jaymee

Deadman, PIERROT, Laputa, Malice Mizer, The ROMEO... Especially The ROMEO because their lives were really fun and I haven't found a lot of people doing their style of music. SiXX is kind of like the softer incarnation of them, but not quite the same.

I don't know about musically... I've always liked a lot of different kinds of music from around the world, so I probably would have kept up with more music in French, Spanish, or Russian instead. I want to say I would have eventually found the indie music scene faster, but then again, being a part of the indie VK scene helped me know where to look for less mainstream music, too. I think without VK I wouldn't have been as motivated to learn Japanese, and in turn, maybe that would have meant I wouldn't have been living in Japan or have gotten married to someone here. I also wouldn't have made a lot of lifelong friends I have. So I guess not discovering VK would have changed my life itself more than it would have changed what I enjoy musically.

I'm so jealous! (lol) I wanted to go to that show so bad but I'd already decided on/had tickets to Fuji Rock when it was announced. I mean, I don't regret seeing Lorde, Bjork, etc. instead, but... I saw Metronome a couple of times yeaaaars ago, and even though I was only casually into them, I still have memories about how fun their lives were. I feel like since Metronome and PLC were both doing a lot of electronica-type music before, they had quite an overlap in fanbase, and seeing them playing with PLC would have been awesome. I hope they'll perform together again someday. If you prefer checking out their harder stuff (somewhat in order from oldest to newest): "Sei~Excalibur~Ken" "Kronos" "Trap Zone" "Undead Man" "Grotesque" "Shikkoku no Gerunika" "Indora no Ya" "Identity" "Murder Death Kill" "Ai no Uta" "Mind Core" "Ginrou" "NEO" "one day" "Panorama" "Scream" "Bushido" "Nosferatu" "LOVE IS DEAD" "Liberty, babies" "Idea-Lism" "Kiss of Death" "Matenrou Chaos" When I first heard/saw PLC, I didn't actually like them. I had no idea wtf they were trying to do. It was just really confusing until I saw the whole picture lol. I imagine it's harder for them to show at a taiban or two-man, but so much goes into their shows. It's kind of amazing. They come up with a completely new character and costume concept, along with a new play script and new jokes to perform on stage, for every tour they do. So although at first they might just seem kinda weird just playing randomly in costume... When you see the whole thing together, It's like you're watching a live action anime comedy with an awesome soundtrack. But you are also part of it all, because you're doing all the dances and representing your favorite member (character) as well. Like most VK dudes, PLC are super nerdy at heart, but aren't afraid to make fun of themselves or the VK genre/subculture itself. Each personality in the band is so developed, that every member feels equally as important as the other. (I can't say this about most bands I listen to, tbh...) Likewise, I think from a musical standpoint they're some of the better musicians in VK, too. And because the members' musical influences and personalities are so diverse, they never have stuck to one particular style or genre. ^^;; That said, I think their music sometimes sounds stale on CD compared to how energetic they sound live. If you are still in Japan come September, I recommend checking out their tour final the 24th. ^^ I've never brought someone to a PLC live that didn't enjoy the show, regardless of musical tastes, and Lida and seek have quite a lot of gyao fans for a VK band (though not near as many as Dir).

Well, keiji alluded to there being other reasons, but the biggest one in his eyes was the rift occurring because AYA and seek wanted to do both bands and other members didn't see eye to eye on this. I imagine that this was just the icing on some kind of shit cake already going down in MSI lol. Of course, you can imagine that Tanuki and Twitter is a shit storm of blaming AYA and seek, blaming the other members of MSI, blaming PLC... Hell I even saw a post blaming Daishi for all of this lol. Some real gems that made me laugh tho: - "Why the f would NIKA choose to make a comical band like MSI his last?" - "It's totally because AYA is gong bald." "Dude just how bald is he now? lol" - "Wtf is up with PLC anyways? What exactly are they trying to achieve just randomly doing stuff here and there?" - "Sorry MSI fans, there's just more coin to be had in PLC." - "They're practically the same band, tho. I guess there can only be one elaborate costume band." - "Damn, AYA and seek's messages come off looking really mature compared to the rest of MSI's members." - "GD couldn't MSI have just disbanded without the other members starting all this drama?" - "It can't be helped. AYA and seek really carried the band." "But like wtf is in it for AYA? He's like the least popular member tho?" "Oops, my bad, second to least popular." Anyways, I'll try to find out if there's any other gossip about other reasons this weekend at PLC's live. I was hoping that there'd be at least a few MSI fans that would decide not to go and I could maybe get a better ticket number, but alas that doesn't seem to be the case so far. It would be hilarious if PLC's live sold out just to spite the MSI member backlash and their fans, tho. I'm personally with the girl who said this on Twitter: "I'm a PLC fan to the marrow of my bones. I'll keep supporting both members with everything I have."

