Pretsy

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu just upped a vague, mysterious promo clip which has yet unclear ties to any kind of event (except for speculations regarding 5th anniversary celebration gimmicks). I will let direct quote from Ronald (Aramajapan) do the rest: (bolded because this has been emphasized by netizens lately) The LINE LIVE press conference is January 30 at 7PM JST. Make sure to hit LINE's live pages or watch bits from tumblr in case you are interested.

Since when did news on indie VK bandomen being accused for dirty deeds became something public Nippon press could get their huge claws on? Inb4 there will be more and more public media stigmas on bijuaru kei becoming the "dangerous tool of attracting innocent schoolgirls and making them vulnerable to undercover predatoristic/paedophiliac leisures". Dynamite Tommy and/or VK Oyaji need to get their underlings silencing all the channels and keep the whole scene sterile from public dirt sooner or later. Since after all subsequent cases might become more serious than this (inb4 Dynamite Tommy embezzlement scandal v.2.0 - another VK-shaking phenomenon) and eat everything what's left of visual kei's media dignity. Talk about bad timing when certain indie bands like Blu-Billion had chances for prime-time performances on TV (domino effect*, hey!) *the said band (BLACK CAT) is ofc comprised of nobodies but this exposure is rather alerting, boo.

w/ holophrastic descriptions: 1) Ringo Shiina - Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (Subtilism) 2) Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden (Patience) 3) Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain (Sincerity) 4) Squarepusher - Feed Me Weird Things (Avocation) 5) Mr. Bungle - Mr. Bungle (Peculiarity) 6) Queensryche - Empire (Memorabilia) 7) Mew - Frengers (Benignity) 8 ) L'Arc~en~Ciel - Heart (Love) 9) Denki Groove - A (Joy) i.e. concepts that I basically endorse/embrace atm expressed as specific album choices - some are those I don't listen to that much nowadays, but they still prove their worth in my own life in the midst of my quirky genre pool anyway.

Considering that this abstinence from tagging might stem from Yukihiro era: 1) public stigmas regarding VK when we discuss actual Japanese (media-influenced) POVs (post-Tierra adventures had their own share of public jeering towards VK but not to the same extent as in post-Heart days) 2) VK past also includes their ex-drummer who got the whole band into some serious troubles* due to his drug case. Hence certain critics citing formerly mentioned 1997 scandal as "the final nail in the coffin of their visual kei era" (i.e. at this point they actually *had* reasons to call NO on visual associations). *temporary blackout of media presences, tabloid hulabaloos, major "VK = rocker = junkie = bad guy"-mindsets in public etc.

Funny how ones easily lump X and Luna Sea into the same wave of VK despite the fact that during X's indie AND major reign there was no clear umbrella definition nor textbook example of what counts as "visual" - "flamboyant" maybe but I haven't seen any media of those days mentioning "visual style" seriously. Before someone loses their shit over my statements, make sure to define why media "has no effect" on visual kei as a public trend tag. Moreover, X and Yoshers have got too much biased credit for VK even though they might have some for discovering the first major vk talent (LUNA SEA, again). Shouldn't we discuss how BT or similar acts have affected the first reign of visual bands back then? Their influence is rather significant, even for late-90s bands (as someone already mentioned, the actual "blooming" of visual kei in general)!

Prepare yourself for a link-o-ganza:

Quite intriguing that basically the whole second half of Novembers' repertoire is mentioned here - tells a lot about the said band I actually forgot to mention my personal VK favorite (perhaps the only one that comes to my mind) off 2010s: >Some might be more or less into their later era but this album has also explored quite many grounds for a simple vk band - hints of trip hop, ambient, shoegaze, Carissa's Wierd-ian slowcore are showcased in this pitch-black soundscape of eccentric guitarcraft and sensual vocalwork. Uta and Ryo are/were goddamn geniuses fosho.

