#Jun togawa is such a good singer

[phrandallanton]

I want my presence to sound like this album

[surrender-souls]

jun togawa did it again! [listening to a song they’ve heard 20 times already]

[gwynndolin]

I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo. or if you have heard that one; Dreams by Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble

Loathe tho I am to admit, I have tried Yo La Tengo many times and have not been able to get into them.

Dreams though is a new one to me and I am really loving it. I feel as though Black Country New Road had listened to this album a million times over before recording Ants From Up There, the way the saxaphone is mic'd up really is evocative to me. I will say, I don't understand if it's maybe just the version on spotify, or if there's just some sort of.. vision I don't understand? But the random high pitched drones in this album are really off putting (occasionally, anyway, the one on Yume is good and I enjoy it actually, but the one on Good Morning is a frequency that like, actively sets off pain receptors) and would probably prevent me from listening to this album pretty frequently.

I also like both of the singers but Jun Togawa's vocals have a really interesting, almost immature way of singing that really got me excited for the rest of the record and I was disappointed that she's only on like, 2. Maybe 3 of the songs?

That being said, Hahen Fukei is fucking crazy. Reminds me of what i wanted from this song from the Gurren Lagann soundtrack

Would just love more of Hahen Fukei honestly.

High 7/10 on this one.

Would probably be like an 8 if some of the high pitched drones were slightly more consumable, I think this album is really fucking cool.

Fave songs: Preach, Yume, Toi Hibiki, Eureka, Hahen Fukei

[bubblyqueer000]

Hi there! May I request the thh girls with an male ultimate singer/songwriter s/o who dedicates his songs to her?

THH Girls x Ultimate!Singer/SongWriter!Reader Who Writes Songs For Them

I've never even had a poem written for me ٩(๑ `н´๑)۶

I need better friends!! (Kidding)

Oh, also I added some J-Pop songs that I love that remind me of each of the characters so I hope you enjoy the song recs!!

Love you! Hope you all enjoy it!

Kyoko Kirigiri

♡ She genuinely doesn’t know how to respond when you tell her you wrote a song about her. 

♡ Sure, she was flattered, but Kyoko isn’t normally all that affectionate. Still though, she was completely willing to sit and listen to what you wrote for her. 

♡ On the inside though she’s way more excited than she’s pretending to be. 

♡ All through the song, Kyoko smiled timidly. At the very end, you looked up at her.

♡ “Kyoko- are you alright.”

♡ “Yes. I’m completely fine.” She spoke in a whisper, while wiping her eyes gently. “I’m… Better than fine actually.” For the first time in your relationship, Kyoko slowly began removing her gloves, shaking as she did. Hesitantly, she reached out for your hands and hoped that you would take them. When you finally did she jumped… And finally smiled. 

♡ You kissed her hands while she smiled at you lovingly, trying not to let any more tears spill out onto her face.  

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Stay With Me- Miki Matsubara

Aoi Asahina

♡ Hina smiled so wide when you told her you’re writing a song about her! She sat next to you the whole time you were writing it.

♡ “Is it done yet?”

♡ “No.”

♡ *Ten minutes pass*

♡ “How about now?”

♡ “Still no.”

♡ *Five minutes pass*

♡ “Now?”

♡ “Hina.”

♡ She was so impatient waiting for you to finish her song!! She knows how talented you are and was so happy to know you would use your talent for her. 

♡ When it was finally done she danced to it while you performed. Awkward right? Aoi didn’t care. She couldn’t hold back how happy she was.

♡ After that, she made you your favorite baked good and shared it with you! 

♡ “I loved your song so much, Y/N! I’m going to listen to it every day!

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Bay City- Junko Yagami

Toko Fukawa 

♡ She. Would. Cry if you wrote a song for her.

♡ Toko would be so honored!! Going on and on about how kind you are for writing a song about ‘someone like her’

♡ She won't even know what to say when you perform the song that you wrote for her. She becomes a sweaty, stuttering mess, and mumbles incoherently about how much she doesn’t deserve such a sweet gift.

♡ A few hours after you perform your song for her, you realize that you can’t seem to find Toko anywhere around the school. Eventually, you give up on finding her and go sit in your room to write more music, but after only a few minutes of this, Toko bursts through your door holding a stack of papers. It looked like it could have been hundreds of them. 

♡ “Uh… what’s all that paper for?”

♡ “Well… It’s n-nothing compared t-t-to what you- you wrote me, Master… But… I wrote you some poems!”   

♡ You spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the impressive amount of love poems Toko wrote for you.

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Suki Suki Daisuki- Jun Togawa

Sayaka Maizono

♡ Another character who would probably cry. 

♡ She’s an idol so music is so, so important to her, but as far as she knew no one had ever written a song about her.

♡ After you get done performing she would run over and hug you so tightly.

♡ “I loved it so much, sweetheart! You’re the best boyfriend in the whole world!” She’s so sweet to you about it!! I’m sorry I love Sayaka vbhvnjbhn

♡ Sayaka loves your songs and tries to get her managers to let her and her idol group sing covers of them.  

