GreatNorthernVK

When you’re just trying to get out of the &$#*ing rain...

Koichi also recently tweeted about "Pretending to like something that you hate will make you hate yourself". Not sure whether this is a thinly veiled dig at the visual kei industry as a whole (a commentary on the amount of bandomen that don't even like heavier music, but are told to compose/play it, including himself and Genki), or telling Mejibray fans that they don't have to stick around if they hate 8P-SB.

My first and favourite box set is still the Guniw Tools PV and Live Collection that Victor released years after the hiatus.

Needs more sic breakdowns.

Not much to add to this topic beyond what’s already been said, except that this place is 10x better than some of these Facebook Visual Kei groups, which are filled with white-knight hypocrites who try and make people feel like shit for file sharing when they did the exact same thing years ago. It’s probably completely lost on them that a foreign fandom wouldn’t even exist without file sharing. I download less than I used to, try to buy first hand releases for my fav bands but often go through resellers like RarezHut for cds/DVD’s/tapes or yahoo auctions for LPs. But for newer bands, or bands that I don’t really care about, the few cents they earn from Spotify/Apple Music/Youtube will have to do.

I would be fine with anything other than a K-pop knock-off. I suppose we’ll find out in June, though.

Can’t speak for everyone, but I can give my perspective on the Canadian side of things. In 2006-2009, It was gaining momentum. People were spreading the music around, getting their friends interested. True, it was mainly “edgy” teens and young adults. The same general audience as post-hardcore/metalcore. And then the bands started playing Europe. Great, they’re finally reaching out. Good for them! Then US dates start coming, even a few tours and festivals. Oh, wait, I think I see a Toronto date! Too bad most of us don’t live there, or were too young to afford a flight there. And then came the wave of Central/South American dates...and we’re kind of left wondering what’s going on. It’s not like opportunities didn’t exist. When presented with opportunities to tour any city other than Toronto, they were declined (see: Taste of Chaos 2008, Deftones tour Canadian leg). For those that were used to at least 3 desireable North American and European bands coming through their cities every month, getting an average of one Visual Kei show every three years (and always in Toronto) just wasn’t enough to hold their interest. I understand that it’s a pretty tall order to expect bands who were used to being confined to Japan to suddenly go on constant world tours. But the lack of interest on the management’s part is probably the biggest reason why most Canadian fans went back to western bands, or moved on to K-pop.

Mmm, not really a metal head. Nor do I think that edginess is an all-important factor in choosing what music to listen to, but i’ll bite. All artists utilize marketing concepts, even unconsciously. No surprise there. Even if it’s just a small label having one person talk to bands and see what their deal is. Even if it’s a starter-level artist promoting themselves. Major labels have considerable research/development/PR resources at their disposal. For artists that are frequently in the Top 40 (or who the label is promoting to be in the Top 40), the way that they get there is for the label to package them in a way that appeals to the broadest possible demographic. Regardless of how much clout an individual artist gains throughout the years, there is always someone in the background saying “Mmm, I don’t know, have to run this by PR to make sure we don’t alienate demographic X too much”. Now, they can get that “sweet spot” where they can package something as “edgy” without too much backlash from the general public. The artist is happy, the label is happy, and their listeners are happy. But the continuous reiteration of the artist’s work that has to be “okayed” by higher ups runs directly opposed to the spirit of edginess. For major labels, the marketing question is “How does this fit in the framework of what we know can sell?” For independent artists and small labels, this isn’t the case. The strategy of making an artist as broadly appealing as possible doesn’t work because they lack the resources that the major labels have to make this a reality. They understand that their target market is much smaller (that is, if they aren’t delusional) So, the strategy is to identify the specific target market, and go after them aggressively through differentiation. The marketing question is “How is this artist *different* from the hundreds of artists vying for exposure?” It basically forces innovation, and thus the “edginess” factor. Now again, edginess is not the be-all end-all of musical criteria. Listen to what sounds good, not much more to it. For different people, that means different things.

Yeah, Beyoncé isn’t “edgy”. She’s had to work harder than most pop stars, and she’s had a lot of important racial and gender commentary in recent years. But by definition, I have a hard time considering anything in the realm of Top 40 to be “edgy”.

I hope they resolve the guitar issues for next weekend. I too noticed the rows of Japanese fans with a couple of western stragglers who seemed to know all of the words in the first few rows. At least the audience response didn’t seem to be outright bad, but it was a bit painful to watch Toshi keep on trying to get people to sing louder. They were competing with Beyoncé and Highly Suspect for viewers. So if Yoshiki’s goal was to reach celebrities and the general faux-hipster masses, he failed. I wouldn’t be surprised if X-Japan’s livestream numbers were considerably higher than for other bands, despite the late set time. This should be a lesson for him to aim themselves better for next year

While fairness is a good concept and all, this is VK. If a fan is willing to pay big bucks to obtain the “best tickets”, which the reseller will turn around and spend their profits on more band merch, why can’t they?

Most people here don’t really seem to be fans of international VK, so I don’t really see the point. Bands that are good enough to warrant their own topic would be welcome in the international section. Lulzy noob bands have their own thread to be torn apart.

Looks like I better get on that trip to Japan. I should really see Plastic Tree before they finally go.

Just watched Get Out (2017) with the husband. Would definitely recommend. Creepy without gross-out horror, with a different narrative than what you normally see in most suspense movies. Some great artistic shots in this one.

Discogs usually has a pretty good database of releases on vinyl.

Bean Sprout! https://youtu.be/F143kJea2tw

https://youtu.be/f2oMiGhjKus

Lately it’s been “Hi Nicki, i’m still pretty sick, so i’m going to take the day off to rest”.

Just ordered Rouage’s Bible and Children on LP.

They should just play Art of Life and be done with it. http://jrock247.com/2018/04/x-japan-to-headline-coachellas-mojave-stage-with-hide-and-taiji-holograms/ Holograms, people.

This PV, along with Malice Mizer’s Illuminati will always hold a special place in my heart as the best ones to use if you’re looking for sweet reaction footage.

This band can’t catch a break, can they?

Being perfectly honest, choosing not to post the Gazette’s new album won’t affect much. Gazette fans will still pre-order the thing, regardless of download status (unless they’re underage, or broke) People who don’t really care about the Gazette that much won’t have their buying habits altered by a temporary unavailability. Bands that aren’t established *might* be able to sway overseas buying habits if they make an effort, and are willing to try ways to work with a diverse market (ex Vivarush). But as a whole, the Japanese music industry is more antagonistic than helpful regarding non-Japanese fans. They’ve never counted on our sales.

I don’t understand the appeal behind novelty acts like Golden Bomber. Why even bother releasing physical music releases if the performers aren’t the original musicians? And why buy it (looking at you, Japan)? It kind of reminds me of that “California Raisins” tape that my parents bought for me when I was five.

Why is it that at my job, where seniors are required to provide information over the phone, these people never seem to have their glasses and/or hearing aids?