Five For Friday 2010 Finale

It's that time of year where everyone starts making lists about what their favourite moments of 2010 were and what were there worst, personally I don't really believe in focusing on the worst moments so here is what I consider my top five of four different area's.

Top Five Movies
5. The Losers
4. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
3. Iron Man 2
2. Kick Ass
1. Inception

Top Five Comics/Graphic Novels
5. Invincible Volume 5 (Hardcover)
4. Blackest Night (Hardcover)
3. Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn (Hardcover)
2. Superman: Earth One (Hardcover)
1. Avengers The Children's Crusade (Mini Series)

Top Five Gigs
5. Sunset Drive at the Zanzibar Liverpool
4. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly at the O2 Academy Liverpool
3. Lillies and Remains at Leaf Tea Cafe Liverpool
2. 'Weird Al' Yankovic at Manchester Academy
1. Gackt at The O2 Academy Islington

Top Five Songs
5. HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR: Re:Ache

4. MC Sniper- Hakuna Matata

3. Gackt- Ever

2. Kara- Lupin

1. Outsider ft LMNOP- Hero

Beard's Asian Tour 17/11/10

Koda Kumi ft Misono- It's All Love (Japan)

Alice Nine- RAINBOWS (Japan)

The Chinos- Goodbye Victoria (China)

Lillies and Remains- Ivan, Knife, Lip Cream (Japan)

Gilme ft K.Will- I Love That I Am Sorry (South Korea)

Artist Spotlight: MC Sniper

MC Sniper- For You (South Korea)

Luna Sea- Storm (Japan)

New Pants- You're My Star (China)

Trilogy of Tracks- Modes of Transport

Electric Eel Shock- Limosuine (Japan)

TM Network- Love Train (Japan)

My Aunt Mary- Blue Tin Scooter (South Korea)

Outsider ft Joy- Youth Confession (South Korea)

T.M. Revolution- Web Of Night (English Version) (Japan)

Napolean Dynamite- Just The Two Of Us (South Korea)

Beard's Asian Tour 10/11/10

Hedgehog- Wink (China)
An Cafe- Natsu Koi Natsu GAME (Japan)
Shin Tae Kwon ft Outsider- Happy Ending (Korea)
Ayumi Hamasaki- Evolution (Japan)
BoA- Hypnotic Dancefloor (Korea)
Artist Spotlight- MC Sniper
MC Sniper- So Sniper (Korea)
G Dragon- Breathe (Korea) 
Puffy AmiYumi- Basket Case (Japan)
Trilogy Of Tracks- Covers of Japanese Songs
Nami Tamaki- GET WILD (TM Network) (Japan)
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Rosier (Luna Sea) (Japan)
The TRAX- Tears (Korean Version) (X-Japan) (Korea)
Hikaru Utada- Flavour Of Life (Japan)
Lee Hyori- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Korea)

Beard's Asian Tour 3/11/10

T.M. Revolution- Zips UNDER:COVER (Japan)

Aya Kamiki- A Constellation 2007 (Japan)

DBSK ft BoA & The TRAX- Tri-Angle (Korea)

Trilogy of Tracks- Halloween

Tommy Heavenly6- Lollipop Candy BAD Girl (Japan)

Malice Mizer- Beast of Blood (Japan)

X-Japan- I.V. (Japan)

Artist Spotlight: MC Sniper

MC Sniper- Better Than Yesterday (Korea)

SNSD- Ha Ha Ha (Korea)

Trilogy of Tracks- Comedy Week on KCC Live

MC Mong- Cheon Ha Moo Juk (Korea)

2am & 2pm- Abracadabra (Parody) (Korea)

Miyavi- Shiawase Nara Te O Tatako (Japan)

Joyside- Maybe Tonight (China)

Beard's Asian Tour 27/10/2010 *Special all bands which I've seen live from Japan)*

Sunset Drive- Carry Me
Fact- Stretch My Arms
Lillies And Remains- Grind
Electric Eel Shock- Sugoi Indeed
Natccu- Crescent Moon
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- EVER
Skunkrice- Blue
Riddim Saunter- Bad Is...
80 Kidz- Miss Mars
DE DE MOUSE- 555 Is In Your Heart
Tokyo Pinsalocks- Antenna
Tucker- Jump Around

Beard's Asian Tour 20/10/10

BoA- Eat You Up (South Korea)
Carsick Cars- Volunteer (China)
Bottlesmoker- Before Circus Over (Indonesia)
Outsider ft MC Sniper and Horan- Heart Disease (South Korea)
Yoko Ishida- At Your Own Speed (Japan)
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- Flower (Japan)
TM Network- GET WILD (Japan)
Misono- VS (Japan)
Trilogy Of Tracks- East Meets West
Koda Kumi feat Fergie- That Ain't Cool (Japan/USA)
G Dragon feat Flo Rida- Heartbreaker (South Korea/USA)
Bonnie Pink feat Craig David- Fed Up (Japan/UK)
The TRAX- Blaze Away (South Korea)
Vanilla Unity- Tomorrow (South Korea)
An Cafe- Nyappy In The World 4 (Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour 13/10/10

