How's it going lurkers? Today I have some Neoclassical Dark New Wave and J-Pop Music by Kanon Wakeshima.
Kanon Wakeshima is a Japanese singer/cellist, who was originally produced by musician/fashion designer Mana.
Speaking
of Mana, I was actually friends with him on Vivaldi, before deleting my account several months ago. It sucks that the owners of
Vivaldi, did not give additional features on their website. It lingered for
1/2 year much like Xanga 2.0, but that is another topic for another time.
Like I was saying, Kanon Wakeshima was originally produced by Mana. Kanon also
collaborated with the Visual Kei J-Rock basist, Kanon from Antic Cafe
(a.k.a. "An Cafe").
Kanon Wakeshima and An Cafe's Kanon are known
together as "Kanon X Kanon."
The singer/cellist is
popular for her 2 songs, which were featured as the ending theme songs to
the Anime, Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight: Guilty (2008). Those 2
ending theme songs were "Still Doll" and "Suna No Oshiro" (Sand Castle).
In addition to Kanon's songs being used for the
Vampire Knight franchise, I recently learned that she voiced a maid in
Vampire Knight Season 1: Episode 8.
In 2008, Kanon was nominated in the 4th Annual Shojo Beat Music Awards for Best Newcomer Award.
The nominees are usually determined by surveying "record companies, music journalists, music experts, and music fans."
Throughout
these last several years, I have noticed that Kanon Wakeshima's music
is typically featured in Vampire Horror Anime such as Vampire Knight,
Shiki, and Strike The Blood.
Besides Kanon Wakeshima's past accomplishments, I learned something very interesting about her today.
She gave all 4 of her cellos names.
Kanon's white cello is named "Mikazuki-san," which means "crescent moon" in Japanese.
She
normally uses Mikazuki, during live performances. "Nanachie-san"
meaning "wisdom" is Kanon Wakeshima's red cello. It's mostly seen in her
music videos.
She claims that "Nanachie-san" is
complicated to play yet she still manages to play it. Kanon's 3rd cello
is "Yaeharu-san" ("multi-layered spring"). She has owned that brown
cello, since middle school.
Kanon uses "Yaeharu-san," whenever she is practicing and recording albums.
Her last cello is her newest called "Momotose" ("100 years") and is silver with rhinestones on it.
"Momotose" can be seen on Kanon Wakeshima's 2nd album, Lolitawork Libretto.
I
tried copying and pasting photos of Kanon Wakeshima's cellos, however I
had no such luck. If you would like to see her cellos, the link is
below.
How's it going lurkers? Today is Part 2 of my Wayne Static/Static-X
Tribute. In case you missed the previous blog, I learned on Monday, that
Wayne Static from the Industrial Metal/"Evil Disco"/Metal band, Static-X died
in his sleep on November 1st.
As I reiterate, he literally died 3 days, before his 49th birthday. I was only 16, when Static-X debuted.
When
I originally heard Static-X's "Bled For Days," I assumed it was a NEW White Zombie song, 16 years ago. A DJ at LAZER 103 also mentioned on the
air that Static-X sounded somewhat similar to White Zombie. The moment the DJ played "Bled For Days," I instantly heard the similarities between
Static-X and White Zombie.
Wayne Static and Rob Zombie's vocals sounded
similar to each others except Wayne's vocals were deeper.
Static-X debuted the same year that Rob Zombie launched as a soloist. White Zombie had already disbanded.
Within a decade, the
band was featured on plethora of soundtracks and compilations. Over
the years, I noticed that Static-X was normally featured on Horror
soundtracks. This especially applies to MOST Vampire soundtracks.
Considering
the popularity of Rap Metal a.k.a. "Nu Metal," throughout the late '90s and early 21st Century, the band was amazingly successful.
Static-X was 1 of
the heavier bands in heavy rotation on traditional radio stations and
music television.
Wayne Static collaborated with
Metal bands and rappers such as Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell, Dead
Prez, The X-Ecutioners, Godhead, Mephisto Odyssey, KoRn's Jonathan Davis, Linkin
Park's Mike Shinoda, Skinny Puppy, Soil, and Run DMC to only
name a few.
It has been years, since I played
Static-X's Wisconsin Death Trip, their other albums, and other
songs, which were featured on various soundtracks and compilations.
During 2002-2003, Static-X was 1
of the main Metal and Industrial Metal bands I played on my radio show at 101.7
WIPZ (Yes, I know. Me and my nostalgia).
I
meant to share a Static-X block earlier this year, but was
sidetracked. Well, better late than never. Today is a lengthy Static-X
block.
