nullmoon

the whirl's re-record is crazy good. underneath the skin is probably my favorite lynch. release overall and while i mostly loved the melt rerec, i didn't really care for the alien rerec, so i wasn't sure what to expect. but i think they did a great job.
 
usually i prefer lynch.'s B sides over their A sides, especially since their A sides in particular are written in a specific kind of way for a specific kind of crowd motion/interaction (clapping/fist pumping > headbanging > chorus with sing-along part). but i prefer CREATURE over BLOOD, which hasn't really stuck with me at all. SINNERS-EP was a mild flop for me and this follow up is not my favorite single ever either. (still better than BALLAD tho)
 
also i didn't realize MH was so down on AVANTGARDE btw, it's second to D.A.R.K. for me but easily outdoes most of their previous albums lmao

The other day I met YOSHIKI.  I was at a showing of We Are X in Oslo, Norway.  Norway doesn't have a huge VK scene so I was happy he had come.  It turned out to be his first time in Norway.
 
I asked him "Can western bands be visual kei?"  -  He laughed and replied "Of course!"
 
So I followed up with "If a western band is to be visual kei, is there something they must adhere to, in terms of style or aesthetic?"
 
He explained VK is more of a mindset, born out of them feeling like they didn't really fit in anywhere.  As he said, they played "super heavy" and "super soft" music.  He also told me about a festival he hosted recently where the bands were everything from metal to pop, and there was even a band that didn't play music (that got some laughs around the room).  He summed everything up by saying it really isn't a genre, but more of a mindset allowing yourself to be as creative as you want.  And it also generally has makeup.
 
I am summing these things up from memory.
 
So here's my take on VK:
1.  You must be influenced by Japan/Japanese music (because after all, it originates from Japan). 
2.  Make creative use of makeup/visuals. 
3.  Be somewhat diverse in terms of style. 
4.  Be doing your own thing confidently (basically:  be true to yourself, because people and fans can see through you being a cookie-cutter).
 
So basically, no you don't have to have a lolita in the band.  One member doesn't have to wear a surgical facemask at all times.  You don't have to have death-metal growls in your music.  Some music fans within genres and subcultures get really elitist and that gets irritating, especially when people say that VK is only Japanese (so is glam-metal only truly American?  Can you not make Brazilian samba music if you aren't from Brazil?).  VK is unique in that it is vague but also has a meaning.  A band alone isn't just "visual kei" but "visual kei rock" would be a better indicator.  I think in that sense, the addition of the term "visual kei" before "rock" to me would indicate the above traits I listed, like being influenced by Japan, be somewhat "different" in terms of makeup/visuals and potentially have a diverse musical style.
 
I had a blast meeting YOSHIKI.  He's a funny and nice guy, and it was an honor having him in Norway.

I've hardly listed to Utafumi either. Maybe 5 or 6 times. When Hageshisa to... came out, I was hyped after UROBOROS and listened to it fairly often, and it lost its appeal with the two year wait for DUM SPIRO SPERO. Didn't help that the re-recording was mixed badly. That song is horrendously overplayed.
 
Tbh, I like Utafumi. It reminds me a little of the Withering/MARROW era. The only part which isn't as good for me is the break; Kyo's vocals sound tired and awkward for some reason.

Hageshisa is over eight years old... holy shit o.o'

I like Utafumi, and it translates really well live.  I’ll never understand why a 3 minute song got a radio edit though 

Day 26
 
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! - The first film in the series are actually very enjoyable. It's sort of so-bad-it's-good, but not in the same way as The Room, Troll 2 and so on as this aim to be bad, while the others were made by serious film makers who genuinly thought they had made something amazing. But it was fun for what it was. But by the time of the second the series had already lost most of its charm and you were left with something that felt too artificial and lame. By the third it had lost all its charm. It's 90 minutes of self-reference gags that were already overdone in the second film, and here they're trippling that up. It's tiresome as fuck. And it doesn't even feel half as absurd as the first one, even though they try to make it a lot more absurd.
 
The only thing I really like about this film is Cassandra Scerbo as Nova. Holy shit, she is incredibly hot.
 
3/10
 

 
 
Day 27
 
Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens - About as bad as the third film in the series. Poor gags, social commentary that feels stupid as fuck and no charm what-so-ever. It's a huge mess of a film and nothing else.
 
