The PV, which was uploaded by raykennedy, is 3:56 minutes in length and features BACK-ON performing on a sunny beach and in a dark industrial warehouse with various background images of urban buildings panning in and out. Very interesting camera work imho and it is definitely a must watch for the song AND the video! The director is none other than 須永秀明 (Hideaki Sunaga) who also directed BACK-ON‘s Sands of time PV!

You can watch the PV by clicking on the direct link below or after the cut (as usual):

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v17144930HrJcS5sk

and if you would prefer to watch it in HQ on Youtube courtesy of funkeejap (original by Sok) please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf06dyEmR9o

Now you can even watch the subbed version of the PV (with karaoke effect) with thanks to BenBoomZ right here (in HQ as well):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6ukDBj7dY

You can also download the mp3 (PV rip courtesy of Sok) or download the PV (courtesy of Umm) or even view some of the quick photo stills of the PV that we have uploaded to our Flickr account:

Or feel free to peruse some of the ‘PV offshots’ or ‘behind the scenes’ photos taken by Ooishi Nami from BACK-ON‘s official website gallery below by visiting our fansite gallery:

BACK-ON – flyaway PV uploaded by raykennedy on Veoh

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

BACK-ON – flyaway PV uploaded by funkeejap (original by Sok)on Youtube

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

BACK-ON – flyaway PV (Subbed with karaoke effect) uploaded by BenBoomZ on Youtube

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

However, the biggest thank you must go to Takenoko of TV-Nihon (who we contacted after seeing the forum post by BenBoomZ) who has very kindly allowed us to post their translation of Sands of time on Back-on Online!

So without further ado…

ENGLISH TRANSLATION by TV-Nihon

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも
“I want to see you” right now!

[Verse 1]
つないでた手を離したんだ I know…わかってる
Our hands used to be connected, but they’ve come apart
I know… I know.

無口なホームで…
Our home is silent…

[RAP]
I’m Mr. lover なんて強がる can you feel me?
I’m Mr. Lover. I put up a tough front. Can you feel me?

未だに you’re my 心癒す diva
You’re still the diva that still heals my heart

But I can’t say this word “逢いたいな”
But I can’t say these words “I want to see you”

I wanna 時を rewind right now
I wanna rewind time right now

[Chorus 1]
“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも 叫びたいのに
“I want to see you” right now! Even though I want to shout it.

もうYou and I 言えない
I no longer can say “you and I”

意地をはっても つかめない
Even if I try to force it. I can’t catch you

あの頃は腕の中にいたのに
Back then you used to be in my arms

キミはもういない
But you’re gone now.

[Verse 2]
Baby… come back to here for me

そう隣に… I wanna say it
Yes, by my side… I wanna say it

You and I お互い 言えない 逢えない
You and I. Neither speaking or seeing each other

あの时から素直になれない 魔法が解けない
I’ve never been honest with my feelings. I can’t undo the spell

I wanna use the sands of time… 君のそばにいたい
I wanna use the Sands of time… I wanna be by your side

[Chorus 2]
“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
I yelled out “I love you!” but…

君の元には届かないよ
It could not reach you

泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
Please don’t cry. It makes it more painful

胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
I’ll keep these feelings in my heart

キミはもういない
Because you’re gone now

[Bridge]
Hey my girl 誰かの “モノ” になるなら
Hey my girl if you’re going to be someone else’s

いっそ消えてほしいと願う 心の中
Then my desires and wishes quickly disappear. In my heart

未だ思い出 flash back!
Still memories flash back!

あの時 あの場所で出会わなければ…
That time, that place where we met…

[Chorus 1 & 2]
“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
I yelled out “I love you!” but…

君の元には届かないよ
It could not reach you

泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
Please don’t cry. It makes it more painful

胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
I’ll keep these feelings in my heart

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも叫びたいのに
“I want to see you” right now! Even though I want to shout it.

