r...

Does the ◇ in FANATIC◇CRISIS qualify? I sure think so!
What about Ｌυτёη∀, mi'ze:lia, ∀ile≠de〔Σu〕, Loz'a≠Veria, L∞P, Lure＋Selene, Λucifer, 【zɔ́:diæ̀k】 , Mëbíus, DAS:VASSER, 【denno:oblaat】 , MARRY+AN+BLOOD, La'miss†fairy?
 
I love the story about nuvɔ:gu, they used to be called just Vogue back in the early 90s and played a very standard type of V系 and, for some reason, around 1995 just decided to go "fuck it, we just love Pete Burns way too much, let's be Dead or Alive!"
 

Kinda necroing this thread but Vidoll were amazing. I'm glad I own their V.I.D. album in physical copy. Anyone who dislikes Face Pisaroto or Face Mayura needs to logout from MH. 

It’s a pleasure to be able to share MERRY-ness with others! I just hope it is alright to translate and put my spin on so much stuff, as I am sure there’s loads more people whose Japanese is better than mine and would disagree with my interpretation.
 
If it’s alright, I did  just a little write up on a recent web TV interview with Gara.
https://freshlive.tv/bar_boo_friends/185971
My understanding is that Boo wanted to interview Die only but Die requested for Gara to join as well. I’m not going to go into too much details of what Die and Boo said because they are mainly DEG, X Japan, Ladies Room related. In general, Gara’s role on this show is being Die’s kouhai and reminiscent some stories from his roadie days.
 
 

MOTHER I AM A PERVERTED ROCK MUSICIAN BORN FROM GUNMA

Oh cool. Can you link me to the translation to M-ology? I am curious to know what others make out of Black Flag Symptom but have not been able to find anything in Japanese. 
 
I think instead of posting some half-arsed translations of Gara's book, I can translate some bits that may be overlooked when I come across them. Like this one:
 
 
MERRY 47 Prefecture Tour "System M-ology"~ Agitate #3 "Ideology" 
Thank you Maebashi Dyver. I am completely spent, can't get any more out of me... what an intense white hot space. Humid enough to make one choke... even just standing was difficult. Well done everyone for managing to stay standing till the end! You gave your all too, how wonderful! It's no lie to say that great bands have great fans. Thank you for a memorable gig. It's been a long time since I've seen moisture dripping from the ceiling. Gunma, no Gummers, you are the best! Tetsu said some passionate things at the end! Also, it's been a while since my mother came to see my gig, she kindly pointed out "Your drooling is disgusting. Is your mouth loose or something?" Mother, I am a perverted rock musician born from Gunma.
(The last hashtag) Er singing Sight Glass in front of my mother is overwhelming (laughs)
 
 
We love you you perverted rock musician from Gunma. And thank you to Gara mama! lol

Sorry that it's taken me a while to go through the 6 Days DVD but I've finally written up some bits for disc 1 now.
 
Hair
 
Police
 
Gendai Stoic Day
 
Modern Garde Day
 
nuChemical Rhetoric Day
 

they're giving us altpop with these visuals
 
influences: charlie xcx, halsey

I think Laputa is just one of those bands that will always be appreciated more in the Japanese VK scene than the overseas one, and there's not too many VK shows I've seen in Nagoya where the band didn't mention them at some point while joking/MCing.
 
My fave songs by them are "Yurenagara..." and "Eve ~last eve for you~". But for the latter, it sounds nicer on the album with the piano intro imho.
 
Aki has one of those really unique voices in VK, so if you're feeling it, might be worth checking out his solo work after Laputa disbanded.
 
 
 

early Laputa was the shit:
 
 

mid-era Laputa was the shit:
 (JOY! JOY!)
 
late Laputa was the shit:
 
 
Favorite albums:
 
翔〜カケラ〜裸 
their most accessible and incredibly solid all the way through. The only stinker is Refrain Limit / Drug Habit.
 
絵〜エマダラ〜斑
the one-two-three punch of ALKALOID, LOWSPIRITED and MONOCHROME is better than whole discogs of lesser bands.
 
