Jenny-fa

School ended yesterday for holiday break, and not a day too soon.

What else…

Oh yes, I’m completely crazy about the Japanese rock group, Do As Infinity (now disbanded). Back in middle school (during my Inuyasha fandom days), I had already been introduced to the songs “Fukai Mori,” “Shinjitsu no Uta,” and “Rakuen,” but I still wasn’t very familiar with them. However, all of that changed when I recently acquired their first two albums, Break of Dawn and New World. And let me tell you… what a band!

Firstly, to briefly go over some history, Do As Infinity was masterminded by the famous Japanese composer, Dai Nagao. He auditioned and recruited the other two members, Tomiko Van and Ryo Owatari. Van was the main female vocalist and lyricist, and Owatari was the main guitarist (and also backup vocalist). Nagao was also a guitarist and, of course, the composer. In the past, Nagao had spent his early career composing songs for the likes of Japanese pop icons Ayumi Hamasaki and Hitomi Shimatani.

Do As Infinity’s debut album, Break of Dawn, combined some elements of pop with rock, and each piece was perfectly structured and refreshingly original. Some of the stand-outs, like “Oasis,” “Raven,” and “Yesterday & Today” were not only memorable but also exceedingly beautiful. New World, on the other hand, contained more rock-ish pieces, but lost none of the band’s characteristic flair. Of that album, “new world (Album Mix),” “Desire,” and “rumble fish” were my favorites. New World even finished with an all-English song titled “SUMMER DAYS.”

Ahhh…

Oh, and by the way, I heard the new, final Harry Potter book will be titled, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”