もうYou and I 言えない
I no longer can say “you and I”

意地をはっても つかめない
Even if I try to force it. I can’t catch you

あの頃は腕の中に
Back then you used to be in my arms

The song definitely has a very cheerful and summery feel, and I really love it when it comes on on my playlist, but message for kidz does feature a strange if funny ‘chicken’ rap (as coined by Sesshy) in the middle, which adds that extra bit of playfulness. I’m still in two minds about it though!

We have to thank Sowon for kindly providing the romanised lyrics on the BOO forums, and allowing us to post it on the site! The lyrics for the bridge part of message for kidz, like fifty/50, was not available with the single, and was completely transcribed by Sowon!

As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know either by commenting below or via the contact form. If you would like to post these lyrics elsewhere, please link back to this page. :)

JAPANESE (Romaji)

[Verse 1]
You better return to hajimaru
Ikeba tashikani You can remember your dream
Ima ni naccha tooge kake no seji
A-You gotta grab your ippai ni
Don’t use the atama no monosashi
gaki no koro HERO mezashi chanpara
Ima wa RAP de mezasu saki NO.1
Dekiru nante hoshou mo nai mama Around the world
Kanousei wa zero ja nai kara!

[Chorus]
Never forget our shining message yeah
When you lost on your way
Take you to the shining place
Everything’s gonna be all right
It’s the shining message yeah
When you lost on your way
Take you to the shining place
Everything’s gonna be all right
song for kidz!

[Verse 2]
Hajimari wa itsumo fuan to tonari awase
Shigarami no naka Vision dake hirogete
Sou yume no naka e …
Ekaku egaku eizou to Passion
Nani yori ippo fumidasu Action
Tobidashitara igai to Reaction wa rakushou
Sassou to mado ake nuke dasou

* Repeat [Chorus]

[Bridge]
Yo! Touch the sky te wo nobashite
We Gonna break the sound system!

Yo! Touch the sky te wo nobashite
We Gonna break the sound system!

Yo Touch the sky te wo nobashite
We Gonna break the sound system!

[Verse 3]
Mazasu basho e ikeru wa fu tashika da ga
Nanda ka ikeru you na ki ga shite kitan nara
Mazu wa Move On!
Me wo tojitta ii !
Ishi wo mae e
Itsuka yume mita ano sora no mukou
Chiisana karada ni ookina kagayaki…
Idaite So
Omoi dashite mi! kimi no Shining road

* Repeat [Chorus]

Sands of time, the title track of the single (umm… Sands of time) is also the ED of the Japanese drama ケータイ捜査官7 (Keitai Sousakan 7) and the band did a fantastic PV for the song that you can watch in full on Youtube courtesy of gangangan03, or if you want the subbed version of the PV, check out the release by #TV-Nihon, which was uploaded by Vanalovas.

And the long awaited lyrics are finally here! We have to thank rageguy for posting the romaji version on the Forums, and he kindly allowed us to post them here! The usual kanji, hiragana and karaoke versions are now also available (August 3rd 2008!)

We’re experimenting a little this time, and posting the lyrics (as per the original) without the usual dividing brackets. It would be great if you could let us know what you thought!

As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know either by commenting below or via the contact form. If you would like to post these lyrics elsewhere, please link back to this page. :)

JAPANESE (Kanji)

つないでた手を離したんだ I know…わかってる
無口なホームで…

I’m Mr. lover なんて強がる can you feel me?
未だに you’re my 心癒す diva
But I can’t say this word “逢いたいな”
I wanna 時を rewind right now

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも 叫びたいのに
もうYou and I 言えない
意地をはっても つかめない あの頃は腕の中にいたのに
キミはもういない

Baby… come back to here for me
そう隣に… I wanna say it
You and I お互い 言えない 逢えない
あの時から素直になれない 魔法が解けない
I wanna use the sands of time… 君のそばにいたい

“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど 君の元には届かないよ
泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
キミはもういない

Hey my girl 誰かの “モノ” になるなら
いっそ消えてほしいと願う 心の中
未だ思い出 flash back!
あの時 あの場所で出会わなければ…

“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
君の元には届かないよ
泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも叫びたいのに
もうYou and I 言えない
意地をはっても つかめない
あの頃は腕の中に

fifty/50 is arguably the most experimental song that features in Back-on‘s latest single Sands of time, and in addition to the song being of a more electronic-rap genre where Teeda seems to be the only singer, the lyrics are actually surprisingly dark for the band.

