Number Girl

THEY MIGHT HAVE HEALTH CARE BUT AT LEAST WE HAVE NETFLIX

Fuck this mentality, it seriously needs to go away.
 
This isn't personally directed at you slsr, so don't think I'm being all rah rah rah at you okay?
It just frustrates me personally though because this mentality is just so prevalent among so many people that don't actually create and make things on their own.
 
It's that whole idea that because it's easy to rip and share something or someone is doing something they love it should then just be free? Why? Why do people think that is okay?
You see this among writers, illustrators, graphic designers, web developers and so on. Just because someone spent all their time creating a mock website for some shit tier home business. The designer should just expect all that work to be free because it's so easy to just hit ctrl A and ctrl C on all their code and graphics? Someone that spent weeks working on illustrations for some shitty web app game that will never go anywhere should expect not to be paid because it's easy to just ctrl c on all their files?
 
Then you hear, oh well you're doing what you love so just be happy people even want to use your work. What the hell? Why is that okay? I like writing shitty broken SQL statements all day at my day job, so just because I like doing that I should then work for free right? No of course not and artists whether they're a web designer or a writer or a musician should be paid for the work they do. Regardless of how easily shareable it is.
 
I know that most artist get more bang for their buck by touring and selling merch. Yet it's so short sighted to think that not buying something doesn't help the artist or the greedy evil label eats it up. It helps keep that "scene" afloat by helping producers and labels keep their artists funded and to produce more new artist.
 
**edit**
 
Quick edit but I do agree labels and distributors should get with it already and deal with it. Not so much that they should just give away their music and product for free but make it more globally accessible. That old notion of staggering releases in different markets is the most backward ass thing imaginable. Avatar was heavily pirated as soon as it was released in North America and can you guess what areas pirated it the most? The places that had to wait a week or more for it to release locally. 
 
I understand it's not sustainable to release physical CDs, merch, toys and other items in markets that won't sell. Yet restricting digital sells??
 
Even though I have a Japanese Amazon account, I can't buy digital music from their website simply because I am not in Japan. What the hell I am trying to give you money? Why are you stopping me? I don't understand that notion  at all. So like anyone else, if I really want that release I'll find a way to get it and it may not be the most legal way of doing it too!

It's not your music, anyway. You didn't write it, or have any credits whatsoever. You're just a fortunate person with enough money to buy the CD or DVD from your favourite artist, and then stick their CD in their computer and click a few buttons on their iTunes to rip the music to the library. Or at least, that's my opinion. I'm usually too slow to upload, also most things I buy are either old or of musicians that got a pretty solid fanbase so everything gets shared almost the instant someone gets it. It happens inevitably that no matter when someone password blocks their files, there is someone sneaky enough to reupload the file somewhere else anyway so everyone has easy access to it. 
 
I wouldn't really care if someone reposted/reuploaded my rips without credit, since it's not I who they should credit in the first place. It's the musician.

Those blogs are partially the reason I don't share. I don't want to be associated with all those reposts all over Google. I listen to mostly small indies bands and these guys probably Google themselves so seeing their latest release the second or third result on Google probably doesn't make them very happy.
I have shared older indies kote kei stuff which probably ended up on Evil en Lucifer but I don't mind. Those bands broke up over a decade ago, their material out of print and are long forgotten. So those items being reposted don't bother me, but I would prefer it be reuploaded.
I think once one of those blogs sniped my hosted image so I replaced it with Goatsees and they had that on their front page for a day or two. That was hilarious.

"People won't go to our shows if you share our live distributed stuff!!!"
 
No, actually, people just dont' go to your shows.
 

Exactly, so if I'm the only white person to bother buying something from some trashy no name indie band. I shouldn't talk about it because someone might get upset. Fuck those people and their butthurt. I know there's a difference between flaunting but I don't ever recall seeing anything like that on MH.
 
For the most part the only nasty responses I've received from people where on Last.fm and at one point good old Livejournal. MH most people aren't that bad and I'm fine with trading.
 
Basically my stance on downloading is, I do download but almost rarely these days but I still grab something here and there. I wouldn't even be a fan of the music I like today if it wasn't for downloading. However I am mature enough to know that music isn't free and I should do my part as a fan to support not just the artist but the industry as a whole. Sure label eats up a lot of the profit but that profit is usually then turn around into covering studio time, touring costs and so forth. If VK bands came to my city I would do what I do now with metal bands and just wait until they come through on a tour and buy their release then when they'll get the most back from my purchase, but since I can't do that with VK bands. At least my support helps keep the label, producers, distributors afloat so that they can sign and produce more artist.
 
