the mideast, this ain't

The cheek of politicians is amazing.

For two years, the excuse presented for the fact that somehow a Democrat-controlled White House and Congress had such difficulty actually getting anything done (how long did that health care bill take again?) was because of the Party of No. Well and good. The Republicans definitely took an aggressive stance in that, and while I'm not fond of that sort of tactic, one has to concede that it was at least effective from their standpoint. You could call it obstructionism if you liked, I suppose, but whatever you think of it, it's hard to argue that it worked against them at the polls, which is, in American politics, the only goalpost that matters.

Of course, now state legislatures in Indiana and Wisconsin go into more or less open revolt, by fleeing into neighboring states in the dark of night, and refusing to come back and present a quorum. Now none dare call it obstructionism, because of course that would make it seem as if the conservative wing had the moral high ground. And that will never, ever be acceptable to most of those who report the news, and nor, I imagine, to many who read it. No, a prominent Wisconsin Democrat had the gall to say that it was the governor who was holding up the works of government, and not the fourteen who decided they didn't want to play anymore.

The indignant protests over the rights of unions are, of course, justified. Those who have descended on the Wisconsin state house have every right to protest, though I tend to think that they could find a better way to go about it, and certainly they seem intent on fulfilling every nasty stereotype normally levelled at the Tea Party (strangely, nobody seems to pore over their pictures to see how many minorities are hiding in the crowd). That I happen to severely disagree with their viewpoints on, say, collective bargaining, is irrelevant. What, exactly, gives elected officials the right to absent themselves from their elected posts, just because they disagree? Guess what: every elected body in history has had people who disagree. When you do disagree, the solution isn't to run away and prevent business from being done. It isn't to offer up a slew of amendments to delay a vote you know that you will lose. It's not to point fingers.

No. Your job, and your duty, is to stand up, speak your mind, cast your vote, and sit back down. You really feel your issue is that important? Explain, in words clear and compelling enough to command the assent of the governed, your case, and if the voters agree, they'll say so in November. How it can be said that the Wisconsin governor is the sticking point is amazing, and I find it very hard not to consider the fourteen missing representatives very petulant, very immature teenagers who, seeing they won't be able to have their way, decide it can't possibly be their fault.

The irony, of course, is that in Washington, luminaries such as Nancy Pelosi are already setting the stage to blame the opposition for causing a shutdown of government. If representatives not showing up for a quorum isn't a government shutdown, then I can't think of what is.

Sadly, I fear that this sort of thing will become the norm, if it hasn't already. All that talk about new civility, and dialing back the hateful rhetoric? Yes, we see now just how sincere those calls were now, don't we?

Weekly OP: Message

Listen to my song! Or not...

Message is an odd song. Normally, the point of an anime opening is to grab the attention, to be catchy and remarkably prone to hum or sing along. Message does not do that. At all. I suspect that my interest in this song is secondary to the anime to which it's attached, Sōkō no Strain (or, as it was released in the US, Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry). The anime itself is highly watchable; Wikipedia lists it as being loosely based on the Little Princess novel, but I hadn't gained that impression from watching it, and I think the comparison is fairly meaningless when it comes to watching the series, which I would recommend. But this blog is not about anime I like. Yet.

So. The song is done by YoKo, who is probably more familiar to most listeners as Yoko Ueno. Under that name, she's probably most familiar as part of Oranges and Lemons, the group which did the opening and ending songs for Azumanga Daioh, and as a separate duet, the ending for Scrapped Princess. She has a very high voice, but in this case she avoids the pitfall of being so shrill that I just don't want to listen at all.

In any event, YoKo here lends her voice to give this a somewhat ethereal feel. The notion of a fairy very much comes to mind. There's actually an almost Arabian feel to the lilt of her music. Probably something to do with the scale used. In any event, the sing-song nature of the song lends an airy quality.

The instrumentals both help and harm the song. I think the drum and bass are a bit heavy, but happily they restrict themselves largely to the refrains. The main parts of the song are almost all synthesizer, and they, too, use light notes, but played almost in a mournful tone. That I approve of, since a large part of the series is the protagonist's rather estranged relationship with her brother.

Downsides to this track? It is, as I noted before, not especially catchy. It very easily can blend into the background, which is not what an anime opening should be. On its own, it's not a bad song, but as a hook for a series I have to say it fails utterly. That said, I still find it pleasant listening, and somewhat a change of pace from the usual, frenetic pace of an anison. Call it... three of five stars.

Weekly OP: White Destiny

And no, it's not an ode to the KKK.

I'm reaching back a few years with this one, but it's still a decent anime, and since magical girls are in vogue lately, why not? White Destiny is the opening song to the somewhat forgotten Pretear, which aired in the dark ages of 2001. I remember buying the DVDs in late 2003, and it was always fun paying $30 for each disc of a three disc series. Now, of course, I grouse about paying $50 for a four disc series, and that's assuming I pay for it at all, and I have it on good authority that my desire to actually pay money for anime puts me in the minority. That is, however, another rant.

