Pretsy

Since we are talking about western artists (preferably household names) doing tracks (e.g. self-covers, covers, original songs by any chance etc.) in our lovely Nihongo, this section would be the nice place for us to spread all that weeb love we have around here. So as it says: post western artists that may have (surprisingly enough) some (bonus) tracks in Japanese For instance Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and Scott Murphy (Allister) Mew (yes, that Danish band) The Police France Gall Nat King Cole And as you may have noticed, this mainly revolves around artists who would otherwise do their stuff in English - and to restrict certain choices, definitely NO swede kei NOR Avril at this point (tacky and cringy).

Instead of random VK face-offs and even more random clusterfucks, let's try to bring the actual purpose of this format back: TK from Ling Tosite Sigure Gesu no Kiwami Otome I tried my best to represent main aspects of these bands above, but anyways - why such comparison though (aside from both being side-projects)? All in all, I find this battle to be rather serious one but fun nonetheless if you do really dig both acts (yeah yeah, not that we expect possible Enon bias here but I am curious about those who do not follow either really) Go!

I don't think "almost unrecognizable" remakes should be taken for totally new, separate compositions when you know that there's a still significant share and/or the basis of the original song (including Kiri to Mayu). Fukai was the original product and offspring of 1st VULGAR recording sessions, which would have been serving the similar purpose akin to Red...[em] for instance. "And Zero" and "Tefu Tefu" are still paired as bonus with the album so they technically have no fixed "b-side" status so to speak. So they are still "Arche tracks" - and considering their usual habits, "Arche b-sides" would be most probably met in the context of upcoming album instead. "GDS"? The one on Saku single (?) is a live take as well if you didn't notice (it's possible to muffle the audience sound away for a moment). Cannot say it's the "original b-side" either really. So all in all, I doubt that original b-sides will come out in the near future since they usually find their way in the next album instead etc. also @SaishuShitataru Mourou is hated? I dug the Deftones-y vibe ("Digital Bath", anyone?) it had so it's really hard to dislike imho - at least it makes more sense as a composition unlike "Amon" or "Akatsuki" where god knows what is happening really.

So now they are technically a non-vk band doing vk-core? Shocking, Ryohei, shocking.

And now instead of usually English-ridden titles we have tons of Japanese-titled songs? Must be another sign of this new "mature" direction. Still cautiously looking forward to this but now she looks a bit hotter than in her earlier tacky comeback photos.

If you listened to Cocteau Twins and acts akin to that, you may notice that the "dream pop"-nickname/title kinda matches with the idea of exploring this ethereal soundscape and neo-psychedelic vibes driven by echo/reverb vocals and soft-spoken (?) guitars. So in that sense "dream pop" conveys the apt picture of its sound unlike "shoegaze" where it's basically up to terminology enthusiasts to decide what exactly it would comprise. "Dream rock" was too cliche I guess? Then again, it's a big mystery when we end up practicing genre gymnastics in the community where "VK" and "J-rock" have become legit, separate genres for some reason (instead of being umbrella concepts).

There was also some pictures off those BMTH covering years (2009 I suppose so, the very beginning) where Hiro had much "manlier" haircut (i.e. not long at all) and a whole round jaw beard or something like that. Wonder if they still exist there - a very good contrast when compared to what he is now lmao.

This is actually funny since the actual context where the term was derived from is not necessarily limited to these first shoegaze acts and so on...the hell, even post-punk acts back in the old days had varying tendencies in terms of staring down (or "at their own shoes", hence the name "shoegaze") while strumming chords. So all in all, the genre name is still nonsensical and serves no purpose in describing the content tbqh.

Die being NOT affiliated with Firewall Div. business here is getting really suspicious, I tell you (DREAMUSIC is normally associated with acts akin to harmless Silent Siren or kinda mid-key idol act Doll Element). Distancing himself from them much?

Gazette has a nice record of similarity cases actually (no youtube links, just a few I can get out of my chest for now): And that's just a small batch with obvious connections to Gazette's influences.

Also, regarding the reimagination of Byou Shin back in 2001 as I mentioned earlier: You may notice some possible ideas which were later encapsulated in a bit more nu/alternative form on "six Ugly" (in the middleway)

Thank you cat-sama for elaborating. As it was said, as long as you are able to envision your Japanese taste there (like, what exactly is your "enjoyable taste" and not just "I am okay with this"), it's all fine - even with more than one artist mention. One album per artist is more of a Nuzlocke-ish challenge so consider it optional.

