I'm not really one to blog about my biases or anything, and especially not random things that happen in my day. My Facebook friends would say otherwise, but that's a different subject. Still, I felt the need to share this little bit, and since I at writing "a little bit," I'm going to assume this might be a bit lengthy for something that isn't all that lengthy.

         Anyways, about a week ago or so, I went on a J-rock spree, and in case you didn't read my "about me" thing on here, I'll just say that I was a HUGE J-rock fan until I got launched into K-pop. On this marathon of old and new songs by bands I loved, bands I heard a few times, and bands I just discovered, I ended up watching a whole concert of songs by one of my absolute favorite groups, ViViD. Now, ViViD wasn't my first J-rock band - heidi. and (strangely) Golden Bomber were before I found their songs, and to be absolutely honest, the first time I listened to their music, I did not like it at all. heidi. was a darker more emotional band (and I was utterly obsessed with them) and Golden Bomber was lighter, and insane. ViVid on the other hand, was like rock, with what seemed like a happy-ish sounding tune, but very depressing lyrics, which I actually couldn't stand at the time. Somehow, I ended up trying to listen to them a second time, and fell in love. Like instantaneously. And you wouldn't believe how many times that actually happens to me. BAP would have never become one of my favorite groups if I didn't give a second listen, but I digress.

         If you're familiar with my The Pain of Love, I actually used their lyrics in that story because they were so strong, and yet beautiful and I literally fell for the lyrics more than anything else, but I loved how well their style could change to fit the song. Such as a softer tone of longing with Trail of Tears, or the hard, "in your face" style of Across the Border, or the darker style they use in 69-II, which are all amazing songs. Shin is also a very emotional singer, and the guys are so fun to see on stage and performing live, which you don't get often with indie rock bands. Most kind of bounce around or bang their heads to their own music or they dance in some strange way that leaves you wondering just what exactly they were trying to convey. ViViD actually ran around the stage, got up and had everyone dancing with them to Feast of the Moon, (if waving a rage around is really dancing...) and usually tried to get the audience to sing with them so many times. In other words, their energy for their live concerts was absolutely phenomenal.

        One thing that bugged me was, despite making one of the openings to Bleach, a very popular anime, the band itself was practically unhead of. So when I talked to my other friends who were into J-rock, they had no idea who I was talking about. And over time, as K-pop invaded my life and youtube history, I guess I sort of lost wind of them, and only caught a few of their music videos, such as Real, which I think is the best. 

        [Back to the marathon that I got totally side-tracked from because I can never stay on a single subject whenever I write anything that doesn't follow some sort of plotline.]

        So during this wonderful marathon, I watched all their songs, new and old, in a live concert, where they showed just as much energy as I remembered and I totally fangirled over every moment, especially the one where IV just grabs Ryouga's neck and plants a big one on his lips. I watched all their songs, save for the single one I put in my "watch later" playlist. By pure chance, I stumble upon the song today, and here's where things will get a bit emotional.

        The song, Dear, was not only one of their first music videos, but it was also the very first song of theirs I ever listened to, and the first song I watched their performance of. This song also happened to be the ending to their first major concert, and I can barely describe the emotions I felt, seeing Shin smiling, singing his heart out to this wonderful song, about love and deciding to face the world together, and being strong despite obstacles as long as "you" are there. My chest felt so light and fluffy, and full of just pure love, and adoration for this band. Then, at the middle of the song, the music stops, and it's only Shin singing, strongly, powerfully, and even with tears in his eyes. And if that's not enough, he has the audience sing, too, and the whole band is just listening to this wonderful chorus of voices singing this song, getting louder and louder as they sing, and I'm smiling with them as tears gather in all their eyes. Shin keeps saying "motto" or more, and sings the beginning of the chorus before pointing the mic at the audience, for another round, and I'm smiling, and ViViD is smiling, and everything is just so beautiful.

       The music starts again with a bang, and confetti is thrown over the audience, and it sounds so much more powerful, like all the members gained their strength from the voices of the audience and all the guys are smiling so much, and Shin and IV dance around. The audience is jumping to the beat, waving around handfuls of silver confetti.

       Then they line up, say a few words that I can't translate since I don't speak Japanese, grab hands, has the entire audience link hands, and everyone, all together, jumps. As the credits roll, and a cute version of Dear plays in the background, you can just see the happiness radiating from all the members, and Shin hugs every one of them, and Reno, Ryouga, IV and Ko-ki through their picks and drumsticks into the audience. All the members are smiling brightly, sometimes hugging, sometimes just smiling at each other, and as they walk off stage, they bow to the audience.

        I can't tell you how beautiful I found that, because I've seen them grow so much over the past few years. I mean, I found this band almost right after they became a indie group, and to see them now, performing such an incredible, heart touching song - the same song that got me into this band - had me practically in tears from happiness. That never happens! I don't cry during beautiful songs or from happiness, and yet this song reduced me to tears in the best way possible. This had been an incredible experience, and not one I want to forget anytime soon. 

        I ask the few people who will actually read this, (yes, even those of you die-hard K-pop fans), to at least listen to ViViD's Dear. I don't ask that you like it, or give up your wonderful K-pop biases for this band. I'm just asking that you try something new, attempt to branch out in your music and give something different a try. Since English is my primary language, the video link I'll post is to their mv of Dear with English subtitles, which may help anyone who doesn't speak Japanese. I'll also include the link to the live version that I teared up watching.

       A big thank you to everyone who read this to the end, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who listened to the song!

Mickey (naturegal)

MV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K5af9dIW4E

Live performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4swBz0T7S20

P.S. If any of you catch me misspelling the word "audience" or any other word, feel free to send me a message and virtually hit me in the head.