Investigative Journalism

From the blog on the Twinkle Star video (see if you can guess which of the following holds some genuine, postable content, and which just filler because the good one seemed too short to post all by itself):

1. They played Jenga inbetween takes (here's a clue: it's not this one)

2. The fox in the video is called Hayabashi (???)

3. According to Yukari, the PV was shot at the end of September last year. By a strange coincidence, this was also the time that they originally claimed the new single would come out. As you might remember September turned to October and still nothing happened. Can anyone see the logic in shooting a video in September for a song that you know won't see the light of day for another 5 months? Was the whole anime tie in song suddenly sprung on them with the sudden move to Sony, putting the real planned comeback single on hold? Makes you wonder what actually went on between Halcali and For Life.

4. The director is the same one they used for Tip Taps Tip.

(OK,it was #3. Although if you're a fox lover, it could be #2. Take your pick!)

Twinkle Star sleeve/PV clip

It's hard to make a good call based on this little snap from Tower, but what do you think?

UPDATE You can now see a brief clip of the PV over at Sony.

First thoughts before i'm late for work- The Magnificant Seven opening works, the video looks exactly like that Halcali we all feared had been left behind, it had a jittering chorus that I immediantly wanted to hear again and was that the start of a rap? And a dance?! I want the whole song.
Now.

Thoughts? Ideas? Impressions?

(Thanks to Sora Kara for spotting this)

Twinkle Star PV clips

Stumbling around the Japanese internet this morning, I came across LiKE tHIS, a blog carrying PV clips and lyrics from next months' Twinkle Star. The PV was apparntly played on cable TV music station Music On!, during a Halcali appearance. Most of the first half of the page is taken up with a transcription of the lyrics, but scroll down to the bottom to take a look at the PV shots.

The blogger transcribed the lyrics as they were listening, so by their own admission they could be inaccurate. The shots of the PV were taken with a camera phone, so likewise they're of fairly poor quality. They're still good enough to warrant a look though, and definatly good enough to see that Halcali are moving again. Yes, they're dancing. Remember that?

The blogger adds that the PV progesses like the Japanese word game Shiritori, which involves forming a chain of words by using the last letter of the previous word to make the next one (car, run, needle, easy etc.). So the images move like this- ハルカリ(Halcali)/ リンゴ(apple)/ゴリラ(gorilla)/ラジオカセ(ghetto blaster(?!)) etc. If the PV actually pans out this way and works, it should come off as their most innovative yet.

Double checking the end of the post, it looks like it was made on the 16th of November 2005! So Twinkle Star has been ready to go for all that time? I suppose Halcali had their contractual obligation to Sony (Eureka 7 only licenses Sony artists for the ending/opening titles) to plow through. I think it's a fair call to say that we can clock February 22nd as the date of the real Halcali restart.

Girl Pop

January's issue of Girl Pop magazine (like What's In, also owned by Sony) features a Halcali interview and photoshoot. Sadly, the interview came out about 3 weeks after it actually would have meant something. Fellas, if you're going to have one of your artists in one of your magazines promote a single, best to do it before the thing has been released, largely ignored, then forgotten. The interview is stock, but i'm going over it to pick out anything you might find interesting. In the meantime, here's Halcali looking oddly pre-Sony again...

Halcali on Pop Jam

You might feel a slight tingling sensation of deja vu as you watch H and Y grace the stage on Pop Jam. Don't worry though, you're just witnessing Halcali perfect the Tip Taps Tip Hand Dance that they debuted on Music Station a few weeks back. If you're trying it yourself at home, don't forget to wiggle those hips too! Na na na why so why...

Pop Jam

Halcali will be back on the air this Friday (the thirteenth) on NHK's long running music show Pop Jam.

We've been promised another performance of Tip Taps Tip. Watch this space...

Twinkle Star (part ???)

So, the rumours that began circulating last October can finally be put to rest.

The new Halcali song is called Twinkle Star, and will be released on the 22nd of February.

Take a look at Amazon. There's zero information for the single other than the song title, but a new single so soon is great news (as is their continuing relationship with i-dep's Nakamura). They've been playing this live since November last year, and all descriptions point to something upbeat and kicking. Let's hope so, it's what they're best at and most comfortable with. And as much as I liked the last PV, this time let's have walking Halcali out, and dancing Halcali back in!

Here's the page for the single at CD Japan.

A couple more gems from Tower.
Firstly, the song has been put together by everyone's favorite H and Y production team O.T.F!
I was certain that all the old Halcali guys had been bumped off the roster after the move to Sony.
Secondly, the song is said to feature heavy sampling from The Magnificent Seven! (荒野の7人) What this means is anyones guess, John Sturges' film being, of course, a remake of Kurasawa's The Seven Samurai.
It all makes for a bizarre and potentially fantastic package which seems to beg the review to be started with the words 'return to form!'.

UPDATE- The Nakamura produced b-side is called Check!!cheke!!it!! (information from HMV)