togz

omg.
 
How to do the music thing:
You play the thing, get better at the thing, be inspired by whatever thing you want, and do your thing.
How to handle not liking a thing:
Don't listen to or care about the thing.
 
There's really sh*tty japanese musicians, there's really sh*tty American musicians, Candadian musicians, Chinese musicians, cat musicians and dog musicians. Just like when it comes to races, there's shitty people in every country, every state, every city, every race, but there's good people too.
Sure, the bands might not be good, but i'm pretty sure the japanese bands weren't that great when they first started out either. NEWS FLASH: NO ONE IS JUST BORN WITH IT, IT'S NOT MAYBELLINE. Unfortunately, the STYLE (visually) of Visual kei that we see now and influences most foreigners to be "VK" is more popular in Japan, and I feel that's the only thing one really needs to define as "VK" or "VK inspired" since music from the visual kei scene (as mentioned before) is composed of several different mainstream and not so mainstream genres. Literally any popular music genre is an evolved form of another genre (which is probably evolved from another and another and another....), nothing is original. There's not a single note or beat that hasn't been created, played, and over used in music (PERIOD.) 
I think the main problem (which was dully mentioned early) is that foreign vk inspired musicians are young, inexperienced, and simply rushing in to things. But at least they have something to look up to.
You don't have to be any race to do music. Music is about expression and just because you don't like the way someone wrote their lyrics doesn't mean everyone else is going to follow in suit.
And yes, don't you dare say it's not because of this reason: Foreign fans are set on the belief that if they're not Japanese it's not worth my time and it sucks. Even if the band is good. I've known a few good western vk-influenced bands that sounds 10 times better than indie shit in the vk scene in japan, but no one looks at them twice because they're not Japanese.
I remember reading an interview from Jimi (Originally in chemical pictures) and he had stated that the Japanese fanbase were very open to him and very excited and welcoming, most of the hate mail he had received was from foreigners!
I will gladly search to the end of the earth and back for that link.... actually no...
I'll find it now.
(30 min searching frenzy....)
 
LOOK
 
and in case you don't want to read through the whole interview to find it:
 
Jimi: I don't get any criticism anymore (or at least I don't see them!) but in over three years I have had only one Japanese person say anything even remotely mean. I got a message on my old Chemical Pictures Japanese blog from a Japanese girl that said, “Go back to your country!” which is just laughable, harmless xenophobia. The vast majority of criticism I received was from western people. They said I was ugly, they said I was an idiot or a jerk, they were all-in-all highly against the idea of a non-Japanese in a Japanese band. The truth is that I am not the first, not by a long shot. Ben from the old Chaos System, the brothers from MONKEY MAJIK, Shen from Def Tech, and Jero. So there's precedence. Why was it different when it was visual kei, and a more visible visual kei band?
 
 
So that's what I think. Jimi is actually a good musician though, but even so it was because he wasn't Japanese that a lot of foreigners didn't accept him :/ 

and i swear to lord jeebus if you say this irrelevant you are incorrect because it so is. >:'[


this post is intended for heated debate and not arguing or insults so please keep it mature <3
 
Edit: On a side note about vocal talent, there's so many aspects on how to judge whether or not someone is a talented singer or not. I've heard vocalists that can hit amazing ranges and hold solid notes while flawlessly staying in key, on the technical side, they're a great vocalist, then you have the ones who just go balls out and sing whatever and hope they hit one correct note, and some people dig that uncontrolled sound (which a lot of vk bands have, sorry not sorry), then you have the medium of someone who has a pretty good technique, stamina, and emotion etc etc. and then you get in to actual vocal styles.... i think it's all based on personal preference... for the most part.

not to be all evan peters biased... BUT QUICKSILVER IS ONE OF THE BEST REASONS TO THIS THIS MOVIE IDC.

I WANNA SEE THIS SO FUCKING BAD. I BURN FOR XMEN OH GOOOOD.

The Story of Luke: amazingly found this movie after hours of movie browsing on netflix. (surprise surprise). The movie ended up being way better than I was anticipating. It had some humor, but there was a part where it just made me cry. Call me a sissy I don't care. lol. Anyway, here's the description off IMDb if anyone wants to watch it!
 
Sheltered by his grandparents, Luke, a young man with autism, is thrust into a world that doesn't expect anything from him. But Luke is on a quest for a job and true love. And he isn't taking no for an answer.

 

Mejibray in general sorry not sorry.

Mejibray in general sorry not sorry.

Mejibray in general sorry not sorry.

So I originally intended to post a simple status about this, but as I continued to type, I found myself burrowing a seemingly deeper rabbit hole.
 