3/10
 

 
 
Worst thing about this isn't the films themself, but the fact that I'll watch the fifth film as soon as it comes. Why? No fucking idea. I hate myself and just loves to torture myself? Or maybe I am hoping for something similar to the first one? I don't know. Fuck it!

I recently listened to Uroboros for the first time in 5 years, and I'm surprised how well it's held up for me. Some of their later releases (Unraveling, Dum Spiro Spero, Arche) quickly lost their shine for various reasons, I could rant for hours about those; but Uroboros still holds up as one of my favorite in the band's discog

funny home videos & bloopers

tbh I would have preferred 4 discs of I'll

This looks exactly like the kind of thing I'd buy and then immediately regret buying.

Wouldn’t have put beautiful dirt and the IIID Empire on there (never really held much love for either of these songs.)
 
I kept thinking about how dir en grey have changed because someone mentioned here that the songs on Arche and dum spiro Spero all sound the same, and I sort of get where this is coming from. I like both albums, but I realised that I listen to them differently...I think dir en grey albums until then demanded a lot of attention from the listener and while listening, it was sometimes impossible to concentrate on anything else. But with Arche and dum Spiro Spero I feel like all of these songs emerge together into one. I like to listen to them on the train because I enjoy their whole atmosphere, but they don’t demand my whole attention. If that makes sense to any of you.

Taiyou no Ao being followed by ain’t afraid to die is going to feel like an eternity. 

idt it's surprising, if this CD gets distributed by sony they won't put the edgy pieces in (not that it really matters with that song)
 
I'm...surprised jessica ended up there, isn't it too upbeat for their current image of depressed-ass midlife crisis survivors?
 
but if you ditch agitated sharts of maggots and boring-ass BS like lotus it will smw resemble my itunes Deg playlist C:

lmao you know it's going be to the "hold my beer" kind of self-cover that will ruin anything good that was in that song.
 
I don't mind the original, it's not particularly memorable, but nothing on WtD ever got as awful as the persistent shit-fest they've descended into since TMOAB.
 
expecting a shit-ass take on fukai with a twenty minute long acapella howling intro, and the recreation of IIId empire will probably make their Japanese fans hand their stan cards back to a knot, but the resident neckbeards here will cream 'emselves at its newfound djenty progginess or w/e.

plot twist: those "new songs" people reported about earlier this year are actually the rerecorded tracks

I'm not stoked about the tracklist at all, it doesn't look like any of the tracks will flow well at all. The tracklist for disc 3 looks especially problematic. I LOATHE the re-recordings of 罪と罰 and かすみ, I could really do without ultraboomy and untruth, and I'd much prefer they'd use the original version of OBSCURE.
 
It won't surprise me if the 3 re-recordings sound exactly like the 2012 version of 霧と繭, but with Kyo making different gurgle-burgles and wraggle-fraggles.

we'll take them from normies, as long as demon adnroid androgynous' scene doesn't dry out itself.

Jumping in to say Deathgaze did it first on Enigma! This song is now 100% derivative XD 

Jumping in to say Deathgaze did it first on Enigma! This song is now 100% derivative XD 

Dragging up this old topic. D:
 
I dated my husband for a year, and then I had to move back to the U.S. to graduate so we we did a year and a half long distance while I was studying and looking for employment in Japan. Then we moved in together and got married. We've been together over 12 years.
 
Not gonna lie, the long distance part was really hard. We almost broke up a few times because our ways of dealing with the relationship was different... For my husband it was easier to try not to think about me and not text or write so he didn't have to deal with feeling lonely and for me I wanted more contact to ease the loneliness, so we fought sometimes about that. But having gone through that, it has certainly made us more appreciative of our relationship and we don't take our time together for granted.

October is already upon us and you know what this means: a month of horror!
 
Day 1:
 
It Comes at Night - Dark, gritty and intense psychological horror that'll keep you on the edge of the seat for sure. It's beautifully shot, well-written and superbly acted all the way through. Starts off as a strong drama before things get more and more claustrophobic, intense and frightening by the minute. If you're looking for a fast-paced horror film that'll feed you answers, this isn't it. This is far from it. This is slow-burning, intense and gritty horror-drama with a lot of focus on the latter genre.
 
8/10
 

 
Day 2:
 
The Love Witch - The Love Witch was one of my most anticipated films of the year, and Anna Biller's second feature does not disappoint at all. The Love Witch is a comedic horror film about a modern day witch who uses spell and magic to make men fall in love with her. Sounds silly? You bet it is! It's silly, it's sleazy, it's witty and it's looks and feels very much like a lot of  the late 60's-early 70's sexploitation films, but it never becomes trashy or cheap. It stays classy throughout. This horror film isn't meant to scare anyone. Quite the opposite. It's both playful and gentle, strange and odd, but it all blends together into a very original and unique film.
 
