This post has been tagged by Fay as [NEWS].

6 hours ago, memae said:

I'm already tired of people calling Heaven and Earth boring because the music doesn't follow a western structure. I just mentioned it on a post of facebook and got replies back saying the music was mediocre background music or something and that the issue was that the music is boring, not that it's Japanese because they liked Seimei, so obviously the issue isn't cultural differences. But western music often builds and has climatic moments, just like western stories. I can speak more to stories than music because my academic fields lend more to that. But in western stories there's a clear beginning, build of tension, climax, and ending (if the climax isn't the end). We feel like stories are incomplete or not true stories if they're missing those parts of the structure. Traditional stories in Australia (where I'm from) tend to be very circular (rather than linear, as I suppose we can conceptualise western stories) and often don't have any tension or climax. When they're written into children's books, they're often westernised and those features are built into them so few people end up appreciating them as they truly are. I think that's something that happens with music choices in skating. People don't get it, they refuse to acknowledge their cultural bias, and they write off a program because they didn't think there was anything more to it for them to understand. One thing that really annoyed me was the flack Rika got for the green of her costume last year. I read in multiple places that the colour had a significance and symbolism in Japan that was entirely overlooked by western skating audiences. 

 

Yuzu's interview/comments about the music choice are very informative. About the sacrifice of battle rather than the battle itself. It's quite important then with that perspective that the music is introspective and doesn't build to a big moment because that's not what it's about. I saw someone's interpretation of the ending pose of him putting his sword back up. That interpretation is possible because the music seems to invite the listener to think about finding peace with/from their past. How could you convey that with music that has the chaos of a western-styled series of crescendos and build that so many people seem to think he should be skating to?

 

I would ignore those comments.  Unfamiliar musical composition sounds like indistinct noise to human species unless their hearing capabalities are trained and enhanced from early infant/childhood.  It takes practice upon practice to open your mind and learn to hear and see beauty all around us.  Artists create the bridge between us and that place of enlightenment.  And Yuzu is channeling himself through the art of skating to connect us to new experiences and to new discoveries.  You can't force people to accept his generosity, but pity them for they know not what they do (and they are missing out on one helluva a magical party!).  

 

I find it interesting that many "westerners" find Baroque music boring and repetitive because they are not exposed to these instruments and cadences in a modern setting. So it's not just "Asian" music, but perhaps any composition with complex musical phrasing.  Yet, one can walk around the town squares of Prague and you can find musicians playing Telemann's trumpet solo on the streets and crowds gathered around in rapture to hear that glorious sound.  Or you can be moved to tears by the soulful voice of Parisa who cries for her homeland Iran, but then the bubble bursts when a neighbor complains and ask to  turn down that "caterwaul"... oh, the pity!        

 

BTW, the composer of the H&E original music is Isao Tomita  富田勲 - who is a well known composer in Japan, but perhaps better known overseas for his pioneering work on electronic music (Tomita synthesizer).   He composed the theme music for many anime as well as multiple NHK dramas, so his music is intertwined in the memory of many Japanese from my generation.  I think he is masterful at creating a complex texture of sound - perhaps coming from his long experience with electronic music composition.  

 

Some thoughts on the H&E composition:  It seems Yuzu has re-arranged the original theme music to enhance the drama of the 4 minute program, with the  main motif representing the sound of rolling waves, which come and recede repeatedly with different intensities.  The opening starts with he roaring of the battle, which recedes with the light cascade of biwa strings into a lull - perhaps a pause in the battle or a moment of reflection in one's life, as Uesugi Kenshin did when he asked himself whether all the killing was right.  The quiet moment passes into another wave of music as the force of history rises up again and throws us upward (the moment of 3A-2T combo) and we parry with a flowing counter-measure (this is the 3Lo) to regain balance.  In the quiet moment in the middle, the plucking of the strings represent the "aha" moment as the neural network in our brain cells make connection (sorry, I'm a molecular biologist) as Kenshin has a brief glimpse of satori/nirvana (or in the case of Yuzu, a feeling that he's got that Nessie 4A!).  But it's only a glimpse as we are thrown back into the waves again (4T-3T, 4T-eu-3S). The music builds up toward the final climactic wave which does not end in a fanfare but fades into a gentle denouement of stroking music, lulling us into meditation, and snaps into the dramatic closing motion of reaching out to Heaven while staying connected to Earth.   Is this the moment of satori and nirvana?  Or is this the lament of Jesus as he cries out to his father - oh, why hast thou forsaken me?  We don't know the answer - it's up to us to keep striving and the story leaves us with a feeling of awakening and a renewed energy /commitment to keep dancing in the storm.  

