For the month of August, 2000
For the month of August, 2000
2000.8.26: Glad to be Glay officially stops updating. The final update occured on April 15, 2001.
2000.8.23: Glay's new double A-side MAXI single, [Tomadoi/SPECIAL THANKS], is released. Double A-side means 2 A-side tracks, "Tomadoi" and "SPECIAL THANKS". "Tomadoi" is the theme song for the dorama, "Mirai Nikki". Glay are going to support the "Mirai Nikki Movie" as well. There are 4 different versions of this single: there is a regular "Tomadoi" version and a regular "SPECIAL THANKS" version. Then there are limited editions of both regular versions [IMPORT SIZE BOX, like the "MERMAID" single]. You can tell the difference in all 4 versions by the order of the songs. Code number: PCCU-00003; price: ¥1,260 (tax in). This single contains the following songs:
1. Tomadoi
Written and composed by TAKURO/Arranged by Masahide Sakuma & GLAY
2. SPECIAL THANKS
Written and composed by TAKURO/Arranged by Masahide Sakuma & GLAY
3. Good Bye Bye Sunday
Written and composed by JIRO/Arranged by Masahide Sakuma & GLAY
4. Tomadoi [Instrumental]
Composed by TAKURO/Arranged by Masahide Sakuma & GLAY
5. SPECIAL THANKS [Instrumental]
Composed by TAKURO/Arranged by Masahide Sakuma & GLAY
2000.8.22: Glay will unveil a HAPPY SWING MEMBERS SITE on October 1. More details will be announced later at HAPPY SWING SPACE SITE. Glay have also set up a Tomadoi/SPECIAL THANKS Web Magazine to promote their latest single.
The soundtrack for the "Mirai Nikki" ("future diary") movie will be released on September 6. It will include Takuro and Teru's acoustic song, "Natsu no kanata he" ("over the Summer") and Hisashi's solo song, "tomadoi~summer days" (Mirai Nikki version). Music: Sakuma Masahide. Code: PCCU-00004; price: ¥2,625 (tax in).
2000.8.1: I finally got the [GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL LIVE IN MAKUHARI].
For the month of July, 2000
2000.7.31: Glay are going to have a kind of secret concert somewhere in Shibuya, Tokyo. They will show their new PV & video clips.
On this same day, GLAY's new live video, [GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL LIVE IN MAKUHARI], is released. The VHS version is a limited edition. Only 200,000 copies will go on sale. But the DVD is not a limited edition. The people who buy both VIDEO GLAY 4 and the Makuhari live video will have a chance to get the Makuhari Messe memorial video (which is not for sale). It will be presented to 10 000 people by lot. But the first press of this video is going to come with a memorial photobook. Price: ¥5,800 (tax in); code: PCVE-51002 (VHS)/PCBE-50029 (DVD).
1. HAPPY SWING
2. Kuchibiru
3. Glorious
4. SHUTTER SPEEDS no Teema
5. More than Love
6. Survival
7. Ikiteku Tsuyosa
8. Yes, Summerdays
9. summer FM
10. INNOCENCE
11. Freeze My Love
12. HOWEVER
13. Kokodewa nai, dokoka e
14. LADY CLOSE
15. TWO BELL SILENCE
16. MISERY
17. Yuuwaku
18. COME ON!!
19. ACID HEAD
20. I'm in Love
21. Kanojo no "Modern..."
22. Biri biri kurasshyumen
23. BURST
Note: At the EXPO, Glay actually played a total of 25 songs. The 2 songs that they decided not to put in this video are [I'm yours] and [BE WITH YOU].
2000.7.22: Glay have a secret live for the opening ceremony of the hide museum. Only JETS (hide's fan club) members could purchase tickets for this live and get information about the hide museum.
