As is the norm with live events, Geneon is using C.G mix’s quickly-upcoming tour as an excuse to rake in extra dollars through the sale of fine merchandise featuring none but our favourite arranger-turned singer. Now, while usually merchandise doesn’t warrant its own newspost, the sheer quality of the items on display clearly warrants a post in this case. Clearly.
Item #1: Tour pamphlet (¥3,000)
In Japan, it’s commonplace for entertainment of any sort to come with the option of buying an overpriced brochure explaining what exactly it is you just saw. Just as with the other Geneon-sponsored I’ve events, C.G mix’s tour has one such ‘pamphlet’ and it is assuredly worth the money 100%. Just look at the list of features!
-16 pages
-pictures of C.G mix
-an interview with C.G mix
-a DVD with yet another incarnation of under the darkness on it
Fantastic! I’ll be ordering this one off of Yahoo! Japan for sure!
(Editor’s note: Kichiku Megane, Kichiku Megane R, pray and now the tour pamphlet – under the darkness gets around)
Item #2: Tour T-shirt (¥3,500, also available in white)
Does anyone else notice that the ‘G’ part of C.G mix’s logo is totally fucking backwards?
Item #3: Double-sided poster (¥1,500)
Who would buy this? Does the Venn diagram of the market for people who buy posters of aging bishounen dressed in black and badly backlit show any intersection with the market for people who know/care about I’ve enough to go see a C.G mix concert? Is there a market for people who buy posters of aging bishounen? Is there a market for C.G mix concerts? The poster begs so many questions and answers so few.
愛撫―I've Sound Blog― 
“Who would buy this? Does the Venn diagram of the market for people who buy posters of aging bishounen dressed in black and badly backlit show any intersection with the market for people who know/care about I’ve enough to go see a C.G mix concert? Is there a market for people who buy posters of aging bishounen?”
For some reason, I found that to be in poor tastes, but undeniably funny as Hell. Aibu, you just made my gray day extremely sunny! lol
By: SAME on 04/30/09
at 17.11
Is it just me or does the logo on the t-shirt look really really bad quality?
And I’ll bet the people who go see C.G. Mix are probably going there to see his “guests” – KOTOKO and MELL.
By: K.N. on 04/30/09
at 19.06
i feel it too. it’s crappy.
and about seeing his “guests”, yeahhh, KOTOKO and MELL have bigger scope than C.G mix himself.
By: 黒い雪 on 04/30/09
at 20.44
+1
I’ll be gladly there for the same reason ^^
By: pedropinilla on 05/01/09
at 17.55
oh mai gosh luh.
does CG mix even have enough fans to attend his concert? maybe like 1 or 2 people will turn up for the purpose of hearing him.
and even if he does have a couple of fans, they won’t be crazy about him enough to buy those crappy goods.
By: kieyuku on 05/01/09
at 00.28
Aibu, you might want to sit down: http://streaming.yahoo.co.jp/c/t/00117/v00261/v0026100000000516454/
Under the Darkness PV.
By: 光星 on 05/01/09
at 11.01
Given that the Goods for C.G mix’s first tour sucked big times as well, I wasn’t under the misbelief things would radically improve this time around either ^_^
As for the “Under the Darkness” PV, I must say that..I like it. Not going to call that greatest PV thingie ever, but the concept behind suited the title it served as main theme more or less subtle well and can’t say the lack of proper lightning is that much of a low either (in contrast to the “version up” PV were we saw C.G mix in all his “lit up glory” >_<).
And mix-niisan, fashion-wise you really should take the hidden message of this PV to heart! The suite-wearing Salaryman-like look definitely fits your age better than the leathery pensioned Bishounen/Seinen one.
By: littleharlock on 05/02/09
at 00.35
Heh, talk about greed! On some pics he looks like a girl xD.
BTW, has anyone been actually able to listen to Miss Mix’s album? I haven’t been able to put my virtual hands on it, it’s nowhere to be found T.T”’
By: NumberXIII on 05/02/09
at 10.23
has anyone seen MELL’s live dvd? i’m dying to see it
By: Army on 05/02/09
at 13.44
Actually, mine is “flying” to me just now (Japan-Chile) and I hope to receive it in a week more and then I’ll tell you my “impartial opinion” ^^.
By: pedropinilla on 05/04/09
at 05.49
“Miss Mix” did what I didn’t think was even possible: make “under the darkness” sound even more yaoi. The arrangement sounds the same, but he redid the vocals, especially comparing the part at 1:30. His voice (and the subsequent use of Autotune) is also more prominent in the album version. Not even going to consider his heavy breathing in the bridge…
EDIT: Not to steal Aibu’s thunder, but the album as a whole suffers from Mix’s one greatest weakness: every song sounds pretty much the same. He puts a lot of interesting ideas into the arrangements, but structurally, the album could legitimately be called “variations on UNDAA ZE DAAKUNEZ.” So pretty much how good you think the album is depends on how much you like the opening track; it doesn’t get better, but it doesn’t get much worse either. Even Face of Fact sounds the same.
By: 光星 on 05/03/09
at 17.03
Seconded but you’ve gotta admit this one’s better than in your life. XD As much as I noticed that just by hearing the previews via neowing, this one’s better since his previous album sucks from containing midtempo-slow ballad which doesn’t really have strong taste.
