マイナスファイヴ絶好調で発進です！
　まずはツアーもあります。アルバムもでます。ツアーはロビン・ヒッチコックといっしょだったりします。
Minus 5 Tour and Record Information
Submitted by ethank on Tue, 01/10/2006 - 6:19am. :: buck
The Minus 5 is set to tour with Robyn Hitchcock for a short West Coast jaunt in late February. It'll kcik off in San Diego and crawl to the north for seven dates, ending up in Seattle in early March. They will also be playing SXSW in Austin, TX during the Yep Roc showcase. Ethan (me) will be there for the WBR showcase and will report fully on what should be a memorable show.
The dates are as follows:
February 2006
23 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up Tavern
24 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House
25 - Los Angeles, CA - Key Club
27 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
March 2006
2 - Eugene, OR - Sam Bond's
3 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
4 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
The Minus 5's "The Gun" will be released February 7th. See related links on the left for more information regard
なんと、アルバムは日本盤も出ます。日本発売も２月らしい。ってことは、日本ツアーもあるかもしれないですねええ？？？？ワハハハハハ。

　ところでここのところ心臓バクバク自律神経めちゃ壊れ状態の和田。ワイパックスを毎日ガブ飲みしております。かなり駄目駄目です。
　が。昨日は這うようにして大相撲行きました〜。はぁ〜〜。生で見た朝青龍！席がけっこう近くて、あのプニプニの生肌を感じました〜。すごく色白でもち肌で綺麗〜〜〜。でも昨日は、いつもの懸賞金受け取るときのギッと右をにらみつけて「オレの金じゃっ！」ってのが（←勝手にそうだと私が言ってるだけだが）ちょっとあんまり弱くて、がっかり。もっともっとにらんで〜〜〜！と思いました。でもやっぱり彼はヒール役。となりの席のオババたちなんて「朝青龍負けろ〜〜」とか叫んでたもん。きっと毎日そんな声が彼の耳に届いてるのねって思うと、チャンピオンって孤独…とか思いました。日本人って判官びいきよね〜〜。強すぎる王者は嫌いなのよねぇ。
　両国。中野からは思っていた以上に近くて。来週、またフラリと一人で行って、上の方の席から見ちゃおうかなぁ〜とか思いました。すごくガラガラだし。お気に入りの嘉風（４連敗中）を応援しに行こうかしら？とか思ったりぃ。なんか、すごく異空間で、面白かったです、国技館。そこだけで通用する着物姿な人たちがたくさんたくさん立ち働いていて、もう何百年もそういうのが続いているんだと思うと、不思議でした。気分転換というか、不思議気分を味わえる場所をまた見つけてしまった！という感じですね。

　今日はグオオオオとまた働いておりました。ユニバーサルさんからリリースされるウエディング音楽のコンピレーションの解説なんて書いておりました（笑）。
　えっ？結婚もできない和田がウエディング音楽？笑わせるなぁ〜って。へいへい。そのとおりでごぜえます。しかし和田は悲しいことに（？）ウエディングといえばこの雑誌！「ゼクシィ」＠リクルートで、ウエディングに使うにピッタリヨ〜の音楽を紹介しつづけて早10年…。プロなんですよ〜、プロ。その分野では…。ふっ。悲しい。ちなみにこのウエディング音楽ちゅ〜、ちょいケッタイな分野を作ったのは、今やＲ２５でブイブイ言わせてる編集F君…（←編集長）。どうでもいいが、彼の履歴からは、和田のこのバカ本（←この左とか上↑に書かれた…）を編集した過去は消されてるはず…。
　ところで、で、そのウエディングコンピに、なつかしのハンソンのンーバップが入ってて、いや〜ん。やっぱりいい曲ぅ〜〜〜！と悶えました。こんなにも10代の切なさがこめられてる曲って少ない！タイトルどおりに本当にキラメキ！私はこういう、10代の子供だけが表現できる、刹那の輝きみたいのが本当に本当に大好き。（みんなはうんざりのＴＡＴＵにもそれがあったと思う、私は…。絵画で言うと、ヘンリー・ダーガーの世界です！）
　で。明日は相撲です！　ふっふ〜、桝席ゲットだぜ！明日は生・朝青龍！あのプニプニの肌を側で見れる〜〜〜♪