眩めく廃人
the ultimate version of 奈落の底 is here. plus, an eternity and Vertigo.
 
God, they were good.

I think by the time the guy arrived in Japan, Diru were already a major band. I think I read somewhere in his blog that he was really only interested in the underground indies guys.

Cam was awesome. He was a major source of information back then. He went back to Canada a long time a go, right? He still posts a couple of pics every now and then about his time in Japan.

For anyone who cares about such things, Tower Records posted the track lengths: http://tower.jp/item/4668149/No-0＜通常盤＞

To begin, we must pleeease understand that the correlation of piracy = loss of a sale is FALSE. People pirating releases ARE NOT making musicians lose money, period. If people hadn't shared, I don't know, batsu game's latest release, I would NOT buy it. I would simply go on without listening to it, because I don't care enough for them to go out of my way to buy a physical copy of something that would cost me 3 USD if it was an itunes release (btw the single sucks). This is true to 95% of the vk listeners, and has been widely discussed in sample pools much larger than a niche japanese music scene, like videogames for example. People buy what they like, period. If you do not let them at least try, why the hell should they buy your music?
 
That being said, people vastly, VASTLY overestimates the importance of western fandom to the scene. We are not the main target, we are not their main income source, the music isn't made for us. We are a plus in the scene, and every single release a westerner fan buys, it's an EXTRA income for the band. They are not counting with our money, people gotta understand that most of the bands simply don't care if we are listening to them or not, as long as their onemans are filled with japanese girls doing dance steps at their songs. Very few bands have the desire for more international exposure, and if that's the case, they sure have to adapt to our ways, as we are not obliged to accept their 90's thinking in the age of streaming. IF japanese fans started pirating instead of buying, THEN we would have a problem.
 
Music is dogs eating dogs everywhere in the world, why would be different for japanese boys in make up? Bands that are actually good, or at least are able to gather interest in their music will flourish, no matter what. People fail to understand that the scene is small because of it's characteristics, because boys dressing like girls and shredding guitars is niche and most importantly, it's foundation is what holds it back. No ammount of western pirates will make or break a band, period.
 
fun fact, UNiTE. shared most of their discography on Spotify, I don't know if it is restricted in japan (which would be a smart thing to do). Yeah they are bigger than most vk acts around, but that does show they are not following the outdated tunneled vision most bands are, and see us as what we are. Extra income, if they get to book a concert here and there, fine! If not, fine aswell, their focus is where it should be, their growth in Japan, without closing their doors to us, the outsiders.

I have very, very mixed feelings concerning this topic, so all I say may sound confusing. I may sound cocky too, but you guys asked for opinions. I also tried posting this under spoiler but phone won't let me...
 
Brace yourselves, rant is coming:
 
Of course, just like any foreigner, I got into this thanks to piracy. Of course, I do download pretty much everything shared on the VK section, even if just to sample it and delete it half an hour later (I no longer hoard music I do not like).
 
And, just like many people, I occasionally share rips because I know some people will enjoy them and some others might discover a band they will like and support.
Yet I truly despise when my rips are shared outside of this community, even though my common sense (who usually sounds like Yuyo) dictates it's the right way to preserve and spread it.

Maybe it is because here it stays within a community of people who also buy and share their rips and it feels more like an open trade. Key word: feels like.
 
But feelings are not meant to be rational, right?
 
I support about 10-12 active bands. A good portion of my salary goes towards VK. I make certain sacrifices in order to make sure my honmei can have their rice and redbull. Hell, I even pay people to get me goods at lives so they can get more money from me in a more direct way than buying second hand stuff.

Maybe that is why I feel I 'earned' the right to trade rips of the bands I do enjoy yet don't love enough to include in my monthly spendings. And I feel people who share rips here kinda earned the 'right' to get my rips for free. Because they support the scene too.
Sometimes I even dl rips from the bands I do buy from because I'll buy the release with the next paycheck or the following, or sometime in the future when I stop blowing my money on chekis (sorry, Diaura).
 
