plastic_rainbow

Wanted to write this up sooner, but better late than never!
 
Spent the end of April/beginning of May in Japan - during this time I got to attend two live events, this was the first of those. I've been a die-hard Aie fan since deadman so I absolutely couldn't pass up an opportunity to see him (and Kazu, too!!) play live.  I quite enjoy most of the god and death stars output and had heard many good things about eStrial so I ventured out to Ikebukuro on a rainy evening to see them do their thing.
 
It was one of my first nights in Tokyo and I am a bit, uh, directionally challenged without the aid of a map in larger city settings, so despite leaving quite early I missed my first train changeover and ended up turning a 15 minute trek into a 45 minute anxious train ride, landing me at the show 15 minutes late and a few songs into eStrial's set.
 
I descended the staircase into RUIDO K3 and emerged into the long, narrow live hall, quickly moving to the back of the rather full crowd. eStrial played a set of jazzy, upbeat tunes that had half the crowd participating in some light furi. Vocalist/guitarist Yumeji slid effortlessly through every manner of funky lick, matched in skill and precision by bassist Mina Takahara and drummer Atsuto (who was looking a fair bit more casual here than his time in Sugar - ten years ago at this point???). 
 
I wish I knew more of their songs as I found them to be a ton of fun, bassist Mina being a particular standout as she really knew how to keep energy levels high. She was sporting a huge grin almost the entire set and kept the entire crowd engaged. Much of the band banter made me wish I had a far better grasp of Japanese than I do (read: somewhere between almost none and not being a total know-nothing ass 😶) as Atsuto had the crowd chuckling quite a bit between songs. 
 
Being that this was one of a few two-man dates these bands had booked, it seemed clear that there was a really strong camaraderie between everyone in both bands! There was a lot of commentary that I picked up regarding Aie himself and the crowd no doubt seemed excited by his presence and the god and death stars' forthcoming set.
 
eStrial played for maybe a total of 45 minutes before the curtains closed, sending the crowd back to the bar in the corner to turn in their drink tickets. After a few moments passed, dedicated fans lined up right against the stage and I took this opportunity to grab a more ideal spot closer to the middle of the crowd. 
 
We could see band members shuffling past the entryway and behind the stage curtain and surely enough it wasn't long until a dramatic, orchestral track started playing over the PA. The crowd directed their full attention to the stage and as soon as the curtains were drawn, we were greeted by the god and death stars + Yumeji of eStrial! I found myself wondering if we were going to see Yumeji providing some secondary guitar for their set, but the ensemble jumped into a track that I didn't recognize at all, a poppy number that had Aie and Yumeji vocalizing in a goofy sort of way. The song lasted only a few minutes before the curtains closed once again, the audience left chuckling and eager. 
 
Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long, as the god and death stars proper were revealed as the curtains drew back again. Aie looked just as "cool casual" as I could have anticipated, wearing a thin t-shirt and fedora (perhaps the only person this hat looks properly good on in this day and age?) Kazu was dressed in black from head to toe, sporting a blazer that gave him a sort of "funereal" look alongside his long, slick hair. I must say, Kazu is a rather...imposing looking fellow on stage. Maybe it's because he is next to Aie, who is quite small in stature, but I found him to be quite striking in person in an almost intimidating way. Guest drummer Seiji Matsumoto (of the telephones and a number of bands that I need to take the time to check out) rounded out the trio, taking place of Otaka Jun who is away for health-related reasons (get well soon!!)
 
I will interject here and state that I can't recall their exact set due to time passing and just being...way too enamored with everything to take the time to write the songs down, so I apologize in advance for not being able to post that!
 
The band wasted no time getting into their set. Aie's signature guitar tone pulled me in immediately - that special twang reminded me of where I was and who I was watching. They played a selection of tracks from their newest album, funky ghost hollywood (most of the set was pulled from this album, understandably), to start things off. Watching them was a treat not only from the standpoint of someone who has loved their respective individual discographies (from one iconic band to the next), but simply as very clearly experienced musicians. That should go without saying, but these guys really, really know their stuff. They played each song effortlessly (my god, they really are a wonder at their instruments - I mean seriously, they're so stylistically committed and developed that it's a spectacle seeing them play the way they do).
 
