Well, I hope I don't come off too snotty with this post, so I'll try and keep it lighthearted and funny, and hopefully somebody agrees with me on some things. As this is my own forum, my own pink soapbox, where I call the shots, here goes. Don't be afraid to engage me in a debate on something; I try to keep an open mind and I don't like all the Internet-hate that tends to go around. We cool, just remember that.
Things that Tick Me Off
1. Comments (usually on youTube) where the commenter clearly hasn't spent even two seconds reading through the 10,000 previous comments that both answered their question and should have put the issue to rest.
You know what I'm talking about, random fan-vid, same thing over and over... "Q: That's a great song, who is this?" "A: It's Tom Petty." "Q: Who sings this song?" "A: Tom Petty." "Q: Wow, wish I knew who sang this song, who is it?" "A: Read the description, it's Tom Petty." "Q: Anyone know who this song is by?" "A: FOR ALL THE FIVE-YEAR-OLDS WHO CAN BUILD A TIME MACHINE BUT CAN'T READ COMMENTS, THE SONG IS BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN!" "A: That doesn't sound like Bruce Springsteen, who is this?"
Dammit! Is your blood boiling yet? Comments that are relative are great, and often fun to read, but this, seriously, has got to stop. This is ridiculous. Half of all the information on the internet has got to be ignorant questions that have already been asked. I'm exaggerating, slightly, because most of the exchanges like the one above have some severe misspellings.
2. Comments that begin with "I'm a professional writer..." and about three words after that, it's clear that this person should *not* be allowed near a computer.
It's never good to appear snobbish so early on in your comment, then lose any dignity you might have had if you just left out that one crucial detail. A professional writer might have some good skills, like usage, punctuation, spelling, and the ability to research, just a little bit. "I'm a professional writer, and we's gotsta gets uss sum morales. I'm so tierd of..." I put a shirt on one time, and somebody looked at me, so I suppose I can call myself a model. Come on.
3. Any comment (usually of a political nature) that begins with "OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE" or, somewhere uses the word "sheeple".
They're not going to open their eyes. 'Sheeple' is apt about once every ten years. And we're all porfessional wirters.
4. People who post romanizations or translations (or both) then boldy state that if you repost, CREDIT ME.
Okay, now I'm getting back to the issue at hand. I'll give credit where it's due, no problem; thanks to JimBob for the translation, I can dig that. But if your precious time is so valuable, then do the work, translate the song/show, and then keep it for yourself, if you're just in it for the satisfaction. People know no bounds anyway; a quick copy/paste, and it's been lifted, end of story. Often, there might even be no malicious intent, but if they fail to give you credit, what's the deal? You neither invented the English or Japanese language, and you didn't write the song or script. Really, the finished product is enough to be satisfied with, unless you just NEED to have throngs of admirers, in which case, yay for you, you did it! Now go in the room with all the anonymous people who've done thankless work, whose names have been lost to history. The Bible would be twice as thick if they'd spent enough time thanking the translators. My concern lies with crediting the songwriters/screenwriters who both created the work out of thin air or solid inspiration, and who actually own the rights to the original work. It's not only good karma, but for those who might be searching for a similar work will benefit as well. So there, on to...
Smugness
I can't help but feel a little more worldly than some of my contemporaries for listening to foreign music, along with plenty of American selections. But let's not get out of hand. Some of the music you love so much (hey there, Tsunku!) might be viewed by anyone, including the Japanese, as the 'same old crap they always do', so don't kiss your own ass too much. In the sixties, when sitar music was just coming into Western vogue, there had to have been a few people thinking, 'The fuckin' sitar? Again?' What sounds exotic to you is normal for some people. What sounds normal to you is exotic to some other people. Madonna, Mr. Kenny Chesney, and Britney are all being clamored for *as we speak* in foreign countries, because they just love how fresh it all sounds compared to their normal fare. I could care more about these artists, admittedly, but listening to the new Tanaka Reina song on repeat (Really? When's that coming out?) does *not* put you in a category above the rest of the music-listening world. It just means that's what you're into. Still, there is that possibility that you're listening to something so untouchable, so expressive, that you may in fact be touching God himself, in terms of worldliness. Which brings me to:
The Best GD Record Ever Made
...and I pity anyone who doesn't know about it or hasn't heard it by now. You've had plenty of time, OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE. Capsule's 'More! More! More!' is, to me, as note-perfect as any record ever will be. And you're still stuck on Led Zeppelin, you fool. I'll go so far as to say I will refund your $10 (you're up a penny, even) if you download this record from iTunes and it doesn't seriously, unapologetically, change your mind about the way music *should be*. You may have heard techno, you may even have heard Jpop, but you've never heard such a successful marriage of the two until you've lost some hearing in both ears from testing your stereo with this gem. As a lover of Pink Floyd's even-most-trite sound experiments, I say with no hesitation that when the smoke clears, and after you pick up all those pieces of speaker that have been blown across your home/car, when the record's over, you'll want to hear it again. And again, and again. "Q: That's a real good album, who's it by?"