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Interview with Miya (MUCC/G)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you first learn about hide?

A: I first knew him as X JAPAN’s guitarist. I listened to that on my older brother’s CD when I was in elementary school.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: I thought how cool it was that those two guitarists where the exact opposite in personality. How they got their hair to stand up like that. Since I had never listened to violent music like that before, I received quite the shock. I devotedly copied hide-san’s parts, but failed many times. (laughs)

Q3: Please tell us of a way in which hide influenced you. A: In various ways. As a guitarist, as an entertainer. This is what individuality means, I thought.

Q4: What did hide mean to you?

A: Someone who couldn’t be missing from my own life as a musician.

Q5: How did you collect information?

A: Since internet and mobile phones weren’t widely used yet when I was in elementary school, exclusively through TV and CD’s, and magazines.

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: “DICE”. When I heard it for the first time, it had a tremendous impact. When I heard his solo for the first time, I thought this was amazing and just like hide-san. The jacket and all were also fantastic. So much so that the first CD our band’s vocalist ever bought was “HIDE YOUR FACE”.

#hide #translation #hide bible #interview #MUCC #as always approving of this song choice #DICE is one of my favorites if that wasn't obvious

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Interview with RYO (Orange Range/Vox)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you first learn about hide?

A: I got to know him through X JAPAN’s final live.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: As a guitarist, he was the one with the most presence.

Q3: Please tell us of a way in which hide influenced you. A: I liked his songs, in any case, so I often sang them at karaoke at the time (laughs).

Q4: What did hide mean to you?

A: Now that he’s passed away, his existence has rapidly become massive. Even now, as a musician, I respect him from the bottom of my heart.

Q5: How did you collect information?

A: I frantically exchanged information with band mates and friends.

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: Although the song “Pinnk Spider” itself is a rock song, the contents of its lyrics are extremely positive, and I’ve come to love it because of its deep meaning.

#hide #hide bible #translation #interview #orange range #I have quite a few of these in the pipeline #but I am lazy when it comes to typing them down #and I want to spread them out while transcribling my notes on the long interviews

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Interview with Miyagi Hiroshi (Hair & Make-up)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you meet hide for the first time?

A: 17 years ago.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: A humble and polite person with an enormous hat and sunglasses.

Q3: Please tell us of an episode with hide that left an impression on you.

A: Like when, during a tour, hide-san, who loved alcohol, matched my pace of drinking (at the time about one glass of beer) but in the end… after all… was still flipping out like that? When it came to cutting his hair short, I was told, “Do as you please, Miyagi,” and being entrusted with it like that made me super happy. That I was being recognized like that… you know.

Q4: What kind of person was hide to you?

A: He was like a master [in the sense of teacher] to me. He taught me a lot and I learned a lot of things.

Q5: If you ever saw him live, please tell us of your impression.

A: He was an amazing entertainer, I thought, like a surprise box. I want to know what’s going on inside his head.

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: “Pink Spider”, filming the PV in L.A. was fun (even though it was terrible).

#hide #translation #interview #hide bible #remember this guy he's gonna come up in the long interview with INA #which will come up one day #I filled a notebook with handwritten notes on it and it will be approximately 10 eternities before I turn those into something legible #so look forward to that #first there will be a bunch more shorts to pass the time

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Interview with UDA (TOKYO YANKEES / Dr)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you meet hide for the first time?

A: The first meeting was when I was about 20 years old, at a band battle in Kagarazaka’s live house EXPLOSION.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: His makeup was flashy and his stage performance absolutely amazing.

Q3: Please tell us of an episode with hide that left an impression on you.

A: When the Yankees went to Los Angeles for recording, he took care of us in various ways. When we went to a bar, he ate nothing but pickles.

Q4: What kind of person was hide to you?

A: He was my senior I respected in many ways, even though he was only one year older than me.

Q5: If you ever saw him live, please tell us of your impression.

A: Magnificent and admirable.

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: I love “Pink Spider”, even though I couldn’t tell you why.

