(Page of Swords & The High Priestess, vol.19-1) Music Should Make Everyone Happy (1) - The Case of Archie Lee BLACKFOOT -

Before I begin the text, let me explain the situation to help you understand the story.

Masato Shiraishi was a radio personality/radio DJ on a FM station in New York City for a program called "Far East Rare Groove," which introduced Asian popular music. One day in 2005, he suddenly suffered an event that made his body immobile. He could not walk, he could not text or call because he could not move his fingers, and he could not listen to his mouth, so he went AWOL from the program recording. This infuriated producer Archie Lee BLACKFOOT, who secretly began looking for a replacement for Masato Shiraishi. After a few days, Masato Shiraishi apologized to Archie Lee BLACKFOOT and joined the program recording.

Later, Masato Shiraishi was told that his esophageal cancer had metastasized extensively and that he did not have long to live. This time, Masato Shiraishi called Archie Lee BLACKFOOT and asked him to take some time off from the program to recuperate, and since Archie Lee BLACKFOOT had already found a replacement radio DJ, he told Masato to leave the program completely. Therefore, Masato Shiraishi was not even allowed to say goodbye to his listeners.

So, he was so shocked that he took a large dose of sleeping pills and attempted suicide. His suicide ended in an attempt, as he was found collapsed by his best friends, bassists C.J. Raymond and Yukiko Shimada.

Note that, as usual, this text is written in the style of Yukiko Shimada talking about her past.

Last time I talked about changes in my eating preferences. Although it was for my husband's cancer treatment, during his recuperation, I thoroughly enjoyed eating vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seaweed, etc., so I continued to adopt a plant-based diet to this day. And today I'm going to talk about the changing relationship between Masato and music.

Now, remember. In "The Gift of Life Prayers", Howard Wills suggests forgiving each other. What's more important than a plant-based diet is "Forgiveness"! Peter once asked Jesus Christ, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?." The answer of Jesus Christ given in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 22 is:

Jesus said to him, "I don't tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.”

Or as Lesson121 in "A COURSE IN MIRACLES WORKBOOK FOR STUDENTS" notes:

Forgiveness is the key to happiness. I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal, fallible and full of sin, and know I am the perfect Son of God.

So, Masato started to apologize to his music friends. Masato got a job as a radio DJ for the FM radio program "Far East Rare Groove" because of the good will of many people, but he blamed himself for not taking full advantage of the opportunity. Masato Shiraishi forgives himself until seventy times seven.

To explain why exactly Masato Shiraishi came to the United States, he dreamed of creating and drumming in a multi-racial, mixed-gender Funk band like Sly & The Family Stone or Prince & The Revolution. He had no idea how he would reach that dream, but he knew that being a DJ for the FM radio show "Far East Rare Groove", introducing Asian music to New Yorkers, was the first step, and that if he kept at it, his dream might eventually become a reality. He was also deeply involved in the music selection itself, so "Far East Rare Groove" was a radio program completely colored by Masato Shiraishi. Now, he certainly did not have a permanent band, but he would occasionally join sessions at places like Omar "Groovy" Hampton's Jazz club, "Tiger Rag", and would often play with C. J. Raymond. He thought he had the best luck he had ever had in his life. But at last, he could not let go of the feeling that he had not made the most of his good fortune, and he kept blaming himself.

As I mentioned last time, Masato started fasting as soon as he moved into our new home. Even though he was fasting, he followed Howard Wills' suggestion of drinking freshly squeezed orange juice and grapefruit juice every morning as soon as he woke up, and two glasses of freshly squeezed carrot juice in the afternoon. In essence, he did a "Juice Cleanse" fasting with "Cold-Pressed Juice". "Cold-Pressed Juice" is juice that is pressed by applying intense pressure to the ingredients in a slow-revolving juicer called a "Slow Juicer", without applying heat. Conventional centrifugal separation juicers use high-speed rotating blades to cut up the ingredients, which heats them during the juicing process, exposing them to air and causing them to oxidize, resulting in the loss of enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients. In contrast, slow juicers grind the ingredients like a millstone at a low speed of 75-160 rpm and squeeze the juice over time under high pressure, generating less heat and minimizing the destruction of nutrients.

He spent seven days drinking only "Cold-Pressed Juice". Then he took a recovery diet for seven days. On the first day, I had him drink only miso soup using kombu dashi (kelp stock). On the second day, I added rice porridge. On the third day, I put tofu in miso soup. I'm glad that tofu is available in New York too!

After seven days of slowly adding things that didn't burden his digestive system, and four more days, he went to see the producer of the FM radio station again. Needless to say, it was not because he wanted to work as a DJ for "Far East Rare Groove" again. Rather, Masato just went to apologize because he really felt guilty to the producers and other staff members of "Far East Rare Groove".

Please forgive me.

I failed to take advantage of the opportunity you gave me.

I have squandered your goodwill.

Please, please forgive me.

