Of Day the Eighth and Muchly More Musics!

After a brief interlude (and a brief bout of Blogger being down), I'm happy to resume with another very musical post, full of clicky links.

Day 8~
10 songs that inspire you for lolita.

1. Let's start with the obvious one: Lolitawork Libretto by Kanon Wakeshima. When I listen to this song, I get a sense of...completion, or maybe of an exciting, ongoing journey. This song really seems to express what lolita means to me, or what my world as a lolita is. It's not just on an individual level, though. Lolitawork libretto gives me a sense of being part of a massive global community of lolitas, all with our unique version of a fairytale world.

2. The Little Fugue in G Minor for the organ is my favorite classical piece ever. It sounds so haunting and unearthly. It reminds me more of my characters' world than of my own 'lolita bubble,' but the world of my stories is in many ways a part of my own internal dreamscape, as is lolita. (And on the occasions when breaking of the fourth wall is had, my characters and I all live together in a lovely gothic mansion, dancing in the ballroom or taking tea at midnight.)

3. Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi (or, Two Beats and Red Sins) is the opening song of Vampire Knight, my favorite anime series. Like the above-mentioned fugue, for me this is one of those songs that makes a perfect soundtrack to my idea of a gothic dreamworld (if that made sense). I love the sense of forward movement in this song, juxtaposed with the nostalgic haunting loss that fills the lyrics and melody.

4. Seishoujo Ryouiki, the second opening of the Rozen Maiden anime, is one of the few songs in this list that reminds me specifically of lolita. For those who don't know, Rozen Maiden follows the story of several Victorian style dolls who have been magically brought to life.

I love the way the words and melody express the thoughts of a doll (or maybe a maiden that dresses to look like a doll). To me part of the message is that a yearning for beauty and wonder can coexist with more down-to-earth fears and worries, and even petty jealousies. It's a fascinating juxtaposition. And a beautiful song besides.

5. Let me introduce you to my favorite vocaloid song, Trick and Treat ("Reborn!" version). This song fits perfectly my idea of spooky whimsy. It's mysterious, lighthearted, and a bit melancholy all at once. The two characters in the video remind me very much of my fae characters--it seems like the sort of thing my faeries would do.

6. Lacrimosa by Kalefina, better known as the second ending of the anime Kuroshitsji, is so beautiful and haunting it gives me chills. I love it when songs or stories--or...just anything, really--do that. This song has a very eerie beauty--it's filled with sorrow and some amount of internal conflict, and yet very serene and untroubled. This was my "themesong" for my NaNoWriMo novel, last November.

7. Versailles (whom I had to include sooner or later in this list) helped me "find myself" again, when their music first came into my life. They made me remember my love for the roses and the moon--in short, the internal dreamscape I've been wittering on about. By doing so, they paved the way for my entry into lolita fashion.

So I almost feel as though Aristocrat's Symphony is "our song," referring to my own experience with the band and their music, because it was the first song I listened to over and over when falling in love with Versailles. It tells a story of bringing someone into "the world of roses"--which is what they did for me. So by watching this music video I'm reminded strongly of my own story of coming into Versailles' world.

8. Versailles has another song and video I absolutely fell in love with (more than usual I mean). The passion, drama and yearning of Ascendead Master resonates with me in a way I can't really explain. The storyline, a combination of antique and modern worlds, is one I find quite fascinating. And the music is not only gorgeous, but pretty exciting too!

9. Last time I didn't get to show you the song that might be my favorite of Nana Mizuki's, Dancing in the Velvet Moon. (There's no live action music video to showcase her style, so sadly it didn't fit with the style post.)  The ending song of Rosario + Vampire, this song centers on my favorite character, Inner Moka--the title vampire.

For those confused by my referring to "inner" Moka--Moka has two selves, courtesy of a magical seal (the "rosario") that keeps her true powers (and ferocity) bound. I like her "outer" self pretty well--she's cheerful, sweet and idealistic--but I'm practically in love with the fierce, aloof, and downright cool vampire princess she becomes when the seal is removed. I don't know what this has to do with lolita, except that while in my dark frills I'd like to have the same confidence and mysteriousness as she does. Plus she grew up in a gothic castle. Which is totally cool.

10. Time for more vocaloid. Another of my favorites is Cendrillon, which has a few references to Cinderella. In addition to the fairytale references (which are always nice), I love how this song is filled with idealism yet also with a haunting poignance.

Well now, it seems almost all of my songs are in Japanese. I suppose it's no surprise, knowing me! A lot of symphonic metal can be found on my lolita soundtrack, as well as many pieces from the gothic instrumental band Nox Arcana (which I highly recommend). But that's a post for another night.

Of Day the Seventh and Music

I  have a sneaking fear I'd start to repeat myself if I listed ten things I can't do without in lolita (headdresses, corset lacing...you get the idea!) so perhaps I'll move on to:

Day 7~
Ten people who inspire your lolita style.

1. Kamijo (-sama) of the band Versailles. He usually dresses with a different color scheme than I do (in blue, gold and white for example) but I admire his love for archaic opulence, and his quest for beauty. Also, although I had already decided that roses were my favorite flower, Kamijo...shall we say greatly encouraged my obsession with roses.  The music video for Aristocrat's Symphony, one of my favorite Versailles songs, will illustrate why.