#hide #translation #interview #hide bible #tokyo yankees #who ate nothing but pickles? #who knows #sentences with subjects are for the weak #I assigned the pickles to hide because it seems in line with them being weird about food #EDIT: magnetklaue has pointed out to me that I missed the opportunity for a pregnancy joke here and I am so ashamed

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Interview with YOSHINUMA (TOKYO YANKEES / G, Vo)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you meet hide for the first time?

A: In 1991, at the stadium in Meguro.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: A flashy person...

Q3: Please tell us of an episode with hide that left an impression on you.

A: Things like when we were drinking in Yokosuka and I wasn’t feeling well and went to the toilet to puke, hide-san came to ask, “Are you okay?”, but when I opened the door, he said with a smile, “You’re feeling bad because you didn’t drink enough! Yes. Drink!” and handed me a beer he’d brought…?

Q4: What kind of person was hide to you?

A: A rockstar.

Q5: If you ever saw him live, please tell us of your impression.

A: An angry person.

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: “Sadistic Desire”, for no particular reason (laughs).

#hide #interview #translation #hide bible #tokyo yankees #short and delightfully uncomplicated

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Interview with NORI (TOKYO YANKEES / G, Vo)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you meet hide for the first time?

A: At the first live after hide-chan and Pata became X’s guitarists.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: I guess I was being impertinent, he didn’t pay me much mind (laughs).

Q3: Please tell us of an episode with hide that left an impression on you.

A: It’s been more than twenty years, but I remember us drinking merrily in bars until morning and then going to fool around in the mountains or at the beach. And not just once or twice (laughs). Then, he often got mad at the practical jokes executed by me and Ume (laughs).

Q4: What kind of person was hide to you?

A: Due to me being younger, he was just always taking care of me.

Q5: If you ever saw him live, please tell us of your impression.

A: Live… I’ve got to see it from the back so many times! The duo of Matsumoto-sempai and Ishizuka-sempai has influenced me in various ways. From the audience, however, I hardly ever saw it (laughs).

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: I listened to “Sadistic Desire” every time! I also loved hide-chan’s chorus!

#hide #translation #interview #hide bible #tokyo yankees #Sadistic Desire is also a good choice #another vote from me

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Interview with Yamamoto Takao (TV Asahi / Music Station Chief Producer)

Published in the hide BIBLE (by Akemi Oshima) 2008

Q1: When did you meet hide for the first time?

A: In August 1988, at the rehearsal before X’s first Music Station appearance at our metropolitan studio.

Q2: Please tell us what kind of impression you had at the time.

A: He gave the impression of being a quiet young man.

Q3: Please tell us of an episode with hide that left an impression on you.

A: There were various from the time with X, but hide had numerous performances at M-Station as a solo artist as well. I, as the director, discussed things with him at every step, and I got to see his ideas, his talent as a creator. At the beginning of his solo career, he sang DICE in a military uniform, and seeing men and women get naked and wind around this hide through the bars of a prison cell during a live broadcast (I’m worried this is not understandable when described in words) was truly exciting. Looking back, I think we did a good job. And there are endless memories after that, of hide singing inside a sea of ink (he had wanted to sing from a sea of dirt and it turned into a sea of ink), of being flown and so on.

Q4: What kind of person was hide to you?

A: Working with him was a battle between director and artist, I got a lot of madness from him.

Q5: If you ever saw him live, please tell us of your impression.

A: I was deeply moved every time. Yoyogi was fun, wasn’t it?

Q6: Out of hide’s songs, which is your favorite and why?

A: DICE, for the reason given in Q3.

#hide #translation #interview #hide bible #DICE is a good choice #it gets my vote :P

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HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 48 - 50) - Translation

Youth

Sometimes I feel like I’m not young anymore. In terms of age. But when it comes to the things I do, it’s inversely proportional. I don’t remember what I do when I’m drunk, but it seems that I say things like, “Young guys these days…” (laughs) I guess saying things like that make me an old man. (laughs)

Zero

The number that comes before “1”. During my school days, we used “zero” when we meant “nothing”. In a musician’s live, “zero” is the starting point of a band.

[Note: This is about the English word “zero”.]

