Tim Horton's takes me back TO Canada

Made my annual pilgrimage to Vivocity and found Tim Horton's there. I knew they had opened, but hadn't planned on dropping in as I heard that the lines were crazy. New food places always are around these parts. As I got my shopping list completed, I noticed that the queue tended to pulsate. The next time the line was short, I jumped in. The last time I had any 'timbits' (a.k.a donut holes) must have been over 30 years ago when I was a student in TO. Good times.

Time has been good to Tim's. The outlet here looks more upmarket than I remember, and there is now a vibrant, exciting new vibe when it used to be chill and more laid-back as far as my memory goes. I like that there's no staff uniform, as such. Apart from a standard all black overall theme, the staff wore a variety of whatever brand of apparel they wanted, and a lanyard that prominently displayed the word 'STAFF'. A typically Canadian understatement. Otherwise, the place itself was busy and bustling with people standing around waiting for their orders, while the tables were full of customers enjoying their caffeine-and-donut fueled social activity. The scene was chaotic, but in a good way. Orders were being fulfilled, people were negotiating for a space to sit, or like me quickly buzzed away with our take-away boxes. The chaos of life.

The photos above do not do the timbits themselves much justice. $10 for a box of 10 pre-selected flavours: the classic glaze, the cinnamon, and the birthday cake (presumably decorated with sprinkles). I'd let my box lie fallow for a few hours as I was too full to consume them while they were still fresh. That was lunch. I opened the box after dinner for dessert, and yeah. They look much sadder than they were in the store. Taste-wise, they are nothing fancy, nothing pretentious. You get what you pay for: they're sweet, they're cinnamony, and they're sweet with a bit of sugar crunch. They're not meant to be savoured. They're meant to keep the mouth busy while you're having a good time with your friends. They're something to share between buddies in between sips of coffee. It's that community feeling that really sums up the charm of Tim Horton's. Glad to see it's still like that today.

Coincidentally, I'd decided to eat them while watching Netflix's 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' which is set in TO. Bits of memory flashed by with background shots of the CN Tower, the Skydome (now called Rogers Centre), and Julie's house reminds me of the one I stayed in on Bathurst Street when I first arrived in TO. Oddly enough, the storyline looks towards the future about 30 years, while today I'm looking back 30 years. I'm Old Xmac, and in many ways I can identify with what Scott is going through. It hit a little close to home.

Kingslayer: down with the King!

[Trigger warning: video includes harsh language]

We finally have an official video release of BMTH's 'Kingslayer' feat. BABYMETAL! Since the track released about three years ago, the two groups have never performed it together until a couple of months back 'live' in Tokyo. After all the fancam compilations (some of which have been quite good, given the source material), it's great to have a closeup view of what's happening onstage.

The buildup video sets the scene with the undermining of an 'EVE-L' authority, made to look ridiculous with the infiltration of a virus corrupting the system and reducing it to 'N64 level graphics' and getting worse. Meanwhile, interspersed are shots of particular audience members, including closeups of young women in the crowd, suggesting that metal is no longer the exclusive domain of the typical 'metalhead' stereotype. When the video announces 'Kingslayer', the crowd erupts and explodes as BABYMETAL make their entrance. MOMO and SU are focused, MOA, as usual, acknowledges the camera. As they take their places, they naturally hype up the crowd. Fully energised, Oli (lead vocalist of BMTH) leads the crowd to chant with the opening riff that has by now become iconic.

Oli plays two characters in this story. He starts as an oppressor taunting essentially himself, as the oppressed. The oppressor sings the melody, the oppressed is the screamer who interrupts with a growing recognition of who his oppressor really is: 'corrupted' and 'the monster'.

SU chimes in with her catchy, pop vocals to introduce the Kingslayer. This metal hero is a familiar figure, appearing as 'Meta Taro' and in 'Metallism', representing the internal fortitude to fight back against adversity. Here, Kingslayer 'destroys castles in the sky' which is an inversion of the idiom, 'building castles in the air', referring to dreams that have no hope of being fulfilled. So the Kingslayer is the hero within ourselves who rises up against any authority that rules over us with false promises, or hopes that they have no intention of fulfilling. Such authorities could be addictions, abusive parents, relationships, or even ourselves (as in the characters Oli is playing) -- anyone holding us back, keeping us down, or otherwise preventing us from living in 'another world', a better one.

The oppressor uses two main tactics to remain in control. The first is the idea that nothing can change: you depend on them, and you are nothing without them. They threaten that breaking free is cutting the strings of a puppet -- you couldn't even crawl back if you wanted. The second is the accusation of ingratitude: 'do you really want to twist the knife in the belly...' to which the oppressed screams 'of the monster!!!' This realisation is echoed in the screamed chorus in colourful language. Its a 'wake... up' call to reboot the system and start again, this time without the monkey on your back.

BABYMETAL are our metal cheerleaders, encouraging us to fight on to overthrow our usurper King, reminding us that we will 'never fight alone' in this battle. We get to see more of their choreo in this video. Yup, very aggressive cheerleading movements, along with wide-legged sumo stomps and monster claws, and always so coordinated. 

By the end of the instrumental bridge, the battle is over and the oppressed screams his victory, 'I can't feel yooooou!!!', to which the ladies reply with a celebratory SG-inspired 'Ooooooh Yeeeeeah!!!' The last lyrics seem to be the frustrated last words of the deposed ruler, a middle finger to the victor, which is an oddly satisfying climax while Oli and the ladies head... no, bodybang a tribal victory dance to close out this breathtaking journey.

'de ded ded ded ded de de de dedded ded ded de ded!' A riff to keep in our hearts when we need the energy to overcome.

Audience Miss match #themarvels

A fairly long interview with Disney CEO, Bob Iger, but I'm mainly commenting on the sound bite between the 13-15th minute in which he blames The Marvels' box office disappointment on 1) the Disney+ streaming platform, and 2) the lack of executive supervision during the production process.

I agree with #1 in that The Marvels was not billed enough as a significant event that would get people out of their homes and into the cinema. Doubly so when the audience knows that we'll be accessing it on Disney+ not too long after its movie premiere. Nothing particularly important happens in this movie that shakes up the MCU other than a few seconds of mid-credits scene that we had to sit through an entire movie for. Nope. Most people would rather save their money and catch it on D+ as and when it shows up. There was no urgency to be first in line on opening day, and many, like myself, didn't even know when opening day was. Both the pandemic, and the actors/writers strike were factors in the lack of hype for this movie: nobody knew what the stakes were, or even who the villain was. Truth be told, I still don't.

Which leads me into #2. Iger doesn't elaborate on what he means by executive supervision, but it sounds to me like corporate meddling with the creative process. I think corporate should have said something before green lighting the movie in the first place. While I enjoyed the movie, like I generally enjoy most media releases, I'm now looking at this project from a marketing standpoint. Who was supposed to be the target audience? While there are Marvel fangirls like Iman Vellani, a.k.a. Ms Marvel, herself, the vast majority of audience who throw money at MCU movies are the guys who drag their girlfriends and wives along to watch great high stakes superhero battles. Was the battle depicted in The Marvels high stakes enough? I suppose on the cosmic scale it was big, but it didn't hit hard emotionally. It was fun, yes, but it didn't feel like our heroes were going to lose at any point. It was cool, but it also felt like a missable chapter in the MCU timeline. Nothing changed -- until the movie was literally over.

If the target audience was supposed to be women, the characters of Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, aren't particularly well known to most women besides the die-hard fangirls, whose audience share simply does not compare to the MCU's male audience demographic. Droves of women are not likely to drag their boyfriends and husbands to watch The Marvels just because three women they don't know, and have never grown up with are the main characters. The Barbie Movie was a very different vibe, and was a huge box office success because Barbie is a character familiar to almost every girl in this and even previous generations. Barbie told a story that resonated strongly with its female target audience, and surprised the males who accompanied their significant others with an absurdly relatable story as well. The Marvels, on the other hand told a story that might have resonated more with a male audience, with all the punching and shooting, but the protagonists were female. Perhaps this story might have done better if it featured Rocket, Groot, and maybe introduced a new character like Nova, or someone similar (Adam Warlock?). While I appreciate the attempt at representation and diversifying the audience pool, representation for the sake of representation does nothing for the box office.

