Post your "UNPOPULAR" music opinions!

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

People growing an emotional attachment to a group, for me, is not nearly as bad as the cult-like mentality some VK fans can exhibit towards members of these bands; but this happens throughout other genres of popular music. Setting aside all the "shipping" nonsense, why the hell are things like "Blood Type", "favorite cigarettes", or any other random information relevant on a band bio? Do I really need to know if Band Member X's blood type matches mine? If Aoi is bleeding out (for some reason...), does that mean I can be there for him?

 

In my erotic novels, I will always be there to give blood to Aoi because he's a vampire prince who escaped imprisonment in the 1600s (this would fall under the "Edo Period" for you baka gaijin) to be with me, and he needs to turn me into his vampire princess so his life force can be restored. Luckily, we're the same Blood Type!!!

 

Blood type is relevant because in Japan blood type is treated as astrological signs in the west. In other words, they are written for the japanese fans, not western. So let's say "X" blood type is said to go well with "Y" for example, then the fan can fantasize about actually going together well (in a relationship) with that bandman. 

 

 

Talking to Japanese people you will often hear "what blood type are you" and stuff like that, because there are certain treats that is said to be in that specific blood type (cheap, kind, faithful etc). Hope it makes sense lol

[relentless 254]

Blood type is relevant because in Japan blood type is treated as astrological signs in the west. In other words, they are written for the japanese fans, not western. So let's say "X" blood type is said to go well with "Y" for example, then the fan can fantasize about actually going together well (in a relationship) with that bandman. 

 

Very fascinating, thanks for the insight.

[PsychoΔelica 648]

Blood type is relevant because in Japan blood type is treated as astrological signs in the west. In other words, they are written for the japanese fans, not western. So let's say "X" blood type is said to go well with "Y" for example, then the fan can fantasize about actually going together well (in a relationship) with that bandman. 

 

 

Talking to Japanese people you will often hear "what blood type are you" and stuff like that, because there are certain treats that is said to be in that specific blood type (cheap, kind, faithful etc). Hope it makes sense lol

How come the western producers who put boybands together never thought of this?

[Bear 1817]

Never seen anyone outside of J-fans agree that X is metal.  Go ahead, try it.

 

Read some of the reviews on metal-archives and you'll see plenty people calling them metal. I bet my ass that the majority of the reviews for Vanishing Vision, Blue Blood, Jealousy and Art of Life will refer to X Japan and the named albums as metal, because they are. They are also listed as a metal band on metal-archives. While not the biggest or most legendary metal band ever, but Vanishing Vision, Blue Blood and Art of Life are all regarded classic metal albums.

 

 

But the best way to find out that X Japan is a metal band is to simply listen to their first albums. If you have any knowledge of the sounds of metal, you won't take long to find out they're a metal band. Or at least were.

[Pretsy 1343]

I'll never forget the time I was on some metal forum and someone suggested X as an example of Japanese metal and the response was, um, sorry dude, that's not metal and frankly it sucks, lmao.

 

Would you mind defining that which bands exactly count as "Japanese metal" - or the hell, how do you define "metal music" IN GENERAL? I am really looking forward to your constructive, non-tumblrist* commentary on that matter. (and don't "hurrdurr looking forward to butthurt" on me, it won't work!)

 

Also, going against the tide is not doing much if you cite your thoughts as "X is not Y and it sucks" (ignorant, bitchy statement sans arguments) instead of e.g. "I always thought that X was Y - that's how I perceived it/just me though" (personal preferences, rather respecting POV).

 

I am very curious about those "fans" that you spoke of as well. 

 

 

*because J-enthusiastic tumblrists tend to be quite narrow-minded and imbecilic - my unpopular opinion btw.

