coffee000

Shocking news. I wish Masaki and Hayato will still be in a band after that. But they probably won't make this type of music anymore. Scarlett was one of the few vk bands with a genuinely good concept and music style.

That's true. Artists don't get much from CD sales. When the CD is imported since a lot of us like Japanese music, a lot of what you pay goes into shipping and stuff. As to live gigs, you are paying for your one time enjoyment of the show. Your money is exchanged for their work of playing the music. It's fair trade unless you think the ticket price is not worth it. Of course, people can stop liking certain music for various reasons. If you are not happy with how the artists spend the money they earn, or if you don't like the music they make anymore, you will just stop paying for songs and gig tickets. No matter whatever you have paid for in the past, you have enjoyed the benefit so I think it was worth it.

To me, instrumentals are the most important. Then vocals come next. A singer doesn't even have to be loved or liked very much by me. I have to at least not dislike the lead singer's voice to get into a band. If I dislike/cannot accept a vocalist's voice, no matter how good the instrumentals are, I still can't like the music. Which vocalist sounds good to a person is very subjective.

That's true. It's sort of like an unwritten law within vk. But there are exceptions. When a very famous rock star is married, especially to another famous person, it will tend to become public. People have rumors that PSC has something written (not sure whether it's true). I can't guarantee that other labels won't have something similar written though. I think it's unfair to blame PSC for that, because in the end, it really doesn't matter whether it's written or not. I get the impression that band members will tend to use not being relevant or their partners not being public figures as excuses to not make their relationships known. They won't ever say because they are vk so it's not allowed (even if this is the real reason).

I didn't experience drastic change in musical taste ever. Maybe that's because I wasn't a music fan when I was under 15. I liked some mainstream 90s rock bands (bands like Blur and Garbage) and some 80s and 90s pop artists. I still think they are good today and won't deny to people that I liked them. I never had the embarrassment phase to like bands I consider shitty or average during my teen days. Those include a lot of mainstream Western bands (the nu-metal, grunge, pop punk/rock types) people mentioned. I never liked them even when they were big in those days. Like you said, I did expand my taste to a lot of different rock genres as I got older. One change I've had is that I am not that interested in electronica music anymore like I used to be. I never dislike the 90s/early 2000s electronica bands I liked. Another change is that I like some J-pop or anime/game/seiyuu songs. I didn't have any interest in this type of music when I was younger. I've found that those who have become huge fan of some kind of music and hate another kind of music with a passion tend to be still in school or college. A lot of people at those ages seem to like music not because of music, but because they are following a trend or scene. A lot of outside factors/people will influence them to change trends they like. I believe that's the reason why they can be fans of totally shitty groups or stop liking something purely because of things unrelated to music (looks, trends, etc.). That's why music industries can easily market something to these young people and gain a lot of fans among them, while can't do so easily to older people or people who have left school/college since a lot of the latter are not interested in music anymore (many already had their younger days listening to music for reasons unrelated to music then lost interest in such).

I don't care for both labels. Each of them probably only has one or two artists I like. Tastes differ. I am sure the managing policies for different bands differ too. You don't like something but that doesn't mean it's not good in some other fans' eyes. It still attracts fans and that's what matters to the company. I am not surprised that PSC acts like some idol agency or something and doesn't allow bands to reveal their relationships. It's reasonable for Japanese music/entertainment industries. Not allowing bands to have relationships? I don't think so. Bands from other labels also don't tend to reveal their relationships. Not being relevant or their partners not being public figures is a very good excuse. I am actually curious about the Kra story. Where did you get that information? If it wasn't from the band, I doubt whether it's reliable. Even if the band was indeed forced to record that in one day, isn't it strange that they are allowed to broadcast this kind of negative stuff about their company?

They are not that bad. I think the videos and lyrics are hilarious as hell. LOL at the fake rose and skull.

These days band members get seriously ill that easily or something? O_o

I don't ever believe it is the same genre. Whatever people say. The end. Why can't bands from this scene play different musical genres? Why do they have to be the same genre?

