Lestat

Depends on your political interests. I'm very right leaning and I personally cannot stand the average social justice warrior writer or actor for their individual spoutings of nonsense on Twitter. There's some I adore for the books they write or the roles they play, but if I'm seeing J.K. Rowling's incessant pressure of 'wE nEeDz InTeRrAcIaL mArRiAgEs FoR EvErYoNe' and 'HeRmIoNe ShOuLd Be A bLaCk MuSlIm LeSbIaN' she can go sod right off.  
 
Lovecraft is a different story. The guy was born in an entirely separate time from ours and you cannot compare the late 19th century / early 20th century to ours whatsoever. And for his writings; it's fiction. Get over it if Cthulhu has a distaste for the Chinese or whatever the fuck you can uncover from his warped words. The majority of people during those times were racists.
 
For another thing, Antifa are actively looking to stir up drama where there isn't. If I remember correctly there have been at least five black metal bands in the past few months who haven't been able to finish their tours or been refused playtime during festivals and the like because these liberals think it's either necessary to threaten the venue or bands personally and thus gigs have been cancelled out of safety, or they've gotten the venues and / or municipalities to believe the bands have racist / national-socialist intentions whereas most black metal bands don't give a damn about political leanings and want to be left alone on the subject. It's just disgusting. 

What really pisses me off is when people drop someone for something that hasn't even been proven. "So-and-so might have committed this crime". Might. You are not a detective investigator; shut up and carry on with your life as normal until you know something or can at least piece something together with evidence. Similarly, it bugs me when someone doing something maybe a bit unusual/embarrassing is seen as bad because people want the "tea" that can unjustly defame someone. "So-and-so had sex with x amount of people". It's their business, not yours, so stay out of it and - you guessed it - carry on with your life as normal. I can understand why people might have a hard time separating the art from the artist if they've done something genuinely bad because it can make you feel guilty for supporting them, but if it's for some stupid shite like that, I just can't stand it and I don't really get why everyone cares so much.

Ah, 2019: The year where most people give a shit about things they weren't even around for.
 
I'll go ahead and partake OP, as I've always wanted to share my thoughts on this as someone who has a self identity and wants to understand those who don't have one.
 
1. What artists do you separate their art from their actions?
 
All of them. Not a single time did I ever think to myself "Man, that CD/Merch I bought because I thought sounded/looked great, must sound/look so good because the people are so wholesome and the holiest of holy that they couldn't EVER do anything wrong.....".
No, I bought it because I wanted to.
 
Mind you, I apply this to everything that can be considered a work of art.
 
2. Is it a legitimate argument?
 
Depends, but overall not really. Sometimes I question people's rationality when it comes to things like being a fan or being interested in something for your own reasons.
 
If I bought let's say a painting, and at the time I didn't know or care about the origin or meaning behind it, I'd say that was a decision I made simply because I thought it looked great and would look better in my home/office. Now, if for some reason I found out it belonged to idk ..... Hitler, I'm going to be honest with you, I'd probably see fucking dollar signs for days on end. This is because I can see past Hitler the mass murderer and see him as the artist he was. I have a rare fucking painting that will go for millions of dollars and would end up in a museum if otherwise, I don't give a shit about anything else. I was not around during that time, and in fact my family weren't even on American soil either.
Am I greedy? Hmm....that's another topic. Am I cold-hearted bastard? No I see the reality. You might have not even read what I posted and just want to voice your useless opinion to make me feel like I'm going to be responsible (lol the fuck) for something that occurred so long ago and has nothing to do with me (my assumption since you didn't care about my insight, so I'm allowed to not care about yours and share how I feel about it too).
 
If other people would go out and say I support Nazism or something, and demand I burn it or tear it apart, I'd say you're fucking stupid. I'd say something else like "Oh yeah? Well goddamn, lets go to the most well known museum of art and burn the whole fucking place down, because I know of at least 1/2 of the artists that have art on display that "shouldn't". Sounds pretty fucking irrational if you ask me. Collectors of art/music can see past this, and so can the people who work at museums, simply because they CAN see past the person who might have done terrible things, and focus on what is related to their profession, the artist.
 
Bringing it back to music, it's even easier to separate. If someone like say Kisaki made all this music back in the 90's we enjoy, you have to remember that he made the music all back then. If you were alive and in Japan when it released, and knew some dirt on Kisaki that you can prove and date back to that same timeline, then you can hold an argument with me on this. But guess what? I'm pretty sure EVERYONE did what he might have done back then, and most likely got away with it. But let's pretend our world is perfect and say he was the odd man and single him out, kudos. Shady shit in Japan was a daily thing. I fucking love hearing about it as it gives Japan this flair for being badass and dangerous while proving that every society has its colors.
 