Which is why it kinda bums me to spend hundreds of dollars on music, share it with people who also support the scene as far as their wallets allow it, and then it gets leaked to people who not only don't support the scene, but feel entitled to be given rips anyways 'because they love the band so much, omg they mah favez!!'
 
I don't mean to say I am a better fan than they are, or a better person, or whatever. I'm probably a pathetic chick who blows her paycheck on asian drag queens who attempt to play metal instead of in... idk whatever shit regular people spend their money on. But it really gets on my nerves to read so many people on social media, especially Hispanics, viewing piracy as a 'right'. Demanding for HQ rips, whining about those 'fucking selfish japs/gringos who get everything and don't share fast enough'. Fuck you! If I buy a release I do not have the moral duty of posting it online. And in those very same communities I see a handful of people leeching, bragging about 'their collections' (virtual collections of course) and sharing our stuff just to make themselves popular. 'Look, I'm such a VK connaiseur because I have two hard drives filled with VK I got from MH. I'm a true fan cuz I have rarez. Now kiss my ass if you want me to share the rip I didn't even originate'.
 
I know a dude who's considered the 'wikipedia of VK' because he's always talking about the many bands he knows and buys. Turns out he doesn't buy shit, he leeches from JpopSuki and here AND HE FUCKING CHARGES FOR IT. HE IS SERIOUSLY MAKING HIMSELF A NAME AND MONEY SELLING OTHER PEOPLE'S RIPS. AS HIS OWN.
 
I understand the role piracy plays in the scene. I know it's exposure, and it helps spread the music and make bands popular. It preserves files online (though I've been all day looking for geek sleep sheep's albums and I cannot fucking find a decent rip, I swear). It also gives way to interesting discussions about music.

But I also understand it fucking pisses bands off, many have told me so. It even pisses off western VK bands I know when they see their music up for grabs where they didn't post it. It's sorta disrespectful in a way, to say "yeah, man, I love your art but I ain't paying for it'. I have literally read those words online.
I don't know if my point is even understood here... I've even defended piracy when talking to a few bandomen, saying that it actually promotes their music and gains them new fans. And I understand without piracy most of us wouldn't be here today. Boy, I really wish someone would share those Amai Boryoku live limited EPs. 

But I hate so much that downloads bring people here only to leech instead of for all the other amazing features this community has to offer. I hate that people outside of the community get popular or even get money spreading our rips without even mentioning Monochrome Heaven. I hate the way they talk about us when we don't share fast enough, like we owe them the rips. Like it's our duty to share the day before the release and in HQ...
 
With so many bands posting their previews on youtube, full releases on Spotify and iTunes, is such an open piracy still necessary to promote the music they work so hard to make?
(I refuse to use youtube and Spotify, I hate them, so I'm being cynical by just bringing them up myself). All the people who say 'I don't risk buying releases I don't know I'll like' can now hear the previews on youtube/spotify, right?
 
I think I'd really like to keep the DLs here to the community and the people who contribute, so maybe people elsewhere will stop taking us for granted and have a solid reason to complain about us...
 
I'm ready for the MH trolls to go berserk on my feelings and opinions. Keep in mind these are just rather irrational feels and opinions and that my opinions stem from my own experiences and my own reality, which is not the absolute truth and does not account for other people's experiences.

I want to start out with two key points.
 
Firstly, I don't 'support' piracy, but without it there is no doubt that I wouldn't be this involved in the visual kei scene (and possibly probably not even where I am in my life right now, since listening to Japanese music back in JHS is what eventually led to me formally studying the language and now living and working in Japan, but that's a long story for another thread).
 
Secondly, I voted that piracy is instrumental in keeping the scene alive, but I only believe that to be the case in the international fandom. I would argue that it has little to no impact whatsoever on the actual living scene here in Japan, at least in my experience so far.
 
With that said, I'd like to go into a little more detail. Obviously piracy has been existent since the early days of home media - my uncle used to buy pirated VHS tapes of new movies when I was a kid, for example. With the arrival of the internet, and subsequent developments that have drastically improved our capacity to both upload and download data, it has increased the ability and reach of piracy to a global scale. And despite the cherry-picking of various studies to pin the blame for unsuccessful media on the illegal file-sharing community, the evidence shows that for the most part there is little to no impact whatsoever on sales as a result of piracy.
 