The song sounds good. Yazuka kei maybe but they don't dress yazuka-like? lol 2014 plans are almost all covers? I doubt they are serious too.

I really regret watching it. I would rather he spoke Japanese instead.

I don't even like the original version. But I have to admit that R-Shitei, Moran, Kameleo and DIV did a pretty good cover and some entertaining PVs. DaizyStripper is really average. AYABIE's... not bad. At least they tried to be different.

Not a really bad concept as long as their music sounds decent (though I don't like Penicillin at all). What has caught my eye is the band name based on that manga (just look at those outfits lol) and at least some of the song titles based on literature books. Those go to read the notorious manga after knowing about this band will probably be shocked or/and amused by the idea. XD

I have been wondering whether these are owned by the same people, judging from the names.

It's very good for an oshare-kei band. I know the singer's voice is a bit hard to get used to. But I'd rather listen to him than Gackt's voice (personal opinion). If Gackt's voice and MM old-fashioned synth sound are what that person is looking for, that is not similar. But for a poppy oshare-kei band, that's worth a try.

If anyone is looking for mixed gender J-rock bands with a mixed gender audience attending concerts, you'd better look outside the vk scene. Japanese rock is not all about visual kei and looks - I am sure you are aware of this. From what I have observed, a lot of J-rock bands or even J-pop artists wear makeup, have dramatic styling, and make dramatic music videos too. They can be from major, indie or doujin music scenes. That's not limited to visual kei. Isn't Liv Moon a very obvious example (and some other bands mentioned above too)? But their stylings fit into today's fashion. If what you want is old-school '90s styles, you will probably find none from them. I am sure Japanese rock fans are fairly happy with many rock bands, regardless of the gender of the band members. Visual kei is only a very small niche made for some girls. It shouldn't be surprising if the majority of the audience is female. If you want your band to have a mixed gender audience, it either has become very very big like L'Arc, or is not part of the visual kei scene at all.

I don't find that surprising at all. It has nothing to do with feminine aesthetics in vk. And no, most vk fans in Japan don't think like you do, sorry. They prefer guys and guys singing. There's nothing wrong with yours or their preference. It's just how the scene works. Usually almost 100% of a vk band's fanbase is female (and mostly very young) unless the band becomes very big like L'Arc-en-Ciel. You can argue that it's the norm in this world that most of the rock band members are male. But that is not the sole reason why visual kei band members are mostly male. In Japan's context, there are other reasons. Most Western rock band members are male too but they have a lot of or even mostly male fans from the beginning. Sometimes, Western rock bands with female members will attract more female fans. It's the opposite in Japan, especially within the vk scene. I believe it's due to a cultural difference even if I am talking about subcultures. It makes more sense if the majority of the band members are male since their audience is female. The guys might look pretty and feminine but that's only from Western culture's perspective. From the Japanese female perspective, they are still men, attractive, desirable or even "ideal" men (at least after makeup and styling have been done). I am sure Japanese female fans don't consider them feminine unless they are onnagata, which is the minority (e.g. Hizaki) and only serves as something novel and different among other guys. You need to keep in mind the cultural difference. It's like when you show today's anime (those made after the 2000s, regardless of the genre or demographic) to a Western person who's not familiar with anime, they will probably think most of the anime guys look like girls, while anime audiences in Japan don't ever think they look like girls. I believe that vk or J-rock bands with female members, especially a female vocalist, often attract more male fans. I don't claim that they use the female members to delibrately attract male fans. But they definitely don't have the female members to attract female fans (of course if female fans like them too, that's all good). "Females who dress like guys who look like girls" are nothing new in Japan. Since I talked about the "ideal" men (i.e. men looking like girls from Western perspective), the Takarazuka Revue, with an all female fanbase, has been doing this for decades. Some visual kei female members probably take inspiration from that when they want to be liked by female fans. So this is just a cultural thing in Japan that the West doesn't have. To some audience, it doesn't matter which gender is playing this role at all. They just want the show.

RUBIK - They are not that new. They are so worth mentioning for their unique sound. All their previous singles/releases are amazing (one song is on an compilation album only). I don't care who the lead singer is now (it's the guitarist, I think). They really should release an album.