Their set was fun and entirely un-theatric, perhaps the antithesis of the visual kei bands they came up in. Being that they were playing with a guest drummer, it was quite endearing to see them give him visual cues as the songs progressed (he was knocking it out of the park, no doubt, but it was nice seeing them interact in that "power trio" sort of way) The crowd was clearly having fun as they blasted through song after song and, more importantly, the guys in the band looked like they were having a ton of fun themselves. The air over the entire night felt casual and friendly, as if they were "just some guys getting together to play songs." 
 
There was some fun banter with the crowd near the middle of the set which really maintained that same "casual air" and in the end, they were done before I knew it. They got quite a few songs in (I wasn't kidding when I said they were just "blasting through them") for only playing maybe an hour-long set. I can't comment on the exact order, but the songs below are the ones I remember them playing off the top of my head. Nothing older than after the addle apple as far as I can recall. I was really pleased to hear "elephant in the room," "Good Night My Love," and "ママイズジャム" as those are some of my recent favorites.
 
薄荷
サニーゴーサニー
Good Night My Love
ママイズジャム
Life Is Beautiful
cannabis
damned
夜を歩く葡萄
濾過
elephant in the room
 
I hung around the venue for a little while since it was still very early (and there was a little part of me hoping I could shake Aie's hand, but that was wishful thinking, haha). As I watched the crowd wander back out into the rain little by little, it was obvious how varied their fanbase is, from age to personal style. Just a testament to these guys and their time/experience in the scene. 
 
Thanks for reading! Don't miss an opportunity to catch either of these bands if you can - it was a really special evening that I won't soon forget.
 
I'll have one more live report up soon for the event I attended at 高田馬場AREA on 5/6! (DIMLIM, gulu gulu, more)

Where in the fresh hell did they go? 
 
One of my absolute favorite aspects of exploring niche genres is stumbling upon some random compilation albums featuring bands that maybe released only a couple songs total in their entire life span. It's pretty much the easiest way to stumble upon both the true hidden gems within a genre and the absolute worst it has to offer, sometimes right next to each other. Speaking broadly, the psychedelic, (post-)punk, industrial and minimal synth scenes all have a tremendous number of absolutely great v/a albums catering to different niches and local scenes, with new ones coming out even to this day.
 I remember from my early days in the VK scene back in the mid-2000s is that it felt like there was always some  compilation album or split cd coming out every few month or so. Many of them seem to have been tied to magazines, live venues or live events, but there were also the occasional tribute albums here and there, as well as crossovers that seemed to be done just for the hell of it. Some of those compilations were absolute fucking bangers too (never forget those Tokyo Guerilla ones my dudes........)
Sadly it kinda feels like over the past decade the stream of v/a albums just kind of dried up. I can't really remember any notable ones being released that WEREN'T tribute albums for instance. Part of me wants to blame this lack of non-tribute compilations on the fact that streaming and downloading music is so much easier these days than back in the day, and as such the need for these officially sanctioned mixtapes to create exposure just isn't as high as it used to be, and I'm sure the fact that several VK publications and live venues have bitten the dust in the past couple of years must have a role in it as well. 
I'm just left here hoping that maybe some day some OG VK nerd will step it up and create the weeb counterpart to those 'Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era' comps
 
tl;dr: this thread is dedicated to v/a albums, both ones connected specifically to the vk scene and japanese music in general. what are some of your favorites? which ones were absolute godawful abominations in your eyes? where did all the compilation albums go?
 

oh boy, how am i gonna post all my favorite pvs lol? well, here's a few that i love, mostly old favorites.
 
baroque - ila.
 
baroque - gariron
 
bis - start
 
plastic tree - kuchuu buranko
 
guniw tools - looser sugar
 
deadman - follow the night light (ofc i love additional cause for sorrow too but that has been posted already)
 
girugamesh - kowareteiku sekai
 
dezert - 胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚
 
aicle. - nekuro no mikon
 
lolita23q - red room
 
tried posting one per band, except for baroque ofc, they're an exception.

oh boy, how am i gonna post all my favorite pvs lol? well, here's a few that i love, mostly old favorites.
 
baroque - ila.
 
baroque - gariron
 
bis - start
 
plastic tree - kuchuu buranko
 
guniw tools - looser sugar
 
deadman - follow the night light (ofc i love additional cause for sorrow too but that has been posted already)
 
girugamesh - kowareteiku sekai
 
dezert - 胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚
 
aicle. - nekuro no mikon
 
lolita23q - red room
 
tried posting one per band, except for baroque ofc, they're an exception.