2000.10.31~11.26: The second half of Glay's Arena Tour 2000 [HEAVY GAUGE] has been extended (this information comes with the new single, [MERMAID]):
| DATE | ARENA | CONTACT | NUMBER |
| 10.31~11.01 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | Sunday Folk Promotion | 052-320-9100 |
| 11.13~14 | Osaka-jyo Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 |
| 11.18~19 | Saitama Super Arena | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 11.23 | Yoyogidaiichitaiikukan | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 11.25~26 | Yoyogidaiichitaiikukan | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
2000.7.20: I finally got the new single. [MERMAID]'s actually a typical GLAY song. Fast, pop rock beat with a nice melody. I like it. It's along the lines of [Survival] but it has more on the guitar solo department (unlike [Survival]).
As for its coupling with song, [ROCK ICON], well... That was a mess. How many times do they have to try outdoing the LOVE SLAVE + I'm yours combo? Because [ROCK ICON] sure is along the lines of those 2 classic Glay songs.
The problem I have with [ROCK ICON] is that GLAY were trying too hard. I understand that they want to have a hard rock song, but they have to control their energy. What happened is that Teru's yelling is as noisy as the music he was singing to. It's nothing but noise in my ears. They can very well make a good hard rock
song without any need of that type of noise. And even then, the little sound clips in the middle of the [ROCK ICON] didn't work for me either.
To sum, I was surprised because [MERMAID] is actually a gentle pop rock tune in spite of the heavy theme of the song. [ROCK ICON] was trying to portray its own heavy theme by being a
heavier rock song but it wasn't done too well.
All in all, I like where GLAY are going. I am very optimistic that they may have a hard rock album again soon (like the BEAT out! album). The less mellow stuff, the better. But they should try controlling their heavy sound.
2000.7.19: Glay's 20th single, [MERMAID] is released. C/W [ROCK ICON]. Here are the details:
1. MERMAID (lyrics/music: TAKURO; Arranged by: Sakuma Masahide & GLAY)
2. ROCK ICON (lyrics/music: TAKURO&TERU/TAKURO; Arranged by: Sakuma
Masahide & GLAY)
3. MERMAID (instrumental) (music: TAKURO; Arranged by: Sakuma Masahide &
GLAY)
The first press limited package SPECIAL MERMAID-import size box- will come with a "B" (large) size original poster. You can choose one of 3 types of posters: white, black, and the regular Glay in L.A. picture. Code number: PCCU-00002; price: ¥1,050 (tax in).
Glay will perform for a university in Osaka but the university has not been decided yet.
Glay are going to release a new single in August called "Tomadoi". Tomadoi is going to be the theme song of a dorama, [Mirai nikki] ("future diary"). Glay are also going to support the "Mirai nikki movie".
Glay go to L.A. to shoot their PV for [MERMAID].
For the month of June, 2000
GLAY set up a MERMAID Web Magazine to promote their new single. Soon after, they also set up a webpage for their upcoming, new live video [GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL LIVE IN MAKUHARI].
2000.6.21: [History of EXTASY~15th Anniversary] album is released. This contains 2 songs by GLAY: [Manatsu no Tobira] and [RAIN]. But if you already have GLAY's Hai to Daiyamondo album, then this CD is not worth getting. Code number: EXC-020; price: ¥3,059.
A new book called [HEART BEAT] (by POPBEAT magazine) features a Jiro interview with Mother Rock (Noriko Shoji). Release date: 16 June, 2000; price: ¥1,470.
2000.6.8: Happy birthday, Teru!
2000.6.8: Happy birthday, Toshi!
For the month of May, 2000
2000.5.26: Happy birthday, Takuro!
On this same day, NEVER MIND's second cassette tape is released. For more
details, please read my NEVER MIND section.
Takuro co-wrote a song for 17 year-old Hikaru Utada called "For You". Utada's single [For You/Time Limit] will be released on June 30, 2000.
2000.5.5: Happy birthday, Shige!
