9 posts tagged “the cro-magnons”
The Cro-Magnons
「FIRE AGE」
2008.10.15
So Fire Age. The Cro-Magnons discover the many uses of fire. There's a problem with the order of the albums though, because you can't have a Cave Party without fire...can't do any cave paintings without a torch either, just like I can't paint without music. Anyway that's assuming they are going forwards in time. If so I have to point out the next logical stage is the Matriarchal Age XDD That came along with the discovery of agriculture. Settle down, learn to cultivate and worship the goddess for a few thousand years.
This is a great album, I think my favourite of The Cro-Magnons so far. I managed to get it half way down the currency collapse. Now it's bottomed out I think the only way I could justify buying any more new Japanese releases is if Marcy starts singing again. Unless the currency recovers, which its not going to do in a hurry, I'll have to just review old stuff I already own from now on, because I refuse to review mp3. Luckily I bought up all the Marcy solo while we were still in the first world. Excepts Rabbits which need to be rereleased.
Like I say this is a great album, awesome songs from both of them, but if only Marcy would sing a couple of his songs it would all be so much better.
1.エイトビート
(EIGHT BEAT)
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
This version is different to the single. Apart for the arrangement. It seems calmer and more relaxed. Wonderful single anyway. Best one they've released I think and that's a hard competition.
2.ゴーゴーゴー
(GO GO GO)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
Darker than I expected, Really great song, especially the ending. The Mystery train. This does really sound like a train song, like you are travelling along. Marcys songs are always painting scenes, and taking you on rides. Very strong visual and visceral imagery. The end is like going through the tunnel into the Land of Snow. :D Really love that bit.
3.ぼうふら
(BOUFURA)
mosquito larvae
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
Excellent song! Dark, again, and wild, just the kind of mad cow punk I was raised on. I think that's why I like them so much. AWESOME chorus! Been infesting my head all week.
4.独房暮らし
(DOKUBO KURASHI)
solitary cell life
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
Yeah I like it. Not addicted though, yet...Maybe this one is more amusing if you understand the lyrics. I'm sure they all are actually, which is annoying. Makes me think about a TV show I saw with all these homeless people in Japan living in cupboards with the internet looking for jobs. A good incentive to put up with horrors like Music Station appearances I suppose.
5.自転車リンリンリン
(JITENSHA RIN RIN RIN)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
Totally addicted to the bicycle song. Yet again we are being taken for a wild ride :D Can't get enough of the guitar, as always.
6.ニャオニャオニャー
(NYAO NYAO NYAO)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
Guitar riff with just two notes repeated is awesome! Makes it all feel kind of urgent and demanding, like this cat really wants to get some action :D
I laughed all the way through this song when I first heard it. Hiroto going Nyao Nyao Nyao! = PRICELESS! XD Suits you sir...
And the backing vocals towards the end...XDD....Marcy has been taking lessons from real kitties. I'd LOVE to hear him sing this song. Altogether one of the most amusing songs I have ever heard. *wants to see a godamn live RIGHT NOW*
7.海はいい
(UMI WA II)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
Like this alot. The sea is better than everything. Of course it is.
8.スピードとナイフ
(SPEED TO KNIFE)
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
Another incredible single. Love the way he sings this song.
Hiroto is on fire.
9.ナントカドン
(NAN TO KA DON)
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
LOL! Didn't get this at first but now I love it. I wanna be a creature too! Oh wait, I am....
Gaaaoohhh Gaaaooohhh!!
Guitar is lovely.
10.太陽さん
(TAIYOUSAN)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
Superb song. Best on the album. Marcy should have sung it, but Hiroto does a brilliant job as always. This song is really what THE SUN feels like. At first its warming and invigorating and revitalizing, but towards the end there it is beating down and scorching. You need a hat and a long sleeved shirt and lots of water to drink or you are literally going to die. Hahaha if you've ever had sunstroke you'll understand.