We have cells phones, modern cars and all that. But despite these things, The Love Witch always feels like an authentic late 60's-early 70's horror film. The bright, beautiful Technicolor-coloring and colorful clothes and sets offers a film that is visually stunning, and the script, acting and direction is very playful. Everything about this film, with the exception of few elements, just screams of early 70's and I love it. 
 
This film is a future cult-film and it's a film that will divide the horror fans. I for one loved it and am really looking forward to see it again.
 
9,5/10
 

Train to Busan -  A thrilling ride that has a lot to offer. Not only is the premise and execution of the premise quite unique and extremely good for being a zombie film, but it's got actual characters and lots of development in both characters and plot and is, at this moment, a sorely needed addition to a genre that's not had much to offer over the last decade. It's hella lot more than just a two hour long fast-paced zombie-actioner, even though there's a lot of action and zombies throughout. 
 
In many ways it's just Snowpiercer with zombies, but that's good. Snowpiercer was awesome to say at least, and this is just as good if not better.
 
8,5/10
 

He might think he is too Murican now for crossdressing band like Jupiter 

Another translation of mine, this time of one of the best songs by NoGod (for me). I hope that you like it.
 
Kanji:
いつまでもあの夜空で
輝いて君を照らしていられれば
いつの日かまた触れ合える気がしてた
囁いて ただ僕の為に

夢を見ていたよ 目覚めることないような朝 頭痛が酷くなる
掌の中で 滲む地平線 見せて欲しい

通じ会いたくて 感じられなくて 心が痛すぎて
繋ぎとめたくて 離れられなくて また 一人になって

もう 寒い風すらも感じない
僕は 熱を求めてる

いつまでもあの夜空で
輝いて君を照らしていられれば
いつの日かまた触れ合える気がしてた
待っていて そこに再び帰るまで ずっと

だけど 気付いていたんだ
本当は もう戻れないことを
それでも 想い続け照らし続け
永遠に 守りたくて

いつまでもあの夜空で
輝いて君を照らしていられれば
いつの日かまた触れ合える気がしてた
囁いて ただ僕の為に 君だけは
どうか見ていて この空を 
 
Romaji:
Itsumademo ano yozora de
kagayaite kimi o terashite i rarereba
itsunohika mata fureaeru kigashiteta
sasayaite tada boku no tame ni.

Yume o miteita yo mezameru koto no nai you na asa zutsuu ga hidoku naru
tenohira no naka de nijimu chiheisen misete hoshii.

Tsuuji ai taku te kanji rare naku te kokoro ga ita sugite
tsunagi tome taku te hanare rare naku te mata ichi nin ni natte.

Mou samui kaze sae mo kanji nai
boku ha netsu o motome teru.

Itsumademo ano yozora de
kagayaite kimi o terashite i rarereba
itsunohika mata fureaeru kigashiteta
Matte ite soko ni futatabi kaeru made zutto.

Dake o kizuiteita you na
hontou wa mou modorenai koto wo soredemo
omoi tsuzuke terashi tsuzuke towari mamoritakute.

Itsumademo ano yozora de
kagayaite kimi o terashite i rarereba
itsunohika mata fureaeru kigashiteta
sasayai te tada boku no tame ni.

Kimi dake wa tooka mite ita kono sora wo.
 
Translation:
Forever in that night sky
You, shining, can illuminate me
I felt like if I could touch again someone
Please whisper for my sake.

I was dreaming and it didn’t seem I woke up
Morning headache becomes atrocious
I want to show you the horizon spreading in the palm.
 
I don’t feel it because I want to meet you
My heart is too painful
I wanted to join but I couldn’t go away
 
I neither feel cold winds
I am looking for the fever.
 
Forever in that night sky
You, shining, can illuminate me
I felt like if I could touch again someone
I waited and I stayed there for all the time
 
But I was aware
Of what I can’t return
It still continues to shine and to illuminate
I want to protect it for the eternity.
 
Forever in that night sky
You, shining, can illuminate me
I felt like if I could touch again someone
Please whisper for my sake. 
 
Please look at this sky.
 
Kanji from here
Romaji from Jpopasia
Translation is mine, so credit me before posting it elsewhere!