With that said, my second stance on downloading is if it's a super duper poor man indies band, I don't feel comfortable sharing the material since it'll effect them the most as oppose to some major band or even successful indies artist like something from PS Company or even formerly UCP. Someone else will post that stuff anyway, so I don't bother sharing from those artists.
 
I prefer sharing music from inactive bands anyway, especially lesser known acts since their stuff is mostly long forgotten.
 
Anyway, I'm posting from the most annoying keyboard ever so if Im not clear on something, how about you try typing on this piece of shit tablet keyboard.

Naw, it's quite understandable and common knowledge there are v-kei/j-rock fans without jobs or barely make ends meet so they can't afford to purchase any Japanese music. It can get very expensive with shipping costs, etc.  I just feel like, "Hey, I saved up the money to purchase this, because I like to do my best to support my favorite artists and it's the only way I can being a foreign fan." Then it bugs me when I am excited about purchasing something etc., share that info on a forum, and people bug me about sharing it and I say no. Then they treat me like shit. Sorry that I don't believe in illegal downloading? Does that make me better than anyone else? No. I am no better than anyone else. I just won't share, and there are other people like me with probably similar opinions.

Requesting something because you're interested in hearing it is one thing.
 
 
Demanding you share it because you're entitled to have it is another.
 
 
Tact makes all the difference.

As long as Trombe doesn't disband, everything's fine

source?   

UNPOPULAR OPINION NUMERO ICHI: I don't think people that don't buy any VK albums should be allowed to criticize or complain about band qualities when they aren't doing anything to help the genre economically. Money is a voting system for bands and the bands that get more money will live longer and disband less. (Look at how often bands disband.) Also don't think people should criticize a band for disbanding conditionally if they can't get a minimum number of people to a live. Yes it sucks. Yes the economy is bad for all. Yes Japanese cds are expensive and it's difficult to go see bands perform but I also think it's bullshit to refer to conditional disbandment as a trend or blackmail. Being in a band is a job for these people and they need the money to keep the band going and if they can't afford to buy outfits and make up and equipment and rent live houses for a night then they aren't going to be able to keep being a band. Everything costs money and being a greedy spoiled gaijin getting shit for free and bitching about the state of the scene (that you aren't even a part of locally in the country of Japan) is just redundant. 
Which leads to:
 
UNPOPULAR OPINION DOS: THE VISUAL KEI SCENE FOR PEOPLE NOT IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF JAPAN IS THE INTERNET AND THE RANDOM TOURS. VK scene for us is THE INTERNET. With out we'd be screwed. The only way you can bitch about the scene is if you've been to concerts in Japan and have experienced what the scene is like in it's native home land. Here in America the scene is American's laughing at Dir en Grey because they went to see Korn and Deftones and don't understand how the band got on stage or the random acts at lame ass anime conventions. Maybe if us foreigners support the bands then we'd have better lives and more incentive for bands to tour this country more. So if you really love save up your pennies to buy cds and dvds. I can't tell you how many Girugamesh, Dir en Grey, LM.C, etc CDs and DVDs onsale at American CD shops for 3-6 bucks a CD and 10 for a DVD. Which just proves how much isn't being bought.
 
UNPOPULAR OPINION SURII: Don't request high level rips if you rip your own shit in low quality bullshit. 
 
Unpopular opinion FOAA: Tacky bands that recycle boring sounds and don't keep it fresh (The GazettE being the first to jump to mind,) aren't trying hard enough and need to step it the fuck up before I track them down and throw excrement in their faces. Blending slipknot riffs with luna sea sounds isn't innovative or interesting. It's lazy. 

My Dad to this day hates the Beetles but that's because he has an older sister that was swept up in Beetlemania and so he had to endure the whole thing to the bitter end through her.
 
I think a lot of the angry little boys mad about Bieber have sisters (or even Mom's) that are caught up in the Bieber storm. So going online and venting about how much they hate him is their only outlet from the agony they must go through. 
 
So I think there's a lot of that really and not so much sexism hatred or something (I'm not totally following what I just read). Yet just kinda take a step back and realize that these are probably dumb little boys that have to go to school everyday and deal with girls with Bieber pictures all over their binders and lockers. It might seem like they're going out of their way to hate on Bieber online but they probably have to deal with Bieber fans more than you may think.

I totally agree with this.
Like, it REALLY all comes down to personal preference with things like that.
If music makes you happy, then listen to it.
thats pretty much it.