Abingdon Boys School- Kimi No Uta (Japan)
Job 2 Do- No War (Thailand)
Brown Eyed Girls- Abracadabra (South Korea)
Kyosuke Himuro- Calling (Japan)
Nell- Memories of Walking Through Time (South Korea)
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- Journey Through The Decade (Japan)
Kara- Lupin (South Korea)
Aikawa Nanase- Yume Miru Shoujo Ja Irarenai (Japan)
Trilogy Of Tracks- The Number One
Epik High feat Jisun- One (South Korea)
Ayumi Hamasaki-  1 Love (Japan)
Sniper Sound- One Nation (South Korea)
Bump Of Chicken- Karma (Japan)
Jackie Chan- Drunken Master (China)

Beard's Asian Tour 6/10/10

Puffy AmiYumi- Tokyo Night (Japan)
Untouchable feat Hwa-young- Driving Me Crazy (South Korea)
Nami Tamaki- Reason (Japan)
Omodaka- Yosawya San (Japan)
JJ Lin- Cao Cao (Singapore)
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- Returner (Japan)
Prozack- Listen To My Story (South Korea)
The TRAX- Over The Rainbow (South Korea)
Trilogy of Tracks- Primary Colours
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Red (Japan)
Polysics- Life In Yellow (Japan)
My Aunt Mary- Night Blue (South Korea)
Dirt Star- Hole In The Universe (China)
Tucker- Black Pit Breaks (Japan)
Baechigi- 140 (South Korea)
Stephanie- Friends (Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour 29/9/10

Leon Lai- Sugar In The Marmalade (China)
MC Mong- Circus (South Korea)
Jaurim- Carnival Amour (South Korea)
Hikaru Utada- Beautiful World PLanit B Acoustica Mix (Japan)
Kou Chou Ching- Black Heart (Taiwan)
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- Redemption (Japan)
Chihiro Onitsuka- Beautiful Fighter (Japan)
Trilogy Of Tracks- Visual Kei
exist†trace- ROUGE (Japan)
Luna Sea- Rosier (Japan)
X Japan- Jade (Japan)
el Ethnic Legist- Druga (Japan)
Rip Slyme- Speed King (Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour 22/09/10

Electric Eel Shock- Scream For Me (Japan)
Lillies and Remains-- Moralist S.S (Japan)
Riddm Saunter- Fresh (Acoustic) (Japan)
Outsider- Like A Man (South Korea)
Kotoko- Lament (Japan)
Artist Spotlight: Gackt
Gackt- Vanilla (Sixth Day Version) (Japan)
Afterschool- Bad Guy (South Korea)
Skunkrice- One (Japan)
Trilogy Of Tracks- Music inspired by K-League
Sugar Donut- We (South Korea)
Go! Go! Star- Champion Parade (South Korea)
Lunatic- Let's Go (South Korea)
Tokyo Pinsalocks- Circle (Japan)
L'arc~En~Ciel- I Love Rock n Roll (Japan)
Polysics- Rocket (Japan)

The evolving tastes of Too Many Fandoms aka Blog 100

I've found that in the past year or so my tastes have changed, evolved however you want to call it. At one time I would horde comics and CD's in order to maintain and complete my collection but now I'm pickier, I've chosen necessity over obsessive compulsive buying.

Comics

With comics I have found that I am looking at titles with a more serious eye for the details I dropped Marvel's Avengers (which was one of my favourite team books) because I dislike the current writer's style of decompression where only a few pages of the story are relevant the rest is filled with clunky dialogue which just repeats itself and/or sounds completely out of character. This has made it rather difficult to enjoy other Marvel titles because other books were being influenced by the revelations that were being spun from the Avengers though not in a way that I would be completely lost (Wikipedia helps to fill the gaps).

There are some like Spider-Man which I've dropped because of editorial mandates which I didn't agree with (the of marriage between Peter and Mary Jane being wiped from everyone's mind including theirs) I felt that they could have done the more mature thing of having them divorce though it was argued that it ages the characters, even though they've aged pretty well over the last 48 years or so.

In fact my appreciation of Marvel Comics has wavered after their constant summer events crossover storylines which altered the status quo of the Marvel Universe for 12 months or so before the next event, during which time those titles affected by it would tell about three stories because nowadays comic stories are more often than not written for the trade paperback audience.

While my appreciation of Marvel Comics has wavered it has meant that my appreciation of DC has strengthened. At one time I wasn't too fussed on the two Trinity characters that weren't Batman but now I've come to like Superman and Wonder Woman because I can see them as really deep characters. Superman is more than just a survivor of Krypton who is practically invincible until faced with Kryptonite, he is an analogy of an immigrant who is paying back the society which took him in and accepted him by protecting it. Wonder Woman on the other hand is a character who is a walking contradiction as an ambassador of peace who will take up a sword to defend those who need protecting.

The stories in the DC Universe are all fairly self contained so you don't have to read JLA to understand what's happening in Batman or in The Flash, it's a story archetype that has worked for years and as the saying goes, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'.

I've also started to read comics outside of the superhero genre, reading titles such as Fables, Joe The Barbarian and Y The Last Man to name but a few. It's a good change of pace to read comics where no one is running around in their underwear. It also makes me appreciate the superhero comics that I do read as well.