Perhaps. It seems like Miki (and possibly the other members) were upset that AYA and seek decided to do PLC again without giving much regard to the other MSI members' feelings. Perhaps AYA and seek thought this would be OK because they intended to, and were, seriously working hard in both bands. But it seems at least two of the members felt at least a little "betrayed" they were not loyal to just one band. I feel like if AYA and seek were not slacking in MSI, it's a little selfish of the other members to confine them to one band. Often PLC just got the leftover dates of whatever dates MSI and the other PLC members' other bands weren't playing. Though I imagine there had to be schedule compromises between all the members, it's not like MSI got put on the back burner for PLC. AYA and seek's dreams have always been to play Budokan, like the rest of PLC. But this will never happen with MSI, even if they both preferred MSI. MSI is just not popular enough. You could say it's selfish for them to want so many things. Even for PLC, I can't say they'll ever make it there. Maybe it will be harder now since at this point, it's causing huge rifts between fans of one band or the other, or both, on Twitter. Maybe things will get better after the initial shock wears off, though.

So reading though all of it, it seems that although AYA and seek had no intentions of leaving MSI to continue with PLC, some or all of the other members had their reservations about them continuing with two bands at the same time, and finally in light of this, NIKA and Miki felt they could no longer continue to be a part of MSI. It doesn't seem like AYA and seek were slacking off any in MSI, just that some or all of the members felt everyone's hearts should be in the same place with just their one band. If re-posting this/these translation(s) elsewhere, please link back here/credit me, yeah? [2017/08/23] Imporant Announcement from Mix Speakers,Inc. Imporant Announcement from Mix Speakers,Inc. We’d like to express our sincerest gratitude for your continued support of Mix Speakers,Inc. Following the EX THEATER ROPPONGI performance on February 25, 2018, Mix Speakers,Inc. will disband. We deeply apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this sudden announcement. We are sincerely grateful to all of our fans, staff, and everyone who has supported us during these many, 11 years. Mix Speakers,Inc. [NIKA] [MIKI] [AYA] [keiji] [seek] [ S. ] AYA posted some follow-up tweets in light of the disbandment announcement, and I felt like this one was particularly relevant: "What’s next After MSI’s disbandment was decided, I did a lot of thinking. I thought about retiring, and I also thought about devoting myself entirely to Psycho le Cemu, but I can’t help but still want to keep making my own music. Nothing has changed about wanting to express myself and I still have much to give. I’m not sure what form of activity this will take, but I want to create a new place to express myself." So it seems like regardless of PLC getting back together, AYA didn't want to contain himself to just one outlet of expression. Perhaps seek feels the same way, although he hasn't posted or expressed any thoughts since tweeting about MSI's disbandment announcement.

Actually I'll just go ahead and post a translation of the general announcement and NIKA's message first, because I think it offers the most insight into what is going on. I'll update with the others later. [2017/08/23] Imporant Announcement from Mix Speakers,Inc. Imporant Announcement from Mix Speakers,Inc. We’d like to express our sincerest gratitude for your continued support of Mix Speakers,Inc. Following the EX THEATER ROPPONGI performance on February 25, 2018, Mix Speakers,Inc. will disband. We deeply apologize from the bottom of our hearts for this sudden announcement. We are sincerely grateful to all of our fans, staff, and everyone who has supported us during these many, 11 years. Mix Speakers,Inc. [NIKA] Just as it says, we’ve decided to disband. I’m sorry to surprise you all with such sudden news. I know this must come as a betrayal to those of you who have supported us up until now, and were hopeful about or were anticipating more to come in the future, but as painful and regretful as it is, it can’t be helped. We’ve been together for a long time. We were able to forge many strong bonds during our activities, but we’ve also had a growing number of disagreements between us. Although I’ve tried to bridge these disagreements once becoming aware of them, and it was my intention to put forth my best effort so we could continue together in the future, it was just too much for me. For this I am truly sorry. When we were together, stupid things would get blown up, but we’d stay positive through it all, and united on making our live shows and music the best we could. It isn’t that there’s bad blood or anything like that between us. This is the honest truth. Even bearing the heaviness of these arguments on our shoulders, we pressed on with our band activities, because we love all of you bangya princesses and princes so much. And because of that, I’d like to keep a bright, Mix Speakers,Inc.-like smile on my face until the very, very end. I’ve decided that Mix Speakers will be my last band, so after our disbandment I have no plans to form another band or take the stage again. So I sincerely ask that somehow, you come to say goodbye. In order to make Mix Speakers, Inc. stand out, even if it's just a little bit more, all of us will be putting everything we have into our final tour. Finally, to all of you who have supported us up until this point, you have my sincerest gratitude. I hope you’ll continue to support us for just a little longer.

I think that's totally plausible... But since I'm not really involved in the Mix fandom I'll be sure to ask the other AYA/seek fans that follow Mix this weekend at PLC's live what their thoughts on the situation are.

I feel like PLC has been really generous about scheduling around their other band's schedules tho. It might be a reason, but not the main one imho. Like this year PLC fans won't get a Halloween live because AYA and seek will perform with MSI instead. At least in AYA's eyes, Mix was his priority. It's not a big secret among PLC gya that it took forever for them to get back together specifically because they were waiting on him to come around. (As much of a blow that's been to me as an AYA fan that has never really cared for Mix.) Even in his message on the site now, he says that through all the good times and bad times, personally Mix is his number one band. But he also says this is something they have talked about doing many times before that. So may actually maybe the opposite... Maybe AYA finally relented to let PLC get back together because there had been previous talks about Mix disbanding and he thought/knew it was only a matter of time. If vocalist NIKA is retiring, that leads me to think that either there is a situation where he can't continue singing/VK, like health issues or getting married/settling down or something. They've already had one vocalist change in the past, and maybe they weren't keen on going that route again.

They posted the news today on their official site: http://www.mixspeakersnet.com/sp/news/report.html?id=767 I'll translate the member messages later tonight if anyone is interested. (Since every member wrote something it's kind of long and I don't have enough time before my lunch break ends...)

But like... at 2004 they had already been around for like 5 years, yeah? I remember when they first started out, there was a joke going around that nobody in the band could even play their instruments live. I'm not sure if this was started by Japanese gya and then this gossip got translated over, or it was just a bunch of foreign VK fans being petty. From the early 2000s I feel like a good part of the overseas VK fanbase was on Livejournal or Batsu and there were a lot of active VK communities, so it wasn't hard to figure out what was popular with overseas fans at the time, and Despairsray didn't start out with a favorable reputation on either. No doubt that over time that completely changed. Also, during this time, GLAY was still really popular with overseas fans. Same with La'cryma Christi, Shazna, Rouage, etc. It really just feels like it's people who got into the scene from the mid-2000s on that don't know or listen to these bands. Because there was less general access to VK music back then compared to now, what was popular was whatever was being shared the most, and that tended to be whatever stuff overseas j-pop fans and gya in Japan were posting. Of course, like you said, that means what was popular overseas was often completely different than what was actually popular in Japan. This still happens now to some extent, too. Japan-wise, by the mid-2000s Despairsray was steadily growing in popularity but they weren't huge in comparison to many other VK bands at that time. In the past, overseas conventions would get at lot of nobody acts ( Duel Jewel especially comes to mind), and they would sell much better than they normally would in Japan just because people didn't care as long as they were Japanese. Ironically Duel Jewel eventually went on to become more popular in Japan (and less so overseas), and it seems like Despairsray also became much more popular (as in playing one mans at bigger live houses) in Japan.