I think I saw a Finnish song title right there and edgy lolkek

OKIE-DOKES as mr. President would say: MISSA: "S" - miserably utilized potential of kotekote riffage GAUZE: "Akuro no Oka (album version)" - as much as I LOVE "Akuro no Oka", plastering -mode of eve- into it was pretty much the biggest mistake on GAUZE. Who would like listening to the soundtrack of prison toilets right after Die's acoustic touches? MACABRE: hard to say which songs would stick out sorely here but I gotta go with "Hydra" because despite its renowned, "loved" status among "old hands", it's so far off from the actual focus sound-wise (even "Audrey" has a lot more in common with "KR Cube" for instance). KISOU: "24ko Cylinder" and "Pink Killer" - yeah yeah, hating on the former would be blasphemous according to some but hey, does it really progress anywhere? No it doesn't - it might work out better if it has been renovated with Kyo's "more emotional" takes like he usually does with certain older songs (e.g. Ain't Afraid to Die). "Pink Killer" on the other hand is an illogical choice as a non-instrumental finisher. six Ugly: "Byou Shin" - the Gargoyle/old 80s Japanese heavy metal-ish vibe of the original rocks much harder than this nu/alternative-mumble jumble of drop riffs. Even the prototype of this remake (2001, live remake - NOT 2012 one) sounds more pleasant despite various buzzkill nuances. VULGAR: "R to the Core" - it was lovely back in the day but now this pop punk parody is nothing short of being a sad filler. What. Withering to Death: "Beautiful Dirt", "Merciless Cult" and "Spilled Milk" - the weakest Dir album has no bigger flaws in the mixing, mastering and ordering field than it has with these fillers comprising otherwise okay ideas. Boo. TMOAB: It's already great in its own when we consider the replay value and "live sound" (since this sterile studio quality is obviously what pushes me nowadays away from anything Dir, let's be honest). Nonetheless, I am skeptical about new "Clever Sleazoid"... Uroboros: "Red Soil", "Toguro" and "Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro" - the first is the most disjointed attempt at genrebending on Uroboros, the second is a very snoozy grunge number with less to no special attributes and the third one works much better live but sucks ass with both mixings/remasterings and studio approaches. BRRRBRRRBRRBURRR. Also: engrish versions of single tracks. DSS: "Amon", "Diabolos", "Akatsuki", "Hageshisa" rerecorded and "Vanitas" - the first tries to do something and I still cannot understand what exactly. The second one rips off Vinushka's blasting moments and tries to lean too much on Kaoru's 20-30 sec riffing sample. Why not just fix that 5-min demo a little bit and be done with it? The third one takes the disjointedness of "Red Soil" and makes it suck even bigger ass. Hageshisa was totes butchered on DSS and there's not much to say about it - single version is the only thing what matters now. "Vanitas"? Mac & Cheese in the form of lazily written ballad. Unraveling: "Unknown" has been butchered as cited in earlier posts. And the title track itself isn't doing much to serve its memorability ARCHE: "Revelation", "Soshaku", "Phenomenon" and "The Inferno" - the first three have some good ideas but poorly combined entirety. The last one? As the showman of current elections would say, "it is a disaster". I think I already took a piss at other people desperately defending the overall structure of ARCHE too. So there you go, not much to say about their repertoire other than the fact that consistency seems to be underrated in this fanbase.

Berry had a "soaring chorus"? I don't think we are on the same page on "soaring" really (not to mention Berry had the same BPM throughout the song minus that Oriental part). And yes, it's okay to expect a band like this showcasing at least some kind of potential in exploring new ideas and directions - or is DEG basically 'pandering' group now? Your statement assumes that this SHOULD BE the case - who said about disassociation when they can churn out new concepts with their current visual gimmicks? Technically speaking, even BPM of both songs changes in the similar fashion, not to mention both songs having climaxed, prolonged choruses before eventually ending with a bang (only a few Dir songs share this trait) - and it also makes more sense to end this "homicidal teen-now-adult" trilogy by throwbacking and simultaneously reflecting on his "evolution" - both visually AND audibly (of course assuming that these PV stories can be somewhat envisioned in Kyo's lyrics) "Not at all" is not an argument. Does it really hurt to counter my statements? What a shame. I am not even going to get on borderline saltiness posted after your comment though

It is The build and the emphasis of "soaring choruses in the midst of fast scream-o-banger"-concept are almost identical between these songs. This was an intentional move to Vulgar/WtD-era ideas y'know? It's no surprising that one could even think of "Spilled Milk" while listening to "Magayasou" for instance or "Kodou" during "Tousei". Dominant throwbacking is cute but when it is in fact the basis of your songwriting these days...then you may need to rethink your career at this point. Did Arche introduce any kind of "new sound"?

Remix haters make me wonder whether they have listened to Ain't Afraid to Die remixes or at least Kisou-era remixes...and maybe even Jessica's bossa remix has been forgotten? Hyperbolic hate right there. This single on the other hand, is a mess. The song is literally DS done in a radio-friendly, compact package while Kuukoku remix serves no other purpose than distracting the listener from its only attraction i.e. droning guitars by Kaoru avec warm synth pads. The remix? The approach itself is in fact fresh in the midst of usually dark and gloomy Dir en mix production but the song choice? A real shame that the most talented figure of 12012 missed a damn good chance on utilizing new genreistic aspects and used lousy Saku v2 as the basis for his creations...sheesh. Wonder if both lyrics (references!) and the release tempo (during/after Arche touring) signify some sort of WtD-y release in the near future - as in having tons of "sore thumbs"/standoffs in a completely different theme.

