shane

Today's the flying get day

 

 
So here's the general consensus:
Sex on the beach is a bop Deliheru Boys! Deliheru Girls! is great good job Ao Oto Sex 2020 is a disappointment 原色エレガント is funky fresh さかしま single worst cali gari song ever and I hope to never hear it again Did they change Blue Film at all??

Gastunk announced yesterday at the end of their very first online streaming concert 'Dead Fever' that they will be releasing a new album in 2021. This will be the first proper album since 1988's Mother. After disbanding in 1988 until their 2006 reunion concert gigs, they only performed twice, once in 1992 in memory of Ghoul's Masami and once in memory of X's hide in 1999. Since 2010 they have been regularly performing one off gigs and at events.

This exciting new announcement comes after a lineup change earlier this year with drummer Kei (who is the drummer of Tatsu's Deadrocks project) taking over for Pazz who left last year after being with Gastunk since 1987.

Gastunk's very first online streaming concert 'Dead Fever' will be available for purchased viewing until Wednesday September 30th.
https://fever.zaiko.io/_item/329597

Setlist:
1. Mokushiroku
2. Night Sight Light
3. The Eyes
4. Mr. Gazime
5. Fighting Mad
6. Deadman's Face
7. No More Trouble
8. Moon Child
9. Blue Peter
10. Red Indian's Rock
11. Geronimo
12. Dead Song
13. Devil
14. Sex
15. Warbird
 

WOW it's me again, this time I finally finished scanning volume 29, from 1995.
I go on and on about it on the actual blog page, but for anyone who looks through it; it's really interesting to see the beginnings of certain themes and concepts in visual kei, especially the 'cyber' visual that became popular nearer the new millennium, and also there's some nods to the more heavy visual style of kote kei that was developing. There's great graphic design from DIE-ZW3E, a very old Shazna ad (with Katsura on drums, who as we know later joined BAISER), Laputa, Penicillin, THE DEAD POP STARS, etc. etc. A long Hyde feature is there also; Tetsu-era MALICE MIZER too, Genkaku Allergy ... it's a good volume. My favourite find is a miniscule picture of SAKRUN, they're fantastic.
 
Here's some previews:
 


 
If anything's unreadable, let me know. I'll re-scan pages by page since I don't think it's worth re-scanning everything that's a little blurry.
 
Here's the blog page, the file size is 1.66 GB. enjoy!
 
 

I feel you, colourlessbalance is definitely one of my fav albums of theirs.
 
Ah I'm surprised it didn't work. That's a shame, especially since there will be some differences between the DL version and the store version, according to Shuuji's blogs. But at the very least when he does finish making it, it'll be a general release so it won't be so hard to get a hold of. 
 
It's got a kind of different vibe from what they've been doing lately, & I really dig it personally.

https://jpurecords.com/blogs/news/buck-tick-abracadabra

Full album trailer now up with samples of all the songs~
 
 
Don't wanna jinx it, but so far this sounds like another highpoint in B-T's discography for me (after "Arui wa Anarchy").

Dreams about your favourite bands are pretty cool! And I just happened to have had a dream that I saw Plastic Tree hold the worst ever concert. would I still stan? the answer is yes One of Kenken's drum sticks went flying and some gya screamed in joy or pain when she realized that it hit her/she got to keep it forever. Akira held a note too long but he played it cool, though Tadashi stopped playing altogether and looked really confused before he kept playing on. Ryutaro tried to keep carrying the song but he looked mildly panicked lmao. The biggest offender was Ryutaro though. Ryutaro kept forgetting the lyrics, mumbling his way through them hoping that his usual speech tic of talking like he's gotta bunch of marbles in his mouth would cover him. When they hit the English part of Gentle.Light.And.Soul he sounded like he was speaking some sorta fucked up dialect of Southern-American spoken through a Chinese accent. He also kept tripping over himself. At one point he just fell down face-up and one of the audience members gave him a head pat while he stared upwards, dead inside. And then he ate a bad parfait with the rest of the gang and couldn't go to the back stage VIP meetings because he was holed up in the bathroom. My dream ended there. God, I wish I could've recorded this dream and shown it here because it was the funniest shit ever. 

This is very fan-girly of me but of course band histories influence who I choose to lisen to... I get fixated on certain members, so if I really really like that member sometimes I will listen to trash or go out of my way to find rare stuff no one cares about just because I care about who made it/was a part of making it.