[herpes 1597]

I wasn't sarcastic. Teenagers and overly sentimental attachment music.. well, puberty, right? And music is not the same as the musician. Soundwaves and flesh, they're different things. Emotional attachment to a song: fine. Emotional attachment to the stranger who made the song and decides to move on to other things in their life you are not a part of: odd and misplaced. I understand teens may feel more attached to a musician because they're not only looking for comfort and/or entertainment, they may also be looking for heroes to look up to. That's not wrong or sad, no, but it is a sign of a weaker character in my eyes. Then again, everyone was weak and insecure at some point when they're young.

 

Yes I judge people if they cry over some musician who calls it quits. It shows they are weak (I might add at that point in their lives). That is my unpopular opinion. You judge people who judge people who cry over some musician who calls it quits. And Earth makes another rotation and another and another.

 

perfectly said, can't agree more

 

sack up tbh

[beni 2149]

I feel like Oshare Kei should be respected and noticed as much as everything else VK related. We need something happy and positive, but I feel like others don't appreciate it as much as it should be.

[emmny 4139]

sorry to curb this ~emosh~ discussion toward grieva but i gotta talk

They revived when diru was worth listening to && brought back what made visual-kei good in terms of visuals. What made it work is that they didn't even remotely try to hide what they're doing and their music isn't a 1:1 cover with different lyrics. Plus it pisses of diru-stans and the amount of tears it created has been phenomenal. 

if thats what grieva fans enjoy then i'll just never get it

like why listen to a third rate 1:1 cover?? y'all hate dir en grey that much??

if they revived that sound with their own spin i would have been the biggest stan

to each his own, i guess.

[Ro plz 1290]

I must disagree with you. You think it's wrong to get attached to a band you love, since all indie bands eventually disband? That's like thinking it's wrong to love your dog and be extremely emotional about its death since all pets die eventually. Getting attached to things is life, and when something great ends, you get sad. Period.

Except the health of an animal (depending on the kind of owner you are) isn't as wishy washy as like what....um....pretty much the entirety of the VK indies scene. Haha. And I didn't say it was wrong to be attached, I said SO attached, big difference. And hell, there isn't anything wrong with getting "sad" when something great ends. I was a lil down when the bands i mentioned, decided to call it quits. I thought for sure the were here to stay and eventually get picked up by a label, but that wasn't the case. But at the end of the day, life moves on. Some of the time ex band members may go and do something great (ex: Sukekiyo's line up). Or....we can have situations like LEDA, who clearly can't keep his bands together past a certain time. There's countless bands that are actually serious about pulling through and or have made it major, that can fill that void. And lets be real here, its not as if during said disbanded bands, run, they haven't created enough content for one to get by with, after their disbandment. Technically, they'll always be there.

I still love you though, Para <3

 

So you tell us that we must all follow the bland and recycled music of bands like SuG and the GazettE simply because there's a smaller chance they disband? No sir, no thanks.

That is not what i said at all. Reread, or better yet, peep my response to Para.

I wasn't sarcastic. Teenagers and overly sentimental attachment music.. well, puberty, right? And music is not the same as the musician. Soundwaves and flesh, they're different things. Emotional attachment to a song: fine. Emotional attachment to the stranger who made the song and decides to move on to other things in their life you are not a part of: odd and misplaced. I understand teens may feel more attached to a musician because they're not only looking for comfort and/or entertainment, they may also be looking for heroes to look up to. That's not wrong or sad, no, but it is a sign of a weaker character in my eyes. Then again, everyone was weak and insecure at some point when they're young.

Yes I judge people if they cry over some musician who calls it quits. It shows they are weak (I might add at that point in their lives). That is my unpopular opinion. You judge people who judge people who cry over some musician who calls it quits. And Earth makes another rotation and another and another.

This is why you my nigga.