And about “songs sounds pretty much the same”, there is only one J-pop group that does this but I don’t get fed up. And that is ALI PROJECT. XD
By: fred on 05/03/09
at 18.51
i regret my decision for downloading pray because in the end i only listened to Face of Fact and half of Under the darkness… i can’t hold on to his voice… -_-;;
i don’t why but i feel like kicking C.G mix when i listened to Face of Fact >_>
By: 黒い雪 on 05/04/09
at 23.18
^ You should not have had any expectations.
I really can’t take his voice….omg..*blocks out ears*
By: kieyuku on 05/05/09
at 03.08
don’t worry girls, as much as the others does the same, you will rejoice that pray only reached #82 in the Oricon weekly (1,547 copies sold).
By: fred on 05/05/09
at 09.27
Ali Project is unique!!!! All songs have in common the signature chaos AP wields, but there are more unique songs than similar ones (though they have dozens of similar of ones), but it can NOT, nor in this or any other world, be compared to Miss Mix’s repeatedly boring dullness.
All songs are EXACTLT the same! Perhaps “under the darkness” is slightly different, but I hate it for being SO DAMN YAOI!!! (as well as all of it’s clones)
The only good stuff about this album are the cover (loved it) and the songnames (very interesting), but that’s it. It is impressively boring and most songs could’ve been SO much better if they had been sung by any of the (real) girls.
My veredict: 4.369/10
By: NumberXIII on 05/05/09
at 11.54
If you’ll allow me to editorialize here, ALI PROJECT’s flaws make their supposedly ‘good’ material about as good as the worst of I’ve’s material. An inability to carry a song past its introduction (witness Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis, for example: an interesting introduction that segues into… oh, look, it’s the same uninteresting verse section they use in every song that has never once been anything but a chronic buzzkill!), the already beaten-into-the-ground lack of variety amongst songs and the fact that the singer’s voice gets grating fast makes me place ‘pray’ high above anything AP’s put out in my books at least.
By: 愛撫 on 05/05/09
at 13.09
Also, the trash-disco production is tacky and tasteless and not in the good way. The sub-ABBA arrangements the group always falls back on after they’ve blown their proverbial load with the introductory hook (they’re allowed one good part per song, apparently, and said good part comes in the first 5 seconds without fail) lack any of the tongue-in-cheek campiness that makes similar efforts from better groups worthwhile, yet the dated production techniques render their attempts at sounding dark and mysterious almost comically limp.
Edit – If you want to hear an example of what the sound ALI PROJECT is trying for sounds like when done right, look no further than this song right here
By: 愛撫 on 05/05/09
at 13.21
Well I do like some of their stuff. Stuff like Asura Hime, Sakura no hana wa kurui saki, GOD DIVA and Coppelia no Hitsuji are quite unique. Let’s just say this band is the love-or-hate kind. It’s just like I hate most of I’ve ballads not because they are bad, but because I just don’t like them.
Anyway, it’s not an “uninteresting verse section they use in every song that has never once been anything but a chronic buzzkill!”, that’s their style: chaotic and unbalanced, which is not for anyone, just like (now dead) Malice Mizer, Yousei Teikoku, etc.
In any case, I think it’s VERY nonsense to compare I’ve and Ali Project, it’s two completely different styles and genres.
By: NumberXIII on 05/05/09
at 13.32
I think the thing about ALI PROJECT is that I’d really just prefer to look at Arika Takarano’s outfits than listen too much of their music. I mean, some of it is quite alright.
Though honestly speaking, if you want musical travesties, look further than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH6cASSPBoo
By: K.N. on 05/05/09
at 14.33
The Momoi cover of Sex & Violence is awesome and I don’t care what anyone else says
By: 愛撫 on 05/05/09
at 19.26
I’m baaaaaaaaaack!
Also, obvious troll is obvious.
By: RSSRII on 05/09/09
at 15.11
Yeah, I agree AP and I’ve Sound targets different listeners and it’s actually my fault for even mentioning AP here. :P I just mentioned AP because they kinda suffer the same problem with C.G’s album and yet I still prefer AP songs. XD
Although we cannot hide the fact that Mikiya Katakura uses some hints of electronica on his compositions (e.g Kinjirareta Asobi). Actually, the same sound syndrome (SSS) mostly applies on their singles and not on their albums ( of course, w/ the exemptions of compilations like Soubikakei, Kekkai Shijin and the like).
And I still cannot blame AP for having SSS given the fact that for 20 years Katakura-san is the only one composing and arranging for the group while I’ve has at least more than 3.
And although Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis is admittedly one of my favorite AP songs, Aibu’s judgement is still correct. I mean, reactions like “Waah?! It’s GOD DIVA or KING KNIGHT part 2?!” is a natural phenomenon. XD I don’t know how I got hooked on it but it could’ve done better.
By: fred on 05/06/09
at 02.00
O_o
the only song I know from Ali Project is Yuukyou Seishunka, and that’s only cause I watched CG 1st season. It was nice as an ED but the full song was a bit much for me.
By: kieyuku on 05/09/09
at 02.01
anyway… it’s from KOTOKO’s blog…
but it’s about C.G mix’s live…
and… Face of Fact was performed in duet version x3
interesting :P
http://www.kotoko.asia/blog/
By: 黒い雪 on 05/06/09
at 08.13
@kieyuku>> Well their songs tend to be chaotic and I really don’t know why I’m liking them. If you like Yuukyou Seishunka, I like Waga Routashi Aku no Hana better — CG R2 2nd ED.
By: fred on 05/10/09
at 02.56