2000.5.2: I finally got the WHAT's IN ISSUE DX (Spring 2000). The entire mag features only Glay, from the first time they appeared in WHAT's IN magazine to the last issue which featured them (at the time this was published). It's like an official book on Glay (and it's actually BETTER than most of their official books). I'm almost tempted to put it in my Books section. It's got Glay's Biography, Live History, Discography, features the members' individual concerts (from late last year), and more. And it only costs ¥1,000 (which is pretty cheap considering all the information you're getting from this mag). It's worth getting, but definitely underpriced for all that it contains! A very good deal for old and new Glay fans.
For the month of April, 2000
2000.4.25: I got a Teru block keychain! He's adorable! GLAY are selling 2 types of block keychains for each member during their Arena 2000 Tour "HEAVY GAUGE" as part of their Tour goods.
Glay played two new songs in their Arena Tour 2000 [HEAVY GAUGE]. The first song was originally titled "Yoyogi no uta" (Yoyogi's song). The second day, Teru called it "Jack Daniel" and on the third day, he called it "Wow wow Johnny" so if you hear any of these three song titles, they are referring to the same song. The second song is called "Mermaid."
2000.4.15~6.28: Glay Arena Tour 2000 "HEAVY GAUGE" starts.
2000.4.15: I finally got Video Glay 4,
which was released on April 5. One interesting bit of news that came with
it is that Glay are making DVD versions of all the videos that they have
released under Unlimited Records/mustard label.
I've actually seen the full videos to [Yuuwaku], [SOUL LOVE], [BE WITH YOU],
and [HAPPINESS~WINTER MIX~] before I bought this tape, so watching half
of the videos in the tape was nothing new to me, but I will give a review
of each video anyway. Video Glay 4 follows the chronological release of
each song up to the [HAPPINESS~WINTER MIX~] video so that the last 2 videos
serve as bonus videos.
1. Yuuwaku (directed by Hiroyuki Nakano) - This video I really don't like,
from the first time I saw it up to even now. I don't think that the female
Caucasian was necessary in this video. Hisashi is a better temptation himself.
It gets even more corny when Teru is shown all by himself with shots of
the woman in between. This video is way to corny for me. It doesn't help
that I don't even like the song. I would rather label this video "To
be ignored" than a "Temptation."
2. SOUL LOVE (directed by Yutaka Onaga) - I have to admit, I'm biased. I
love Yutaka Onaga's videos. He was Glay's official video director for a
while so I think that he knows how to shoot Glay's videos. If I didn't like
[Winter, again] -directed by Onaga- so much, I would instantly dub this
video the BEST out of this whole video compilation. Glay act so fun-loving
and natural in this video, it just makes you smile. D.I.E. was still in
Glay during the filming of this video so you will also see him here.
3. BE WITH YOU (directed by Hiroyuki Nakano) - This black and white video
was filmed in New York City during Glay's visit here in late 1998. A well-directed
video BUT is it just a coincidence that this same director filmed a Mr.
Children video called [Hana~Memento Mori~] in BLACK AND WHITE as well during
Mr. Children's trip to New York City in early 1996? Are we seeing a pattern
here with this director and New York?
4. Winter, again (directed by Yutaka Onaga) - This video was filmed in Asahikawa,
Hokkaido, soon after Glay returned to Japan from New York. Teru bought blue
contacts in New York and you can see him wearing them here. He looked great,
I have to admit. And the style of this video is similar to [HOWEVER] (which
Onaga also directed) sans the footage of Japanese society. My favorite video
out of this whole compilation.
5. Kokodewa nai, dokoka e (directed by Takeshi Asai) - I was curious to
see if the video would make up for this boring song. What I got was an unusual
paradox. Glay were dressed in suits, looking very out-of-place in such a
VISUAL video. I would have to say that a band like Luna Sea or even L'Arc~en~Ciel
would look more at home in this video. It's just NOT GLAY. Glay don't typically
feature Caucasians in their music videos either. And here we see some storyline
involving a Caucasian archaeologist and a bird which transforms into a Caucasian
woman. The setting is very Greek, with an Athena Nike cast in the background.