Rock ‘n’ Roll

A good toy. But an important one. And so, I think that I have been playing around with it seriously, lately. It has been a plaything of mine for a long time, but since it was a mysterious one, I didn’t really understand how to use it. I’ve read the instructions, yet still I feel like the time in which I was just playing around with it, admiring its shape, was pretty long.

#hide #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #translation #words of the bean himself #and that's another project done #ending on a somewhat random note #I really wish I had a timeframe for these quotes

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HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 45 - 47) - Translation

Underwear

During lives I wear briefs. Or nothing. Because briefs fit me well. They sit tight. They don’t fall down if I move around a lot (laughs). I get them from my female fans so I don’t buy them myself. But lately, I’ve been getting a lot of T-backs and O-backs from the fans, so what should I do now? (laughs)

Value

I feel like value lies in “flair” and “encounters”.

Clothes

Lately, I switched over to more appropriate, casual clothes. Because when I get up, I just put on the first thing that’s within reach. I don’t have a preference, though – what I put on, I wear. Outside of the things I wear myself*, though, I would, for example, tell girls, “You should wear something like this,” but then I often get told, “That’s laaame.” (laughs)

*) Full disclosure: I translated this line (自分が切るもの以外) assuming a transcription error. The source used the word "cut" (切る) here, but I translated it as "wear" (着る), which is phonetically the same ("kiru") but uses a differnt kanji. If anyone knows better and can give me the correct translation, I'll be happy to correct it.

#hide #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #translation #words of the bean himself #translating from a language you barely understand is not made easier if the source text has errors in it #if that is indeed what happened

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HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 40 - 44) - Translation

Peace of mind

I’ve bever been there, but: Tahiti. I really love the sea, and I long for that aquamarine color. I dream of living in a house by the sea. And I guess Tahiti can offer that. One day, I want to go there.

Pets

I don’t have any. I’d love to have a dog, but I don’t, because I feel like I wouldn’t be able to walk it and it wouldn’t be happy. But I like animals in general. There is no animal I don’t like.

Doubt

Sometimes, I have doubts about the way I am. It has nothing to do with being good or bad.

Something shocking

The death of the bassist of my former band. All the more because I only found out about it some time later.

[Note: TOKI, or Tokihiko, former bassis of SAVER TIGER, died in a motercycle accident in Summer 1995.]

Travel

Even for travelling, I don’t like to go by airplane. Because I hate airplanes. I also don’t want to move all that much (laughs).

#hide #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #translation #that house by the sea sounds really good #insects are animals too hide #words of the bean himself #(or herself)

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Pink Cloudy Sky, P.S. To the Beginning of the End (Summarized)

Chapter 00 - 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 07 Part 1 Part 2 Final Chapter

From the cloudy sky, as REM sometimes remembered, the warm rays of the spring sun came down.

A somewhat lazy afternoon in late spring. REM was leaning against the wall of the clinic’s waiting room, feeling the weight of the guitar in his knees as he went through the setlist of tomorrow’s live. During practice that night, he would do the final checks. He’d have to plan the timing of the MCs, the finale, the arrangement of the new songs…

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the list of that afternoon’s appointments. There were a few more patients than usual for a Saturday. Maybe he could take a nap first…

No, before those appointments, he had to practice scales.

What was to become of him and SAVER TIGER from now on, no one could say.

He was nervous about it, and impatient. Claiming anything else would have been a lie. The one thing he could say was that leading SAVER TIGER now was the most fulfilling period of his life so far. The one year in which he had put everything into fulfilling hide’s dying wish.

He could not even dream of paying back all he owed him.

But maybe this was enough?

Everything after this, he should do for himself, REM thought.

The SAVER TIGER of those days was over. This was the SAVER TIGER he had breathed new life into.

There was no point in dragging the past forward.

The end of the century, rock music, and SAVER TIGER. Those were the only things that mattered to him in this moment.

Just that, and keeping up the creation of good music, continuing to perform.

He could play the guitar like this. He could feel the strings under his fingers, feel the melody in his ears, feel the music with his whole being.