I admit that I am a trade waiter now because it’s easier to keep track of where the issues are in my collection though I have only recently begun cataloguing and properly storing the hundreds of comics I have amassed over the years. It's a great gauge as to whether I'm interested in a story or if I was just buying into the hype surrounding it at the time.

Music

My music collecting has changed a lot more than my comic collecting, for one thing I'm going to fewer gigs, having only been to five gigs this year where previous years I would have been to at least double that by now. I used to grab whatever E.P the support bands would be selling if I thought they were good but I found myself not even bothering to watch the support band at the last gig I went to (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly) preferring instead to listen to the music on my MP3 player.

As I mentioned, I'm something of a hoarder, I tend to try and get a bands discography even though I may have only liked a few tracks from their previous album so with the aid of sites like Youtube I'm cutting the crap as it were and I'm not just buying on impulse only to regret it at a later date.

I've also gotten out of the habit of listening to mainstream western music because of my Asian Tour show, having become immersed in that side of music, though there are a few bands whom I'll still listen to on occasion. I think he main reason I chose to immerse myself into Japanese and Korean music in particular has been the fact that I like the mystery of not knowing what a song is about and coming up with my own interpretations that turn out to be completely opposite to what the artist or group intended.

However I feel that the western music industry has become too reliant on these 'design your own pop star' shows like X Factor or American Idol and while its good that the public get to choose the 'next big thing' it's kind of a cheat on those artists and bands who struggle to get a record deal when its handed out so readily if your prepared to subject yourself to the ritual humiliation of being on the TV for a few months before you debut with the finished product.

Now I realise that what I've written sounds like I have turned my back on the struggling artists who rely on people to buy their E.P's at venues where they are supporting a headline act and yes it's true, but I feel that in order for music to not start sounding stale I need to distance myself from it until such a time when my music taste changes again.

I know that the factor that changed my taste in music has been working at a radio station where you're constantly exposed to the top 40 and other tracks on a daily basis. I've experimented with so many different types of shows from rock shows to new music shows to chart shows to the drive time, lunch time and even breakfast slots and doing that variety of shows has expanded my musical pallet, it's certainly made me more appreciative of different tastes and I think it's made me a slightly more informed person

I think it's impossible for a person's taste in whatever they love to remain a constant, and with multimedia offering so much choice now it has become easier to experiment with new things.

Beards Asian Tour Playlist 15/9/10

T.M. Revolution- WHITE BREATH (Japan)

BoA- Rock With You (South Korea)

Capsule- Starry Sky (Japan)

Chang Chen-Yue- Secret (China)

Fact- A Fact of Life (Japan)

Artist Spotlight: Gackt

Gackt- U+K (Japan)

GilMe ft Outsider- Love Wars (South Korea)

Nightmare- Alumina (Japan)

Versailles- Revenant Choir (Japan)

MC Sniper- So Sniper ((South Korea)

Labor Day- Cyclone Effect (Acoustic Version) (Japan)

Beards Asian Tour Playlist 8/9/10 (Japanese Special)

Aya Kamiki ft Takuya- W Boiled Extreme

Zebra Queen- Zebra Queen No Theme

Ayumi Hamasaki- Marionette

Malice Mizer- Illuminati

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Re:ache

Artist Spotlight- Gackt

Gackt- Mizerable

Miyavi- Survive

Misono- Lovely Cats Eyes

Trilogy of tracks: Fruity

Natccu- Apple z

An Café- Cherry Saku Yuuki

Electric Eel Shock- Goodbye Peach

Tommy Heavenly6- Hey My Friend

Beard's Asian Tour playlist 4/8/10

New Pants- You're My Superstar (China)
Hyori Lee ft Natsun- U-Go-Girl (Korea)
Tucker ft Ken One- Horror Hop (Japan)
Trilogy of Tracks: Bands I've seen live this year

1. Sunset Drive- We've Got To Talk (Japan/New Zealand)
2. Lillies And Remains- Wreckage(Japan)
3. Gackt- EVER (Japan)

Zebra Queen- NAMIDA (Japan)
Sniper Sound- One Nation (Korea/USA)
Polysics- Pretty Good (Japan)
Outsider- Acquaintance (Korea)
MC Mong- Chun Ha Moo Juk (Invincible) (Korea)
The TRAX- Paradox (Korea)
An Cafe- Kakusei Heroism (Japan)
T.M. Revolution- Meteor (Japan)

Five For Friday 20

5. MC Mong- Chun Ha Moo Juk (Invincible)


4. Gackt- EVER


3. Ayumi Hamasaki- Marionette

Ayumi Hamasaki - Marionette - MyVideo

2. Gackt- Uncontrol (Live)



1. Ayumi Hamasaki- Evolution (Live)

Happy Birthday OAP Wonder

Robin's first appearance in Detective Comics issue 38

Last year Batman celebrated his 70th year in publication, this year Batman's first partner in crime Dick Grayson (aka Robin, Nightwing and now Batman) celebrates his 70th year in publication, not too shabby for a former Boy Wonder or should I say OAP Wonder.

In April 1940 just eleven months after the emergence of Batman, creators Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson gave the caped crusader a moral compass in the guise of Dick Grayson aka Robin. In an origin that somewhat mirrored Batman’s own, the young Dick Grayson witnessed his acrobatic parents death at the hand of crime boss Tony Zucco who arranged for the trapeze wires his parents were using to snap. Batman as Bruce Wayne also witnesses the Grayson’s death and takes Dick in as both ward and sidekick eventually bringing Zucco to justice.