The reason that I think piracy is essential for the international visual kei community is simply a matter of exposure. With communities like MH which share the latest news the moment it leaves the artist's mouth at a concert, or the second it's posted on social media or their official website, even the newest and smallest indie visual bands instantly get tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands more people's attention than they expected. But even with that awareness of band activity, there's no promise that the international community will put their money where their ears are and pick up their releases. With inflation increasing the sales price of CDs over the last few years in Japan, and the fact that many small VK bands release music only in independent record stores or even exclusively at concerts, simply buying the music you're interested in from half way around the world becomes a tall order. This is only compounded by the fact that on top of the costs of buying and shipping the item to you, it's likely that you have no prior way of determining whether you will really enjoy a release or get your money's worth. Hence, piracy becomes a method for fans who are willing to shell out for their favourite artists to sample and sift through the latest music to choose exactly what they put their hard-earned money towards.
 
However, this is speaking from a purely international standpoint. The truth of the matter is, domestic artists in Japan are not expecting to rely on international sales to any extent, regardless of the genre. This is particularly true for indies visual kei, which is far more concerned with gathering a dedicated fan base on their home turf who will repeatedly spend money on tickets and goods, where they make a lot more money than the pitiful cut they get on CD sales. Even bands that are aware of their popularity overseas will very rarely have the opportunity or financial security to consider promoting or performing there, especially on an indie label. For anyone short of a major record deal, purchases from abroad are probably like an unexpected bonus, and nothing more.
 
But the main reason I think piracy has little to no effect on the visual kei scene within Japan is simply that I don't think it's as common. In theory Japan has quite strict laws on illegal file-sharing, and the truth of the matter is that VK is not very big even in its home country. The scene was at its peak years ago when the philosophy of the frontrunners was more relevant, and media exposure was higher. Even if someone were to upload a new release, I just don't think there would be that many people to download it. The hardcore gya will jump on the latest release from their favourite artist, and anyone else is probably just not interested.
 
That's not to say that the scene is necessarily dying out though; if anything, the spread of the pre-owned market to online sales and auction sites (looking at you in particular, Mercari and Yahoo, with simple transactions and free accounts) provides a mecca for domestic and international fans alike. In particular rare items like live-distributed singles and signed goods can sell for tens of thousands of yen if the right buyer is on the lookout. It's easier than ever to get hold of VK music, and while the artists themselves don't see any financial benefit from second-hand sales, they do see an increase in exposure. In addition, devoted fans shell out time and again for not only multiple versions of releases, but also goods from clothing and towels to cheki, which are virtually like trading cards to the hardcore bangya. I would argue that the live scene and sale of goods is what really keeps the VK scene afloat, especially at the indie level. If no-one attends a new band's lives, it's far more damaging for them both financially and in terms of reputation than not selling out a 500-copy press of their first single (ignoring recording and production costs, of course).
 
I realise that this post has gone on for far too long now, but in summary: piracy is a necessary evil for the international community, but largely irrelevant to the success of the artists themselves and the scene in Japan.

dieS new live DVD, "-Always I remember you in the rain-" will be released via zoisite shop on March 21 for 4000 yen. It contains footage from their live on December 30. Preorder bonus will include a live digest from their lives on November 22 and December 9.
 

 

The vkei facebook groups are full of white knights who feel they are above piracy from a moral standpoint, and listen to their music through YouTube while completely disregarding the irony that the vast majority of vkei on that platform in fact comes from piracy (and to add on another level of irony, said music most likely stems from this board).
 
I have a lot of thoughts on the subject that I'm having trouble putting together, but most of it boils down to "Westerners don't buy CDs + can't go to a gig in Japan, and the Japanese don't like streaming + have no interest in playing here, so unless one side gives no one is going to be happy."
 
That being said, vkei has a lot of novelty tax associated with it because no one actually buys it, so they're trying to make as much money off of each sale as they can. Pressing 400,000 copies of a U2 album is probably a lot more cost efficient for everyone involved than pressing 100 copies of the next Datura single.
 
