[monoral for beginners]
"Now I'm back, starting to prepare for our Latin America tour. I'm sure Anis is getting ready too (although, last time I saw him, he was limping towards Roppongi smelling like Tequila). "
--Ali of Monoral*
So there's this band. What band, you might say? Well, they're a Japanese band, for one. For two, they're probably the coolest guys on the planet and--this may shock you--they have talent.
...Well. They have talent when they drink. But that still counts.
"But, perfect_gold ! I don't know moonspeak! How am I able to enjoy the music if I can't understand their strange tongues and devil music?" Have no fear! Anis writes his lyrics in English and he writes durn good. Seriously.
Monoral is comprimised of Anis the vocalist, the half-Japanese half-Moroccan vocalist, and Ali the bassist, half-Japanese and half-American wonder boy. Both are powered by copious amounts of alcohol and extreme amounts of funny. As a side note, a little someone by the name of J from Luna Sea manages them. Think of it as if Monoral were like two of Charie's Angels and J is like Bosley. Only not looking like Bernie Mac, because that would be...
Well, would you perfer this or this? Yeah, that's what I thought.
But enough of that--where were we? Oh yes. Monoral.
That's better. Much better. Their music style? Well, Anis has a surprisingly deep voice for someone who used to look like a girl--and I mean that as a compliment. If you like Pearl Jam you'll like Anis' voice. If you don't like Pearl Jam, well, fuck you and listen to Monoral anyway.
Click to view
Yeah, I love this song. The video's kind of cool, too. So, you with me? You liking it so far? Yeah? Let's recap:
- Monoral are a Japanese band that aren't fully Japanese and don't write Japanese lyrics.
- Ali plays bass and Anis sings like Eddie Vedder only.. you know, good.
- J of Luna Sea fame manages them and probably whores them out for crack does a very good job.
- Both (okay, everyone including J) are powered by alcohol and crystal meth
- Anis is probably gay has/had pretty hair
Let's focus on each individual band member. Let's start with Anis, shall we?
Anis mentions alcohol. A lot. In almost every interview. It would be worrying, if, you know, he wasn't made out of win and awesome.
If anyone knows what the FUCK that thing he's holding is, please tell me. It's been bothering me since I first saw it like five minutes ago.
Anis was/is a professional model and can speak for languages. English, French, Arabic and Japanese. I've only ever heard him speak Japanese and English, but fuckdamn is he fluent in both of them. It makes the nerd in me seeth with jealous rage. He also has a hot, steamy relationship with his microphone.
Seriously. Not even ONCE does he let go of his microphone stand. He also has a habit of looking like an abused puppy.
Do you really want to hurt him?
Do you really want to make him cry?
I'd like to point out that even with short hair he's adorable. Note the silver bracelets. Very manly, Anis. Very manly. Also note Ali creeping up like a derranged paedophile.
Speaking of Ali:
The man is so much fun, simply because he's funny. Seriously, sense of humour is probably the best way to win my heart and Ali wins it in incredible amounts.
He lures you into a false sense of security. You think, 'hey, that guy is cool and suave. He is a very respectable musician.' and then BAM:
Yeah, I don't even know anymore. Again, note the beer.
In all honesty, Anis (via Hyde--yeah, I'm one of THOSE) made me get into Monoral, but Ali.. Ali just lulz it up on such a regular basis it's hard not to love him and his obsession with food.
No, seriously. He mentions food. A lot. Such as this (it's a very short clip, under two minutes):
See? I'd also like to note how FUCKING AMAZING they are at English. No traces of an accent--well, barely a hint of one with Anis, anyway. No i'm not jealous shut up
Moving right along--
Nope. Again with the fucking alcohol and food. DAMMIT ALI.
My point is, they can be very, very serious artists when they need to be.
Okay, maybe not.
Though Monoral are a treasure trove of hilarity.
And drama.
You know I honestly can't even rationalize this picture.
So there you have it: not so much 'Monoral for beginners' so much as 'let's fangirl endlessly and spam my flist with a band they might enjoy. Give them a shot, though: they're hip, they're chique, they're most likely drunk out of their minds right now very savvy. It will give you indies credit. Seriously. And to jrock fans on my flist:
IT'S OKAY IF THEY'RE NOT FULLY ASIAN AND DON'T CROSSDRESS. REALLY. THEY WON'T BITE. TRY THEM.
Thank you. I'll leave you with one last parting gift: my lj's namesake song, Perfect Gold, uploaded for your listening pleasure.
EDIT: WRONG J GUYS. I'm going to Monoral/Luna Sea hell or something. I feel like a douchefart but I'm leaving my loltastic mistake up anyway because I can't edit that section for some reason because i have a good sense of humour.
*no I am not making this up he actually wrote it here.