This block contains songs from every Static-X album and a few songs from different soundtracks and collaborative compilations.
1) Static-X "Bled For Days" Bride of Chucky Soundtrack (1998); Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)
2) Static-X Featuring Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell "Burning Inside"
[Ministry Cover] The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack (2000); Beneath...
Between... Beyond Compilation (2004)
How's it going lurkers? On Monday, I learned some rather shocking yet
TRAGIC news. Wayne Static from the Industrial Metal/"Evil Disco" band,
Static-X died in his sleep on November 1st.
Wayne literally died 3 days, BEFORE his 49th birthday. The thought of this had me reeling.
I may not
be rolling around on the floor, while crying convulsively over Wayne
Static's death, however I was and still am shocked as a Static-X fan. When the band debuted, I
was only 16 years old.
"Bled For
Days" was featured on the Bride of Chucky Soundtrack in 1998. Static-X's
debut album, Wisconsin Death Trip, followed 1 year after.
Static-X
was very popular, during the late 1990's and early 2000's. In fact, the
band reached its pinnacle in 2000.
Static-X was featured on numerous
soundtracks and music compilations throughout the decade.
The
Hard +The Heavy Volume 1, Dracula 2000 Soundtrack, Loud Rocks, Queen Of
The Damned Soundtrack, and The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack are ONLY
naming a few.
Static-X made 6 studio albums, 1 live album, 1
compilation, 1 video album, 2 extended plays, 14 singles, 2 promotional
singles, and 13 music videos.
Wayne Static
collaborated with a number of Metal bands and rappers. When you have the opportunity to do so, read the listing
of Wayne Static and Static-X's discographies and collaborations on
Wikipedia.
There
are WAY too many soundtracks, compilations, and collaborations for me
to list. Wayne Static's death shocked a handful of his Metal and
so-called "Nu Metal" friends. Some of them responded:
Jacoby
Shaddix (Papa Roach vocalist): “RIP Wayne. This is so sad. Too many
musicians are dying from overdoses... I know drugs and partying are part
of the ‘rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle,’ but damn, how many more gotta die???
Fuck the lifestyle, I want life!!!! See you on the other side, Wayne.”
Billy
Corgan (Deep Blue Dream/The Smashing Pumpkins): “I am shocked to hear
that Wayne Wells has passed away... He was a real gentleman, and loved
music (and Kiss, Ace in particular). Even had his the hood of his car
painted with the Kiss logo.”
Corey Taylor
(Slipknot/Stone Sour): “I am absolutely devastated to hear about Wayne
Static’s death. A good man and a good friend. My thoughts are with his
family and friends.”
Aaron Lewis (Staind): “My heart
goes out to Wayne’s family. He was my friend. Many shows and tours
together. I’m stunned and shocked. RIP my dear friend #speechless”
Jonathan
Davis (KoRn): “Rest in peace, Wayne. I’m speechless right now. I’m
losing too many of my friends. I’ll see you on the other side, brother.”
John
5 (Rob Zombie's current guitarist): “Very saddened to hear that Wayne
Static has passed away in his sleep.... My thoughts are with his wife
and family and friends.”
Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna
Coil): “Shocked. Waking up with the horrific news someone you knew died
is the worst feeling in the world… R.I.P. Wayne.”
Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit): “RIP Wayne Richard Wells. His contributions are timeless.”
Jeremy Spencer (Five Finger Death Punch): “What a shame. R.I.P. Wayne Static.”
Morgan
Rose (Sevendust drummer): “Crushed to hear the news of Wayne Static
passing away. We played many shows together. Horrible news. RIP Wayne.”
David Draiman (Disturbed): “Goodbye old friend.”
Pete
Loeffler (Chevelle): “Just heard about Wayne Static passing away. Sad
news indeed. We played with Static-X a hell of a lot over the years. RIP
bro.”
Koichi Fukuda (Former Static-X guitarist): “I
am still trying to process the sad fact that I’ve lost my dear old
friend, Wayne Richard Wells. He was an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind,
very special person and also a very gifted artist with a clear vision.
On a personal level, he was a smart, kind, caring sweetheart and
soft-spoken gentleman. I really loved his dark, biting and sharp sense
of humor. We all shared so many great times and also some tough times
together like we are ‘family.’...It makes me so sad and angry at the
same time that I’ll never have a chance to reconcile with him. I thought
the time is the only thing needed for all of us to realize what we had
is something so special.”