 

A human story is not a simple, linear story, because life is complex and we can only arrive at a deeper understanding when we reflect and recover through many rounds of suffering and effort.  This is the story of Yuzu, and the story of all of us living through the pandemic.     

 

I leave you with the clip of the opening of original Taiga drama series, "Ten to Chi to", and a short segment (poor quality video) of that famous meeting of Kenshin with his arch-rival Takeda Shingen in a one-to-one match.  Kenshin has his buddhist white cowl and mounted on a white horse, with blue garment underneath - this image of Kenshin has been seared into my brain from my childhood days.   Lord Shingen, by contrast, is bedecked in bright red armor.  They battled each other but they also respected and cared deeply about each other's well being (except that they were willing to go kill each other - go figure - men!).   

 

12 minutes ago, CiONTUw4A said:

 

This post has been tagged by Fay as [NEWS].

Rewatching this; I love his little finger wiggle when he hears his placement

2 hours ago, CiONTUw4A said:

Oh this is so adorable, though I have no idea what the text said.

 

 

 

I love runrun's art work, and happy that she is resuming her artwork.  

 

She says "What was delivered was an advent - this is how it felt to me" 

 

You can see H&E gently falling into the huge sock, and the tiny LMEY already inside!  

What occurred to me was when listening to him talk about the "light at the end of this dark tunnel" is that this is the second time Yuzuru has been called on to be an icon and exemplar during a disaster with people suffering and in pain. There have been other figure skating icons (Yuna) and other sporting icons in Japan itself, but most haven't had to step up and speak up like this during disaster once, let alone twice. That teenage boy who ran out from a collapsing ice rink, and now the mature young man who has been through so many highs and lows... no one could blame him for being tired of the pressure, putting himself and his safety first just once and letting someone else be that icon.

 

But he doesn't.

 

Please excuse the rhetoric, but it came to me and I got that catch in the back of my throat, and had to say it. Here, where people will understand.

3 hours ago, Paskud said:

wild kitty appeared!

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

 

So this is the penultimate Yuzu white wall video of 2020....

 

 

1 hour ago, Umebachi said:

 

I would ignore those comments.  Unfamiliar musical composition sounds like indistinct noise to human species unless their hearing capabalities are trained and enhanced from early infant/childhood.  It takes practice upon practice to open your mind and learn to hear and see beauty all around us.  Artists create the bridge between us and that place of enlightenment.  And Yuzu is channeling himself through the art of skating to connect us to new experiences and to new discoveries.  You can't force people to accept his generosity, but pity them for they know not what they do (and they are missing out on one helluva a magical party!).  

 

I find it interesting that many "westerners" find Baroque music boring and repetitive because they are not exposed to these instruments and cadences in a modern setting. So it's not just "Asian" music, but perhaps any composition with complex musical phrasing.  Yet, one can walk around the town squares of Prague and you can find musicians playing Telemann's trumpet solo on the streets and crowds gathered around in rapture to hear that glorious sound.  Or you can be moved to tears by the soulful voice of Parisa who cries for her homeland Iran, but then the bubble bursts when a neighbor complains and ask to  turn down that "caterwaul"... oh, the pity!        

 

BTW, the composer of the H&E original music is Isao Tomita  富田勲 - who is a well known composer in Japan, but perhaps better known overseas for his pioneering work on electronic music (Tomita synthesizer).   He composed the theme music for many anime as well as multiple NHK dramas, so his music is intertwined in the memory of many Japanese from my generation.  I think he is masterful at creating a complex texture of sound - perhaps coming from his long experience with electronic music composition.  

 

Some thoughts on the H&E composition:  It seems Yuzu has re-arranged the original theme music to enhance the drama of the 4 minute program, with the  main motif representing the sound of rolling waves, which come and recede repeatedly with different intensities.  The opening starts with he roaring of the battle, which recedes with the light cascade of biwa strings into a lull - perhaps a pause in the battle or a moment of reflection in one's life, as Uesugi Kenshin did when he asked himself whether all the killing was right.  The quiet moment passes into another wave of music as the force of history rises up again and throws us upward (the moment of 3A-2T combo) and we parry with a flowing counter-measure (this is the 3Lo) to regain balance.  In the quiet moment in the middle, the plucking of the strings represent the "aha" moment as the neural network in our brain cells make connection (sorry, I'm a molecular biologist) as Kenshin has a brief glimpse of satori/nirvana (or in the case of Yuzu, a feeling that he's got that Nessie 4A!).  But it's only a glimpse as we are thrown back into the waves again (4T-3T, 4T-eu-3S). The music builds up toward the final climactic wave which does not end in a fanfare but fades into a gentle denouement of stroking music, lulling us into meditation, and snaps into the dramatic closing motion of reaching out to Heaven while staying connected to Earth.   Is this the moment of satori and nirvana?  Or is this the lament of Jesus as he cries out to his father - oh, why hast thou forsaken me?  We don't know the answer - it's up to us to keep striving and the story leaves us with a feeling of awakening and a renewed energy /commitment to keep dancing in the storm.  

