Muma

My budget is around the £100 mark I guess, but cheaper is always appreciated And yeah, I've been looking round places where I can try out some of the headphones mentioned here amongst others, because testing out headphones before basically meant either going into HMV or going into a BOSE store... I've been eyeing the Grado ones for a while, but purely because the ones sai brought up are basically half price i'm kind of swayed towards that >...< (c'mon though who doesn't like a bargain) but it's also the open vs closed I'm not sure I have that good an ear to tell the difference?? Then is it worth it like.... duuuude I have no clue what any of this means and when I tried to find out... nope, still nothing if anything I have even less clue

Aaah, thanks for all the replies already guys ^-^ and I will probably voice some of my thoughts later as I tend to be the kind of person who likes to know EVERYTHING about something before delving into it (so research coming up) but after reading that other thread I feel especially enlightened by your headphone journey Zess xD And I know what you mean by putting shit in you'll get shit out > < that's another concern of mine I guess, as not all of my stuff is in great quality, and I don't have the money to replace (or heart to get rid) of any music below 'x' quality. But I figure that headphones is a good place to start... And also, I feel I mainly listen to a lot of music in the rock/metal category, but that's not ALL I listen to I seem to have occasional outbursts of craving piano music for example, not sure how that will sound on the Grados headphones, which I was originally drawn to because of the metal/rock ratings

I've been meaning to make this topic for a while... Headphones are something I always seem to struggle with, in terms of ones that cover a large variety of genres. It's especially hard to find ones that don't make metal (generalizing a bit there) sound a little muddy I currently have these ones http://www.thehouseofmarley.co.uk/headphones/over-ear-headphones/rise-up-over-ear-headphones.html they're the first set of not-in-ear headphones I've had and I would definitely rate them in terms of sound quality, I don't have a lot to compare them to though, but comfy and all of the HOM headphones look awesome! (mine is in camel) but it seems they're breaking on one side, it hasn't affected the sound at all but one arm doesn't lock anymore so it keeps falling down one side of my face Dx despite quality supposedly being a selling point, not impressed and I need to chase that up... But still hasn't stopped me from doing a little bit of digging around and it's always good to know for future reference Preferably looking for ones that are over ear and also...don't break the bank > < which is a lot to ask for when going for quality headphones it seems. But if anyone has any suggestions then feel free to send them my way. I've heard good things about Grado headphones and these are the ones that caught my eye http://www.grado.co.uk/grado-earphones/sr60i-headphones.htm I also think they're fairy reasonable in terms of price and anything around that (or less xP) would be ideal

I'm going to go with Black Gene for the Next Scene and their first release DOOM. Yes, it could be counted among the artists who went downhill after 'x' release, but bear with... I remember not liking XodiacK due to the vocals, especially the growls (but now looking back they're not as bad as I remember) but then I happened to listen to DOOM and I was really pleasantly surprised and looking forward to what else they would come out with and I actually enjoyed his vocals (I remember XodiacK fans despairing in the YT comments though xD) Then the khz thingy came out and I don't think I've been able to listen to them since which makes me sad but there are plenty more VK fish in the sea

DoLLs-eyE - tsubaki no kage

2

http://www.redbubble.com/people/braviary/works/10761109-fujoshi-pandering-swimming-anime

I only really listen to Dir en Grey and that happens to be one of the few GazettE songs I still enjoy... But it seems Dir enGrey wins this one for me too 1. Howard Shore - The Great River 2. Dué le Quartz - 卍 Garame 3. Matenrou Opera - Magnolia 4. The Verve - Weeping Willow 5. Orphee - you... 6. DIV - 215 7. Ebola - $ God 8. Plastic Tree - 月の光をたよりに 9. NoGoD - Dou (Shirube) 10. VAST - Tattoo Of Your Name Whoa! I didn't even realize I had The Verve on here any more, that's a little nostalgic... and the Ebola song from when I was exploring the non Japanese part of MH. This was a hard one, if you'd asked me on Thursday evening then VAST, a week ago I would have been inclined to answer DIV but then again it's an intro, two weeks ago Plastic Tree and a month ago NoGoD! The Dué le Quartz song was my first song by them... Now...a toughie between NoGoD and Matenrou opera, but i'm inclined to go with Magnolia Special mention for NoGoD though, because I feel bad > <

attempting to listen to everything and nothing at all i don't want to fall back into the musicless void but it's where i've been for the most part of my life