11.まーだーまーだー
(MA DA MA DA)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
And this song is just the cool refreshing drink you needed. Something very very pleasing about the skittery shuffly rhythms Katsuji is making here, especially during the harmonica parts.
12.化石とミイラ
(KASEKI TO MIIRA)
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
OH yeah! This one gives me the shits for some reason. And I think a lot of it is the OH YEAHS. I dunno, maybe its funny enough to get away with it. I wouldn't know.
13.ジェームス・ディーン
(JAMES・DEAN)
作詞・作曲 真島昌利
REALLY like this one. Awesome guitar. Awesome bongo rhythm spider. XD
Not only is humanity in general both crap and awesome, but each individual is too. Learn to love your crap man. This is what I have learned this month.
LOVE YOUR CRAP!
14.ドロドロ
(DORO DORO)
作詞・作曲 甲本ヒロト
Heh! Very funky.
LOVE IT! :D
Guitar is just :D~~
Singing...oh yeah! Choruses I love them. And the ending too. This isn't the kind of song that seems to require anything sensible said about it.
In fact you could say that about the whole album.
All that is really needed is LOVE.
Which reminds me there was a Beatles riff in there somewhere...
^_______________^
And I had to get rid of all those flames...they were making my brain overheat every time I looked in here. Whew.
Thanks to Kiluuna for the scan. :)
I couldn't resist posting some Marcy versions (of Blue Hearts songs he wrote) that have been appearing lately.
Thank you very much to the people who uploaded these songs in the first place. :-)
The Blue Hearts
lyrics by Masatoshi Mashima
A stylish cavalry
Gunned down an Indian
With a gun barrel that sparkled
If possible, I wish that they could have
Gunned down my depression too
I send god a bribe
And he teases me with a
Passport to heaven, are you serious?
There are guys who are laughing
Without even a piece of sincerity
Show me that hand that you're keeping hidden
Just what on earth can you tell about me
By the place I was born, my skin, and the color of my eyes?
Driver, won't you please
Let me ride on that bus?
I don't care where you're going
Things probably shouldn't be this way though, huh?
History examines me
Beneath the dazzling blue sky
Just what on earth can you tell about me
By the place I was born, my skin, and the color of my eyes?
Driver, won't you please
Let me ride on that bus?
I don't care where you're going
Things probably shouldn't be this way though, huh?
History examines me
Beneath the dazzling blue sky
Beneath the blue sky, beneath the blue sky
The blue sky, the blue sky
(translation from Mognet)
1000 no Violin (last song on Stick Out)...his voice is cracking here, but it doesn't matter. In fact somehow that makes it even more charming.
Special thanks to the person known as LOVE for this song....
Love this song! It has been going around and around in my head for days. Actually I love the whole of Stick Out. That could well be the next Blue Hearts album I buy and review. There's just something about it. It's so exuberant, and really nostalgic too in a way. The guitar sounds are very retro.
1st album
release date: 21st May 1987
The first Blue Hearts album I ever listened to was this self titled debut album. I was instantly addicted, absolutely won over from the very first bar. Maybe it helped that I was a Clash fan when I was younger, but if I'd known about The Blue Hearts then I would have loved them much more. I really wish that I had! Why do I love them more? Hmmm, because they are so full of joy and love; and because both their music and their philosophy of life are much purer and more exhilarating and more original. So I don't really think they are just like The Clash at all, just very inspired by them and by many other favourites of mine, like The Specials, The Undertones. But most of all I am amazed by The Blue Hearts because its a very unusual thing to have two such incredible songwriting talents in one band. I really can't think of any other examples of this. Not even the Beatles managed it, because frankly, Paul was always a talentless ass. I can find flaws in just about any band you can name, but not The Blue Hearts. They are a perfect manifestation. And this first album is glorious from start to finish, possibly their greatest, literally exploding with youthful energy and enthusiasm. What a way to announce your arrival! In my opinion this album should be universally acknowledged as one of the all time classics of Rock Music.
