sai

Just be glad that he didn't decide to show you his prince albert in the middle of the restaurant :v

I've been on a fair amount of dates last year, but it's not because it was a hobby (although, I guess based on the amount of time I spent trying to get to know people and then seeing them in person, I guess you could say it did add up to actually being a hobby...).
 
I don't really have many crazy stories, but I did have a bad habit of not being ready for a relationship, mentally, which caused its fair share of problems. Whomever said "boys don't cry" has never tried to break it off with one (or several...). While I'm not exactly proud that that happened, I did need the experience of seeing a variety of different people to get a better sense of what I want out of someone I could potentially spend my life with.
 
If I had to pick a craziest, I'd say it was the one time I went to a Chinese restaurant. I barely knew what the guy looked like and he didn't wait for me outside so I had to like...fumble around in a dark place to find someone who -looked- like they were waiting for a date to come in. After talking to him more, all of his stories were pretty much about how he got mad at someone, got drunk, and then did something to fuck up their life. One of his stories was about how he had to go to the bathroom in a class he didn't like and his teacher kept telling him "no." He said something like "Well then I'm going to shit on your projector or I'm going to get up and go" to her to resolve this conflict. I thought I was fairly charming, but I never considered telling such a quality story to someone whom I've just met.
 
The best part, however, was when he was talking about a "hood rat" he had met while drunk who had a nipple piercing in the wrong way (she had it pierced vertically). He asked me if I knew what kind of piercing that looked like (he used that actual name for it, so I wasn't really sure), and when I said "no," he unbuttoned his shirt and showed me his in the middle of the restaurant.
 
Oh.
 
After that, he never texted me again which was because, I'm assuming, I wasn't very interesting to him. I never messaged him either because that's about the point in my life I decided I really wanted standards or something idk

I agree with this! I know all music forums have both leechers and active community members, but in my personal opinion quite a bit of visual kei fans have started to feel so incredibly entitled lately to have the releases they want on the release date and if they don't they start throwing hissyfits about it. The really old VK veterans had to trade to get the stuff they wanted, they had to climb mountains, cross rivers, fight dragons for that one Gazette release
 
I remember when someone bought the limited edition of an album and uploaded it and also promised to make a DVD rip and people legitly started spamming their thread with impatient and rude messages as to why the DVD (which was a full live DVD in ISO so you can imagine the size of that file + the time it would need to rip/upload) wasn't uploaded yet only two days after the initial album was posted.
 
People need to realize that behind every file there is a person who bought that release, probably paid a shitload for shipping (if they're physical copies) and then was so kind to rip it to their computer in a good quality and share it with the rest of the world. You don't even have to press thanks or even say it, I just wish more people realized this before they start calling someone a liar or an ass.
 
Though concerning bitrate, I've always been on CAT's side with this: share it to the fullest or don't share at all. People who upload releases in 128-192kbps and say "go buy the album if you want a better quality" are obviously not sharing the release to share awesome music and give one of their favourite artists more exposure, but purely because they want a big e-penis. "Oh look at my 320/Lossless rip of that album that you can't have lol", is something I'm very much against. On one side I'm like "yeah okay I'm happy people share it at all" (especially since I've gotten into a lot of Japanese regular indie music, where it's a lot harder to come by releases than it is in VK) but sharing bad quality isn't going to solve the problem. If you really share a lower bitrate to have more people buy the album, then I've got some news for you: it doesn't work. A lot of VK fans don't care about bitrate that much (as long as it's listenable), especially if they're young and don't have the cash to import VK CDs from Japan. I actually would feel more opposed to purchasing an album I only have an 128 rip of because it misses a lot of details that I can hear in a 320 rip. Good quality can just really enhance the musical experience, at least, that's how I see it. People who want to buy the album will buy it anyway, this "here's a low quality"-method doesn't work and it makes you look like a douche, sorry.
 
tl;dr - share to the fullest or don't share at all
 
SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.

I really don't care whether my favourite band uses the small amount of money they make from CDs (which isn't quite a lot, considering a lot of the album sales money is used to pay other people involved in the process of making a CD, as someone already stated before me) to take their kids to the zoo or sniff coke from a prostitute's behind. The money they make because I spend it on them is theirs and they can do whatever they want with it, unless they're using it to support neo-nazi's or smth like that lol (then obviously I wouldn't put money into people who support that sort of thing). They put effort and time into making the music so I shouldn't feel entitled just because I bought that CD that they should do what I want them to do.
 