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Plastic Love: Mariya Takeuchi

Celestia Ludenberg

♡ “Oh you have something for me, dear? I’d love to see it.” 

♡ Celeste kept her cool when she heard you had a song for her, but on the inside, she was so excited. 

♡ You performed it for her while she drank her tea. 

♡ After it was over she held your hand and thanked you, telling you how much she loved your music. 

♡ “Your songs are truly befitting for royalty, my love,” Celestia told you with a giggle.

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Deal with the Devil- Tia

Sakura Ogami

♡ At first, she worries that you’re making fun of her.

♡ Why would you want to write about a girl like her?

♡ But when you played her song she was so happy. Sakura fell in love with you again and again with every note that you played and every word you sang. 

♡ After you finished she walked over and hugged you.

♡ She didn’t cry but she really wanted to. 

♡ “Thank you, my dear. I can’t tell you how much I love this… How much I love you.”

♡ She ended up saving the song to her playlist and listened to it whenever she worked out. It’s usually the first thing she listens to in the morning during her early workouts.

♡ Song that reminded me of her: Update- Miwa

[kyotakumrau]

2021.03.10 USEN STUDIO COAST 2nd session with Toshiya and Kyo

Fujieda and Takabayashi again came on stage when the tables were ready and after greeting everyone and introducing themselves F asked fans to give band members a loud applause👏

Toshiya and Kyo came back and they both changed for the second session!

Unconfirmed until DIRT announcement, but most likely T was wearing DIRT items: light grey cardigan and black and white floral print set, top and bottom, with a thick white stripe with black frame on the sides. Plus sunglasses.

Kyo was wearing Madaraningen, MANG white shirt with the tie and black slacks, white socks with colorful accent, gold choice of Madara jewellery. And big glasses.

They sat in the same order as for the 1st session.→F K T Ta

T: I'm Toshiya, yoroshiku onegaishimasu

K: I'm Kyo.

The whole time during the 1st session K was turned slightly to the right, but during the 2nd session he was basically sitting facing F.

F: (after he talked about Rock-May-Kan footage) It's the first time you performed Ochita koto no aru sora. Did you have any trouble with it?

T: hm. Chorus is hard.

F: continues fast.

T: yeah. But you just practice and get used to playing it.

F: Shinya said that thanks to the rehearsal you did as the rhythm section songs he got them back quickly.

T: I see. He should be grateful😆

F: How about you, K? Any trouble?

K: don't know (he's looking to the left side of the venue)

F: you've only performed it once.

K: wah! (still intensely looking at the left wall of the venue or somewhere that direction)

F: 😱?! why are you looking there?? Can you see anything?!

K: thingy there is moving and moving...

F: whaaaaat, don't scare us like that!

K: ... (he continued to look there).

👻？😂

F: Didn't you play Jealous first time in a really long time? Wasn't it hard?

T: it wasn't a big surprise, we were planning it originally for the SOGAI tour.

F: the cancelled tour.

T: We were waiting until the last moment to see if we can go on with it or we have to cancel, so we had the proper rehearsal for the tour. So when rehearsing it for Rock-May-Kan show it didn't feel like it's been a long time.

F: K you said it was embarrassing to remember and perform it?

K made the 'robot move' from PV with a totally blank face😂

F: you also played Umbrella, so will you be playing more old songs?

K: Anything is okay except 'Toriko'. There's a drums solo in the end, it's so long and the switch to the next song gets so confusing.

T: How about we leave S and just go?

😂

Then they talked how Shinya fans and other fans would react.

K: Wouldn't fans be troubled with [he made the robot move]?

😆

F: you T don't mind old songs?

T: they're fine/no problem.

F moved the talk to the flyer and their new artist photo.

K: Auspicious/celebrating. Like New Year. And osechi.

F: I see, if using food to explain it's like osechi.

F: How was the filming of the PV?

T: Really long. But speaking of refreshing/Sawayaka, do you know the hamburger shop with that name?

F: it's in Shizuoka (F then again got very enthusiastic talking about how delicious is the meat there, how very juicy etc)

T: so PV is like that (like a juicy meat😂).

F: the single cover art is very unexpected for you.

K: I know and like this artist from before, I asked her to do it for us. I really like it.

After that was time for the merchandise topic. F announced that he confirmed that the rechargeable heat pack can also work as a charger/power bank. K who asked about it in Yokohama and was then told that no, it's just a heat pack just gave him such a look. F, you're not gonna get out of this alive😂

K: ...it'd be such a good item in winter, so it's for the next one? We don't sell it in winter, only for warm season. Wow, heat pack for the warm season...

/s by K👌💯

F started to enthusiastically advertise the towel saying like a muffler it can be worn on a cold day to keep you warm, and K...😂

But T was also poking so much fun at F with his reactions, 'oh I see! Wow!' 😂

T: I think we haven't had wristbands in a while.

K: what are you actually supposed to do with it?