Batman and Robin shared many adventures in the comics and even on TV most notably the live action television series where Robin was portrayed by actor Burt Ward who often exclaimed 'Holy [insert word] Batman' like “Holy haberdashery, Batman!”there is a full archive of Burt Ward's sayings here. he was a prominent character in the Batman comic up until the late sixties when the current writer Denny O’Neil felt Batman had to be a much darker character which meant the light hearted Robin was written out of Batman’s life and sent to college though features in a backup feature in Detective comics.

It was also during the sixties where Robin met fellow sidekicks Aqualad (Aquaman’s sidekick) and Kid Flash (Flash’s sidekick) they teamed up to battle a villain called Mr Twister before adding Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy and Wonder Woman’s sidekick Wonder Girl to the ranks becoming the Teen Titans. Robin became the defacto leader of the team which soon expanded its ranks including Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Dick’s on and off girlfriend the alien Starfire. Dick’s leadership skills have also seen him lead a substitute Justice League of America when the main team was incapacitated and also the Outsiders.

Robin's progression into Nightwing

Depending on what version you read, Robin’s graduation into the costumed identity either came out of being weary of being Batman’s young sidekick or he was fired from being Robin after a nasty encounter with Two Face. Though despite the conflicting origins (one being pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths and the other was post-Crisis on Infinite Earths) the inspiration for the name Nightwing came from a story Superman told him about a hero from the Kryptonian city of Kandor.

Distancing himself from Batman, Grayson moved to Gotham’s neighbouring city Blüdhaven a corrupt city where the cops were as bad as the villains that operated in it. Dick joined the police force there in an attempt to help the city in the day as well as the night. During the Knightfall saga Dick was called in by the third Robin (Tim Drake) after Batman had his back broken by Bane and had asked the unstable Jean Paul Valley (Azrael) to take over the mantle of the bat, though Robin brought Nightwing in to help out after Jean Paul shunned the current boy wonder’s help. After Jean Paul was brought down by a recovered Bruce Wayne, Bruce asked Dick to take over the mantle of the bat until he had fully recovered Dick reluctantly agrees but asks why he didn’t ask in the first place which Bruce states he thought Dick wouldn’t want to do it as he was his own person now though Dick reveals he would have done it if asked.

The rift between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne mended over time as Grayson helped out during Gotham’s period of being classed as a No Man’s Land after a giant earthquake wrecked through it as well as helping out during a gangland war instigated by Batman’s fourth Robin Stephanie Brown. During Infinite Crisis Batman told Nightwing that he did something Batman never could, keeping up relationships within the superhero community while Batman neglected them.

Dick becomes Batman

After the Crisis and healing from a near fatal wound from Alexander Luthor (which at the time was going to be fatal as DC at the time had planned to kill Nightwing off) Dick Grayson found himself in New York trying to rebuild his life after Blüdhaven was destroyed. however this didn’t last very long as Batman was thought killed by the evil New God Darkseid (In reality Batman was time displaced) at first Dick was hesitant to allow the Batman legacy to continue however when a recently returned Jason Todd (the second Robin who was killed by The Joker) took up the mantle of Batman and began using aggressive tactics which went against Bruce’s no guns and no killing policy, Dick fought Jason and beat him, before picking up the mantle of Batman Dick chose the illegitimate love child of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, Damian to be his new Robin so that he could keep an eye on him. In the process he angered Tim Drake who was already feeling sidelined by the emergence of Damian after only just being adopted as Bruce Wayne’s son. Dick explained that Tim would always been an equal to him, never a sidekick.

Batman Vs Robin

And so the new Dynamic Duo set out fighting foes such as Professor Pyg, The Flamingo and Jason Todd in his identity as The Red Hood (an identity he had held before) as well as fighting against one another (though it was revealled that the villain Deathstroke was controlling Damian). Dick also faced off against Two Face once again, this time as Batman and managed to convince Two Face that he was fighting the actual Batman. 

The new dynamic duo is different from previous incarnations as there is now a Batman who is more light hearted while the new Robin is much like his father, however Damian has since grown to respect Dick as Batman as they search for clues to bring the time displaced Batman back while facing The Joker and Dr Hurt who may be Bruce Wayne’s father. But with Bruce Wayne returning in the autumn where does that leave the former Boy Wonder? Only time will tell.

Beard's Asian Tour 28/7/10

Rain ft Tablo- I'm Coming (Korea)

Outsider ft Simon Dominic- Hyper Soar (Korea)

Hitomi Takahashi- Bokutachi No Yukue (Japan)

Skunkrice- Freedom Of Choice (Japan)

Sugar Donut- Loser (Korea)

Artist Spotlight: HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Good Bye (Japan)

T.M. Revolution- HOT LIMIT (UNDER:COVER Mix) (Japan)

Vanilla Unity- Hero (Korea)

G Dragon ft Flo Rida- heartbreaker (Korea/USA)

Lillies and Remains- a life as something transient (Japan)

Polysics- Catch On Everywhere (Japan)

Perception of Inception

Dom (DiCaprio) with totem

 Dreams are the focal point of this original and thought provoking tale in which Extractors take an idea, considered most valuable and resilient thing in the world from the one place where humans are most vulnerable, their dreams. The most skilled Extractor Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is coerced by a businessman, Saito played by Ken Watanabe in planting an idea into the mind of a rival businessman’s heir (Cillian Murphy). Should Cobb succeed in this impossible task of inception then his own dream can come true, something which he can’t achieve in reality and so along with his fellow Extractor Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) assembles a team comprising of an Architect (Ellen Page), a forger (Tom Hardy) and a chemist (Dileep Rao).

