The last month or so has been pretty rocky for me on a personal front though and that is the reason for my absence.

I did, however, make this post in my Livejournal, which I will link here because it is relevant to this blog’s interests. A friend of mine asked me to recommend to her some good (bad) Morning Musume pvs and I obliged. In the comments we fannishly freak out some and discuss cosplay. Good times.

As the website boasts, “7 days of music, 10 permanent stages (all but one of which are free with admission to the park), and all on the shores of Lake Michigan.” Oh yes, internets, I am not devoid of civic pride. Unlike a lot of other people my age, I am fond of my city. I grew up here. I like it here. I feel no burning desire to relocate immediately after graduating from university.

However, while Summerfest may be one of the major perks people cite when praising the virtues of Milwaukee, I am not a fan. While there are a few musical acts there this year that I wouldn’t mind seeing, I am not willing to put up with the expensive entrance fee, crazy food and beverage prices, and obnoxious drunken people. If I wanted to deal with their like, all I would need to do is pick up extra hours at work. (You’d be surprised at what goes down in a public library centrally located in the middle of downtown Milwaukee. But that is a subject for another post.)

I’m in the minority amongst my peers in this opinion and that makes me feel a bit like a cranky old woman but so be it. If I’m going to be a cranky old woman, I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. I’ll invest in a cane and shake it at trespassers, while I scream at them to “get off my lawn!” Then I’ll turn the hose on them.

Snark aside, I can’t help but wonder if the lineup was different, I would actually brave the lakefront. The answer is a very probable yes.

Among the favored:

1. Buck-Tick : This is the band I would sell my kidneys to go see if they were ever in the United States. Jpop might be the genre I’m especially digging currently but Buck-Tick holds the honor of being my favorite band period.

2. David Bowie : Oh, look who snuck into the otherwise Japanese lineup. It’s okay. He’s David “motherfucking” Bowie. He can sneak in wherever he wants as far as I’m concerned. I saw Mr. Bowie in the flesh for the first time a couple years ago during his Reality tour in IL. It was a kind of ecstatic audi-orgasm experience for me. Incidentally, a few months later it was announced that he was going to be playing here in Milwaukee as well. The concert date was set on my birthday. How could I not go? It was an omen. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for another tour. I might even spring for the fanclub membership, if it allows me access to priority tickets.

3. Namie Amuro : Such is a popular sentiment nowadays but yes. Yes, I am a lot in love with this woman right about now. The catchy singles and awesome pvs just keep on coming. I spent a lot of last night watching and being wowed by her Space of Hip Pop concert that someone uploaded on Stage6 yesterday. She’s quickly becoming the first lady of jpop badassery in my eyes.

4. Biyuuden : Rika <3. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to get my Rika fangirling groove on here. That could on for paaages and is most likely better left to another post. You get the idea, yes? Not that I don’t love me some Yui and Erika too but I’d be lying if I said it was anyone other than Charmy who convinced me to listen to the group in the first place.

5. Pretty much any H!P act other than c-ute or Berryz : My apologies to their fans but the kid acts are not really my thing. While I find their songs to be good bubblegumy poppy fun, the fact that they’re so young is something I just can’t seem to get past. It squicks me out to think that there are legions of creepy middle aged wota lusting after these girls. Yes, people are entitled to their fantasies (providing they stay just that, fantasies), but fantasies with these kids as the subject matter is something I, personally, just can’t stomach.

I got a little off on a tangent at the end there but there you have it. A sampling of the artists I daydream about seeing. You can keep your Spice Girls reunion. Give me jmusic or give me Bowie.

Hello!Online has some details on the soon to be released Morning Musume pachislot machines. Apparently a pachislot machine is a kind of slot pachinko machine hybrid. You learn something new everyday.

Do check out the video previews over at the official homepage. They’re the under the fifth link from the left on the bottom of the page. Recommend!

All I can say is:

• Wow, if we had games like that over here, I might actually use my Potawatami Fire Keeper’s Club.

and:

• That lineup would make for one hell of an awesome subgroup. I’m already a fan.

http://arrshley.imeem.com/

Useful for when one is away from my mp3 library and/or iPod-less. And well, it’s just kind of neat to have all the singles together in a playlist to listen to. Not to mention impressive. Avast, matey! That’s a lot of songs!

Though I’ve kept a Livejournal for 5+ years, it still feels a bit strange to talk about my penchant for cute girls who sing and dance there. Possibly this is because my LJ is more of a place for me to write about the personal. Not that I don’t delve into the fangirly on occasion but knowing my audience, I do try to keep it to things that aren’t too obscure.

Here, hopefully, will be a place for me to gush, rant, and ramble at will about all things fannish, no matter how obscure. A different place for a different kind of blog. I plan for my focus to be mostly Jpop, and more specifically H!P oriented, but other fandoms may sneak in there from time to time. We shall see.

If you’re reading me, I’m flattered. Don’t be shy. Drop a comment from time to time. I welcome any and all kinds of discussion as long as you keep it polite. Or as polite as I would be. Now there’s a questionable standard…