Kick away all the fakes
Pretend I’m not feeling this pain
Who is it that’s gonna laugh last?
Slow and steady wins the race
“I’m just tired of being alive,”
That’s what I said
You’ve just got to learn how
to make your hurdles lower
Truth is, I just don’t want to see it,
How I’m always sad
The news is only ever painful
I can’t take it anymore
More love, more freedom!
Things don’t work out how you’d think
Now, more! Live more! I think I can find it if I keep singing
Don’t panic, just love this night more
I can’t seem to communicate well
Girls, fall in love! Life is short!
Still don’t know what’s real yet, so
I’ll keep it in my heart!
An honest heart that knows how to cry
That’s beautiful, that’s my ideal
There’s nothing charming about being cute, right?
Just let it slide!
Truth is, I’m not weak
I hum a tune and cry while laughing
I want to dream in the colors of the night
I can’t wait to see our future
More love! More freedom!
Things don’t work out how you’d think
If I keep singing I think I can find that powerful urge
Worrying I’ll be hurt is going to swallow me up
Tomorrow’s more dear to me
I want more love
Don’t panic, just love this moment moreSo I’ve been listening to a lot of Judy and Mary1 the past couple of weeks, being on some kind of autoagonizing music nostalgia kick, and what’s hitting me more than anything else is how fucking good this band was.
Like crazy, absurdly, good.
And this song, “MOTTO” (“MORE”), while not strictly speaking being my favorite Judy and Mary number, is absolutely my favorite defiantly ambivalent punk-rock anthem.
I mean look at that girl. Yuki, JAM’s frontgirl, is a fucking kook. I love her. She’s got pipes up to here, but they’re like weird Dr. Seuss pipes. She’s cute but not cutesy. She’s weird but deeply charismatic. She—like this song—presents us with real depth decorated with cute little flowers and bears and sparkles and fucking dares us not to take her seriously.
And JAM has the chops to back it up. At their peak their melodies were the most adventurous I’d heard in pop music. The production was noisy, arty, bordering on inaccessibility. And yet look at that stadium. They were huge. They were massive. Yuki and her band of weirdos were as big as bands get in Japan. That’s Tokyo Dome in that video. I mean, christ, look at that fucking stadium.
“She gave hope to a bunch of tiny, unpopular high school girls,” writes Marxy.
And now she can give us a little hope, too. Thanks, internet.
Jiyuu wo motto, indeed.
1None of Judy and Mary’s band members are named either Judy or Mary. Just for the record.
Filamented Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus filamentosus)
The species in the genus Paracheilinus are appropriately called Flasher Wrasses, derived from their grandeur “flashing” behavior observed during courting or mating where the male will make quick, exaggerated lateral moves while intensifying his colors and erecting his fins to attract a mate
Image Eric Cheng
フィラメンタスラス
X-Rays of Fish Reveal Diversity
1. X-Ray Image of a Winghead Shark:
The distinctive form of a winghead shark, Eusphyra blochii, is revealed in an X-ray image. The shark’s eyes are spread far apart, giving it superb binocular vision.
2. X-Ray Image of a Long-Spined Porcupine Fish:
The robust oval, spine covered body of a long-spined porcupine fish, Diodon holocanthus, is revealed in this X-ray image.
3. X-Ray Image of a Monterey Skate:
An X-ray image of a Monterey skate, Raja montereyensis, reveals a spine that extends like a tail out from the pelvic fin. The skeletons of skates, rays, chimaeras, and sharks are made of cartilage, rather than bone.
CREDIT: © Sandra Raredon / Smithsonian Institution4. X-Ray Image of a Longnose Butterflyfish:An X-ray image of a longnose butterflyfish, Forcipiger longirostris, helps scientists study the fish’s complex bone structure.
CREDIT: Sandra J. Raredon / Smithsonian Institution
