Making Monday Better: ONE OK ROCK 2015 35xxxv Japan Tour ~A Playlist~

As promised, I’m back on this most Monday-y of Mondays, with another ONE OK ROCK playlist that should, in theory, help make this day just a little bit better.

To be perfectly honest, I’m at the point in the day when I’m beginning to wonder how I’m still managing to function. It’s a bit of a mystery but I’m choosing to believe my love of OOR, and this concert set in particular, is compelling me to keep going.

You see, OOR’s 35xxxv North American Tour was the very first time I saw OOR live. It was only a few months after I’d moved to the Chicago area and I was in absolute shock, when I realized my all-time favorite band was playing in my city. I’d spent years lamenting the fact that I would probably never see OOR live. So, as you can imagine, buying that concert ticket and seeing them live, was a literal dream come true. And it’s why this concert setlist is just a little more special to me. It holds some serious sentimental value, and honestly, “Memories” is one of my all-time favorite songs. I actually want it played at my funeral one day but I won’t go into the “whys” on that one…

Like all good OORers, I’m still counting down the days to OOR’s “Field of Wonder” concert. And like all good OORers, I’ve been keeping up with all of the teaser trailers that have recently been released. To say I’m excited about this concert would be a HUGE understatement. I am freaking ecstatic!

I’m also very excited about the release of OOR’s newest concert video, which they also announced last week. At the risk of sounding ridiculously dramatic, my life literally changed during OOR’s “Eye of the Storm” Tour stop in Chicago last year, so having the chance to re-live a little bit of that magic, even via Blu-Ray, was too good to pass up. Yes, I know the Japan Tour is different from the North American tour, but it’ll be close enough. And yes, I have already pre-ordered the sucker. Why??? Well…

To be perfectly honest, I’ve been watching the concerts I already have in my collection, as a means of helping me cope with the overall crappiness of pandemic life. It might seem slightly weird to some, being lulled into a peaceful moment of serenity via a rock concert, but nothing makes me happier than being at an OOR show. Since there isn’t much in life that makes me happy, period, at the moment, letting myself indulge in a rare moment of joy has become a vital component of my daily self-care. Reading, yoga, and ONE OK ROCK may seem like an odd combination to some, but it works very well for me. So well, in fact, that it’s become part of my nightly routine. There’s nothing better than falling asleep to the sweet sounds of Toru’s wailing guitar and Taka’s screams…

On that note, I hope you have a chance to enjoy this new playlist. May it bring as much joy to you as it does me.

TUNE OF THE WEEK: Why Do I Have To Pick Just ONE???

You know, I wasn’t even planning on writing a TOTW post this week, but when I saw Moonbin and Sanha’s new MV, just waiting for me on my YouTube homepage first thing Monday morning, I just couldn’t help myself!

Once again, the imminent change in the season has inspired a darker, more serious concept, and I, for one, am loving it. I will forever be a fan of the broody side of K-Pop and its ability to combine darker images with the catchy beats. It’s one of the many undeniable charms of K-Pop and this “Bad Idea” MV has pulled it off swimmingly!

But while I was squealing over my little ASTRO babies, I saw that Stray Kids had released the MV for “Back Door” and wouldn’t you know, I fell just as in love with this video as I did “Bad Idea”. For some unimaginable reason, I just can’t help but smile, every time I watch both of these darn MVs. So then I thought, why the heck to do I have to pick just one tune to squeal over? Why can’t I just mention all the videos that have made me smile this week?

So that’s what I’m doing. Because let’s face it, life is all kinds of messed up right now and it doesn’t hurt to have more than one reason to smile. And boy, oh boy! This MV certainly makes me smile! The boys themselves are as cute as ever, the choreo is freaking fantastic, and the bass-line is so dang catchy, you’d have to be a corpse to not feel it inspire even the tiniest bit of a smile.

But K-Pop hasn’t been the only source of joy for me this week. Oh no! J-Rock is doing what it does best: giving me ample reasons to smile as it simultaneously makes my heart skip a beat. While ONE OK ROCK has been busy teasing the crap out of their upcoming live-streamed concert, and Crossfaith has been promoting the crap of the live-streamed concert they held last weekend, MIYAVI has released this little gem of a video and you know, I just couldn’t let a chance to squeal over one of my favorite guitar playing rock stars go by!