Fast forward today and no one cares or knows who Kisaki is among new fans, yet you learn about his current life and how he might suck at it hard, and now suddenly what? You, the fan from back then who probably has 1'' of dust of old demo tapes from la'sadie or whatever fucking band he was in in a box somewhere, and you are gonna throw them out? HAHAHA don't make me fucking choke, you're about as a big as a hypocrite as the people you have around you. Being played by the society that can easily turn on you at the drop of a hat. The you from back then called, they want you to get your fucking backbone back and decide what YOU want to do, and not what you feel society would want as a "justice served" spew of bullshit I'm tired of seeing on the internet.
 
3. Do you think that one persons actions should generalize a whole band? (Ex. Kisaki and Phantasmagoria or any of his past bands)?
 
I can't believe this is a question but OK, no, it shouldn't.
If people really dropped a band like say, lynch.  as of recently, for something like Akinori smoking some pot, then don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.
No one gave a fuck.
 
 

Personally speaking, I think an artist's personal life should be completely separate from their professional career, at least until the point that their misconduct becomes public knowledge. If an artist is doing something terrible in their free time, that has no bearing on their ability to produce music. If it emerges that an artist has been involved in some kind of scandal, it does become much more difficult to support their future endeavours, but that shouldn't come at the expense of writing off their past achievements. It's possible to be both a great musician and a shitty human being; whether that affects your enjoyment of their past career comes down to how well you can divorce their actions from their profession. And condemning all the other members and staff of a band - assuming that they aren't complicit - based on a single person's actions is just childish and unreasonable.
 
As for the whole 'using it as an argument' issue, as far as I'm concerned there is no argument to be had. Artists are just human like the rest of us and should be held to the same standards by society. That's why my apparently controversial post in Johnny's thread got so much attention - I think he was a terrible person, but I respect his achievements and influence on the whole industry as a professional. If you can't keep those things separate, you're just writing off a whole legacy based on one person's actions.
 
TLDR
Being a successful artist doesn't make you immune to the same laws and moral principles as the rest of society. It's no excuse.
BUT
Being a shitty person doesn't make you any less of a talented musician either.

Vk's like a telenovela~ it's been on some local, obscure TV channel for 20 years, you're on the 1537th episode and by this point 75% od the cast has been replaced and you can't even remember the original actors. 90% of the characters had at one point slept/married/divorced each other. Some of it is subbed but some is not, and honestly either way it doesn't really make much difference. Someone is gesticulating wildly while crying and half of the set is on fire. 
 
Also it's almost 2am and I'm drunk on a Wednesday.

A lot of disrespect on this thread. Regardless of what he may or may not have been guilty of, this is a man who has just died, and someone widely respected who helped shape not only the careers of some of Japan's most popular artists but the whole industry(ies) they work in at that.

Apparently the same people who are quick to shame a man who has just died are the same people who are quick to judge someone they have never met over a single comment on the internet.
 
In no way do I condone pedophilia or any form of harrassment. I think it's a hateful crime and show of disrespect another human being. In fact, my own (ex-)girlfriend was molested in Japan and despite going to the police about it it was just one person's word against another so nothing came of it. That was one of the most trying times in my life so far, feeling so powerless to do anything about the situation.
 
The nature of my comment was just to say, let's respect that regardless of who a person was there must be numerous people, be it family, friends or coworkers, who are saddened by that news. As far as I'm concerned, it's a shame when anyone dies because that loss ripples through so many others' lives.
 
And I also think it's possible to respect someone's professional success while divorcing that respect from your disgust towards anything that happened in their private lives. If a popular actor is embroiled in a rape or adultery scandal, that doesn't make them any less of a great actor, it just makes them a shitty human being.

I feel, as a Kisaki fan, that I'm not being given a positive, personal opinion of my own about the him, or quite frankly anything related to him. I've realized that being fond of him is somewhat of a burden too as other Visual fans usually judge me for it and constantly make me aware of his faults where it isn't necessary (not in this case per sé, as I myself looked into this topic) as I am very much aware of his faults. Every human being is full of faults. No one is flawless and there are some where it shows more evidently because frankly, Kisaki isn't that good at hiding things, and I am very much aware of it, but I don't throw a relentless fit everytime he says or does something stupid, because that's human nature. There have been times where I've been directly accused for things he did (like, what the hell...) or that I've been bullied because I am fond of him. Like inartistic said, Kisaki is hunted, preferably up towards the very cross at which a lot of people desire to see him burn and no one gives him any rest until he ends up breaking down again, for which of course, the 'fans' blame him, and regardless of what anyone thinks, he's very self-aware. As a fan this is very hard to constantly be confronted with wherever I look into topics about him. Whether that is on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Livejournal, or forums such as these. No one ever has a good word to spare about him, and quite honestly I'm in deep on an emotional level where I feel conflicted too, whether that makes someone think of me as a rabid, obsessive, mentally challenged fangirl or not.
 