[hiroki 5521]

I wasn't sarcastic. Teenagers and overly sentimental attachment music.. well, puberty, right? And music is not the same as the musician. Soundwaves and flesh, they're different things. Emotional attachment to a song: fine. Emotional attachment to the stranger who made the song and decides to move on to other things in their life you are not a part of: odd and misplaced. I understand teens may feel more attached to a musician because they're not only looking for comfort and/or entertainment, they may also be looking for heroes to look up to. That's not wrong or sad, no, but it is a sign of a weaker character in my eyes. Then again, everyone was weak and insecure at some point when they're young.

Yes I judge people if they cry over some musician who calls it quits. It shows they are weak (I might add at that point in their lives). That is my unpopular opinion. You judge people who judge people who cry over some musician who calls it quits. And Earth makes another rotation and another and another.

echoing what ender-ender and rocketeer have said above..

i don't intend to change your mind (nor can i), but it's difficult for me to agree with how emotional attachment to the band or musicians behind the music is somehow a residue of childhood we must banish or the emblem of adolescent naivety that we all ought to eventually grow out of. ok fine, flesh and soundwaves are different things; but psychologically they aren't as separable as two disparate words on paper. after all music doesn't just fall off a tree - especially the sort of music that resonates with one on an extremely intimate level, and which profoundly affects him/her for a long time (maybe even the rest of their lives). it seems obviously logical then, at least in one's mind, to feel like the musician can speak to you (or a part of yourself) in a way that your parents or closest friends or the person physically beside you never could and never will. i should also add that lots of people i know capable of this experience lead perfectly normal and well-adjusted lives without the tiniest bit of delusional fantasies about the musicians themselves.

if anything, i've always felt that any dogged insistence on uncoupling music from the people who made it is precisely the kind of thought that drives some people to happily decide that the music is all they care about, as a result of which they couldn't care less about supporting the musicians behind it since these 'strangers' are so remote and divorced from their emotional investment anyway.

speaking for myself, i definitely enjoy the company of fans who are more intense (i.e. 'insane') about musicians whom they don't know in person but who means a great deal to them - and no, i see nothing 'weak' about that - over those who discuss bands and music matter-of-factly with a straight face as if they are being interviewed for their professional opinion on global warming. this latter group of people gets me terribly tetchy and over time i find it tiring to associate with them. i guess if you really want to you could call emotional attachment to the bands irrational, but for me this kind of irrationality is a lot more humanly valuable than the 'stoicism' you demand of people as if grieving a disbandment is somehow a betrayal of our own intelligence. because we are more than that.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

@ emmny: Rude--they're 2nd-rate at best!!

 

I said it wasn't a 1:1, which is part of why it worked for me. Additionally, if they also didn't ~borrow~ aesthetics and general atmosphere on top of melodies, I definitely wouldn't care about them as much or at all (see also: Vajra). This isn't just in regard to Grieva--I like Gossip and DEZERT's attempt at it as well, though the latter isn't as blatant. In some bizarre way, it also helped me appreciate the originals more. I don't hate Diru (in regards to the era in question), but I also don't think you're only allowed to like one.

 

Give them some credit for sticking to their guns though: for as many people that love them, there's just as many who vehemently despise them quite vocally as well.

 

 

Just out of curiosity, do you feel the same way about other bands who pretty much the same thing? Grieva is essentially the vkei equivalent of A*Teens. 

[JukaForever 758]

As long as you don't voluntarily shit your pants in public, I will consider you an adult.

[emmny 4139]

@ emmny: Rude--they're 2nd-rate at best!!

 

I said it wasn't a 1:1, which is part of why it worked for me. Additionally, if they also didn't ~borrow~ aesthetics and general atmosphere on top of melodies, I definitely wouldn't care about them as much or at all (see also: Vajra). This isn't just in regard to Grieva--I like Gossip and DEZERT's attempt at it as well, though the latter isn't as blatant. In some bizarre way, it also helped me appreciate the originals more. I don't hate Diru (in regards to the era in question), but I also don't think you're only allowed to like one.

 

Give them some credit for sticking to their guns though: for as many people that love them, there's just as many who vehemently despise them quite vocally as well.

