This is the translation of the talk from Music Station’s three-hour special which aired on 2008.04.04. The theme was “origins” and special mention was made of the home prefecture of each artist. Like any television show, this is translated by ear so there may be some mistakes. In particular, technical difficulties on the part of Music Station made one of hyde’s lines inaudible.

BEGIN

Tamori : Next up, L’Arc~en~Ciel. Good evening.

L’Arc : Good evening.

Mariko : Here is L’Arc~en~Ciel, band formed in Osaka. It seems that they worked at various part-time jobs when they lived there.

Tamori : Eh? I’ve never heard this story. What kind of jobs?

tetsu : I worked in an accessory shop… and a record shop…

Tamori : Ehh… Accessory shop, selling rings and things like that?

tetsu : Yes, rings and like…

Tamori : Jewelry?

tetsu : Jewelry, yeah there was that too, I think.

Tamori : I see. And ken-chan?

ken : I sold rings too, yeah.

Tamori : You too? How come?

ken : Well, I couldn’t get any other jobs, back then.

Tamori : Is that so?

ken : Yes.

Tamori : …so the accessory shop was more lenient? Or what?

ken : Nah, it’s like… I looked dirty, back then. So the clothing stores all turned me down, but then this manager was like “I don’t care what you look like as long as you wanna work,” so yeah. It was a woman.

Tamori : Ehh…

ken : So yeah, I was surrounded by jewelry…

Tamori : Oh…

ken : Yeah.

Tamori : And hyde?

hyde : (technical difficulties, we cannot hear him except for the end)…ramen shop.

Tamori : Eh?

Crowd : EHHHH?

Mariko : Ramen shop?

Tamori : A ramen shop? So did you make the ramen?

hyde : Um, I served it.

crowd : Ehhh!

Mariko : So you were the server.

Tamori : Oh wow. Ehh…

hyde : Everyone else was so fancy.

Tamori : Yeah, they were. So why ramen?

hyde : Well I tried a lot of jobs but… I didn’t want something fancy, I guess. And there was a ramen shop I used to go to on the way home from school.

Tamori : Oh so that’s why.

hyde: It reminded me of that.

Tamori : Ehhh…. So what kind of lifestyle was it, when you were serving ramen?

hyde : Oh I was poor. Eating nothing but cup ramen.

Tamori : But you worked with ramen. Didn’t you get to eat there?

hyde : Well I did… Man I really loved ramen.
crowd : (laughs)

Mariko : Their new hit song right after this!

(Then comes a commercial break, followed by the performance.)

Transcribed and translated by Natalie Arnold