There are a lot of musicians who have been involved in some shady business, but no one bothered with them longer than about two months, after an occurence. Kisaki's problems are following him because people are constantly shoving things back in his face from years ago (like the Kyo/Kisaki incident, or his tax evasion - of which he isn't the only one having done so, but do you hear anyone about Dynamite Tommy? Nope). There are only few who ever view him from his good side; there are tons of musicians he assisted, he's given the entire Kansai scene a foundation, man — his dedication is insane because no matter how terrible he feels, he'll stand on that stage whereas a lot of musicians already stay at home and cancel their lives when they suffer from a cold. He's always done events, brought bands and fans together, releases music on the go, made sure you could listen to your favourite obscure Matina bands and newer UCP bands, and a whole hell of a lot more. But I never read something positive about him other than the words that leave my own mouth or keyboard, and from the close-knitted group of his fans which luckily still exists on Twitter and WeLoveUCP.

You know there's always the possibility the other bands sold their music to him.

Kisaki's been notorious ever since he picked up that bass. He might as well have sold those lost tracks to other bands.

Cute at most. The video is fun to watch and reminds me of the clips modern Glam metal bands do (I guess CHARGEEEEEE had a say in that, mostly). But yeah, the video is all they've got going for them which is unfortunate because this is such a strong lineup. Theme is too sugary for 'punk' and especially Rena's facemask look doesn't go well with the music. 

People shouldn’t watch the dubbed version in the first place. 

Kyo, he’s a runt. I could kill him with a pebble. 

That old lady is so lucky, The Legend Yoskiki's scarf slapped her face 😭✨

People shouldn’t watch the dubbed version in the first place. 

People shouldn’t watch the dubbed version in the first place. 

People shouldn’t watch the dubbed version in the first place. 

Moved this to Current Events as this is a serious thing going on in just about every civilized country.
 
I'm surprised something like this is increasing in Japan, but even more so in the United States. Feminism is taking a toll on America to the point where women can feel free to overpower anyone who gets in their way and still try to be sympathetic figures while crying wolf all at the same time because we are biologically inferior to men and we can't accept that. Because we are also child bearers, courts will usually side with us during custody battles because we are naturally seen as caring and motherly, while dads are stereotypically seen as deadbeats or abusive. It is disturbing how men are under attack in this country, and as feminism grows in Japan, I fear they'll face the same consequences there as well. One segment of the video above where the female abuser was let go while her man suffered horrible injuries infuriates me to no end; it is a daily epidemic that shows no signs of slowing down.
 
The reason why domestic violence against men isn't taken as seriously is because man is supposed to be dominant and shouldn't succumb to women, who are generally viewed as more weaker and innocent. If a woman calls out her male partner for abuse, then she is met with instantaneous support rather than skepticism. If a man admits he's being abused by his female partner, then he risks ridicule, humiliation, and not being "man enough"; men are held to such a high standard that they cannot come out with problems like these, even in our current society where we are now truly aware of men's mental health. The media is also more liberal leaning so of course they'll talk about the advancement of women's rights and keep domestic violence under wraps unless it's women being attacked by the evil bad men. In our modern climate, society has gotten so pussified that they are afraid of calling out minorities like women, gays, nonwhites, etc, and the attack on men will increase exponentially as long as women get away with the shit they're doing.
 
/rant

Jealous as hell here, Michael always skips the Netherlands. I did have the opportunity to see L.A. Guns with Phil and Tracii last year though! 
 
Still waiting for Sebastian to come back here too. He’s played close to me a few times but without me realising while my room used to basically bathe in Baz, obviously. I had the biggest crush on him. Skid Row... I don’t see it happening (Rachel please). 
 
Tom Keifer C̶i̶n̶d̶e̶r̶e̶l̶l̶a̶ is still on my wishlist, but a girl can dream. Would also love to see some bands like Poison or Ratt, but I doubt they’ll ever tour Europe. 

Sometimes I really wish Lynch Mob could hold onto a stable line-up. I always think about going to see them when they come through my city, and I always get too scared to do it because the singer has suddenly changed right before the shows in the past. As much as I love George Lynch, if I'm seeing Lynch Mob for the first time I at least want it to be with someone I've heard of singing. I'd really love to see them with Oni Logan at least once in my life because I've listened to the Wicked Sensation album so much over the years.
 
 
I've crossed Michael Monroe and L.A. Guns with Phil and Tracii off my list. Still vaguely hoping for Skid Row with Sebastian and the original Lynch Mob before they all get too old...