F: you can wipe the sweat off (he gestured wiping sweat from his brow)?

K: I see. Then what about the towel then? (he also gestured using a towel with one hand and a wristband with the other at the same time [kinda like the Jealous robot move], the look he gave F and that pause when he waited for F to dare to answer, oh my, F, you're so dead🤣)

But T and Ta said that guitarists actually use it to keep sweat off their hands etc.

K: so with all of these fans are settled for the show at Tokyo Garden Theater?  (F was nodding to all listed items) These and the ticket and we're good? And the train ticket? Ah no, commuter pass? What should they wear? (F: The hoodie) But then we don't sell any bottoms, should fans go without any pants? What? But we have two items to wipe sweat!

F: fans can bring the travel pouch, usb, they all fit perfectly in the bag! All good items especially if you come from outside of Tokyo.

K: and no bottoms😆

F: well, they need extra money for the ticket and their own bottoms.💦

F also advertised venue limited edition of Ochita.

K: so there are no plans for normal sale? When it gets sold out that's it?

F: yeah.

(it's contradictory with Kaoru's tweet, not sure if I trust F😂)

After that we moved to the section with questions from fans. F as usual split the papers so everyone got some, K this time didn't even read them, just putting them in F's pile😂 but then he was leaning over all the time trying to read what F was looking at😁

F said there many questions about where T stands on the seat choice.

T: on shinkansen I prefer window, on the airplane aisle.

F: why?

T: if I need to stand up to go to toilet etc it's easier.

F: but on the train you prefer a nice view, I see. Shinya said he prefers window seat any time.

T: He's a kid.

F then told her about the rest of the seat preference story (table down idea and S not needing to stand up at all).

F: "are you okay with the pineapple in a sweet and sour pork? Is there any food you're not okay with?"

K: I don't mind. I don't like milk and coriander. But there's something, not exactly food, that I totally hate. You know when you go to a shushi restaurant, conveyor belt sushi, there's alcohol to clean your hands. (K then said if there's a perfume like smell in it you can't enjoy food or something like that).

K (looking at the venue wall calmly): oh it moved.

F: WHAT??!😱

😂

T: I don't mind the pineapple, it's actually very good to help make meat more tender

F: Is there any food you hate, T?

T: The food F doesn't like.

(does it exist??😂)

K: F, you have to understand pineapple's feelings.

F:

K: I thought you F would get pineapple's feelings.

F: I'll try to step in pineapple's shoes...

K: Pineapple is often disliked, but it's being helpful...

K tried to sway F a bit more into becoming a pineapple...

Ta: I'm ok with it, pineapple's feelings are safe.

T: "please tell us F's one good point and one thing you would like him to improve". F is so popular.

F: Not at all😅

K: despite the pineapple...

F: so, T?

T: He can appreciate food/has good appetite, is energetic. Something to fix is that he answers everything with そうっすね/yeahsure

F: K said something similar.

T: About Tooru (he used Takabayashi's given name), he's very good at laying groundwork for projects. Something to improve... well, when I think of something I'll let you know (to Ta).

Ta: Anytime.

K: Ta's good point, he does his job in a matter of fact manner. He doesn't exactly has something to fix, but he can't eat cheese, so fe when we go abroad he can't have pizza.

K: there are so many things F should fix.

F: That ﾊｲﾊｲﾊｲ・yeahyeahyeah

K: ...🙃 just answer with one proper はい

K also complained again about F's eating manners that he opens his mouth too much when eating, sometimes also will turn his head when eating ramen like it's easier to eat (K demostrated F eating posture, arms high and head turned - a bit like Jealous robot pose😆)

F: any good points?😆

K: ...hm. You make every place comfortable. I can relax with you, I wouldn't be speaking at all if you weren't here.

Both fans and F went 'Aaaaaw😊'

Ta: "are there any electronic goods you want right now?"

K: ...hm, solar panels.

F: does that count as electronic goods?

K: isn't it electronic? I want one you can put on the roof and make your own power.

T: yeah, solar panels would be nice.

K: And you can sell electricity to power companies. It's expensive at first, but after 10 years you can start make money, also you can use it if there's an earthquake.

F: can we get it at the store?

K: Why not, you could carry it home on your back!

F: Maybe not...

K: Can I put one on you F?

F: No.

K: then tattoo the giraffe on you, one long giraffe stretching from neck to knees.

F: You like giraffes.

K: Yes (noded)

K got so excited about the giraffe, F won't hear the emd of this idea😂

F: " do you have a favorite female idol or singer?"

K: This morning I was listening to Togawa Jun, レーダーマン.

F: you T?

T: No one in particular. But ones from the past.

F: like globe?

T: isn't it wrong age?

K: globe is the band with Sam?

F: I think that's TRF, in globe it's Mark Panther and Komuro Tetsuya.

F: "how about favorite artist or band you like?" Or just music you like.

K:  I'm listening now to Sekiri (赤痢), an old female band.

F: foreign band?

K: From Japan, with 3 female members.

