19 posts tagged “vox-exclusive posts”

I've abandoned this blog and moved to a new home at intlwota.com/metalhead. Please go there for all the new posts.

If you're here to see my blog's humble beginnings and you want to read all the posts I didn't bring with me to the new blog, I made a handy tag for you people to find that stuff easily. Click here for all the posts I will keep exclusive to Vox. I have to warn you, though, it's mostly shit. But hey.

Yeah. This is the end for the blog. This will be my last post.
To everyone who enjoyed reading my posts and were looking forward to seeing more from this blog, I apologize.

I will still keep this account online, mainly so I can go back and reread the comments you people left me, and also so I can comment on other peoples' posts.

Before I bid you farewell though, would you care to check out my brand new shiny blog of exactly the same title as this one? Check it out at intlwota.com/metalhead and update your RSS readers please! I'll see you there.

Thank you and sorry. :)

Yours truly,

Henkka.

Yeah, leaving in a couple of hours. Like I said, I'll be back full time in September, though in reality I'll be back home a little bit sooner than that.

Look out for the pre-recorded podcast in a few weeks.

Later,
Henkka

There's been some reminiscing and self-criticism happening in the IW blogroll lately. Well, I've noticed some posts anyway. I want to do something a little like that as well, if you don't mind. I like reminiscing, too!

H!P Metalhead has been around for about eight months now.

It's my first and only blog, so I wasn't sure at all how it'd work out. The origins sure were humble. I originally just started it to make this post. I wanted to list my favorites from 2007 in detail. There was no master plan aside from that, I just wanted to do that and hopefully get it up on IW and hear what people thought, see if anyone agreed on my choices. Well, it's been a great source of entertainment for me, this whole blogging thing and being immersed in our little blogosphere. It's been a fun ride.

The quality of the blog itself... Ah man. You know, I could be happier with it. I never reread my old posts, but if I did, I'm pretty sure I would call much of it just shit, the critical bastard I am. While I surely think I'm now a better blogger than when starting out back in December, one thing is for certain; I have not reached the level of writing of my favorite blogs. You know, the great ones. No, I haven't come close to that, not even once. And I'm the first to admit that about my blog. But that is my goal. That has been my goal since the beginning and I'm still striving to make even one great, simply flawless post for you people to read, one that some of my favorites have no problem delivering each and every time they post something. So far there is not one I am completely happy with and that's a little depressing to me.

Look at this. "H!P Opinions of a Metalhead is a new blog with a different take." It's the first write-up about me on IW ever. You know, I don't know if this is something I regret or not, but my blog didn't quite turn out like I thought it would. I thought it would be more... well, you know, "brutally direct and sardonic in its wit" just like Ray put it! I never quite delivered on that front. I thought I'd be a fucking angry blogger, because as we all know, metalheads are pissed off at everything. Right? Nah, but instead my blog became pretty damn mellow after all. I mostly only talk about things I like and don't even bother with stuff like disappointing new single releases. Really, maybe a name change is in order for me. Any suggestions? H!P Opinions of a Spineless Pussy Who Appears to Like Everything?

That reminds me of something funny. I originally wanted my blog to be referred to as HPOM, kind of like Your Opinion Doesn't Count is called YODC. Thank god that never caught on though, as Ray came up with H!P Metalhead which is way better. HPOM sounds disgusting.

I've made lots of new friends, or if not quite friends, at least great acquintances. And it's thanks to my writing. I must've written something at times that made someone want to comment and thus get to know me better as time went on. You all know who you are. Also, regardless of what I think about the style or quality of the blog myself, damn, I must've been doing something right when Ray contacted me personally to ask me to become a Contributor for IW which is still a big deal and an honor to me to this day. Sure, I kinda say it like it boosts my ego... and that's because it does! I think that was genuinely cool.

