violetchain

I have an iPhone 5s. Works fine for what I use it for - taking pictures, texting, checking email, transit planning, etc., and I got a good case so I can drop it all the time without any issues. Aside from occasional training calls, I don't really use my phone for work, so I don't see myself upgrading it until there's a major reason to like the battery stops working or something. This is only my second cell phone ever - the first one was a crappy Nokia flip phone I had all through high school - so I don't really have much to compare it to, I suppose. I tend to be very slow to upgrade to new technology. I still use a separate iPod for music because the battery lasts longer and I find it much easier to skip songs and adjust the volume on it from my pocket when I'm out walking.

The last part of the main story of Fallout 3 felt way too easy. I finished it yesterday and I was like "Oh, that's it?" Most of the side quests I did felt way more challenging. Although maybe it's because I used Fawkes as my companion and he basically just killed everything on his own.

There's something oddly refreshing about seeing a completely unironic keytar solo in 2019.

I wasn't that wild about this track when it first came out - found it kind of hard to remember anything about it, but it's grown on me a lot recently after listening to it without the video. Guess sexy eyepatch Moga was just too distracting.

Lol, I'd never seen one of his live performances before. Guy's adorable. So much spirit.

I dunno why exactly, but I've always found the contrast between the two flashy blonde looks and the more subdued and feminine look with the red hair Kiyoharu has in the SADS video for "Porno Star" really sexy.

It's too bad, I liked their sound. Kind of figured they wouldn't last too long, since it seemed like they didn't have a ton of fans, but I would have at least liked a mini-album... Oh well, I give them credit for keeping going after Nana skipped out on them.

I know tons of people that like Kpop IRL and they're all perfectly normal, lovely people, but the Kpop fanbase on Twitter is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. I follow a blog about events, restaurant openings, etc. in my city on Twitter, and they posted an article about a Kpop show not selling well, and I saw a fan in the comments actually going down the list of people who had commented on it going "Unlike please. We don't want to give this terrible article more attention". There's this weird mindset some people into it have where they seem to think they can control how everyone thinks if they just sort of rig the numbers of views, retweets, shares, etc. on social media just right, and it creeps me out. Like there was a hashtag going around called "give us back our 10 million" or something where people were mad because the number of views on a Kpop video suddenly dropped by 10 million or something (out of a much bigger number) on YouTube and there were some fans going "This is disrespectful to fans who spent their valuable time staying up and replaying the video!" or something, and just wow...

I've been trying to will myself to listen to a bunch of full releases from start to finish on Spotify for months and it's been such a struggle, but I put all the releases into a playlist today and started playing them on shuffle, and all of a sudden I'm having so much fun? It's the same music, but it everything sounds so much better. Weird.

Not a band, but the reason I always loved KAT-TUN more than any other Johnny's group is you could always see how much they openly disliked each other. Always found that honesty refreshing. Plus I never really liked Jin, so the vaguely passive aggressive comments like this Kame dropped after he left always made me laugh.

God, I love Koki.

Oh really? Always thought you'd have better luck seeing him in Europe. I always wanted to see Hanoi Rocks, but I believe someone mentioned that the reason they could never come to Canada before is because Andy can't get into the country or something, so I don't think I ever really had a chance for that. I saw Michael and Sami Yaffa do Motorvatin' live though, so at least I got about as close as I possibly could have without traveling out of the country. Lol, I actually bought a ticket once to see Sebastian solo - I think it was around when he released Kicking & Screaming - but he cancelled last minute and I'm still kind of bitter about it so I haven't tried to see him again since. If the original Skid Row did a reunion, I'd go 100% though. It'd be worth seeing even if it was a trainwreck. I mean, it's not gonna happen unless something really dramatic spurs them to action, but I can dream... Was a little worried about Phil's age going into the L.A. Guns show, but it was really worth the wait! He still looks and sounds great, all things considered, and it was a surprisingly strong turnout for a weekday night. I had a thing for Baz too, but Phil Lewis was always my biggest 80s rock crush, so I'm really happy I got to see him with such a strong version of the band. Oh, I've never seen Cinderella or Tom Keifer either. Don't think they usually come up this way. That would be interesting as well. I didn't really get as deep into Cinderella as I did a lot of other bands from that era, but I liked Heartbreak Station a lot.

Sometimes I really wish Lynch Mob could hold onto a stable line-up. I always think about going to see them when they come through my city, and I always get too scared to do it because the singer has suddenly changed right before the shows in the past. As much as I love George Lynch, if I'm seeing Lynch Mob for the first time I at least want it to be with someone I've heard of singing. I'd really love to see them with Oni Logan at least once in my life because I've listened to the Wicked Sensation album so much over the years. I've crossed Michael Monroe and L.A. Guns with Phil and Tracii off my list. Still vaguely hoping for Skid Row with Sebastian and the original Lynch Mob before they all get too old...

Yeah, Taro Kobayashi has a great voice. I've had a weak spot for him since this MV. There's something so charming about the fact that he plays flying Vs. I recommend the theme songs he sang for Kamen Rider Amazons too.

