Pretsy

If it makes you feel any better... the hair options pretty much suck for everyone. X"D
 

http://www.peanutizeme.com/
 

 
yay for the lack of afrocentric hairstyles! 
 
You may want to resize your image as the downloads are quite big.

Yes. It looks something like
 

wings flap, jig faps - yay for new Laruku stuff!
 
Hoping it's actually good too, lol.

The Amon bass line seriously pisses me off. He laid that down, then everyone listened back to it and said "yeah, that sounds awesome!" It doesn't.
Toshiya's playing does seem less prominent lately, and it makes me wonder why he bothered to switch to a 5 string when he doesn't really make full use of it. I will say that one of my favorite moments on Arche is the bass solo in the middle of Tousei. He totally carries that section with a fantastic melody you would expect from a guitar solo. Tons of feeling in an already emotional moment.
My emotionless doll comment comes from me thinking that there's a stiffness to Shinya's playing. I don't feel like he's giving it his all because he's trying so hard to keep up an image. Listen to a live version of Kiri to Mayu (2012); all those fast fills are sloppy and lack power, almost like he's just tickling the drums and not putting any weight behind his strikes. I guess I give him props for standing behind his performance and not using triggers, but I'd prefer if he just wrote material that didn't extend beyond his capabilities.

Show from Kishidan is calling - he wants his weave back
 

 
I know that it's supposed to be a knock on Bousouzoku-gang/biker style, jk here lol

Yeah I remember hearing more or less of the same thing regarding Shinya. At first that I thought it was a lack of practicing (but that could also be it too), that led to the consistent sloppiness on his part, live. I actually wondered if it was humanly possible for him 2 do the stuff I was hearing in the studio versions. I knew something was up but i NEVER would've figured that some of that was programming, haha. 
 
Their writing process for ARCHE is why I listen to it more than i do DSS, these days. DSS is a cool album but it doesn't feel like there's a band presence there. And with the exception of a few performances and such, the live timeline of that album has been iffy at best. Till this day, the Uroboros themed lives are the best the band has done.
 
As for Kyo, yeah. Nothing there 2 indicate that he's tired of Dir en grey. And to his defense......i remember watching that Boo stream before ARCHE and he flat out told Boo that he's not gonna answer certain question because he's answered them so many times before. I can imagine how much of a bore that must be for not only him but the band to keep having to repeat themselves year after year bout the same stuff interviews. I would even go as far to say thats why they're so Anti-"VIP" overseas. No way can forcibly sitting in a room before a show, being asked dumbass/rehashed questions can be fun. 

Jesus, I think I spilled too much incomprehensible garbage on this one:
 
Now that I've returned back to Gazerepertoire with much more "critic" / "expecting" views, I would consider this record to be the most cohesive record (while still sporting that "back and forth" thing Reita talked about in terms of their pre-DOGMA releases) - each song doesn't sound too off in the context, not to mention the fact that they've managed to condense specific songwriter elements in this release ("Beautiful Deformity" fits in that sense as a title) , without making it too bloated (DIM) or totally directionless (NIL).
 
Call me a propagandist of music listening habits if you wish - but I still think people should judge the album by its entirety rather than separate songs (DIM or SR might totes win in the "standalone tune" department but fail badly as proper albums).
 
I refrain from ratings in favor of much better, briefer summary: I can see myself coming back to this release every now and then. Furthermore, I don't have to keep my skip button ready in case I face sudden incohesive abnormalities or such along the way*. For once, Gazette finally did something that feels like an "album" from western POV too. (note: @Jigsaw9 and @CAT5 sharing their pro-BD views might have influenced me to delve deeper into what Gazeboys have cooked here, oops)
 
 
*cases in point:
 
a ) DIM, while having a good share of strong standalone tunes, suffered from its overall bloatness, questionable ordering (Headache Man -> Guren, really?) and interludes that didn't do much for some songs ("Mousou" as a case in point).
b  ) SR, while being the best introduction to post-Gazetto era "more alternative" direction, had shadows of NIL-ian inconsistency haunting all over the place - you've gotta wonder why they put "Ganges" or "People Error" (examples) there in the first place

Jesus, I think I spilled too much incomprehensible garbage on this one:
 
Now that I've returned back to Gazerepertoire with much more "critic" / "expecting" views, I would consider this record to be the most cohesive record (while still sporting that "back and forth" thing Reita talked about in terms of their pre-DOGMA releases) - each song doesn't sound too off in the context, not to mention the fact that they've managed to condense specific songwriter elements in this release ("Beautiful Deformity" fits in that sense as a title) , without making it too bloated (DIM) or totally directionless (NIL).
 
Call me a propagandist of music listening habits if you wish - but I still think people should judge the album by its entirety rather than separate songs (DIM or SR might totes win in the "standalone tune" department but fail badly as proper albums).
 