Expecting a hit out of The Marvels with female characters who are relatively unknown to its paying audience is like making a movie featuring Ken as the main character, in hopes of attracting a male audience waving lots of cash, yelling 'take my money!!!' From the marketing perspective, The Marvels made little sense from the start.

Invigilation thoughts #28

Can't believe I've finally made it to the last official day of work before the December break. In honour of the cultural heritage of the one candidate I was assigned to oversee, I composed a haiku:

Final duty of the year.
Oh, no, it's the AA kid.
Time added.

If you know, you know.

Invigilation thoughts #infinity

The symbol for infinity is a sideways figure '8', like so: ∞

Going by the XY axes, regular '8' is vertically oriented, two loops enclosing the space directly above and below its epicentre.

Notice, then, that the space beside the epicentre is completely unbound.

That IS infinity, as that space extends beyond the figure '8' forever.

So to symbolize the concept of endless space, we use '∞', representing the space remaining unbound by the closed loops of the '8'.

And because ∞ aligns with the X axis, and if we take the intersection of XY as 0, infinity extends towards the right as positive numbers, and towards the left as negative numbers.

'∞' is clearly a well-though out, and exquisitely designed symbol for infinity... as long as we accept the symbol '8' to represent the concept of 'eight'.

Ooh, shiny!

 

Not often I get decked out all formal-like, but today's ceremony required it. I was among hundreds of my industry peers receiving a state award, many of whom were recognized for their meritorious service during the pandemic years. For me, my award was for sticking around at my job, and not racking up too many complaints over two decades and a half.

Held at Resorts World Convention Centre Ballroom, the ceremony was dignified, and by-the-numbers efficient. No flowery speeches, we immediately launched in with calling each recipient's name to step up on stage, shake a hand, receive their award, and pose for a shot for posterity. Next, and so on. Simple, perfunctory, and really no time wasted. Extremely appreciative of that as there's still much work to be done, and not enough time to do it all in. Still, it's nice to take some time off to feel appreciated.

When I got back, the sky was overcast. Dark, grey clouds overhead wringing out a moderate shower. But for a few minutes, they whole sky was lit in a pleasant pastel shade of gold I've not seen before. The camera couldn't capture the exact atmosphere, and I don't have the photographic skill to show you what I saw. Something like that, but way more breathtaking. It didn't last, fading as the sun set, but it left an impression. From where I am now, a quarter-century has felt as brief.

The Marvels: Generally satisfying, with some inconsistencies

I didn't even know The Marvels had been released last week. With so much talk and rumours of release dates being pushed back, I stopped paying attention. If not for a chance mention on my socials, I might not even have got a ticket for today.

Warning: spoiler-y review ahead.

The Marvels unfortunately has had the lowest opening weekend of all MCU movies, and quite undeservedly so. It was a fun story (I liked it better than Quantumania), but perhaps the stakes were hugely disproportional to the battles that were mostly fought hand-to-hand in a champion takes all contest. And since there were three heroes against one villain, it didn't really seem like a fair fight. And for the most part, the villain was sort of fighting with one hand tied behind her (yes, her) back. Perhaps that was the point. Dar-Ben's backstory puts her in a position to want to do something to save her people, the Kree, from an impossible situation, but the odds are very much stacked against her. I understand the heroic courage that drives her, and the desperation plus revenge motivation behind her awful choices, but her approach to grand theft cosmos was doomed from the start. You can't save your people's homes by destroying other people's homes -- a very pertinent message for the crisis in Gaza right now.

The movie begins in utter confusion, reflecting the Marvels' own sense of what-is-going-on as they abruptly switch places with each other. Like us, they get dropped into situations with no context, either in the midst of hostilities, or bringing hostiles into previously peaceful locations -- specifically the Khans' living room which gets gratuitously wrecked in the process. It's fun to watch Mom and Dad Khan tag-teaming to fight off two fully trained Kree warriors, and not being very successful at it. In the aftermath, their house has a new skylight which wasn't there before. It's ok, Nick Fury's SABER will pay for the damage, I'm sure.

The confusion gets some clarity when people stop punching and shooting each other and start talking. Everything has to do with Kamala's family heirloom, the twin of which Dar-ben has found and is using to open unstable portals in space-time to aid her nefarious plan -- like Dr Strange stealing forbidden books from Wong's library, but on a much grander scale. It's the energy from these unstable portals that causes the location switching, which eventually they learn to coordinate and turn into a fighting advantage, leading to some interestingly choreographed fight scenes.

They are too late to save the first of Dar-Ben's targeted worlds, and it's uncertain if they do save the second or not -- a disturbingly unresolved plotline. It's also the world with what I felt as a silly, unnecessary Bollywood type culture thrown in just because. Gratuitous. Carol has personal ties with this planet just to raise the stakes a little, but I don't see that the Marvels did enough to save it. I hope we'll find out in time to come, but if that world perished, it'll be one more thing on Carol's conscience.

Of course, Dar-Ben targets Earth next, and it's for all the marbles. Monica does a heroic thing, and Carol gets a redemption. I thought they might use Carol's redemption act to de-power her so that she can be less OP enough to fit into the new MCU team-up storylines moving forward, but she still looks none the worse for wear after her cosmic feat of strength. And while Kamala gets to go home with a souvenir after her space adventure, Nick Fury (especially after the events of Secret Invasion) is going to be very unhappy with two new alien populations living on Earth, one of which he knows about, and one which he doesn't... yet.

But it's Monica's epilogue that is probably going to trigger the next phase of the MCU, if you stay and watch the end credits. There is one final end credits scene, but in my screening the screen went into screen saver mode and there was only sound. I couldn't see a thing, but the sound was unmistakable. Was it important? Probably not. Stay for bladder-holding bragging rights, if you want.

Sushi at Keyaki

The most expensive nigiri sushi I have ever ordered. This is Keyaki, Pan Pacific Hotel. Today commemorates educators, and I spent it using the $50 restaurant voucher I picked up from the raffle held during our staff appreciation dinner over a week ago. It was the 30th prize, or something.

Keyaki is on the 4th floor of the Pan Pac. It's located within a gorgeous Japanese themed roof garden. The place is so Zen, I couldn't find the main entrance. Good thing I bumped into the chef who kindly beckoned me to follow him. Along the wall opposite the koi pond, there's a section that looks gold-painted. It's a sliding door that I walked past a couple of times, wondering if I needed a sling ring that opens up a mystical portal or something.

Once inside, the staff greeted me very calmly and politely, and seated me immediately. I inquired about the T&Cs of my voucher, and that turned out to be a smart thing to do. It only applied to a la carte items on the menu, so thankfully I didn't go whole hog to order the $280 omakase first, only to find out later that the voucher would have been no good.

So that was how I ended up with this selection of 7 pieces of sushi and a dessert. Left to right they are: tuna belly, striped jack, blue fin tuna, salmon, scallop, sweet shrimp, and sea urchin. The setting was so fancy, I couldn't bring myself to dump the wasabi into the shoyu and stir it up into the salty, pungent, pasty condiment that we like to do here. It had to be eaten properly. Take a pinch of wasabi, balance it on the fish side (actually, is this how it's done?), pick up the piece with chopsticks, turn the piece upside down, and carefully dip the fish side into the shoyu before putting the whole thing in your mouth in one bite. Chew a slice of ginger between pieces to reset the mouth, getting it ready for the next flavour.