There was no greater happiness than that.

-

In the afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees, the pick REM was holding in his right hand fell to the floor with a small noise. In his dream, his soul kept sliding over the fingerboard.

-

From autumn 1998 onwards, the new SAVER TIGER continued to go on tour: Starting on the 1st of November 1998 in Yokohama, they had six performances in Yokohama, Yokosuka, Meguro, and Takadanobaba until the 15th of April 1999. Then, in May, they performed in three locations in Yokohama and Takadanobaba.

The second part of their tour started in early August and took them to Osaka, Tokushima, Yokosuka, Yokohama, Chiba, Machida, Meguro, and Kumagaya in 11 shows. The final one was planned for 13th December 1999 in BAYHALL in Yokohama.

REM expresses how ecstatic he would be if those who read this book would listen to SAVER TIGER’s music. And while they are at it, they should check out their official website.

Speaking of which, it was hide who first got into the internet, and used it to communicate with the fans in a meaningful way.

And with this feeling carved into REM’s chest, he wants to put down the pen.

Appendix

Study of the dental pattern of patient Matsumoto Hideto.

At this point, REM want to attempt an examination of patient Matsumoto Hideto as a dentist. The following is based on a dental model he made, as well as things hide told him.

It was a model made for the purpose of examination. That day, it became a special thing for REM: The only memento he had of hide’s physical form. Every time REM sees the model in the waiting room or touches the examination table where hide had been sitting, he wants to talk to that white, inorganic thing.

That is why he is sharing the report on that medical examination now, resigning himself to the criticism of the other people from his field.

It would probably be terribly unreasonable to reach conclusions about hide’s entire body just from that model, the state of his oral cavity, and what he told REM. Moreover, it would be rude to hide, one might think. Others would be of the opinion that it is okay to do it, of course. REM thinks it’s reasonable enough.

But REM’s honest feelings are these: It is not a bad thing to disclose a little bit of hide’s personal matters to the public. In this moment, as his friend and as his fellow guitarist from a band called SAVER TIGER, REM wishes to do all he can for hide, utilizing his means as a dentist.

Therefore, REM informs that the following is not a true patient’s chart nor an actual medical report. It reflects only the personal opinion of one single dentist.

[Patient Matsumoto Hideto] 1) Main complaint (the patient’s acutely perceived subjective symptoms for discomfort) .. Sometimes his jaw joints are hurting. It also happens that he cannot open his jaw. Also, severely stiff shoulders. 2) Medical history (past illnesses and current systemic ailments) .. Arrythmia 3) History of present illness .. Observations of grating sounds and irregularities of temporomandibular joint at times are ambiguous

Psychologically, systemic problems are ambiguous. 4) Current symptoms .. Abnormally stiff shoulders

Since long ago, many cases of clenched jaw, jaw muscles are stressed.

Palpation of temporomandibular joint not particularly abnormal, movement of lower jaw is not irregular or restricted. No palpation of muscle occurred. 5) Symptoms concluded from model of the mouth cavity .. Extensive wear of all teeth, corresponding low occlusion.

This is what REM got from what he heard from hide and the examination of the dental model.

One week after his visit at REM’s clinic, hide went to L.A. again, with no follow-up appointment planned, no clarity on when he would be back in Japan, and with the symptoms of his jaw not being acute, REM did not interview him too extensively. He also notes that there was no time for photographs of the oral cavity or X-rays.

At this point, REM talks a little about temporomandibular joint and how it works. Compared to other parts of the body, it is extremely complex in its movements. With its position between the upper and lower jaw and before the ears, it executes a lot of movements when speaking, eating, or even during sleep for some people.

Very roughly said, there is complex movement when chewing or opening and closing the mouth: Up, down, left, right. In contrast, the abnormal occlusion comes from a way of chewing that differs from the ordinary. Damage to the teeth can also be caused by accidents and violent fights. In any case, if the teeth are worn down by chewing or grinding, the height doesn’t match anymore, which leads to irregular chewing patterns.