T: I just use shuffle, listen to music without choosing who to listen to.

F: It's a streaming age now.

T: Is it?😆

F: Ok we still have plenty of time, "what's your shoe size?"

K: 24.5, for sports shoes 25.5.

T: 27, for sports I go bigger, maybe 28 or 29. Boots are better just right. But why do you need such information?😅

F: Usually fans can't ask such things, like do you pull your hoodie strings? (?)

K: I don't.

T: it depends on my mood.

F: ok, not much time left now, we will finish soon.

T: but you just said we have plenty??😆

Ta: "what your favorite album/single cover art?"

T: to pick just one is tough.

Ta: S said that Oboro is in his top 5 now.

T: Favorite cover... hm... what is it, I know, MISSA!😆

F: it's cool, it has members photo.

T: it does?😂

K: For me its DUM. It really captured album's worldview.

F (unsure): are you angry?

K: S answered that Oboro is in his top 5 to the question what's your favorite? Why?😑

F explained the situation, that it wasn't to the same question, K just replied 'I see'.

And then when F just wanted to finish K said they should do all of the leftover questions, but without thinking too long, very rapid q&a

(and absolute nightmare to write down but so SO entertaining🤣 sorry I'm not sure about all the questions it was TOO FAST)

K: hurry up!

F: (something about some time in their life)

K: now, next.

F: what about T?

K just rushed him😆

F: food you want to eat now.

K: choboyaki

F: T, a fragrance you like (?)

T: Aroma.

F: sakura season will start soon, do you have favorite spot?

K: when is soon supposed to be?

F: T, is there something you want now?

T: No.

F: K, do you color your hair by yourself?

K: Yes, next.

F: Bread or rice?

T: Both.

F: what do you buy in convenience store?

K: sweets

F: what do you do first after waking up?

T: open eyes.

D: which convenience store do you like best?

K: Convenience store.

F: do you eat skin on the chicken?

T: I like the skin best.

F: (how do you deal with stress??)

K: stress.

F: T, do you sleep naked or wear pajama to bed?

T: Pajama.

F: (something about Oboro photo shoot???)

K did the robot move in reply😆

F: which style of clothes you like when shopping?

T: simple.

F: To finish, what's your favourite obento side dish?

K (gave F disbelieving look): You want to finish with this?

F: We asked others tok, everyone had different preferences.

K: what were other members answers?

F: for Kaoru green beans or asparagus, for S hamburger, Die... we talked yesterday, but what was it?

K (seriously): I like unagi.

(marinated eel is delicious, but also very expensive, so definitely not a side😅)

F: it's delicious.

K: It is.

T: is this really needed? Don't have one, just nothing that makes food soggy... Ah, but you know when you have a pickled plum on your rice, you move it and there's this pink spot with plum flavor? I like that!

Then it was really the end and time for the last comments.

Kyo: I don't have anything.

F: By this you surely mean you're looking forward to seeing everyone in May...

K (killer face): ...💢

Toshiya: Thank you for coming today. We are having a concert in Tokyo Garden Theater on May 6th, please come if you want to. Thank you.

[reconstructionbaby]

🌻

imma talk about why i like togawa jun's lyrics bc ive been listening to them for a while and im still listening to them, and its good to try to figure out why you respond to things

so the first thing to say is that the lyrics arent understated, they tend to describe extreme emotional states with imagery that makes you go hmm. maybe similar vibes to sylvia plath if plath styled herself as a strange pop singer who somtimes leans sci-fi. tho now that i think of it poppies in july could definitely pass as a togawa jun song lol. strong imagery is a similarity between the two

togawa’s images are very bodily. in teinen pushiganga (’song and dance of resignation’) she says to a lover “you may kill me like a cow or pig / i won’t mind, i am nothing but meat.” tamahime-sama describes a noblewoman who once a month retires to a cell to experience a violent and transformative fit (its about menstruation). more than one song expresses a psychological transformation as a painful, physical one - youka no onna (’pupation woman’) is about a woman who’s so sad she becomes a bug, mori ni sumu (’to nest in the forest’) juxtaposes two verses, one about the speaker taking respite from her troubles in a forest and the other about a figure who half-turns into a bizarre image of a tree. also she sometimes uses fun words like excreta

you get an abstracted and brutal view of the body - often specifically the female body, the experience of inhabiting which is coloured by violence and a sense of alienation from oneself, perhaps the sort of alienation that arises from being viewed. you might read togawa’s relentlessly ugly bodily images as a reaction to that. obviously togawa herself is in the entertainment industry where women are objectified extra, and i think her lyrics are smart about this

i can’t think of her ever presenting the body as something attractive. one of those strange gaps in her work like the fact that afaik she also hasn’t written a straight up love song. the closest example of both is maybe kisu wo (’a kiss’) which is sung in short breathy phrases like: “I love you / so much / hold me / kiss me / i close my eyes / and feel faint / i forget everything / my body is warm” but ends jarringly when she says to her lover “never fall in love again / ah, i love you”

