So so sick/my current life

 I hope that this blog isn’t one of those things I start out of hyper fixation then forget about in two weeks. But that feeling is slowly beginning to settle in…

No!! I won’t let it happen to me. Currently I’m so unmotivated to do anything… especially write about music. Sorry :( But here’s what’s been going on in my life:

I’ve been sick since Friday because I picked up a virus from my mom… had a sleepover that night as well… Laila if you see this, I would quarantine for a bit just to be safe. Her and I went to the tienda Latina Friday night and I bought the reddest and most seasoned bag of Takis I’d ever eaten. I then proceeded to eat the entire family sized bag and a bottle of mango Jarritos (also purchased from the tienda Latina) in one sitting while watching “Hurricane Bianca.” This decision might contribute to my current state in health… but i don’t think red 40 will give you a sore, scratchy throat and a stuffy nose.

Today is Monday and I am not at school due to my condition. When I woke up, I immediately went to my mothers’ room to get some medicine. While trying to swallow a Mucinex (which is a ginormous dry pill) I proceeded to vomit water on my floor. So my mom made me stay home.

It’s 4:44pm at the time of writing and I’ve been up since 6am. I haven’t done any schoolwork that I was assigned today, so as soon as I finish typing this update I will get right on top of it. I’ll be completely honest, this school year I have been slacking a lot. I had some issues at the beginning of the school year with waking up and heading to school, and my mental health was just very low. I also learned that a girl at school had been saying mean words about me since last year, and everyone knew except myself. So naturally, my will to not only get up, but also apply myself to my schoolwork was quite low. Right now, out of 8 classes, I have 3 F’s. Those classes are Algebra 2, biology, and agricultural business. 

Ag business is so ridiculous to me and makes zero sense. I understand the implications of Agriculture business in our society and well-being, after all it does affect a lot globally and economically. But we should leave it to the people that are interested and invested in dealing with it. I did NOT ask to be in such a class, in fact Every day when I am in that class, I have no idea what anything means and I copy everything from my friend Sebastian. Those assignments I do ok on, but the reasons I have an F are: 1. Failing the tests. And 2: Answering the bi-weekly questions that we need to read a chapter of “Tomatoland” to do so.

If you’ve read the book, you’d know that the chapters take basically forever to read. (The audio version of Tomatoland averages and hour long per chapter) I know I have 2 weeks to read 1 chapter and answer 1 question, but with everything else I’ve got regarding schoolwork (which I admit it IS my own fault for falling behind on in the first place) I’ve got no time to read that book! It’s also unbelievably uninteresting to me. If you like it then that’s great, it’s not my thing unfortunately :(

I’ve got to quit writing this and do my work. My goal this week is to bring at least one of my F’s up to not an F.

Wish me luck friends…

Researching Teeny Frahoop

 If you did read my last entry then you’d know I emailed Teeny Frahoop, one of my favorite Japanese female punk bands, in request for lyrics to their song “Ride the Rockin’ rocket” as well as permission to perform it. 

I cannot find lots of information about Teeny Frahoop. Almost all the information I could find on them was from this blog post written in 2004: http://japanlive.blogspot.com/2005/01/what-happened-to-teeny-frahoop.html

That entry was the first thing that popped up when I Googled Teeny Frahoop a few weeks ago, so that I could learn more about the band I’d been listening to for a while. And finding that blog is what inspired me to make my own, actually. Reading about Ken M’s favorite Japanese indie bands and attending performances in the scene made me a bit jealous of I’m being honest… In the US of course, lots of bands and performers I like don’t come near me. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the concerts that are held in my town. I try to listen to lots of local bands within my area. (Ever heard of I Before E? CHECK THEM OUT! They rock!!)

(Ken M, I wonder where you are today. Thanks for inspiring me with your blog and thanks for all the information you provided for me when researching Japanese indie music. It’s a great gift left for me on the web and I appreciate it!!)

I emailed Teeny Frahoop

 Greetings!

I’ve been thinking about what my second blog post could be about. I was thinking I could start by introducing myself more by talking about all the music I like, fandoms I interact with, etc…. But then I realized, that would spoil all the fun! I can’t just give it all away in my second entry.

