Musing
I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about life, about stuff, about music… everything, really. There have been a lot of things going on, both good and bad, but hey, that’s life. But one of the biggest things that’s been on my mind is my own personal career and what I want out of it. For those that follow astrology, I’m at the tail end of my Saturn Return (and being a double Capricorn, and with Saturn making it’s move to Scorpio – consequently where it falls in my chart – it has NOT been easy!). For those that don’t, let’s just say there have been many transitions and the universe is basically deciding what stays in my life and what goes.
ANYWAY
I saw the Scorpions live last Friday night. They were amazing to watch, so incredible and inspiring. It was shortly after that concert I realized the exact reasons my top three bands are so close to my heart. Then I realized I haven’t updated this blog in forever, and thought I’d put my thoughts into written words.
Rin’s #1 Band in the World: X Japan
I won’t tell the whole “How I Got Into X Japan” story again, but long story short I found their music at a time in my life when I was not in a happy place. As I learned about them, about their struggles as a band and how hard they worked to make it in the 80s Japanese music industry, I learned that persistence pays off. X Japan have a huge following all over the world because they’ve never given up. Even while they were broken up, their name and reputation made it around the internet to thousands upon thousands of new fans, myself included. They’ve since reunited and done shows around the world. But if they’d ever thrown in the towel when they got frustrated or early on when the industry wouldn’t take them seriously, they would not have accomplished anything. Their success inspires me to never give up.
Rin’s #2 Band in the World: Dir en grey
Here’s a different case of persistence. Dir en grey are not afraid to change their sound or their music for their own sake as artists, despite what the fan base cries out for. Each of their albums is decidedly different from the last, and yet everything falls into place and fits their style. I like that they’ve recently, as B-sides to singles, chosen older songs to re-release in their new style. (Seriously, listen to the old “Tsumi to Batsu” off of Gauze then go to the new one that was the B-side to “Different Sense.” You’ll see what I mean.) They also put on an amazing live show, full of energy. Fans respect them and continue to see them, again, all over the world, because they’ve stuck to their own vision and ideas. They’re inspirational because they stay true to themselves and their ideas.
Rin’s #3 Band in the World: Scorpions
If nothing else, the Scorpions’ show last Friday proved why they’ve been around for 40 years and been relevant the entire time. They have their sound, their ideas, their music, and seriously have not gotten the recognition in the United States that they deserve. I only got into them three years ago but have consistently been amazed at the level of music. If all you know of them is the stuff that came out in the mid- to late- 80s and the early 90s, find all their music spanning their career. You’ll be amazed at the sounds and music these guys have created over their long lifetime.
So in the end, I want to have the determination of X Japan, the artistic integrity of Dir en grey, and the career longevity of Scorpions. I want to have as energetic and transfixing a live show as all three of them and be able to stand for something bigger than myself. And that’s that for now.
The Hungry Musician (because I'm not starving yet!) 