2. Jillian Venters, also known as The Lady of the Manners at Gothic Charm School. I believe she identifies as more goth than lolita, but her charming Neo-Victorian style has the lolita silhouette, and I admire the spooky whimsy in her wardrobe.

3. Kanon Wakeshima (big surprise, right?) is my idol for shiro. The video for Suna no Oshiro (Castles of Sand) will illustrate why. Beyond that, I admire that she wears such lovely coordinates while making beautiful music (and playing the cello!), especially since becoming a lolita-wearing musician is a dream of mine as well.

4. Speaking of female Jrockers, let me introduce you to the first Japanese musician whose music (and style) I fell in love with, before Kamijo and Kanon. I discovered Nana Mizuki through her work voicing anime characters, particularly as Moka in Rosario + Vampire, and Hoshina Utau in Shugo Chara. She has several beautiful songs in each series.

 Now, as to being influenced by her style: I would link you to the PV for Eternal Blaze, but it doesn't really showcase what I love about her style (it's a gorgeous video though). What I've always admired is that some of Nana Mizuki's videos showcase two of my favorite, very different looks. Her ethereal white costumes, in 深愛 ("Deep Love" I think?) for example, remind me of the way I wanted to dress before goth--sort of in an Elven medieval style done all in white and silver and crystal. But at the same time, Nana Mizuki has a few edgier, slightly more gothy-looking costumes, such as in Wild Eyes.

These aren't her only two looks, but these two in particular reminded me, when I first discovered her, of the strange divide I felt in continuing to love the otherworldly white I'd preferred before, but realizing that I was moving primarily to a new, gothic style. And yes, she deserved three paragraphs.

5. Asagi, from the Visual Kei band D. Simply put, I think his outfits are gorgeous. I'll keep this one short, and let the quite lolita-friendly Yami no Kuni no Alice ("Alice in a Dark Country") speak for itself.

6. Anime and manga have definitely influenced my style, particularly in the form of Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. Being a living doll herself, she perfectly embodies the spooky, stylized doll look that I love in lolita. I espeically love the way her overskirt laces up across the white underskirt.
The whole series is full of beautiful style inspiration, if you want to take a look at the opening song (of the second season, but it's my favorite of the openings).

I've run out of ideas to complete the list at present, so maybe I'll just leave it there. For those who have joined in this challenge, I look forward to seeing your style inspirations.

Of her mental soundtrack

Well my waltzing dancers, in the absence of any crafting adventures to recount (though there will be soon, I hope), and because I don't know if you'd be interested in the mild drama of realizing one has to choose between a lolita tea party meetup and a cosplay picnic (for this blogger, that's a very hard choice, you know!), I've decided to tread the path of other bloggers and recommend to you a few bands that might appeal to my fellow gothic and lolita types.

I suspect most of us lolis are somewhat familiar with the gorgeously frilly side of Japan's music scene, and might recognize the names Kanon Wakeshima, the band Kalefina, and (my all time favorite) Versailles. But outside of Visual Kei and Jrock, I'm a diehard metalhead--symphonic, gothic and doom metal, to be precise.

Recently I've been looking for new metal bands, and also I've explored some new (to me) genres, so let me show you what I've found so far. Since I'm not too familiar with these styles of music, I'm a bit scared to ascribe genres (I'm afraid someone will bite me, upcoming mention of vampires notwithstanding). However, I'll let you know when something is metal--usually in the symphonic or melodic styles. Unfortunately, I'm not sure of the protocol of imbedding youtube videos in a post, so I'll leave you with clicky links.

~Sirenia
A female-voiced metal band from Norway. I've fallen in love with their dreamy, wistful sound, exemplified in songs like Winterborn 77 and Sister Nightfall. To me this group has a rather atmospheric quality, but retains the energy and brilliance of sound that makes it metal.

~Svenia
An Italian band. I discovered them during National Novel Writing Month, and they immediately went on my novel playlist. They have a very melodic sound combined with the "ponderous romantic gloom" (my inner poet has an odd way of describing things) that's one of the qualities I've been looking for in my music-listening ventures. Two of my very favorite songs of Svenia's are Death is Waiting for Your Heart and My Nuptial Sepulchre (the other thing I love about Svenia: their song titles!).

~Alucard
A group from Belgium. I've only heard a few songs by this band so far, but I already love them. I can't think how to describe their sound, but it reminds me a little of Lareine, former band of Versailles' vocalist--probably because Alucard's vocalist has a similar tenor quality to his voice. (Is it strange that the singer of this group even looks a little like Kamijo, to me?) I'll start you off with the music video for Cold.

~Amberian Dawn
Another gorgeous metal band, this time from Finland. If you love pure, soaring female vocals, I strongly recommend them. So far the songs I know are He Sleeps in a Grove and River of Tuoni.

And last but not least, I imagine some of you darklings might have heard of this next group, but they deserve to be mentioned anyway.

~The 69 Eyes
Also known as the Helsinki Vampires (see, I told you there would be mention of vampires--and that's not even counting Kamijo). Remember the "ponderous romantic gloom" of Svenia? This band has it in spades, along with a dash of sarcastic spunk. I have several favorite songs, but I'll confine myself to mentioning Brandon Lee and Devils. If you're not sure you like deep-voiced vocals, Jyrki will convince you otherwise.

That's all for now, my Ballroom guests. In writing this, I thought of several more artists I would like to recommend, so maybe I'll do posts like this in the future. But now, go forth and listen to music! (And no biting.)