Sunflowers and Meteor Showers

Finally. Finally everything went back normal, at least for the earth. During that sunny day, she felt like driving. She grabbed her sunglasses and went to her convertible. She let the wind blew her hair as she drove on the long and straight road. Some times after that, she saw a bunch of sunflowers at the right side of the road. The road was empty, save for her own car, so she drove while gazing at the beautiful sunflower fields. They were tall and fully bloomed. They were all facing her as if they said hello to her. After the field ended, she turned her gaze back toward the road.

Soon she arrived at the city and found a wide and empty parking lot. The sun was setting, and she gazed at it lovingly. "Hey, I'm so glad that you come," a woman's voice said. She looked up and saw her best friend. Of course she came. It was the promise that they made. They simply promised to come to that spot after the bad thing ended. She felt the sunset was ending, and the sky went slightly darker. The sky was a deep blue hue, but something caught her eye. A twinkle that passed through the sky. "Oh, look! It's a meteor shower!" her friend said. She then began to comprehend that what she saw was a shooting star. Other identical meteors passed, and soon the sky was filled with plenty of them. Shooting stars, sometimes also called as meteor showers. "So pretty," she said, mesmerized at them. It was like the earth was happy again. And the earth would like her to know about happiness too, by showing her the sunflower field and meteor showers.

Musical Preference Superiority

I've been thinking about writing this kind of topic in my blog lately even though I've thought about it for awhile. As the title goes by, I'm going to write about my opinion about how some people feel superior regarding of their musical preference.

The feeling of superiority doesn't have to come in their musical preference, I know. Hell, it can come up with any kinds of reasons to feel superior. I just happen to love music so much that it's like a drug to me. I may go crazy if I don't listen to my beloved music at least once in a day. I meditate with music instead of the classical quiet mode. But as much as I love music, it doesn't mean I like every single genre that I like. We'll get to that later.

As we all know, there are mainstream music and not so mainstream music. The mainstream ones are easier to find and lots of people are listening to them, but it doesn't necessarily make non mainstream music bad either. I also found that the feel of superiority in regards of musical preference is found in both mainstream listeners and non mainstream listeners. One of the most popular mainstream music right now is K-Pop. Some of the listeners seems quiet superior which is shown in the internet. I even had a classmate which felt so superior about her preference in K-Pop that she threw lots of shade on 48G during their performance in M.A.M.A. before Produce48 was announced. I did mention some cause I also had friends who like K-Pop and they don't feel any kinds of superiority in their preference.

As for non mainstream listeners, I occasionally found them as well; bragging about how different their musical preferences are comparing to the mainstream, which indirectly say that mainstream is kinda low. I've been there before although I'm glad that I don't feel like that now. Somehow, my musical preference is always different with the majority of mainstream listeners and I truly hate the traditional music in my country. My teenage years were filled with MTV Asia where I discovered lots of western music. Even so, perhaps the only mainstream musicians that I liked were Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Beyonce, & Lady Gaga. I even stopped listening to Swift somewhere in my middle school and discovered new artists (at that time) like Pixie Lott & Little Boots. One mainstream musician that I hate the most at that time was J***** *****r, a.k.a. my hate at first sight. In short, I felt superior because I also listened to non mainstream musicians and used my hatred toward my "hate at first sight" and my distaste of dangdut to look down on their listeners.

Then I grew up. I still hate those I've mentioned above. And I still don't really listen to the mainstream music. I don't like K-Pop, but it doesn't necessarily mean that I hate them nor do they sucks. It's just that I currently prefer to listen to J-Pop and my nostalgic music. I also don't look down upon the mainstream listeners. As a music lover, I must say that music is one thing that is supposed to be enjoyed, not something to brag about. Just because one prefers indie and classic doesn't make them a genius and artsy. Just because one listen to mainstream music doesn't make them trendy and cool either. After all, it's just preference. We all have different ways to realize the beauty of music.

