fitear1590

@Des: Don't worry, she's not just about the singles. I actually loved 19! But 21 is great too! I'm really not sure which one I like better (such a hard life, choosing between the better of two masterpieces!) Either way, Adele has solidified herself in my top-tier of favorite artists! I love her voice. Despite their technical talent, vocalists like Beyonce and Christina Aguilera just don't do it for me, for whatever reason. Adele does! Plus, she has MORE than proven herself live. Just watch any live video and she just as good, if not even better than the CD's. She's not just a studio artist. I also really admire what I've seen of her in interviews and stuff. She seems very "down-to-earth" and humble and her laugh is really great. It always puts a smile on my face! Anyway...!Song favorites! From the 19 era: Chasing Pavements Daydreamer My Same Painting Pictures (from Make You Feel My Love single) From 21: Turning Tables Rolling in the Deep Set Fire to the Rain (hey, it's popular, but it's awesome!) Take it All

Definitely fake. It's a song from that Takamizawa guy: But yeah, I like the guitars, haha. Just not the guy's vocals...

It is a smidge expensive, but perhaps with the stockpile of points I have and combining with other CDJapan purchases, I could save money in the long run. Either way, always nice to have more options. Thanks for the heads up, Peace Heavy

DRY ICE SCREAM!! better be fantastic to make up for that horrendous name, haha. But "Thanatos," now there's an awesome name. And hopefully Judicial Noir will be remastered... Also to answer Chianti's "booklet" question more thoroughly, Yuki's blog seems to say it will be 100 pages! CDJapan has a (tiny) picture of their new look: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=WPZL-30302 I'm re-stoked with this overload of information!!

I would guess one of those thick photo-booklets, Chianti. Like the ones that came with Jubilee and Noble "limited edition".

Better be the same tracklist for each... But hooray!!!

The noseband is gone! Success!

Wow, jigsaw9, that was right on! Thanks for posting that. I'm gonna have to look into them some more.

nekkichi wins! Particularly the first song was very weird, but interesting! And precious kittycat, I'd always heard of Jens Lekman, but never checked him out. My mistake!

I guess the piano parts of the Muse song are kinda it. I'm not feeling the Killers one at all though.

One of my consistently favorite styles in VK is the light and "fluffy," romantic stuff like Lareine, some Malice Mizer, Secilia Luna, Izabel Varosa, etc... The violins, the cheesy chimes, and all that, with a rock twist. I love it! (See the question at the bottom of this post) Some concrete examples of what I'm talking about: vjUrQ9PZe24 akOBeRv5-vM 7ytXEIvLZoE 1uXWE7N1YrM 2BslRUnvhA0 gV95yCOcX2c _______________________________________________ One of my friends and I have discussed this style a few times and we couldn't think of any "western" music that embodied quite the same style. So what do you think? Does it exist outside of Visual Kei? Or do you need to have at least one member in a dress to make this stuff... If you think you've found a good example, please share it! _______________________________________________

Whoa, I'll have to check out Advantage Lucy then. Sounds possibly up my alley.

By the way, does anyone know which shops will be selling the second press of "UNiTE."?

@Chianti, I can't believe you forgot them!!!! And thanks for your lengthy post, subliminal! I really want to hear more from this Anneke van Giersbergen! Would her solo project be a good place to start?

(such strong vocals from a young woman!) (the jazz singer, not the one from Heart!) (So versatile. The scream she does in this song is :staru:tastic) (fragile and not as trained as some of the others, but it somehow works perfectly with bossa nova. ps: ignore her scary cat eyes in this video) (Restrained and awesome.) (so "breathy" and light.) (I know it's autotuned which I usually hate, but it's so calm and ethereal.)

I'm kinda with you on this, but more with ASCENDEAD MASTER. Don't get me wrong, I liked the single just fine, but when BOTH songs will later be on an album, the single seems kind of futile. I also really regret getting XOVER's mini album, Secilia Luna's Angelianity Myth, ALSDEAD's S.a.g.A and HEARTLESS' Burn Oneself Out DVD. They were all very disappointing to me but I've been able to sell the first two at least to others who enjoy them more! Agreed with Arithmetica, Japanese CD's are just too expensive to potentially buy bad releases...

Damn, I should keep up with this band more. I didn't even realize they had another album after BtP. How would you say Breathing the Fire compares?

Woo, skeletonwitch! I've never heard the song you posted, though. Sounds cool. All the metal bands I like always seem to be the ones where people are always bitching over the genre, haha. Anyway, here's my personal favorite: jYdO9cPeenw I think it gives a good indication of the band's overall style.

Omg, is that the problem?? I was wondering why I can almost never view any of the links people send me on youtube here.

Utter craziness, Furik. Sports has got to be my favorite Tokyo Jihen album! The only thing I found "weird" about the album was the intro song Ikiru, because of that acapella-ish intro. But after about two listens, I realized that it was wonderful, haha. But it's cool that her work (solo and TJ) is so varied that it can attract all kinds of fans. And yeah, their new single was delayed because the drummer had a drunken fury and broke into someone's house or something...

So what bands would you consider to be the most important in shaping your musical taste? As in, what key band did you discover, that lead to finding a number of other bands? (Feel free to talk about your so-called "western" music tastes as well) Some of mine: Malice Mizer -> visual kei in general, but more specifically an affinity for cheesy VK "gothic" things, which then lead to being able to appreciate old school VK in all of its deathrocky, nasally glory. (this defunct indie pop band from Texas that had a bossa nova influence) -> led to my taste in "indie pop" but more relevant, the biggies of bossa nova like Astrud/ Joao Gilberto and Antonio Jobim, which then led to a better appreciation for jazz as a whole, etc etcHizaki Grace Project -> Hizaki pretty much set the standard for metal guitar for me. I've heard many many "western" metal bands and while they can be impressive, I just always come back for more Hizaki, haha. Still, it led me on a hunt for more neo-classical, melodic stuff. And of course, Versailles is one of my top bands now. -> I'm not even sure how I found this band to begin with anymore. Still, it was an extension of that "indie pop" stuff I was getting into at the time. It possibly led to my discovery of Shibuya Kei, because I think there's a pretty big influence here. Also led to a few more of these spanish pop bands, haha.The Piass -> I couldn't stand "heavy" music until I was like 16. That isn't to say I needed everything poppy, but I just didn't understand the point "harsh" vocals. Post-hardcore was just the most awful stuff I had ever heard (I hadn't even heard of black metal at that point). Somehow, the Piass, as abrasive and noisy as they can be, really clicked with me. I'd say they had a pretty big hand in allowing me to "appreciate" and enjoy certain bands that are... a little less ear-friendly. There's many more, but please discuss some of yours!

In other news, their website has now been updated into a legitimate site with pictures, news and everything. Check it out: http://unite-jp.com/ Two maxi singles are already planned after their "Greeting CD" 06/01 1st Maxi Single 「U -s m e h-」 07/13 2nd Maxi Single 「ミドルノート」 Oh jesus, I know I haven't even heard a full song yet, but Mio has never failed me. I'm so sexcited to hear all these new songs! (But lol at "U -s m e h-")

Champ, you're perpetuating the stereotype that all Germans love David Hasslehoff!

Oh shit! That really sucks... And it sounds pretty serious. I wonder if he'll have to retire from music...

Hold on, need to clean myself off... ... Okay, fucking sweet! Now I don't have to bust my ass trying to get a live-only CD, woo-hoo! Thank you, trombe! Also, any word on if there first show is still going to take place or could it be delayed because of the earthquake?