Writer, Director and Producer Christopher Nolan has created an intriguing and entertaining story filled with questions of what is real and what is a dream and that’s reinforced through clever narrative. It’s this various narrative structures that leaves audiences to question what narrative they’re seeing at several points in the film (whether it is dream or reality). It comes into question more as Cobb explains the nature of dreams to his new dream architect Ariadne. While there are one or two instances (which I still haven’t really figured out even after seeing the film twice) where dream and reality seems blurred, Nolan gives the audience plenty of cues to help them along but still leaving plenty of ambiguity in order to allow the audience to draw their own conclusions.

Like Nolan’s last film The Dark Knight, Inception’s action scenes are surprisingly light on CG elements instead relying on physical effects to achieve a similar effect. One the most visually stunning effects is the hotel sequence which see’s Arthur literally undertaking a gravity defying mission to help the team to wake up.

Inception is a really engaging film, it challenges audiences who at this time of year tend to check their brains in at the door to watch films to pick them up again and pay attention.

Beard's Asian Tour (Japanese and Gackt special) playlist 21/7/10

Gackt- U+K


Vidoll- Cryptic Tokyo


Electric Eel Shock- Metal Man


Ayumi Hamasaki- 1 Love


Gackt- Redemption


Artist Spotlight- HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR


HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Hot Limit


Chihiro Onitsuka- Infection


Gackt- Flower


Hikaru Utada- Sanctuary


Two-Mix- Rhythm Emotion


Gackt- Uncontrol Kyoki Ranbu edit. (Live)

Beard's Asian Tour 14/7/10

Natccu- Apple Z (Japan)

G Dragon- Heartbreaker (Korea)

Leon Lai- Later it is Bigger the Chance (China)

An Cafe- Ryusei Rocket (Japan)

Nell- Stay (Korea)

Artist Spotlight- HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Ichirin No Hana (Japan)

My Aunt Mary- Night Blue (Korea)

T.M. Revolution- Vestige (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks- East Meets West

Himuro Kyosuke ft Gerard Way- Safe and Sound (Japan)

BoA ft Sean Garret- I Did It For Love (Korea)

Koda Kumi ft Fergie- That Ain’t Cool (Japan)

KOTOKO- Lament (Japan)

Gackt- Papa Lapped A Pap Lopped (Live)(Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour 7/7/10

X-Japan- Rusty Nail (Japan)

Kara- Lupin (Korea)

MC Sniper- For You (Korea)

Shin Tae Kwon ft Outsider- Happy Ending (Korea)

Day After Tomorrow- Starry Heaven (Japan)

Artist Spotlight- HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Pride (Japan)

The TRAX- Over The Rainbow (Korea)

Exist+Trace- Rouge (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks- Former Artist Spotlights

Rain- Escaping The Sun (Korea)

Fact- Slip Of The Lip (Japan)

Polysics- Electric Surfin’ Go Go (Japan)

MC Mong- Chun Ha Moo Juk (Invincible) (Korea)

Lillies and Remains- Grind (Japan)

Artist Spotlight: June- Outsider

Welcome to my Artist Spotlight, every month on my Asian Tour show (Wednesday's 3-4pm KCC Live) I select an musician or band and play tracks from their discography, and on this blog I'll be writing about the artist or band in question. This month's Artist Spotlight is Outsider from South Korea.

Outsider is perhaps one of the fastest rapper’s in the world his rapping speed is an astonishing 17 syllables per second (the current record held by Rebel X is 20 syllables per second). While rapping at a ridiculous speed, Outsider is unlike many speed rappers as he is able to pronounce each word he raps with clarity, something which he practices regularly and it is something his fans have commended though it does mean that he can’t afford to make many mistakes while rapping live.

Discovered by underground hip hop artist MC Sniper and signed to MC Sniper’s own label Sniper Sound, MC Sniper acts as Outsider’s manager. Outsider has currently released two E.Ps and two full albums Come Outside E.P (2004) Soliloquist (2007) MAESTRO (2009) and 주변인: The Outsider (2010).

The majority of the tracks are piano led with latter singles Alone from MAESTRO and Acquaintance from주변인: The Outsider features the inclusion of strings something uncommon from many hip hop tracks though some tracks do feature regular hip hop beats. The majority of tracks from Outsider’s records feature some of Korea’s best hip hop and RnB artists including Gil Me, Bizniz, K-Proud and MC Sniper. Outsider also collaborated with K-Pop artist K Will who also sang Alone with Outsider on one live appearance, managing to keep up with Outsider’s speed rapping.

Outsider's latest E.P.