If that irregularity is particularly bad, it leads to pain of the temporomandibular joints and overall discomfort. This, caused by emotional stress in the first place, can lead to muscle pain, which in turn leads to more tension.

Opening and closing the mouth can create various problems. This is called temporomandibular joint disorder. Of course, when it comes to hide, REM can’t diagnose that for the aforementioned lack of examinations and tests. But between what patient Matsumoto Hideto told him and the information provided by the study model, it’s a conclusion he finds definitely possible.

The model shows that from the front to the back teeth, all the pointy bits had been worn away so that the teeth were essentially flat. This must have been caused by the teeth grinding hide had told REM about. But for the wear to be so extensive all over, the grinding and gritting must have been extremely strong and have gone on for a very long time.

Teeth grinding is a phenomenon that happens unconsciously in times of required self-control or nervousness and stress. If the grinding goes on for a long time, it often happens that normal chewing is no longer possible. This disturbs the entire system of the jaw muscles and joints and causes pain. If it gets worse, the pain can spread to the surrounding muscles, then the shoulders and fingers and even the back and legs. Also, this affecting the muscles is often the cause for stiffness of the shoulders.

According to the model, the size of hide’s jaw (the gap between the upper and the lower jaw) when chewing was a lot lower than it used to be due to the wear, and the bones inside the joint no longer fit the normal position. The wear is so extensive that REM assumes the pain spread past the environment of the jaw to parts of the body far away from it.

And thus he concludes this meagre investigation.

Finally, there is one more episode REM wants to add in line with this report.

This is how he remembers it:

That day, hide asked him, “How do I get my teeth back to their original shape?” after he came to REM’s office for consultation.

After the examination, they had, of course, gone for drinks, and this is when hide brought it up. REM said, “For that, I would have to fix all your teeth, I think. There is no time for that now, and there is a risk that the shape of your face is going to change. One day, when we are both old men, and there is time to spare, and visuals no longer matter, I can fix them for you.”

Hide said, “Since my teeth are one source for my stiff shoulders, I want to have them fixed. Just, right now, there really is no time for it, but please do it one day. After all, you are to be my attending physician for the rest of my life.”

As attending physician, REM could have been of some help. Even now, that thought sometimes shoots through his mind.

Afterword (1)

With the irresponsible reports and information going around after that certain day, REM wants to detail his days with hide as precisely as possible. And he wants to let as many people as possible know the truth.

That kind of thought is always with him.

“Hey, REM! Please.”

Every day they have this conversation inside REM’s mind, when he listens carefully for hide’s words from beyond the sky and replies, “Hey, hide. How can I help you, so you can rest easy?”

This is a book that has been created as a joint project by REM and Nakamoto-san of Yokosuka, who goes by the name of BENZO, over the course of half a year.

The aim was to write as accurately, truthfully, and diligently as possible about REM’s life as a musician, the historic band SAVER TIGER as made by hide, as well as REM’s irreplaceable days with his sword friend hide, and the enthusiastic rock scene of Yokosuka.

He was aiming to be accurate, but there are probably points where his memory is off, or his perception differs from others. In that case, he is sincerely sorry.

In the light of the close bond he shared with him who has gone beyond the sky, he hopes it can be forgiven.

Finally, he thanks a great many people, starting with hide’s parents, his younger brother, the people from his office, the former members of X JAPAN, the past members and staff of SAVER TIGER, the members of UNITED, AMIT, Doppel Ganger, LAFERIA, and 4th Dimension, Kuriji-san, and then the people of Zushi Dental Clinic, Takeshi-san, Arakawa-sensei, Nakano-san, Someya-san, and many others. Above all, BENZO, who has become a drinking buddy for life and without whom this book would not exist in this form. All these people have helped him greatly, and he takes this opportunity to express his deepest gratitude.

He dedicates this book to his mother, who went to heaven first and may have met hide there, his father, who is still practicing as a doctor on Shikoku, his older sister and his younger brother, his wife Miwa, and their son.

And of course, he wants to dedicate this book, and the next words that come from his heart, to him, who has gone beyond the sky.

“hide, thank you.”

-

1999-05-02   His first birthday above the sky.

