The Arc in the Sky

I recently opened some L’Arc-en-Ciel (Laruku) forums and was quite shocked to certain extent. How come people out there who declared themselves as Le Cielers can heartlessly bitch about the existence of Laruku. I really question their sanity, as in, how come they waste their time browsing through specific forums and spread the breathtakingly terrible news about Laruku, yet they still call themselves a loyal fan.

Some of them claimed that Laruku is rather overrated. Their key success factor is merely because of the god-looking Hyde playing as Casanova attracts numbers of girls being their fans. And these fans, they said, don’t really care about their music, instead are unpretentiously fascinated because it’s Hyde who sings! Meanwhile the rest of the members got no talent at all, compare to another legendary J-Rock band such as X-Japan or Siam Shade.

One person bravely stated that his friend can play bass even better than Tetsu, whilst said that Yuki has monotonous beats on his drum (and later added that Ken’s composed songs are barely called a piece of work), as again compare to the so-called super famous band which inspire Junichiro Koizumi, X-Japan.

Some others left Laruku because they said it is no longer J-Rock band (and turned out to be J-Pop), since their music is rarely stick to one type. Laruku can turn rock into swing, pop into jazz, beat into ballad, and even combine those all into fabulous medley composition, and they said that it is inconsistent, and cannot be indigenously acclaimed as J-Rock band.

And some others keep criticizing about the way they present themselves. Before succeed as a major band, Laruku went indie and wore bizarre costumes of girls in Mediterranean era, this is known as ‘visual key’. They stopped wearing those after they gained a huge number of fans within Japan. Again, our so-called loyal fans protested that they are becoming lack of originality by leaving ‘visual key’ and such, since they go mostly by casual clothes in their performance.

*

It's fine if you don't come, it's fine if you won't watch
Just don't bitch about it because this is what we've decided on

Don't say "Things used to be better"
Just what do you claim to know about those gleaming times anyway?
Don't just say malicious things
If there's a fault in our chosen path... we're not there yet
you have no bravery to know the truth

(Bravery by L’Arc-en-Ciel)

Tetsu, the bassist and the leader wrote song titled ‘Bravery’ in the mid 1997 –I guess, just after they fired Sakura (the old drummer) because of drugs. This song is dedicated to their ‘fans’. The theme of betrayal and treachery is fully reflected within the lyrics. At the first time I heard this song, it feels so agonizing as Hyde sang it in an utter ballad style with his falsetto voice. This song depicts their disappointment towards the fans, that explains why they insist not to play this song in their Live performance. Reading the lyrics, I can understand their pain considering how pathetic some of their fans are.

Honestly speaking, I knew L’Arc-en-Ciel by accident. I was wandering around the store and found their cassette called “13 clicked singles best”, which I bought with no expectation. I have no idea about how hot Hyde and Tetsu are. Until I fell in love once I finished the whole tracks, as their music is so different from others, they got special characteristic in their music. Hyde’s vocal is unique, as well as Tetsu’s hardly imitated melodic bass and Ken’s exceptional guitar skill.

Then I ordered their live performance DVDs, and was surprise to find that those concerts are damn-energetic and vivacious. Even though they play the same songs for some live shows, they never failed to satisfy myself. In ‘AWAKE 2005’ concert, Hyde wears Nazi’s Uniform and sings song about war and peace, in ‘Light My Fire 1998’, he turns out to be a bloody hot vampire with tuxedo, blondie and red-eyed, in ‘Grand Cross Conclusion 2000’ he has a devil wing on his back and goes crazy when singing ‘Shout at the Devil’. They are not only selling music, but also fantasies and theatrical sophistication *grins*. How can I not love them?

Okay, I admit that I’m drooling over Hyde’s ageless beauty. A Hyde makes L’Arc-en-Ciel, L’Arc-en-Ciel. So what ? He’s not selling face over everything. He writes a gorgeous and poetic lyrics, he sings with damn-good falsetto voice, he has splendid and lively performance when it comes to Live shows.

I don’t care if L’Arc-en-Ciel is claimed to be overrated, and even always failed to grab an award from MTV Asia (even they’re not listed as nominators). So what? I admire Laruku, and not superficial and commercialized MTV Asia who promote R&B and western music (well, it is called ‘MTV Asia’, but those getting awards are always western artists, strange huh?).

Perhaps X-Japan and Lunasea are better than L’Arc-en-Ciel when it comes to J-Rock. So what? I listen to a bit Dir en Grey, Malice Mizer, Janne Da Arc, and even X-Japan, Siam Shade and Lunasea. They have their own characteristic as well, please don’t bother about comparing who wins over another, afterall they are all carrying the same genre of music, but I have to confess that Laruku represents my taste best.

Then if you are the real fans, please stop complaining. It’s okay if you don’t come, it’s okay if you don’t watch^^.

Ok, readers are vomiting already; I have to cut down my speech. At least I feel a bit relieved after expressing my anger into this. Finally, let me show you one of their shows, this song is super tranquil and calming. The titled is ‘My Dear’, this song depicts the condition during war (that’s why Hyde wears Nazi uniform *grin*), as I almost shed a tear when first time watching it. The lyric is very depressing, but still this is a very sweet ballad song.

My Dear

Now go out and look for love?
In the depth of the woods
That’s something I couldn’t find
Though I searched hard

Listen~~
Even though this world is tarnished by mistakes
I will never let your hand let go of mine
At least you can believe in that

Finally I reached out my hand and grasped it
And held it tight, overjoyed
So ephemeral it was that it died and decayed so soon

Someday when the whole world encounters joy
If I were to first meet you then
I would have never shown you
My endless sorrow

Where can it be?
Where can it be?
In my heart….

Listen~~
Even though this world is tarnished by mistakes
I will never let your hand let go of mine

Even if this feeling seems fake to you
It showers you with dazzling light, forever
At least you can believe that