　ハゲちんのなんだかグロなセルフポートレートと共にコールドプレイとの共演について書いてありましたね＠ＨＱ。で、Ive seen coldplay many times over the past few years, including the atlanta show of a few months ago. They have taken it up several notches in the live show, which is superb, engaging, brilliantly paced; the austin city limits taping completing for me what became an end of year of unparalleled charisma; u2 at msg in nyc, dolly parton in atlanta, then patti smith in brooklyn; then coldplay in austin.ってのは、誉めすぎ？　ショーをやるたびに、すんばらしい、カチッとかみ合った、ブリリアントなペースを身に付けちゃってて、はげちんが昨年末に続けて見たＵ２とかパティ・スミスのショーとパラレルするみたいに特別な魅力がグワングワンだったんだよねぇとかって言ってる？（注：オレの英語力は英検２級も落ちたくらいですから信用しないでください）ボノの心の声→「ええっ、マジ言ってるぅ？だってあの新作って、オレっちそっくりの曲ばっかりでエッジなんて『オレのギター真似すんじゃねえ』ってぶち切れてたよ〜ん」か？？
　って。私、本当にコールドプレイ嫌いだなぁ。しみじみするほど。彼らにはあの仰々しさに匹敵する切迫感がゼロなんだもん。だからただのつるつると表面綺麗なポップスにしか聞えない。でもポップスの割には仰々しくて駄目って…堂堂巡りなんだよねぇ。どうしても駄目だわ。ごみんに、ファンの人たちよ。
　ところで今日は朝から合気道に、遅れてしまったけど行きました。先生が「よ〜く来たねぇ。くればいいことあるよ〜」と、オレを励ましてた（笑）。でも練習する相手がいなかったので、子供チームに入れてもらい、小学生たちとやってました（爆）。で、小学６年生の男の子が「これ、知ってるぅ？」と言って、アネハの替え歌とか歌ってくれました。なんか新鮮。
　

　今日、「パソコンならお任せよ」のＴ夫妻が来てくれて、ジャンジャジャ〜ン。これまでのおんぼろＰＣ君から、友達のママにもらった中古（←やはりもらい物）ＰＣ君に変身したのですわ！ついに！ヤッタァ！
　しかしウイルスバスターのせいなのか、とにかくネットが超遅い。まるでダイアルアップのように遅い。イライライライライライライラ。ウイルスバスターって本当にいやっ。でも入れてないと不安だしねぇ。でも正直、今日までつかってたおんぼろ君はもう、ウイルスバスターを背負えなかったので、いれてなかったんだけど・・・特に何ってなかったんだけど・・・。ふ〜ん。
　とにもかくにも！ＰＣが新しく変身してくれてうれしいです！あぁ。体もこんな風に新しく変えられたらいいのになぁ。アンパンマンみたいに、オヂさんが新しい顔とか作ってくんないかなぁ〜。＠朝からタクシーで病院に行ってた和田のつぶやき。
　ハゲちん＆コールドプレイは放映されたみたいっすね。お互いに「おいしい」共演。でもってクリス・マーティンはいつもどおりに仰々しい感じでやっていたのだろうか？あの白々しいほどのコッテリさ。まぁ、だからこそわかりやすくてアメリカで売れたんだろうけど。ときどきあの人を見ると、トムヨークが「キイイイィイ、俺の真似して売れやがって！」と怒ってる姿など想像して笑ってる私です。
　明日は朝から合気道初稽古ですが、いけるかなぁ〜。寒いしなぁ…。

消えないうちにここに移しておきますね。
ＲＥＭ２００５の記録集＠マーマーズ（これ、役に立つんだわ…笑）

It was a year that saw R.E.M. resume a soon-triumphant world tour, the discovery of the earliest surviving live recording of the band and the retreat to the shadows of this website's illustrious leader. Perusing the highlights that set tongues wagging, Murmurs looks back at the news stories that defined the R.E.M. universe in 2005.

Do go back to Belgrade (January 20)
Have you ever met the Serbian president? R.E.M. have, and here are the photos to prove it. An informal chat with Boris Tadic was just one of the ways in which the capital welcomed the band in January.

The city's Ozone gallery was busy showing a full-scale R.E.M. special, the famed B92 radio station invited them in for an interview and, mirroring B92's commitment to independent transmission during the Balkan conflict, the band played Radio Free Europe at their first ever gig in the city. That wasn't the only honour the region would bestow on the boys - Croatia's Zlatna Kooga music awards picked R.E.M.'s show in Zagreb for their Best Performance by a Foreign Act prize and, elsewhere in eastern Europe, students from Riga, Latvia, later made a documentary exploring the interaction between their love for the band and their growing social freedoms.

