28 posts tagged “rant”
I just spent the past 2 and a half minutes trying to stiffle my laughter. I was grinning so big that my cheek muscles hurt that I had to rip this part out of the video and share.
This reminds me of one of the reasons I love SID so much. The guys' sense of humor, sometimes even bizarre wackiness, is charming and absolutely endearing. Strangely, I rarely write about them in this blog despite my following the band closely.
I wonder though, why hasn't SID released any full concert DVD's or PV's on DVD? Instead of packaging their PV's in single/album releases like all other bands do, they put live performances of their songs on the accompanied DVD's instead. Except for "Alibi", DVD versions of their PV's simply don't exist. And even with the live performances that come with the single/album releases, we only get one song at a time. For us overseas fans, there's no way of ever seeing the full concerts.
The concerts themselves are obviously recorded, but the band just won't release the entire things on DVD! While I can understand the rationale of encouraging fans to see the band live because it's the best way to experience SID, but come on... think of us overseas fans! You guys do indeed have an international fanbase who adore you and support you. Pleeeeaase, pleeeaase release full length concert DVD's. We're dying to see them! <3
And while you're at it, come play overseas again!
Why is everyone panicking over JapanFiles (LJ)?
Granted, it is annoying when JapanFiles friends/joins J-Rock sharing Livejournals/Communities and reports posts that provide downloads to bands they have distribution rights over. However, before people go into massive rebellion mode and freak out about how JapanFiles is trying to keep people from hearing new music from indie bands and blah blah blah they're evil, actually look at JapanFiles and see what they're really doing.
First of all, JapanFiles currently only has distribution rights to around 250 indie bands, 95% of which many in the VK fandom probably haven't even heard of. The only band on their list that I more or less follow is Karma-Shenjing. So at this stage, JapanFiles isn't going to all of a sudden make your prized mp3 sharing community obsolete. If people are worrying about their E-egos taking hits, it probably isn't likely to happen.
Second, the argument that JapanFiles is making music less accessible is absolutely not valid. I went to their website and looked at their business model. JapanFiles provides 45-second sample for every track. You can always try before you buy. Plus, their pricing structure is competitive in today's E-music retailing environment at $0.99 per track for 192kbps, DRM-free mp3 files. The only online music retailing service that beats this that I'm aware of is Amazon at $0.89 for 256kbps, DRM-free mp3s. However, Amazon will have an entirely different music selection, especially since it just got launched. I seriously won't believe you if you cry that $0.99/track is too much for you to afford.
Finally, what is so bad about JapanFiles representing these indie artists? JapanFiles is providing another legitimate avenue for these artists to sell their music. Right now, the problem with the popular iTunes is its limited Japanese music selection overseas, low bitrate, and DRM at the $0.99 price level. JapanFiles overcomes all three limitations and is helping to expand the indie bands' distribution network. Not to mention, the bands will actually get royalty cuts from the distribution of the mp3's.
However, JapanFiles hasn't done everything right in my opinion. It's all well and good making Japanese indie music available internationally, but to actively target individual mp3 sharing communities/posts is PR suicide. JapanFiles is relatively new and unestablished (at least among the VK crowd). By going after the filesharers in such a manner so early in the game is alienating a large base of potential customers. JapanFiles's reputation is already in the negatives before it can even begin to gain positive press. The company behind the service can't afford to get into an antagonistic situation with filesharers since they're so central to the J-music fandom. Establish goodwill first, don't make enemies. What the company is doing right now is not good marketing.
Stop shooting yourself in the foot, JapanFiles.
Full disclosure: I'm not affiliated with JapanFiles nor do I actively share mp3 downloads.
I want to direct your attention to this photo, not because Kaoru and KISAKI look ridiculous standing next to each other. I'm not even going to go into any rumors surrounding the breakup of La:Sadies/formation of Dir en grey, oh-no!
Ladies (and gents, possibly), take a careful look at this picture and learn from it this valuable lesson:
NEVER wear a foundation that's 3 shades lighter than your actual skin tone!
You end up looking like a half-white, half-tan two-colored clown. A fair-skined face may be valued in Asia, but having such an obvious demarcation between your face and the rest of your body looks foolish. If you must lighten your face, you better do the same to any part of your body that gets exposed too!
All right, rant over. Carry on!
I got out of work early today (*gasp*) and decided to take a walk around my neighborhood. I stopped by Barnes & Noble and picked up the latest issue of purple SKY.
