Tetora

Too hard to choose, they are all awesome. SID are one of the heroes of VK. MuCC is legendary in their own right. girugamesh are too legit. UNiTE comes out with some BEAUTIFUL tunes. DIV is awesome. Kameleo I listen to the least, not as much my style, but they are real good at what they do. All have good lives, SID and MuCC are the largest and most refined, girugamesh is the most amped, UNiTE has gotten better and better sounding, and make nice changes to their tunes, DIV has gotten way better in terms of their stage presence, Kameleo delivers what they do very well and the fans seem to love it. Would love to see girugamesh do tunes like VANISH, ASTERIOS and KISS. Danger Crue is the best, they always have something crazy going on, like the COMMUNE shows as well. But let us not forget BPR`s latest shows with ROYZ, CODOMO and KIRYU, bringing in DOG (awww yeah) and ARLEQUIN (amazing live, check out their performance of 像). Also an epic line-up, would love to see all these shows.

FUUUUUUUUARK! I knew they were going to give them the SID push, but didn`t know it was going to be this hard this fast. The song, the video, the car (estimating total boost in annual sales for that car to be 0, how did they even get it lol). If they actually keep at it and pull it off, it would be amazing, no reason for a VK band to not try and play with the big boys in a way other than the horrible style (in my opinion) that PSC tried to do it with bands like ViViD and A9 (still liked a lot of the music by those bands though). To me, the song is quite different from their previous work, but you still have the roots and history of DIV intact, and although things like the programming are more simple progressions, you still get the whole rock sound and Visual Kei element in the rest of the composition, as well as good lyrics ( I can`t understand them all to be honest, like usual his voice is super heavy with the deep exhaling but maybe I will pick it up sometime in the next 100 times I repeat the SPOT). Also most balling PV I have seen outside of SuG for a while. I hope they keep up the quality and are able to make it big. If they keep going like this I can only love and respect them, especially since they can do it while still being a VK band, as opposed to others that act like VK is something to be ashamed of. They seem to actually have the balls to go for it in life. Only big issue I have.... Like twenty seconds of silence in the beginning, have to wait so long for the song to restart, hehe. Anyway, talking too much: CLIFFS: Song is hot fire. Hope they make it. Will buy. Will keep repeating SPOT.

It's a pleasure to be on board folks. As my first order of business I would like to propose a dress code for the month of September to maintain a professional image. All employees should be outfitted in the style of the latest Lycaon look. Also, I'm putting together a team to get Night Chat up and running again, I will keep you all updated. Thank you.

I enjoy both the halves of their career up to this point. The beginning was what got me into them and holds the songs I am the most attached to, and the most recent stuff still has a distinct style that although more straightforward, still has power to it. As I said of their last album, the problem wasn't that it was a stinker, it was that it was like an introduction album to new fans and left the old fans hanging onto a few new songs which weren't home-runs for many people. But that album sold more than twice as much as their first and they are defintely going to get a push as the new main act on DC, as Girugamesh will stick to their niche and UNiTE has become very popular but hasn't hit it out of the park. Plus ALSDEAD is on 'break' and D.I.D. is gone, do I am guessing they are giving a SID push to the band (just hope they aren't pushing a direction on the band, which they don't seem to do anyway) and if this is the direction DIV wants to go, I can appreciate that and will continue to enjoy them as long as the next album doesn't contain ten previously released tracks or something. Also, I am hoping that at least one track is a longer composition that really feels things out, like some of their older tunes, second song gives me that idea, but maybe it's just the title that is giving me that feel.

Looking forward to it, I have been waking up every morning for months wondering 'When's the new girugamesh coming?' This band rules.