Not many highlights for the 8/19 show in Nagoya, except that it sold out. The live and set list was almost exactly the same as the Fukuoka show on 8/11. There were a few notable MCs though: - Daishi: "Yesterday Yura-sama and I went out for yakitori. In the middle we were like, 'Maybe Lida would want to join us. Should we call him?' But in the end we decided not to." (laughing) (Lida comes out) Daishi: "Hey Yura-sama, do the two of you (you and Lida) ever go out to eat together?" Yura-sama: "Nope." (laughing) Daishi: "I feel like if the two of you went out, the atmosphere would be kind of depressing. Like he'd want a hug. It's a scary thought, to be honest! Lida: "What nonsense are you two going on about? If I needed a hug from someone, I'd hug AYA instead!" - Daishi: "Yura-sama put on matching purple underwear for his (Purple Perseus) costume! On the first day of the tour in Fukuoka he was like, 'Look, everyone! Look!' (laughing) He's that kind of person. (Daishi turns to AYA) But I don't suppose you're wearing boxers yourself!" AYA: "Well, I am wearing a bra after all." seek: "That's a little too extra." - (Coming back on stage for the encore) Yura-sama: "Just to clear up any misunderstandings in advance, I want you to know that this spot (down there) is just sweat! I didn't pee myself, okay?" Then later Daishi wrote on Twitter about being happy Nagoya's live had sold out, but in the tweet he misspelled the band name as "Psycho le Ce" (in Japanese) and got called out on it by Lida lol. The lucky item was the light blue/yellow bracelet. 8/20 Osaka show highlights: - A lot more harder songs, including some rare numbers like "UNDEAD MAN", "Janus", and "Miwaku no Swing". - The members seemed especially into this show compared to the two previous ones, and everyone except seek came out onto the bar to touch those of us in the first couple of rows. seek usually makes the most contact with the audience by diving into the crowd, but his costume is a little too big for it this tour. Yura-sama and Lida hardly ever come out onto the bar, so it was an unexpected surprise. Aya also stuck his guitar out into the crowd. - Per fan request a while back, they've started to occasionally play "Kanajo to Furudokei" live. At the end, everyone has put their hands around the shoulders of the person next to them during the "roman-tick tock, bye-bye tick tock" part (including the band, except for Yura-sama playing the beats on the drums), but apparently AYA didn't look like he was enjoying this enough so Yura-sama got mad at him and made everyone do it over until he smiled real big at the end, and then DAISHI planted a big kiss on his open mouth straight up like some old doujin/fanfic shit... lol - Daishi's MC: "I'm the vocalist, yeah? For the Fukuoka and Nagoya shows, my color goods outsold the other members. But after the live, all the other members got presents and letters except for me! I didn't get a single one! C'mon guys, can't I at least get a handwritten note or something? You could at least spare me some Ame-chan, right? (Ame-chan are these little candies that old ladies in Osaka often pass around.) I'm not asking for anything real expensive, okay?" - The lucky item was the red/white bracelet.

Ah, sorry, I meant D'espairsray got a lot of hate from overseas fans early in their career. It seems like over time that changed. If they were headlining taibans, I guess it's safe to say they were well received by Japanese gya for the most part. It didn't seem like a lot of people left before/during their sets the few times I saw them. Even when people leave, you never know if that's because of last train times, they feel sick, have another conflicting event nearby, etc. Although I've yet to meet a gya whose honmei is/was D'espairsray I'm sure they exist lol I mean some gya out there had to like them that much for them to do that reunion event with Angelo, yeah? I feel like a lot of Japanese fans won't openly display their dislike of a band, or if they do dislike the band or don't really know them, might just hang back or go out for a smoke or something. I wasn't hot on any Despairsray gossip either, tbh. None of the girls I went to lives with were really into them enough for the subject to come up.

No prob! ^^

A lot of people disliked D'espairsray when they first came out. It always amazes me how bands that were once considered shitty have become revered over time lol. I remember going to my first or second live being like... jfc whose idea was it to invite them to this taiban? I walked out halfway through their set, as they were the last act (so obviously they were the main act but gd...) and I was like uhhh nope not feeling it. "Dope" isn't their worst song by far, though.

I went ahead and did the romaji/translation. It's a pretty straightforward song, I feel. Virge - Nimaijita (Double-Tongued) Romaji English Notes: 1. I usually denote lyrics written in katakana in all caps, but since everything besides the kanji were written in katakana, I decided not to. But for non-Japanese speakers, I’d like to note that writing this way emphasizes the feeling or message of the song, just like writing in all caps does in English. 2. There are various parts where I went for a stylized translation over a literal one, most notably going with “spare me your sanctimony” instead of something more literal for “gizensha usero”. 3. @Peace Heavy mk II's translation of the title is just as valid, however I kept it as "double-tongued" because this is literally the way it's written in kanji. As always, comments or suggestions welcome.

Perhaps! I'm too lazy to check YouTube. Ah, I wasn't aware. Obscure had a censored and non-censored version, yeah? When I was into DEG the non-censored was less accessible. I feel like I would have found a lot of their stuff in the past more shocking had the special effects been better. Like... imagine Cage with modern special effects or Raison d'être. Or something like Myaku. It would be a pretty disturbing horror video for sure.