Music is a form of art that touch its listeners. Just like there are various things in this world, it has various kinds of genres as well. How one prefers a genre rather than another is completely their own preference. It has nothing to do with how one genre is better than the other. Better yet, it doesn't have anything to do with how rubbish one's musical taste is. Just like different kinds of flowers, each has their own lovers. But it doesn't neccesarily mean that one flower is uglier than another. Besides, the world is more colorful with various kinds of thing.

J-Pop Fandom Part II

Time has passed, so does my exploration in J-Pop fandom. I'm currently not into Perfume anymore regardless of how talented the girls are. It might have something to do with my distaste for their music producer: Yasutaka Nakata. The last album that I have is Cosmic Explorer, and I don't really like Mugen Mirai when it came out. He also seemed like neglecting his own unit, CAPSULE, as their last album was released in 2015. He was busy creating music for Perfume (which I don't really like anymore), Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and Momo Mashiro. And I really prefer Toshiko Koshijima's voice rather than those two, so I'm pretty much upset that he neglected the unit although they still perform here and there.

MetaFive

I usually read infos related to Nakata from a tumblr page named fuckyeahystk. From the very same blog, I stumbled upon other artists like Towa Tei, Ami Suzuki, MetaFive, and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Ami has a really good voice but she hasn't released anything since 2013. As for Towa Tei, I found that he's a music genius although I admit that it's a bit difficult to find his complete discography. His first album "Future Listening!" left such a good impression on me, and he's one of the members of a Japanese Supergroup project MetaFive. The group is filled with legends like Yukihiro Takahashi (who was a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada, who was a member of Flipper's Guitar). YMO was considered a pioneer for Japanese electronic music, and Flipper's Guitar was one of the most successful Shibuya-kei musical group back then. I also happen to like some of YMO's songs, as well as Yukihiro Takahashi's solo album "Saravah!"

Keyakizaka46 Logo

Some times later, I got into Sakamichi series since I was still following the 48G. I have to admit that my favorite Sakamichi group is Keyakizaka. Nogizaka's music is similar to 48G although a bit more feminine and elegant. Another notable difference is that I have never seen them releasing any summer singles with bikini, unlike their "official rival group". As for Keyaki, I really like their concept and their soulful lyrics like Silent Majority, Fukyouwaon, Eccentric, Glass wo Ware, Mou Mori he Kaerouka, and Kuroi Hitsuji (obviously). I'm not that interested in Hinatazaka, which used to be Hiragana Keyaki.

Arashi

I also happen to stumble upon "Shitsuren Chocolatier" when I was watching Waku Waku Japan. I got curious in the main male role, Jun Matsumoto. It turns out that he's a member of Arashi, and I listened to some of their songs from there.

Then there was that time when Produce48 came and AKB released "Teacher Teacher". While some commented that it sounded like a K-Pop song, I figured that the song might fit their mature sister group SDN48, if they didn't disband. I also remember one comment mentioned about another Japanese girlgroup: E-girls as their musical genre usually stays in dance/upbeat genre. I kinda sucks at explaining genres, so please bear with me.

GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE

The saying goes by "curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back". I was curious about E-girls; and now I'm pretty much satisfied to find them and their agency LDH Japan (short for Love Dream Happiness). I got to know how talented the groups in EXILE TRIBE & E.G.  Family, as well as their other groups like Doberman Infinity and DEEP (previously known as COLOR). I have a huge respect for EXILE as the founder of LDH, thanking them for debuting my favorite boygroup: GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE.

Happiness

Girls²

But I have to receive sad news last year from Flower's disbandment and E-girls is disbanding at the end of this year. I've read comments on how bad LDH is in managing their female artists, but I've read a source which stated that they're disbanding due to creative differences. Not surprising. The group initially has around 30 members and used a certain qualification to determine which members are in the single. Their formation was also intended as a joint project for the initial girl groups: Dream, Happiness, and Flower. 2018 was the first year they released an album as a group with solid 11 members, and they did not disappoint. Maybe it's just their fate. And with E-girls disbanding, LDH debuted a new girlgroup: Girls². I haven't really got into them, but it seems like I have an impression that their concept is similar with Japanese idol groups although their voices aren't like the usual high pitched "kawaii" girls. By all means, Happiness is the oldest girlgroup from LDH.