many of her songs are about love and attraction but with that sort of off-kilter perspective, and i like how she balances strange conceits and attitudes with an internal emotional reality thats compelling for being understandable (if also the reaction of understanding it surprises the listener). one song is about a robot named lolita (only in japan amirite) in love with her maker. it mirrors an unbalanced relationship or an unwise first love. it doesn’t shy away from creepiness to say the least but imo creates a compelling emotional life for a girl starved of attention by the object of her obsession. she’s between compulsions to throw herself to him and flee from him, and in either case is compelled towards self-destruction (but literally........... because she’s a robot......). its a lot for a pop song but i find it fascinating and it shares a quality with a lot of her songs of making you able to slip into a not so healthy mental state. also i love the concept of the robot and her maker. i think we often discover who we are through other people and in an unhealthy or dependant sense that can be misunderstood as that person having ‘made’ you. so it’s like what about that but with robots. and who else is writing that

so in summation i just think they’re neat

[ano5555]

20 Questions

Rules: Answer the questions and tag 20 followers you want to get to know better!

Tagged by: @fortnightsofren, @micairjo

Gender: female

Star Sign: Gemini

Height: 1.56m

Sexual Orientation: hetero

Hogwarts House: I do not know about the Harry Potter series well, but the results of Hogwarts house test are ...Gryffindor?...why??

Favourite Colour: green, orange, charcoal gray, black

Favourite Animal: cats,horses,etc.

Average hours of sleep: 4～7h. I want to sleep more.

Cat or dog person: cat. We have two old cats. The two are hostile to each other.

Favourite fictional character: (SW) Ahsoka, Rex, Gregor, Wolffe, Fives, Hardcase, Cut Lawquan, Asajj Ventress, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto …etc,etc. There are many other my favorite characters.

Number of blankets I sleep with: ? ...2blankets.

Favourite singer/band: Southern All Stars, Jun Togawa, Arthur H, Enya, Huun Huur Tu, Ensemble Clement Janequin...etc. I'm interested in medieval and Renaissance music and ethnic music.

Dream trip: I always read the historical materials and travel to that era.

Dream job: Archaeologist, historian.

When was this blog made: June 2016

Number of followers: 163

What made you decide to create this blog: I got a tumblr account to enjoy TCW, especially Rexsoka's fanart and fanfic（Because I am not good at English, reading fanfic is difficult. Someday I want to be able to read.）. In Japan, Rexsoka's awareness is still low, so there are few works.

@orangejaigeyes, @paddleboatblues, @sildae, @spaceyquill, @droiid, @mollo101, @lorna-ka, @queenlionsnake, @tench, @kyleeann1996, @wolveria, @starsintheskysandsontheshore, @gunplanoe

[goodbyesubculture-blog]

Goodbye Subculture’s Top 10 Albums of 2016

All things considered, 2016 was a turbulent and uncertain year for many all over the world, especially those in my home country of America, where I spent the year’s entirety. Seemingly mirroring this global turmoil is the music that was released this year, which ranged from expectedly fantastic new albums from long-time greats, to the rise of new powerhouses, to the unfortunate shortcomings of artists who either missed something along the way and came up short of expectations. Despite the uncertainty to be found abundantly in all aspects of this past year, We still managed to get another fascinating slew of releases. Perhaps emblematic of this year itself, various reasons, both out of and in my control, kept even this list from being posted until now. Without any further delay, here are Goodbye Subculture’s top 10 Japanese albums of 2016.

10. Togawa Jun with Vampillia - Watashi ga Nakou Hototogisu

Togawa Jun is undoubtedly a monumental figure in Japanese alternative music and subculture. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan of the Japanese underground who didn’t at least know the song “Suki Suki Daisuki". To celebrate 35 years of her illustrious music career, this collaboration with contemporary cult favorite Vamipillia to release new renditions of some of her classics is a recipe for a mind-blowing album. While this excitement is fulfilled in many songs on this release, especially ones like “Barbara Sexaroid" and “Like a Butcher”, which are more compatible with Vampillia’s own unique and heavy style, the re-dos of more pop-leaning favorites like the aforementioned “Suki Suki Daisuki" fall short from a combination of sound incompatibility and bad mixing. For a 35th anniversary album, Togawa Jun herself is fairly good form, but this compounded with everything else is enough to keep this great album from being something truly special. In the end, it is more of a reminder and motivation to revere Togawa’s classic repertoire from the prime of her career than it is a good release in it’s own right.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj2G7dqUE

9. Tricot - Kabuku EP

After achieving widespread acclaim as indie darlings both in Japan and abroad, ceaselessly energetic tricot’s first release since their most recent and best album, AND, is what you would expect from them. Bringing the intensity, flavor, and trademarked math-rock-pop we’ve come to associate with the band, the only thing missing on the Kabuku EP is something new and exciting. While energy and enthusiasm are part and parcel with tricot, the aforementioned AND was above and beyond anything that first album, THE, could have predicted. In contrast, Kabuku EP gives us mostly more of the, brilliant, fun, yet very similar feelings that AND provided, which is by no means a bad thing.