Agreed. When has Dir not used shock value as a major part of their gimmick..? I haven't looked at a ton of their lyrics in recent years, but I can't imagine they're any worse or more triggering than some of the stuff Kyo wrote during the Gauze/Macabre/Kisou/Vulgar eras. I personally think they went a little far with whatever song has the video with the kids torturing and killing their parents (no idea if it's a PV or a live-only video), but they have a lot of stuff that other people would probably find just as/more shocking.

Highlights of the 8/11 Fukuoka live: - They played a new song "Mousou Graffiti" - First half they came out in PLC Gakuen costumes and the whole session had a school/classroom theme. - Instead of the usual skit, they played a video while the members were changing into Doppelganger costumes. In the video Lida and Daishi are recruited into the student council, but need training to control their Doppelgangers. While AYA mostly uses this time to get romantically involved with Daishi, Lida is subject to strict training and "bullying" from Yura-sama and seek. - At the end of the video and during the live, some bad guys appear and PLC have to chase them to the final showdown at their tour final in Toyosu Pit. - Although they played more newer stuff than songs off of Doppelganger, they did play "Planet Last Children" (with furi- super rare), "Justice" (rare), "Area", "Murder", and "Last Emotion". Hopefully they'll play other songs off the album at the other dates. - Fukuoka's special "lucky item" was the black/pink bracelet.

Oh I'm totally aware I just feel like that decision continues to alienate more people that would go to their shows. I would normally argue "artistic integrity" being a valid reason behind decisions like this but tbh I don't find anything the band does now any more authentic musically to what they did before. But eh I don't have to...*shrug* And re: Ain't... they played that one at the show I went to as well, which was a happy surprise. Lots of moved tears from fans.

That would be strange seeing as "Akuro no Oka" is a Gauze song and they didn't play it during their set, opting for a few of their recent songs. (At least not at the Mode of Macabre show I attended, much to my dismay.)

Totally called it lol

It would be my luck I would pick the only date they didn't, I swear lol. Tickets are kinda expensive so hopefully I can still find two after payday in a couple of days. D:

I love Japanese oldies, especially female-fronted vocals from the 80s. Some old favorites of mine that you will probably get you some points from middle-aged/older Japanese at karaoke if you sing (and they'll probably sing along with you): Ann Lewis - Roppongi Shinju This is probably her most famous song. Everybody and their dog has covered this song, but none are ever as timeless as the original. Lewis was a popular half-American/half-Japanese artist from the 70s - 90s. Saki Kubota - Ihoujin This song immediately became popular after it was used in a drama at the tail end of the 70s, and overwhelmed by her overnight popularity, Kubota (real name Sayuri Kume) quickly ended her career before it had ever really begun. Akina Nakamori - DESIRE Reinventing herself with each release, she was the "bad girl" to Seiko Matsuda's clean, girl-next-door image. She dominated the 80s. Mari Hamada - Stay Gold Forget Babymetal, Hamada had already been blending blending pop, rock, and metal for 20+ years. The original queen of Japanese rock and roll in the 80s, helping to popularize hard rock and the climate that would follow for genres like VK to thrive in the 90s. She still records and plays live today and is absolutely amazing. WINK - Samishii Nettaigyo Although some consider this song and WINK to be a one hit wonder, WINK had quite the career, and this song lives on as one of the best representations of Japanese music in the 80s. PRINCESS PRINCESS - Diamonds One, if not the most famous, of Japan's all-girl bands. This is the best-selling single, although my personal favorite of theirs would have to be "SEVEN YEARS AFTER". Eri Hiramatsu - Heya to Y-Shatsu to Watashi Hiramtasu debuted at the tail end of the 80s, and this song in 1992 would become her best hit and one of the most memorable songs of the 90s. And maybe one that won't get you a lot of karaoke points, but if you like city pop... Mariya Takeuchi - Plastic Love Takeuchi is the wife of famous singer Tatsuro Yamashita (and if you don't know this guy's name, no doubt you'll hear his song "Christmas Eve" playing every winter in Japan), and their musician marriage only made her even more popular.

I'm really gonna have to go to that 7/31 show now. D: C'mon Dir, all I'm really asking for is "Audrey", "Wake", and "Hotarubi". D: "Myaku" and "【KR】CUBE" would be the icing on the cake tho.