I think this is how I find most of the one off bands.

Here I go logging in for the first time in (like...) six months. I've made it a (painful, admittedly) project to scan in all of my magazines in full and have them available for download. The reason being, a) it's cool to have images and know where/when they're from and b) I think it'll be good for newer fans especially to see where bands they know came from/the culture at the time. I tend to get slightly frustrated when people seem to completely rip bands apart from their context or not really be aware of the wider culture at the time.
 
I'm putting this up on a blogspot (please enjoy my very marketable skill in web design) and here's the links. I'll add some previews to this post (they'll be quite small, apologies).
The next one I'm scanning is volume 29. I need to put up volume 15 too; the scans are each about 2GB (zipped) so it's for the very dedicated. Enjoy !
 
from vol. 5: 


 
 
from vol. 8:
 

 

 
page links:
 
volume 5 : https://biological-slicer.blogspot.com/2020/09/shoxx-vol-5-september-1991-full-scans.html
volume 8 : https://biological-slicer.blogspot.com/2020/09/shoxx-vol-8-1992-full-scans.html
 

In my case, it’s actually a huge excitement factor. Some faces in the VK scene are so prolific with their involvement that they basically become a seal of quality when their name is attached to a project (like say, Sharaku Kobayashi, Kozi, Shuuji Ishii, etc). When I see that a bandoman who has continuously delivered is going to be part of a new band/side-project, I just know that I’m gonna love it. There's also the "brand new dream team" factor of new bands with old names. I remember when Roman Kyuko formed and I as a fan of both Siblebashir and Sex-Android, was wondering what power-house vocalist Izumi and obscure-style-lover Toru would sound like together (they sound amazing, Toru's love of Rockabilly 'n punk + Izumi voice = perfection).
 
Of course, I get attached to some band members and follow every single one of their side projects/new bands and even their off-stage activities. Some of these guys make the kind of art I want to see in the world and I wanna do everything I can to support that (and them). Plus most of these guys are just interesting people who passionately share their love for art and their personal artistic processes, so it's fun to get to know the people behind the instrument and root for their success because you like them as a person in addition to their musical outputs!
 
It can also be inversely, where I go backwards and check out some old and/or obscure band one of my favs was in it. From humble high school garage bands to subterranean hidden gems to one-time team-ups, going down the band name rabbit hole is something that I think is, as it is, special to the VK scene.

MALICE MIZER
Plastic Tree
cali≠gari
Guniw Tools
 
The last spot is tricky but I'm gonna give it to an old favourite...
 
LAREINE

I dunno wtf was running through Yoshiki's head when he thought that St. Vincent's Starbucks only drinking, socks with sandals wearing, nothing but mayo on white bread eating, clapping when the plane is landing, thinks that pepperoni is spicy audience would be good exposure for him and X Japan. I bet money that it ain't.

Well this is random, but this is Yoshiki so it doesn't really surprise me anymore
 
 

Well this is random, but this is Yoshiki so it doesn't really surprise me anymore
 
 

Over 150$ just to have a half hour's worth of intense eye contact with a very pretty middle-aged Japanese man. Damn, Garists really are nothing but a buncha Shuuji simps 😞

From my understanding this one is a licensed sample but when I found out about I thought it was pretty cool, that synth line certainly didn't sound like their usual production.
The main synth line in 念力 borrows from
you can hear it at the 1:27 mark
 
Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned this particular one here yet but the main riff in ３月５日。sounds like the chorus in Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box"
^0:29
^2:07

I just realized that philosophers are just socially accepted emos. 
 
That says a lot about society though; you're only taken seriously after you die...

Visual Kei PVs are probably one of the reasons why I love VK so Goddamn much. I'm always wanting a triple, heaping helping of all the cheesy Kote VK PV cliches such as:
Staring into the camera while flipping their hair Awkward attempts at dancing Breaking something that's made of glass Broken English White people being used as exotic props (Let's save the racial dynamic discussion for another thread onegai) A little bit 'o fan service  My favorite songs playlist on Youtube is not just for my favorite songs but also serves as where I keep my favorite PVs too! Because a good PV elevates the song, I do believe. 
 
