Pretsy

The most underrated J-cover: What it says on the tin... Edit: oh, bear mentioned that already, oops.

I would have chosen 十三階は月光 if it wasn't for the fact that it works solely as an entirety - i.e. most of the songs are individually weak :/ Darker than Darkness encapsulates this splendid, fittingly evil and 'dark' (as that title implies, haha) content where each song, with their unique traits and whatnot, is solely replayable in the long term. In addition, albums mentioned above have their own share of songs that I tend to skip (e.g. Feast of Demoralization and My Funny Valentine are still yawn-worthy!), unlike DTD

Arche made them relevant again? Seeing as the general fanbase reaction is much colder compared to how we/they received THE UNRAVELING (most people even stopped caring after long pauses + excessive amounts of hurrdurr and late kaoruisms) + poor Oricon sales figures...yeah, no. Not even the fact that Char Aznable's VA or some other celebs advertised the band ain't doing much... We need to wait and see if they are coming up with Glass Skin pt. 2 (which wasn't the sales buster to begin with but was something that warped them back to the Music Japan (read: mainstream (TV)) lives in the near future.

Hmmm seems like it's okay to open up a bit in here, no?: Long story short: before I moved to a new city like 7 years ago (2007-ish), I have been slurred on for years (even had to undergo a few beatups from certain ethnicities* that had an issue or two or even more with my "second nationality", but eh lol) and so on due to me being rather 'open' about my bilingual status (briefly: racism). Elementary (at the later phase) and junior high were pure hell when it came to defending and actually sucking up all the shit that most of my schoolmates and even staff members (without being sanctioned at doing so!) threw at me in terms of this constant 'slur-a-zoo'. It was really a painful experience to me when I had to consult various social workers, psychologists and even higher staff members with my parents for the sake of filtering such xenophobic crap and keeping up with my schoolmates (so I could graduate normally, eh?). So, if we were to skip a long series of fucked up racism episodes (that I am not really willing to discuss in further detail) - a new city, school and life called in...finally, I thought. Well yeah, last year of junior high in a new city called in, new folks, new buds - but unfortunately this xenophobic nature carried on in a bit passive manner, e.g. being asked by "higher ones" (group instructor, secretary etc.) to keep my "mongoloid language" away from the school facilities (read: as in actually restricting my freedom of speaking languages I want to speak with e.g. my parents when we had parent days/"open door days" or such). Like WTF? I can already expect my country fellows to call bullshit on this one, but hey - I am too pricky to care about that :/ Oh yeah, with this - I wanted to say that most ppl tend to debunk the claim that the victims of bullying eventually become the bullies themselves after a while. Well well, it is in fact partially true! Especially among such people who actually endure that shit throughout and are not eager to "blow up" as some unfortunate school incidents showcase...Even to this day, I tend to become very 'superlative' in terms of my negative statements towards someone I don't like, and even resort to racist slurs as well (so such names as "antisemitist" or "anti-baltic" are not doing much to me, oops). Did such traumas turn me into the same prick that my bullies were? Maybe, or that's how I still believe... Fun fact: the said series have even led me to the point where I am having a reaaaaaaaal bad time in believing what my friends or just good acquaintances say, seeing as even those whom I considered to be "buds" back before moving out were actually backstabbing xenophobic twits...I think this is where I could apply Gaz' theory of "fake people everywhere and etc.", but I'd call my problem "I will stab you before you stab my back (not in a literal sense ofc)" instead *shrug* I apologize for my sudden, almost nonsensical commentary above but I had to throw this out of my chest. *most careful MH users might already pinpoint a few...

and late 2nd response: Apparently they collabed earlier - except this time Kiryu will do this collab under their "main moniker" (as in "Kiryu") rather than being "My Dragon" (as they did a month or two ago with these girls): Here's the "My Dragon x Kamen Joshi" collab live snippet from February/March (fun fact: the same idol group has collabed with another vk group, Fest Vainqueur, earlier): Lol.

As a reminder: Kyo has his hands full with sukekiyo as well (and pre-Arche HnG interviews noted that he focuses a lot more on "his band" these days rather than on DEG) So there won't be any kind of non-DVD release from DEG 'till late 2016-ish - my guess though.

Thought of putting this (another) J-guitarist meeting photo and here's the list of featured folks: Kind of amazing

Dir are at their best when they go crazy rather than "evil, sludgy" ("sludgy" is an incorrect adjective, i know i know) - but that's how I liked them throughout these years Also, back to the topic: I am nitpicking right now but WHY they didn't play the jam outro after MASK ??!!!

?????

Would you mind defining that which bands exactly count as "Japanese metal" - or the hell, how do you define "metal music" IN GENERAL? I am really looking forward to your constructive, non-tumblrist* commentary on that matter. (and don't "hurrdurr looking forward to butthurt" on me, it won't work!) Also, going against the tide is not doing much if you cite your thoughts as "X is not Y and it sucks" (ignorant, bitchy statement sans arguments) instead of e.g. "I always thought that X was Y - that's how I perceived it/just me though" (personal preferences, rather respecting POV). I am very curious about those "fans" that you spoke of as well. *because J-enthusiastic tumblrists tend to be quite narrow-minded and imbecilic - my unpopular opinion btw.