Just buy what you enjoy from a band. They released an album you didn't like? Too bad, then don't buy it. But don't start whining that you spent so much money on them and now they're "doing this to you and you feel so betrayed". A band does whatever they want musically (unless in specific cases with awful contracts or whatever but then again it's still up the band itself to decide to go major and in the process lose some of their individuality) and if you don't enjoy it you should just not support it.

I agree with this! I know all music forums have both leechers and active community members, but in my personal opinion quite a bit of visual kei fans have started to feel so incredibly entitled lately to have the releases they want on the release date and if they don't they start throwing hissyfits about it. The really old VK veterans had to trade to get the stuff they wanted, they had to climb mountains, cross rivers, fight dragons for that one Gazette release
 
I remember when someone bought the limited edition of an album and uploaded it and also promised to make a DVD rip and people legitly started spamming their thread with impatient and rude messages as to why the DVD (which was a full live DVD in ISO so you can imagine the size of that file + the time it would need to rip/upload) wasn't uploaded yet only two days after the initial album was posted.
 
People need to realize that behind every file there is a person who bought that release, probably paid a shitload for shipping (if they're physical copies) and then was so kind to rip it to their computer in a good quality and share it with the rest of the world. You don't even have to press thanks or even say it, I just wish more people realized this before they start calling someone a liar or an ass.
 
Though concerning bitrate, I've always been on CAT's side with this: share it to the fullest or don't share at all. People who upload releases in 128-192kbps and say "go buy the album if you want a better quality" are obviously not sharing the release to share awesome music and give one of their favourite artists more exposure, but purely because they want a big e-penis. "Oh look at my 320/Lossless rip of that album that you can't have lol", is something I'm very much against. On one side I'm like "yeah okay I'm happy people share it at all" (especially since I've gotten into a lot of Japanese regular indie music, where it's a lot harder to come by releases than it is in VK) but sharing bad quality isn't going to solve the problem. If you really share a lower bitrate to have more people buy the album, then I've got some news for you: it doesn't work. A lot of VK fans don't care about bitrate that much (as long as it's listenable), especially if they're young and don't have the cash to import VK CDs from Japan. I actually would feel more opposed to purchasing an album I only have an 128 rip of because it misses a lot of details that I can hear in a 320 rip. Good quality can just really enhance the musical experience, at least, that's how I see it. People who want to buy the album will buy it anyway, this "here's a low quality"-method doesn't work and it makes you look like a douche, sorry.
 
tl;dr - share to the fullest or don't share at all
 
SORRY FOR THE LONG POST.

I just bought a pair of these AKG K 240 Semi-Open Studio Headphones last month on Zess and Sai's recommendation and I've been using them for almost a month and they are quite an amazing pair of desktop headphones for at home use, Totally loving them and for the price of 90 bucks you can't beat it. They are also extremely comfortable, I've worn them for hours on end without any discomfort or need for readjustment. The sound is also superb.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001ARCFA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

His "voice quality" has gotten better, but I'm not happy with his execution. His style, especially from Division and on wards,is IMO flat, boring, and just weak. He doesn't back his vocals with much substance and nowadays his melodies just drag on and on.

Some shitty quality phone pics of myself, my little brother, and my older sister that we took today.

Interesting thread Zess! I have quite a few album covers that I really like, but I'll try to narrow it down to three of my biggest favourites.
 
Boris - New Album
 

 
Reason: Well basically Boris is kind of hit/miss when it comes to album covers to me. Their covers are usually very simplistic, a single colour and the name of the album + artist. New Album however matches the style of music the album presents. It's light, yet even though there are a lot of things going on in the image, it still manages to portray a very calm atmosphere. The use of colour and mixing of such is done really well, yet Boris didn't drift far from their usual methods, as the woman painted here is most probably Wata, the band's guitarist.
 
 
虹の彼方 - Seven Colors Variations -
 

 
Reason: The album cover is actually made up of two parts, the other side is on the back, but as it was hard to find in a normal size, here's the front. This is an album of an electronics artist, and what I love about electronics is how calm and atmospheric that music can be. A cover like this matches the type of music well. It's simple, the brush strokes rough but accurate and the font clear but not over the top. The wooden border looks better in the complete picture, to be quite honest, so I'm going to disregard that one.
 
 
RADWIMPS - Xと○と罪と
 

 
Reason: I guess this is a very personal choice, but I do love this cover. The black background with the huge mash-up of colours that are all unorganized yet still manage to show recognizable shapes are in some strange compatible with how this album sounds. And let's be honest, it's just pretty to look at.

Interesting thread Zess! I have quite a few album covers that I really like, but I'll try to narrow it down to three of my biggest favourites.
 