8. Oomori Seiko - TOKYO BLACK HOLE

TOKYO BLACK HOLE may be Oomori Seiko’s darkest work to date from a conceptual standpoint, but what is actually put forth on this album is probably the cult favorite musician’s most hopeful and accessible work. While undeniably an Oomori album, much of the intensity that fans have come to expect from her is in short supply here. That does not mean that the artists is completely stripped of her power, only that she is proceeding in the logical direction that her fame and musical progression have taken her. Both songs from the single released late last year, “Magic Mirror” and “Sacchan’s Sexy Curry”, are full of the bitingly honest and cant expression that have put Oomori on the map, while songs like “SHINPIN", co-produced with Sakurai Kenta of Maison Book Girl fame, show a rather newfound talent of Oomori’s to utilize the most interesting artists in Japanese music today. As a combination of everything in Oomori Seiko’s career so far, TOKYO BLACK HOLE is a logical next step, but not one that inspires excitement in those who prefer her more spastic and honest modus operandi.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj24Bc8zv

7. Utada Hikaru - Fantôme

One of the very rare cases where pretty much everyone who pays any amount of attention to contemporary Japanese music at least knew about this album’s release, and for good reason. Not only is it the first album in 7 years from one of the biggest names in j-pop, it's also one of the most substantial releases of 2016. It goes without saying that Utada's voice is powerful, but it shows no sign of atrophy from the hiatus, resulting in probably the best vocal performance and delivery this year. The fantastic and finely tuned production belies surprisingly introspective subject matter about life and love in the modern day. Not to mention there's a song, “Tomodachi”, apparently about the complications of a gay crush, the allegations of which, whether true or not, is a subject that simply does not get discussed in Japanese music in general, let alone on one of the most talked about releases of the year.

6. BiSH - KiLLER BiSH

Thus far into their short career, self-proclaimed punk rock idol group BiSH has proven not only to be one of the best and most consistent idol groups around, they’ve accomplished the monumental task of stepping out of the shadow of their immensely popular predecessor, BiS. However, By joining major record label Avex Trax, BiSH not only set up expectations of continuing in their predecessor’s footsteps, but actually attempt to do so on a few slipshod homage songs. Despite this being their most recent album which features some of their most powerful and emotionally charged songs like “Hontou Honki” and “Orchestra”, there’s a reason why it is the lower ranking of the two BiSH albums from 2016, both of which absolutely deserve to be counted among the best of the year’s offerings. For an album as catchy, powerful, and enjoyable as KiLLER BiSH, a drop in consistency from their previous release and a bit of pandering lands it a lower spot on this list than the group as a whole deserves.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj2DYgZv1

5. siraph - siraph

A truly impressive debut album from a group consisting of former School Food Punishment and Haisuinonasa members that combines energetically sporadic and smooth jazz with alt-rock and just ever-so-slightly glitchy, yet evocative keyboard. The true strength of this group lies in the fantastic balance between moments of aggression and tenderness, both amplified by vocalist Annabel’s dulcet tones. Perhaps the only significant criticism that can be said of this eponymous release is that it’s just too short. A recently released single, quiet squall, proves that this first album was no fluke and that siraph is definitely a band to pay attention to.

4. Soko ni Naru - YAMINABE

Taking a few pages out of Ling Toshite Sigure’s book, but putting their own youthful spin on it, Soko ni Naru stand out by showcasing intensity and heart in equal measures. Starting from the aptly subtitled “Roku Gatsu no Sensou ~extreme explosion ver.~”, Soko ni Naru puts their energy and skill out in full force on this album. While previous EP, i’m not a pirolian, introduced us to Soko ni Naru’s unique sound, YAMINABE ups the anti by showing more of each members individual skills. This is especially true in the case of bassist Fujiawara Misaki, who, in addition to dealing out blistering bass lines throughout the album, has a rare lead vocal performance on “Mou Nido to Modorenai ano Koro ni”, which is the melancholic highlight of the EP. With emotional depth to match the their ceaseless youthful energy, Soko ni Naru continues to prove themselves as the most powerful and earnest post-hardcore band in Japan today.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj24pNP_Q

3. Higuchi Ai - Hyakku Roku-Jūdo

Coming from the artist whose previous album was titled Zenin Yūshou, meaning Everyone Wins, this major debut album from Tokyo based singer-songwriter Higuchi Ai is decidedly more somber and lonely than anything seen from from the artist so far. This is evident right from the first track, the title of which translates roughly to “Someone Else’s Happiness is my Unhappiness”. Even not knowing the details of the singer’s personal life, one would be remiss to read this as a breakup album. Despite its overall depressing and brutal tone, Hyakku Roku-Jūdo also contains some of the artist’s warmest and most human moments. Featuring perhaps the widest range of songs from the already eclectic musician and composer, this is a brilliant introduction of the artist into the major label scene. Even when sharp and distressing, Higuchi Ai’s raw emotion and talent shine through, as she expands both the scale of her sound and the depth of her honesty.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj2FPPITE