There's a new album coming out that I'd like to hear (the new boris, but the band name is irrelevant), and it's already available to stream in it's entirety via NPR. I already know several people who have listened to the stream and yet I haven't been able to bring myself to do the same. So I stepped back and asked myself why? Here's an album that I'm most certainly interested in, and yet I choose to abstain from listening. My initial response was that "i'd wait until the album leaks" before I listen to it. And so I took another step back and asked myself, "why wait until it leaks?"
 
And now that I think about it, I DO feel a bit odd about waiting for an album to leak before listening to it (when said album is available to streem in full). I can understand a person waiting to obtain a physical copy and not listening to a leak, but waiting for a leak and not listening to a stream? I guess i'm still trying to wrap my head around this. I think this kind of behavior sheds some new light on how the dynamics of music comsumption has evolved, as the advent of streaming has added an entirely new dimension to things. This additional element has also allowed me to more clearly see that I really do view mp3s (leaks & so on) as property/something that I own.
 
(this issue is also somewhat related to the nocturnal bloodlust thread because streaming services have introduced a new aspect that also affects the music indsutry, aside from piracy)
 
I'm really just rambling here, but I suppose my questions for you all would be:
 
Do you partake in streaming music/make use of streaming services? How has this affected the way you consume music?
 
Do you all feel a certain sense of ownership over digital files (whether purchased or pirated)?
 
How would you describe your methods of music consumption?
 
 
As hinted at above, I haven't really found a place for streaming yet in my music consumption habits. I'd only find a stream useful if I planned to buy an album that I was certain would not leak and wanted to sample it. The bulk of my music purchases have been focused on releases that would be difficult or impossible to find online,so I guess you can say that my music consumption habits are steeped in pirate/music-trader ethics.
 
I do use 'google music' to stream my digital collection to my phone when i'm on the go, but essentially i'm still just making use of the files I bought/pirated - so there's still that vague sense of "ownership".
 
My apologies for the scattered/hazy post btw ^^;;

watch out we got a bad ass over here.

I'M A BEARD MAN NOW, RESPECT ME BITCHES
 

 

Hi. 

I tried to avoid getting involved in this one, however just to simply state my understanding of how it works:

I feel that overseas fans downloading music really doesn't effect their sales. (as stated quite a few times). As of right now, we're not really a target audience since money has not been spent to promote and distribute their goods. cds etc to overseas fans. The fact that some overseas fans even go out of their way to spend the money and buy a cd would be a bonus considering what was spent to only promote and distribute in Japan. Yes in the long run, cd and goods purchased in overseas countries will most certainly play a role in deciding a tour here or not. I don't see a bunch of uploads coming from sources in Japan, they're usually uploaded and shared through overseas fans anyway.

The one thing that annoys me most is the fact that people still pull the whole. "Well if you love the band so much you'll find a way to purchase their stuff." 
I'd like to address the fact that a large percentage of people in to visual kei overseas are teenagers who don't have the means to even buy themselves their own shampoo let alone a $40 album. Plus from personal experience, I could love a band as much as i want to but if it's between keeping my water on or making sure I have gas money to get to work and buying a cd... hell, sorry for being responsible but i'm going to choose to pay my bills. I won't have a damn thing to play that cd on if my electricity gets shut off. but at least it will look nice on the shelf. 

Another thing that was brought up was the numbers that fill the live houses this band plays at. I don't listen to Nocturnal Bloodlust so i don't have a solid opinion of their style. Regardless, whether people are downloading or not, if they like the band and have the money and are able to go see them, they'll go. Whether it be promotion and marketing, or the band just not really hitting home with their style choices... overseas downloads do not play a part in how successful they are in their own country. 

I'm not saying downloading music illegally is all A+ okay now, no. Every artist deserves the support and i can understand. I'd be pissed off too if someone started handing out something I spent a shit ton of money on and hard work and efforts to make to just anyone. I'd feel under appreciated for the amount of people who claim to like it. But it should be common sense with the way the industry is and how file sharing has been for YEARS before NB even formed. 

File sharing is and always will be there, so they need a game change because as stated somewhat before... NB has 99 problems and file sharing ain't one of them.

Crossfaith would be really great to see!
 
I have a pretty short list, as I don't live any nearby Helsinki, and the trains here costs a lot! I must admit that some of these are bands/artists I didn't like at all (An Cafe and Versailles), but went to the concert to just see some friends.
 
15-06-2007 - MUCC @ Provinssirock, Seinäjoki
18-03-2009 - An Cafe @ Pakkahuone, Tampere
22-09-2009 - Miyavi @ Pakkahuone, Tampere
06-10-2009 - MUCC @ Klubi, Tampere
29-06-2010 - Versailles @ Tavastia, Helsinki
17-01-2011 - MUCC @ Nosturi, Helsinki
23-08-2011 - Dir en grey @ Nosturi, Helsinki
26-10-2013 - ONE OK ROCK @ O2 Academy Islington, London
01-03-2014 - coldrain @ The Circus, Helsinki
11-06-2014 - girugamesh, Nosturi, Helsinki
 
My most precious memory was MUCC in Provinssirock, Seinäjoki (my hometown). I was "only" 13 years old then, and had not been in any festivals or concerts before. And as MUCC was my favourite band, it was a nice experience. (Even if the normal festival drunks were awful) Besides MUCC, seeing coldrain and ONE OK ROCK was amazing. Would definitely want to see them again! Right now I want to go to sukekiyo's concert in September, but we will see. It will depend on my schechule and money, but if they are alright, just count me in!