Tony Campos (Former
Static-X bassist): “I knew Wayne for 15 years. Some of the best times of
my life were with him. I considered him a good friend. It’s sad the way
our friendship ended, but even more sad that we never got to settle
things between us.... Even though we were no longer friends the last
five years, I held on to a sliver of hope that my old friend would come
back."
There appears to be some animosity among
Wayne Static's wife (Tera Wray), mostly Papa Roach's vocalist and
former Static-X band members.
The former Static-X band members sent
their condolences to Wayne Static's family except Wray.
Meanwhile,
she is mostly upset because Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix(a.k.a. "Coby
Dick") implied, along with other musicians suspecting, that Wayne died
from a drug overdose.
According to Wayne's widow and his publicist, he died in his sleep. You can read more about it in the link below.
Aside
from the drama, I have a recorderd interview, that Wayne Static did
with The Five Count from this past June. In the interview, he discussed
working with Static-X, his solo album, creating the "Evil Disco" music
genre, Tripp Eisen's (Static-X/Dope/Murderdolls) statutory rape charges,
touring, etc.
Below The Five Count interview is a song from Wayne Static's solo album, Pighammer.
Wayne Static's Interview With The Five Count (2014)
Wayne Static "Thunder Invader" Pighammer (2011)
Tomorrow, I'll have a Static-X Song Satuday block. R.I.P. Wayne Static!
How's it going lurkers? You're gonna love this. So, 2 Tuesday nights ago, I discovered in an
Adult Swim thread that Dish Network removed most of Turner's channels.
TBS and TNT are the only networks under the Ted Turner umbrella that have not been removed from Dish Network.
Those
2 channels are covered by a separate contract than CNN, HLN, TruTV,
TCM, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang.
Out of all those listed channels,
my family and I only watch 2 of them. Those 2 channels are Cartoon
Network and Boomerang.
We can't watch Boomerang or Adult Swim because
Turner and Dish Network couldn't reach an agreement about their
contract.
My
grandmother watches Boomerang for all the older cartoons. The rest of
us watch Adult Swim. It's a bundled network on Cartoon Network.
I
mostly watch Adult Swim for American Dad, Family Guy, The Boondocks,
Robot Chicken, Bleach (which just ended last night), Metalocalypse, and
Hellsing Ultimate.
We don't watch Adult Swim nearly
as much as we have in the past. Within the last several years, the
network shoved all the Anime to late Saturday nights and early Sunday
mornings.
Regardless of the awful programming, we still watch Adult
Swim. I checked Dish Network's Facebook page. It
has numerous irate customers to respond to about blacking out most Turner
networks.
Based on the comments I read 2 weeks ago, most customers were
furious for not having CNN, TruTV, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang.
Dish Network pulled this exact same stunt several years ago with AMC's other networks, which are affiliated with NBC Universal.
Dish
Network's customers are so irate, that they are canceling their
packages. I don't blame them.
If I really could, I would cancel the
service not because of losing only 2 channels, but because we do not
watch most of those other 100+ channels.
I watch
slightly more than a handful of Dish's channels alone. Since I'm not
paying the bill and because my family watches certain channels, we're
stuck with Dish Network.
It's disappointing that
John McCain never had his bill passed. He wanted to pass a bill where
cable and satellite dish owners could customize our own packages by
removing excess channels.
That would've saved
customers money. It may sound silly to some people, however it's
ridiculous to pay $100's for unwanted channels. It annoys me to have a
gajillion sports channels, that none of us watch. We have to pay extra
to watch the better channels because they are not on the main Dish
package.
I don't necessarily mean Showtime, HBO, and
Skinemax. I mean the Japanese channels and other channels, that I would
consider watching.
Meanwhile, it's Cartoon Sunday. Remember that Cartoon Sunday blog review I published, which featured Hellsing Ultimate,in March?
Besides learning about Dish Network and Turner's dispute, I also learned that Adult Swim will only air 8 of the 10 OVA's.
Judging
by the network's current late Saturday night/early Sunday morning
schedule, I won't be watching Adult Swim. This is until the network
acquires the rights to another show(s) I want to watch.
Then
again, even if there was a show I wanted, I still would be unable to
watch it on Adult Swim.
Thank you Dish Network and Turner for not
settling your dispute! Now, I have extra time to be more constructive
and watch better shows on TV and online.
On a more
positive note, I managed to grab Hellsing Ultimate OVA 1 online! Funimation Entertainment restricted outside viewers 2 months ago, but we
just got lucky today!
Get ready to watch a
kick ass Seinen Horror Action Anime! Anyway, here's Hellsing Ultimate
OVA 1!
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