My big mistake was to start with the tuna belly which I knew I should have saved as the piece de resistance, but I couldn't help myself. As soon as I tasted how good it was with the fatty texture and hint of fish oil, instant regret. It would have been the perfect finishing move, but no, I made it my opening gambit instead. The remaining 6 pieces were still very, very good, regardless. Each piece was fresh and flavourful, the urchin tasted like cream of ocean. Each piece drew a breath of appreciation, and I had to close my eyes to focus on the different textures and flavours that they literally brought to the table. 

I hope wait staff, Agnes (I think), interpreted my facial contortions to mean that I was enjoying the food. She was attentive to refilling my green tea, so she must have been watching her tables closely.

Dessert was this mango ume jelly served like a parfait with a topping of mango ice-cream. The strawberries were a surprise, but they added extra colour and a light, tangy twist to what would have been overwhelmingly mango. The portion was bigger than anticipated, and I'm speculating that perhaps 2 mangoes were involved as some of the mango cubes looked a slightly different shade from the others. The ume jelly was oddly fluffy, so that was another interesting texture for the mouth to enjoy.

One thing, though. After finishing dessert, I felt light-headed and became wheezy. My nose started to run. I know these symptoms: allergies. What could I have been allergic to? Running through the ingredient list in my head, I zeroed in on the jelly. Plum wine jelly (umeshu???), to be precise, and I am allergic to alcohol. I underestimated the potency of plum wine and was now experiencing the consequences.

Step one: don't panic, keep absolutely calm. Step two: breathe slow and deep -- get as much oxygen as the thoracic constriction would allow. I sat there for a while like that until I felt ready to pay the bill. $80 balance remaining from the $50 voucher. Not bad, I was prepared to pay more. Decided to walk my condition off, so I hoofed it to the MRT station for a ride home. As expected, by the time I got back, the allergic reaction had worn off. I'm fully functional again, with quite a lunch to remember.

GTA IRL: Singapore style

Got my first ever speeding ticket, but as is most police procedure around here, in the least dramatic fashion. There aren't a lot of cops to spare, and collateral is expensive to damage, so no high-speed car chases, no sirens wailing, no angry amplified voices yelling at me to 'pull over!' No. I get a polite letter in the mail informing me that the car (plate no. XXXX) registered to me was involved in a speeding incident on this date and time, along this road. Could I please 'furnish' traffic police with the name and licence of the driver of the car at that date/time/location by (deadline). They didn't say, 'or else'. No need.

They have me dead to rights. They have video evidence since traffic cameras are everywhere on the roads these days, but they won't assume who the driver was. They give me a chance to self-incriminate, and I have to because there's no one else I can defensibly blame for the infraction.  They give me a QR code to a secure site on which I can sheepishly admit my guilt, and it's done. Then I just sit back and check my mailbox for few days to see what my punishment will be.

Today, the dreaded letter arrives. I could have been fined $150 and received 4 demerit points. Instead, I am let off with an admonishment, a warning, and an exhortation to please maintain road safety when driving. I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing full well that I must keep my nose clean for at least a year to avoid getting the book thrown at me for a second violation too close to the first one.

But what caused me to exceed the speed limit that day? I cannot say for sure, but I remember another car in front of me straddling 2 lanes and going really slowly for quite some distance. I tolerated this speed bump of a driver for as long as I could before I went a little nuts. When a window opened up to overtake him (or her) I took it, but my emotionally charged state probably kept my foot on the accelerator for longer than it should have been. BUSTED.

If it wasn't this situation, I can't imagine how else I could possibly have been driving at 80 km/h on a 70 km/h road.

A brief peek into METALVERSE

A surprise fancam drop of METALVERSE (don't call them CHIBIMETAL any more) performing at SummerSonic 2023 in Tokyo, presumably last night. Not three, but five members performing a three song set. The good news is that they present original music, and while the lore goes that they are an alternate universe version of BABYMETAL, thankfully they look and sound somewhat different from their renowned predecessors instead of being a carbon copy.

This performance shows METALVERSE has quite a task ahead of them to emerge from the immense shadow that their older sisters have cast. The major advantage BABYMETAL had starting out was the WTF factor in the fusion of metal, pop, choreography, the age of the performers, the other genres of music that got blended in the production studio like no one knew what they were doing. Yet the end product turned out to be a beautiful miracle rather than the disaster it could have been. BABYMETAL was a fusion of Frankenstein monster parts, but it was cared for, nurtured lovingly, allowed to grow with a life of its own, and eventually become its own thing that captured the imagination of the world.

METALVERSE's version of fusion metal looks like its been put together by people who have learned from their past experiments, and now know what they are doing. The production is slick and professional (other than being viewed on fancam footage), it's well rehearsed and delivers strongly in musicality and choreography. And that's the problem: second child syndrome. It lacks an edge from the risk that the whole thing could fall flat on its face, which would have made us appreciate the effort, commitment, work ethic, and belief that the entire production crew put into making a show that shouldn't work work. 

METALVERSE works right out of the box. The production looks effortless and by-the-numbers. It feels designed not to fail, so it's missing out on the underdog status that gets a crowd behind tiny but dedicated heroes giving their all to accomplish a nigh impossible task. Without having much to root for, the crowd sounded a bit passive when lead singer, Miko, tried to engage them in the third song. Also, her call was asking for a bit more sophistry than the audience was prepared to give. Had the response been more intuitively and organically baked into the music, the audience might have been more inclined to jump in.

There is nothing bad in this performance -- it was actually quite enjoyable. But at the same time, it looked and felt like everything was done for me, and so, having little else to contribute to the show beyond my applause, I was happy to just sit back and soak it in.

Still, this is only a little taste of what METALVERSE can do. We'll get a much better picture once they make their official debut in Tokyo on 24 August. Still hoping there's room for crazy.

'Metali' MV is an energy vortex of joy and fun

I reacted to the audio-only track of 'Metali' in my previous post. The official video adds so much more to the enjoyment of this new BABYMETAL single.

Like its predecessors, 'Megitsune' and 'Karate', this video is very proudly Japanese: in set featuring traditional architecture, traditional costume in both festival and theatre attire, and even the lighting in the early part of the video displays rays radiating from the circular portal behind SU, suggesting the Rising Sun flag from Japan's earlier, more nationalistic days.

Although there is much tradition to be proud of, the ladies throw shade at the more oppressive parts of their culture. Their choreography comprises high stepping and stomping, with aggressive arm and hand movements, very unladylike. While dancing, MOA and MOMO 'accidentally' kick over traditional tea sets which can be seen as symbols of female subservience, and the ladies are having none of it. There is also the shocking visual of many 'fox signs' suddenly breaking through the traditional paper wall mid-ground, immediately followed by another jump-scare of two characters physically bursting through walls both stage left and right. These elements continue the band's penchant for fun horror movie imagery, but also reinforce their central message of breaking past barriers, like they constantly have had to do, while encouraging their audience to do the same.

Masks from Japanese theatre return, but other than the expected kitsune masks which feature in some backgrounds, in the foreground the supporting mass dancers wear human faces, representing us in the audience dancing, singing and chanting, being part of the festival, and really the show. The mid-piece breakdown unexpectedly throws back to a Japanese theatrical narration. Since MOMO takes the spotlight here, the voice is probably her's even if we only see her dancing, not vocalizing. This directorial choice keeps the energy going instead of slowing the pace to a standstill, which would break the momentum, and nobody wants that.

Energy is such a huge part of this song. The melody is super-catchy, the moves are big and deceptively easy to follow, and the audience participation is built in so obviously that when SU calls, without hesitation we want to yell back at the top of our lungs, punching the air while we do so. Somehow, self-consciousness gets shoved aside in this energy vortex, and everyone just gets sucked into being one with the performance. 'Live' in concert, this song would be an experience like no other.

We also get to see Tom Morello's contribution. Not familiar with him or his work, watching him play the guitar in the latter part of the video and hearing his beautifully weird East-West fusion on strings is a privilege. That last visual of the three ladies sitting on his guitar, waving at the crowd, is their tribute and thanks to Morello. The placement of the guitar makes them look like they are literally standing (in this case sitting) on the shoulder of a giant. Such humility in respecting their inspirations guiding them forward.