This song has been therapeutic to me as of late so I decided to translate it.
 
 
Lyrics: Lime
Music: Lime
Kanji: petitlyrics
Romaji & translation: me
 
Kanji: 怨ミ節
 
Romaji: Urami bushi
 
English: Song of Resentment
 
Enjoy! ^^
 

oh boy, how am i gonna post all my favorite pvs lol? well, here's a few that i love, mostly old favorites.
 
baroque - ila.
 
baroque - gariron
 
bis - start
 
plastic tree - kuchuu buranko
 
guniw tools - looser sugar
 
deadman - follow the night light (ofc i love additional cause for sorrow too but that has been posted already)
 
girugamesh - kowareteiku sekai
 
dezert - 胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚
 
aicle. - nekuro no mikon
 
lolita23q - red room
 
tried posting one per band, except for baroque ofc, they're an exception.

oh boy, how am i gonna post all my favorite pvs lol? well, here's a few that i love, mostly old favorites.
 
baroque - ila.
 
baroque - gariron
 
bis - start
 
plastic tree - kuchuu buranko
 
guniw tools - looser sugar
 
deadman - follow the night light (ofc i love additional cause for sorrow too but that has been posted already)
 
girugamesh - kowareteiku sekai
 
dezert - 胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚
 
aicle. - nekuro no mikon
 
lolita23q - red room
 
tried posting one per band, except for baroque ofc, they're an exception.

They look pretty fkn good

oh boy, how am i gonna post all my favorite pvs lol? well, here's a few that i love, mostly old favorites.
 
baroque - ila.
 
baroque - gariron
 
bis - start
 
plastic tree - kuchuu buranko
 
guniw tools - looser sugar
 
deadman - follow the night light (ofc i love additional cause for sorrow too but that has been posted already)
 
girugamesh - kowareteiku sekai
 
dezert - 胃潰瘍とルソーの錯覚
 
aicle. - nekuro no mikon
 
lolita23q - red room
 
tried posting one per band, except for baroque ofc, they're an exception.

The first single,「A才教育」(A-sai kyouiku), will be released on 2019.08.07.
 
TYPE A : 2000 yen + taxes
CD :
1.A才教育(A-sai kyouiku)　
2.深夜2時の探し者(Shin'ya 2-ji no sagashi-sha)
DVD :
1.A才教育(A-sai kyouiku)　
 
TYPE B : 2000 yen + taxes
CD :
1.A才教育(A-sai kyouiku)　　　
2.涙不明(Namida fumei)
DVD :
01. Images from their live on 2019.05.29 at Takadanobaba Area
 
The second one, 「次のニュースです少年B(4)猥褻願望のため思考停止」(Tsugi no news desu shounen B(4) waisetsu ganbou no tame shikou teishi), will be released on 2019.09.04.
 
TYPE A : 2000 yen + taxes
CD :
1.次のニュースです少年B(4)猥褻願望のため思考停止(Tsugi no news desu shounen B(4) waisetsu ganbou no tame shikou teishi)
2.真っ暗なドア(Makkurana door)
DVD :
1.次のニュースです少年B(4)猥褻願望のため思考停止(Tsugi no news desu shounen B(4) waisetsu ganbou no tame shikou teishi)
 
TYPE B : 2000 yen + taxes
CD :
1.次のニュースです少年B(4)猥褻願望のため思考停止(Tsugi no news desu shounen B(4) waisetsu ganbou no tame shikou teishi)
2.おじいちゃん(Ojîchan)
DVD :
01. Images from their live on 2019.05.29 at Takadanobaba Area
 
The last one, 「調教C」(ChoukyouC), will be released on 2019.10.02.
 