In some ways it is a great tragedy that Masatoshi Mashima chose to be a guitarist instead of a singer in his own right, but in other ways it was a very noble act. I do have this dream that one day he will release his own versions of The Blue Hearts songs he wrote...but I suppose its probably too late for all that now. I can understand why he did what he did, because Hiroto Koumoto is an exceptionally gifted and highly extraverted performer, with an uncanny ability to touch the audience, and very powerful vocal skills. He also writes very great songs too of course. Really you have to admit the sacrifice was worth it, when you listen to this amazing album, and of course everything they have done together.
I want to thank the lovely people who have translated their songs, because they have deepened my appreciation immeasurably. The Blue Hearts lyrics are funny and wise and inspiring and I have a deep respect for their honourable intentions, which are always to inspire and liberate their fans. I wouldn't be surprised if they have saved quite a few lives in their time and its no wonder at all that they have earned such a devoted following. I am going to embed the relevant song translations from Youtube. It's so nice not to be flying totally blind for a change. :D Though of course there is still much left to understand, and many mistakes to be made. I always welcome corrections and comments and of course more translations! :)
Btw the kanji to all the Blue Hearts songs can be found here.
1. 未来は僕等の手の中
mirai wa boku tou no te no naka
The Future is in My Hands
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
Did I mention Marcys' incredible harmonies? And his sublime guitar work! Theres a strong blues basis to everything he does...an almost rock-a-billy twang. This song is a Declaration of Independence, from what I can decipher.
2. 終わらない歌
Owaranai Uta
Endless Song
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
An Endless song for Shitty World :D I love it! It is a shitty world but
we are given the gift of loving it anyway. Just keep singing and
everything will be okay, you'll be able to laugh in the face of your
misery. Its this kind of irresistible indomitable spirit that is
everything I love most in humanity. Funny how one species can be so
crap and so glorious at the same time. You have to have been down into the pit before you can really understand.
3. NO NO NO
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
Yeah, he's so fucking right when he says the greatest thing in the world is that you are here right now in front of me. I love this defiant love. Its so beautiful. Its so righteous! Even if they blow us all up, we will still have had this moment in time. We will still have each other. That is what is important.
4. パンク・ロック
Punk Rock
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
I love punk rock too. Never conform, never submit. It is a proud heritage. Punks don't care about anything but each other, because everything else is a con, an illusion. Society just wants to trap us and turn us into slaves to the machine. Don't believe their lies. Think for yourself.
Its hard to say anything about these songs musically without destroying the magic. They are what they are...timeless, majestic, passionate.
5. 街
Machi
Town
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
I love the way the chorus just explodes at 1.12...it so incandescent, so exciting. Brilliant song. Makes my heart beat faster every time. A real emotional rollercoaster.
6. 少年の詩
Shonen no Uta
Boys' Song
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
Never grow up. Never lose your enthusiasm and become walking dead. Just some advice to cover the fact that I really have nothing to say about this song :D
7. 爆弾が落っこちる時
bakudan ga okkochiru toki
When The Bomb Drops
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
Love the melody of this song. Message seems to be, if you don't stand up and resist then you are part of the problem. Also I find the When The Bomb Drops, I Will Lose My Freedom bit amusing. Seems to me The Blue Hearts often use Bombs as metaphors for women (see Tabbibito PV), so in a way you could interpret this as a fear of being trapped. XD
Just an idea...
8. 世界のまん中
sekai no man naka
The World Inside (?)
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
Apparently Hiroto was forced to change the way he sang or he would have lost his voice permanently and listening to this song you can really hear it. He is shredding it mercilessly. It sounds great of course, but it almost hurts to listen to it. Awesome song needless to say....you can just take that as a given anyway.
9. 裸の王様
Hadaka no Ousama
The Naked King
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
This is a BIG favourite. Such clever song writing. So much heart! I suppose he is referring to "The Emperor has No Clothes"....look closely enough at authority and you will always find it to be ridiculous and pathetic. Power corrupts...