-

Afterword (2)

28 October 1999, Thursday, cloudy sky, 10:30 AM.

The night before, REM drank with his bandmates in their usual place, “99”, but their condition wasn’t bad. The window was wide open. Feeling the comforting wind and the morning’s aroma from his fingertips to his hair that once again reached his shoulders, REM went down the national highway No. 134 southwards, towards the coast of Miura. There, on a small hill, different from the rest and seemingly removed from the reality everyone else is living in, is hide’s resting place.

REM wondered if he was plotting new ideas in this place of rest, and if those were now flying around freely through the air…

As always, REM reported about live performances and new songs, and the state of the band, and then made his way back home along the coastal road. There was one tiny thing he noticed:

As REM was talking to hide, a feathered life-form about the size of his little finger’s nail (some kind of insect) was flying through the air around him and the others. At that time, they didn’t particularly care… And now, that life-form was inside the car.

There was no telling if it was the same creature from before, but form and size were identical.

REM calmly closed the window and, without thinking anything, he turned on the car stereo and stepped on the accelerator.

When he got home and left the car, the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary was crossed again.

Several days had passed since then.

It’s the 6th of November now, and with the image of this feathered little life-form flying freely around in his home, REM decides to let the story come to an end.

#hide #pink couldy sky #REM #summary #saver tiger #ending this on some ethically questionable violations of doctor-patient confidentiality #and with a number of endings comparable to the Lord of the Rings #It's always strange to have such a long project come to and end #anyway I hope you enjoyed this 27K “summary” #I enjoyed making it and I'm glad this information is more accessible now (in theory at least) #It'll probably be a while before I do something similar again #but when I do

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Pink Couldy Sky, Final Chapter – Recovery (Summarized)

Chapter 00 - 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 07 Part 1 Part 2

Before REM knew it, that year, too, arrived at Summer.

The weather forecast on TV spoke of high temperatures, but REM didn’t feel the heat at all. The days continued without sound or smell. Everything felt like it was happening on a distant star. REM’s senses were closed off and he didn’t sense or feel anything. With its long rains falling from black clouds, the gray droplets lingering remains of the rainy period, Summer was simply the season following after spring.

-

REM got warm support from too many people to count. His bandmembers, his friends from Yokosuka, Professor Arakawa. According to Arakawa, Takeshi-san was also concerned for REM. In August, REM and Takeshi met in Tokyo for drinks. REM doesn’t really remember what they were talking about, but he has a faint memory that it was very peaceful.

It was like swimming through a daydream. Of this summer, only the faint outline of a memory remains.

There weren’t a lot of things he could do. Only move his body. Play the guitar on autopilot, lose himself in the music. Everything else was beyond his capabilities.

His only outlet was his determination to fulfil, one by one, all his promise to hide that were yet unfulfilled.

Sometimes, something hide used to say some ten-odd years ago when they were practicing with SAVER TIGER all day flashed like lighting through REM’s mind:

“I want to become the best performer in Japan! Therefore, you have to become Japan’s best guitarist!”

On top of it all, REM lost another irreplaceable music friend that year. A vocalist named Otoya died of a heart attack just about one week after hide left for the sky. Otoya had been the vocalist of RANDY, the band that performed at the first live REM went to see after coming to Yokosuka.

The livehouse in question had been ROCK CITY and the second band REM had seen there was SAVER TIGER, led by hide.

On the day of hide’s funeral, REM and his music buddies got together for the first time in a long while to drink in his memory. Otoya had been there, too. They talked to each other for a bit, away from the others. They hadn’t met in 3 or 4 years, and when REM asked Otoya what he had been doing lately, Otoya told him that he had stopped doing music after RANDY disbanded.

In the face of hide’s sudden death, the conversation remained subdued and they did not exchange more than a few words. A few days later, REM learned about Otoya passing away.

REM remembers him as a vocalist with a unique charism different from hide’s, and a rare singing voice that he will forever remember shouting furiously into the microphone.

After a long, humid rainy season, dawn finally came on 11 July 1998.