I love many songs by Billy Joel. I know some of it can be sappy and romantic, but I some of the songs hold some meaning for me.
 
HOWEVER I fucking can't STAND the song "Piano Man." 
 
I think when I first heard it, I thought it was pretty interesting but now I'm sick of it and it just pisses me off. I say this is "unpopular" because almost  everyone I know starts making dramatic orgasm noises every time it comes on the radio and then start going on a rant about how music was so great back then. It's. Not. The. Only. Popular. Song. With. A. Fucking. Piano. In. It. 

One day I was listening to Linkin Park and the next thing I knew, I was knee-deep in Japanese trannies.

Hmm... I don't think there's any particular "road", but I suppose there are a few different tiers. These only apply to VK bands in Tokyo, so I don't know how it'd be for others.
 
Tier 1:
This one is the lowest of the low and are where bands you've never heard of play at. This includes venues such as Urawa Narciss, Ikebukuro Cyber and Birth Shinjuku(formerly Holiday Shinjuku).
 
Tier 2:
Bands who play these venues generally(but not always) have a slightly bigger audience. Venues in this tier would be ones like the Ruido venues(K2, K3, K4), SHIBUYA-REX, Takadanobaba Area and Ikebukuro EDGE.
 
Tier 3:
Once bands have made it here, they are usually pulling in much larger audiences(these venues hold 500+ capacity). The big venues here would be Shibuya O-West, Shinjuku LOFT and Shinjuku BLAZE.
 
Tier 4:
There's probably a lot of mixing inbetween tier 3 and 4, but I'll consider tier 4 to be venues with 1000+ capacity. The livehouses here would be ones like Shibuya O-East(~1300), Akasaka Blitz(~1300), SHIBUYA-AX(~1500) and Zepp Tokyo(~2700).
 
Tier 5:
God-tier. If you've made it here, then you've pretty much made it as a band. This includes the biggest venues like Budokan(~14,000), Saitama Super Arena(~37,000) and Tokyo Dome(~56,000).
 
This is by no means a definitive guide, but should at least give you an idea on "how far" a band is along that road

I think what they mean is that Versailles trapped themselves in the frilly aristocratic vampire theme. Not so much VK itself limiting them but the specific theme that Versailles set themselves up as.
With that in mind but I think a positive look on VK is that it will oftentimes allow bands to experiment in an environment that will let them survive. Shit like Da'vidノ使徒:aL, CODOMO A and Missalina Rei would probably fizzle out and die over night if they tried to play as a non visual band.

Even if lyrics are translated properly, they still cannot bring forward a message that the lyricist might have meant originally. Japanese and English are interpreted in complete different ways, and in my eyes it almost impossible to transfer the exact meaning.

That can be true~ There are horrible lyrics in the VK world. But also, there are inaccurate, horrible translations of songs too... I feel like unless you know Japanese fluently, you shouldn't be translating VK songs haha 

The real X or more specifically Hide and Taiji together with the rest of X

Since I can't stand the Mejibray/GazettE-stanning that's taken over this topic and has gotten away from the original intent, I'm bringing it back. I'm also giving you all something new to talk about since new unpopular opinions have ceased to surface over the last page or so.

Visual kei is not a genre or an aesthetic movement. It's a paradoxical manifestation of an anomaly against the negatives of Japanese culture.

This is closely related to the problem of "what is visual kei?".

Stolen shamelessly from Wikipedia, a genre is defined as
 
 
We can stop right here. Before you start processing the definition, ask yourself "what is visual kei"? We can have a ten page discussion about that in this topic right now and still not come to a consensus. Visual kei is an open-ended, ill-defined term exploited by both us and the bands in the scene to refer to whatever we please. We agree to disagree on what the term is supposed to mean and take it at face value when someone tells us that a band is or isn't visual kei anymore.