10. ダンス・ナンバー
Dance Number
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
Dance how you want. Don't ever give a flying fuck what anyone thinks! Yeah! Self consciousness is death. Be free, be wild. Know that what you are is perfect. What a sweet and wise message. :D What a brilliant song! Marcys' version is here. Its even better I have to say.
11. 君のため
Kimi No Tame Ni
For Your Benefit (?)
words and music Masatoshi Mashima
awwwwwwww :D I adore this song! See this is one reason why they own The Clash. When did they ever master the art of heart like this? Watery Love indeed! Too much Western rock is infected with a fake bravado and macho posturing that frankly is quite retarded. Real courage means feeling everything that is there to be felt, and this song says it all. Call me mushy but this is always the highlight of the album for me.
12. リンダ リンダ
Linda Linda
words and music Hiroto Koumoto
Yeah yeah hit tune alert. Great song, especially when you understand the lyrics, but I have heard it too many times now, and there have been way too many horrible cover versions (people really need to learn...only cover songs you can improve on...i.e. nothing by Hiroto and Marcy thanks very much). Why is it the only song people seem to know I wonder, when they have written about a hundred better songs? Oh and Hiroto you are beautiful, much more beautiful than a water rat, I have to say. The water rats around here are huge and scary and filthy :D Maybe he means a brown cat...like my kitty. That would make more sense...everyone wants to be a sweet brown kitty.
Linda Linda (translated by Stage 6 user)
I want to be beautiful
Like a brown rat
Because they have a beauty
That doesn't show in photos
Linda x 10
If we ever cross paths
And talk some day
I beg that you learn
The meaning of love then
Linda x 10
Like a brown rat
I'll be kinder than anyone
Like a brown rat
I'll be the warmest of all
Linda x 10
If we ever cross paths
And talk some day
I beg that you learn
The meaning of love then
Even if its not love or affection
I won't let you go
I only have one source of strength
That will never be defeated
Linda Linda Linda......
"The moral characteristics of the person pictured in this card are subtlety, secret violence, and craft. He is intensely secret, an artist in all his ways. On the surface he appears calm and imperturbable, but this is a mask of the most intense passion. He is on the surface susceptible to external influences, but he accepts them only to transmute them to the advantage of his secret designs. He is thus completely without conscience in the ordinary sense of the word, and is therefore usually distrusted by his neighbours. They feel they do not, and can never, understand him. Thus he inspires unreasonable fear. He is in fact perfectly ruthless. He cares intensely for power, wisdom, and his own aims. He feels no responsibility to others, and although his abilities are so immense, he cannot be relied upon to work in harness."
Aleister Crowley
Book of Thoth
Going to draw this card today. This would be the perfect pose for it in fact, but I am not wasting my time drawing other peoples images anymore. Have to say though Marcy is so Prince of Cups.
Incidentally I have been researching the court cards intensively recently and I am amazed at how little they are understood and how confused people are about them. They all seem to want to impose a patriarchal nuclear family on the courts, which is so small minded and trivial. Crowley may have been a Beast, but at least he understood that human beings are far more than this. He has sown the seeds of major confusion which must be making him chortle. In a way it's a good thing, because if you do actually bother trying to properly understand them, you become quite unique. Like the Prince of Cups...
Originally written on
Monday, December 25, 2006
Started moving my reviews over here. Could take a while but eventually I will dump Paradox Lust I think.Not that I LOVE Vox. Far from it XD
But at least things basically stay where you put them, and it's harder for random shits to comment. Have to try and resist editing them too much, because they are like time capsules now, and even though I can see things needing changed, it's really better if I don't.
ザ･クロマニヨンズ<初回生産限定盤>
BVCR-18083/4
The Cro-Magnons self titled first album Special Edition!
25/10/06
SO!
A
nice new fresh review hot off the press to celebrate the Summer
Solstice (yeah and Christmas too...anything that gets the white picket
side of the street festooning their houses in trippy lights has to be
good).
