At jazz practice the other day:
Bandmate: Hey, did you go to the Fuji shopping mall in Matsuyama on Saturday?
Me: No, I was in my apartment all day. Why?
Bandmate: You really weren't there?? That's really strange....I swear I saw someone there who looked just like you.
Looking back, I believe that this conversation proves one of two things:
either (1) I have a clone, or (2) Miyazato Ai, Olivia Hussey, or Keira Knightley was in Matsuyama on Saturday.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Nightcrub Singer
I can't quite put my finger on it, but something has been keeping me from posting lately. It's not that I'm overwhelmed at work -- maybe I just spend way too much energy deciphering my student's Engrish and the rest of the world's Japanese. It sounds silly, but by the time I get home, I'm so tired from all this frantic listening that I just fall asleep instead of doing anything useful. Bah. Anyway, I am entering the month of March with renewed vim and vigor, and vow to post entries a little more often.
Since I haven't posted in like a month, let's go back in time a bit. In December, I made my first appearance with the Shinto priest's* jazz combo, the Cool Cats (クールキャッツ.)
Now, usually when I hear the name Cool Cats, I think of slick-looking men in zoot suits and sunglasses strolling down moonlit alleys. Or maybe those dudes in dark, smoky bars who recite poetry that doesn't rhyme. You know, finger snapping and bongos and stuff.
The Shinto priest's Cool Cats, on the other hand, are a tad bit different -- they're a group of old Japanese men. (Ok, so I'm not saying that old Japanese men can't be cool. I'm sure that there are scads of cool old Japanese men out there somewhere. It's just that you're never going to see any of these particular Cool Cats wearing zoot suits or playing bongos. They are very cute, though.)
Anyway, thanks to the Cool Cats and the Band Mastaa of the Crash Jazz Orchestra (the amateur big band from a previous post,) I've been exposed to quite a bit of Matsuyama's jazz scene. Naturally, I've noticed a few strange and wonderful things which I shall recount here.
In Japan, people who speak English are thought to be quite cool. Since most of the famous jazz standards have English lyrics, all of the jazz vocalists here sing in English, and hence the singers are the height of coolness.
One of the singers who performed with Crash for our Christmas concert is known around Matsuyama by his first name all in caps: YAMATO. I suppose that puts him up there somewhere in between Ichiro, Pele and Madonna. He really has a nice voice, kind of Frank Sinatra-ish, but there's one small problem -- he has a bit of an accent.
Actually, out of all the Japanese accents I've heard while I've been here, Japanese-Frank-Sinatra's is not so bad, but unfortunately for him, just one little slip up and he ends up singing things like Fry me to the Moon and Someday my Price Will Come. On the bright side, there are probably only about thirty people in the whole city who would actually be able to pick out his pronunciation issues, so I guess he's pretty safe.** But still, it seems such a shame to me that his musical talents have to be overshadowed by all those awkward r's and l's. (By the way, does anyone have any theories about why Italian and French accents are considered cool and exotic but Asian accents just aren't?)
Anyway, since my debut in December, my singing career has truly been blossoming. I've already sung at two more clubs and even received dinner invitations from adoring fans. :) Only one thing stands in the way of my quest to achieve the same one-name status as YAMATO, Ichiro, Pele and Madonna -- my first name is impossible to spell. I've been listed as Linzie, Miss Rinji, LINJI...just about anything you can think of. I guess it's sort of impossible for people with L-names to reach idol status in Japan. :)
* You'll recall from a previous post that I met my neighborhood shrine's Shinto priest at a festival in October. He plays the piano.
** Man, it's a strange feeling to sit in a room full of people knowing that you're the only one who can hear the weird accent. It's like going crazy and hearing voices or something -- even if you tried to tell someone what you heard, they would never understand. So I chill in a corner feeling strangely alone while everyone else in the club sits in bilssful ignorance. And Japanese-Frank-Sinatra steps into the spotlight looking quite debonair and starts crooning, "Start spleading za news, I'm reaving todaaay...."
Since I haven't posted in like a month, let's go back in time a bit. In December, I made my first appearance with the Shinto priest's* jazz combo, the Cool Cats (クールキャッツ.)
Now, usually when I hear the name Cool Cats, I think of slick-looking men in zoot suits and sunglasses strolling down moonlit alleys. Or maybe those dudes in dark, smoky bars who recite poetry that doesn't rhyme. You know, finger snapping and bongos and stuff.
The Shinto priest's Cool Cats, on the other hand, are a tad bit different -- they're a group of old Japanese men. (Ok, so I'm not saying that old Japanese men can't be cool. I'm sure that there are scads of cool old Japanese men out there somewhere. It's just that you're never going to see any of these particular Cool Cats wearing zoot suits or playing bongos. They are very cute, though.)
Anyway, thanks to the Cool Cats and the Band Mastaa of the Crash Jazz Orchestra (the amateur big band from a previous post,) I've been exposed to quite a bit of Matsuyama's jazz scene. Naturally, I've noticed a few strange and wonderful things which I shall recount here.
----
In Japan, people who speak English are thought to be quite cool. Since most of the famous jazz standards have English lyrics, all of the jazz vocalists here sing in English, and hence the singers are the height of coolness.
One of the singers who performed with Crash for our Christmas concert is known around Matsuyama by his first name all in caps: YAMATO. I suppose that puts him up there somewhere in between Ichiro, Pele and Madonna. He really has a nice voice, kind of Frank Sinatra-ish, but there's one small problem -- he has a bit of an accent.
Actually, out of all the Japanese accents I've heard while I've been here, Japanese-Frank-Sinatra's is not so bad, but unfortunately for him, just one little slip up and he ends up singing things like Fry me to the Moon and Someday my Price Will Come. On the bright side, there are probably only about thirty people in the whole city who would actually be able to pick out his pronunciation issues, so I guess he's pretty safe.** But still, it seems such a shame to me that his musical talents have to be overshadowed by all those awkward r's and l's. (By the way, does anyone have any theories about why Italian and French accents are considered cool and exotic but Asian accents just aren't?)
Anyway, since my debut in December, my singing career has truly been blossoming. I've already sung at two more clubs and even received dinner invitations from adoring fans. :) Only one thing stands in the way of my quest to achieve the same one-name status as YAMATO, Ichiro, Pele and Madonna -- my first name is impossible to spell. I've been listed as Linzie, Miss Rinji, LINJI...just about anything you can think of. I guess it's sort of impossible for people with L-names to reach idol status in Japan. :)
* You'll recall from a previous post that I met my neighborhood shrine's Shinto priest at a festival in October. He plays the piano.
** Man, it's a strange feeling to sit in a room full of people knowing that you're the only one who can hear the weird accent. It's like going crazy and hearing voices or something -- even if you tried to tell someone what you heard, they would never understand. So I chill in a corner feeling strangely alone while everyone else in the club sits in bilssful ignorance. And Japanese-Frank-Sinatra steps into the spotlight looking quite debonair and starts crooning, "Start spleading za news, I'm reaving todaaay...."
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