 

 

Just out of curiosity, do you feel the same way about other bands who pretty much the same thing? Grieva is essentially the vkei equivalent of A*Teens. 

LOL im sorry i thought you said it was a 1:1 and they didnt give a fuck which is why you liked 'em. i clearly saw them as a 1:1 so sorry for the misunderstanding. i think the one thing grieva have going for them is their looks, and when they're not doing god awful suit-kei or whatever they look amazing (their current look is killer). i also do like how they're dark af but i think dezert and kuroyuri have a similar aesthetic going for them.

i think the other "revival" bands that are well liked on the forum do a good job, especially avelcain as i can hear a clear metalcore sound mixed with old school riffs. i just take fault with grieva because they do nothing with the source material.

 

are they as hated in the japanese fandom as in the western? i was surprised when i came onto here seeing how much people liked them because on their PVs is mostly comments with people like me picking apart what songs they've ripped off LOL.

 

in all honesty im a massive fan of revival bands, especially in western music. i think the old-school death metal wave that came a while ago was amazing, with bands paying equal homage as worship but doing something fresh which i loved. I also love some bands that inherently copy their predecessors (new shoegaze, post-rock) but thats because they dont rip a specific sound, just elements of it, ya feel? grieva copy riff per riff, melody by melody of a band which have a pretty distinct sound in their genre (im not an old school visual historian so correct me if im wrong). the way i understand it, dir en grey had a pretty secular sound within their scene, which is why i dont feel grieva can get away with simply "paying homage".

[Lestat 2167]

I'd take グリーヴァ over Dir en grey at any given day.

[Des 289]

I see no reason why one would choose to use グリーヴァ rather than just Grieva?

[relentless 254]

I finally gave this "Grieva" band a listen. I think there's only one appropriate reaction for this moment:

 

 

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

I see no reason why one would choose to use グリーヴァ rather than just Grieva?

If it's a joke then I don't get it, but their name is written in katakana...

[Thedane 176]

Isn't GRIEVA グリーヴァ's alter-ego thingy? Or just a more sinister version of グリーヴァ? I don't recall all the details, I just remember there being a difference of sorts.

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

I think they released one single under the name GRIEVA. Not sure where the "alter-ego" thing came from, if there's a legit japanese source then I am interested in reading it. I only ever saw western people claiming this, so. But then again I weren't into grieva when they released that single either.

[Thedane 176]

There was the グリーヴァ vs GRIEVA single, then GRIEVA did another song on their 'Dear...' box thingy. Not sure what the deal is, but there has to be something.

[Lestat 2167]

■「グリーヴァ VS GRIEVA」

2013.11.06

両A面2nd Single

限定2000枚完全生産(CD4曲入り＋SE1曲)

CD:

-SE

1.現実は心に蔓延る絶痛と叶わぬ理想の巣窟【from GRIEVA】

2.鬼ノ犇メク籠目唄【from グリーヴァ】

3.黒い涙(Re;Recording)【from グリーヴァ】

4.Diary【from グリーヴァ】

品番:AMWK-5

価格:1,944(TAX IN)

発売元:Ains

販売元:ダイキサウンド

各店舗特典詳細はこちらをご覧ください。

Apparently they released half a single under the name 'GRIEVA', but technically this is just their romanized name. I don't see why I should name them this. I'd only do so if I were too lazy to copy their name from somewhere.

[Takadanobabaalien 3607]

yes, and also that message does in no way say that "Grieva" is an alter ego of グリーヴァ. from what i have experienced, they do not do anything different at their liveshows when playing the "grieva" songs. so i am just curious if there actually is any japanese source for this, or if its western made up stuff.

[nullmoon 784]

I remember the GRIEVA song sounding more like modern DEG.

[Ro plz 1290]

Never mind. 

[Pretsy 1343]

I finally gave this "Grieva" band a listen. I think there's only one appropriate reaction for this moment  THREAD: