jaymee

Girl I dunno what you're talking about Kiyoharu ages like a fine wine. D: D: D:

I caught Hinato Chiruran at this year's SXSW and they put on a great show. Yumiho (vocalist) was definitely channeling that Shiina Ringo vibe during a few of the songs they played.

Panic Channel - Kodoku Mousou

Maybe back in the day, but Toshiya's been trying to make that homeless look work for him for far too long now.

Pretty much this. She's a popular newscaster with a girl-next-door personality, so it's pretty unimaginable that she'd be involved with some rock (especially an VK/ex-VK) guy. Japanese stereotypes about the VK scene tend to be pretty bad. I know, pretty much everything metal or hard rock-related is compared to X Japan or Babymetal now. Although Babymetal's backing band is actually quite good and includes a couple of ex-VK band/scene guys so I guess it's not compleeeetely off, just cringy.

I will say I find it interesting that MALICE MIZER chose to keep the lyrics of the song more subdued than the video. Although it wasn't uncommon for indie VK bands at the time to make PVs that would be shocking by society's standards, you have to keep in mind that at this point MALICE MIZER was already major, were becoming somewhat mainstream (even now it seems like most Japanese people who grew up in MALICE MIZER's heyday at least know their name, even if they were never VK or rock music fans), and performing in bigger venues like Budokan. So to release something so shocking that would reach such a large audience and possibly turn off newer listeners, was pretty ballsy of Mizer and their record label at the time, Nippon Crown. Most artists on a similar status level would have made the video far less explicit than the lyrics. I mean I think most people even now in the West would find this video explicit, and especially when it came out over 15 years ago. At that time and still today, Japan still tends not to show a lot of kissing or sex scenes on TV or in movies (obviously not counting porn or media exclusively directed to an adult audience), so I can only imagine how shocking it would haven been in Japan when it was released. Also, going back to "take Boaz into your mouth" in all likelihood being a metaphor for "eat some dick", you'll notice that this is the exact lyrical timing Mana, Gackt, and Kozi decided to do that infamous acting out a blowjob fanservice stunt.

Oops, I did mean to write Isaac instead of David like in the notes. Thanks for pointing this out! I'll correct it.

I figured most people are familiar with this song, and it's a song I thought deserved a better translation than some I've seen, so I decided hey, why not? *Disclaimer* Just to cover any bases, I'm putting this here because this song isn't really suitable for people who are underage, but then again the first one that@plastic_rainbowposted probably wasn't either. Now that that's out of the way... Japanese: English: PV: Some things to possibly consider: The ILLUMINATI believe that enlightenment, manifestation, or a God-like awareness can be achieved through orgasm. In the PV, the women in tanks and the members of the band are separated, but then seem to appear together in some simulated sexual fantasy. Is this some manifestation of each member's (or their character's) sexual desires where they are they are acting as members of the Illuminati, or is it some kind of sexual/mind experiment being performed by the Illuminati? You'll notice than in their alternate costumes for this concept, the band is dressed as doctors. At the end of the PV, all of the women die from violent causes. Is this carried out as they climax/orgasm, or has the enlightenment through orgasm theme been replaced with BDSM and violence instead? (Possibly for shock value?) Or are the women being sacrificed like Isaac? (Thanks@Peace Heavy mk II) Is this MALICE MIZER's retelling of biblical canon plus some kind of Illuminati sex ceremony, or what? Is there some way all of this imagery intersects with each other? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter!

In no particular order... 1. Atsushi Sakura (BUCK-TICK) - His voice is unique, instantly recognizable, and he's good at using it to display a wide range of emotion. 2. Gackt (MALICE MIZER, early solo career) - Gackt's voice was really suited for visual kei. Not only could he go from beautiful to sexy in less than second flat, it made a lot of Mizer's less impressive songs stand out during that time. 3. Daishi (Psycho le Cemu) - Somewhat limited by range, but he has a reputation as being one of the better singers in VK, and he's pretty consistent, even if he hardly ever hits that high note in "Remembrance". He's also one of the few VK artists that doesn't sound like complete shit trying to rap, lol. 4. Mako (Deadman) - I think everyone above pretty much said it. 5. Kamiya (ex.- MARRY+AN+BLOOD, RIBBON, -The- UnForGiveness, his solo stuff) - I think Kamiya's vocals are the epitome of what so many mid 90s-early 00s VK vocalists wanted to be (if they weren't straight up copying Kiyoharu, lol). 6. Kiyoharu - You can kinda hear a bit of him in every mid 90s - mid 00s vocalist. And ugh like watching every PV of his it's like ugh WHAT DAT MOUTH DO? 7. Yasu (ex-Janne Da Arc, Acid Black Cherry), too. I think Yasu's voice can be kind of hit or miss for overseas fans, but he's such a popular vocalist in Japan that he has like what...four cover albums now? 8. Kirito - Probably a little too raspy to be "good" vocalist, but it fits well with what he does. I'm also fond of Ryutaro's, Aki's (ex-Laputa), Kon's (ex-La'Mule), Yukari's (ex-Baiser), and Isshi's (ex-Kagrra) voices. Kyo (Dir en grey) isn't always my cup of tea but I have to admit he has a pretty expressive voice.

That's pretty awesome, lol. I love Kate Bush. My dad was a country music fan and my mom also likes country, but also a lot of oldies from the 50s-70s. Think those VH1 specials they'd run about Fleetwood Mac or The Mamas and the Papas. However she did like a lot of 80s and early 90s stuff I grew up with, too. There's quite a few artists we can bond over like Stevie Nicks, Blondie, etc. My mom was really into Boy George/glam rock at some point, and so me getting into visual kei didn't seem that weird to her.

Pro-tip: Don't treat your life like levels in a video game. Not everyone has to unlock the "got married" or "had kids" achievement to have a meaningful life. Pro-tip: Nobody is ever 100% sure about marriage. If they are then they are likely naive or lying. Nobody can ever predict how they or their partners will change over time. You will always have what-if thoughts in a relationship/marriage, like with any other big decision. I don't have kids, but my friends with kids say they still have what-if thoughts, too. Pro-tip: Because people are constantly changing and re-evaluating what they want, I definitely recommend waiting a few years to tie the knot and living with the person during that time. Pro-tip: Love, relationships, and marriage are hard work, and what you get is proportional to what you and your partner put in after the rush of euphoria in the beginning fades away. Pro-tip: Embrace being single and finding out who you are and what you want. The more secure you are with yourself, the more it's going to help whatever relationship you get into, if you decide to get into one. I feel like I was able to bring more into my relationship/marriage because I had spent so much time working on myself and what I wanted while I was single. Pro-tip: Any major decision you make is like opening a door and stepping into a room with less doors. So as you get older, you have less choices. You can go back into the previous room, but it will be at some expense, to others or to yourself. That means that if you have all these things you want to do, having a relationship or children will only take away from the time you can dedicate to those things. This isn't to sound negative, but there is only so much time and so much of yourself you can give, and it's not fair to ask a partner or children to constantly put their lives on hold for yours. Pro-tip: I feel like it shouldn't need to be said, but don't date married people or people who cheated on someone else to be with you! I have so many friends that have done this and it never turns out well and then people like me gotta listen to your crying ass when you're surprised he/she's cheating on you, too, and you're not the only side chick/side dude. Ya'll are better than that. Always know your own self worth.

I don't go for a lot of autographed stuff anymore, but I have a lot of PLC stuff signed. Most recent one is a signed mirror I won in a fan lottery. I guess my favorite thing I have signed is a copy of Izayoi no Tsuki which Kozi composed the soundtrack for. I also have Duel Jewel's first two albums signed, but I imagine a lot of people have this since they toured the States once or twice. It seems like they're not too relevant overseas anymore, but they managed to gain and keep a good following (for VK anyways) in Japan.

Nah, I did mean credible, since opinions that are actually substantiated tend to generate better discussion than merely unbiased ones, but eh whatev.

I don't have any answers, but things like this all affect how well a release ranks: 1. Release date How many other releases was it competing with? A major/mainstream band dropping a single or album the same day as a smaller major band/indie band can really kill their chances at charting well. The reverse is also true. A slow release day/period can give a band a higher ranking than they might normally have. 2. Amount of promotion How much money did the company spend on promoting the single? Did they appear on big screens outside of popular stations, were they promoted by the music trucks that drive around blaring single/album release previews, or did they receive a lot of media-related promotion (on TV, in magazines, or tied into something else)? Were there separate A, B, C types etc. that attract fans into buying multiple copies of the same release in order to boost sales/ranking? If a band decides to play the song live before the release date, this can also affect sales (good or bad depending on reception). 3. Quality of the release How did fans or non-fans receive the release? Depending on previous releases, fans may be looking for a ballad, a harder song, etc. How about the costumes, packaging, design? I'm sure there's more factors that I'm not thinking of atm. Yup. I wouldn't expect anyone to. Hell, I live here and I haven't bothered, lol. My point was only to point out that very few opinions in VK are truly credible outside the scene. Everything else is just pure personal preference, which someone may or may not agree with depending on how close/different their likes and dislikes are. They can be useful for recommending bands to people, but not really deciding if a band truly does indeed suck or not. "I don't personally care for Mejibray." vs. "Mejibray probably disbanded because they suck now."

Great, let's assume most VK is "art" rather than the manufactured rock idol business it's become. Let's talk about interpretation. - Do you understand Japanese fluently enough to interpret it? I'm going to guess probably not. I speak Japanese pretty fluently (enough to translate as a career), but even then a lot of the wordplay and VK references are often lost on me because I'm not a native speaker. I also wasn't raised in the same social climate. Some bands include inside jokes/information that I wouldn't know because I'm not a fan of that band. - Do you understand musical theory well enough to evaluate it on those terms? I'm going to guess probably not again. Even if you did, there are a number of ways Japanese music theory differs from Western theory that you would also need to consider. You, like most of us, probably have your own musical preferences that influence how much you dislike/like a band. That's cool, but it's not a proper evaluation of how well they make music. Not to mention, like filth_y said, a lot of musicians "cheat" on pre-recorded records by using session musicians, autotune, or altering their sound post-recording. While you might be able to hide this with production, it's a lot harder to hide this on stage. - Have you seen them live to see how well they are at the business side of things? Are they friendly with their fans? Do they know how to MC well or read the audience well? Do they know how to sell themselves and their merch well? How is their SNS game? This is the backbone of the VK business. Once again, I'm guessing probably not. This is what I mean when I say your opinion isn't "credible". If you (or anyone else) want to get salty over any of that, fine. I'll be over here laughing at how seriously you're taking yourself/yourselves. BTW, the reason nobody is taking Miley serious is that she's oblivious to the history of hip hop and the movements/social issues behind it. Like you, she's listened to a small bit of it, possibly seen or met a few big names, and now believes this somehow makes her opinions credible.

Yep. They don't care, and yes especially for indie bands, most of their income comes from lives/merch sales. Somehow people seem to confusing "in the big scheme of things your opinion doesn't really matter if you aren't a part of the scene" with "omg some elitist said I can't listen to/enjoy VK/ever have an opinion". It's kind of like Miley Cyrus wanting people to care about her opinion on hip hop. She's free to do so, but nobody's going to giving it much weight, irrelevant of how much she may or may not be a fan of hip hop, how many CDs she owns, etc. because it's not based on anything credible.

Enka... Like I think it sounds nice, and it obviously takes talent to sing it well, but also like 98% of it is the exact same song with different lyrics.

The video (and overall look) in this vid is pretty cheesy, but compared to other artists that don't speak Japanese her pronunciation isn't that bad, and the song is pretty cute. (I actually prefer the lyrics of the Japanese version, seeing as they paid for a decent translator.) Chairlift just played their last shows, and they were nice enough to play a show in Japan before they made the official disbandment announcement. One of the better Western artist shows I've seen, for sure. Caroline's range is incredible. She even had the salarymen dancing along. To add to the thread, though, it seems like a lot of people were unaware Sixpence None the Richer did a Japanese version of "Kiss Me": And omg this is one of the worst releases/most weaboo thing I've ever seen try to pass itself off as "music".

This was what I was trying to get at in a nicer, non-elitist sounding way. This applies to Japanese fans, too. Tanuki has no shortage of posts bashing the self-important opinions of fans who just buy releases but can never be assed to make it out to a show. Also yes about bands sounding horrrrrible live but fine recorded, like at least 95% of mainstream/popular idol groups in Japan. One of the more disappointing things you'll experience as a gya is occasionally going all the way out to Tokyo and shelling out money for a live, only to sit through the show thinking, "Damn I should have just saved my money and listened to this on YouTube instead."

I also want to suggest that if/when you find a language partner, in the beginning it's best to find one the same gender as you. This is because the way girls and guys talk differs quite a lot, and I've met more than my fair share of non-Japanese dudes who have learned Japanese from their wives, and if I wasn't privy to that fact, I would have thought they were gay TBH. Just to add to the list, resources I use a lot: - http://tangorin.com (Dictionary) - Typing something in Japanese you want to look up into Google and putting 英語 (English/eigo) after it. This method is usually better for me than just using Weblio alone. If nothing comes up in English, just replace 英語 with 意味 (meaning/imi). The latter is helpful for newer slang, as older Japanese also have trouble with it and often take to Ask sites for answers. - I passed JLPT 2 a long time ago and keep telling myself that eventually I'm going to take the JLPT 1 exam just to have it on my resume, but in the meantime I've been using Sticky Study to memorize JLPT 1 vocab. I think I paid some money for the app, but it has all of the JLPT vocab and options to separate flashcards by how well you know them/need to review. Not having to wade through "filler" vocabulary and knowing exactly what will appear on the test alone made buying the app worth it to me.

Reese's peanut butter cups, especially the miniatures. I also really like choco-bo.

Band: Gargoyle Yeaaaars ago I went to this live they did where it was basically them on stage getting crunk and passing the audience beers while they played whatever they felt like between random/hilarious MCs. Band: Kuroyume My friend and I paid 30,000 yen+ a piece to get scalper tickets to their sold out "last" live, because we didn't want to regret not ever seeing them. Then Kiyoharu got desperate for some coin and got the band back together like one-two years later. Our seat numbers were horrible, and behind the stage, so the only view we got was of Kiyoharu's ass. Band: Psycho le Cemu One of their Nagoya shows was particularly memorable for me because I got saizen, the set list was on fire, and I befriended a bunch of gya that still keep in touch outside of lives. Also the Osaka show of their last lives, where the gya invited many of us non-Japanese fans in attendance to write a message on a gift they had prepared for the band. Their "last" live and mid-hiatus anniversary/Epilogue final. So much ugly crying and wailing. The image of all the gya leaning on each other for support as they processed their sadness over an era in their lives coming to an end has been hard to shake. Strangely, having already gone through this stage with Malice Mizer, I didn't cry. Emotions were running high, especially as there had been a few gya who had taken their own lives after speculation that the band would go on an indefinite (read: permanent) hiatus. Also... every live I have ever worn uncomfortable shoes to just to "complete an outfit" or "stand taller". Don't do it guys, you will always regret it, lol.

Ah, my response was mostly to "don't release it on CD then". Unfortunately, as its been pointed out already, most fans don't get into a band through randomly seeing them live (because it's expensive or inaccessible), so bands have to rely on CD or digital releases to reach more potential fans (that hopefully will go see them live one day), even if they're not a band that's strong when it comes to physical releases. I don't think it's wrong to critique or bring up those shortcomings of that band. I just don't think CD/digital releases should be the sole factor in judging whether a band is "good" or "bad". I somewhat disagree. To be frank, visual kei, like most art in Japan, is not made for the international community or international recognition. I mean, you are free to your opinion, but I don't see why a band should be judged on the basis of not appealing to a fanbase they were never trying to appeal to, if that makes sense.

Some artists are just better/more interesting live. I'm not necessarily speaking for MEJIBRAY (since I don't listen to them and can't judge), but live rearrangement can give an entirely different vibe/meaning to the song, combined with visuals or good theatrics. I really like Psycho le Cemu (if my icon didn't give it away) and their lives are waaaaay better than just listening to them on a CD since they incorporate a visual/storytelling/comedy aspect to their lives that would be impossible to translate onto a CD. So while they may be my favorite band to see live, they aren't my favorite band to listen to on CD.