I can't hate Karen Carpenter, no matter how much I feel I should.
Next up:
Cover art for the ZAMNED OST mini-albumWHEN KYLEE MET BOUNEN NO ZAMNEDAn Avril Lavigne-like divertissementKylee - VACANCY2013 February 01 by KyleeVEVO (04:46)
Music video by Kylee performing VACANCY. (C) 2008 Defstar Records Inc.Promotional music video with a not-quite-typical story.
"Vacancy" was the first ED theme for the much-better-than-average TV anime from Studio BONES,
Bounen no Zamdou (2008-09;
Xam'd: Lost Memories in the US). BONES had just had a giant hit
with
Eureka Seven and were hoping to repeat.
An American citizen and just 14 years old, Kylee was in Japan with her Japanese mom
chipping away at the bigtime.
Previously, Kylee was involved with tiny RX-Records. But she had gotten the attention of the Sony
Entertainment conglomerate with a video of her singing "The Star Spangled Banner" for the
Portland Trailblazers at the age of 11.
She looked like a developable property. She was smart, a good kid, something of a prodigy;
sang her heart out, wrote some material; was in danger of growing up tall and cute; and was
interesting as a Japanese/American halfsie who could interview in Japanese and sing real English.
It was not even three years until this promo for a Japanese release called, "I Love You Anyway."
Monsters, did you hurt Kylee's feelings, or did you put some photo junk in her eyes?To get Kylee away from RX, Sony had presents for all. Three songs by Kylee in different states of finish were picked
for the
Xam'd soundtrack: "Vacancy", "Just Breathe" and "Over U". Sony Computer was working on a PlayStation
game version of the anime and was in cahoots with BONES in Kyoto over that.
"Vacancy" was a single for RX, not DefSTAR.
But its promo video was for DefSTAR, not RX. Still following this, are you?
Suddenly Kylee had sales potential around the planet, and RX got limited song rights,
a break on production costs, and better prospects for a forthcoming mini-album they kept
outright. Kylee got a contract with Sony Music, and Sony got the music they wanted, with a
kick-start for what they hoped would be a long, lucrative career at their DefSTAR label.
Now for those anime songs. Better hurry it up, the series launch is approaching.
Awkwardly, 14-year-old foreign person Kylee didn't come to Japan with any musicians. Japanese emo rockers nature living were good for the project, but were between drummers.
Or, somebody listened to their drummer and flunked him. Mercenary session superman
Masuo Arimatsu came in, with predictable impact. "Vacancy" was the hero track, so after
studio rehearsals, it was down to the skateboard jungle at Kugenuma Seaside Park, and a
dark, oppressive basement to get the takes.
The October sun going down on the skate park. The insecure little foreign kid was a pet for the band.
The drummer is always the last one to set up and take down. Photos from Masuo's Ameblo diary.Something came out that was of its time, and still special. This is one instance of the right producer making
magic out of the right ingredients, because everybody brought something important and everybody came
out sounding their best, almost better than could be expected. Other than Masuo, but he is another story.
It's well worth paying attention to what he is doing. He can put a bed of squirmy snakes under a boring
passage, and he can hold the whole song on a leash, letting it lunge ahead whenever he wants. Or he
can just pummel like a trip hammer.
Masuo can wreak so much havoc
with no more than thisSony cultivation brings pop princesses into full bloom on schedule.I wouldn't say Kylee developed quite as planned. She dropped her baby Avril Lavigne thing, with
some regret. She wasn't abandoning the US or her plans for college, but covering two hemispheres
and two careers in two languages would put a strain on anybody.
She turned out not a very dynamic live performer, and rather than work on that she's currently
spending most of her energy on an undergraduate business concentration at Stanford University.
She has said she'd like to rock again, a little more like when she was 14.
I think an MBA is more likely.
Kylee - Just Breathe2011 November 30 by Francess Najera (03:07)
From the Anime Xam'd Lost MemoriesXamd Lost Memories ~Over U~2009 October 30 by KirakuVonSatski (04:32)
We had a spark you caught my eye
Every time I'd walk by
We were perfect