ
sayonara wa iwanaide, aruite yuku yo
mata aeru sono hi made, wasure wa shinai yo

And then I realized that it has some keywords that match the line in Arashi's "Step and Go" that gets me crying, without fail, in 15 seconds (quicker only because it's a more kinetic song):
今僕ら乗せて時間（とき）を越える奇跡
いつまでもこの日を忘れはしないよ
ima bokura nosete toki wo koeru kiseki
itsumademo kono hi wo wasure wa shinai yo

Specifically, they share references to some specific day, and the phrase "wasure wa shinai yo" (that construction always gets me -- the noun + "wa" + some form of "suru", instead of just the conjugation of the verb; I mean, seriously, think about how much more weight that has -- a simple "wasurenai yo" vs. "wasure wa shinai yo" [more gushing about Japanese; blah blah blah no one cares, Inez]). Though I guess the specific days are different, and what they "won't forget" is also different.

Still, both are terribly beautiful. They get me crying every time (well, every time I'm actively listening to the lyrics). I can listen to them 100 times in a row, and I'll still tear up. (I'll note that the particular version of the line in "Michishirube" I like is the Ryo/Yasu version, because I like that thing they do a lot where they cut out most of the instruments after the bridge and then bring them back in; also, Ryo's voice is like butter slathered all over my body and then set on fire in all the best ways (uuuggghhh, guess who should be sleeping right now... this guy), and I'm pretty sure he knows it.)

So? Y'all have specific songs/lines in songs you always cry at?

Stolen from Jess (I learned your name and I'm usin' it because I like to use my friends' real names instead of their usernames since it makes me feel close oh so close to them)!

* Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper on their LiveJournal.**
* Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
* Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

** Pisses me off that they use "their" here for "anyone". "Anyone" is so clearly singular. Also, I should maybe stop caring about grammar because I get wound up about things like this, and it makes me look like a grammatically awkward douche when I use "whom" properly and "none" as a singular pronoun.*** Additionally, my rant right now makes me look like a super-douche, because I know that I'm not perfect with my grammar all the time and it's like, "Get off your high horse, Inez, you kind of suck at grammar so stop thinking that you're better than everyone else." I'm, like, a hypocritical super-douche (the worst kind!). But whatever. My journal, my douchewanking. :|

*** Hahaha, I also totes don't use proper grammar when I'm RPing as Nino, and it pains me to have to be grammatically incorrect. I love you, Neen, but you're not the kind of person who'd use "whom" in the right place (and especially not during schmoopytimes).

Anyway! Are you ready for the pretty wallpaper?! :D???!!!****

**** I don't know why I drink coffee when I don't need it.

( No surprises here! )


Getting mopey about my writing again. Baww why can't I be as good at writing as my favorite fic authors, etc. WHAT ELSE IS NEW, AMIRITE?


Can't stop listening to this song. You know. This one. Ves said very astutely, "Such a pissy title has to be a Nino song." And I laughed, because it's so true. But GDI, guys, I love this song. I've had it on loop all day. The lyrics, the lyrics... they're all about the title, you know. I love that he tells stories in his songs. Also, I think he knows how to use his voice really well. I especially love the part in the last refrain where he sings "wakannai kedo". I literally made a "hnnn" kind of noise when I first heard it. And every subsequent time I heard it.


Somehow this became a fully fandom post. I love you, non-fandom friends......******

****** Another compulsion! I always have to do periods in groups of three, because they're like sets of ellipses to me! And I have to have the volume on the TV set as a multiple of five (same with things like layer transparencies in Photoshop).

A wise man (woman. boss?) once said:
I judge how good a concert is by how good its "Lucky Man" is.

"Lucky Man" is a crowd favorite. It's an Arashi favorite, too. It's loud and peppy, and a performance in which the individual members' personalities shine through. It is a defining part of any Arashi concert experience.

Ladies and... ladies. Ladies? Ladies. [And gentlemen, too, now that this is public.] Are you ready for the Lucky Man Challenge? Under the cut you'll find the seven "Lucky Man" performances released on DVD. Watch them -- relive, reminisce, ruminate. And once your trip down memory lane is over (with some turns more awkward and sympathetically embarrassing than others), fill up your gas tank and return to the real world, and use your favorite "Lucky Man" (use him, use him) to decide which concert reigns supreme.

( Take the Lucky Man Challenge! )

[Poll #1587670]

Comments on why you picked the one you did are quite welcome. As Sho sometimes asks, "How y'all feeling [about these particular performances of "Lucky Man"], ladies?"

1. It's been a while since I've done a meme, so here's that one that's going around (should have used protection).

FIRST: If you've been tagged, you must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.

Favourite song right now
Typical, but "Monster" by Arashi would be it. I don't think you understand how much I like this song. It's my favorite since "Step and Go" or maybe even since "Happiness", and "Happiness" is my all-time favorite.

( Etc. )

SECOND: If you want to do it, do it. (It used to be "tag eight people", I think.)


2. Happy June!


3. I spent all day yesterday cleaning my room. Well, part one of three. I gutted my closet and my night stands and reorganized a bunch of my grade school/high school/college notebooks, trinkets, etc. I also have a giant trash bag filled with things that I don't need (because honestly, who's going to care that I got a 97 on a math test in sixth grade?). Now my stuff actually fits, and it's pretty wonderful.