BABYMETAL is best experienced 'live', but they do occasionally put out official MVs that slap hard -- I'm thinking 'Megitsune' and 'Karate' as among my favourites. This one, 'Metali', shoots straight up to the top of my list. It has me dancing in my chair with every re-watch. That's my main criterion for a great music video.

BABYMETAL return to their Japanese roots in 'Metali'

BABYMETAL has gone home to Japan with their latest single after touring the world for creative inspiration. 'Metali' features the most traditional Japanese instrumentation since 'Megitsune' from a decade ago. It opens with the strings of (presumably) a shamisen which continues to be prominent in the music throughout. Likewise, the musical composition sounds East Asian, reminiscent of some traditional Japanese festivals involving music and interactive chanting. Yet, the main instrumental accompaniment is straight up metal, rhythmic and heavy, unrelenting and powerful. That, I'm guessing is where guest musician, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), comes in to seamlessly blend West with East.

SU's vocals are almost aggressive: still melodic, but tends to be inspired by their fellow contemporary Japanese female-led metal bands, a genre arguably pioneered by BABYMETAL, so it's come full circle with the original taking inspiration from those they inspired. It's also notable that this is the first original BABYMETAL song released with MOMOMETAL as the official third member of the new trio. The chorus sounds nice and full again with the voices of MOA and MOMO combining as one to aid with the heavy lifting.

The theatrical narration midway through the track adds to the sense of homecoming. The voice is as yet uncredited, but I'm speculating it could be MOMO's given her experience with musical theatre during her early career. It could just as well be SU's or MOA's, though, as they, too, are vocally versatile.

I just looked up the translation for "wasshoi", which is repeatedly chanted, and indeed it is a word that is used in traditional festivals to get everyone in sync and work together to lift a shrine for a grand parade. It's a homecoming for BABYMETAL, and they've brought the whole world back with them for the party!

'Metali' dropped on 18 August 2023, and is available on YouTube (above), and on Spotify. Probably elsewhere too.

Edit: Big surprise! It's not just new music on YouTube, but a whole new official music video! This band gives so much, and keeps on giving. And I was there for the premiere!

Long Service

Amy gave me the scoop on being put on the list of recipients of The Long Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Setia) from among this year's National Day Awards awardees. She has good eyes, being that in this category alone, there are already over a thousand folks listed from just my industry.

Long service counts 25 years of employment in the Civil Service, including the 2 years I spent in full-time National Service. Funny that when I signed on in this industry, I thought I would only serve out my contract of three years before I would lose my mind, or get kicked out, whichever came first. Where I am currently serving, I will say that while there are inevitable push factors, there have been no pull factors at all strong enough to overcome more than two decades of job inertia.

The criterion is really about time served. If it had been any more stringent, well, let's just say that my service hasn't exactly been exemplary. Too much rebellion, too many mistakes, and probably a lot of upset people to take the shine off the silver, I reckon. But I have always striven to be civil, so there's that.

A quarter century. It still doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I felt the need to do some responsible adulting. Somebody has to keep this and the other furballs in kibble.

Ahem, the least you could do is look grateful.

Bouncing in the Heartland

My little kingdom for today. Chaperoned my kids as they volunteered with Team Nila as human resources for a day at the Heartland Festival here in Woodlands Sports Centre. It's a sports-based carnival for the residents of the surrounding public housing neighbourhood, with lots of games, and an on-going performance within the white tentage in the upper middle of the photo. As I signed as a volunteer myself, I opted to run this trampoline fitness section, and play by ear from there. I initially thought I would be a carnival barker and draw in the crowd, but the job entailed crowd control instead with a never-ending line of eager children and their parents all waiting for their turn at bouncing along to the instructor's directions.

I really take my hat off to the instructor (I never asked her name) who bounced almost non-stop, leading batch after batch of mostly kids, although some adults also gamely bounced along to her improvised 5-minute set. Initially she was told that her set would be 15 minutes each, with breaks in between sets, but the young oysters came "thick and fast... and more, and more, and more". So she bounced from about 1630-2000 with only one short bio and hydration break. I had the comparatively easier job of keeping the lines orderly, ushering people to vacant trampolines, and adjusting handle-bar heights as appropriate. And I had 3 little girls (Alicia, Clarice and Yuki) helping me with crowd control and stamping of the participants' redemption coupons. Totally grateful for everyone helping out at my station.

The people were patient and cooperative as well, with not a Karen among them. The kids were kids, but they listened to safety instructions, and most did their best to follow the instructor. Some repeat customers even remembered the moves on their second and subsequent mini-sessions. No one protested the brevity of each session, and everyone seemed to understand that other people needed a turn too. I've done some other kinds of volunteer work that have caused me silent freak outs and panic attacks, but today's session was pleasant and even fun. 

Moon shot

We were discussing a quote attributed to Einstein: 'Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world' (at least that's how it appeared in the text we were analyzing).

Kid with lots of questions could not understand how knowledge could be limited, and what imagination had to do with it.

I surprised myself by improvising an analogy based on historical events.

Before 1968, we knew we couldn't go to the moon. If we continued relying on that limiting knowledge, even today human beings would still have not taken that important toe-dip into the frigid ether of outer space.

But before 1968, Jules Verne's imagination envisioned a system that could take the first human explorers to the moon: a directed explosion powerful enough for a manned projectile to break earth's gravity and complete the distance to the moon.

Verne thought of a cannon, but NASA decided that rockets would provide a more capable delivery and retrieval system for this purpose.

So imagination breaks past the limits of knowledge, pointing the way for new knowledge to be discovered and constructed, making the once impossible possible.

Einstein's quote is apt in that it makes little sense if we only approach it from what we know. It takes some imagination to unlock the metaphorical sense of encircling the world, which suggests that while knowledge is confined and confining, imagination respects no boundaries and repeatedly crosses the world's geo-political borders like they were nothing. Unlimited. The actual word Einstein used was 'embraces', which has the same meaning, but the impact is warmer.

Shut down, go home -- or "current affairs" in Singapore politics

 

Bonus! 2 YouTube videos featuring the current talk of the town. The popcorn buckets are out in full force as the nation observes slack-jawed as our once-incorruptible policy-makers on both sides of the House fall from grace. Let's call it 'looking for love in all the wrong places' (Johnny Lee).

The question of whom we can trust, if our leadership cannot set the example of propriety and adherence to a strong moral code that upholds the integrity of the family unit, now often comes up in local conversation. How will these scandals affect how in upcoming elections, voters evaluate the incumbents, and the party that we have given our collective Opposition trust to? But these questions are not my topic today. To me, it doesn't matter which party is being represented. The common factor in both cases is the human factor, nothing more.

If anything, these incidents are more of an indictment against the work culture we have here. Both illicit couples comprised pairs of people who worked closely together, probably spending long hours solving problems that really helped their constituents, and feeling elation at the completion of several jobs well done day after day. Many times, those days would have grown into nights, and this is true for most jobs here too, not just those of professional politicians. There's nothing more attractive than a strong, capable person, dedicated to their mission, who is obviously being thanked over and over again by grateful, otherwise helpless people. And if they go celebrating mutual successes together often enough, there's a trigger for biology to kick in.

The people we spend the most time with are the people we grow the strongest bonds with. So what is keeping us at the office, when the people we are meant to be closest to are at home? Perhaps we have a strong sense of mission, that the job always comes first. This idea could become an obsession when the job comes with an equally strong sense of accomplishment. You make people happy: you've saved their lives, their livelihoods, their children, their homes, their parents, their health, their sense of personal safety, whatever. It's these triumphs that keep us feeling like we're really making something of our lives, that keep us taking case after case, and we don't want to let anybody down. One last person in the queue? Let's not disappoint them. They need my help, and I've got nothing else to do. But you do. At home.