Outsider’s most successful single to date is Alone which stayed in Korea’s charts for an astonishing 50 weeks, the song was an examination of the concept of being an outsider in reality, a theme carried over into Acquaintance.

Not only has Outsider recorded his own tracks but he has also featured on others including tracks from MC Sniper (Better Than Yesterday), Shin Tae Kwon (Happy Ending) and Gil Me (Love Is War). He also took part in the One Nation album from a sort of rap super group led by MC Sniper called Sniper Sound featuring some of the artists from the same record label as well as Kraziee Bone from American rap group Bone Thugs N Harmony, a group Outsider has wished to collaborate for some time.

Outsider is currently trying to improve his speed by increasing his lung capacity through jogging.

Beard's Asian Tour 30/6/10

Ayumi Hamasaki- Sparkle (Japan)

Kou Chou Ching- Black Heart (Taiwan)

Rain- Sad Tango (Korea)

Utada Hikaru- This Is Love (Japan)

Carsick Sars- Zhong Nan Hai (China)

Artist Spotlight- Outsider

Outsider –Acquaintance (Korea)

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Rosier (Japan)

Luna Sea- STORM (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks- Kamen Rider

Gackt- Journey Through The Decade (Japan)

Aya Kamiki ft Takuya- W-B-X~W Boiled Extreme (Japan)

Defspiral- Dive Into The Mirror (Japan)

Capsule- Starry Sky (Japan)

Doctor Who Series Five in Eleven Words

Ok the title is a bit misleading I'm going to sum up my thoughts on the new series of Doctor Who in eleven words as Matt Smith is the Eleventh incarnation of the popular time traveller. I've really enjoyed this series and I thought it was the best series of Doctor Who since it was bought back in 2005.

Episode One: The Eleventh Hour

Brilliant opener from Moffat. Matt and Karen are fantastic. David who?

Episode Two: The Beast Below

A great focus on the new companion and an interesting story.

Episode Three: Victory Of The Daleks

Interesting take on the Daleks nice to see this Doctor's rage.

Episode Four: The Time Of Angels

The return of River brings with it some light hearted moments.

Episode Five: Flesh And Stone

Only Moffat could make an inanimate monster so much more menacing.

Episode Six: Vampire's In Venice

Amy's fiance brings a new dynamic to the show and humour.

Episode Seven: Amy's Choice

Interesting choice for a 'villain' delving into the Doctor's dark nature.

Episode Eight: The Hungry Earth

A some what weak first part to this two part story.

Episode Nine: Cold Blood

An improvement on the last episode though the narration was unnecessary

Episode Ten: Vincent And The Doctor

Great story from Richard Curtis and a fantastic performance from Curran.

Episode Eleven: The Lodger

This episode feels like a filler but it is a fun episode.

Episode Twelve: The Pandorica Opens

Revelations, surprises, heartache, villains galore and the most intense cliffhanger ever.

Episode Thirteen: The Big Bang

An insanely brilliant end to this series of Doctor Who

Beard's Asian Tour 23/6/10

G-Dragon- A Boy (Korea)

Joyside- Neptune’s Child (China)

Nightmare- The World (Japan)

PB33- Dance With Me (China)

Abingdon Boys School- STRENGTH (Japan)

Artist Spotlight- Outsider

Outsider ft MC Sniper- Face Off (Korea)

Versailles- PRINCE (Japan)

Miyavi- Selfish Love (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks- Remixes

Lillies and Remains- Wreckage [Bias Choir Remix] (Japan)

Fact- A Fact of Life [Boom Boom Satellites Remix] (Japan)

Aikawa Nanase- Yumemiru Shoujo Ja Irarenai [Polysics Remix] (Japan)

My Aunt Mary- Blue Tin Scooter (Korea)

Prozak- Listen To My Story (Korea)

Beard's Asian Tour 9/6/10

Sniper Sound- One Nation (Korea)

Meisa Kuroki- Are You Ready? (Japan)

BoA- Hypnotic Dancefloor (Korea)

Trilogy of Tracks: Korean Hip Hop

Baechigi- 140 (Korea)

MC Mong- Circus (Korea)

Untouchable ft Hwa Young- Driving Me Crazy (Korea)

Artist Spotlight- Outsider

Outsider- Like A Man (Korea)

Koda Kumi ft Fergie- That Ain’t Cool (Japan/USA)

Brown Eyed Girls- Abracadabra (Korea)

2AM & 2PM as Dirty Eyed Girls- Abracadabra (Parody) (Korea)

Namie Amuro- My Darling (Japan)

Lee Hyori ft Natsun- U-Go Girl (Korea)

DBSK- Order (Mirotic) (Korea)

RIP SLYME- Speed King (Japan)

Five For Friday 19

5. Gaslight Anthem The ’59 Sound

The track sounds like a cross between a Bruce Springsteen track and a Killers track with that Americana sound and haunting vocals.

4. Sniper Sound- One Nation

A fantastic Hip Hop track from some of Korea’s best hip hop artists including L.E.O, Illinit, MC Sniper, Baechigi and Outsider as well as America’s Krazie Bone from Bone Thugs N Harmony, the track flows seamlessly from one rapper to another and the group vocals in the chorus give it a great atmosphere.

