MUNIMUNI

[carddass 273]

I'm actually a huge fan of the original shissha ressha by mugen minus and I heard that version before munimuni released their cover. muni's cover was great too but the original is so epic to me that I consider it one of my top 5 favorite Japanese songs. While my Japanese comprehension is probably basic at best, I find the lyrics to be quite poetic. The whole train and death imagery really works well with the minimal folk electro sound mugen had.
I liked it so much that I asked a former Japanese coworker to correct my translation which was quite rough back when I did it and he essentially translated it from scratch. I'm not sure if I ever shared this with anyone before:

===================================================================================================

黒蛾を散りばめた夜空
The black moth is framed in the night sky

喪服の行列が街を歩く
A procession dressed in black walking the streets
それぞれの色の風船持って
Each and every one of them holding a different colored balloon
透明な僕をすり抜けた
(they) slipped through me being transparent

手放した風船は空高く
They release their balloons high into the sky

それにつられ僕も宙に浮いた
And I followed them (balloons) infectiously into the sky

誰もいない月の駅に着くと
And I landed on an empty station on the moon

発車のべルー度だけ響いた
the boarding bell lets out its sound just once

走り出した夜の空きれいで
the view of night sky from the running train looks so beautiful
君を忘れくないよ
I don't want to forget about you.
走り出した夜の空きれいで
the view of night sky from the running train looks so beautiful
君を忘れくないよ
I don't want to forget about you.

いつ空けたか忘れたジャムパンの様に
Just like a Jampan that I don't remember when I opened it,
(bread with Jam -a popular sweet in Japan and it usually sells being packed with plastic bag.)

透明で乾いた冷気を吐き出して
 exhaling transparent, dry cold air,
いつ空けたか忘れたジャムパンの様に
Just like a Jampan that I don't remember when I opened it,

誰にも気付かれないまま旅立つよ
I'm going to embark on this journey without anyone noticing!

走り出した夜の空きれいで
the view of night sky from the running train looks so beautiful
君を忘れくないよ
I don't want to have to forget about you!

走り出した汽車の窓きれいで
The window (or view from the window) of the running train looks so beautiful,

君を殺したくないよ
I don't want to kill you.

もう僕はこのまま
死んでしまうのだろうな。
I guess I'm supposed to pass on as I am

流るる蛾の川を渡り
Ferrying across the flowing swarm of a moth river
空より高い空を目指し
High above the sky, aiming towards the Heavens

===================================================================================================

Translator Notes:

 

I think the tricky part was

いつ開けたか忘れたジャムパンのように
透明で乾いた冷気を吐き出した

 

I think what the writer is trying to say is

Jampan was left a while ago and people don't care about it and nobody
knows when it was opened.

And this guy feels like that Jampan which is forgotten by people..  I guess.

 

But then this line contradicts earlier part of the lyrics

Just extra info on Jampan,

maybe this is just me and could be very subjective but..

 

if a guy talks about jampan, then jampan often would reminds people of
junior and high school era.  Teenage boys would buy jampan at a small
store in school as a snack.  I dont know too many guys eating Jampan
after they become adult.  (well actually then they become older than
50 or 60, I can see them eating Jampan.)

So, what i am trying to say is that "Jampan" could have a (nostalgic)
nuance of school days.
It is something teenagers used to eat before they get adult.

But I am not sure if this nuance is intended in this lyrics, though..
===================================================================================================

And for anyone who hasn't heard the original:

And extra bonus random information. Another band 'キアロスタミ' covered this song and released it a few months before mugen minus ever did. I've never listened to it as that band was very tiny and fell out of existence by the late 00s and the CDs are impossible to fine (I've been searching loosely for 15 years almost!) but it has to say something when 2 bands cover a song barely after it's been around.

Edited June 3, 2020 by carddass

[Jigsaw9 6783]

@carddass That is awesome, thank you (and your ex-coworker ) so much for the translation!

 

What a song.

[carddass 273]

No problem~

Here's a translation for munimuni's He that I'm pretty sure I did. It's timestamped September 18, 2008....so it's been kicking around on my computer for a while and I probably haven't looked at it since then so I can't guarantee the quality but I would guess it's 90% there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ムニムニ ヒー
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moonlight illuminates the sorrowful curtains.
We dance around. Until we return to sand...
On that day, I heard a Cry for the moonlight...
It's you, just you, I want to know.

 

The season's breeze sways the memories, the scents and the shadows
We sing out loud, to the small star above us.
On that day, we exchanged a few words.
And even now I still can't forgive what you said.

