In the News 2007-10

2007-10-31

Oricon daily chart

LAS VEGAS is the second-best selling album today.

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/

Yahoo! Music Magazine

Chihiro talks about how she was and what she did when she was 18.

http://magazine.music.yahoo.co.jp/rep/20071031_001/

LAS VEGAS on iTunes Store Japan

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=266675494&s=143462 (2,000 yen)

TSUTAYA VA review

http://www.tsutaya.co.jp/VA/interview/200711/10/01.html

2007-10-30

"For All the Lights and Shadows"

Finally the long-awaited new album will be released tomorrow. I've already bought one since larger stores in large cities usually start selling CDs even before their official release dates. And this is simply amazing!

Excite interview

She says she used to write songs as if to expose everything about herself, but now she can write music while watching herself.

27th birthday

Congratulations on your 27th birthday, Chihiro!

2007-10-29

Excite Music

Excite Music's feature pages at http://ent2.excite.co.jp/music/interview/2007/onitsuka/:

Top
Interview
Chihiro's in-season ranking (1. Baby kiwi, 2. Vivienne Westwood's boots, 3. Dramatized comic Yukan Kurabu
Present (Polaroid photos)
Interview digest (video)
Video message

2007-10-26

All Night Nippon radio program

Chihiro will give some advice on life in response to listeners' requests in Nippon Broadcasting System's "All Night Nippon" radio program.

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

LAS VEGAS commemorative present

The e-mail news subscribers will have a chance to get a present. Details will be announced shortly in upcoming e-mail news.

Source: Onitsuka Chihiro Mail News 2007.10.26.

2007-10-25

Nagoya ZIP-FM radio program

Chihiro is going to give some advice on how to sing karaoke better in "FRIDAY SHINY WAVE MUSIC LESSON."

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

2007-10-24

Tokyo FM radio program

Chihiro will talk about LAS VEGAS in the "discord" radio program.

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

2007-10-20

ROCKIN'ON JAPAN interview

The November issue of ROCKIN'ON JAPAN. A three-page interview with four full-page photos:

"Sweet Rosemary" was written in this year.
"bad trip" was written more or less at the same time.
"Ro no Tsubasa" sings about the emotional high of being in love.
According to Chihiro, the title "amphibious" in fact means "androgyny." Again, she does not know exactly why she chose this title.
"A Horse and A Queen" was written when she was 22 or 23 (or even 21).
"Rainman" is what she always wanted to write. This is the origin of her music.
"Angelina" was written when she was around 20. Her then producer [Tsuchiya-san?] strongly advised her to change the chorus part, but she didn't. Now she thinks she made a good decision not to follow his advice.
"BRIGHTEN US" was written when she wanted to make a song like a hymn.

2007-10-19

Barfout! interview

The November issue of Barfout! monthly magazine carries an interview with Chihiro, along with a trialogue with Barfout! and Yasuyuki Okamura (a rock musician) and another interview with Masanobu Kondo (the director who is also known as the producer of Yellow Magic Orchestra).

Interview with Chihiro:

The production of LAS VEGAS started last year. Many of the songs were written during the year before last. Since her own standards of good songs were elevated, she once experienced a slump.
"Angelina" was named after Angelina Jolie.
During the long disappearance, Chihiro stayed at home most of the time, reading comics and listening to Tori Amos and Arashi. [Probably she is referring to the Japanese idol group.]
About three years ago, she attempted to kill herself by abusing a drug in a desperate mood. On the next day, however, she got up suddenly and lightly, saying, "It didn't work after all!" (Laughs). She is all right now.
She wants to do live concerts next year. She is asking [the company] to let her make a Europe tour.
She had a hard time recording the songs because she had lost weight. She once weighed only 36 kg. She thinks LAS VEGAS got a 70 percent mark.
She regards "everyhome" as one of her most important works that can stand the test of time.
Recently she changed her mind about writing lyrics.
She prefers singing to writing songs. Prone to stage fright, she does not like live performance very much, although she was on a "super high" at the Budokan concert.