Earliest R.E.M. recording surfaces after 24 years in the closet (February 11)
Call it Genesis, The Holy Grail, a search for the maker - when you want direction, you go to source. When Murmursian gravity113 found a forgotten cassette tape with an old R.E.M. recording on it, he was intrigued. With extra detective work from a small-but-busy army of excited community members, the piece was identified as a May 30, 1980, gig at Athens' 40 Watt Club - the earliest known R.E.M. live recording ever. Uncovered and shared via peer-to-peer software Bit Torrent, the discovery embodied the wonderful spirit of online communion amongst R.E.M. fans. Hallelujah.
More after the jump

Mike's illness forces postponement and cancellations (February 21)
Well, it wouldn't be an R.E.M. tour without at least one visit to A&E. When text messages started coming through from Sheffield about a sickness with Mike forcing the band to cancel their show up north, we feared the worst. In fact, the Mills was merely struck down with a nasty strain of a virulent European flu and, though he was taken to hospital, would turn out just fine. The band also had to reschedule their Glasgow date that week but were back on form just days later in Birmingham and made good on promises to return to both missed cities later on. Meanwhile, the subsequent recording from a compensatory Peter-and-Michael acapella set at the ill-fated show is one of the sweetest you'll ever hear.

R.E.M.'s New Zealand shower - file under water (March 27)
On arrival in Kiwi country, R.E.M. were warmly welcomed by a band of Taranaki's Maori locals (not so warmly by the region's hoteliers). That wasn't as bizarre as it would get, however - the entire gig was played with a duck-filled pond sandwiched between the band and the audience. When the rain started pouring down during a spiritual set that night, many gig-goers waded waste-high into the pond for a closer glimpse, as R.E.M. struck up Have You Ever Seen The Rain? and Nightswimming. Rain, in fact, was reawakened as a dominant theme for R.E.M. in 2005 - the band was deluged in Hull and, gloriously, Cologne. That blue stripe sure can run, Michael (maybe it's Maybelline?).
R.E.M. turn 25 on Adelaide's sunny shore (April 6)
And they had cake, too. Cheering anyone still with an eye on solidarity and times gone by, R.E.M. took time off to celebrate their own achievements over the last quarter-century. It almost went unnoticed, but that was because the band was in the middle of a tour in which they were presenting themselves as vivacious, enthusiastic and relevant - time flies when you're having fun. Murmurs, too, marked the occasion with a live tribute back to the band, the ThankYouREM website. Here's to 25 more!
More after the jump

That's It, I'm Leaving Murmurs (May 25)
And he meant it. Sort of. Murmurs founder Ethan Kaplan, having scored a funky day job at R.E.M. label Warner Bros. Records, announced he was to take a back seat to avoid conflicts of interest. Ethan joined the throng of homesteaders on the electronic frontier when he started a web homage to his favourite band in 1996. Nine years and 20,000 members later, Murmurs is the biggest single online gathering of R.E.M. fans and, usually, a very beautiful place. Kaplan recently implemented a whole site upgrade from the sidelines.

R.E.M. stand with Suu Kyi in Dublin-Burma broadcast (June 19)
Not ones to let earlier political events get them down (what election?), R.E.M. joined other artists and politicians expressing solidarity with detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi when they picked her 60th birthday to dedicate three personal bravery anthems at Ardgillan Castle, Dublin. In delicious globalised-media irony, the concert was beamed right into Burma, which has a military government, via an Oslo-based TV network.
R.E.M. join Live8 acts on big gig day and R.E.M. complete second gig of back-to-back Saturday (June 30)
Already booked to play Switzerland's St Gallen Festival that evening, R.E.M. couldn't turn down the invitation, when it came, to join the summer's big G8 rock fest. Mimicking Phil Collins' jetsetting antics at the original Live Aid, the band dropped a favourites set to rave reviews from one of their largest ever audiences, before flying across Europe to make good on their tour schedule. Watching live around the world, Murmursians, too, covered both events with several marathon posting sessions.