And then, just a few days ago, I was made an Editor. Now it appears I'm "on the same level" as the other editors like wu-san, Jim Haku and Celestia which is just crazy to me. While I think the admins have gone mad for thinking I'm worthy, I won't say I'm not happy with their decision. No, quite the opposite. I really, really enjoy working on IW, and that's mostly because hell, it's a great site, and especially because the crew behind it is amazing. I'm not even kidding. It's an awesome bunch of skilled writers and it has been great to work with people like Ray, pengie, wu-san, broomhead, CJ, maiZe... and hell, everyone. All the contributors too, every single one is likeable and a pleasure to work with.

And hey, if you want to, why not approach one of the admins and tell them you'd like to be a Contributor? I'm not sure if everyone is let in, but chances are if you don't suck, your blog is alright and you're a fun person to work with, you will gladly be taken in. I can think of lots of great bloggers that I would love to see try out contributing for IW. What, you want me to drop names? You do? Fine. HarimaKenji. Magi-Kat. Andra. あさり. aiwish472. Kuri. I'll stop now, but the list goes on and on. There's countless. So hey, if any of you or anyone else I didn't mention here wants to, give it a shot. I think IW always needs more contributors, especially if they are solid writers.

Speaking of which... I have to apologize, both for being so inactive with IW AND my own blog. While everyone always stresses that there is absolutely no minimum of write-ups you have to do, no quota, recently I've just been slacking off like hell and what's bad is that I don't even have an excuse. I haven't been doing anything worthwhile, or even anything non-worthwhile. I've been sitting on my ass and just lazing around. Doing nothing. And so again, I apologize for that. There's a reason for it, though.

I'll admit, I've been feeling uninspired this summer. So very uninspired. Truth be told, I don't know what direction I will take this blog when my top 5 series is finished. I've no clue.

However, next month is going to be largely time off for me. Not only from IW and my blog, but I probably won't even have access to a computer for most of the whole month of August. Maybe on the weekends. I have a pre-recorded podcast I did earlier this month that I will post, but other than that, I don't think I'll do much anything until the end of August. For more info on what the hell I will be doing in August, do check out the podcast I'll post in a week or two.

I do not think it's time for this blog to go yet. You know why? It's because I'm not happy with it. If I just closed it at this point, it'd feel like an utter failure to me. I've yet to accomplish nearly anything with this blog. What I'm hoping for is that after this vacation of sorts, I will feel rejuvenated, inspired and ready to work on both IW and my own blog again. That's what I hope for.

So hey. Starting September, I hope to be working as an Editor and as a much more active crew member of International Wota than before, and also finally kick my ass into doing an acceptable number of posts for my own blog. I want to say yoroshiku onegaishimasu and ganbarimasu, but fuck that, man, that'd be cheesy as hell.

Fourth one already. Crazy stuff. Don't know about this one... kinda hit and miss, but hey. Hope you like.

Songs played:

Nile - Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is In the Water
9mm Parabellum Bullet - Talking Machine (new recording)
Tsunku - Shining On Kimi ga Kanashii
Berryz Koubou - Natsu Wakame

Download it here (36:45, 50.4MB)

Thanks to HarimaKenji for kicking my ass into doing another one of these. It's still not perfect, but I think this is about as good as it'll get, so check it out!

Songs played:

Yuko Nakazawa - Tokyo Bijin
Behemoth - Slaves Shall Serve
Aucifer - Datenshi BLUE
Yuko Nakazawa - Momen no Handkerchief

Download it here (39:52, 54.7MB)

Hey, how are all of you doing? How's everyones summer holidays going, assuming you are on one?