Work at home is a very different ball game. The tasks are menial and manual. They are recurring in that the same problem arises not long after you've dealt with it already. Nobody is grateful. They are jobs that simply need to be done. There are no awards, no recognition to be earned, and everyone just looks tired, sweaty and at their most unattractive when that last checkbox is finally ticked. Meantime, the children haven't stopped screaming. And sex is far from the mind, given that the risk of yet another banshee inadvertently popping out is still fairly high despite multiple layers of material or chemical prevention, like the last time.

Like it or not, we need to be with the ones we love at home if we want to avoid opportunities for scandals to evolve. It's not a failure of morals or values, but simply a matter of time, and whom we choose to spend it with. When I refer to 'work culture' I don't necessarily mean that our office requires our presence, but rather our sense of self-importance that keeps us there. The common mantra here is that we should never do tomorrow what we can do today. Our problem is that we do today what we could instead be doing tomorrow. No. When the clock reaches 5-5:30 p.m., shut down, go home. Superman/woman/person is needed there too.

First time with Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni

The new Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni is about to be unboxed. The maltipoo is asserting her dominance over the new addition to the family.

Accessories include twin sweeping brush heads sporting port and starboard colours, and two mop discs.

The robot will have its work cut out for it. Dog and cat fur everywhere, although these two aren't the worst culprits. Those will be the other two cats (not pictured). What we have here is the docking bay at which the cleaning unit will not only charge itself when inactive, but also collect clean water for its mopping function, and upload vacuumed dust, dirt, fur, etc. into a dust bag with capacity for 60 days, and dirty water gets uploaded into a separate reservoir.

The water reservoirs are shaped like jerry cans. Clean water goes into the right-hand reservoir, while the left hand one collects dirty water after mopping is done. Between them is the slot for housing the cleaning brush. Some manual maintenance is still required, after all.

A look at the cleaning unit which we have christened "Omnomnomni". Not only does it have eyes in front, but the coning tower houses another rotating camera for mapping. It sees all. Should I be scared?

At rest and charging. I can command it via an app, but it also responds to voice commands. For example, I can call it to my location to do some spot cleaning. I should read the rest of the manual for other voice-activated functions.

The first time I activated it was to map its boundaries, essentially defining for itself its scope of work. In the video (above) it's entered 'Housekeeping Mode', although I set it only to vacuum, not mop. It took just under three minutes to clean under the dining table while it navigated through this forest of chair legs. Next time, I'll stack the chairs to make the process less anxiety inducing. Elsewhere, it got hung up on a bathroom mat, so those need to be picked up off the floor too before it goes about its business. According to the app, it took just under an hour to clean about 45 sq m, which is the size of the cleaning area I allowed it.

Overall, it did a decent job getting fur, bits of shed cat claws, stray cat litter... and other assorted floor debris. Tomorrow, I'll try the vacuum/mop function and really see what it can do. I hope it'll be smart enough not to mop the carpet.

Chibimetal debut teased in METALVERSE#1 trailer?

We have dates for a new reveal of something mysterious happening in BABYMETAL lore. An alternate universe version of BABYMETAL? At the launch of BABYMETAL's 2023 World Tour, a new trio of youngsters introduced as 'Chibimetal' performed alongside our known METAL ladies in their 'live' performances of (as far as I have discovered) 'Karate' and 'Doki Doki Morning'.

Comprising SG alumna (of course!), Chibimetal shadowed their older counterparts perfectly, move for move, note for note. But the Chibis are thankfully not exact carbon copies of their mentors(?). Chibi attire features a similar cut, but a starkly different colour scheme; and there's a noticeable height inversion in that both supporting dance-vocalists are taller than the lead.

Which brings us to this trailer that dropped just hours ago. Apparently, Chibimetal's development is more advanced than I expected, if they're ready to reveal something major in just under two months. There's speculation that this new group could be a cover band for BABYMETAL's earlier songs, which SU, MOA, and MOMO may have outgrown. But I really hope that we'll be getting some fresh, new music coming from the newly 'discovered' METALVERSE invasion that would be worthy of introducing a new kawaii metal band to our universe.

What will actually be revealed at Spotify O-East (a 'live' concert venue in Shibuya, Tokyo) is anyone's guess at this moment. We wait with bated breath...!

Edit: I'm speculating, wishful thinking really, that since SG ceased operations in 2021, could the management have been taking these last two years to retrain and re-brand the former girl idol band in the direction that its most successful spinoff unit had taken? Could SG have gone completely metal with its different sub-units to create many different varieties of new metal variants, hence the apparent multi-dimensionality of the Metalverse? Metaru-Sakura Gakuin sounds absolutely nutty, but this think-tank has made weird things work before. One can only hope.

The End: a critical commentary

I've finally figured out what's rubbing me the wrong way with 'The End', Lil Uzi Vert's collab with BABYMETAL. First, the song attempts to recapture BABYMETAL's child-like quality of 10-13 years ago, which in itself isn't a bad thing. But given the part they got to play in this song, it's just a caricature or a stereotype, at best, of the band they once were that this song is summoning.

The chorus in which we hear the girls' voices (or is it just SU's?) is cute and catchy, which is what we remember, but the lyrics are so literal, they're not even close to the relative sophistication of 'Doki Doki Morning', or their Sakura Gakuin songs from even earlier. 'Lalala... sing a song... sing along... love is all you need... we love all music' are just prosaic lines that mean exactly that. There's nothing to interpret, nothing to exercise the brain, or excite the heart, other than the solid hard-core metal behind them.

What I am most disappointed with is that this song fails to take seriously BABYMETAL as they currently are, and what they can now do. Instead, the production process to me feels like the girls were given some sheet music and told to sing it into some recording device for processing later, and the girls were nice enough to oblige. Looking at their world tour schedule for this year, perhaps that was all the time they had, anyway.

In comparison, 'Kingslayer' (harsh language warning) sounds more like a true collab between Bring Me the Horizon and BABYMETAL with the integration of their different strengths: sounds, styles, lyricism, imagery. There's thought and discussion apparent, resulting in a seamless throughline and a deliberate sense of artistry that synergizes the two bands in this one song.

Having said that, I still wish Lil Uzi all the best success in Pink Tape, their fourth album. Finding a new direction is difficult. I applaud the inspiration and courage behind the song, and appreciate its positive spirit. BABYMETAL started the same way.

The End... or the beginning?

A sudden, unexpected drop of new music from BABYMETAL just a few hours ago today. The girls feature in 'The End' by Lil Uzi Vert, a rap/hip hop artist of whom I am unfamiliar. The clip above is not a video, so it's hard to tell if all 3 METALS are involved in providing the chorus to this track.

This track sounds highly experimental in the attempt to merge hip hop with metal. The greater commitment is towards metal with a variety of electronic sound effects thrown into the mix. To me it sounds like a kid in a candy store making the noise of a bull in a China shop as he grabs everything he can carry because he can afford it all. Very enthusiastic.

BABYMETAL, themselves, sound completely manic, making me wonder if their vocals have been sped up. Their lyrics are sharp and clear, regardless, their voices cutting through the metal as always. The melody is cutesy, but the tempo makes me feel like I've had way too much coffee than is good for me. 'The End' ends with a music box, a sudden and jarring break from the metal, probably as an acknowledgement to the 'babies', which I thought felt more patronizing than appreciative.

It's nice of BABYMETAL to help a brother out ('brother' in reference to the generic expression, rather than to a specific gender) in exploring a fresh direction for his (their?) music. We are seeing some baby steps in Lil Uzi Vert's first attempts at distinguishing himself (themselves?) from within a highly competitive market, and we wish him (them?) all success in this bold new endeavor. Apologies for the parentheses. Lil Uzi self-refers in the plural but, linguistically, it's hell to wrap my pre-evolved boomer brain around.

Since this is my raw, initial reaction, let's just say that 'The End' (feat. BABYMETAL) will take some patience and several re-listens before I decide if I would put it in my playlist.