Interview with Mr. Kondo:

His plan was that after finishing "Sodatsu Zasso," Chihiro would appear in the event, followed by various media exposures. But Chihiro hid herself after the event. He was baffled.
Some artists convert the stress of being exposed to people's gazes into their own energy, but others simply get worn out. Obviously Chihiro belongs to the latter group. She made a big success at her debut and lost something after that. She says she cures herself by writing songs, and she needed the time.

2007-10-18

SPACE SHOWER HOT 50 program

Chihiro is going to appear on Space Shower TV's SPACE SHOWER HOT 50 Chart Cobain live program.

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

2007-10-14

CD Data interview

An interview by CD Data monthly magazine published by Kadokawa Magazines:

During the production of LAS VEGAS, Chihiro left almost everything up to Kobatake-san, including the sounds, arrangements and the order of tracks. The title of the fifth album that will follow LAS VEGAS has already been thought up. She hopes she will be able to release the fifth album in the year after next.

Chihiro's liner notes:

Sweet Rosemary: She is glad to find this song at the opening of this album.
bad trip: The piano and cello tones match the worldview that is expressed in this song.
Ro no Tsubasa: She wrote this song recently, with the story of Icarus in mind.
Bokura—Bara-iro no Hibi: This was the first song that she handed over to Kobatake-san. It "came out" quite naturally.
amphibious: This is the song whose arrangement amazed her the most. It was a risky attempt use this adaptation.
MAGICAL WORLD: She doesn't remember what made her write this number. It's about human warmth.
A Horse and A Queen: This song was finished around the time of This Armor. Again, she doesn't remember what made her make it.
Rainman: If this tune sounds like a Carpenters, it's because she is fond of Carpenters.
Angelina: The oldest song in this album. She had already written the first half of it earlier, and she added the second half this time.
BRIGHTEN US: She wrote this song about one year ago. She sings it a cappella.
everyhome: She wrote it in three days while watching the film Forrest Gump with the sound turned off.

2007-10-11

Media exposure list (magazines)

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

2007-10-09

Official blog widget

Now you can add a blog widget to your site. Include one of the source codes shown at http://www.universal-music.co.jp/blogparts/code_onitsuka.html.

http://www.onitsuka-chihiro.jp/information/

Click here to view widgets.

2007-10-06

Ongaku to Hito interview

The current issue of the Ongaku to Hito (Music and Human Beings) monthly magazine published by Usen Corporation has a two-page interview with Chihiro along with six photo pages. Just as usual, she keeps her laconic talking style here:

She wants to live a life like riding on a roller coaster. She enjoys her goalless journey in her life while feeling ill at ease. (This is another instance of her favorite antinomy.)
In "MAGICAL WORLD," she sings "While I still can't love myself / I always turn the next page / To overlook a season again" and the lyrics of "Angelina" go "Who will love [me] if I don't love / All of [my] loneliness and whines." She thinks she cannot love herself because she has a lot of things that she dislikes—her past and her character (obsessions and extreme emotional ups and downs), for example. So she tries to talk herself out of hating herself by writing and singing "Angelina."
"Angelina" had already been written by the time of the release of Sugar High.
She is satisfied with the new album although she does not believe she did her best. She is well aware that she is recovering from the long blank.
From now on, she wants to write songs that she will be able to continue singing for a long time. She does not appear confident that she has ever produced such a song.

Note: The above translation of the lyrics of "Angelina" may be incorrect due to the lack of context and other information. It may in fact be "Who will love all of [my] loneliness and whines / If I don't love them," for example. It should be noted, however, that the interviewer's question here is about loving her own self.

2007-10-05

Music Station Special

"Gekko" ranked 46th in this special TV program's ranking of 100 favorite songs that make you shed tears.

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