 

All of the future emotions pile up and begin to overflow.
The moonlight, the smiling face, the laughter.
All in that dark decadence.
On that day,
I heard a prayer.

 

(he, he, he is xxx...) We were making love.
(he, he, he is xxx...) I actually detest it a little.
(he, he, he is xxx...) The sound of a broken music box
(he, he, he is xxx...) imprisons your profile and fingertips...

 

All of the painful emotions pile up and begin to overflow.
It'll be forgiven in this nightmare's darkness.
Words and memories burst open.
On that day, I saw the tears flow.

 

(he, he, he is xxx...) We were making love.
(he, he, he is xxx...) I actually detest it a little.
(he, he, he is xxx...) The sound of the broken music box
(he, he, he is xxx...) imprisons that encounter to which I say goodbye...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Tokage 5930]

Holy shit! I remember stumbling upon that Mugen Minus band completely randomly ages ago and not knowing who they were. Nice to suddenly find them here of all places 

[carddass 273]

Mugen Minus started in 2006 and was a 4 piece electro folk band started by vocalist Jinpei Endo after his previous band Cock Roach ended in 2005. Cock roach was a musically dark and heavy whereas mugen minus was quite the opposite in terms of sound. It was acoustic and folky. I consider both bands to be two different sides of the same coin. Eventually mugen minus added Cock Roach's bassist Honda Chuya in 2007 to become a 5 piece.

mugen minus released their first album '死んだはずの僕の旅行' or 'The journey in which I should have died' in 2006, from which shissha ressha was the opening track. The band released a single in 2007 with new member Honda on bass and then released another album 'Perfect World' in 2008. Unfortunately in 2010, percussionist 前川和磨 was arrested for internet fraud, the things I vaguely remember was that it might have been related to a pornography website, and in typical Japanese fashion, he left or was fired from the band, and the whole band paused activities.

In 2008, shortly after mugen minus released 'Perfect World', Jinpei and Honda released a work under the name '博士と蟋蟀',  hakase to korogi or 'The Doctor and the Cricket' which thematically was closer to Cock roach's harder and darker sound.

Eventually mugen minus reformed in 2014 or 2015 but never recorded anything again and only played a few shows before Jinpei and Honda started officially reviving their high school band Cock Roach in 2017.

More info here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaEPaEUJYJf_F-QP00b3qDQ
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/COCK_ROACH
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/無限マイナス

(I just realized I should make an artist thread for these bands as there's virtually nothing about them in English except through this connection from munimuni)

Edited June 4, 2020 by carddass

[Tokage 5930]

20 minutes ago, carddass said:

Mugen Minus started in 2006 and was a 4 piece electro folk band started by vocalist Jinpei Endo after his previous band Cock Roach ended in 2005. Cock roach was a musically dark and heavy whereas mugen minus was quite the opposite in terms of sound. It was acoustic and folky. I consider both bands to be two different sides of the same coin. Eventually mugen minus added Cock Roach's bassist Honda Chuya in 2007 to become a 5 piece.

mugen minus released their first album '死んだはずの僕の旅行' or 'The journey in which I should have died' in 2006, from which shissha ressha was the opening track. The band released a single in 2007 with new member Honda on bass and then released another album 'Perfect World' in 2008. Unfortunately in 2010, percussionist 前川和磨 was arrested for internet fraud, the things I vaguely remember was that it might have been related to a pornography website, and in typical Japanese fashion, he left or was fired from the band, and the whole band paused activities.

In 2008, shortly after mugen minus released 'Perfect World', Jinpei and Honda released a work under the name '博士と蟋蟀',  hakase to korogi or 'The Doctor and the Cricket' which thematically was closer to Cock roach's harder and darker sound.

Eventually mugen minus reformed in 2014 or 2015 but never recorded anything again and only played a few shows before Jinpei and Honda started officially reviving their high school band Cock Roach in 2017.

More info here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaEPaEUJYJf_F-QP00b3qDQ
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/COCK_ROACH
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/無限マイナス

(I just realized I should make an artist thread for these bands as there's virtually nothing about them in English except through this connection from munimuni)

So it IS the same vocalist as the one from Cock Roach!  I already thought they sounded familiar. Even more interested in this band now cuz I've really enjoyed everything I heard by Cock Roach so far.. Guess I know what I'll be looking into today lol

[carddass 273]

2 hours ago, Tokage said:

So it IS the same vocalist as the one from Cock Roach!  I already thought they sounded familiar. Even more interested in this band now cuz I've really enjoyed everything I heard by Cock Roach so far.. Guess I know what I'll be looking into today lol

Yes it is the same vocalist. The only exception are two songs out of all mugen minus' output. Guitarist 朝比昴 provided vocals for one song off each of the albums:

夏の名残り
羊飼いだった少年

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Thanks again for the lyrics translation, cool stuff.