Boris - New Album
 

 
Reason: Well basically Boris is kind of hit/miss when it comes to album covers to me. Their covers are usually very simplistic, a single colour and the name of the album + artist. New Album however matches the style of music the album presents. It's light, yet even though there are a lot of things going on in the image, it still manages to portray a very calm atmosphere. The use of colour and mixing of such is done really well, yet Boris didn't drift far from their usual methods, as the woman painted here is most probably Wata, the band's guitarist.
 
 
虹の彼方 - Seven Colors Variations -
 

 
Reason: The album cover is actually made up of two parts, the other side is on the back, but as it was hard to find in a normal size, here's the front. This is an album of an electronics artist, and what I love about electronics is how calm and atmospheric that music can be. A cover like this matches the type of music well. It's simple, the brush strokes rough but accurate and the font clear but not over the top. The wooden border looks better in the complete picture, to be quite honest, so I'm going to disregard that one.
 
 
RADWIMPS - Xと○と罪と
 

 
Reason: I guess this is a very personal choice, but I do love this cover. The black background with the huge mash-up of colours that are all unorganized yet still manage to show recognizable shapes are in some strange compatible with how this album sounds. And let's be honest, it's just pretty to look at.

If I see any more personal attacks in this thread, may they be implied at one person or just aimed at a broad group of people, or any attempt to put down people's opinions by ad hominems, I will hand out warnings on the double. Get over yourself people, and accept that not everyone likes the same things you do.
 
My banhammer is yearning for some action after a long period of rest, so be careful.
 

Unique vocals isn't equal to good or listenable vocals. Unique vocals can be horrid and unlistenable as well.
 
 
I don't mind Jin's vocals at all. I'd love for this to be a throwback to old Nega or something, before they decided to swap their bass drums for a typewriter and all that shit and got bad. Something in the lines of early Nega would be very, very welcomed.

ITT: people insulting other people that don't share their opinions about a vocalist. MH, I thought we were past this. If you have nothing to post about the band THE BLACK SWAN, don't post.

If he gets some good instrumentalists around him this time, at least it'll be a good band with a bad vocalist. That's a step up from Nega.

Vocals are just another instrument to my ears. I listen to plenty of bands both with and without vocals. And just as with drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and whatnot, if it's done poorly it can ruin the whole song, but it doesn't necessary have to ruin it either. What's important is that it is interesting as a whole. If a song has nothing beside good vocals, good guitars, good bass, good drums OR good keyboards it won't be enough to keep me interesting. Not even close. If there's only one element in the music that's good, then it really isn't good. Ya? Ya.

I need both. If there is a really REALLY great vocalist at work then sometimes I can overlook a lack of good instrumentals, but mostly it's necessary. Especially with good audio gear, hearing small details in the instrumental is great and adds to the song in general. I can't listen to a song where the same riff is just chugged 5 minutes in a row.
 
Vocals are not needed for good tracks either imo. Some instrumental bands are just fantastic without. I've heard progressive rock bands and also post-rock bands without vocals where there really was no vocalist necessary.

tl;dr tbqh. Pokemon games are serious business.
 
Anyway the entire proces sounds tedious. I'd rather play the game for myself and not battle people online instead of spending all that time breeding "the perfect team". It's just a game, after all. I'm the simpleton who just catches Pokemon, raises them, gets attached to the team I've used all through the game and never switches it in for others.

Time to make myself a list:
- Takanori Nishikawa (TMR/abingdon boys school)
- ASAGI (D)
- Atsushi Sakurai (BUCK-TICK)
- Hayato (DuelJewel)
- Ryuuichi Kawamura (LUNA SEA)
- Yoshiyuki (heidi.)
- Isshi (Kagrra, though not the very best due too his operations, he still has a very comforting sound which results in me adding him to this list)
- Satsuki (ex-RENTRER EN SOI)
- Mao (SID)

Finally got around to watching the first season with a buddy and i would have to say it wasn't as bad as i thought it was, rather decent actually. I could watch it again if I had too

Wasn't too big on INFERIORITY COMPLEX nor EXODUS, but I did like LIGHTNING and BALLAD and since I guess these two will be most probably on the album, I'm curious to see what it'll bring.

Congrats kai! I know how long you and manda have worked on this and I'm really proud of you both! It looks fantastic! I would've loved to apply for the staff, but I currently don't have the time to help out anywhere besides MH itself Good luck with the rest of the work!

LOL "force" people to come to a show by pulling a dick move and get treated like a dick. 

I felt this sort of thread was relevant, because I've seen a lot of this in (especially) VK communities, both on this website as on other websites like tumblr, twitter, etc.
 
And as a side-question, do you think certain bands have a large anti-following because they're popular, rather than because their anti-following doesn't like their music? Lastly, without all of the negativity, do you think Japanese rock / VK discussions would still happen / be as interesting to engage in?
 