TYPE A : 2000 yen + taxes
CD :
1.調教C(ChoukyouC)
2.罠と縄(Wana to nasa)
DVD :
1.調教(ChoukyouC)
 
TYPE B : 2000 yen + taxes 
CD :
1.調教(ChoukyouC)
2.お腹の中のブラックホール(Onaka no naka no black hole)
DVD :
01. Images from their live on 2019.05.29 at Takadanobaba Area
 

 

 

 

 

Acid Black Cherry - Re:birth (Also, every Janne Da Arc MV)
vistlip - ORDER MADE
Neverland - Evergreen
UVERworld - Gekidou
girugamesh - Inochi no Ki
D=OUT - ONE
LUNA SEA - gravity
DIE IN CRIES - Nocturne
MoNoLith - FADE OUT
xTRiPx - glitter
baroque - ila.
NEXX - METEORITE ARK
bis - DAYS
凛 - world in flames
Administrator - Promise
There's too many to count, tbh.
* Ok, I should probably stop now.

Will probably post more here as they come to mind, but I love this song/video so much.

YOU BITCHES ARE SO CYNICAL OH MY GOOODD IM HYPE AS FUCK TO HEAR MY BABY AGAIN
 

Vocals HIZUMI (ex-D'espairsRay)
 

Programming 岸利至 (KISHI) (a.b.s.)
 

Guitar MASATO (defspiral)
 
 

 

 
http://nul.tokyo/
 
The band has formed on 2019.05.25 and will perform their 1st live at SHIBUYA REX on 2019.08.16.

The trick to avoiding social shame is to have two completely separate music libraries. One is essentially "J-rock and visual kei" and the other is "everything else". When I'm given the aux for a car ride, or asked what I listen to, I pull from the "everything else" group. When someone is feeling adventurous, or I know the tastes of the person I'm talking to, or I'm on MH, I go into my J-rock collection. Every once in a while I'll sprinkle in some visual kei/J-Rock with other international recommendations, people fall for it, and are none the wiser. I keep up on contemporary music just enough to hold a conversation about Green Day or J-Cole, but that's it.

This separation is more logical than physical, but it helps a lot. It's almost a non-solution to your issue, but people are never gonna stop teasing you for liking visual kei, so the best you can do is give off an image that you listen to music from all over the world so you can lose that weeb label.

it's nice but i always feel like i'm using up their time with their busy schedules so i try not to bother them too much lol....

Yeah, I think I get where you're coming from. I can definitely see how finances will affect you're earnings. But as I mentioned before, my friend lives with her sister and mom so they split the rent and bills. And where we're from, which is a rather small town, the living costs aren't as expensive as bigger cities either. You can find 2-3 bedroom apartments for $500-700/month basically.
 
I didn't mention before, but my friend partly took the job because her sister (who's older by 5+ years) was the one who wanted the job change (my friend doesn't have her license yet so they've been working the same jobs), and I feel like she was kinda forced to work at their current job because of her sister only. But then again, I don't know the full story as to how they came into an agreement for the job change so I probably shouldn't speculate too much on that. I still think she should be more independent and make her own decisions though. Being dependent on her older sister for having a job and transportation has probably been affecting her choices....

I love having a teacher "best friend". At high school it was my English teacher and at college it's my psychology teacher.

Ah, first little thunderstorm of the summer. Is there anything more beautiful sounding than pouring rain and thunder? It's really calming, somehow.

I don't disagree, but I'm gonna come at this with a different perspective.

I've noticed that there is a certain amount of money that one makes relative to the strength of the economy where making even $1/hr less complicates finances but making $1/hr more doesn't ease finances. There's a plateau for purchasing power that can only be overcome by making substantially more money via a big raise. Getting a new job on the surface looks easier but there are always hidden costs. For example, this new job can be farther away than her current job which means she may have to spend more on gas. Not that this is her situation, but it definitely was mine at one point and is at least 30% of the reason why I can't walk away from my job.

Having said that, waiting to do a job switch is not a good idea because things only solidify as I get older. The flexibility I had when I was 25 was way more than what I have now, and in 3 years I will probably be less flexible. I bet a lot that she knows you are right and that she can make the change "whenever she wants", but life has a way of changing on a dime and she could end up stuck in her job because she didn't take the opportunity she should have.

is it weird that i go to my instructor's office almost every week just to hangout? 😅
also, he's like the only friend that i've made at art uni so far lol, my classmates are just kinda casual friends in general

Monochrome Heaven's 2019 Banner Contest
The window for banner submissions has closed, so I present to you now all of the banners our lovely members have submitted for consideration. I will be giving them all a number and please vote for the ones you like in the poll. You can vote for as many as you want. The poll will be open until June 1st at noon, so you have some time to get your votes in.

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