When Masato went to ask for "Forgiveness", the producer had an interesting reaction to Masato. Mr. BLACKFOOT, Archie Lee BLACKFOOT, producer of "Far East Rare Groove", an FM radio show about Asian "Popular Music," was clearly in trouble. The new radio DJ was African American, and while he could introduce singers, bands, groups, and their songs in a fun, light-hearted, joking way, his musical knowledge was severely lacking. In particular, he had no understanding of Asian music. Perhaps he truly despised Asian music. "Far East Rare Groove" was organized by Omar "Groovy" Hampton for Masato, who was coming back to New York, and he was involved in recruiting program sponsors, who were, of course, several companies with close ties to Asia. The music itself was the same as when Masato was DJ, but the songs were more conventional and less informative, and the listeners did not respond well to them. They sent their honest opinions to the FM station.

Hey you, brat!

Put Masato Shiraishi back on as DJ!

He was absolutely great!

Masato knew that there was a huge boom of Korean soap opera "Winter Sonata" in Japan and other Asian countries. Especially in Japan, Bae Yong-joon, who plays the main character, was very popular. His female fans gave him a nickname with the highest honorific title, Yong-Sama. In short, he was revered by his fans like a Prince of Heaven who had landed on earth. Masato also knew that it was brought about by the Korean government's export policy of its own culture. That's why Masato thought Korean music was likely to take over the world in the near future. As a radio DJ, Masato frequently introduced R&B for the duo Brown Eyes by Yoon Gun and Naul, Acid Jazz by ROLLER COASTER, a trio of female vocalist Joe Wonsun and male guitarist and male bassist, and Album-Oriented Rock Ballads by Yoon Jong Shin, but advised producers to continue to introduce more Korean music.

Masato advised us to first of all feature Seo Taiji as soon as possible in order to rebuild "Far East Rare Groove." Seo Taiji spent the period from 1992 to June 1996 as the leader of the trio Seo Taiji and Boys. He established danceable popular music with a subtle blend of Hip-Hop and R&B, and appeared on TV wearing short pants and earrings that were pierced through the ears. It was a first in Korean entertainment history. They revolutionized the Korean music industry, which until then had been dominated by Ballads and "Trot," a genre closely related to Japanese "Enka," and were instrumental in giving birth to what would become "K-POP. Incidentally, "Trot" and "Enka" are indigenous music characterized by a singing style that uses "turn" a lot, like Southern Soul and Deep Soul. Seo Taiji is nicknamed "The Culture President". Many other groups were influenced by Seo Taiji, who went solo and surprised the public by going the Loud Rock route.

What happened to "K-POP" after that?

A successful producer since 2007, Park Jin-young established a base in Los Angeles in 2003 and expanded to the United States, producing Ma$e's "The Love You Need" in 2004 and Will Smith's "I Wish I Made That" in 2005. As predicted by Masato, Wonder Girls, a K-POP girl group produced by Park Jin-young, performed in Los Angeles and New York in 2008.

Since then, K-POP groups such as GIRLS' GENERATION have emerged one after another, gaining a large following not only in Asia but also in Europe and America.

The term "K-POP" began to be used in the late '90s, but Masato's explanation that introducing more K-POP would attract young listeners greatly pleased the producer. So, the producer asked Masato to submit reports on Korean music with sound sources from time to time. Of course, it was a proposal with a small reward, so Masato readily agreed. He also suggested advising on music selections other than K-POP. Needless to say, the producer was overjoyed.

I'm sorry to ask you such a favor because you have a serious illness. But I was really in trouble.

It seems that the producer, who is extremely obese, even surpassed Abdullah the Butcher, the professional wrestler of heel, which was very popular in Japan, said that to Masato very apologetically! LOL. The producer fired the black DJ who had replaced Masato three months later and hired a new Korean-American DJ, so the line of introducing more K-POP was to be a success.

Its Korean-American radio DJ, Jermaine Hwang, was, of course, delighted to be able to present K-POP, but he was also passionate about presenting Popular Music from other parts of Asia. He frequently sought advice from Masato and they exchanged information with each other. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that Jermaine Hwang was at his best when introducing Korean music.

When he featured Jang Gi Ha & Faces, who released the Indie hit "Cheap Coffee" in 2008, there was a huge response because the Rock was similar to David Byrne's TALKING HEADS, which New Yorkers are familiar with. The band's name itself, FACES, was inspired by the name of the band TALKING HEADS. Jang Gi Ha loved TALKING HEADS.

Or, I have heard that the many Alternative Rock bands that emerged in the mid-90s, such as JAURIM, were also very well received. JAURIM's "Sorry, I hate you" was a particularly strong response. The name of the program with the word "Rare Groove" in it gives the impression of being dance music oriented, but Masato interpreted it broadly and introduced a variety of Popular Music. As in that era when Masato was the personality, Jermaine Hwang was very well received because he did not specialize in dance music in his music selections. Archie Lee BLACKFOOT was also relieved because he was able to retain his position as producer, LOL.