Middle of summer here and the weather is...pleasant? Eh? That's something to really celebrate around here XD
And
so I write because celebrating makes me garrulous and no-one in the
immediate vicinity knows wtf I am talking about. Or rather they do
because I've played it obsessively for months and driven them all
hatstand.
Yes, I'm talking about the Cro-Magnons debut album.
Early in the year some time, a good friend of mine sent me a link to a Blue Hearts video she had uploaded to Youtube, a song called Jounetsu no Bara. It was an instant beginning to a very wonderful love affair with all things Hiroto Kohmoto (and Masatoshi Mashima of course).
Imagine my glee on discovering that Hiroto and Marcys' latest band The Cro-Magnons, had Katsuji from Gargoyle and Masaru from Sads (& lately Nil) and that they were releasing an album. How could such an inspired gathering of musicians be anything other than divinely brilliant? Absolutely impossible.
甲本ヒロト Hiroto Kohmoto (Vo.)
真島昌利 Masatoshi Mashima (G.)
小林勝 Masaru Kobayashi (B.)
桐田勝治 Katsuji Kirita (Dr.)
I ordered the special CD/DVD edition and it made me very happy, as they included a five song live on the cd, as well as 5 and a half minutes of photoshoots before the gig. The only complaint I can think of to make is about the booklet. Hiroto is still very beautiful and he should have been the one getting his anatomy closely examined instead of that gorilla suit thing. Still I suppose we get to see plenty of his anatomy in the live. I have to warn you, they do pixelate the naughty bits, but nonetheless, clothes on or off Hiroto is one of the most spell binding live performers you will ever see.
1.Killer Bee
キラービー
(by Marcy)
They
take this Cro-Magnon stuff very seriously XD Opens with alot of funny
prehistoric noises courtesy of the certifiably insane Hiroto and Marcy.
And
then the song, which is ...guh!...fucking hell this album is going to
be hard work to review. It's a gorgeous, melodic, energetic punk song.
Intricate and hard. Brilliantly constructed and divinely simple. And
short.
2. Electric Guitar
エレキギター
(by Marcy)
Then, a
song I didn't like as much at first but soon came to love. It's the
wind up song. The pump em up to action song. In the context of the
whole album, it's perfectly situated to ramp up the band and the
audiences energy for what is to come. Jesus Christ! (Happy Birthday)
Marcy is such a brilliant guitarist. So incredible.
3.連結器よ永遠に
Renke Tsuki Yo Eien Ni
(by Hiroto)
This
song starts with Marcys name. And I really hope that the permanent
connection refered to in the title is between these two fantastic
musicians. Hiroto and Marcy create something together magically, that
no one person could ever create alone, however gifted they were.
And
the stunningly talented Katsuji and Masaru back them up so solidly.
They are playing very much true to their own personalities too and
adding their own special flavour to proceedings. It's all really
exciting to hear and I hope this band will live on to produce many more
albums. Though of course Katsuji must always stay loyal to Kiba,
because Kiba is Kiba is Kiba...
To actually describe how good this song is too hard. Just go facking listen to it.
4.GREAT
グレート
(by Hiroto)
Oh
God! Talk about making life difficult. How to explain the Greatness? XD
He feels so great because he's riding on a tsunami of creative
inspiration. It's empowering just to listen to it.
5.やわらかい
Yawarakai
(by Marcy)
They both are. This song is case in point.
*sighs*
Marcy is the greatest guitarist/songwriter of them all.
6.あさくらさんしょ
Asakura Sansho
(by Marcy)
AHHHHHHHHHH!
Too good. I fucking resign.
There
is so much love in their music. So much healing. So much wit and
compassion. I am floored. They are living proof that if you want the
highest creative gifts you need to have a good honest heart and kind
intentions. An unpurified vessel will crack under the pressure of
divine inspiration.
7.草原の輝き
Sougen no Kagayaki
(by Marcy)
Oh
Marcy man, you mad old hippy you, these songs are unbelievable! I wish
I could have written such a thing. I wish I could do what you do but at
least you inspire me to what I do, and do it with love.