 

And yeah, Mugen Minus were pretty neat (I prefer them to Cock Roach).

[Jigsaw9 6783]

I totally randomly ended up at Ye Olde Livejournale Community of the band (I see you were quite an active member there @carddass I didn't even realize your name and avatar were familiar - my nick was jani_kun on LJ ) and for my own amusement tried to put some lyrics in Google Translator....... and they shockingly came out pretty great!! Not sure how accurate but at least totally comprehensible. :')))

 

Here's Fuffuu:

Quote

Let the moon rise in the night, spread your wings,
Collect spilled dreams.
In the shadow that stretches against the darkness
Keep going around and swaying.

 

At the end of your finger tracing,
In the memory, the colors I showed you.
Melt, hurt each other, hate each other,
A dirty night carves me.

 

The moon is beautiful, Cry For The Moon
This eye, this arm, what do you know...
Bloody tears sink me down.
I don't want to think of that night.

 

bito 4 you:

Quote

Body temperature at midnight.
We are like bugs.
And suddenly
Dreaming of god killing,
Dreaming of flowers falling.

 

Without sound,
Silently,
There is no color,
Without shadow.

 

Beat For You...

 

On a beautiful night,
A flower that looks like you.
For slow chopping.

 

In the coming morning,
La la la, the colors are dyed.

 

Power (I adjusted this one a bit):

Quote

Deep, deep, deep, deep.
The moon has opened.
Jet-black Parade seen in the funeral procession of the rose for Dears...

 

Pandora's cat dyed red and red, raising one leg
That blood-colored flower looks good on you...

 

I'm waiting for
Power-wer-wer

Power-wer-wer

 

(other ones I checked didn't come out as smoothly, lol)

[carddass 273]

Ah yes, my Livejournal for better or worse still lives on. And I've been going by carddass or some variation of that for the past 25 years or so on various forums, mailing lists, and even IRC so my listening habits are somewhat traceable.

Those translations look good. I actually discovered a new translating website deepl that does really excellent German / English translations that are much better than google. They are amazingly really human sounding with the grammar and phrasings. I haven't attempted to send Japanese lyrics through it yet but it potentially could be great as well.
 

https://www.deepl.com/translator
 

Here's a direct copy-and-paste of shissha ressha from deepl which can be compared with the one I posted earlier by a native speaker with some edits by me.

Train of the Dead

 

Black moth-strewn night sky
A mourning procession walks through the city.
Each with a balloon of a different color.
You slipped past the invisible me.

 

Let go of the balloon and it's high in the sky
It made me float in the air.
When we arrived at the empty moon station
It only sounded like a bellwether of departures.

The night I started running, in the open air.

I'll never forget you.
The night I started running, in the open air.
I'll never forget you.

I can't remember when I opened it, like a piece of jam bun.

Exhale clear, dry, cold air.
I can't remember when I opened it, like a piece of jam bun.
I'm leaving without anyone noticing.

The night I started running, in the open air.

I'll never forget you.
The window of the train that just started running is beautiful.
I don't want to kill you.

I'm not going to be around anymore.
I guess I'm going to die.

 

Crossing the river of flowing moths
Aiming higher than the sky

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

@carddass Whoah, that translation actually looks pretty legit (I mean it reads like it could have been done by a person, haha). Thanks for the link!

[carddass 273]

munimuni and the god and death stars are having a two-man live streamed next Monday, June 29th, via the Zaiko system. The tweet says the live will be available for up to 3 days afterwards. I've purchased other Zaiko lives recently that were from Shinjuku Loft and they have used vimeo as their streaming method in which case it will be pretty easy to download the stream via a browser plugin. If that's the case for ikebukuro Chop and zaiko, it should be easily equal to rip.

https://streaming.zaiko.io/_item/327315
 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by carddass

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Just saw the announcement on Twitter, I'm reeeally thinking about buying a ticket (I assume they allow foreigners to do so, judging by the extensive English guidelines on the website).

[carddass 273]

I plan on buying a ticket to this show. This one is pretty cheap compared to the Shinjuku Loft shows which are 3000 yen for a one hour show.
And I've purchased two lives through Zaiko so far and it was pretty easy to create an account and purchase tickets.
My credit cards didn't seem to work and I had to use paypal which incurs a 300 yen fee on top of the base price.