GOD DAMNIT CAT GET OUT OF OUR THREAD.
(jk you can stay)

Perhaps the title is a bit misleading as this isn't really going to be a VK vs. non-VK thread, but after reading the NB thread I figured this might be an interesting point of discussion, so I'm making a thread for this instead of going off-topic.
 
Anyway, the main question is why are the prices of Visual Kei CDs higher than non-Visual Kei CDs? In order to keep it a fair discussion, let's say that when we'll be comparing artists we'll make sure these artists are either both major or indie and play around the same size of venues.
 
I myself always thought the price difference was because of the amount of money that's put into hair, make-up and costumes, but that would be plausible for indie bands who have to do lots of that themselves. There are plenty of major bands who still charge these prices even though they get that stuff paid for them, so where's the difference?

CAT5 is my favorite

I haven't been to a lot of concerts of Japanese artists, but Boris was definitely the best one I saw so far. The entire venue shook when they were playing and I even got to attend their soundcheck

I have noticed that usually in Last.fm people have listed their concert experiences, so why not make a thread for lists (who doens't love lists!) here. Please list only concerts, where a japanese artist played.
 
Want to share some specific memory from one of your concerts? What has been the best concert? Why? Any upcoming concerts you're going to go?
 

I tried to avoid getting involved in this one, however just to simply state my understanding of how it works:

I feel that overseas fans downloading music really doesn't effect their sales. (as stated quite a few times). As of right now, we're not really a target audience since money has not been spent to promote and distribute their goods. cds etc to overseas fans. The fact that some overseas fans even go out of their way to spend the money and buy a cd would be a bonus considering what was spent to only promote and distribute in Japan. Yes in the long run, cd and goods purchased in overseas countries will most certainly play a role in deciding a tour here or not. I don't see a bunch of uploads coming from sources in Japan, they're usually uploaded and shared through overseas fans anyway.

The one thing that annoys me most is the fact that people still pull the whole. "Well if you love the band so much you'll find a way to purchase their stuff." 
I'd like to address the fact that a large percentage of people in to visual kei overseas are teenagers who don't have the means to even buy themselves their own shampoo let alone a $40 album. Plus from personal experience, I could love a band as much as i want to but if it's between keeping my water on or making sure I have gas money to get to work and buying a cd... hell, sorry for being responsible but i'm going to choose to pay my bills. I won't have a damn thing to play that cd on if my electricity gets shut off. but at least it will look nice on the shelf. 

Another thing that was brought up was the numbers that fill the live houses this band plays at. I don't listen to Nocturnal Bloodlust so i don't have a solid opinion of their style. Regardless, whether people are downloading or not, if they like the band and have the money and are able to go see them, they'll go. Whether it be promotion and marketing, or the band just not really hitting home with their style choices... overseas downloads do not play a part in how successful they are in their own country. 

I'm not saying downloading music illegally is all A+ okay now, no. Every artist deserves the support and i can understand. I'd be pissed off too if someone started handing out something I spent a shit ton of money on and hard work and efforts to make to just anyone. I'd feel under appreciated for the amount of people who claim to like it. But it should be common sense with the way the industry is and how file sharing has been for YEARS before NB even formed. 

File sharing is and always will be there, so they need a game change because as stated somewhat before... NB has 99 problems and file sharing ain't one of them.

Indeed. And looking at how NB's releases are priced, they're not very considerate LOL. They should certainly try to make their music more affordable if they're concerned about overseas fans so much.
 
(I looked on itunes US, and their full-length album is priced higher than the new lana del rey album...granted, it's only a dollar more, but....really???)

Well yes of course, by all means if you have the budget and save for things go ahead and buy the thing. But I mean in a generalization, a highschool student who doesn't have a job (majority here in the US) can't really be expected to have a budget to begin with. I mean yeah you have to work for the things you want but people use that statement "If you like it, buy it" like money grows on trees. Even as a college student, if the parents are putting you through college, which is thousands and thousands of dollars... I'd feel a little guilty asking them to buy me every release of all the bands I like. 
I myself don't even have the privilege to have supportive parents enough to put me through college so i work a full-time job and pay for classes out of pocket while maintaining a budget for rent, food, gas, and other necessary things for a stable life.
If you have a job, great. But what I'm saying is people have other financial priorities and in comparison to the economic state of a lot of countries, importing CDs and goods are expensive.