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雷神 風神 レゾナンス

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Oh no it's cute!!! 😭😭😭💗🗝

Tbh I also felt like the key hand-off moment felt like it was from Atsushi to the guys, so I like this a lot. 🥹

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I spent the day listening to the new song and mulling over it.

It was easy to have the knee-jerk reaction to the absence of what I was hearing, and that is most of what I heard on my first listen. The music felt different. There was an anticipation of sound that never came. That’s not a surprise and neither was the emotion that came with it.

On the next listen I found myself really admiring how the rhythm carried the song, and how, especially, Toll’s drum work is unparalleled in finding that perfect touch of embellishment without detracting from the rest of the song.

And then the next time, on the joy of hearing Hide’s voice clearly and how the track was mixed as a whole. Each time, there was something new to appreciate and enjoy.

I understand those who aren’t ready for the next phase. It will never be the same. And after listening again and again today, I feel grateful that the band is not pretending it will be. I am glad they are leaving (literal) space for their dear friend while letting him have the rest he rightly deserves. And I am so glad that, despite everything, the 4 of them are continuing to make music.

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雷神 風神 レゾナンス

"Raijin Fūjin RESONANCE"

Raijin and Fūjin are two Shinto gods, often depicted as a pair. Raijin is the god of storms and thunder, while Fūjin is the god of wind. Both are some of the oldest gods in the Japanese pantheon, sons of the first goddess of all creation.

Notably, Raijin and Fūjin are escapees from the Land of the Dead...

Imai's signature on this song is about as obvious as it gets even in the title. Fūjin and Raijin have been references for him for a while, and even just a couple of years ago, he had released a long sleeve T-shirt showcasing the pair in a collaboration with LHP for Buck-Tick's 35th anniversary.

Verse 1 (Imai)

上昇気流　雷神　風神　レゾナンス joushoukiryuu　Raijin　Fuujin　RESONANCE FLY HIGH！！　昇天 　　　　　　　 shouten Rising！！　Higher than the sun

(On) the updraft, Raijin, Fūjin, (and) resonance Fly high!! Ascension (to Heaven) Rising!! Higher than the sun

Right off the bat it feels like we're talking about Acchan, with "higher than the sun" posing a challenge to the "aim for the sun and burn" story of Ikaros.

Likewise those of us who have referred to Acchan as a personal Jesus (as he has used the iconography several times) are vindicated with the same term used for the Ascension of Christ.

The term "resonance" in this katakana form means everything you might expect of the same word in English, although one dictionary adds another definition that I find resonates well (yeah, yeah, see what I did there) with the chorus when we get there:

awakening, or arousal (of emotions, etc.)

Also worth a note that the Japanese pronunciation of "rising," at least as it can be heard in the song, is a homophone to "Raijin."

Pre-chorus 1

この地上で生き抜くことだ kono chijou de ikinu koto da

it's how to get by on this earth

Verse 2 (Hoshino)

共振共鳴　雷神　風神　レゾナンス kyoushin kyoumei　Raijin　Fuujin　RESONANCE FLY HIGH！！　昇天 (shouten) Rising！！　Higher than the sun

vibration-oscilation, Raijin, Fūjin, (and) resonance

I'm bending a bit here to make it make sense as lyrics, were they English. The first words here, kyoushin and kyoumei, are both direct synonyms for "resonance" and translate as "resonance" in most dictionaries. However, the former refers to physical vibrations, while the latter refers to sonority (sound).

Pre-chorus 2

雨に撃たれ生き抜くことだ ame ni utare ikinuku koto da

it's how we get by while pelted by rain

Chorus (Imai & Hoshino)

Boys don't cry　ハートに火をつけろ Girls fall in love　ハートに火をつけろ Boys don't cry　ハートに火をつけろ Girls fall in love　ハートに火をつけろ 　　　　　　　 hāto no hi wo tsukero

boys don't cry, set your heart on fire girls fall in love, set your heart on fire

At last we come to the chorus, a call directly to the audience, and the feature of the 15-second spot preview of the last few weeks. I'll talk more about this in my summary below.

Verse 3

FLY HIGH！！　昇天 (shouten) Rising！！　Higher than the sun

Pre-chorus 3

この世界で生き抜くことだ kono sekai de ikinuhu koto da

it's how we get by in this world

Chorus

Boys don't cry　ハートに火をつけろ Girls fall in love　ハートに火をつけろ Boys don't cry　ハートに火をつけろ Girls fall in love　ハートに火をつけろ 　　　　　　　 hāto no hi wo tsukero

　 Summary (and a bit of projection, if you'll indulge me)

As Raijin is the god of thunder, it's he who makes the sounds that people most often hear (and fear) in a storm. Yet the song invokes both gods as a pair and attributes the "resonance" to both. You may not "hear" Fūjin, but as far as Raijin is concerned, the resonance does not exist for only one of them.

As the boys have said now in several interviews, they strongly feel that Sakurai is still very much with them.

I'll stick to lyrics here and leave music theory to someone else, but I will share a thought on the costuming. The dress for the single's cover and for the current banner page of the official website has them in black rags, and, as others have remarked, they literally look as if they've gone to Hell and back.

However, in the music video itself, they sparkle, particularly with silver and sequins. I feel as though the clothes themselves show that they're worn, they mourn, but still they shine.

This song is not here to rival past Buck-Tick songs, so any comment that the sound isn't the same is a non sequitur. And, while I'm sure the management would prefer chart-toppers, the audience is not the masses, but the fans.

This song's message is for you.

Acchan lives. Gods live. And you. You live.

So live, and live well.

Vibrate. Oscillate. Reverberate. Resonate. Let your heart beat. Let your voice cry out. Put one foot in front of the other until your footsteps become clear, until you fall into a march, until you find your parade again.

Don't suffer. Be open to the possibility of feeling joy again. That possibility is in you, because you're human, and it's how humans get by...

...from this world to the next...

...it's how we learn to live again.

We set our hearts on fire ❤️‍🔥

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"If you please..."

For a while, over the past year of grieving, I had been making my own mental playlist of non-Buck-Tick songs very directly connected to the loss. "Now and Then" by The Beatles is probably the most obvious choice for the list, but I wonder how many people know "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles. The song is about Elvis, but change Mississippi to Gumma, Memphis to Tokyo, and velvet to lace...

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It was so wild to hear this at the Izora concert. Crowd went absolutely crazy for it❤️‍🔥

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♡

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Hat Imai appreciation

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Long live the king of ♦️♦️♦️♦️

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ケセラセラ　エレジー(DIQ-2020)