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The Klassic Note Review 2023.10 Issue 1

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The Klassic Note Review 2023.10 Issue 1

Thursday, 05 October 2023
Yes, we already know Issue 2 is coming, just... look at tomorrow. *laughs* I gotta say though, we might even get an Issue 3 if I love Akarin so much I'll give her new single but not the Anime she was singing the title song for. *silence*

Moving on haha, we shall start the month of music reviews by talking about my new favourite band in town! Oh yeah, it's a rock band, no surprises there, but thinking that it came from an Anime I've watched all these years only made this more cool and/or important than ever before. Let's dive in! Because you know, ducklings?




音楽 The Klassic Note Review
w.o.d. - STARS [Single]
Limited EditionRegular Edition
(As much as Ichigo is cool, I don't like it defining my music release covers so)

Origin: If you need the full name of the band name here lol, it's "webbing off duckling" if you visit their official website and I don't think finding out their name's origin is any important, so let's talk about how I knew of a new generation of major label artists for the past year thanks to Sony Music Japan. It's Anime series "BLEACH" and its final arc split into four seasons, so no surprises I will be getting new names for every season just for variety and because not like we can get Aqua Timez to sing no more (though ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION will be rad). Moving on from its past 20 years though, we were introduced to wonderful artists of this generation like Kitani Tatsuya, SennaRin who was backed up by the music producer behind the "Attack on Titan" series, and specifically this time around, of mention (at least for me) is w.o.d. itself. How are they different from the pack though? Maybe I'll let their hard grunge rock music do the talking.

[1] STARS
From the first chorus, from the English Version lyrics:
"Strain out your voice, slash away the night
Shouting at the top of your lungs
My heart is full of fear, please shoot through it with your voice

I don't have to be able to smile just like those days
Sadness and scars and everything
Take it all away with me

You can't kill my vide, oh baby
Burning out now, like a shooting star"
This song will give you an impression of real rock music. At least, that is how it worked for me despite its weak first impression, and I'm just thankful that "BLEACH" series author Tite Kubo did get to be involved in the supervision of this final Anime arc, which also means he has some involvement somewhere in approving this masterpiece which is as unique as it is, to say the least. The rock style is quick with a single riff in the intro, and everything else is history. It's a catchy melody which you will need to get used to, it had a short bridge and even then its lyrics are meaningful, singing a song of what main guy Ichigo would have sung to the people he wants to protect, specifically his friends and people around him. I would say I can hardly pick on this song besides its rough style, because putting star ratings on this song won't do it justice, to be honest.
Rating: 5-Stars Worthy Above Average

[2] My Generation
From first verse:
"Oh rubbish, I did it my way
Don't bother; Don't get in my way
Well! Kick out, I kick it out now
Hey listen, lights out"
Ah, and of course B-sides are why I buy singles in the first place, this one I heard of it in a rock festival video back in July. And since I heard of them through the Anime announcement, it wouldn't have hurt to deepen my impression of them, and even though I hesitate to give this in first impression, this is overall a very decent song. Not like it'll hold much meaning because I don't think it's deliberately doing so it's just being cool as I've mentioned about this band anyways, but it is still a solid tune. It gives off the street vibes of a youngster to say the least, and that to me is more than enough to define a new generation. Rowdiness, being hot-headed, all that stuff. Ah, what it feels to be young.
Rating: Defiantly Above Average

[3] STARS English Version
Refer to Track 1 for details of the melody and original lyrics, because I'm pretty sure this was directly translated from Japanese as it definitely felt the lyricist who is also the vocalist, was trying to fit the words into the song, and that is to say because he can write English lyrics with ease. That's all I will say though, just mention of the lyrics is already cool in retrospect.
Rating: Not Applicable

Conclusion: I think this is overall a real good single and perfect representative to stand on the frontlines of Japanese rock music, and not to say just for my music library just this year alone. It's short and sweet, it's mainstream as its best it's like I'm back when J-Rock was taking over the world I was in when I was a kid. Even if you aren't an Anime fan of the series, this single will fit right up your alley if you like some intense rock music like I do.

- Aozaki Shouhei, on the Klassic Note


(On a side note, this must have been the EASIEST lyrics translation EVER in this history of Klassic Note Reviews ever since I introduced that section because damn, the vocalist can write his own lyrics in both languages, so he wins. *giggles* Okay onto the package itself.)


THE PACKAGE

Of course, you should have known, this was part of the monthly(?) package shipped from Japan to my room, and this was no exception. It was an easy pick once they announced a CD release despite the digital singles having already appeared in April and July for the title song, for Anime. Still, it was an easy choice to get it since I didn't have to deal with new songs as I have already given, so that's a plus. Nothing much to specify on the CD here the theme here is befitting of its title, so the issue is then what to choose from the store-specific gifts that will come with the release.


The one I selected was from the major music label's own store SonyMusicShop where you will get an A3-sized poster of the main character in "BLEACH" series Kurosaki Ichigo, which I then found out that you also can purchase this from CDJapan? I feel stupid now lol but that was before I have a better idea of what this month's package was even going to be (or else I would've chosen the latter route as it'll save me in shipping fees; I'll talk about the other CDs in this in another post), so yeah, confusion overall, but I'm glad I got what I wanted.




Wow this was an easy run. *giggles* Unlike yesterday which man, is it hard to decide when to buy my new smartphone now that it's out. *laughs* In case you haven't heard, Google announced their new my generation (get it?) of Pixel phones as I've been waiting on this for a while, so much so my sis is into this, so plan is likely she will get her hands on one first while I wait for the holiday season discounts so I can justify buying a phone within my budget. *giggles* You know, I'm just stubborn weird. Just like how Google made sure the base and Pro versions are so different, I might even be scammed even with the 7 years of updates with only 1 year of warranty. *silence* Okay I can wrap this up now I will end this week with TWO more singles which I care less so I grouped them together instead. There's Ikimono dude how can I care less- Oh, one member less HAHA GOTTEM

P.S. I think I may have reached the limit, coming in to the 10th anniversary of The Klassic Note Review series:
We are soon to fill up the shelf!
Ooo, what will be up next? Maybe I shrink my CD player lmao
(NO NOT THE 5TH YEAR COMPILATIONS lol)