It's like seeing the Glay of [HOWEVER] in a L'Arc~en~Ciel-type-of-video.
It doesn't make any sense. And again, I have to stress--it's JUST NOT GLAY.
6. HAPPINESS~WINTER MIX~ (directed by Takeshi Asai) - I never liked this
video ever since I first saw the whole thing in Glay's official homepage,
HAPPY SWING SPACE SITE. Teru looks TERRIBLE in this video. And all the Glay
members are dressed in white. Against a white background. I don't like this
song either. This video also goes in my "To be ignored" list.
7. HEAVY GAUGE (directed by Takeshi Asai) - This is supposed to be GLAY's
first feature movie PV. But all I have to say is, L'Arc~en~Ciel's [snow
drop] video is more convincing and better directed. In fact, I was sorely
disappointed with GLAY's video. But it coincides so well with my dislike
of this song, too.
8. Winter, again (directed by Hiroyuki Nakano) - This video is almost similar
to Onaga's version but the other members (and not only Teru) are given plenty
of breathing space here. There's more interest in showing the whole band.
Teru also looks great here, but again, I have to say I like Onaga so I prefer
his video.
All in all, this video compilation was a bit predictable but fun to watch.
My favorite music videos are still in Video Glay 3 though. Kuchibiru, anyone?
2000.4.7: GLAY live event at CLUB CITTA' (Kawasaki) "TRANSFORM-2001 SPECIAL" [LIGHT GAUGE]. Opens: 18:00/starts: 19:00. All standing. Price: ¥5,000. Ticket reservation starts on 2 April at 10:00 pm. The tickets were sold out in 30 minutes.
2000.4.5: Video Glay 4 is released. See entries in March and January (below) for more details.
2000.4.2: GLAY Akihabara Jack: The street television "Super Liza Akihabara" and 1000 other street televisions in front of shops broadcast the most recent GLAY special interview.
2000.9.2~10.29: Second half of Glay's Arena
Tour 2000 [HEAVY GAUGE]. Glay will perform in the following arenas:
| DATE | ARENA | CONTACT | NUMBER |
| 09.02~03 | Maebashi Green Dome | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 09.06~07 | Nippon Budokan | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 09.09~10 | Nippon Budokan | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 09.16~17 | Asti Tokushima | Yume Banchi | 086-231-3531 |
| 09.21~22 | Hamamatsu Arena | Sunday Folk Promotion | 054-284-9999 |
| 09.27~28 | Kagoshima Arena | Kyodo Nishi Nihon | 092-714-0159 |
| 10.04~05 | Marine Messe Fukuoka | Kyodo Nishi Nihon | 092-714-0159 |
| 10.07~08 | Marine Messe Fukuoka | Kyodo Nishi Nihon | 092-714-0159 |
| 10.11~12 | Osaka-jyo Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 or 06-6233-8787 |
| 10.14~15 | Osaka-jyo Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 or 06-6233-8787 |
| 10.18~19 | Yokohama Arena | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 10.21~22 | Yokohama Arena | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 10.25~26 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | Sunday Folk Promotion | 052-320-9100 |
| 10.28~29 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | Sunday Folk Promotion | 052-320-9100 |
For the month of March, 2000
HAPPY SWING SPACE SITE has a special section for the release of Video Glay 4. Go here to check it out! The cover illustrations to both (the DVD and VHS) versions are by Teru. The three directors involved in making the music videos for this collection are Hiroyuki Nakano (for [Yuuwaku], [BE WITH YOU], and [Winter, again]), Yutaka Onaga-my favorite-(for [SOUL LOVE] and [Winter, again]), and Takeshi Asai (for [Kokodewa nai, dokoka e], [HAPPINESS-WINTER MIX-], and [HEAVY GAUGE]).
2000.3.1: Happy birthday, Sakuma!