By definition, visual kei can't be a genre because we can only define it by what it is not, and very conservatively at that. The difference between newbies and veterans in the scene mostly comes down to context sensitivity determining band classification. What do I mean by this? Well, we can all look at a band or an idol group and very clearly say "this is not visual kei". But if we look at a visual kei band next to a band that uses theatrical make-up and aesthetic elements, we get into murky territory. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Newbies lack the knowledge to make this distinction, and utilize only the looks to say whether or not a band is visual. Then, they get lashed upon by fans of that band who "don't want to associate this band with those bands" for getting it wrong, and they learn. Eventually they learn only to label a band as visual kei if they describe themselves as such or if someone else before them says it first. [1]

The thing is, the newbies have the right approach at first. They get into the scene, they hear that it's a genre, and seek to classify it. But before long they realize that over the span of twenty years, visual kei has birthed bands that sound very, very different. Going off of sound alone, all bands that were ever considered visual kei can't be connected short of a definition so vague it's useless. So then we turn to the costumes and theatrics and claim that as a large component of what makes a band visual. But even there, we can piece together different bands that don't look anything alike - some bands which don't look remotely visual at all - and claim they are all visual kei. Hell, lynch. has looked like a normal band for quite some time and there's still a heated debate to whether or not they're visual kei. On the first page of this very topic, one of the unpopular opinions was that "Dir en grey is still visual". Once again, you now have bands that have very little in common aesthetic wise and short of a very vague, useless definition we have nothing to go off of.

So I've basically run through this problem, haven't given a solution and haven't explained my point (or have I?). What gives?

Well as a fandom we tend to separate visual kei bands based on decades, so let's do that:

- The mysterious late 80's, which most of us like to pretend doesn't exist, full of bands that play some form of rock or metal.
- The music of the 90's, which is usually thought of as bands inspired by Victorian and goth costumes playing...well, whatever they want.
- The 00's, which was populated by lots of flashy costumes, usually subdivided into subkeis to better be able to classify and understand bands but still full of bands playing whatever they want.
- The 10's, which seems to have a preponderance of electronic elements in the music but for the most part still full of plenty of different bands playing whatever they please.

And even here we tend to simplify this as to "80s HAIR METAL, 90'S GOFF MUZIK, 00'S KEI ON KEI ACTION/RAWRCORE, 10'S WUB-WUBCORE", which illustrates the points I made above. As a fan, you get to a point where you realize that the term can't be defined and thus you stop. The working definition is "If a band wants to be visual kei, they'll be visual kei. When they don't, they're no longer visual kei". [2]  So doesn't this describe a movement, which brings together people just as different for a common cause? Let's go through all of the things that should make a movement and see if it lines up.

Well let's see:

- Coordinated group action. Well, visual kei isn't very rebellious or subversive, outside of the low barrier to entry being offensive to some people's ears and the costumes being offensive to some people's eyes. Unless there is this entire "point" they all share that we've missed for forever and a day, I believe that most bands focus on staying functional over staying Stallman-esque in their beliefs. [3] And frankly, I can't blame them. Pragmatism rules. [4]

- A common cause. But what is that cause and do all bands share it? As I said above, we really don't think of visual kei as something as much as we do as an entity against something. But even that "entity" changes over time, reflected by the different forms of visual kei. So do the bands of the late 80's and the bands of today share the same goal? Yes and no. [5]

- People from different walks of life. We can't say too much because we don't know the details of most musicians. Note however that on a macro scale most visual kei bands are Japanese and many tend to gravitate around a few cities on the mainland. We also can surmise that a lot of these musicians are poor or struggling. We also haven't seen the scene take root in any other countries with similar situations. In this sense, it represents a truly Japanese problem - disillusioned youth versus "The System". If it's a movement here, it's on a small scale.

Visual kei is too anti-classification to be a genre and too inconclusive to be a movement. So what is it?

My admittedly semantic description of visual kei is that of a paradoxical anomaly. It exists, full of people perpetuating it unaware of it's purpose, fighting against an issue that plagues the Japanese society whilst embodying almost every characteristic of that society. What is that issue? Well, I believe the issue lies in the extreme conformity and deference to authority found in the society, coupled with high expectations placed upon every member of that society, along with a thirty year recession that has stagnated the Japanese economy and makes it hard to achieve the life every Japanese person feels it is their duty to obtain.

A strictly Japanese problem. [6]

Visual kei exists as an antagonist to everything in that society, even definition, because it refuses to conform. It's piloted by people who know full they may never see success but toil anyway as a gigantic "FUCK YOU" to their society. It's also mostly populated by young people with the drive and ambition to change their surroundings but no means to achieve that change (and older people who exploit these young people for the cash they'll never see, bringing the entire scene into territory so meta it hurts). When those kids grow up and lose their drive, as after years of fighting against this nebulous problem they watch it shift into something new but no less harmful, they give up, slip into the routine, and become working salary men that can't be identified. It's an anomaly that just is, and that anomaly happens to make noise that we like to listen to.