In all honesty, it really wouldn’t matter to me what MIYAVI played. It’d love it regardless. But there’s just something about this version of “Over the Rainbow” that has me smiling. Maybe it’s just the simple reminder that no matter how gray things might be now, there’s always the hope that they’ll brighten again… Someday… That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.

Until that day comes, I hope this week’s “Tunes” have brought a little sunshine your way and have given you as many reason to smile as they have given me.

Making Mondays Better: ONE OK ROCK 2014 MIGHTY LONG FALL AT YOKOHAMA STADIUM ~A Playlist~

Remember last week, when I mentioned a little something about ONE OK ROCK’s upcoming LIVE-streamed concert, “Field of Wonder”? Well, I may be just a teensy bit excited about said concert and as such, I’ve been thinking that doing a little pre-concert celebrating might not be such a bad thing. But how does one celebrate a concert that is exactly 26 days, 13 hours, 16 minutes, and 21 seconds away? Why, with a heckin’ lot of OOR playlists, of course!

I’m very much aware that putting together a playlist comprised of the setlist from OOR’s 2014 show isn’t quite the same as being at the show. Heck, it’s not even the same as watching the show when OOR streamed it on YouTube this past spring. But let’s face it, we’re not going to be going to any shows in-person for who knows how long, so I figure this is the next best thing.

If you’re looking for an exact replica of that incredible 2014 show, this isn’t it. I’m sure you could find something like that out there, if you really tried, but I’m not gonna go there. Instead, I’ve tried to use as many of OOR’s official music videos as I possible can, to recreate the set-list itself and nothing more. Sadly, not every OOR song has an official video, so I’ve tried to use the best fan-made videos I can find. Is it a perfect playlist? No. But if nothing else, it gives me something fun to watch while I slowly kill myself during my treadmill runs. (Anyone else hate those painful torture devices disguised as fitness machines, or is that just me?)

My plan is to create a playlist for every one of the concerts OOR streamed for us poor, miserable, pandemic-plagued fans, earlier this year. There were seven concerts in all, so doing one a week will take us way past the “Field of Wonder” date. I suppose I could do two a week, but having a weekly dose of ONE OK ROCK might be kinda nice. Maybe it’ll help lessen the inevitable post-concert blues???

Because I’m such a ridiculous fangirl, I have every one of these concert setlists already saved as playlists on iTunes (which you can find, if you really wanted to, by searching for me @TheZombieMamma). I also have the “Listening Together” playlist OOR created for Spotify, which I may turn into a YT playlist as well someday. It all depends on how crazy life gets and how interested anyone is in having it. I mean, I’m cool with endlessly sharing my love of ONE OK ROCK but I’m also aware that not everyone in the world shares my enthusiasm for this fantabulous rock band. After all, I really can curb the inner fangirl. When I have to.

ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Revolutionary Love Episodes 9-10

There’s something truly special about a drama that makes you fall in love with its characters over and over again. I know I’ve had some ups and downs with this drama, especially at the beginning, but we’ve finally reached a point where our leading characters have overcome the worst of their flaws and are now traveling down a path that will ultimately lead them someplace wonderful. Well, maybe not wonderful but definitely someplace better than either of them have been before. Oh! Just seeing the direction things are headed is making me so happy! I could almost do a dance of joy! Continue reading “ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Revolutionary Love Episodes 9-10”

ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Hospital Ship Episodes 37-40

It’s been over a week since I sat down to watch the last 4 episodes of this drama and I’m only now getting around to writing this review. I know that’s kind of lame but I wanted to take some time to ruminate over the way things ended, just to be sure I properly processed things before I sat down to rage against all the nonsense that filled these final episodes. I can’t say that I’m any more at peace with the way this drama wrapped up but maybe, just maybe, I’m a little less emotional than I was a week ago. Here’s hoping anyway… Continue reading “ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Hospital Ship Episodes 37-40”