Mine's going nicely. Days pass by without me doing anything at all. It's awesome. Last weekend was the Tuska festival though, and what a fucking great festival it was. Three days of non-stop drinking, awesome bands and great atmosphere. Well worth the price of admission. I gotta tell you man, it's pretty rewarding to be a metal fan as compared to a j-pop fan at least if you live in Europe. Way more satisfying, and easier to see your favorite bands live. I literally had to travel only like 20 to 25 minutes each day to see bands such as Behemoth, Nile, Amon Amarth, Slayer or Morbid Angel... crazy stuff. Behemoth was the best band for me. I've gotten used to seeing all my favorite bands live already so it's usually no big deal, but this time I just couldn't help getting chills in my back when I saw those guys get on stage in their crazy armors, black metal make-up and all, kicking into their first song (which I recall being Slaves Shall Serve), with Nergal later in the set of course doing one of his trademark antics on stage:

June turned out to be a pretty damn lazy month for me after all, as far as blogging goes. Dammit. Two posts a month is ridiculous, even for me. I really am an incompetent blogger! I'll try to get something more done this month, I promise.

Well, here's my answers here's my answers for Bikkuri Project's survey:

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???

It'd be bitching to be Tsunku's right hand man. That'd include stuff like observing how he composes songs (maybe even sometimes getting the chance to compose with the guy!), naturally backstage access at H!P concerts... that kind of stuff. So basically I wouldn't do anything of importance at all, I'd just be in the way. But still, it's ok, it's the magical J-pop genie!

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why?

None that I can think of right now. There are numerous J-pop artists I dislike because of their music being downright bad, but I wouldn't go so far as saying they "piss me off".

3. Who do you think is the sexiest japanese singer out there?

I guess I'd have to say Miki-sama!

4. How about the cutest?

Hmmm. This was surprisingly hard. I guess Airi Suzuki.

5. Best personality?

I have to say Miki Fujimoto again. Reason being that I find her personality quite similar to mine in many ways (well, at least the personality she portrays as an idol). You know, the bitchyness and the whole "fuck you" kind of aura she gives off. That kinda stuff. I feel that can't be too far from how she really is. I hope so anyways. I think it's very refreshing compared to the usual cutesy and genki image.

Second place definitely goes to Risa Niigaki though. She's great. You gotta love her attitude towards fans. I think she truly appreciates the fans unlike some of the girls... (*cough*Rika(*cough*whore*cough*)*cough*)

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?

Miki, without a shadow of a doubt.

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?

Man, too hard. You know what would be pretty funny to ask them though? Play them something like Burzum's self-titled album (ie. what some might call 'true Norwegian black metal') and film their reactions to it and do interviews afterwards on what they thought of it. It'd make for a fun DVD release, I assure you.

8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?

With the aim of getting uplifted from the sadness? This is much too hard of a question, since to me J-pop in general is all about the happy songs and, uh, good vibrations. Well, most things H!P at least. But okay, here's a good one: Ikimono Gakari's Uruwashiki Hito.

9. When you’re really happy?

Again, this is much too hard for the same reason. Early Morning Musume stuff would be good for this though. Ai no Tane, Morning Coffee, Manatsu no Kousen... stuff like that.

10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs?

Sure.

11. How about dance?

Never.

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offerrered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?

Hmmm. That'd really depend on how much money I would be getting from the deal. As much as I'd love to say I wouldn't do it... if I was getting enough money so that I could actually make a living off it, I have to say I'd do it.

These are my answers to broomhead's survey.

Originally I just sent this to broomhead's email and wasn't going to post it here, but since people like HK and CK posted theirs... might as well. It's very interesting to read others' thoughts about blogging by the way, I can't wait for broomhead to finish his next post on the subject. Oh, and a special shoutout to broomhead: keep going man! Just do what you always do, or hell, do something new if you so wish, just keep going with your blog! You're great! We all love you and your blog! :)

Goals:

Why do you blog? - I want my writing and opinions to be read and hopefully commented on.
What do you want to gain out of blogging? A creative outlet? Praise from others? Personal satisfaction? Money? - The first three all apply to me. First and foremost though, personal satisfaction, but I would like to gain a large readerbase.
Do you feel that your blog should meet a requirement for amount of entries? Do you feel any particular entry should be a certain length? - The answer to the first question is no. However, about the second one, I guess I could say yes. Sometimes I feel that what I'm saying on my blog is not remarkable or interesting enough and thus I make a conscious choice to try and make my posts longer than (what I perceive to be) the average to hopefully make it seem somehow more worthwhile. I believe I've succeeded in that fairly well thus far. I don't know, it just feels much more satisfying to make longer posts in all respects.
For any particular entry, what motivates you to start and finish blog posts? - The wish for my writing to be read.
Do you actively consider long term goals for each individual post? - Occasionally.