3. defspiral- Dive Into The Mirror

I like how the bass gets to breathe abit in this track especially in the first verse, a great J-Rock track. Really like the guitar solo on this track.

2. Gackt- Vanilla (Live SDSN)

I’ve been listening to quite a lot of live Gackt tracks in anticipation for seeing him in July and I’m really impressed with this song in particular as during this song he’d been battling a heavy cold and had just finished singing a rather dance heavy track.

1. Gackt- U+K (Live ЯR version)

I love how fun this track sounds with the live vocals that had been altered to sound high pitched and the guitar battle mixed with a synth and guitar battle definitely a feel good track for a Friday

Beard's Asian Tour 2/6/10

Akira Sudou- Y’Know (Japan)

The Chinos- GoodbyeVictoria (China)

Zebra Queen- NAMIDA (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks: Ballads

Chihiro Onitsuka- Infection (Japan)

FictionJuuka- Akatsuki no Kuruma (Japan)

Aya Kamiki- A Constellation 2007 (Japan)

Artist Spotlight- Outsider

Outsider- Letter [Single Version] (Korea)

X-Japan- I.V. (Japan)

T.M. Revolution- Ignited (Japan)

MYMP- Say You’ll Love Me (Philippines)

Malice Mizer- Illuminati (Japan)

Ayumi Hamasaki- Poker Face (Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour Playlist 25/5/10

An Cafe- Kakusei Heroism (Japan)
Leon Lai- Sugar In The Marmalade (China)
Rain ft Tablo- I'm Coming (Korea)
Trilogy of Tracks: Japanese Covers
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- HOT LIMIT [T.M. Revolution] (Japan)
Nami Tamaki- STORM [Luna Sea] (Japan)
The TRAX- Tears [X-Japan] (Korea)
Artist Spotlight: Tucker
Tucker- Swan Lake (Japan)
Lillies and Remains- Wreckage (Japan)
BoA- Did Ya (Korea)
Versailles- Aristocrat's Symphony (Japan)
TM Network- GET WILD (Japan)
MC Sniper- So Sniper... (Korea)

Beard's Asian Tour 19/5/10

The TRAX- Paradox (Korea)

Mad Capsule Markets- Pulse (Japan)

Nell- Memories of Walking Time (Korea)

Trilogy of Tracks: Songs released in 2009

Abingdon Boys School- JAP (Japan)

Fact- A Fact of Life (Japan)

Gackt- Journey Through The Decade (Japan)

Artist Spotlight- Tucker

Tucker featuring AFRA & SLY Mongoose - 1,2,3,4,OddJob Sounds (Japan)

Utada Hikaru- Passion (Japan)

Bump Of Chicken- R.I.P (Japan)

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Pride (Japan)

Outsider- Alone/Loner (Korea)

Polysics- Pretty Good (Japan)

Beard's Asian Tour 12/5/10 *Japanese Indie Special*

Red Bacteria Vacuum- The Big Moon

Camisama- EPMD Kai Ni Ikou

Bo-Peep- B-Level Motion

Trilogy of Tracks: Bands I've Seen Live Part 1

Natccu- Crescent Moon

Skunkrice- Blue

Riddim Saunter- Bad Is...

Trilogy of Tracks: Bands I've Seen Live Part 2

Artist Spotlight: Tucker

Tucker ft Ken-One- Horror Hop

Tokyo Pinsalocks- Mannequin

Sunset Drive- We've Got To Talk (New Zealand/Japan)

GEEKS- Kass Mass

JinnyOops!- Toki

the DOLOMITES- Wakannai (I Don't Know)

Omodaka- Yosawya San

Pee-lander Z- Ninja High Schooool

Beard's Asian Tour 5/5/10

Untouchable- This Is Love (Korea)

Gackt- Todokanai Ai To Sitte Itanoni Osaekirezuni Aisitsuzuketa (Japan)

SNSD- Oh! (Korea)

Electric Eel Shock- Iron Man (Japan)

Chang Chen-yue- Secret (China)

Artist Spotlight: Tucker

Tucker- Jump Around (Japan)

Trilogy of Tracks: Featuring Other Artists

Epik High ft Jisan- One (Korea)

MC Sniper ft Outsider and Horan- Heart Disease (Korea)

DBSK ft BoA and The TRAX- Tri-Angle (Korea)

Sweet Black ft Maki Goto- Lady-Rise (Japan)

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR- Good Bye (Japan)

Sugar Donut- Loser (Korea)

Fact- Slip Of The Lip (Japan)

Review of Iron Man 2

Iron Man: Ready For Round 2

 Sequels are funny things, they can either be complete and utter flops or they can take what was established in the first film and add something enjoyable to the mythos. Iron Man 2 falls into the latter category.

Set six months after the events of the first Iron Man film, Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr is enjoying being an icon as Iron Man as well as having 'successfully privatised world peace' by being a deterrent. Causing frustration to business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Senator Stern, who wants the Iron Man suit in the hands of the US Government and disgraced Russian physicist Ivan Vanco (played by Mickey Rourke) who is after revenge for the sins of Tony's father Howard Stark. Vanco constructs his own Arc Generator and becomes the villain Whiplash, going after Tony Stark, trying to prove that the Invincible Iron Man isn't as invincible as he thought he was.