I'll post my opinion later when there are a few replies.

I felt this sort of thread was relevant, because I've seen a lot of this in (especially) VK communities, both on this website as on other websites like tumblr, twitter, etc.
 
And as a side-question, do you think certain bands have a large anti-following because they're popular, rather than because their anti-following doesn't like their music? Lastly, without all of the negativity, do you think Japanese rock / VK discussions would still happen / be as interesting to engage in?
 
I'll post my opinion later when there are a few replies.

I'll write reviews to my list later (when I'm not burried in schoolwork), but here's an initial list of full albums that I enjoyed:
 
Japanese
AI - MORIAGARO (pretty standard pop-album, but AI's voice makes it just a little different. VOICE is what pop music should be)
Boris - Präparat (Boris going back to good old droning after a couple of experimental albums. The result is great, with Bataille de Sucre being the gem on this album)
cinema staff - 望郷 (not their best stuff imo, but still very enjoyable. I just love cinema staff's vocals, they're great)
downy - 第五作品集『無題』(I only recently discovered them through CAT5 so all I can say that this album is great?)
LAGITAGIDA - TUTELA!! (instrumental album from the new band of school food punishment's ex-keyboard. This wasn't what I expected when this band started out, but I'm all glad that they chose to do what they are doing now. This album is structured, yet all over the place and it just WORKS)
LEO今井 - Made from Nothing (only got into this guy about a month ago, but this is probably my favourite album of the year. The first two tracks are a bit delusive of how the actual album works, but all in all it's such a great album that I can forgive that part)
M-Koda - Generating Arrow Diagram (ambient electronics that really aren't for everyone, and also not for any time. You need to be in the mood for this kind of stuff. If you're into it, this is simply a magnificent album. Abyss is probably the best song off the record and is haunting yet relaxing. This guy gets better with every album)
NICO Touches the Walls - Shout to the Walls! (I already reviewed this one in the staff list, so you can go read my review there)
ONE OK ROCK - 人生x僕= (not OOR's best album, but enjoyable enough to make the list. Plenty of catchy tracks, a couple of nice ballads, not too complicated. It's nothing groundbreaking, yet it's OOR's most mature album yet)
Vegpher - PLUS (also electronics, though a lot less ambient that M-Koda. It took me a while to get into it, and towards the end it has the tendency to get a bit boring (due too the track lengths in the middle, most tracks are over 5 minutes long), but overall it's still a very sollid record)
アルカラ - むにむにの樹 (basically this also made my list of favourite releases, yet I don't think this is Arukara's best release. It's a bit weak compared to Drama and BOY NEXT DOOR, but it has a couple of nice tracks that I can't just disregard)
凛として時雨 - i'mperfect (really? It's Rin Toshite Shigure, end of review)
 
Non-Japanese
Brian Tyler - Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag OST (I'm a sucker for folk elements and good game OSTs. Brian Tyler combines both in his OST for the new Assassin's Creed game. Even though the game hasn't been my favourite of the series so far, the OST is probably the best OST AC had so far, on the same level on Lorne Balfe's work for AC3)
EXO - XOXO/Growl (debut album by Korean boy band EXO. Great amount of catchy tracks and fun songs, just give it a spin)
f(x) - Pink Tape (SM Entertainment nailed stuff so hard this year jfc f(x)' album was as flawless as EXO's album. Probably the best f(x) release so far)
G-Dragon - Coup D'Etat (preferred it over Heartbreaker. Not my favourite K-pop album of the year, but good enough to be included on the list. GD knows how to write non-catchy pop songs and still make them work).
Girls' Generation - Love & Peace (my flawless queens are back in Japan, which means it's time to kick ass and bitchslap everyone off the charts with another amazing Japanese album. And they did. Idk what's going on here but can GG just stay in Japan and release everything there because it's just so much better than their Korean stuff)
Rhian Sheehan - Stories from Elsewhere (one of the few non-Korean albums on this list, lol. Completely instrumental album, basically a giant OST, but one for the world. Rhian Sheehan writes his compositions on places he's been to, which makes this an incredible experience)
SHINee - BOYS MEET U (SHINee released 3 albums and a mini-album this year, what have you been doing. Their Japanese album BOYS MEET U is a lot better than their previous Japanese album and is filled with catchy tracks, original content, and all ballads are actually really interesting for once)
SHINee - Dream Girl - the misconceptions of you - (not as good as BOYS MEET U imo but Spoiler is such a great song that I couldn't leave this album out. Dream Girl is typical SHINee, better than Why So Serious imo)