Northwest England here! I feel it's not really relevant but half Indian and half Bengali, but born and raised here... -sips tea-

Thanks for the recommendations guys > < and Coheed and Cambria is one band I've never been able to get into...I think it might be something in his voice? It's better than I remember it being, but still Karnivool on the other hand, that song has me hooked! I think I might be buying Sound Awake because of this And definitely will check out their new album too! I've just been a little busy recently > . <

I know what you mean about the vocals in Old Gray anyway, but i've grown to love that kind of unpolished screaming xP La Dispute are a lot more listener friendly imo, and 'Such Small Hands' is probably one of my favorite songs tbh, but I always end up listening to the whole album as everything just flows into one nicely. On another note YESSSS BRAND NEW ARE AWESOME and thank you, because I don't listen to them half as much as I should do, so hopefully I will ACTUALLY get some of their music to listen to, because I always seem to forget them. Also alexisnotonfire really caught my attention there. Another name i've heard thrown around but never really listened to. And his voice sounds rEALLY similar to someone and I can't put my finger on it and I will listen to that album in due time but FELLOW BRIT! And I kind of feel you about the British music scene, but I never used to pay much attention to music growing up, so Visual Kei was the first kind of music I really got into > < And speaking of British music, these guys are from the UK and were a supporting act for The Amity Afliction, and for being relatively unknown imo they REALLY BLEW ME AWAY, not so mention all the dudes are cool guys as we got to speak with them after. I think they would probably be post-hardcore/melodic hordcore?? I'm trying to get to grips with genres okay guys and their lyrics really speak to me, and their album 'Life Gone Wrong' is a really solid first album and I had it on repeat for a few days after I got it (which is impressive for me as my temperament regarding music changes frequently and i'm not really one for playing the same song over and over). Their lyrics loosely remind me of Northlane, an Australian hardcore band whose lyrics particularly on their Discoveries album, tends to reflect a lot of the things in my head and just allow me to become lost in thought and take a break from everything. I don't know how to put videos in posts but here's a link to where you can listen to the whole album by Landscapes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRH0ptKygRQ UPDATE: ohh, so you just post the whole link to get the video to show up?? Now how to get the spoiler things.... xD

I guess, I don't really know what else to call it though. And i'm pretty sure it's not metal so... Skramz? I've heard that being thrown around a lot too and it seems to all come back to 'screamo'. I'm kind of confused but I was at a loss at what to call this topic tbh. If you have any other suggestions though, or you feel something else suits it better then PLEASE let me know Like I said i'm at a bit of a loss... > < I was just really feeling this album and I kind of wanted to share it I guess, for better or for worse... >>another band which seem to have tagged themselves as screamo but are AWESOME anyway<< @digi: La Dispute seem to have noted themselves as screamo too, what genre would you call them?

I was reluctant to make a post along these lines because I feel they're such obscure and strange 'genres', but they're also something a fair few of the bands I listen to have in common and associate themselves with. I feel I also made it to share one specific release, and if you happen to be in this scene at all then i'm sure you will have heard of it. I'm admittedly late on the bandwagon but before I delay it anymore the release it by Old Gray and it's their newest album, An Autobiography. Their bandcamp is >>here<< and they've been so kind as to put it up for free! (no excuses) For a lot of English music I tend to focus a lot more on the lyrics (um, maybe because I can actually understand them) but that aside, these guys had me with their first song and there was no going back for me after that cue depressing shit ahead That aside, i'm not great at describing music and selling it from that point of view, musically I have no clue what i'm talking about and with this kind of music I feel it's a little like marmite for a lot of people. You either love it, or hate it. This is clearly for those of the former. All I can say is have a listen and you'll probably know where you fall. The album name is has more truth to it than first meets the eye, click on each song and you get background from the person who wrote the song and you realize exactly how personal this is, and how much heart and soul has been put into the music. I like lyrics that are ambiguous a lot of the time and you can make that song personal to you. The first time I listened, I didn't realize it was an option and I warped the songs to what was going on in my head. But having that background feels more intimate and you can truly appreciate the song at its fullest. I'm not sure what else to say apart from this kind of hurt my chest while listening to some of it, but try it out! I haven't seen many people on this forum post much about music like this (or bands that I've heard of anyway), and I feel like it's going to be a release that sticks with me for a while so i'd love to know what you guys thought of it, even if you didn't like it.