My first-thought choices w/ links > Talented chaps doing math rock with taste and audible 'logic'. > Midori's last efforts might be less lively than First/Second eras but Mariko did a damn good job here. > Top quality shoegaze-ish rock straight outta Nippon soil. A definite must-try. > Mad, crazy, lunatic and awesome psychepunk-ish contribution > I don't understand Riff-rain stans and their questionable antipathy towards hits in the vein of 'Future Nova' or 'Light Prayer'. >Tokyo Jihen heard through poppier, but rawer filters. Why not? > Whereas this might be the most accessible Melt-Banana record, I personally admire ADORE balanced approach here. > Koba and co. at their most expressive peak

I wish I could attend RIO this year (throwing this into the midst of my other voyages would make me PA really)

Just calm your tits, guys - really lol. Each and every person is entitled to enjoy lives the way they want to, be it the hot-blooded attitude or Nordic state of mind. Also, another point of view regarding the scene as a whole:

Long Vacation (J-drama) had a non-Japanese band (Cagnet) contributing their songs actively as themes /episode-related tunes Also, let's not forget Serial Experiments Lain either:

Yassss

Agreeing on "Unravel" and "Waltz" (indisputable demi-classic to me), whereas in terms of other choices I am quite ambivalent. My picks: I tried to make my choices less stigmatic so hey, there ya go! edit: Houkago Tea Time is one of the few bands that produce top-notch "cliche anime" themes - no wonder that Shishamo and alike look up to them.

classic (also: sfw)

Talk about confirming their own indie ties, lol.

Hyde plays sax, harmonica, guitar and some percussion too during certain L'Arc lives Atsushi Sakurai from BT played some sax during certain, rare occasions (he was the original drummer for BT btw) Ryuichi from Luna Sea plays some guitar during his solo lives Kiyoharu obviously enough plays guitar as well Full from Guniw Tools has a large variety of his own DIY instruments during Shilfee lives (for instance) Kamijo played some guitar during early/major days of Lareine (e.g. contributing additional acoustic guitars to Emeraude during lives) ...guess that's all I know

In all seriousness, my main issues lie mainly in most trending visual bands nowadays, and even older ones, not giving much thought to what they are doing. Cohesive, worthwhile concepts of the past have been shaded by a large plethora of groups that either pay huge respects to their biases sans peculiarity ("tribute bands"), or just attempt to storm through effed up repertoire of sounds and tones for the sake of garnering "oh, look, they are diverse!"-praises (I am gonna let you figure out which acts). It doesn't take a genius musician to realize what could complement flamboyance and "visual shock" of your performance, ffs.

Malice Mizer intended to release something (they even had promo shoots ready) before they suddenly called Kaisan on their career (must be either Klaha or Mana) edit: this shoot/look btw

Encompasses sombre, mellow and artsy vibes of this art/experimental rock milestone. Apocalypse in sound and art (even if admirers were ruled out as 90s apologists)

This is not even J-rock but Christ that cover is rather frightening for an idol group

Seems like a plan of becoming the "BiS of visual kei" (i.e. "anti-visual kei" bandomen) is failing, huh? Inb4 sudden Hijokaidan collab (might be far-fetched but you name it!)

Isn't this what they have striven to throughout their career though? I'd rather digest budget Radwimps and/or androp than watered down tributes to Aicle's Hirari sound. Indie rock kei should prevail tbqh.

[excited whispering] Yasssss edit: I forgot new Swans too...

The year of naughty, wily monkey has been kickstarted already but are most avid music listeners truly prepared for musical surprises of 2016 yet? Whatever the case may be, this thread serves no other purpose than to awaken curiosity and inform about upcoming goodies. Many outlets are available for further inspections: RYM-approved list 'til February albumoftheyear w/ new releases Oricon's indie/major calendar (Imma let you google that one, it has VK too) MH calendar etc. Which albums/releases are you looking forward to in 2016? Feel free to mention TBAs too. Regarding myself: - METAFIVE's META (just leak already) - Togawakaidan 20/01 - Tortoise's comeback (kind of) 22/01 - Ulver's new album 22/01 - The High Llamas 22/01 - New Especia 24/02 - Captain Murphy/Flying Lotus - 385's future - New Kanye (lol) to name a few. Edit: my apologies for bad timing (considering the current events...)!

Christ. RIP