I also get that music isn't free, it costs money to produce it, you're being entitled, Ayn Rand was a good writer, etc etc etc but for as much as people come across as entitled, the counter argument is hard to not interpret as rabid gate-keeping.
 
 
 
As an aside, here is an article a friend shared on facebook regarding Streaming:
https://pitchfork.com/features/oped/how-to-be-a-responsible-music-fan-in-the-age-of-streaming/
 
Basically, streaming doesn't yield a lot of money to bands either, and the author's proposed resolution is pretty interesting.
 
 
 

Vintage scans from uv vol.93, way back in 2003:
 

2018 tour kicks off tomorrow in Chiba!
 
This time they're doing two shows in each city with a split personality concept. First day is their Gerunika (evil/harder) side/costumes and the second is their Doppelganger (good/softer) side/costumes.
 
Gonna try to do some reports after each weekend, but we'll see how far I get because I'm following the the whole tour like a crazy person, work has been brutal, and I've fallen into the Star Wars reylo trash bin...orz

early Laputa was the shit:
 
 

mid-era Laputa was the shit:
 (JOY! JOY!)
 
late Laputa was the shit:
 
 
Favorite albums:
 
翔〜カケラ〜裸 
their most accessible and incredibly solid all the way through. The only stinker is Refrain Limit / Drug Habit.
 
絵〜エマダラ〜斑
the one-two-three punch of ALKALOID, LOWSPIRITED and MONOCHROME is better than whole discogs of lesser bands.
 
眩めく廃人
the ultimate version of 奈落の底 is here. plus, an eternity and Vertigo.
 
God, they were good.

I got the common non-fanclub 2 disc version, which to my surprise, meant 4 hours of all members of Merry sitting through and commenting on it. If anyone have the full 6 disc version, do you know if they literally comment on for over 6 hours? Lol
Here’s some general/ random musings on Disc 2. I haven’t gone through Disc 1’s commentary yet.
General
 
The band made a lot of general comments on which bits of performance they think went well but the comments on the following stood out for me:
 
Gekisei
 
Komorebi ga boku wo sagashiteiru
 

I just watched the 10th Anniversary New Legends of High Color 6 Days dvd with the commentary turned on. The band made some interesting comments at various points, would anyone care to read a little write up on them? If so, where shall I post it? I will try and be brief but it might still be a bit long and I don't have a blog to link to.

Thanks for the recs! All I have so far is the 3DISC Best and Coupling Collection and thought those two would be a great entry into the band. I'll make sure to dig into these soon! I've really been enjoying Kouichi's guitar work so far, definitely a highlight for me.

For some reason, Laputa was one of the first bands I discovered once I decided to truly deep into classic visual kei back in mid 00's. "Sadness" was the first song I heard and it was instantly a favorite. 翔〜カケラ〜裸 ended up becoming one of my all-time favorite albums too; like @r...said, Refrain Limit / Drug Habit is probably the only song on it I don't care about that much (weird structure/guitar riffs, but I still like the chorus), but the rest I love. Very few visual kei songs make me ~feel stuff as both "Breath" and "Feelin' the sky" do.
 
Out of their electronic period, I really like HEAVEN and the Material Pleasures mini. "Gorgeous", "OΦΦ", "Silent on-looker", "I Cry Dance" and "Borderline" are all incredible, but nothing still is as iconic as this:
 
 

early Laputa was the shit:
 
 

mid-era Laputa was the shit:
 (JOY! JOY!)
 
late Laputa was the shit:
 
 
Favorite albums:
 
翔〜カケラ〜裸 
their most accessible and incredibly solid all the way through. The only stinker is Refrain Limit / Drug Habit.
 
絵〜エマダラ〜斑
the one-two-three punch of ALKALOID, LOWSPIRITED and MONOCHROME is better than whole discogs of lesser bands.
 
眩めく廃人
the ultimate version of 奈落の底 is here. plus, an eternity and Vertigo.
 
God, they were good.