IDZ brings the evening to a close

(This post concludes my reaction to BABYMETAL's performance during their World Tour 2023 at Zepp, KL, 4 June 2023. If you start here and scroll downwards, the sequence will be in reverse order. If you prefer the sequence to be chronological, first scroll about 13 entries down to my 'Megitsune' review, then work your way back up.)

BABYMETAL gifts us with one final number to finish a 14 item set. The performance in the featured video (above) is the capstone to the showcase that riveted the band's place in metal canon. Sonisphere, UK, 2014, a major rock music festival, marks a glorious piece of historic lore in which an unknown band comprising a trio of uncomfortably kawaii underage frontwomen singing pop in a foreign language accompanied by a face-melting metal band got unexpectedly bumped up from the fringe event, and on to the main stage in front of 60,000 presumed hardcore metalheads. After immediately becoming the talk of the town, the band gained a beachhead from which to conquer the world.

Was their success really that unexpected? Well, even at this young age (14-16 years), the girls are already entertainment veterans, having performed in front of large numbers of paying audience for at least 4 years, if not more. The Kami band behind them is jaw-droppingly metal. Their performance package is tried and tested: the choreography is well-rehearsed, polished and perfectly coordinated; the trio's vocals are strongly melodic, and delivered with powerful conviction; their stage presence captivating. By this time, they've already picked up a global following through their MV releases on YouTube, 'Gimme Choco' being their most viewed. And judging from the display of a white neckbrace and a BABYMETAL flag from the audience (7:22) they probably have more friends in the crowd than they gave themselves credit for.

This song, 'Ijime, Dame, Zettai' (bullying, [to] stop, forever), represents a core value the band has embodied since its beginnings. Its use of metal to carry songs of positivity, encouragement, and cheer was a radical departure from what metal was 'supposed to be about' back then. Experimentation, innovation and adaptation still keeps this band fresh and relevant, even forward-looking, today.

Back in KL, the performance is over. SU calls, 'we are...?' To which we respond, 'BABYMETAL!!!' Then instead of the usual chorus of 'see you', she goes, 'berjumpa lagi', which is still literally 'see you again' but in Berhasa. It's a tiny, but heartwarming gesture to recognize the country that has welcomed them, on this effervescent and thoroughly memorable night of my mid-fifties.

Divinely attacked in the nicest possible way

It's been a few minutes since 'Road of Resistance'. The band has left the stage and we're left in darkness and silence. I'm not familiar with 'live' concert protocol, so I'm running some possibilities in my head. Was it supposed to be a 12 song set, and now they're setting up for an encore? Or could there have been a technical issue, but will be resolved quickly enough so there's no point announcing it? Or could the band need a little break to revive before finishing strong? Or did someone get hurt and they're assessing the damage?

Anyway, the band re-enters to perform 'Divine Attack', so I guess problem solved. The pace of this song feels like we're in a cooldown phase, given the choreo has slowed down. Although there's a definite metal foundation, the song is less frenetic, opening up some space to bring the focus back to SU's belting vocals.

According to these translated lyrics, the song inspires us to fight on against whatever holds us back or down, even though our backs are against the wall, as we push together towards the open road. That's great! But the English lyrics I hear in the chorus are

The time has come, stand up...

Time to go your way...

Yes, m'am, I take the hint. It was a really lovely evening, and you've been a very entertaining host. Thanks for having me over at your party! It was absolutely something to write home about!

Piece de resistance

'Road of Resistance' is the song I've been most anticipating and dreading at the same time. Placed 12th on the KL setlist, this song packs such an inspirational quality. From the instrumentals, to the vocals, to the choreo, to the set, the lighting, the pyrotechnics, to the audience participation, these 8 plus minutes takes theatricality to another level! First of all, I doubt any theatre company has ever played to a 'live' audience of 20000 in one sitting. Second, the entire crowd is completely in sync with the performance, and right on cue with their parts in the the singing and movement. What it must have been like to be in the crowd during this production!

It begins with a riff that will stick in the head for a while. The girls are absolutely still, faces serious, two adjectives we would hardly use to describe this band. Each bearing a flag across their shoulders, they march with great resolve to centrestage and halt. Without saying a word, SU authoritatively parts the crowd with a simple but firm gesture, creating a giant mosh pit. What an epic build up of anticipation as we count the seconds to the imminent wall of death.

1234! and all heck breaks loose. The girls mount their steeds and charge full tilt across the landscape, kicking off yet another electrifyingly energetic piece of choreography. At this point we can pick out a subtle difference between YUI and MOA's approaches. YUI is fully immersed in her performance. At 1:56 YUI's expression looks like she's really giving her heart away and she keeps this attitude throughout. At 2:15 MOA is having the time of her life doing what she most loves to do: sing, dance, entertain her audience. It's nice to see that despite their different personalities, they still sync so well together.

One thing that sticks out for me is how freely they use the word, "forever". To sing of forever at this young age shows a lot of youthful idealism and naivete. It makes me sad because YUI will eventually leave the band, and one of the guitarists will lose his life in an accident within the next few years. After these events, the band is no longer so casual with their use of "forever".

Anyway, just before they get to the audience participation bit, there's an instrumental bridge. The guitar and drums set a blistering pace, then impossibly accelerate even further before dropping back down. But the crowd has already been so excited that they gladly fill in the void when SU invites them to sing the "woah-oh-oh-oh" response, and we get this 20000-strong choir valiantly struggling to keep up with SU's higher notes. She lets them go acapella for a few bars before graciously taking back control and ending the song with a literal bang!

And the moment I've been dreading arrives. With a chorus of "see you" the show comes to a close. At least, it does in the video. Not in KL. Here, without a word, the girls exit stage right, and we're left in darkness and silence. We're not sure what's happening, but since there was no "thank you" or "see you" signal of dismissal, perhaps we're not done yet...?

Gimme BABYMETAL

I've responded once already to 'Gimme Chocolate', the song and video that launched BABYMETAL onto the world stage. So instead of featuring the official MV again, here's another fancam shot on location at Zepp, KL on their 2023 world tour.

'Gimme Chocolate' was indeed my very first encounter with the band. It was years ago, but in all places, a shopping mall in Bangkok, while I was on vacation. A song with a beat much heavier than all the other songs playing on the PA system made me perk up and pay attention. Then children's voices piped up -- in Japanese, and I was in Thailand -- and they kept repeating one English word that I could recognize: 'chocolet-to'. I remember thinking it could have been some weird commercial for chocolate, but the music went on longer than any commercial should have. Intrigued, I was determined to research this band and find out more about this weirdness once I got back home. But the Internet being what it was back then, and me possessing the attention span of a goldfish, I completely forgot about it.

The second time I encountered BABYMETAL was when they took their first tour to the USA, and they appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to publicize their new album. That's when my memory clicked back, and I could now connect this distant memory of a song with its performers. So I looked them up on YouTube, curious to find out what they were like back in Japan. I saw the Gimme Choco video, and I dimly remember watching 'Headbanger' as well. My brain instantly shut down due to sensory overload. Also, the girls were too young to be making this kind of music. It felt so wrong. Somebody behind the scenes had to be exploiting these poor kids for profit, and I really didn't want to give them any more of my attention.

I guess it was the third time, encountering them on The First Take that I realized how talented SU and MOA were. If it had been just a quick cash grab like I thought back then, they wouldn't have continued making music this long, and they wouldn't have evolved their music to grow up along with them. And so began my delving into the Foxhole, perhaps hoping that their art could help inspire something of my own.

Spicy Asian fruit salad

The papaya is just a humble, common Asian fruit. To most of us, it's a sweet dessert fruit, cut to bite-sized portions and served chilled. But in Thailand, the pre-ripened fruit is mercilessly shredded and served with cut chillies as a sour-sweet, spicy appetizer that explodes in the mouth with an overwhelming mix of flavours. That's how it is with 'Pa Pa Ya!!', where even the song title is shredded!!