For the month of February, 2000
2000.2.2: Happy birthday, Hisashi!
For the month of January, 2000
Live video [GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL~LIVE IN MAKUHARI~] will be released on July 31.
2000.4.5: [Video Glay 4] will be released
on this day. You can get either a DVD version or a VHS version of this video.
Price: ¥4,500; Code number: PCVE-51001 (VHS)/PCBE-00021 (DVD).
The songs in it are as follows:
1. Yuuwaku
2. SOUL LOVE
3. BE WITH YOU
4. Winter, again (directed by Yutaka Onaga)
5. Kokodewa nai, dokoka e
6. HAPPINESS~WINTER MIX~
7. HEAVY GAUGE
8. Winter, again (directed by Hiroyuki Nakano)
Note: Only the DVD version has 4 other versions of the video, [SOUL LOVE].
Also, the people who reserve this from 2/1~3/20 will get either an original
CD-ROM (screensaver) or an original mousepad. Whichever you get will be
chosen by lot. Select stores in Japan will also distribute one of 3 campaign
items along with the purchase of Video Glay 4: (a) PUMA original official
pull-out vest; (b) original elast poster designed by Teru; (c) original
elast postcard designed by Teru. Whichever you get will be chosen by lot
as well.
2000.4.15~6.28: Glay Arena Tour 2000 "HEAVY
GAUGE". The flyer which gives details about this tour comes with the
Glay Christmas Card that HAPPY SWING sent to the fan club members on 17
December 1999 (which I received on 21 December). The cover design of the
card is by Teru.
Concerning the "HEAVY GAUGE" Arena Tour, the ticket price is ¥6,500
and will be sold to the public on February 13. HAPPY SWING fan club members,
however, can already start reserving tickets by using the stubs on the bottom
of the first page of the flyer. Glay will perform in the following Arenas:
| DATE | ARENA | CONTACT | NUMBER |
| 04.15~16 | Yoyogidaiichitaiikukan | DI:GA (Disk Garage) | 0180-99-3411 |
| 04.18~19 | Yoyogidaiichitaiikukan | DI:GA | 0180-99-3411 |
| 04.22~23 | Morioka Ice Arena | Kyodo Tohoku | 022-296-8888 |
| 04.26~27 | Sendai Grande 21 | Kyodo Tohoku | 022-296-8888 |
| 04.29~30 | Sendai Grande 21 | Kyodo Tohoku | 022-296-8888 |
| 05.03~04 | Ishikawa Sangyo Tenjikan Yongokan | Kyodo Hokuriku (Kanazawa) | 076-260-0999 |
| 05.06~07 | Ishikawa Sangyo Tenjikan Yongokan | Kyodo Hokuriku (Kanazawa) | 076-260-0999 |
| 05.10~11 | Niigata Sangyo Shinko Center | Kyodo Hokuriku | 025-245-5100 |
| 05.13~14 | Niigata Sangyo Shinko Center | Kyodo Hokuriku | 025-245-5100 |
| 05.27~28 | Nagano M Wave | Kyodo Hokuriku | 025-245-5100 |
| 05.17~18 | Kobe World Kinen Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 |
| 05.20~21 | Kobe World Kinen Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 |
| 05.31~06.01 | Hiroshima Green Arena | Yume Banchi (Hiroshima) | 082-249-3571 |
| 06.03~04 | Hiroshima Green Arena | Yume Banchi (Hiroshima) | 082-249-3571 |
| 06.07~08 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | Sunday Folk Promotion | 052-320-9100 |
| 06.10~11 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | Sunday Folk Promotion | 052-320-9100 |
| 06.14~15 | Osakajyo Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 |
| 06.17~18 | Osakajyo Hall | Kyodo Osaka | 06-6233-8888 |
| 06.24~25 | Makomanai Ice Arena | WESS | 011-614-9999 |
| 06.27~28 | Makomanai Ice Arena | WESS | 011-614-9999 |
2000.1.19: I finally got Yukinojo Mori's album [POETIC EVOLUTION] which Glay recommended in their official homepage. Yukinojo Mori is a poet and in this album, he recites his poetry against the music made for him by various, famous Japanese musicians. The music made by Takuro and Hisashi in which Teru also sings (only the chorus though) is called "Ango." Ango is very different from the typical Glay rock sound. It's what I would call "industrial music". It's a blend of digital/synthesizer and guitar sounds. I must say that the chorus doesn't really blend well with the overall mood or structure of the song, and this is even more obvious when it suddenly changes at the end. The chorus is also predominantly female. The digital sounds in Ango are definitely made by Hisashi, whereas the acoustic guitar playing sounds like Takuro. This album is very interesting overall.