Gotta give my 3 cents now: Death Grips - Jenny Death Just like Jig hinted, this album is a comeback from this abrasive and crazy (in a good way) trio. Seeing as they are currently on a Cali-gari-ian "troll disbandment" limbo, DG really managed to encompass (almost) all of their known, loved traits into this huge, chaotic package. The album itself is very indescribable in terms of genre-isms. But anyways, if you are really into some abrasive but fun acts - and don't mind the absence of "traditionalist" music values...this might be your cup of tea The following track demonstrates the concept DG has been known for greatly imho, so there ya go! Listen: Yamp Kolt - Chewing Underrated, "weird" j-music producer Mai Fujinoya - or "Yamp Kolt" - strikes again with his latest collaboration album, "Chewing". I didn't really know much about Fujinoya's actual work until I looked up to his frequent collaborators that were present in this record too (UA, Hitomitoi, Etsuko Yakushimaru from Soutaiseiriron etc.). And this is where I fell in love with Fujinoya's typical (based on his current repertoire) habits of throwing in very Japanesque, electro-acoustic and trippy arrangements along with poppy undertones that each female collaborator create in their own way. I highly recommend this album if you missed the long-lost fashion of Japanese 'experimentalism' from the '80s (e.g. think of Akira's soundtrack except with more modern ideas and frills) - or if you are rather unsatisfied with absence of "groundbreaking", daring j-pop releases that haven't popped up for a while. 'Nahimi' is a great showcase of how Fujinoya's trippy undertones and mature-ish pop sensibilities intertwine into something very mysterious, intriguing and even playful! Listen: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Mondai Girl I am pretty sure you won't take me seriously after reading that headline, eh...? Haha, I kid! As some might already know, I am a huge Nakataphile (those who don't give a heck about him - disregard this paragraph) to the extent where I highly criticize him for departing almost completely from his usual songwriting antics (i.e. disregarding his ol' pop sensibilities for the sake of going all EDM on us). Thankfully his 'Shinjuku puppet' Kyary proved me wrong, as her latest 'Mondai Girl'-single demonstrates a few comebacks to her producer's older, musical self (video game music, lounge, synthpop etc.)...minus that CANDY CANDY remix. 'My Room' makes a big time warp back to Capsule's early releases in the vein of "Phony Phonic" or even "Cutie Cinema Replay" - and definitely stands out as a very cutesy, but surprisingly natural-sounding and nostalgic pop tune. No wonder that she gets to 'cover' Capsule songs from their heydays. Feel free to try this single out if you don't bear prejudices towards cutesy, but interesting soundscapes Listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zETYGJ1dBbM GAUZE DVD is up (for now) My overall thoughts: Kyo should definitely stop modifying lyrics (especially to classic songs in the vein of "Cage") when singing live

or as a starter (as they did it back in Helsinki)

to make things worse, half of that idol group (afaih) actually consists of so-called "gravure idols" (a.k.a softcore, non-nude porn idols)

Because most dedicated dir stans back then were so anal (some are still like that ! E.g. kareki) and managed to make folks shut up about it Here's the *only* archived excerpt http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/f-et-tp0-20070914-255984.html edit: is Aoi's (Gazette) vocaloid tweet scandal relevant here?

You should mention diru's papa figure Dynamite Tommy too since ex-Free-will stans still haunt him with *grim* embezzlement reminders (since he managed to avoid jailing thru sneaky means) circa 2007 (which affected e.g. MOAB's post-release sales A LOT, lol) A real shame that Free-Will lobbyists succeeded in making certain media delete their archive files on that one :/

http://www.alice-project.biz/special/event?id=10 go figure

Visual kei band Kiryu and the masked idol unit (heh, units ) Kamen Joshi will hold a two-man live on 28/4 in TOKYO PARMS, and the live will be divided into two sets + broadcasted at midnight to 2 AM in the KBS Kyoto "CYBER CIRCUS TV" . No other details known also, since everyone knows Kiryu (I hope) - Kamen Joshi's promo pic and one of PVs below: When two worlds collide... Source: natalie.mu

New Salyu's much closer than you think: Definitely not salyu x salyu-tier stuff but it's still all fine Also, new Shishido Kavka <3

Rather impressed that most users (minus those who managed to explain their choice constructively) chose Vistlip just for the sake of shitting @ SuG (consequently turning a blind eye to SuG's obvious signs of significant improvement (can't wait for counterarguments) after their departure from PSC)...I don't think I have seen much vistlip hype around here either? As evilcoconut pointed it out, they are just another inoffensive (no1curr) pop-rock vk band who stayed stagnant for hella long time so far - lmao. Therefore, I am gonna go against the tide and say GO GO TAKERU AND CO. GO

More or less tongue-in-cheek (reminder: read the tag) but anyways: Post your most memorable japanese music (so yeah, not only limited to JAYYRAWWK muzak) quotes, I bet you got it already after reading the topic, so go! e.g. - Ruki, 2007 - Kamijo, 2006 *it's 2k15, get the joke pls

dwango.jp revealed a cast (at least most of them) Danchou (NoGoD) Wataru (LIPHLICH) Asanao (lynch.) Boo H@L (Artema) Tohya (Vistlip) Hiroshi Takashi (?) (R-Shitei) DADA (VELVET EDEN) Atsushi (New Roteka) Tsuki to Taiyou (idol group) + comedians/sportsmen what jonjonz mentioned

Paranoia Agent Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen Susumu Hirasawa OP GTO Hitori no Yoru Porno Graffiti OP 2 Serial Experiments Lain Duvet Bôa OP Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji Ookami Heart Oresama ED (I have very manly tastes )

So where, or when did you do this? I couldn't see any efforts so far.