Let's not forget the chain of "Because":

Well as you may already found out, you can mark the box in "album titles" but it's rather odd that you have links instead - are you sure you are importing them from their database or from your own image urls instead? Image url imports will ask you to name the release when you mark the box again on. For the sake of our "community ethos", i.e. endorsing Japanese music in all of its forms etc., it would be nicer if you just limited that to Japanese releases instead. And to clarify: you don't need to go around 50 or even 100 releases - it's enough that you could at least attempt to name/show as many Japanese releases as you could cherish. It's not like each and every one of us would be set to name that many albums ffs.

First of all, thanks to @indigofor suggesting that we could revamp this thread just to see how old MH attendees have progressed with their tastes and simultaneously gather some new bunch to present their all-time choices inside this Japanese music spectrum. As the title says already, you will have a chance to use this topsters link (since original topsters links are dead) to create a chart representing your tier 1, 2, 3...choices, depending on how much you are able to compile in terms of your Japanese favorites. And for the sake of fairness and challenge (huh?), it would be preferable to post 1 ALBUM PER ARTIST - and of course, make sure to post your jpg/png here for us to see (hopefully this thread won't die soon) mine (very difficult one - also, fuck my 2012 self): (try to zoom or if you don't succeed, press ctrl and "+" together) They are somewhat in order but I placed my picks from tier 1 choices (constant, essential) to tier 4 choices (might change, but still very memorable and enjoyable) and spoilered titles (in order) below:

1) Why are we still caring about Engrish? I have yet to find the positive record of someone utilizing COMPREHENSIBLE, FLUENT english in vk anthems around here - and since it's all about the voice of the masses: "why would they sing a song in a language they are not familiar with" is a very lazy and lethargic excuse. 2) Sure, preferences vary whenever it's about Manson and/or Gaga influences feeding upon new Gazette but let's stop for a moment and ponder this: isn't it basically palatable that Gazette has been one of the few mainstream VK acts to actually "break" the stereotype of visual "backwardism" we've been witnessing throughout these years...could one even fathom the fact that we still have VK bands that look like 2016 but sound like 2009 quality AND mixing-wise? Come to think of it anyway - even these oyaji groups have been discovering ways to "get with the times", whereas VK indie scene is being infested with so-called "cool" kids and their ideas of dated melomaniac pleasure a la mid-00s VK revival with no "revolutionary" progression whatsoever? 3) I am not gonna touch "rubbish, terrible"-comments without any elaboration either. Perhaps Gazette is not your cup of tea? So what was your contribution in this discussion again? 4) - Wikipedia - Easily modifiable resource pages - Still cares about genre wankery - IN A GODDAMN VISUAL SCENE/FANBASE 5) So you are saying that cancerous fandoms are EXCLUSIVELY and SOLELY related to Gazette? Wew, lad. 6) Even the most eager critics tend to agree with the notion that Gazette has gained recognition due to their easily recognizable antics and almost "genderbending" tendencies - just like with other Japanese genrebenders inside and outside of our beloved visual scene. Why would possibly westernized individual care about symphonic power metal outfits like X or Versailles, low-budget mix flares of Kiryu and D, and stagnant animoo glory of Naitomea? As much as we would sympathize towards these acts as long-time VK weebs - is it really that hard to adopt opposite, "biased" views for a moment? Could you at least delve into details and convince our possible (albeit disinterested) non-VK (but yet Gazette-fanboying/girling) public that why these acts matter more in the context of international fanbase? I do admit that I had my on/off-times with Gazette for a decade already, but imho it's really hard to argue against the well-functionable, internationally palatable soundscape of mostly mashing Slipknot and Luna Sea influences together. In that sense Ruki and co. were smart enough to realize what exactly was relevant for those times aside from minding their own biases.

Interesting to see an artist often specialized in slow Taeko Ohnuki-ish flares doing this kind of stuff. Thanks for the rec, @CAT5 !

Literally this (here's hoping you Trombe apologists at least cared about this and various details behind this mess before attacking "trolls" and moderators for no reason whatsoever). Trombe IS NOT the only person with all rights and capabilities for on-site information...the heck I know whether he truly steals info from other people outside of MH but it's little to no wonder that Japan-based, on-site MH members LOATHE him for a plethora of plausible reasons: the chain of timestamp manipulations, "proofs!", constant whining about not being "the first", questionable status of his on-site sources and material etc. etc. Even when we regard his otherwise significant contribution here, it may all go down to nil due to his massive record of otherwise hidden and oddly enough rarely discussed ego fuckups. For christ's sake - are other members NOT ALLOWED to share on-site/first feed information first? Does the possible Lestat-troll Ragnar and others realize that we. are. the. goddamn. community? What Trombe was doing for these years was basically forcing the antithesis of "community" here by silencing/pushing other enthusiastic sharers away in the name of his "newscasting highness". So saying that "mods" or "we" kill this forum by "kicking Trombe away" shows how apt would be the moniker of Dir en grey's fake p2p song title (MH memes! You will get a cookie if you guess this one) for his apologists.

Is this how Trombe and his fellow stans like @Danaoare envisioning his current state?

Because apparently admitting to STILL digging anything Momusu as a male melomaniac turns you into "closet pedophile/creep" in a heartbeat - and oh yes, seems like we could only blame '14/'15 reformations for this stigma BASS!