No one should ever go so far as to call me a spontaneous person. I mainly just mind my own business and stick it out day after day, year after year, feeling as-stuck-in-the-midwest as anyone can feel. But my mood took a dramatic upswing in the last few days for very obvious reasons. Suddenly I have an urge to listen to every song ever written about California or Los Angeles, knowing that soon, real soon, I'll be seeing it with my own eyes.Years ago, as a young rock-star-wannabe, I would stare at maps of Los Angeles for hours, trying to get a feel for how the town spreads out. I would imagine where my future home would be, possibly tucked somewhere in the Hollywood Hills with plenty of parking available to models, other rock stars, millionaires, and party-crashers. Also, I often dreamed of up-and-driving-there without notice to start a new life, because as pathetic as it may have turned out, I would have at least *tried* to bring change upon myself. Those plans were at best unrealistic, and at worst really stupid.
I've been told many stories about Los Angeles; most of them are unflattering, I hate to say. I'm not sure if one of the best stories I've been told is true, but it's probably very likely, and a good story nonetheless.
When a group of guys were trying to 'make it' as a big rock band in the 80's, their car (the only car any of the musicians had) was stolen. Some days later, they found the car in a driveway not more than a couple of blocks away. Whoever had stolen the car had not changed the locks or the ignition key; so, having the key, the rightful owner got in and drove it home, only to find that a *wonderful* stereo system had been installed in the days it'd been gone. There was really no recourse for the thief in a situation like that, so the hero of our story was blessed with a great new stereo and the car wasn't any worse for the wear. If it didn't really happen to them, I'm quite sure this has been done in LA several times at some point.
People have asked me why I would want to live in Los Angeles, and in truth, I haven't wanted to in quite a while. But there's just so much happening there, I'm sure that when I get back I'll be a little more comfortable on the city bus, laughing at the one horse we own, and feeling a bit more well-travelled than if I just stayed home and persisted in the mundane. Los Angeles is, after all, the second-largest city in the US; California is the most-populated and easily-most-eccentric place we've got, and I've never been there. I may never go back, who knows, but I will unlikely be unable to forget what it's like.
Still, I'd like to think of myself as well-travelled, regionally, anyway. I've been to Chicago several times and had the *privilege* of driving through it to a destination near Wrigley Field twice. I'd taken the 'L' a few times with a friend who lives there, but on my last visit, took it alone for the first time, downtown, where it becomes a subway. On the outside I tried to pretend that I'd done it so many times before, tried to give off the impression that if I could somehow get away from the daily grind of Chicago and get off this god-forsaken train that I had apparently known since birth, I would. On the inside, though, I felt like a real farm-boy, though I haven't spent very much time in the rural areas, but nonetheless really nervous about taking the train by myself for the first time. I lived to tell the tale.
So what happened to me? Suddenly, without a lot of warning, I have agreed to spend a week in downtown Los Angeles, and it'll be worth it.
I still want to go to Japan, and still plan to do so, but this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Now, the reason I got into Japan and the culture wasn't the culture itself, but the people. And to be more specific, it was certain people; idols, to be exact.
If I were to go to Japan, attending a concert would probably be very unlikely, almost an afterthought. So much time would be spent planning hotels and destinations, vacation time, money, and being able to read the signs, etc. It would be very obvious that I was not from around there, and if I managed to find a good record store, I'd be doing good. What are the odds that if I *did* go to Japan I'd manage to see any of the people who are responsible for my current obsession?
That all changed with the possibility of seeing Morning Musume perform at Anime Expo in Los Angeles this summer. See details here, and go mad with jealousy at my comparative good luck. Let me wallow in this for a while, because I don't get out often. And on the other hand, I'm still not believing that this is actually going to happen.
I harbor a little bit of dissapointment that I won't be seeing °C-ute or Berryz Kobo, though if I'd seen them a little over a year ago, wouldn't have been star-struck anyway. Morning Musume may have already reached its peak some time ago, and some of the most popular girls won't be there, but still, let's stop and think about who I'll be in the same room with.
For starters, no, it's not Aiko; but at least two of them have definitely spoken to her, and shared some time backstage (or possibly the same bunk bed) with her during the Musume audition.
Let's see who I'll be seeing with my own two eyes. A member of MiniMoni, albeit a latecomer, Ms. Takahashi Ai, and fellow 5th gen-er Niigaki Risa. Both of these girls are hilariously gorgeous, have talked to Aiko at some point, were around back when 'Mr. Moonlight' came out, and by my calculations, hold the title for being in Morning Musume longer than anyone else in history.
Next, the 6th gen of Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi, and Tanaka Reina, all swimsuit models in a former life, apparently:
'Nuff said.
And, if that weren't enough, the almighty Ms. Kusumi Koharu will be there; so Rainbow Pink, (my favorite super-group) will be reunited, so to speak, with a surrounding ensemble. Plus, have I ever mentioned that I really like Koha-chan?
Mitsui Aika, the sole Japanese rep of the 8th gen, will be there. As much as I tried to ignore her, seriously, tenacity is one of her better qualities, and if she encountered me alone on the street, proclaiming that she was a Musume, I'd stop her in the middle of her spiel. "You're friggin' Mitsui!" I would exclaim, and then we would go back to my castle and live happily ever after.
Here's the hard part. The other two 8th gen-ers Junjun and Linlin will also be there, but for the life of me, I can't tell them apart. Blame it on me being racist and having a bit of trouble accepting Chinese girls into my favorite Japanese group. Or, blame it on me looking the other way when they joined, and just generally not keeping up with Morning Musume in recent days. Either way, a *lot* of good things have been said about these two, and I usually listen to my online peers when it comes to talent. I just haven't seen much of them, and unlike, say, Yuko and Rika, there's not a big age/personality difference for me to latch on to. I can't tell any other two Asian girls apart, so don't get too offended, I'm just an idiot about these things.
So, my goal in life is to see me some idols, and this is quite the collection. No need to get a passport and the flight itself is about 1/6th the amount I'd be paying to get to Japan, no idol-seeing included. Add to that the fact that I'll be amongst friends unknown, Japanophiles all. I'm not a huge anime fan, but there'll be plenty of cool (and cutting edge) things to see there.
Consider this to be another notch scratched on my belt. Been to California, been to LA, and if things hold out, I'd have stayed but a block away from Library Tower. It's still partially up in the air, but in all actuality, I have a plane ticket to Los Angeles and admission to the Expo gate. So it's as if I've already been there, short of telling Kusumi (to her face) that I love her. Did I mention that I really like Kusumi Koharu?