2. BiSH - Fake Metal Jacket

Despite starting off with new renditions of three previously released songs, usually a huge nail in the coffin of sophomore albums, BiSH’s first release this year, Full Metal Jacket, is also it’s strongest and most memorable, landing it a spot on this list way above its successor.  More than simply an album, this is the point at which BiSH really stepped out of the shadow of their extremely influential predecessor and became their own, and even more powerful, entity. They accomplished this by taking the sounds that worked best on their debut, namely punk and emo, and putting their own honest and open idol twist on them. “beautiful Sa” and “Departures”, as well as almost every other song, are full of the unbridled emotion and energy that can only be found in this kind of incredibly simple, yet forceful punk music, while “Primitive” and “BUDOKAN Kamoshikuwa TAMANEGI”  take what worked best for BiS and improves on it to an impressive degree. Add to this the realization and first true harnessing of the group’s secret weapon and greatest strength: member Aina the End with her endless enthusiasm and inimitably powerful voice, and you’ve got an emotional force to be reckoned with that not even the album succeeding it in the same year with more budget could best.

full review: https://tmblr.co/ZR5pgj20y295B

1. Soutaisei Riron - Tensei Jingle

Given the pedigree of this band, and perhaps even more so in the case of their vocalist Yakushimaru Etsuko, it's absolutely no surprise that this most recent offering was one of the year’s best, despite how early in 2016 it was released. While not accomplishing anything groundbreaking, at this point, Soutaisei Riron have such a genius formula that even minor tweaks and small new ideas make their songs feel fresh. this album in particular has quite a bit more energy than 2013’s Town Age, exemplified on “Berlin Tenshi”. This general energy is owed mostly to the more intense, yet just as technically impressive guitar work, which is most readily observable on “Oyasumi Chikkyu”, as well as personal favorite “Cerebrus". Tensei Jingle has a little more of a dark streak running through it, which can be seen in no better place than out-of-left-field stormy almost-edm album closer “Flashback”, which simply begs to be expanded upon on a future album. Every Soutaisei Riron release is an exciting prospect, combining energy, skill and individuality, and Tensei Jingle is just more proof that this band can simply do no wrong.

[canadianspaa-blog]

THE INVENTION OF TOTO AUTOMATIC TOILET

Toto, a Japanese toilet company has Washlet (ウォシュレットWoshuretto) as one of its recorded attributes. They are known for electric toilet seats with water spray feature for genital and anal cleaning. This line of products falls under the category of "electronic bidets" and is commonly found in toilets in Japan. "Toto" the brand name, is an abbreviation of the two Japanese words: TōyōTōki (東洋陶器 Oriental.) The company is responsible for inventing and patenting the Washlet. They have various Plants outside Japan namely: Beijing Toto, China, wareTaiwan Toto, Siam SanitWare, Thailand, Toto, USA! Toto East China, China, Toto Sanitarios de Mexico S.A., P.T. Surya Toto, Indonesia, Toto Vietnam, Toto India Industries, India. It was first outdoor on June 1980, and as at January 2011, a total of more than 30 million Toto Automatic Toilet had been sold. Washlets are a very popular trademark in the cleansing toilet seat market. Manufacturers such as LIXIL (shower toilet) are known to have followed in their popularity and are also colloquially referred to as washlet, even though “washlet” is a registered trademark of Toto. 

Operating the cleansing features buttons associated with it are labeled shirt ("bottom") and "bidet". Most models have been fitted with sensors to prevent water from spraying on the person when no one is sitting on the toilet.

It's also popular for its antibacterial and antifouling purposes. It comes with a nozzle which is designed at such an angle to prevent water from splashing back on the inside of the toilet, approximately 43º for anuses, or 53º for vulvas, with the nozzle itself being washed with warm water when it is stowed away or before use. Different nozzles are responsible for Anal and genital cleansing functions.

Toto's designed a business model in the 1960s which included importing American “wash air seats” for domestic sales. These particular products were popular and sold to hospitals for medical purposes and nursing homes. Toto then began the domestic production of these products in 1969, but because of the expensive nature of wash air seats and sometimes it causing scalding injuries because of poor regulation of water temperature.

Toto proceeded to do its own research and development by surveying 300 male and female employees to determine the appropriate spray positions. This was because there were no biometric statistics available.

In 1980, Betting on the possibility that washlet would widely sell in Japan because of the hygiene-oriented culture in Japan, Toto proceeded to sell its own improved washlet. They released two models; G series ("Gorgeous") that could store warm water, had a bidet and a dryer function, a warmleti.e. toilet seat warming function, and the S series ("Standard)" that instantly turned cold water into warm water and was equipped with a bidet and a warm let function. Up till date, these two series have remained the basic product models, along with a compact series introduced in 1993. The models formerly contained a regular size and an elongated size, depending on the configuration of the toilet to which washlet was attached, but the single-sized models in February 2012 came to replace them, with a few exceptions included such as products for hotel usage.