This rant is about a song, by the estimable Yoko Ishida. She's had a long and distinguished career; older fans will recall that she got her start with Otome no Policy, the ending song for Sailor Moon R, back in 1993. After that, though, she largely fell off the map until the turn of the century, specifically between Pretear and Ai Yori Aoshi. The latter was a complete snoozer, but this song is quality.

The song is carried, from beginning to end, by Yoko's voice; the intro has only a light instrumental accompaniment to her voice. Even past that, though, the main backing is a steady bass. It would be a dance beat, I think, if a bit faster, and with more drums. In any case, guitars are almost absent; it's just the bass, and a bit of synth. Little is there to distract from Yoko, who has a very pretty voice; not ultra high pitched, like many jpop singers, but also without the smokiness of some of the more sexy singers (Ogata Megumi, I'm looking at you).

The absence of a guitar solo is somewhat striking, actually. The bridge is again, bass and synth. And the odd thing is that it works. In some ways, I'd look at this as a bridge between the 1990s, and the more driven, guitarish 2000s opening songs. This song does not attempt to be light and peppy throughout. Nor does it try to be too moody, either. It's... determined, I would say, which is appropriate; the anime is intended to be a more empowered telling of Snow White, as evidenced by its subtitle.

Major points to take away from this song? the pacing is excellent, of course. The refrain is really what carries it, though, in the end. It continues in a falling scale, kind of, starting high and marching down low, with Yoko's voice giving the impression of running down a set of stairs.; a lot of short, broken notes add to that impression. And... it's not overdone. Everything about this song should really put it squarely in the category of mediocrity, and yet it manages to be engaging, catchy, and overall, good; that I'd still rate this in the upper echelon of anisons, even after ten years, is testament to that. Five of five stars.

Weekly OP: Virgin's High!

This week we pick MELL, the Queen of Engrish. She does love using--and abusing--the English language, most notably in the opening song of the anime Rideback, titled the same. It's... interesting, to listen to. I may tackle that one later, but today I pick what's probably my second favorite MELL song ever (and the favorite, kicks!, is on the same single as this one).

Sky Girls is an interesting series. In many ways, it's a more sci-fi oriented version of Strike Witches; from my understanding, the production team wanted to go two different ways, and so they did; the more tech-oriented Sky Girls aired first, and then a bit later Strike Witches hit the airwaves in all its pantsu glory. Pretty obvious to see who won that battle. But then, I think the opening songs for Strike Witches suck, as much as I might like the series. On the other hand, this song is patently awesome, but I still haven't managed to get through the series.

Anyway. MELL has a great voice, her inability to string English words together coherently notwithstanding. And she really carries the song too. She starts a bit calm, almost whispering, but it doesn't take long for her to ramp to full volume. Displaying pretty good range, she provides perfect counterpoint for the instrumentals.

Ah, the instrumentals. The guitars are just about perfect in this one, and when combined with a techno sort of beat to drive the song forward, it's just all kinds of good. It's very hard not to tap the feet, and when listening to this in the car, I usually have to skip back and repeat it two or three times. The only other song like that is masterpiece, which I might get to another time.

5/5 for this song. It's frankly excellent, and after listening to it a dozen times in a row, writing this entry, I can't think of anything wrong with it, other than the Engrish. And as I've said before, I don't listen to anime songs for the lyrics. So nyah.

Weekly OP: Baby universe day

This is a fun opening.

Of course, most anime openings are fun. They have to be. But, considering to what extent the characters come out in this song, it's notable.

Kiddy Girl and is somewhat of a sequel to 2003's Kiddy Grade, part of that annus miribalis which also gave us Planetes, Scrapped Princess, and many other notable series. The opening for that anime deserves a separate entry all its own, but for this one I'll stick with the present.

The seiyuu for the main two characters of the series duet for this song, though I'm given to understand Uchida Aya and Gouda Aya are not related. In any event, as Asceour (on the left) and Q-fuille (on the right), they reflect their respective personalities, and this sort of singing in character should be done more often. They're exuberant when they have to be, hushed when they have to be, and at all times very energetic and, well, moe.

In some ways this actually hearkens back to the old 1990s opening songs. Lots of guitar and strings, with a steady beat to keep things going, and a little stutter start now and then to keep things honest. There is a lot going on, and sometimes it becomes a little difficult to keep track of things, but overall it's still a very nice ensemble. I think, in fact, that it's all the varied instruments and melodies running through this song which make it so perky and vigorous. The strings, in particular, at several instances follow the vocals exactly. It's something I'd expect from Handel.

5/5 for this one. Sure, it's from back in 2009, but still very catchy, and very good.