Subject Material:

What do you blog about? - Hello! Project and other Japanese music reviews, hoping to expand to drama, anime and possibly manga reviews at some point.
Would you be keep a blog even if it wasn't about the subjects you tend to cover? - No.
Do you write about the material to promote it to others? - No.

Readership:

How much do you care about readership? - Very much. It is very important for me to know there are people reading and especially knowing I might have one or two fans.
Does it satisfy you to know people are reading, even if they don't comment? - Yes, but receiving comments is ten times nicer.
What effect does receiving a comment have on you? - I strive on feedback and comments, so usually it always makes me very happy, especially if the person has clearly studied well what I've written. I can't stress this enough; there's exactly two things that keep me going with my blog, and those two are the IW write-up and the comments from my readers. If I get no write-up and zero comments, that feels pretty much like a failed post to me and I'm always discouraged by that.
If there are any lurkers out there reading this who like my blog or like it even occasionally, I sincerely request that you leave me comments sometimes on my posts, no matter how small or big that may be. If anything I say makes you think or want to say something, just say it; you'll make my day for sure. :)

Community: (The International Wota section)

If International Wota didn't exist, would you blog? - Definitely not.
When IW covers an entry of yours, are you encouraged to blog more or less? - Usually more.
When IW does not cover an entry, are you encouraged to blog more or less? - Neither, but I do feel disappointed.
How often do you read other blogs? - Several times a day.
How often do you comment on other blogs? - A couple of times a week.
If another blog cover a topic that you wanted or wished to cover, do you still blog about that specific topic? Why or why not? - Yes if I still have something meaningful to add about the topic.

Commitment:

How serious is your attitude towards blogging? Do you consider it just as something to do for fun? - While I do not take it a 100% seriously, I must say it does not always feel so fun as it used to. In fact, sometimes it feels like work! That might be the reason why I don't blog as often as I'd like to. This is a little worrying as I haven't even been blogging for that long...
How often do you blog? How often would you like to blog? - I blog maybe three or four times a month. I'd like to blog two or three times a week or so.
What priorities do you or have you put aside in order to blog? Why? - Not much. Sleep, every once in a while. :)
Do you see yourself blogging in 6 months? Why or why not? - I think I'll still be blogging, but I'm unsure. I think my interest in Hello! Project might be fading a little.* Still, I'm pretty sure I'll still be blogging.

Personal:

Would you say you blog for yourself? - Yes.
What is your feeling after posting an entry? Is it relative to the time and effort you put in an entry? - It feels good especially if I feel I've created something exceptionally good. It is relative, yes.
Do you consider yourself a writer? - Nah.
Do you consider yourself good at writing? Good at blogging? - I'm not very good, but I think I manage to hide it quite well. I have a wish to improve, though, to hopefully one day be thought of as one of the great, known ones in the Int'l Wota community. A pretty ambitious goal, I know; I still have a long way to go. :)
How much of your personal life do you share on your blog? If none, why do you leave this out? - Not very much at all. Sometimes a few quick notes here and there, usually for humor. I have no real interest in blogging about my personal life, at least not for the moment. I hardly think my personal life would interest anyone.

* = Bleh, I don't know. Maybe that's just my recent France Gall addiction speaking. Life would feel incomplete without France Gall.

Inspired by podcasts of other bloggers like Vee, wu-san and CJ, here's the first one by me also!

Songs played:

Ikimono Gakari - @miso soup
Yuko Nakazawa - DO MY BEST
Origin - The Burner

Download it here (30:45, 42.2MB)