[Tokage 5930]

They're apparently also playing with COSMO-SHIKI on 7/7. No idea if that'll be livestreamed as well but I certainly hope so:

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Just bought my ticket for 06/29, so excitingggg~! Gonna be crankin' it on the big flatscreen TV!

 

@Tokage It's a streamed one it looks like, through TwitCasting (for moneyz).

Edited June 27, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Whoah, did you guys catch today's livestream? If I'm not mistaken, they played 5 new/unreleased songs plus a super old one (Yureru kage). I don't even think I've heard the starting song on other streams, and I probably liked that one the most too... very The Cure-y.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Looks like there will be some sort of collaboration between 101A, emmurée and MUNIMUNI called GHOST OF ROMANCE in September!

 

 

There will be a collab CD too featuring covers of all three bands (and maybe some original songs too? not sure about that part).

Edited August 9, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[carddass 273]

On 7/20/2020 at 2:34 PM, Jigsaw9 said:

Whoah, did you guys catch today's livestream? If I'm not mistaken, they played 5 new/unreleased songs plus a super old one (Yureru kage). I don't even think I've heard the starting song on other streams, and I probably liked that one the most too... very The Cure-y.

I caught it and they were mostly all new songs:

◎
1.地獄(NEW SONG)  (jigoku)
2.ストレンジデイス (Strange Days)
3.幻のキノコ   (maboroshi no kinoko)
4.揺れる影絵 part 1  (yureru kage part 1)
---M SEA---
5.薔薇色の君へ   (barairo no kimi he)
6.20021    (20021)
 

[carddass 273]

8 hours ago, Jigsaw9 said:

Looks like there will be some sort of collaboration between 101A, emmurée and MUNIMUNI called GHOST OF ROMANCE in September!

 

 

There will be a collab CD too featuring covers of all three bands (and maybe some original songs too? not sure about that part).

If I understood correctly, this will be 6 song CD that will be released for sale at gigs first and with online ordering to be planned at a later date.
Each band will record their own version of 'Ghost of Romance', which was originally composed by munimuni, and then each will cover a song from another band.  Here are three songs mentioned in the flyer:

brand new world (emmuree)
Beat for you (munimuni)
love less (101A)

[Jigsaw9 6783]

^ Thanks for clarifying, sounds good! Hopefully they won't wait long with the online ordering phase.  

[carddass 273]

I hope not either....but traditionally they've never really sold anything on their website so I'm guessing they'll just be distributing through Disk Union again.

And munimuni will be performing tomorrow, August 11th, with the gods and death star. There's a two week archival viewing period so you'll have plenty of time to download the stream:
https://twitcasting.tv/ikebukuro_chop/shopcart/19096

 

Also on Thursday, Kamui will be participating in a session band event. I believe he's in Luna Mattino. Only the 8/13 show will be streamed, 8/14's gig will not. Furthermore, the archival view of 8/13 won't be available until 8/18 for some reason:
https://twitcasting.tv/ikebukuro_chop/shopcart/16783

Edited August 10, 2020 by carddass

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Yeah, saw both of those but too expensive for my wallet / my sanity right now...... that session stream looks extremely tasty tho, with all the possible LUNA SEA and MALICE MIZER stuff~

Edited August 10, 2020 by Jigsaw9

[Jigsaw9 6783]

I'm not sure what this is so just gonna put it here:

 

 

Does it really say the ticket is 100,000 yen, and it's only limited to one person? (who gets a ton of special stuff in return)

 

If yes, that's hilarious.

[carddass 273]

On 8/11/2020 at 8:34 PM, Jigsaw9 said:

I'm not sure what this is so just gonna put it here:

 

 

Does it really say the ticket is 100,000 yen, and it's only limited to one person? (who gets a ton of special stuff in return)

 

If yes, that's hilarious.

I think that's what it exactly is. The ultimate social distancing gig. Just you alone with the band!
I find it hilarious and I wonder if anyone will take them up on the offer.

Here's my quick and dirty translation of the perks with question marks for things that aren't 100% clear to me

-Gifts (eraser, penceil, signboard)

-Premium sofa shot/ photo (?)
-Get to sing along to the choruses with your own mic
-A dinner show comprising of food bought at convenience stores (?)
-Get to record the show (?)
-Get the show recorded and put into a bluray case (?)
-Your name in the booklet of the new album in 2021
-Get to hear the new songs as they're being recorded (?)