Then I saw the Kra interview and after a few seconds of reading, I had to flip past the pages in disgust. Damn, how I loathe those short, one-sentence answers that Kra gave.
For example:
Do you feel anything odd when singing with women's language?
Not at all.
Care to elaborate, Mister Uematsu Keisuke?
What a waste of time and paper and printing ink.
Thankfully, the LM.C interview was freaking excellent! The KISAKI interview, to my delight, was also incredibly informative. I highly recommend getting the magazine if only for these two interviews alone if you're a fan of either artist/band.
Edit 1:
Oh, I just started reading this interview with J (ex LUNA SEA)'s ex-support guitarist and Foo Fighter's ex-guitarist Franz Stahl, conducted by Go of jrocknyc. Damn, it's turning out to be insanely awesome!
Edit 2:
And before any of you ask me to scan the pages (and I've gotten similar requests before), I'm going to just state my policy. I will not scan the magazine, at all. Because first, I don't own a scanner and second, I have no wish to rip purple SKY off. Just buy the magazine if you want to read it (at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, or online at the magazine's homepage).
If you can't get it at your home country, you should definitely contact purple SKY and request them to find a way to make the magazine available in your country. purple SKY is new and needs as much (monetary) support from us J-Rock fans as possible.
If you live in the US, you have no excuse not to buy it if you want to read it. Can't afford the $6? Then do what most people do, look at the magazine when you're at the bookstore and put it back on the shelf once you're done.
As promised, I have compiled the live reports covering the J-Rock Revolution Festival (I prefer writing it as "J-Rock" instead of "JRock"). As of 11pm Tuesday May 29, I have read reports written by more than 30 people. The overwhelming number forced me to pick out the ones I liked instead. So now, I'm only posting links to around 10. My preferences for live reports were explained here, in what I think makes a good live report.
amouraiguise - Yes, I love details.
coiled_iris - Is it possible to fangirl about a live report? The author is a girl after my own heart. The blow-by-blow accounts leave me a puddle of fangirl mess on the floor.
danimation - Written by a male fan.
direngreyfan413 - Encounter with YOSHIKI after the live.
fourscrewsloose - Great details, with photos of concert-goers.
fy_sanctuary - A report with lots of photos.
jrock_junkie00 - This one's got a photo of miyavi arriving in his convertible. WTF, he wears that hat even when driving?!
radicalfxcker - This was written by an Akiya (of Kagrra,) fan! *hugs her*
remix_sakura - Great coverage of Kagrra,.
Two eL's - Nice details on MUCC's performance.
It seems that both Kagrra, and alice nine. gained a lot of new fans on Friday night. Whooo! Despite being an alice nine. fan myself, I'm still surprised by how popular they are. They seriously brought the house down, my god. Aside from the YOSHIKI band announcement, it seemed that alice nine. stole the night. I'm incredibly delighted and proud of them!
On a related note, more videos of the 2-day concert have surfaced. Keep on checking YouTube!
Edit:
Oh, and a rant. I'm shocked so many people are indifferent about SUGIZO. "Oh, I have no idea who that other guitar guy in Yoshiki's new band is." This reallly bothers me. If you don't know who LUNA SEA is and consequently, who SUGIZO is, please go check out the band's entry on Wikipedia.
Who do you think was the biggest influence and inspiration for Gazette? (I'm using them as an example because they're getting so big now.) Where do you think Reita and Uruha's performing style come from? Who the heck do you think Uruha's hero is?
It's one thing to not have heard of LUNA SEA's works, but I think a J-Rock fan should at the very least know of the band since they're so legendary.
Here I thought that ever since Gazette signed with King Records, they've been leaning away from the old school visual kei image. But, apparently, I'm wrong. I'm dead dead wrong.
Aoi, Reita, and Kai still look about the same as before, but Uruha and Ruki.... Oh, man! Ruki's hair in the second picture makes me want to hit my head on the keyboard. Why-oh-why did you decide to replace your hair with a bird nest?
I shall mourn the loss of a dewy-looking, wispy-haired Ruki from the Hyena and Chizuru eras.
No comment.
Edit:
Okay, I lied. I do have some comments. Visually speaking, I have to say that the new keyboardist's appearance (second left) clashes badly with the rest of the band. What's up with the wig and huge sunglasses? And the animal print shirt and boa! Urghh. The new guitarist's image (second right), on the other hand, works very well. He sort of looks like a cross between Miku and Teruki. Rather cute, isn't he?
Musically, though, the addition of a keyboardist is rather intriguing. I'm not an AN CAFE fan, but I do like one or two of their songs. This new keyboardist stirs enough interest in me to check out the "new" band's releases once they come out. Hmm....