To me, it doesn`t matter that much if the band changes structure, it`s what they do with the structure, as there is still a huge amount of space to do different things within, and countless songs have used the exact same structures over decades with very different results. It also seems like every couple of years there is a slightly new take on a certain style of music that allows artists to be hugely successful and build high esteem (even if momentary) while stripping the music down to a core simplicity and featuring a certain sound or technique that becomes trendy. There are also a number of bands that specialize in having a distinct sound and not straying from it. I can enjoy that, as well as bands that use a varying range of sounds and structures (SID, SuG, MuCC, etc...) In the same way movies use the same structures with even less variation, relying on the material presented within that structure to do something different. And even then, there are works that stand as landmarks, like Rashomon, and live on with esteem in certain circles, yet, way more people have seen the latest Hollywood Blockbuster, and were entertained by it. The way we interpret mediums relies on past experiences and the sensibilities developed from them. So the vast majority of people will enjoy the same structure, and the same chord progressions, and things that differ from the norm don`t go down as smoothly, the experience is harder to grasp, and appreciate. There are of course the occasional endearing songs with different mechanics, though a lot of them seem to become popular or connect with an audience due to the way they are still made to sound like the typical structures we expect. I always try to use different chords and progressions myself, though the vast majority of what you try with Diminished chords without proper resolves etc.... won`t make an actually good song that also connects to an audience unless it resembles the typical sounds and structure as much as possible. Examples: BORN - Alterna I think it`s a great song, though you clearly can`t get a good feel for the landscape of it, and the majority of people will just find it unsettling in terms of it`s changes. Same would go with certain Black Gene songs. DOG - Matsuri Love the tune and IIRC it was their most popular single. Uses a less typical timing but still resembles what we are used to, and people who are unaware of time signatures will not notice. A9 Used a lot of different compositional styles, most of them sound enough like what listeners would expect and still be comfortable with. FALILV Still utilize a lot of `mainstream` elements, though go further off the deep end. I think their popularity with most fans is due to both being different, and delivering hooks, catches, and structural points we can enjoy under `light-listening`, in terms of a song that you can just put on and rock out to, instead of being lost in the rapid changes of structure and tempo, etc... Gackt Always did things differently (less so lately but that seems to be the direction he wants to go in), and while he had one of the more different sounds, he was also always one of the best at delivering the popular elements of music that made his songs huge hits. NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST Became a lot more popular when they started delivering the elements of songs that really resonated with a wider audience, they were never a band that went into uncharted territory, but once they started into the VK arena, they presented the straightforward audio and visual elements that fans still clamor for, and grew in popularity. UNiTE For me, this would be the greatest exception in my taste. They have made a large number of different songs (not always changing structure, but other elements), and that was part of what made me a fan, though their last two albums did not deliver this as much, and I have been disappointed. For other bands, this would not be as big of a deal, but they kind of developed that expectation in my mind, and let it down. So I think how you see the songs and artist`s relies greatly on what kind of expectations you have in the first place, and they are not always easy to change. So what does the listener expect?

Sucks to hear, just got into them, and my thoughts go out to Hiroki, 21rd time this has happened to one of his bands in the past six months. Hopefully they form a new band because they were really good.

Any and all room-mates should be introduced to the land-owner, and should sign on to the lease. Even if the lease is not up, an additional party can be added on, taking away responsibility from you. You can also write up your own contract with terms stating that without prior notice each month must be paid by your room-mate, and they must give a 30-day notice when they are moving out. I am not sure about the jurisdiction you are in, but in many places, a tenant can not be kicked out of a premise until at least 3 months in a row have not been paid in rent. There are laws everywhere to protect residents, so look them up in your own area and don't let land-owners put pressure on you. For public transport make sure you are taking advantage of any rebates, such as buying monthly passes instead of weekly or daily, student pricing if applicable, and declaring ut on your taxes. For food make sure you are keeping on a tight budget, and paying as little as possible to meet your caloric requirements (nutrients secondary). So ramen, rice, cheap protein source, etc... If need be also look into any kind of part-time job or supplementary income flows, even if it is a one night a week gig being a floater or washing dishes. Your health issue should also provide you with leeway legally in terms of your rent. If you are really desperate consider government assistance in the form of funds, I don't know much about this but it may take a while to receive your first payment however. Those are just some tips, but anyway, I think mostly time and finding a real room-mate will be your savior. Put up ads on craigslist or whatever sites, and maybe even nearby bus stops. Your best bet is a student from another country, they are usually well kept, mind their business, and have parents paying for them so no money issues. In terms of tenants they are ususlly the best to have and what many duplex or condo owners accept right away. Good luck. Edit: Your room-mates screwed you over, no need to sympathize with them, they are adults and are solely responsible with the fact that they left you high and dry while not even being upfront about it. For future room-mates, screen them, don't just accept whoever, see a couple at least, pick the best one, ask for first and last month's rent up front. Get a reference from them, even if it is their parent, then you have their parent's number if anything. Google them, etc... Gotta do what you gotta do. 'Friends' can be the most likely ones to screw you over since they think they can get away with it.