but at the same time... how to find a niche?! Constantly stuck between wanting to be REALLY good at something and wanting to be good at ALL the things, but then the logical side of your brain takes over like 'yooooouuuu....suck. And are not being realistic in the slightest and go master one of your interests and become FUCKING AWESOME AT IT.' Then the short attention span kicks in... 'NEW SHINY THING OVER THERE! GO. TO. THE SHINY.' or that's at least how it is for me

from what I've read, well especially on here, I have concluded that this may be an unpopular opinion I really liked The Gazettes Division, especially the second disc I think? Not 100% sure since I got the regular one so.... on that the first few tracks feat. GazeStep. Not a huge fan of the slower songs on the second half (or first disc??? so confusing man) II get halfway through the slower songs and then I just switch off. Some of them I really like but it begins to trail off towards the end And a lot of people have regained a tiny bit of hope in them since Beautiful Deformity, but I listened through it once and...not since. It just didn't catch my attention at all and I can't even remember how any of the songs went. I'll probably listen to it again to *ahem* confirm this >< or not... you never know actually that's a lie... I remember the guruguruguru bit in the notquitesurebutsomethngaboutaninsect song xD

DIV - DECIDE

The music that really stuck with me from when I was younger was The Allman Brothers Band from my Dad specifically Ramblin' Man and Midnight Rider, then there's Jimmy Buffet with 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' >< Now...names I seem to recall are The Climax Blues Band and something to do with bluegrass banjos... My mum tends to be more open minded and I seem to have got her into Nightmare's anima album (specifically message) and she tends to be fine with a lot of my Japanese stuff as long as the vocals aren't too harsh. We also play a little game whenever I have my ipod on shuffle if a song by either DEG, Alice Nine or the Gazette comes on (as those were some of the first bands I got into) she tries to guess which one it is. Also Kaggra's Core album seems to have grown on most of my family, which is nice. Music seems better when you can share it with someone... And in terms of more modern stuff she seems to be really keen on The Black Keys. It was Mumford and Sons but she quickly grew bored of them... But in terms of background I wasn't that interested in music when I was younger so I didn't really pay attention to a lot of the things that were played but I do remember Madonna, Kylie, Pink and the Scissor Sisters being played on long car journeys. Now I clearly have more of an interest in music (no shit sherlock) I tend to associate my mum with Dire Straits and more classical stuff and I think she was more into softer rock??? Don't know the specifics. While my dad...more bluesy and country along with Kate Bush, All About Eve and some synthpop like New Order. When they married the only overlap they had in music was Simply Red and U2.

A closed tagging system seems more...functional? Not the right word, something closer to 'useful'. At the moment a lot of the time I feel that it isn't really worth having tags due to the large variety and as you mentioned, tags like 'kote kei' and 'old school', within the context of MH anyway, seems to pretty much overlap. I also think that compulsory tagging would be a good idea, maybe more people will be inclined to read the rules then >< but I think more than one tag to be compulsory would be better, as visual kei is quite broad >< I do like the idea of tagging mood though! This is presuming that tags will be included representative of all the different subgenres such as oshare etc etc... It would probably be helpful to have a kind of guideline to them. Not really sure angura kei consists of tbh and it would probably be useful for and if anyone is unsure then it would be a good reference point. Maybe this is slightly influenced by my obsessive nature and want to put things into little boxes But it'd be interesting to see what everyone else thinks

For me anyway, that's one of the main reasons I joined MH I guess! Originally for Japanese music like most people, but there are so many opportunities to discuss non Japanese music too. If we smoosh everyone's music together there's such a large variety of music on here alone, I stay occupied for hours just browsing threads and listening to all your recommendations (or not when I recently uncovered 'VKPOOP' xD)

Can I bring this thread back up? Or maybe hijack it.... Anyone got any bands that are similar to Rishloo and Fair to Midland? I'm pretty sure they count as prog, but they seem to be a lot softer than a lot of the suggestions on here so far?? (not checked out all of them due to goddamn slow internet) But something with similar sounding vocals would be nice. I tend to listen to full albums so the albums i've been listening to are Rishloo - Eidolon Fair to Midland - Arrows & Anchors just in case anyone wants to check them out too >< or get a vague idea what i'm after