I should really have titled this post "Despair and Longing" (Hey, sounds like a D'espairsRay song title). I'm in one of those dark moods these days. Feel free to skip this post if you don't wanna read my angsty rants about Kagrra, (ironically, they're actually under Sony's Columbia label and I just wrote about Sony's partnership with Vox a few posts ago).
Don't say I haven't warned you. :D
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So, the J-Rock festival, organized by the God of J-Rock himself, will be taking place in Los Angeles in 2 weeks. This is the first-ever event in history that so many top bands of visual kei origins are gathered to perform in one location outside of Japan. The fact that I can't make it to the West Coast for this still guts me.
I just feel bloody raw that Kagrra, will finally, finally set foot on American soil, yet they're still so unreachable because the lives are at the other side of the country. Kagrra, is one of my two favorite bands of all-time. I've worshipped this captivating band since the very beginning of my foray into J-Rock. Their music has the most bewitching effect over me, sometimes even causing me to burst into inexplicable tears. And yes, bloody hell, I've watched every single one of Kagrra, no Su webcasts faithfully since falling in love with them, simply because I feel the need to use the regular webcasts to check up on them, to make sure they're doing well and are safe and healthy. I've become so emotionally invested in the band and its members that sometimes I wonder if my love for them has turned into an incurable sickness.
My god, why else do I feel such devastation when I realized that there's no way that I'll be able to see them when they finally come overseas? This can't possibly be healthy. This is exactly why it's so dangerous to be emotionally attached to a band. The band becomes so important to you that normally trivial things somehow affect you unexpectedly. I mean, yes, I can't attend a Kagrra, live in the US. So what? This really isn't any different from not being able to go to Japan to see them. Yet, yet, I can't help feeling this deep deep regret and pained longing. These days, even looking at images of Akiya makes my heart ache because he's my favorite Kagrra member. (When I saw him on Kagrra, no Su 2 episodes ago [the -shizuku- tour one], I seriously forgot to breathe.)
I worry about the day Kagrra, announces its breakup. I don't know what I'd do if it ever happens. If I'm still as attached to the band as I am now, the news will cripple me badly, I'm already certain. I wish to goodness that I don't love them so much because this love hurts.
You know, I always tend to have trouble grooming my eye brows. Because I'm right-handed, it's unbelievably hard to get my left brow to look as good as my right (this also applies to eye makeup). When I accidentally plucked one hair too many today, like the idiot I was, I decided to try to fix the mistake by plucking even more hair around the spot to reshape the brow. The result was one thinly arched brow and one normal brow. So, I had to pluck at my right brow some more to get it to match my left one. The result was a pair of visual kei-style eye brows.
Now, every time I look in the mirror I'm reminded of those Asian dolls found in Chinatown shops. You know, the dolls that are of women dressed in either kimono or qipao. Adhering to the classic Asian standard of beauty, their eye brows are always sharply fine and arched just so. I'm weirded out by that look on my own face though. This is going to change the balance of my facial features. I might have to adjust my eye makeup now to match the new brows. Damn. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning during makeup time.
The lesson learned here is: don't screw around with metal instruments on your face unless you're prepared for the consequences (but hey, at least I haven't stabbed myself in the eye yet with said metal instrument). The skin around my brows got all red from my tugging and pulling at those areas so much. One month until my brows grow back. Oh, my poor brows. X___x
My male readers (if any of you actually stayed to get to this part), be glad that you aren't a woman and thus spared the tortures of makeup and overly tedious grooming. But if you're in a visual kei band, I feel for you.
Speaking of messed-up eyebrows, anyone knows what HYDE did to his own? Why the hell did he decide to shave his brows and then wear an eyepatch to cover them up?
"Where does heaven exist~?" says HYDE.
This is a response to what happened recently on the Gazette Staff blog's survey entry, the survey that I wrote about here.
I'm appalled by the level of immaturity and sheer STUPIDITY displayed by the comments to the survey. How pitiful that so many of Gazette's international fanbase lack common sense and perhaps more importantly, a BRAIN. I regret spreading the news about that survey, since I may have unknowingly directed some of the spamming, country-bashing lunatics to the staff blog myself. If I have indeed done so, I apologize to the Gazette staff. I didn't think people are that stupid to ruin good things. How bloody naive I am.
The J-Rock fandom really disappoints me sometimes.
To those spammers and flamers: You are all fucking pathetic retards.