Part two is my books (tonight). I had to get a second bookshelf for the ones I brought back from school, but hopefully they'll all fit somewhere. (But hey, don't be fooled by the rocks that I got. I'm the kind of person, unfortunately, who buys books but doesn't have time to read them, so I have all these unread books sitting on my bookshelf. Bookshelves.) Part three, scheduled for Wednesday night, is my clothes, which will include picking out clothes that don't fit me and giving them to a local charity.


4. Harrison (my new computer; that's what you get for being cheeky and telling me to name something after you) is hopefully going to be in today. More updates on that later, I'm sure.


5. Have a good day, everyone!


ETA: This entry makes me feel so materialistic. All I did was talk about things that I have or that I bought, or mention that I have to organize my giant collection of books or do such and such with my excess goods. It's like I'm bragging that I have things or buy things. I don't know. D:

Cami's going to be here in a week UNFUNFUNF YEAH GIRL.


Today I've been more inspired to write fic than I have been in a while. There's an anonymous fic meme (for a fandom -- or at least its overarching umbrella, 'ella, 'ella, 'ey, 'ey -- that I'm not allowed to mention unfiltered) running around and I randomly wrote a goofy drabble (it was fun!) and later on someone said that she liked a fic of mine and someone else agreed and it was probably my mom both times but man I'm so stupidly happy. And then there's a fic feedback/concrit meme and people are petting my ego even though in this fandom I've only really written the one story (as well as some drabbles and a oneshot that I don't really like to think about) and it makes me feel good, so good.

Guys, I'm like a puppy who needs constant attention and positive reinforcement, and when I get it I become so hyper and out of control it's not really... human. Anyway, please forgive me. BUT HEY MAYBE I SHOULD WRITE MORE FIC BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT VERY GOOD AT WRITING PEOPLE ARE NICE TO ME AND IT MAKES ME HAPPY.


OH HEY YO THESIS.


(Lately I've been listening to Shiina Ringo instead of Arashi (YEAH I SAID IT), but I'm excited about seeing Cami and feeling good about myself and in general extremely wired right now so I'ma listen to some more Arashi (TIMES TWO BITCHES) so that I can write it in my "Current Music" or whatever.)


... oh God, I'm so sorry about this post, guys.

( I'm making a filter for Arashi. )

Note that I'll still be posting about dramas and the like without the filter. If it happens to have an Arashi boy in it, it's really not my fault. :D

General pet peeves:

When people say "biweekly" when they mean "semiweekly"

When people don't understand the concept of correct aspect ratio

When ants crawl all over our dishes

When I've just brushed and flossed my teeth for the night and I suddenly want to eat/drink something

Today's highlights:

Grades came out today. Basically, I pwned. Appropriately, this was the first semester I was truly happy with my classes. (Too bad it took six semesters to get to this point; my other semesters were miserable enough to damage my GPA irreparably, oh woe.)

There was a spelling bee on ESPN. Favorite word was "eurystomatous" (having an expandable mouth). Favorite example sentence was the sentence for "crystophene" (buried sheets of ice in the North American tundra): "Joe had fallen asleep and left a puddle of drool on the section of his textbook about [word]."

I finished a simple demo Flash video (and relearned some basic computer science coding in the process). It had examples of clicking on the correct answer and typing in the correct answer and a video. It was about Arashi.

A cat followed Aimee home! And since Aimee lives in the apartment next to ours, we had a fun, furry visitor. So cute. >< We fed him tuna but took him back outside once he looked like he was going to crap all over the floor.

Nino x apple is my new OTP. But remember that apple = food = Ohno, so it's basically Ohmiya. Apple is just Ohno at an advanced age, when he's lost all of his hair and features and has been reduced to his shiny, red deliciousness. Nino partakes with a smile.


ETA: Cat? We've adopted him, at least for the night. It's raining and unhappy outside, and he was so eager to eat... I will be more than happy to give him some love. ♥ Aimee and I picked up some cat litter and food at RiteAid, and we just watched him successfully take a dump and bury it (in a litter box we fashioned out of a paint tray, oh how resourceful we are), so I'm feeling pretty okay about that as well. In my head I've named him Neen Bean, but since to Will that would be just another sign of my obsession and another reason to tell me to stop watching Arashi DVDs, I'll keep that in my head.

Right now he's camped out under Aimee's bed, so he'll stay in her apartment tonight. He's pretty clearly a pet cat as opposed to a stray, since he's housebroken and he responded to the sound of the can opener, but at least until it stops raining and he can go find his home again, at least for now, he's our Neen Bean.

ETA2: Aimee mentioned that we should come up with a name for him. I admitted that I've been mentally calling him "Neen Bean". Will gave me a stern, "Inez..." And Aimee said, "We'll name him in the morning." Foiled again. :/

Cami promises me SHINee next week. But for now...

I just finished watching the Ultra Strong Game special. My favorite going in? Nino. My favorite coming out? NINO. With sparkles and blinking and shit.

[Here I wrote several hundred words on Nino's merits and talents, but I decided to cut it because I sounded too much like a zealous fangirl. *in denial* Basically, he's good at everything he does, and he looks cool even though he's a brat with a hunchback. This part ended with a comparison of Nino's and a monkey's agility. I went that far.]

The part where he runs up the conical wall? He just runs up it like it's a flat stretch of springy track. And then he crawls like a beast. And completes a swimming course faster than an Olympic swimmer (though to be fair, there's a reason she took so much time) despite his hating the sea (truth). And clears the last stage in a third of the allotted time.

Ahh, so cool. ♥


( Beyond that (this is still Arashi-related, if you had any doubts), I've been clipping through Shukudai-kun episodes fairly quickly. )