Today I want to talk about emailing Teeny Frahoop. As I eagerly await their response, I have nothing else better to do than to tell someone about why I emailed Teeny Frahoop, or better yet, who the heck they are. Maybe I’ll save that for another day… but for now I need to talk about the email. This post might be long… apologies!! But I’m really excited and hope you all enjoy reading.

Around August of last year (2024) was when I discovered Teeny Frahoop, a trio of Japanese girls with a fresh, poppy-punky sound. I became obsessed with their song “Ride the Rockin’ Rocket.” I still am today. Often I find myself humming the tune as best I can, imagining myself performing in front of an audience and making Teeny Frahoop proud.

I’ve attempted many searches for the lyrics to this song, but have never been able to find any site containing them, official or not. I know the song is in English, possibly English-gibberish which is common for the genre (I’ll make a post about what I’m talking about another time.) but I’m only really able to pick out a few words and phrases.

I eventually was able to find their Instagram, with a whopping 8 followers (I made the count 9) and 0 posts. Linked to the page was the official Teeny Frahoop website. When I first visited the site, it looked a little outdated. Despite their last album being released in 1998, the website stated that their last concert was in 2023. I also found their blog, with the latest entry being made in 2023, explaining how they were unsure when or if they would return.

I hope I don’t sound dumb, but surely if the website was up to date at least 2 years ago, then maybe there is a possibility they’d check their email, too? 

So here’s what I wrote:

Hello, Teeny Frahoop! I hope the message finds you all well. My name is Abigail. I'm 16 years old and I am from Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. I play the guitar and sing. My friend, Sebastian, plays bass with me. Ever since I was in middle school, I have loved music from Japan. My favorite music is Japanese punk with female band. In 2024, 1 discovered your music. I love your music! I am

a fan ٨٨

My favorite song is "Ride the Rockin' Rocket." The lyrics and sound make me so happy!

Sebastian and I want to sing "Ride the Rockin' Rocket" together. Unfortunately, we do not understand the lyrics of the song. I have attempted to learn the words of the song, but l have a hard time -

I want to ask you, is it ok if you send the lyrics to "Ride the Rockin' Rocket" to us? We want to make you proud and sing the song, so we would like to know the lyrics if that is ok. And also, may we have your permission to perform the song for an audience? We will tell our American friends about Teeny Frahoop so they can love you too! I hope that is ok with you.

If we play the song, we will post video to YouTube. You can find me here:

https://youtube.com/@dadaromama?

si=3QrJDvjO-wEKYmpJ

I thank you so much for reading the message!

Apologies, my Japanese language skills are not well. If you have any questions for me regarding my questions, do not be afraid to ask me!

I will continue to support Teeny Frahoop!

Many thanks ^^

-Abigail

I’m a little worried they aren’t going to respond, but my hopes are up. Though we have asked them for the lyrics to the song, my friend Sebastian (mentioned in the letter, I’ll introduce him another day) and I are attempting to decipher the words ourselves by listening to the song over and over. This isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to making out my own lyrics for a song that doesn’t have any online. And my experience with English phrases being sung in 2010’s Vocaloid music made my middle school self well versed in recognizing my language sung in a heavy Japanese accent.

The second I get a response from Teeny Frahoop (if I ever do), I will be sure to post about it here!

-Abigail

My first post

Hello everyone!!! Welcome to my new blog.

I’ll give a quick introduction about myself and my plans for this blog here!

My name is Abigail/@dadaromama. I’m a teen living in the USA and I have been a fan of Eastern Asian music since middle school.

Among other things, I love reading manga and fan fiction, and just overall involving myself in fandom culture. I love using the internet and interacting with older websites and personal blogs.

I want to use this blog to document my findings and introductions to new music, especially regarding the Japanese indie/punk genre. Quick disclaimer, I’m currently saving up for a personal laptop, as I only have my IPhone and a school Chromebook that gives me very limited access to the web. So apologies if this layout is confusing for the next bit of time, because I can’t tell.

That’s the end of this entry. I will see you all later!!