To pigeonhole visual kei into anything else misses the political and cultural significance that caused it's birth.

tl;dr - Visual kei is the Japanese "hippie culture" of the 60's, with no Vietnam War in sight to bring it to an end. [7]

Notes:

Here I extrapolate on points that I wanted to make above and didn't because I didn't want to go on a tangent and not come back.

[1] This is my personal belief behind why revival bands like Grieva and Ru:natic will never see a resurgence. The forms that visual kei took in the 90's was in resistance to the culture and expectations of the 90's. The world is an irreversibly different place and thus visual kei must change along with it. This is also why I believe that visual kei is not an aesthetic - the fashion world moves in cycles much shorter than 30 years. Visual kei hasn't repeated a phase to date. That's why I believe it supersedes such a definition.

[2] Not only does this loose definition work but it reflects a lot of what I get into later in my argument. Most importantly, that it gives an element of control back to the band. I've read in multiple places that the Japanese populace don't feel like they have much choice - they must succeed in school, get into better schools, succeed there, get a good job, start a family, etc. - and then must face a wall of depression when they realize that most can't get to the head of the pack and they didn't. By sticking to this definition, bands can have a say in a core element which defines them.

[3] Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU Project. Read up on him to see what ideals unbounded by pragmatism really is. Hint: it sounds like crazy.

[4] When bands have no motivation or have run out of reasons to continue they sometimes disband for no reason. On the other side of that coin, some bands are so tight knit that they feel as if they can't function if a member leaves. But at the heart of it all, many bands don't put ideals and beliefs over success. Those that have them use them alongside the visuals and their music - and even then if it becomes too hard they quit or if they become successful they tone it down or cut it out completely. See, NoGoD.

[5] Even more interestingly, visual kei itself tends to conform in ways, which subverts the point of the whole thing. It's like a military group led by a dictator attacking a dictatorial government for its evils. This is why I refrain from calling it a movement, because it itself embodies the very principles it seeks to combat.

[6] Which is why "overseas visual kei" will never take off. The societal conditions are not right for it to spawn. YOHIO and Seremedy are second-order simulacra.

[7] After WWII, Japan isn't allowed to have a real standing army so it isn't in it's best interest to get into conflicts. I meant it literally. In another sense, you could say that the counterculture of the 60's was against "The System" but manifested itself through the War. Once the War ended, the culture had little reason to exist. Since visual kei doesn't have such a clear cut enemy, it will continue on for much longer. This is also why visual kei can't "die".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-5kboQCokM
 
it has leaked. I have not listened yet
 
edit: listened now.
it sounds very much like shine/lunacy era compared to The end of the dream which was more like luna sea/image/eden/mother, and since im a bigger fan of their old school discography its not very fun. I love shine and lunacy as well tho, so obviously this single is amazing eitherway.

Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one who's getting sick of the "let's all bash on the Gazette" trend. I'm not very fond of the Gazette either, but it's not like they are the epitome of everything that's awful and wrong with visual kei as many people make them out to be. -__- At least, I think if people do pick on them, they should have better reasons for doing so besides "the fandom is annoying," etc. 
 
And I think the whole "indie cred" shit is the most IDIOTIC concept ever. That's doesn't just go for visual kei bands either, but all music everywhere. Indie bands can be shitty too. Indie bands can be repetitive and unoriginal. I can't stand it when people just automatically flock to something because they only have a certain number of listens on Last.FM or whatever and deem it good when it actually isn't or is mediocre (this is especially true for certain non-visual J-indies fans, good god have some discretion people). I feel like worrying about how underground or unpopular the music is just defeats the purpose of listening to music in the first place - to enjoy it, to be inspired by it, etc. 

I'll probably get shot for this, but now that there's a thread for these I'm going to give it a try anyway.
 
I simply do not understand people who claim they love MEJIBRAY for the vocals. That is mainly because in my ears the vocalist sounds awful. I know there are two kinds of awful, as in "I don't like the sound of his voice or the way he uses it but technically he can still sing" and then there's the "there are so many things wrong technically that it just sounds like shit" option. For me, MEJIBRAY's vocalist falls in the second category. His screams are awful, his regular vocals are weak and usually can't carry the music and he's out of tune about 99% of the time. Like I said, I'm probably going to get some angry replies to this but this is MY OPINION. I'm not stating it as fact, nor am I trying to shit on your favourite vocalist/band. I just can't listen to him.
 
also guys hating on Gazette is so 2007. Idk I'm not even a Gazette fan but I feel like quite some people hate on Gazette because it's popular to hate (while actually listening to tons of indie versions of Gazette themselves, GOTTA RAISE MY INDIE-CRED).