The dance beat hits right from the get-go. Everyone is jumping and amplifying the rhythmic pa pa ya vocalizations provided by guest collaborator, F. Hero, a Thai rapper of some renown. The verse comes in, catchy as heck. The pre-chorus builds anticipation, then whack! The chorus smashes in with even more energy, and we all go nuts. Very simple lyrics and a predictable composition makes it easy for the crowd to know when to respond with a "hey!" a "yo!" a "pa pa... ya!" and a towel (or official merch bandana) twirl.

Just when things get too predictable, F Hero shows up, spittin' a hard hitting rap in Thai-English, though on their world tour concerts it's a recording. His harsh, staccato flow contrasts against SU's melodic lines. Each brings their own distinctive flavour to the table, but both complement each other so well in this one delectable, exciting, and fun dish of a song.

The choreography borrows from traditional Thai dance, though not as heavily as it does from traditional Indian dance in 'Shanti Shanti Shanti'. There's a more contemporary feel to these movements as the traditional ones are blended in with F. Hero's Molam sub-culture.

BABYMETAL's positive vibe continues through this song, but they politely let F. Hero deliver the main lines:

Knock, knock, knock, struggling

Pound our lives with some happiness and sadness

Papaya needs to be pound[ed] hard

So it can be yummy, crispy and delicious

Translated lyrics from here.

I appreciate SU making the effort to roll her 'R's every time she sings "brrring it on, brrring it" in the pre-chorus. The 'R' sound is absent in most long-established Asian languages, so it has to be learned and practiced consciously to be pronounced. Props to her for striving to respect the languages she uses to engage her internationally diverse audience.

It's hard to believe we're all jumping, sweating, and yelling ourselves hoarse in a cardio workout of roughly 4 minutes to a song about fruit salad. Thanks, ladies!

The fourth member of the band

Although there is an official MV for 'Distortion', the ninth song in the KL setlist, I've chosen to feature footage from another fancam on site. Again, I hope they don't mind.

What we see is a view from the audience's perspective of what it's like being in the crowd at a BABYMETAL concert. This song, in particular, seems to invite the audience to join in with simple repetitive English phrases, and a catchy 'Wo-o-o-o-o-o-oh!', while we respectfully leave the Japanese words to SU.

It doesn't matter how badly we mangle our parts in the song, we're all creating this shared experience together, and it's part of the fun. It's especially awesome that these performers encourage the crowd to sing along, yet they still deliver a bangin' show without getting distracted or thrown off by our awful accompaniment.

It's this feeling like they treat us collectively as the fourth member of the band that makes their 'live' performances so special. It's possibly the reason that despite my miscreant tendencies, I had to buy a ticket to the show without hesitation. I wasn't going to be there just to coldly audit the show, I was going to be a part of it.

This monochrome firework

I started this BABYMETAL journey with 'Monochrome' on The First Take. I'm just a whatever's-on-the-radio's-fine-with-me mainstream guy, so I have no alignment to any musical preferences at all. While I did listen to Linkin Park (which is sort of metal) for a while back in the day, I was no fan of the genre as a whole. But when I stumbled on BABYMETAL performing on piano, I was intrigued. What would a metal song sound like without the metal? The performance SU and MOA presented was beautifully melodic, passionately, and sincerely delivered with love and tenderness -- so uncharacteristic of my stereotypical conception of metal that I got drawn in right away. If this is what metal can be, I want more!

Immediately, I searched for and found the official lyric video. Certainly, the instrumentation was heavy, as I'd expected, but the guitar produced yet another beautiful melody of its own, leading in to SU's main vocals and MOA's supporting vocals that hit like hammer on anvil, respectively, with the drummer putting out rhythms at a speed I'd never heard before. I didn't see any choreography since it was a lyric video, but when I discovered more of their music, the dance was yet another layer on a package that was both thoughtfully composed, and movingly heartfelt. And I'm a sucker for theatrical performances with high production values. And poetic lyrics that make you think. This band ticks all the right boxes for me, so I'll be stuck in this foxhole for quite a while yet.

Anyway, the featured video (above) is not the official lyric one, but a fan edit that was clearly painstakingly put together to integrate the official video with the band's 'live' performance, as I would have experienced in KL, although the size of the audience would have been a tiny fraction of what we see here. The girls here are dressed in their pre-world tour 2023 outfits, but if you go back to look at their current concert attire (which I saw them wear for the first time on The First Take singing 'The One -- Unfinished ver.'), they're still wearing all-black, but with plastic chromatic frills that reflect light in a spectrum of multi-colours. It's a clever way to brighten up an otherwise drab monochrome dress with a costume feature that creates dynamic rainbow colours with every movement. I believe this song is the very inspiration behind this unique design choice.

'Monochrome' appears on the KL tour setlist right in the middle of the repertoire, making it the feature song of the concert. For the special connection I have with this song, oddly enough in its non-metal form, it's definitely this fanboy's favourite.

BxMxC (the x's are silent)

We're now smack in the middle of the KL setlist, arguably where the most fun songs in the repertoire are. The energy skyrockets with fan-favourite 'BxMxC', a metal hip-hop rap battle. Pardon me if I leave my brain out of this one, and just jump with the beat, shouting along to the 'B! M! C!' chant, since there's no way I can match SU's spittin', even if I knew Japanese.

I imagine a scenario in which SU is having a heated debate with her Other, but she is monopolizing all the airtime, while the Other can't get a word in edgeways. Her upward inflections at the end of every line in the pre-chorus suggests that she ain't done talking yet, so just shut up and listen, yo! The choreo is aggressive, featuring lots of restrained kicks and sweeping punches. It's clear they've conquered and assimilated hip-hop, with SU throwin' down some acapella bars in the final verse for good measure.

The video I chose to feature above is their performance for TV broadcast on NHK. I feel that the official MV contains an unnecessary storytelling element, and that their 'live' shows are much better at showcasing their newer music. This video also features a short interview with SU and MOA, so I thought I'd let the ladies speak a bit, and introduce themselves for a change.

The psychological truth of 'Mirror Mirror'

We're now comfortably in the middle section of the KL set. Starting with 'Believing', the songs now come from their latest album, 'The Other One', which dropped in March this year. These new songs show a much more mature side to the band. Gone is the child-like playfulness of their earlier music and choreography. What remains is the commitment to hard-driving metal which is core to their identity, while the vocal line remains beautifully lyrical and melodic. The tunefulness of the vocals is catchy and tempting to sing, or at least hum along to, like as if we could keep up with SU-METAL.

'Mirror Mirror' is a weird combination of familiar references from Disney's version of 'Snow White' and Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. SU's line references the wicked queen as she indulges her vanity while looking into the mirror. MOA replies with the chant of the 'weird sisters' before they show Macbeth the illusory vision of his ascension to royalty, motivating his descent into serial murder just to maintain a brief, heirless, and ultimately pointless rule.

The point is that the mirror lies to us. Need I say that the mirror could also be social media that we allow to dictate our identity? Focused on our mirror image, we are stuck where we are, this illusory superlative sense of self, being either the 'fairest', or the 'worst'. Instead, stop focusing on yourself, and turn your back to the mirror. Then you'll see life, and navigate through life as it really is. Wow. That piece of wisdom alone has saved me 10 to 20 years' of therapy down the road!

Going back to the choreography, it's clear that the band is much more confident that their music does indeed transcend borders, regardless of language barriers. They are no longer bound to literal storytelling in their movements. They are not above doing it when performing their older songs, but it's not who they are any more. Their choreo has evolved to be more aesthetically appealing, hence the synchronicity and overall symmetry of movement, generally suggesting the constantly shifting patterns of a kaleidoscope, with every nuance of gesture deliberate and rehearsed to perfection.

Letting the music tell its own story, the dance has become an additional instrument in the band, providing notes and rhythms for the eye, enhancing what the ear already hears. The dance now contributes to the music instead of trying to talk over it, like it used to. While many of us miss the controlled chain explosions of tiny chaos that early BABYMETAL used to be about, they have allowed for the progression of maturity, and instead of fighting change, the band has evolved with natural grace. Taking their own advice, this band isn't stuck looking at itself in the mirror.