 

A human story is not a simple, linear story, because life is complex and we can only arrive at a deeper understanding when we reflect and recover through many rounds of suffering and effort.  This is the story of Yuzu, and the story of all of us living through the pandemic.     

 

I leave you with the clip of the opening of original Taiga drama series, "Ten to Chi to", and a short segment (poor quality video) of that famous meeting of Kenshin with his arch-rival Takeda Shingen in a one-to-one match.  Kenshin has his buddhist white cowl and mounted on a white horse, with blue garment underneath - this image of Kenshin has been seared into my brain from my childhood days.   Lord Shingen, by contrast, is bedecked in bright red armor.  They battled each other but they also respected and cared deeply about each other's well being (except that they were willing to go kill each other - go figure - men!).   

 

 

Thank you so much for your insight. This really helps me better understand what Yuzu is trying to say through the program.

 

Latest fanart:

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, TallyT said:

What occurred to me was when listening to him talk about the "light at the end of this dark tunnel" is that this is the second time Yuzuru has been called on to be an icon and exemplar during a disaster with people suffering and in pain. There have been other figure skating icons (Yuna) and other sporting icons in Japan itself, but most haven't had to step up and speak up like this during disaster once, let alone twice. That teenage boy who ran out from a collapsing ice rink, and now the mature young man who has been through so many highs and lows... no one could blame him for being tired of the pressure, putting himself and his safety first just once and letting someone else be that icon.

 

But he doesn't.

 

Please excuse the rhetoric, but it came to me and I got that catch in the back of my throat, and had to say it. Here, where people will understand.

 

Perhaps because of his experience being called upon to be that icon of hope for 3/11, Yuzu is quicker to recognize the need for such an icon now and knows that he is in a position to be one such. One could hope more people with his kind of influence would follow suit.

 

 

 

Both programs were amazing.

However, I have noticed he did not include the Lutz jump in his FS. I wonder why he decided not to do it. In the first half of the program he had the 4Lo and also a 3Lo. As we know already the points you get for 3Lo are less than those you could get for 3Lz. Maybe including a 3Lz will increase the base value of the program.

 

I ask myself also why the spin after the 3A in the SP was not counted. I've seen several comments on youtube stating that it did not have the required number of rotations (which is false since it had at least 3 rotations in each position), or that the referees mistook the sit twizzel as a spin instead of a transition to the proper spin. Does anyone know anything about it? From his interview it seems that even Yuzuru did not know why this happened.

3 hours ago, Paskud said:

wild kitty appeared!

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

I just realized that he must have gone and searched out a white wall at Nationals that he could use specifically for this...guess he wants to be consistent in his 2020 videos.

6 minutes ago, rodica said:

Both programs were amazing.

However, I have noticed he did not include the Lutz jump in his FS. I wonder why he decided not to do it. In the first half of the program he had the 4Lo and also a 3Lo. As we know already the points you get for 3Lo are less than those you could get for 3Lz. Maybe including a 3Lz will increase the base value of the program.

 

I ask myself also why the spin after the 3A in the SP was not counted. I've seen several comments on youtube stating that it did not have the required number of rotations (which is false since it had at least 3 rotations in each position), or that the referees mistook the sit twizzel as a spin instead of a transition to the proper spin. Does anyone know anything about it? From his interview it seems that even Yuzuru did not know why this happened.

I like the 3Lo where it is. Its placement is perfect and I wouldn't change it even for higher points. 

And this should answer your question about the spin. So far all opinions I've seen, even from people who have not been fair to Yuzu before, is that the call is extremely harsh and unreasonable. JSF is bs and biased as always. 

 

Here is a link to twitter with Javier Fernandez commenting Yuzu's SP

 

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

 

[NEWS]

and another link to instagram with Javi' comments also on the FS

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJRVIbNJgvF/?fbclid=IwAR1SXY7RxBN-DteFr9Do4yuBW0m2fjrDjzqRWRxfBR77c5P09IFYLYjDKaI