2000.1.3~30: The Glay pure soul "MOVIE"~Kokodewa
nai, dokoka e, is a documentary of the pure soul Tours. It will run in Sapporo,
Sendai, Tokyo, Niigata, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka in January
2000. This documentary movie will be shown twice a day for a total of 42
times. The Glay members say it is about 2 hours long or so. This movie consists
mainly of songs from the "pure soul" album which they released
on 29 July, 1998. They performed 4 Tours with different concepts (of pure
soul) throughout Japan from 1998~1999:
· TDK presents "pure soul" Tour '98, 53 times at 46 places,
starting from 17 April, 1998.
· pure soul in STADIUM "SUMMER of '98", 13 times at 7 stadiums,
starting from 8 August, 1998.
· GLAY DOME TOUR "pure soul" 1999, 15 times at 4 Domes:
Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, starting from 11 February, 1999.
· "pure soul" Tour in Okinawa and Hokkaido, at both the
southeast and northeast prefectures in Japan, starting from 17 March, 1999.
Besides performances onstage, this movie will show the members offstage,
backstage, during recording and much more. Those who come to see this movie
will receive an original, clear-file present designed by Teru.
Additional shows of the Glay pure soul MOVIE~Kokodewa nai, dokoka e, have
been added:
· 4 Jan, 2000: Shibuya Koukaidou; Opens: 11:00a.m./Starts: 11:30a.m.
· 30 Jan, 2000: Shibuya Koukaidou; Opens: 11:00a.m./Starts: 11:30a.m.
Tickets go on sale on December 18. Price: ¥2,000 (tax in). The fan club
won't sell these tickets in advance. For more details, please contact DI:GA
at 0180-99-3411.
2000.1.1: Glay's 19th single, [HAPPINESS]
is released. Here's my brief review:
1. HAPPINESS (WINTER MIX)
I'm sorry-the chorus was still there, the song structure was still the same
so what exactly is so different or cool about this song? It sounds the SAME
as the one in the album, only it doesn't have that clear and crisp sound
that the HEAVY GAUGE album predominantly has. A rose by any other name is
still a rose. This song never impressed me the first time I heard it and
it still doesn't. Winter mix my ass. Just call it a normal recording, like
everything else outside the HEAVY GAUGE album.
2. MISERY (GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL LIVE VERSION)
This song sounded better in the Tribute spirits album. I noticed that the
solo wasn't pulled off as well as it was in the Tribute spirits album. The
song structure was played the same, but I prefer the recording.
3. Kokodewa nai, dokoka e (GLAY EXPO '99 SURVIVAL LIVE VERSION)
This song is still as BORING as when I first heard it, live version or no
live version. Need I say anything more?
4. HAPPINESSS (INSTRUMENTAL)
Code number: PCCUX-00001; price: ¥1,223 (tax in).
CD-EXTRA: [pure soul "MOVIE"~Kokodewa nai, dokoka e] digest pictures.
This single also comes with an original GLAY OFFICIAL 2000 pocket calendar
present (but this is a limited item).
[HAPPINESS] is the theme song of a drama on TBS called "Dear Friday's
Lovers."
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