I wasn't talking about just the artists themselves. Of course I know how the pop music industry works. I was talking about the whole production team working behind an artist. In theory, they can make consistent and sophisticated pop music for an album. It's just that they don't want to do that. It has to do with the kind of audience they try to attract. Most of the audience is just happy with simple plain mass-produced pop songs. If those sell, why putting more thought into the music/instruments? Also, some pop artists do hire the same band/people working for them, at least for one album or even more.

I think I am similar. There are quite a few pop artists that have a few songs liked by me though I am not into most of their other songs. I wouldn't put them into the "bands/artists I dislike" list either. Their problem is very common among mainstream J-pop artists - inconsistent styles/quality of their songs. These are some of the artists which have at least a few songs I like: Mizuki Nana, Ito Kanako, Suzumura Kenichi, GRANRODEO/Taniyama Kishou... The best songs by the above artists are melodic sophisticated/progressive/orchestrated pop or rock songs, usually made for games/anime/drama CDs. Most of their other songs are just simple plain pop songs, no way near the quality of the songs I like. If these artists do have the talent and a good production team, why don't they make an album with consistent style and quality? It's like they don't treat music seriously. But I guess it has to do with the taste of most J-pop fans.

Looking forward to these. BTW, I don't ever like their looks so I don't look at them at all. XD

Yousei Teikoku is not quite rock, not quite electronica, and not quite classical. Normally I am interested in bands that mix these genres. I wouldn't say their music is bad. You probably can't find anything like it in Western rock. Those melodies are definitely unique to J-pop/J-rock. However, rock fans might be a bit disappointed if they are mainly looking for super cool riffs and solos from this band (look for those from Asriel instead). I haven't listened to many songs by them so I am not sure. The problem is that the lead singer's voice is too much for me. I can't stand high dose of it. That's why I am not a fan. I've heard from some online review that their latest album released this year is good. Most of their songs I heard on YouTube are pretty good, such as this one (vocals on this song sound "normal" compared with their other songs): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HB6Xj5fZSI

I would nominate LIPHLICH's second album 『フルコースは逆さから』 (Full Course wa Sakasa Kara). I was a little disappointed at their MANIC PIXIE single when it was released early this year. So I didn't expect much from the upcoming second album. However, this album ended up surprising me and is much better than their first album, which was already promising. LIPHLICH have kept their signature retro rock/oldie pop sound while having richer and more varied background instrumentation on all the songs. You can tell that from the re-recorded album versions of Vessel and Ms.Luminous. They are different from the single versions instrumentally. Both versions are equally good. I would highly recommend this album as well as the B-sides from Maslow Mansion single to any alternative/indie rock fan. 慰めにBET (Nagusame ni BET) is a nicely orchestrated song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgvXJYVnQ1I ヘンピッグ (Henpig): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNdOJKiIQo

I don't care about singles. Two years is quite long for an artist in Japan and time for an album next year? As long as most songs on the album are listenable, I won't complain. Good thing is that they seem to have ditched the annoying rapping on their early songs. Problem I have with this band is that some of their songs are real surprises to me (as pop rock goes) while some others are plain bad pop songs - not consistent.

Not "emo" dads but I've seen some guys who look old with long (grey) hair, tattoos, etc. "metalhead" looks and clothes. Don't forget they all try to have big muscles (even with sagging skin). I am sure some of them are actually not that old. They only look old and wrinkled (thanks to the harsh sun here). Because I see them from time to time, they are so common and no surprise to me. If you don't mention this, I won't ever think of their existence. It's probably the culture of where I live. Most people don't give a fuck about what they wear at all. Some of them look absolutely terrible, with no sense at all and they don't care. Some of them wear alternative clothing (not always done in a good way) and they don't care either. That applies to people of all ages here. If you think they are awesome, this country is paradise to you. XD Yet again, old metalheads are probably more acceptable by (Western) society since they try to emphasize the "macho" image. Looking terrible and dirty is acceptable too as long as you are "masculine". As to other types that are not that macho or considered masculine (especially on men), I am not sure whether they are as acceptable here.