Masarus' bass in this one is particularly crucial.
8.歩くチブ
Aruku Chibu
(by Hiroto)
Cock Walk! LOL! I knew this one had to be about penises. A translation of this would be...most appreciated :D
More
apeman noises from the peanut gallery, and then straight into the best
of the best, the most brilliant song of all. The best song I have heard
in a long long time. XDD
And the LIVE! O.O;; Hiroto is insane, and a genius. What more could you want?
This
song makes my soul dance joyfully. And I think that is what I love to
hear most . A band that forces you to move, whether its internally or
externally. They have to make all your atoms dance.
Whew!
9.くじらなわ
Kujira Nawa
(by Marcy)
A
nice bouncy little ditty of a song, with some great "OI!"s from our
friends in the bottom end. They are such a relentless fighting force of
a band, and yet all rather gentle and shy seeming in their way. It's a
perfect paradox, like all the best things in life.
10.夢のロッケンロール・ドリーム
Yume no Rock'n'Roll Dream
(by Hiroto)
Speaking
of gentle men, here is the "ballad" or soppy song if you hate that word
like me. It's very pretty and sweet of course. These two have always
done the slower, emotional stuff just as brilliantly as their more high
energy masterpieces. I love the way Hiroto sings in this. It's so fresh
and innocent. Reminds me a little of Okens' style. They also have a
similarly physical martial arts informed performance style going on.
Although Hiroto doesn't pull out the nunchuckus like Oken, you can tell
he's into it. After all he's an O type...XD
Don't ask me what all that had to do with a soppy song about the Rock'n'Roll dream.
11.くま
Kuma
(by Hiroto)
Awesome
song! Brilliant guitar work! To die for really. Again very innocent and
simple but not really if you know what I mean. I can only think of it
in terms of art, in which the fewer lines you can capture something in,
the greater master you are. To reduce everything to it's most perfect
form, that is the game. Divine simplicity.
12.Tally Ho
タリホー
(by Hiroto)
And
speaking of perfect forms, here is the fantastic debut single. The
single of the year in many ways, although Kiyoharu - Kimi No Koto Ga is
my hearts' favourite.
This single was the moment we knew the
Kuromaniyons had arrived. And it made me so happy! It's also much more
than just an instantly addictive single. It's a perfect shining gem
from a songwriter who has made my jaw drop more times than I can count
this year as I worked my way through his endless back catalogue.
13.Ma Ma Ma
まーまーま
(by Marcy)
XDD
I love this! I'm not going to even ask what its about. But the baby BVs are so cute :D
Lovely!
14.土星にやさしく
Dosei ni Yasashiku
(by Hiroto)
Love that drumming! And the bells. It's all so festive.
And
such a great song, a triumphant, ecstatic finale by a band that knows
they've made one the best albums of their glorious twenty year plus
career.
Life time honours award for Hiroto and Marcy.
And they are all singing together again now :)
The band that sings together stays together.
NO COMMENT on the hidden extra :P
Conclusion: WOW!!
This the BEST ALBUM FROM A BAND IN 2006, by a country mile.
When
music such as this it creates ripples in the psychospace, like an
earthquake in the sea. If you don't get hold of the special edition
while you still can (if you still can), you are going to be kicking
your own bwatty one day.
Big Time
^..^
Oh and Peace and Love to you all.
DVD Setlist:
1. 5.21 mins photo and preamble (includes stills).
2. Cro Magnon Stomp
3. Killer Bee
4. Tally Ho
5. Aruku Chibu (YEAH!)
6. Dangan Rock
Started an LJ Community for The Cro-Magnons...BLUEHIGHMAGNONS
So join it Bastards! :P
Hard to understand why there wasn't already one. There's really no accounting for the rampant bad taste among jrock fans. I guess most of them wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the arse. It's a sign of the times.
*sighs*
Got this picture here
http://serare.blog22.fc2.com/
There are many many very amusing and sweet photos of both of them on this blog.