So, that covers pretty much about my current J-Pop fandom. I'm currently still an LDH Junkie since being in the fandom is like going back to my musical taste when I was a teenager. I may also write separate and more detailed posts for LDH and other groups since it's gonna be a long post if I write the detail here. But I haven't really decided on that yet. In the mean time, I'm still on the high for GENE's latest single (Hira Hira) and Sandaime J Soul Brothers' latest single (Movin' On).

A Blessing in Disguise

It has been a very heavy time for us humans lately. We are currently hit by a global pandemic which eventually took a toll for all of us. We have to make decisions which also come with a great consequence. And all of those decisions may depends on the views and conditions in each countries as well. Regardless, I feel like the title of this post suits really well with my thought about this pandemic.

I still remember how fast it all seemed to be, at least in  the country where I live. January was my graduation ceremony from university. February, I went out with my campus' bestie at one of the high-end mall in Jakarta to try Omikuji (Japanese fortune draw) at a Matcha Cafe. It was the end of February, so the beginning of March was still pleasant. I went to retrieve my graduation certificate with the same bestie, where I believe the beginning of the cases were increasing. At that same day, I saw someone wearing a green raincoat (instead of the medical protection suit) disinfecting a train station. Eventually, my neighborhood had a local quarantine at the end of March. And we're still in quarantine up until now.

It wasn't as tight as it is now at the beginning. Perhaps because some people are still fooling around and selfishly hang out just because they're bored. Before wearing fabric mask is a must, I could freely breathe the air whenever I go out to do something necessary. I also had my fair share of being upset toward those who wore mask, surgical mask, incorrectly. Like wearing them upside down or not even covering their nostrils, although I find that surgical mask is way more breathable than fabric mask. I could also still use online motorcycle ride service. But now the service is temporarily removed, and I have to wear a fabric mask whenever I go further than my neighborhood. I don't mind with using public transport, but the only uncomfortable thing about wearing fabric mask is the slight difficulty of breathing freely. Sometimes I have to release my nostrils out of their misery even though I know that the usage is intended for everyone's safety.

Regardless of how difficult the situation is, another thought about this pandemic came to my mind. It is about this planet where us humans currently live in. And how I thought that this pandemic may be, as goes by the title, a blessing in disguise. I remember seeing the sky when I was grocery shopping at that time. The sky was clearer than ever. I also saw the news which stated that air polution had been decreasing in several areas. The Himalayas are also visible from India. My next statement about another blessing in disguise may sound cruel for those who values each and every lives, but I can't help but think about it either. We are over-populating the earth. Death is an inevitable part of being alive. Not to mention that some of us selfishly destroy parts of the earth for their own personal gains and satisfaction. Thus, I had a thought that this pandemic is also a blessing in disguise in a way of how it teach us several things.

Controlling our selfishness. I understand that selfishness is in our nature and is useful for human survival. But the degree and reasons behind our selfishness need to be controlled. To an extent, bad case of selfishness has hurt both our relation with the earth, and our relation with each other. Human relations. And somehow, I also thought that breeding is a part of our natural selfishness to sustain human's existence in the earth. We may eventually got extinct if we stop breeding, but it doesn't mean that we have to do it overly. I strongly believe in quality over quantity. And look where this quantity has brought us to.

Another thing is learn to be more grateful, as this pandemic is something that strike us all of a sudden. Be grateful for everything which happened before this pandemic strikes, be it good or bad. At least we can learn something from all of the bad things we've experienced. Don't take anything for granted, strengthen the positivity of human relation, say sorry to Mother Nature, appreciate all things in life, keep your health and hygiene in mind, you get the idea. And most importantly, bask in all those things we can learn from this pandemic instead of 'saying yes and forget about all of them some times later'.

There are other trivial stuff we can learn from this pandemic in order to deal with our boredom. We can find new hobbies. Read a bock, knit, play musical instruments, dance, try that recipes which interest us, spend more time with pets, write something. In that case, perhaps I'm gonna update this blog more often during this pandemic. And I'm still gonna write any kinds of topics which comes to my mind.