Here's a hilarious, old school classic that never fails to make me laugh! BY-SEXUAL are so underrated
Missalina Rei hold a special place in my heart as a truly unique group that could do extremely silly and serious songs with ease. This PV always makes me feel better when I'm down!
This has been my favorite song for almost 4 years now, and this PV, my favorite for just as long. Despite it looking completely random, the storyline does follow the lyrics... Mostly. The rich visuals, colors, and extravagant European aesthetics within it make for a unique experience, and it was one of the first PVs that got me really into VK and especially Malice Mizer
I love me some Sandwich. I adore how lots of Angura Kei PVs are super low budget and just feature the guys messing around and having fun with each other. It's so down to earth and it's nice to see that music is a fun, artsy side project for these guys and not something they care about for the money. I especially love the dancing part of this PV!
This PV and song got me into Guniw Tools. I checked them out due to curiosity and their strange and unique DIY/Arthaus vibes sucked me in. The music itself is amazing with its insane genre mashing, but that aside, I love the PVs. I can tell that they're directed by FULL because NOOKICKY and SHILFEE PVs have this same direction to them, especially with the whole "foreign location" aspect. This PV seems somewhat jumbled but it actually follows the lyrical theme of being a critical look at Christmas traditions. 
This Pura PV has a very special place in my heart. The first time I ever saw it was when I discovered that it was a hidden PV on the Premium Best disc, with its early 2000s DVD menu and 240p quality in all of its nostalgic glory. It was the first time I ever saw it, but it also felt like I simultaneously have grown up with it by my side. 
 
I also love the PV for just how nonchalantly it treats its weird imagery. Ryutaro shoving a battery into a literal tuna mackerel and listening to the "music" in it(???), all of the falling shoes which are foreshadowing for the members being barefoot at the end of the PV, the sky portal and flying fish at the end of the PV... I have so many questions yet they never get answers. However, I do believe that is the beauty of this piece of art. As always, Plastic Tree don't spell it out for you, you have to tackle the themes for yourself. I'm far from stupid but I'm still struggling to figure out what the Tuna Mackerel Walkman is supposed to symbolize. The sounds of nature? Hmm...
 

I have a lot. I really enjoy vids with live footage in them or a different recording of the song, more a reason to binge PVs on youtube... I'm a big proponent of the old schools ones!! 
This PV never fails to get me emotional. I think Nawa's one of those songs I can listen to on repeat and never get sick of..
 
Best song by the best band evar. Kiyoharu's expressions are kind of ridiculous here which makes this my favorite PV by them. Random tambourine + 90s flowing cloth backdrop + licking lips one too many times + seductive looks into the camera
 
Jakura's kind of a recent find for me, the early 2000's vibes are strong in this one. Sooo good.
 
1:10 .... chills

Late!! But I'm bored and feel like doing this. I'll just say fuck it and go with whatever comes to mind..

Madeth Gray'll - Lucifer
Madeth Gray'll - 劇薬
Mercuro - 弐.××的自慰癖過剰
黒夢 - 浮遊悲
Aliene Maφriage - 『虐』 ～呪ワレタオルゴ－ルノ中デ～

Sometimes I wonder what VK would be like if instead of having band names like →△○～悲しいRoNrIiΚιð§～〠 they had generic rap names like Lil, Big, etc...
 
Lil Diru, Lil X, Lil Larku... Yeah, that puts things into perspective for me, sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad.

I start school this winter and can't help but be really nervous, not really cus of covid, I would've been taking online classes anyway, it mostly has to do with my ability to do well. I won't let my brain scare me away but it's hard just to get out bed most days, and that's especially been the case this year. There's just a lot going on and I hope school with work and all this other shit won't take too much of a toll on my mental health. I generally manage my anxiety quite well but when it comes to stuff like this.. thinking about the future... it gets me super neurotic .. I know that's normal for anyone around my age but I just want to be prepared.
 
I think I'll be okay and that I can handle it, just need to stop ruminating on these catastrophes I've made up in my brain.

There's just something about the fact that when given the technology to fabricate people saying anything (which can be used for unfathomable malicious purposes) the internet decided it wants to just use it to make memes sing a song from a Japanese video game. A small shard of my hope in humanity has been restored.

Yeah Last.fm doesn't really record any official information other than the song length to determine when it can be counted as scrobbled. That's about it. You can literally tag whichever artist and song title on any video you want via web scrobbler and Last.fm will have no choice but to treat it like it's legit. 
 
I just scrobbled "Yoshiki Farts Into the Microphone For Four Minutes" by X Japan off of the "Super Secret New Album Demotape" just to prove my point. 
 
update: I added some artwork to make it even more official *chef's kiss*