I refrain from ratings in favor of much better, briefer summary: I can see myself coming back to this release every now and then. Furthermore, I don't have to keep my skip button ready in case I face sudden incohesive abnormalities or such along the way*. For once, Gazette finally did something that feels like an "album" from western POV too. (note: @Jigsaw9 and @CAT5 sharing their pro-BD views might have influenced me to delve deeper into what Gazeboys have cooked here, oops)
 
 
*cases in point:
 
a ) DIM, while having a good share of strong standalone tunes, suffered from its overall bloatness, questionable ordering (Headache Man -> Guren, really?) and interludes that didn't do much for some songs ("Mousou" as a case in point).
b  ) SR, while being the best introduction to post-Gazetto era "more alternative" direction, had shadows of NIL-ian inconsistency haunting all over the place - you've gotta wonder why they put "Ganges" or "People Error" (examples) there in the first place

Update:
 
I've managed to get my OS with all components avec wi-fi too working like a charm (without reinstalling ubuntu, *wink* @Zeus! Pretzels' getting happyzels right nao! ^^; (I know, very cringeworthy "pun")

Update:
 
I've managed to get my OS with all components avec wi-fi too working like a charm (without reinstalling ubuntu, *wink* @Zeus! Pretzels' getting happyzels right nao! ^^; (I know, very cringeworthy "pun")

I will take this one step further
 

 
Shakuhachi jazz and straight out of the 70s!! (everyone here should try out)
 
/I am done, sry Cat/
 
ps. even if J-Jazz should be inspected by looking at its "roots", I find its fusion genre and acts to be the best choice in terms of introduction - e.g. I've got into this scene just after side-eyeing Ringo Shiina's musical partners, heh.

^ Already dl'd his two albums, heh.
 
Also, , I randomly found this interesting album, you might wanna give it a try: '60s jazz and koto!
 

For less club-jazzier variants, there's always Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro in terms of 'fun' jazz collectives:

Orange Pekoe might not be the best fit seeing as they are more Brazilian/Bossa-based act with scattered influences in the vein of jazz, nu-jazz, a bit of blues etc. - on the other hand, similar artist Dorlis mainly focuses on her thing with Django Reinhardt-ian swing jazz a la '20s (a.k.a as close as modern "poppy" Japanese acts can get into "real jazz")

I've been always told that this *SHOULD BE* the first J-jazz essential to every new listener out there (seeing as some people like to separate J-jazz from standard jazz scenes almost completely):

(oldie but goldie I guess)Funny that rarely anyone mentions jazz pianists from Japan tbqh - Hiromi Uehara should be the most known one:

...phew.
As cat mentioned it already, it's a bit of shame that current scene actually lacks *bare to the bones*-kind of jazz acts - but we could say the same about any other genre out there. Seems like amalgamation-mumbo-jumbo-kind of stuff is a given phenomenon for Japanese music?

88kasyojunrei, whilst very good from a technical view have too much going on in their music and it can end up sounding messy
Mejibray on the other hand seem scared to go out of their comfort zone and have an average vocalist
So I went Double KO! 

Before I run out of ideas in the later phase (I promise that I won't spam this any further), I will spew out my "last" effort in making sensible tributes, and that's ofc: DEG tribute. I am not the one to knock on Cat's tribute though - it's my "vision" on their possible lineup in possible tribute(s).
 
I might have been influenced by Cat5 (at least based on certain picks), and that is why he deserves my thanks
 
IN NOMINE - DIR EN GREY respect album-
 
1. Joe Hisaishi - THE FINAL (overture)
A short, orchestral snippet of DEG's ”all-time hit” - pretty warm welcome for such a big tribute like this. Honorable one, too! With its majestic presence, it's very reminiscent to Final's unplugged version off ”THE UNRAVELING”.
 
2. Downy – Rinkaku
By refining this to non-chuggy version with more complexity, this will find its way quite easily into Downy's comfort zone. (Side-note: should be tuned up to A# for the sake of segueing from ”THE FINAL”-prelude) Falsetto vocals shouldn't be the problem either.
 
3. AA= - Child Prey
With those ”Wooh oooh oooh”-ing BG vocals, underlying electro influence (those weird effects during riffs) and downtuned guitars, I can expect Takeshi Ueda and folks to pull out even punkier performance than Kyo's own. The original in fact starts to remind me of Mad Caps for some reason.
 
4. Coldrain – Agitated Screams of Maggots
Lyrics completely in English? Check. Lots of metalcore-y riffs? Check. Really fitting for Coldrain guys? Well, by judging their earlier covering efforts, I can see them having some potential to do this sweetly too.
 
5. kamomekamome – Clever Sleazoid
After trying out some kamomekamome, I came to the realization that Kyo's performance in CS (both versions) is somewhat similar to what KK's vocalist was doing in most of their songs. I apologize to Cat beforehand for clinging onto same-ish ideas
 
6. Kannivalism - Higeki ha Mabuta wo Oroshita Yasashiku Utsu
Sincere ballads like this are Kannivalism's specialty (knowing that their best songs like ”mum.” are like this), and so is underlying melancholy in Kyo's lyrics. Won't be a random number at all
 
7. THE NOVEMBERS - Toguro
Atmospheric, riffy number – might be pretty much NOVEMBERS' specialty (tagging along with Cat in this case). Knowing what they've done in their latest album, potential of this being a good cover is pretty high. Oh, and let's not forget the bass too
 
8. Lynch. - AMBER
Simple half-ballad with emphasis on low singing → goes well for Hazuki's range (falsettos too) and band's performance. Also, the guitars here are very reminiscent to what lynch. Started to do with ligher songs at their latest records. Nothing really else to explain in terms of obvious artist choice.
 