I don't really show people songs/videos to try to get them into the same music anymore - I used to do it a lot in high school, and my friends were all very polite about it but clearly not very interested. I still kind of cringe looking back on that. These days, I write for a website and post on places like this forum to get all my nerdy J-rock energy out without subjecting my family and friends to it. However, I drag my friends to concerts all the time. (Well, concerts that are $25 or less, anyway. If it's an expensive concert I feel too guilty to ask.) They don't usually care for the music all that much, but they come along for kicks since we don't get to see each other that often now that everyone is working different schedules. It's something to do, and the artists I want to see tend to be a little ridiculous, so I think they always at least end up being entertained by the costumes and stage antics. Recently, I just say "Hey guys, are you up for seeing _ with me?" and they'll say yes without even checking to see what kind of band it is, so I feel super lucky. My two best friends are both casual anime fans, and they're familiar with some of the artists that do theme songs and stuff, so they don't really make fun of my taste in music all that much. Although they both have kind of strange taste in music as well, so I guess they're not really in a position to judge.

I'm going to see Miyavi for the first time in like 9 years this August because a friend invited me to go with her, and I was thinking I should catch up with his newer releases to get ready. I haven't listened to anything he's put out since Samurai Sessions vol. 1 except for the collabs he did with KenKen and SKY-HI. Any recommendations for which releases to start with / which ones to avoid?

God, THUNDER is such a good album. I think it's easily the release I listened to the most last year. I keep thinking that I should buy Millionaire too, but I wasn't that crazy about the video tracks and they were already like half the release...

Every now and then I think back to how disappointed I was by the ending of the first season of the J-drama "The Quiz Show" and sigh heavily. I rewatched it not that long ago, and I still love it until the last episode. I really wish Japanese movies and TV shows would cut back on all the brother/sister incest.

I kind of want to like it, but whenever I hear someone say "shuki shuki" all I can think of is that Hysteric Panic video with the cannibal guy eating the idol group, so it feels kind of unsettling and I keep waiting for it to take a dark turn that never comes.

Wonder if they're going to add a new official bassist at some point. I forget Shiori was even in the band sometimes, he was gone so long.

Finally getting around to Mob Psycho 100 at the moment. I love it so far. Kind of reminds me of the Excel Saga manga, which is a huge compliment coming from me.

There are some parts of this that I'm not really sure about, so feel free to let me know if you have corrections. I'm really happy they did a live video for this song because I liked the way it sounded in the live preview more than the version that ended up on the mini-album. #ソングライター / #Songwriter Music and Lyrics: Shinoyama Kosei A heart with a low-level rebellious spirit A Japanese person that’s withering away to nothing Saying it’s filled with slander is my air raid shelter from SNS* My soul must be defective When I face any hardship, I think having none would be better The ones still left on the shelf must be available at a bargain, But the return period on mine has already expired Won’t you stay for me? Please! I still need your money Looking at it from the opposite side, thinking something like that just seems the lowest – the worst – doesn’t it?** Guys like that can just hurry up and disappear I’m being loved for telling nothing but lies, right?*** The truth is, I hate everyone But even so, I won’t flinch away from it I’ll accept this world Writing songs to play at festivals It’s alright if you get fired up I could hear voices from the area around me saying “It’s no good if you complain” Won’t you stay for me? Stay there Because I still need your money “Ah, that’s right, make sure to buy the CD after too!” That copyright is what's keeping me alive This kind of song is the result of my struggle This song is the type of song I can write right now Even so, it doesn’t matter I’ll accept this music I’m being loved for telling nothing but lies, right?*** The truth is, I hate everyone But even so, I won’t flinch away from it I’ll accept this world I’m being loved for telling nothing but lies, right?*** The truth is, I hate everyone But even so, I won’t flinch away from it I’ll accept this world I’m being loved for telling nothing but lies The truth is, I hate everyone But even so, I won’t flinch away from it I’ll accept this world What’s right, and What’s wrong An absurd songwriter Let’s sing along pointlessly Let’s lament this dying music scene For every suitably laughable songwriter**** Notes: *, ***, ****I’m not sure about these lines. **Meaning, looking at his own attitude from the perspective of a fan #ソングライター / #SONGURAITAA TeiREBE no hankotsu shin Yasehosori no nihonjin Afurekaeru hibouchuushou Iu wa SNS no boukuugou Boku wa kekkanhin no tamashii Konnan nara nai hou ga MASHI Urenokori no kaidokuhin Sude ni henpin no taishougai WON’T YOU STAY FOR ME onegai da yo Mada anata no okane ga hitsuyou desu Ura de sonna koto o omotte iru nante Saitei saiaku jan Mou hayaku kiete yo Uso bakari aisarete iru ne Daremo minna hontou ga kirai Soredemo itowanai Kono sekai o uketomeru yo FESU muki no SONG WRITE Moriagareba IT’S ALRIGHT Kaiwai no koe ga kikoete kita “Nakigoto nara NG de” WON’T YOU STAY FOR ME soko ni ite yo Mada anata no okane ga hitsuyou dakara “A, sou da, ato CD mo katte yo” Sono KOPIIRAITO ga ikiru-sube Tadoritsuita no ga konna uta Ima kakeru uta ga konna uta Soredemo kamawanai Kono ongaku o uketomeru yo Uso-bakari aisarete iru ne Daremo minna hontou ga kirai Soredemo itowanai Kono sekai o uketomeru yo Uso-bakari aisarete iru ne Daremo minna hontou ga kirai Soredemo itowanai Kono sekai o uketomeru yo Uso-bakari aisarete iru ze Daremo minna hontou ga kirai Soredemo itowanai Kono sekai o uketomeru yo Nani ga seikai de Nani ga machigai da Koutoumukei na SONGURAITAA Muda ni SHINGARONGU Sutaru MYUJIKKU SHIIN ni ureu Soutou kokkei na SONGURAITAA ni tsuite Kanji: In the video description