Nevertheless, it’s still a great song, and if you haven’t heard it yet, please refer to this page to find out how to listen to the entire single online. The lyrics are, of course, provided below.

Unfortunately, as with message for kidz, Back-on didn’t actually include the lyrics for the ‘bridge’ of the song (where Teeda‘s voice goes all electronic) so this is a transcribe of what I could hear from the song. I haven’t yet been able to figure out what the missing ‘—-’ is, so if you do know, please let us know!

You can find the original kanji below, romaji on page 2 and the romanised version on page 3, with page 4 featuring the hybrid/karaoke mix of kanji and romanji.

As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know either by commenting below or via the contact form. If you would like to post these lyrics elsewhere, please link back to this page. :)

JAPANESE (Kanji)

[Verse 1]
My brain separated どちらかを random に take it その時 my spirit was naked
まるで青天の霹靂 体一つ but I have two brains, that’s 超越的
Cuz I don’t wanna lose control so I handle it for myself so I’m gonna use my technique
螺旋状に響く衝撃…

[Chorus]
Where am I 目の前見えない my eyes are blind
I wanna kill myself in my mind
Get out of my mind
Where am I 目の前見えない my eyes are blind
I wanna break myself in my mind
Get out of my mind

[Verse 2]
手に取った 44 magnum I wanna shoot to my 爆弾 but I’m scared it’s like a 錯乱
また開こうとする my box of Pandora, I pained myself で抑制なんとか
I’m standing alone in the illusion 出来るかな? 頭ん中で fusion
悩めば悩むほどまさに 伸し掛かる gravity

* Repeat [Chorus]

[Bridge]
Stop thinking so much
I need —-
Killing me, it’s killing yourself
Some lies under the truth
Just go out
Let’s have some fun
Let’s have some fun

* Repeat [Chorus]

Meji, who provided us with the initial review of the new songs from the single – message for kidz and fifty/50, has setup a Myspace profile where you can listen to all the songs. The url is below:

http://www.myspace.com/backonsandsoftime (UPDATE 20/06/2008: Sadly this account is now off-line. With thanks to EJ for the news. You can still listen via the Radio on the Music page!)

So if you haven’t heard the new songs yet, head over to one or both places and listen in! For more opinions of the new single, you can read the reviews posted by Aoi and Sesshy on the BOO forums. At least one of the reviews, and other random ‘Back-on‘ keywords can all be found on the dedicated Back-on dictionary created by ichi!

Let us know what you think of Back-on‘s latest musical experiment! :)

p/s: I received my copy of the new CD in the post a few days ago! :) Do I think it was worth the wait? Definitely!

Alas I haven’t yet heard any of the new songs on the tracklisting (apart from the title track Sands of time) but according to the initial feedback by Meji (who received her CD the day before the release date!) Back-on have apparently out-done themselves with the new songs!

Meji mentions in one of her posts that the songs were:

“Not really more focused on the rock side. message for kidz is very catchy, and the fifty/50 one, I would say that song would be their best one, b/c on the lyrics and listening to the song itself the same time; it comes out like a story, I’m guessing it would be life in the Adachi District where they grew up.“

And in fact, Icchan wrote a little bit more about message for kidz and fifty/50 in his latest blog entry (they’re really looking forward to feedback by the way!) where he says that:

“fifty/50 will be a nice surprise to those who listen to Back-on‘s songs, as it is very different and will be the first time the band have experimented with this style. Teeda sings solo (I think he might be might even be the only singer?) for this quite ‘hip-hop’ song, and the lyrics really demonstrate the conflict that Teeda feels within his heart.”

Icchan also elaborates on message for kidz (parts of which I didn’t understand very well either) where he seems to say:

“The song isn’t just for the stereotypical children or ‘kids’, as everyone is or has been a kid at one point. message for kidz is dedicated to cheering-on anyone who has worked hard to overcome their hurdles and move forward, step-by-step, towards the future. Hopefully, kids who are kids, or people who were kids will listen to this song and feel energised!”