That night, the new SAVER TIGER had their first live on stage after the revival. It was a concert called “Memories of hide” that they were able to give thanks to Rolly joining them as a guest vocalist, in hide’s beloved livehouse PUMPKIN. To them, it did not feel at all like a memorial live. It felt like a live they did with hide, a live where hide came to watch them.

They couldn’t believe that he was gone.

They had not yet grown familiar with the thought that they would never meet him again.

All of them – REM, Kosuke, Jimmy, and Rolly as well – felt that hide should have been there to watch them, listen to them, and witness the new SAVER TIGER become real.

It was a humid night, the hot wind blowing in from the sea.

Inside the narrow interior of PUMPKIN, people were filling in the dim gloom. No one spoke. Everyone was losing themselves in the atmosphere and the rock music.

REM wanted to scream out his tears across that crowd.

He wanted to howl his remorse.

Otherwise, he felt like hide would not forgive him.

Then, in this place on Dobuita-Street, in the middle of the night, in this atmosphere of sweat, tabaco, and alcohol, he is certain he saw something at the edge of his field of vision.

There, at the very back of seating area, in front of the wall smeared with graffiti, and close of Kiyotou behind the counter grumbling about the fucking heat, was a single man with a hat drawn low over his eyes.

In a perfectly clear pocket of air, a single leaf was slowly falling down.

The wind going through the building in the derelict warehouse district was already chilly.

1. November.

On this day, a music festival in connection with hide opened in Yokohama’s BAYHALL, and REM went to Yamashita pier in order to perform in it with SAVER TIGER.

It was the second live of the revived SAVER TIGER. In December, they were going to perform in Takadanobaba, and from February through Spring 1999 in a bunch of other places.

They also had plans to record their music.

As for the open position of vocalist, since the turn of the year, REM’s close friend Tony from Yokosuka joined them as a new member. Another friend from Yokosuka, Ken, became their manager.

The new SAVER TIGER finally took shape.

And REM felt like a was paying hide back at least a little, feeling a little better for it, like he could breathe deeply again.

The pavement was covered in scattered, dry leaves.

Feeling the dry leaves crumble under the soles of his work boots, REM chased the afterimage of that man he had seen in front of the wall at PUMPKIN that night. He wondered if that had been hide’s apparition.

No, that’s not it.

He is certain that hide has been there that night.

He’d rushed over to see the reunited SAVER TIGER perform on stage that night, in his beloved Yokosuka.

On Dobuita-Street, that he always returned to. Just for a moment, as bare-faced “Matsumoto Hideto”, he had returned to his friends.

“Welcome home, hide.”

That’s what REM murmured while looking up at the contrail cutting straight through the clear sky above.

P.S. To the Beginning og the End

#hide #pink couldy sky #REM #summary #saver tiger #yokosuka #the next part is much longer #and was much more difficult to translate #I still hope I will get it done soon

[turtleations]

HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 36 - 39) - Translation

Favorite Words

“Speed” or “Elation”*. By speed, I don’t mean moving fast. In my own musical life, there is the sense of speed of being, for example, at ____ in 1996, and when it is slow, it’s slow. Therefore, you could also call it a “mood”. Elation, I think, is something that gets saturated and cannot go on forever.

*) hide is using the English word “speed” here, and the Japanese word for elation, which reads “kôyôkan”.

Letters

I make for a poor correspondent, I suppose. But I like reading them. Writing, however, takes so much time. When you write with a pen, you can’t erase your mistakes. Oh, come to think of it, there was an exchange of letters during my middle school days. With an older girl who liked punk that I met through a magazine (laughs).

Marriage

I have neither the desire nor the zest for it. There has been a boom around me of like three weddings a year. So, I like celebrating those people, but when it comes to doing it myself, I don’t think I’m the type for it. If I did it, I would still live on my own, I don’t want to live together. If our households were to become one, I would probably feel like I had to get out of that at once (laughs).

Book

A book I really like is a non-fiction book called “A Girl Named Sheila”*. It’s the story of an autistic girl and her teacher, but since it’s describing a true story, it’s realistic and really good.