In 2012, in an effort to recognize its pioneering role in the industry, the initial model Washlet G was certified as item number 55 of Mechanical Engineering Heritage.

In 1982, Jun Togawa, a rising pop star, featured in a TV commercial with the advertising slogan being “Our butt wants to be washed too”. It's unique background music quickly drew public attention to Toto's new product. The TV commercial was originally aired during the 7-10pm slot, known as "golden time", leading to the, receiving complaints from viewers criticizing them for using the word "butt", and the impropriety of advertising toilet seats during mealtime.

Toto welcomed the introduction of sensors that detects whether a person is seated or not, throughout the product lineup. Earlier washlet was not fitted with these functions i.e. It activated regardless of whether the user was seated or not. A new function was added by the company to its flagship products including toilet lids that automatically open and close, toilet cleansing, deodorant, gas absorbent, and air refresher. The Neo-rest” and “GG” which were also introduced were complete toilets with built-in washlet and Toto's strengthened its product lineup of washlet designed for public facilities, business offices, and hotels.

Other improvements were made to the Toto flagship such as incorporating "sleep mode" for energy conservation, and a remote control which can be attached to a wall. In October 2005, marked the release of washlet that can play MP3 audio files. Upon Madonna’s visit to Japan in 2005, the pop singer commented that she had “missed Japan’s warm toilet seats”.

In 1996, Toto went ahead to release washlet designed for Japanese-style squat Toto Automatic toilets, but they proved it by making it less easy to use due to problems with accuracy. the model was discontinued around 2003, As more and more Japanese-style toilets were replaced by Western-style toilets, but on the other hand, portable types of travelers are still in production.

Drake II which features the Double Cyclone flushing system, responsible for producing powerful, quiet flush and the SanaGloss glaze which prevents particulates from adhering to porous, ceramic surfaces. It is a Los fitted with a 2-piece toilet with an elongated bowl, manufactured by Toto. It saves 20-percent water in comparison to 1.6gpf toilets.

 With only a few complaints about cleaning its components, The Drake II received generally positive reviews. Matt of Shop Toilet a popular critic gave the toilet a rate of 5/5, describing it as "one of the best models that have all the necessary features of the modern toilets" and credited it for dealing with the issue of water efficiency measures and convenience. He noted though that few users have complained over bacteria and mildew accumulate in the bolts and hidden areas of the toilet and a bit of difficulty when cleaning its components.

A score of 5/5 was award by The toilet keeper, glorifying its introduction of the fast flushing system, seat height, and Sana Gloss feature. The only sour comment made about the product was its lack of a seat and the two-piece design.

Another critic, Pick A Toilet rated it as 4.6/5. Their reason being that it was a very cost efficient and a good value for money this is a very efficient good value for money. They made available option to add the trip lever on either side of the tank, encompassed with the shape and height of the seat which makes the Drake fully compliant with ADA standards. A rating of 4.5/5 was given for the design and materials employed and 4.7/5 for the cleaning. A con which was identified was that one uses a lot of water per flush, up to 1.6 gallons per flush and therefore was in contravention EPA Water Sense guidelines.

Another model known as the Neorest 600 which cost around $5000 is considered one of the most hi-tech toilets. This model, which is owned by a popular Hollywood actor known as Will Smith, offers various features, such as bidet with three adjustable cleaning modes, electric seat heating with adjustable temperature, automatically opening and closing of the lids, automatic flush, built-in air purifier, and deodorizer.

The Toto Washlet is an innovative automatic toilet seat that features an integrated bidet. The bidet feature activates at the push of a button on the seat or a remote control; a small wand extends from the back of the rim and begins to jet water towards the backside of the user. Diverse models have traits like dryers, seat heaters, and air fresheners.

In the 16th century, the word "bidet" was first used to refer to pet ponies which was kept by French royalties. Like a pony, it resembled a receptacle that people straddle. the bidet is believed to have been a discovery of French furniture makers in the late 17th or early 18th century, but no single inventor gets credit for the idea. Throughout the 18th century, bigots were only associated with the wealthiest European homes, which often came with decoration of fancy adornments such as Rosewood veneer, gilded bronze, and crystal flakes. In 1760, when Marie Antoinette set off from Vienna to France with the aim of marrying the dauphin, the coach she traveled with was supposedly equipped with a bidet decked out with red velvet and gold embroidery [source: Ashenburg].

During that era, it was a popular practice for people to bath themselves only about once a week. The original bidet cleaned sensitive areas between regularly scheduled baths, by splashing water onto genitals by the use of the hand. It was simply nothing more than a bowl of water. Conservatives of the time feared that the bidets would lead to the rise in increase in promiscuity, as people began to take better care of their private parts. Although the basic idea of a toilet had existed at least since 2500 B.C., the bidet changed people's perception of personal hygiene and cleanliness. This newfound practice of hygiene also made people recognize that hands and faces weren't the only parts of the body that required to be washed?