London blasts force postponement of Hyde Park show (July 7)
When London suffered a terrorist bombing atrocity on July 7, Mike Mills was asleep in bed in the city; the band was using London as a staging post for its second UK stint on the run-in to a Cardiff tour finale. In fact, in the hours following the explosions, it became clear that R.E.M. would have to postpone their July 9 Hyde Park date by a week, following what Bertis Downs described as a "sad day". When the band played its first show since the attacks, up the road in Ipswich some days later, they could have been forgiven for not knowing quite how to respond -- after opening with Everybody Hurts and reading a statement, the band played a storming set in celebration of life and hope, a theme that appeared to mark the closing days of the tour.
An epiphany of positivity - hope unbounded (July 10)
It was during this period, toward the tour's end, that I, perhaps finally, realised what R.E.M. meant. I had already been healed and jumpstarted into a new outlook by October 2004's optimistic Around The Sun. Now, thumping the Cardiff air as R.E.M. mobilised fellow outsiders to infuse "volcanic change of thought", injecting Electron Blue's future addiction along with tens of thousands of others, having Mike Mills tell me beforehand they would play to heal the crowd and, most of all, mouthing back the words "we are young, we are concern, we are hope despite the times", it became starkly clear. R.E.M. - in their against-the-grain chords, their poetry, in their whole ongoing story - represent unlikely hope in the face of adversity. Anthemic and spiritual, the band may again have been riding the border between outsiderdom and stadium status, and it's in that dichotomy that I was hit with the realisation R.E.M. have a way to tap the hurt outsider in each and every one of us, yet make us feel as though we are being addressed directly, and draw out the slightest seed of optmism we may have left but nurture it into something beautiful and flowering, something that, above all, overcomes. On personal and sadly topical levels, the band had never felt more relevant - the tour may have been drawing to a close, but it felt like just the beginning. Thanks to R.E.M., HQ and Mike for a cool day.

It's The End Of The Tour As We Know It (Really) (July 17)
Never let it be said that R.E.M.'s 2004/05 world tour was not a full-on treat. Terrorist attacks in London had delayed the band's Hyde Park show, recasting the date as a new finale. Diehards and casuals alike emerged with delirious reports from a gig that was graced by the appearance of Patti Smith and which rounded off a tour consisting of something like 123 dates. Given 10 out of 10 by a majority of Murmursians, the tour was a triumphant, energetic, stratospheric experience from a band that didn't want to come down. After it all, Michael Stipe couldn't contain himself, so he wrote a loving thank-you note to anyone who would listen; Bertis, too, had to write it out of his system. Murmurs' response was a resounding "we love you, too".
R.E.M. play surprise show in Athens with Bill Berry (October 17)
Imagine R.E.M. playing at your wedding reception. Now imagine Bill Berry rejoining the band to celebrate that occasion. Good? Dewitt Burton imagined no more when - between periods of party downtime, side-project work and charity golf comps - the band played an impromptu, seven-song set at a local bowling alley, marking the guitar tech's marriage to sweetheart Jackie. "It was awesome to look behind me and see Bill on drums," said Mike Mills. To say the fans "enjoyed" the experience, too, wouldn't do justice to the numbers the news from the 'ol Athens epicentre registered on Murmurs' richter scale that weekend back home -- Newsstand's most-read story of the year (and the second most popular ever) was a no-brainer.

Santa Mills lights up Athens' Christmas downtown parade (Dec 1)
Picture the percussionist songwriter of one of the most important bands of the last 30 years as a local civic dignatory. Mr Mills waved deftly to locals as he rode an open-top car through the hometown's Christmas parade this month, partly dressed as Santa Claus. Mike is a regular at the annual event, but Clarke County couldn't resist the opportunity to invite one of its favourite sons to take part in the occasion. So, if you see Mr Mills driving through town, do give him a wave - but remember, his wave will probably be much better than yours.