*) Almost certainly One Child, by Torey Hayden, 1980

#hide #translation #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #words of the bean himself #remember that hope of mine that the last ones are as easy as they are short? #yeah look at that first translation and guess where that hope went #I got nothing #and neither did the machine translation I asked for help #as for the book hide mentions #I actually read that one as a child #aka a very long time ago #which now helped enormously in identifying it

[turtleations]

HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 32 - 35) - Translation

Games

I get those from others recently (laughs). In general, I don’t like games that much, but every now and then there is one I get addicted to. Since games are a form of entertainment as well, I am more interested in creating than in playing them.

Household chores

I don’t do those at all because I don’t have the time for it. For special occasions I do cook, do laundry, clean, and all, but I can’t do it regularly day to day.

Sensing ghosts

I don’t have the ability to sense ghosts. I have seen things that looked like apparitions, but I don’t think that’s really what they were. While I do like ghost stories, I don’t exactly believe in them. Things like precognition do exists, though.

Work

Hobby = work, I suppose. Because I did only one other job, as a beautician, which was also a hobby of mine. I guess it didn’t suit me… Even at the time when I was aiming to become a beautician, I knew this was not something I could do my entire life. Music, on the other hand, I can do all my life. Probably because I do not think of it as work. If not for the deadlines, it would not be work at all, that’s why. Without deadlines, there would never be a finished product. If there is a deadline, there needs to be a finished product ready at that time (laughs).

#hide #translation #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #words of the bean himself #this was the last one with more than five lines #I hope the reamining ones are as easy as they are short #I took quite a few liberties with the wording on this batch to make it sound more natural in English #I hope I didn't butcher the meaning by missing nuances

[turtleations]

HIDE Inspiration Talk 50 (# 27 - 31) - Translation

Baby

Simply said, I wand a child of my own. I think it would be best to have a boy and a girl each. I want to have them ride on my knees all the time. I want to be seen as a good papa by my kids. But that can’t possibly happen (laughs).

Cars

I like cars, but I don’t like driving. I like the shape of the cars. Truth is, I like the shape of guitars as well (laughs).

Dreams

I often dream about not making a deadline. Except it feels like reality rather than a dream.

Energy

I think there is something that people and objects receive from the outside. You need that stimulation to wake up things sleeping inside you or to build up energy.

Face

It’s not something I think about deeply, but I don’t really like my own face. I don’t like that the parts are not my ideal form. I have a lot of ideals, but combining them with one another makes for an awfully weird face (laughs).

#hide #translation #HIDE inspiration talk 50 #words of the bean himself #most of the remaining ones are short like these #I hope they also keep being this easy #bean would have been a good dad i think #or mom

[turtleations]

To You in Heaven (Taiji blog entry from 9 May 2007)

Looking up at the endless sky

Thoughts of hope and such prayers

Once again pile up inside my heart

To put an end to the meaninglessness

That lives only in words

And to start walking again

My never-changing “friendship” for you

Is my offering

In memoriam

2 May             Sawada Taiji

#taiji #hide #translation #poetry #i probably butchered this completely #but I wanted to share it anyway

[turtleations]

My Friends (Taiji blog entry from 4 June 2007)

[Since, due to my last attempt to translate an interview with him failing pathetically, Taiji is woefully underrepresented on this blog, here's a translation of an entry from his personal blog.

The part in italics at the end was originally in English and left as it was.

The accompanying image is in its original size, it's just that tiny.]

This is a shot taken when DAI and I went to visit hide’s grave the other day

Whether by coincidence or by fate, we ran into Hide's parents...

Looking at the horizon, in an endless dream... thinking of my friends

Once again, we made a promise to each other…

The gentle waves reunited him with his parents...

The eternal future called “now”…

The infinity that lies beyond... ... Something I had almost forgotten was brought back to me

　We Will Dear for you

I Will Dearest for he

Voice from Heavend And With You... See-Ya

TAIJI

#taiji #hide #translation #I will one day attempt that interview again #but for now short blog entries will have to do #there's another one coming #if i can make sense of the poetry in it