Seeking reassurance in 'Believing'

Doesn't seem to be an official video for 'Believing', so I've linked fancam footage (hope they don't mind) of the performance I was at in KL. I'm standing slightly left and back of where this cam is, FYI.

The evening started strong, and now, we're pacing. 'Believing' is a lyrical number with complex rhythms that give SU's vocals a chance to stretch and soar, while MOA and MOMO provide supporting harmonies which we can now hear and appreciate. This one is for the ears to savour, so the lighting and colours on the Jumbotron/cyclorama are more muted, while the choreography has slowed down a notch. Focus. Listen.

The verses are electronically enhanced, though I'm not sure 'enhanced' is the right vocab. Rather, SU's voice is suppressed with an echo-y, reverb-y effect. The individual words are delivered more mechanically than normal speech. Perhaps the verses represent internal monologues, the subject being 'I', who does not want to be 'confused' and 'afraid anymore'. The chorus restores SU's natural voice as she is now consciously engaging her Other, the one who, like the seasons has changed and is 'not the same' anymore. And as such, 'we are not the same' either. So when she says, 'believing you', she is seeking some reassurance of stability and consistency despite these changes.

Perhaps this song is meant to reassure us that despite the changes the band has undergone in terms of composition, style, aesthetic, and obviously age, they're still the same BABYMETAL that we remember from 13 years ago.

The lyrics of this song are entirely in English, so I hope nothing's been lost in translation.

In the meantime, is SU actually singing 'live'? I am pretty reassured that she is. At the end of this rendition, the mic picks up an uncharacteristic vibrato in SU's usually clean, spot-on vocals. It's this tiny imperfection that proves that what we are getting is the real deal.

Mesmerizing masterpiece

Iine was fan service, reassuring us that the band they used to be over 10 years ago is still more or less the band performing for us today, although MOMO has since officially replaced* YUI. The remaining songs in this KL set list feature their more grown up aesthetic, starting with 'Shanti Shanti Shanti' in which BABYMETAL goes Bollywood.

Right from the beginning, the melody and rhythm are identifiable as classical Indian. SU's vocals kick in, singing of love (or the feeling of being in love?) from the perspective of concepts from Hindu philosophy, according to these translated lyrics. The way SU vocalizes certain inflections without breaking into an accent suggests she's had some training in this type of traditional singing as well.

The dance is also inspired from classical Indian dance, and perhaps more than inspired, they have probably received some very professional training in executing the movements just right. Just look at the fine detail, like finger placement to make specific hand shapes, and the intricate footwork. It takes a lot of study and practice to get that confident and precise. Still, I've watched clips of these girls at dance practice, and they learn incredibly fast, like music is hard-coded in their DNA.

This performance isn't just a tip of the hat to Indian culture. It shows a deep appreciation for a culture they took effort to understand, and repay with a tribute of a respectful, beautiful piece of art done in their own unique style. And a mesmerizing masterpiece it is too.

*Disclaimer: That's not MOMO in the video, though. YUI had a rotation of replacements before one was finally made permanent.

Iine -- how many songs can we squeeze into one?

Iine was the third song on the KL playlist. It is both a throwback to the band's earliest days, and also to immediately bring the party to us as soon as the intros are out of the way. It's not canon, but I like to think this dance club is where the girls emerged out of the pit in 'Doki Doki Morning', explaining their difficulty waking up for school. They are, after all wearing the same clothes from the rave the night before.

Early BABYMETAL -- free from constraints of expectation -- experimented like crazy with a variety of sound mixes, styles, and instrumentation. Crude, compared to the band's current genre-blending sophistication, Iine mixes specific genres sequentially, beginning with a manic electronica rave, transitioning to 80's hip hop, then reminding us that death metal is still at the core of its music, and back to the rave party we started with. It's like listening to several different songs one after another, though it's really just one song. That's one way to get value for money, I guess.

More importantly, this performance shows how versatile the girls and the band are in owning each genre in terms of vocal quality, body language, and choreography (behind the scenes too, with camera work, and lighting) like they actually belong. Already we see full and total commitment to their craft even in these early stages. I can only imagine how much work they had put in to develop this level of confidence and stage presence at this young age.

And can I say that, normally, kids irritate the heck out of me? Playing and pretending are what they do, and they do it so badly! I'm like ewww... get them away from me! Not these kids. They aren't playing. They are absolutely respectable artists in their field and this, to me, is what makes them truly adorable. This is also why I don't and never will have kids of my own. My standards are too high.

Megitsune: BABYMETAL is Borg

For want of anything better to write about, I'll be running through the BABYMETAL setlist as performed 'live' @ZEPP KL, 4 June 2023. I already reviewed the opening number, 'Death' in an earlier post, so I'll skip it and go into 'Megitsune', which is an apt follow up.

Where 'Death' is a statement of identity for the band, and its members, 'Megitsune' details its purpose, like its corporate statement.

The song pays homage to the trickster fox of Japanese mythology, whose totem the band has adopted. Behind the fox mask, nothing is as it appears. The mask is the stage on which the girls and the band perform in front of their audience. The band dresses as spooks, possibly ancestral spirits, and as the Kami band, they are almost gods of their craft -- although in this MV, the band is very enthusiastically played by actors wielding traditional Japanese musical instruments which obviously could not make the metal backing music we are hearing. The presence of spirits in this Japanese house(?) brings a spooky vibe, but YUI and MOA are clearly having so much fun in this haunted house, like it's Halloween. Meanwhile, SU, who is older, is pensively preparing for her transition into womanhood, which is yet another mask protecting her private self from her public facade. Even the microphone SU holds is a mask hiding another surprise.

So what exactly are we looking at in this MV? Well, it's a metal band wearing an idol-pop face. Or is it the other way around? The integration is so tight, we can't tell. It's metal, but the band will assimilate any genre it can wrap its musicality around. Here, it's incorporated 'Sakura', a popular Japanese folk song, and metallized it with repurposed lyrics. The band will go on to assimilate music from many other cultures worldwide in their later tracks, giving the band constantly fresh material, and an unpredictable repertoire of things that should not go together, but somehow they do, and you'll love it! BABYMETAL is Borg at their most delightful. Resistance is futile!

BABYMETAL is itself an impenetrable mask as the girls are only seen in public in their METAL (and their earlier SG) personas. Their private lives are intensely private, which is as it should be.

Jumping with them at the concert, yelling sore together with the crowd was something I never thought I'd enjoy up to a couple of months ago, but

Check-it-out BABYMETAL. I can have a bit of BABYMETAL, can’t I?

But my dignity worries me a bit these days

However, BABYMETAL. I can have a bit of BABYMETAL, can’t I?

Such guilty pleasure. 

Hearing protection

Going to a metal concert at my age means taking safety precautions. If I'm voluntarily getting myself blasted with heavy duty sonic waves, I'm going to be protecting my ears. I found this set of Alpine earplugs online, quite reasonably priced, and shipped over within 8-10 days via Lazada.

The plugs themselves are very soft, light silicone. They sit comfortably in the ears like there's nothing there. The magic is in the three sets of filters graded bronze, silver and gold, in increasing order of decibel reduction. The gold filters can be seen inserted into the earplugs, which I opted for, while the remaining two sets can be seen as the pairs of tiny white and silver coloured circles nested within the carry case.

The entire set comes with an extra earplug, a lanyard (stuffed in the mesh pocket), and a vial of cleaning fluid for after.

How did it sound? The music from the performance was perfectly clear, even with the most conservative filters in place, but probably because I was standing right in front where the speakers were. Perhaps further back in the stands a lower grade filter would have sufficed. Oddly, it was the crowd that sounded muffled, and when we engaged in audience participation, it sounded like I was the loudest voice in the venue. 

Awesome concert, no ringing in the ears afterwards. A highly satisfactory purchase.