Don Cheadle is War Machine

You'd think that would be enough plot to satisfy director John Favreau (who also plays Stark's chauffeur Happy Hogan) but no, he also plays on what initially looks like a plot thread from the Iron Man classic 'Demon In The Bottle' but is in fact a plot line from the 90's Iron Man comic series written by Kurt Busiek, which shows that Favreau and his writing team have really done their homework.

Scarlett as the deadly Nlack Widow.

Like the first film, Iron Man 2 has some fantastic funny moments such as a drunk Iron Man dancing along to Tupac's California Love or Happy Hogan sparring with new addition to the cast Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff. Speaking of new cast members, Terence Howard's replacement Don Cheadle delivers a much stronger performance as Lieutenant Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, playing the straight man to the laid back Stark, even getting his own armour dubbed War Machine. Rourke as Vanco/Whiplash is intense and Rourke really humanises him to the point where you almost feel sorry for Vanco with everyone pushing him around. Scarlett Johansson's role as Natasha Romanoff comes off a bit cold at times though that could be due to how little we see of her so there's not much chance to warm to her character however her action scenes as The Black Widow are really fantastic.

Samuel L. Jackson makes a return as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury serving as a reminder that Iron Man is just one part of the Avenger's franchise, there are a few Easter eggs (including an after credits scene) which throws some nice teases pertaining to the next few films (Thor and Captain America) in the franchise. There are also a few little Easter eggs that relate to Iron Man himself such as the briefcase containing the Mark V armour.

Rourke as Whiplash

The action in Iron Man 2 has vastly improved from the first film in so much that there's more of it. There are periods where it feels like you are watching someone play Rock em Sock em robots and while a guy with whips as his main weapon doesn't look as intimidating as a large robot, the Monaco sequence is visually impressive and a highlight. The CGI elements are quite smooth though there are one or two moments in the film where the CGI looks a bit clunky,

While there are times where it feels as though Favreau has packed too much in, he balances the screen time between Downey Jr and Rourke well, though the rest of quite big cast get juggled around. Iron Man 2 blends its action and comedy well making it an enjoyable film we learn how Tony Stark relieves himself when he has the armour on, which while a bit childish is a definite laugh out loud moment. Let's just hope that the eventual Iron Man 3 doesn't go in the way of other Superhero trilogies.

Beard's Asian Tour 28/4/10

After School- Bad Guy (Korea)

Aya Kamiki- I <3 My Superman (Japan)

Rain- It's Raining (Korea)

DE DE Mouse- 555 Is In Your Heart [Live] (Japan)

Sugar Donut- Everything (Korea)

Miyavi- Survive (Japan)

Artist Spotlight: Dirt Star

Dirt Star- To See You Smile (China)

Hikaru Utada- Beautiful World (Japan)

The TRAX- Blaze Away (Korea)

Trilogy of Tracks: Circus/Carnivals in the title

Bottlesmoker- Before Circus Over (Indonesia)

Jaurim- Carnival Amour (Korea)

MC Mong- Circus (Korea)

RIP SYLME- Super Shooter (Japan)

Review of Evangelion 1:01

Fifteen years ago Gainax released Neon Genesis Evangelion to critical acclaim appearing in many anime fans top ten lists (for me it's number one in that list) the series ending was hated by many Japanese fans who sent the creator/director Hideaki Anno death threats which he utilised in the 'alternate ending' films Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion. Now Neon Genesis Evangeion is being retold in four films the first of which Evangelion 1:01- You Are (Not) Alone was released this week.

Evangelion 1:01 retells the first six episodes of the Evangelion series, which sees fourteen year old Shinji Ikari getting into a giant robot called an Evangelion to fight beings known as Angels, all the while dealing with issues with his father Gendo Ikari who is more concerned about the mysterious pilot of Evangelion Unit 0, Rei Ayanami. The film manages to condense these six episodes into a 90 minute feature without losing any of the main plot points whilst at the same time not coming off as a highlights feature. Evangelion 1:01 does boast some new scenes, and some of the old scenes have been given some new effects, mixing 3D animation with the 2D animation which looks clearer compared to the original series.

Eva Unit 01

The voice acting is a bit hit and miss at times, though the misses tend to be the tone of the voices being to high, making some characters younger than they should be like Shinji (voiced by the original series voice actor Spike Spencer) though as the film progresses, the voice acting does improve, my only gripe is the fact that most of the characters now have different voice actors portraying them which can be distracting to returning fans, maybe not so much to new viewers.

The climatic battle between the two Eva's and the 6th Angel is perhaps the most spectacular piece of animation in the film, with the 6th Angel rendered in 3D which makes it more menacing purely based on the shapes that it makes while contorting into it's attack or defense mode. This sequence also shows off Spike Spencer's vocal range as Shinji, going from whispers to whimpers to loud screams without it sounding strained or forced.

New fans may be somewhat perplexed as to how the film ends though one character who makes an important impact to the series is shown offering a new and exciting twist to this particular telling of the Evangelion story and as an opening part to this four part film series, it sets things up clearly without being too overly complicated despite bringing in subplots that are more than likely going to appear in later installments. The second act of Evangelion 1:01 is lighthearted and jovial at times as the film goes for quieter moments after the battles with the Angels.