9. Boris – Mazohyst of Decadence (2011 ver. cover)
Imagine if this was their lo-fi take on DEG's ”revamped” live version of MoD. I might see Takeshi using more of monotonous vocal take (with Imogen Heap-ish filtering) on Kyo's lyrics (can skip some parts), along with improvised take on Toshiya's VERY audible and varied bassline (lots of fuzz). Wata in the meanwhile can give those ””sludgy”” (have to use double quotation marks for the sake of it) riffs a bit more dynamics. Creepy pro-life songs definitely deserve a deeper take, and Boris are able to pull it off well.
 
10. DAISHI DANCE feat. Chieko Kinbara – Hotarubi (a LIGHT mix)
Basically an instrumental House mix/cover of Dir's original. Having Kinbara appearing again in this piece (she played violins in the original), and DAISHI DANCE pulling out a Ghibli Set-like performance (vibraphones, soothing piano, some stock falsettos/vocals some strings + etc.). To live up to its mix title, it should be have more of hope-giving aura unlike the original with its ”all hope is gone”-vibes.
 
11. Michiro Endo/M.J.Q – 304 Goushitsu, Hakushi no Sakura
Assuming that Michiro might ”thank” DEG for covering STALIN's ”Warsaw no Gensou”. With its acoustic-friendly performance, Endo might find himself even at his old age pretty comfortable with this. Some anti-folk-kind of vibe will be sweet for this track (should also be shorter than the original imho)
 
12. Heaven In Her Arms – DIABOLOS
Some of Kyo's clean parts can be somewhat discarded here, for the sake of post-ish performance here. Atmosphere might be pretty fitting for them, and Kyo's growling/screaming can replaced with their ”signature” screaming without ruining the flow. I might even like their effort more than original.
 
13. HOLLOWGRAM – Inconvenient Ideal
Falsetto-heavy number? Ryo's top-notch specialty. Also, by listening partly to their ”Qualia”-record, I admit that this wouldn't be an out-of-place number for them. In addition to the first statement of mine, Ryo can pull this off much better – methinks.
 
14. MERRY – Rasetsukoku
Let's say it briefly: you know how this will end up – no? Imagine this in their ”Under-world” style, with a bit crunchier guitars
 
15. Takumi (RES) – Vanitas (new instrumental mix)
Instrumental coda. Do you guys remember the PA song DEG used to play during DSS promo tour (music box-ish song). Expect this to be a remake but made by ”semi-DEG member” this time. Nice finish for a tribute
 
ps. I tried to make this less random and "biased" ,heh.

So a comp sci major didn't think to check for hardware compatibility before nuking the system? Wow...tell that n00b to get an ethernet cord and re-do the installation with the latest LTS version of Ubuntu. Specify LTS.
Normally Ubuntu is good about handling these things but with specific configurations it acts up. You should always make sure your hardware is supported before completely destroying and restoring the operating system.

What's with all this Mazohyst hate? Wtf. I thought it was a DEG classic.

Allow me to knock on a few things before actually revealing my decision:
 
1) Singles: this MIGHT work a bit in terms of vk format but it shouldn't take a genius to realize singles being somewhat irrelevant content-wise in the world of "casual" J-music or anything non-Japanese for that matter. Remixes or odd live takes tend to infest singles for the most part too, so it's anything but descriptive tbqh.
 
2) Best-ofs: I actually had a glimpse of motivation to pull-off a large-scale thread project in MH that would be related to this release format ("Create your own greatest hits"-MH collaborative project, FYI). But seeing as our community lacks curiosity in terms of non-staff threads (for the most part), I ditched everything about it.
 
And how does this relate to my opinions on best-ofs? The idea of CYOGH itself would revolve around the fact that most best-ofs, in spite of the country/region (e.g. RES' best-of), are rather despotically compiled clusterfucks you'd rather name as "the most popular of", if we were to go with more precise names. One might of course disagree, but I personally see best-ofs as being more of label-ridden "mainstream scopes" rather than actual recommendation sets handpicked by band's/artist's respective fandom.
 
3) Mini-albums: depends on what kind of scene or format is in question ("EP" vs. mini-album) - for EPs, see singles, and for mini-albums - depends on their quantity/quality factor (most minis tend to be too subtle).
 
TL;DR - and Juka had thoughts that I'd back up very well

Spam......
 
 
Spam....
 
WOW.
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPAM.
 
Pretsy, bro....
 
We need to talk (fight) this out in private.
 
I'm so...
 
That's it...
 
 

I like listening to a band's first album. I usually find that bands I enjoy have a really strong first album.
 
(and then it's all downhill from there)
JK : P

Albums, I need to know if they can keep up with what they present for a long listen, also for consistency of quality check

Gekisei is one of the best songs ever. Masterpiece!
Bear out.

After about a year of alternating between twists and an afro, I began my "loc journey" today 〜(^∇^〜）