I’m very much hoping I haven’t misinterpreted Icchan‘s words (any corrections, please please do let me know!) too much, but hopefully it will give everyone a rough idea of the background of these two new songs. ^^

And before I forget: a big thanks to Meji for the first review of the single! :) I can’t wait to get my hands on my copy, but in the meantime, I will keep scouring the internet for any previews!

If you’re wondering where to buy your copy, we’ve done a little bit of research on a few major online retailers who are stocking the single, and have provided a table below for your general reference. For the sake of convenience, we’re listing prices in USD (even though I personally live in the UK) as it makes it far easier to compare the ‘true’ costs.

*Prices originally listed in Japanese Yen have been converted using the Interbank rate listed on OANDA on May 18th 2008. These are annotated with a ‘~’.
*The shipping costs are for a standard Air Mail delivery (not EMS) to the US which usually means a delivery time of around a week (7 days) except when this is not available.

Although this is only a very crude guide, there is some variation in price so it’s a good idea to shop around. I have only made purchases from Play-Asia, Yesasia and HMV (Japan) [we're not affiliated with any retailers!] and can’t complain about their service at all. For CDJapan, I have corresponded with the support team by email, and have found them to be very helpful.

Hopefully some will find this comparison table useful. :) If there are any errors or mistakes, of if anyone can suggest any alternative sources, please let us know in the comments!

p/s: We’ve just updated the Discography section with the (reported) track times of songs from the new single!

It featured 0:58 minutes of Back-on goodness (splashing water, an hour-glass and slow-motion have never seemed so magical!) but ended so abruptly that the rabid dedicated fans were left wanting more. Our prayers were clearly heard by someone, and who else but the one-and-only gangangan03!

He has uploaded the full Sands of Time PV on to Youtube (thank you!!) and you can watch all 3:21 minutes of it at the link below! (or below the ‘cut’)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYhkmXIRx7o

UPDATE 05/01/09 – We have just updated the link to the fansubbed HQ version of the PV as sadly gangangan03‘s video is no longer available. The new video is courtesy of Vanalovas and is subbed by Order of Zeronos.

If you fancy just looking at the screenshots instead, we’ve taken just over 100 stills from the mp4 version of the file. They are now all hosted on our brand new Flickr account! We’ve included some of the pictures below for your convenience, but it’s best to experience the entire ‘PV’ by viewing them all in one go (at the size ‘small’ for optimal quality)

What do you think of the PV? I personally think it’s one of the best the band have done so far, and it’s very arty in some parts! :) I do love everyone’s outfits (although I wish Icchan had a more ‘complete’ look!) and can’t wait to see some official photos!

UPDATE: With thanks to gangangan03, it turns out that the director of this spectacular PV is none other than Hideaki Sunaga, who also directed the PV for Chain, and has worked with artists such as Dragon Ash, Ayumi Hamasaki and Koda Kumi!

Only 10 more days until the big day of the single release! ^^

BACK-ON – Sands of Time PV (uploaded by gangangan03 & Vanalovas)

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

We also get to hear the first verse+rap, and I have to say, I love the introduction to the song! If you haven’t heard it already, you really seriously must. I demand kindly request it. :p Incredibly catchy imho!

In addition to the preview, the band have also posted the titles of the other two tracks that will be released along with Sands of Time on May 21st 2008, so the final tracklisting for the single is as follows:

1. Sands of Time (ED for “Keitai Sousakan 7“)
2. message for kidz
3. fifty/50

And before I forget, for those who can’t access their Myspace, we have of course done the usual mp3 rip for you to download which you can find below. Enjoy! And let us know what you think of the preview too! :)

Sands of Time [Myspace Rip] (1.86 MB, Zipped)

p/s: If you’re interested in a mash-up between the Myspace preview + TV Size version of Sands of Time, please take a look at the dedicated “Sands of Time” + Keitai Sousakan 7 discussion thread on the Forums! (Hint: post #102)