７月から１２月に飛ぶって…アンタ！と突っ込みつつも、去年１年よ〜頑張ったＲＥＭに感謝を！今年も頑張ってほしいなぁ〜。

　ヤフーのニュースを見ていたら、大好きなネリー・マッカイちゃんが新作でコロムビアレコードとモメモメで契約を解消したとあった。ガックシ〜。ネリーちゃんの新作、楽しみにしてるのにぃ。コロムビアはさぁ、最近、フィオナ・アップルの件でも評判下げてて、どうなってるんだいなぁ？
　ところで今日、公園で野良猫を４匹見ました。２匹はもう大きくて白黒の奴で、顔つきもすっかりノラのふてぶてしい顔してたけど、もう２匹は茶トラの仔猫で、明らかに鼻水ズルズルの猫エイズで、体震わせてて・・。近所の猫オヂ（珍しい！猫オバではなく、オヂ！）がエサを上げていて食べてはいたけど、この寒さだしなぁ〜、乗越えられるだろうか？と思った。もし家が１軒家とかだったら猫も連れて来てあげたいけど、アパートだからそれもならず…。いつもそういう猫を見てしまうと後ろ髪ひかれる思いがしますです…。
　でも猫って、本当に猫の頭（←ｂｙうちのママ。私のバカさを言う時に、いつもママが「お前は猫の頭だね！」と言う）だから、助けてあげても忘れちゃうんだよね！昔、師匠の事務所で働いてる時代、事務所に猫がいたから、外からノラさんがよく入って来ちゃってて、その中の、私らが「ペペ」と名付けた白い長毛の猫さんがケガしたりしてたから、捕獲して病院に入れ→手術してもらって助けたのに、１ヶ月後、向かいの家にもらわれた後には→フウウウウッ！と怒られるくらい忘れられた。かなぴぃ。
　しかしそのとき野良猫を手術＆入院させてくれた、高田馬場の木村動物病院さんの先生は、「あなたたちもお金ないでしょ。この子はノラさんだし」と、わずか１万円しか取らなかったのでした…（恐らく本当は何十万だよぉ）。先生は最高にいい先生でした。今もあるのかなぁ、木村動物病院＠高田馬場。
　そういや、年末、師匠の家にいたら、その、昔飼っていた猫さん、ジャッケル君の写真が出てきて涙。和田が人生で最も愛した猫さんです…ジャッケル君（と、ヘッケル君でした。２匹で和田の人生のある時期を支えてくれたのでした）。

　ハゲちん、ハピバの今日。はぁ〜。朝から原稿出しました。しかしもうおとといにも原稿１本すでに出してて、年明けから働くオレです。
　そんなオレを年明け早々萌やしてくれたのが、いや〜〜〜〜ん（←悶える）昨夜の『八犬伝』でした〜〜〜〜〜〜♪
　うふ〜。そうそう。タッキー！！相変わらず演技はへたくそで、義経との区別もつかんのですが（←でも義経のお陰で座り方とか乗馬とか上手いでした）、とにかく普段着のダサダサっぷりとは比べ物にならんくらい、着物が素敵〜〜〜。烏帽子が似合う〜〜〜〜〜。ウットリ〜〜〜〜〜。そして、ラスト、白装束の花婿になり、これがもおおおお、萌え〜〜〜〜〜〜〜！これが本当の萌え〜〜〜〜だ！と叫びをあげた和田です（←怖い…）。
　いやぁ。似合い過ぎっすよ。和田は常々「タッキーは１年中着物でいろ」という持論を展開しているのですが、その花婿姿で永遠にいれば、世のオババたちもヨン様から→タッキー様に乗り変えること必須！オババのアイドル、ズンドコ氷川も真っ青っすよ。本当に。オババ殺しですね。ぜひとも「源氏物語」などを演じて欲しいと思う美しさでひた。和田、悩殺されました〜（笑）。
　実際のところ、タッキー…。タキツバとしては今一つでジャニーズもちょっともてあましてるらしい（業界情報）。しかし、着物で源氏。これで行けばジャニーズ初の本格的時代劇俳優も夢じゃないぞ！くそぉ、ジャニーズにご注進に行きたいっす。
　それにしても白。白ってイイ男しか似合わないっすよね（ｂｙ親友リエちゃん）。そういや「りーヴぃんぐにゅーよーく〜〜〜」とか歌いながら白スーツ着てたオジもいたっけ…（でも以前、ロンドンのショーで着てた白スーツは似合ってました）。
　ところで「八犬伝」では管野美穂が、復讐に燃えた妖怪女を演じておりましたが、あまりに似合い過ぎてて怖かったっす。管野…視聴率の取れない女と今、業界では呼ばれてるそうです（←このあいだやってたドラマがコケて。でもよかったけどね）が、これからはこの妖怪路線でぜひぜひ突っ走れ。次作は「妖怪人間ベム｣で決まりだ！（ほら、ベラだっけ？あの役！ピッタリすぎ！）

ＰＳ：殺界年の今年初の、今日は大凶日らしい。ふぃ〜〜ん。朝から確かに具合ワルワル。