Monthly Archives: April 2010

GACKT’s Animelodies

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I’m not a fan of anime conventions anymore. I used to watch tons of anime– I was never that into popular stuff like Bleach or Naruto, but there were some great series that I devoured, from Samurai-spirit-imbued street racers Initial D to classic space-ified epic vengeance via Gankutsuou ~The Count of Monte Cristo. I think a lot of people discover Japan through anime, and that’s awesome. I discovered Japan through music first, but anime came close behind, and really helped to further my friendship with Jrock. It was, after all, through anime that I first heard songs like BUCK-TICK‘s Dress.

I’ve been to one anime con in the town where I currently reside, about 3 times consecutively. But then things started happening- like how they obliterated any reference to Jrock. There was a Jpop dance, and they also had an “intro to Jrock” panel, which I absolutely could not stand, but nonetheless my irritation with the panelist’s incompetence really inspired me to do a better job at introducing people to (actually good) Jrock and VK.

On that note, I would just like to say that despite my indifference to anime cons at large, I would have absolutely zero resistance to attending Japan’s Animelo event!

Animelo is Japan’s largest anime-song concert. Artists who have worked on anime theme songs, or seiyuu (voice-actors) who specialize in singing, perform. In this case, our focus is obvious. GACKT performed three songs, ranging from new, to newish, to classic. Animelo was held at the Saitama Super Arena on August 22-23, 2009. GACKT performed on the second day, along with notable artists such as m.o.v.e, Nana Mizuki, Suara, and many others.

See for yourself:

This is the first time that I’ve seen a proper arena Ai Senshi live like this (although there is at least one other live performance of the song), and it’s awesome. One of my favorite pieces off the Gundam-dedicated 0079-0088 album, along with the exquisite Meguriai. Personally, I thought the best part was the extra-manly shouts of Gakuto!! coming from the audience.

More extra-manly screams, this time in call-and-response style MC. After his customary shouting, GACKT says “This next song is, from us, to you, The Next Decade.”

This is honestly the first time that this song has really brought out my fighting-spirit. It’s an incredibly bad-ass performance, and GACKT’s headbanging, shouting, and general energy fire the whole thing up, plus the crowd is going wild, and it’s impossible to resist the amount of energy flying around.

Redemption will always be one of my favorite GACKT songs. It particularly hits home in this set-list as it’s paired with his new-generation piece The Next Decade, and then, before that, a cover song.

All video credit: WanlesShmilly

Thanks to Roukun.

Out of All These ONE Must Shock Us!

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Back before Zero was a creep

It looks like the second round of summer releases have been announced. Have I ever mentioned before how stressful I find it that Jrockers all release their stuff on exactly the same day? There are like two dates in a given month when they’re allowed to release material. For June you can expect to go bankrupt on the 2nd and 23rd, so get ready, guys.


D’espairsRay // “Dead or Alive Complete Covers Album” // July, ’10 (Album)

For the first time ever, a Jrock band will feature nothing but covers of the one band probably everyone is perfectly happy going the rest of their life without ever hearing!
Just kidding. It’s true, I’m being uncharacteristically vindictive (I’m not usually vindictive, right?). I mean seriously. The actual news is that they will, in fact, be releasing a brand new album right in time for adding songs to the set-list for their world tour, which will kick off in the US sometime in August. But, y’know, please don’t let us know what the dates are UNTIL THE DAY OF.

Out of all this second round, I think this is the most exciting news. Although all we know at this point is that it will be released sometime in late July.  Love is Dead itched the darker aspects of my dementia, but I thought b-side Medicine (I haven’t figured out how to make backwards N’s yet) was a really cool song. It was congruous with the single, but also got heavy and angry to counter the dancey thing that preceded it.

Exist Trace // “Knife” // 6.2.10

I always look forward to these bad-ass babes. I’m sure they aren’t going to release a techno song.

Inaba Koshi // “Okay” // 6.23.10 (2 types)

A barely-optimistic title, but surely a single that won’t disappoint from B’z frontman Inaba Koshi.

Nightmare (ナイトメア)// “a:fantasia” // 6.23.10 (2 types)

What the hell was with them releasing an entire album with ONLY ONE SONG ON IT. That’s what they invented the “repeat” button for, hello Nightmare?

Ayabie // “Irodori – Tour Final Live @ ZEPP Tokyo” [title subject to change] // 7.14.10 (Live DVD)

To be honest, I haven’t really followed these guys since I got irrevocably bored with their Rikkaboshi +A album.

Rin //”As if Forever Exists” // 6.2.10 (3 types)

Kisaki’s new band.

Phantasmagoria // “Diamond Dust in Truth” (live DVD) // 6.23.10

Kisaki’s old band.


**Pick ‘em up here**

For anyone who forgot:

Sadie just released some new stuff yesterday (4/28); a Singles Collection, and a maxi-single (which hopefully isn’t included on the singles collection…) called DRESS. The PV is pretty cool, and the song is awesome.
If you haven’t heard it yet, check it out:

D’espairsRay album release source: CDJapan

Video: shuujiHysteria

girugamesh summer single update

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Not to say they didn't have issues in '08 *coughHOODIEScough*

Crabby emo wannabe-techno-rappers band girugamesh are due for a summer single, which will hit international postal services on July 7th. Out of all the singles that I’m anticipating this summer, girugamesh‘s is probably the one I’m looking forward to the most. As I mentioned earlier, after their latest full-length album NOW was rejected as readily as it was celebrated. Do to the iffy-ness of the album, I, at least, am putting a lot of pressure (psychologically, of course. After the perm incident I have a lot of faith in my abilities to use mental waves to influence the decisions of Jrockers, for better or for worse…) on  giru to release a real smasher.

girugamesh // “Title TBA” July 7 ’10

UNTITLED [w/ DVD, Limited Edition / Jacket A] / girugamesh

So the information is finally out: The limited CD+DVD version will feature 2 songs, and the DVD will show live footage from their January 31st live at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST. It will also come with a 60 minute tour documentation of their “This is “NOW” 2010 tour!” JPY 2,625.

The regular edition of the single will feature 3 songs, for JPY 1,260. You have to trade a song for all the generous DVD stuff. That didn’t win points with me. (Just kidding).

Something else that I’m really looking forward to with this single is a, I hope, style revamp for the guys. While I have no qualms with their choice of look from the neck down, it’s everything north of that that pushes just about every button available. I finally came to terms with Satoshi’s unholy perm after months of obsessing over it, and it’s true, I got down on my knees and thanked the higher powers when Ryo took out his cornrows…But then something happened to the two other members, Shuu and Nii. Shuu was obviously held at gunpoint and forced to don that horrible invention that should have been left in a certain Disney movie– that is, the harem pant. The second strange thing that occurred was that Nii was apparently overcome with a fit of horrific dementia which resulted in him attacking some miserable roadside tramp and stealing their dilapidated bucket-hat. As punishment for this rash behavior, the unfortunate guitarist was forced by his agency to wear the thing in public. We, as his fans, suffered with him.

Oh. And they put one more freaking toe-head kid on their album cover, and I will refuse to buy it.

Pressure’s on, guys.

The Saga Clone Wars

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Although highly praised for its ingenuity and fashion-forward consciousness, Visual Kei has its own fashion trends– especially now that certain bands have begun to see moderate international renown. It happens in every genre, really, that the bands that really make an imprint on the market start to create some horrible monster within their business. This horrible monster is called simply a “blue-print”, and is what every aspiring artist succeeding them follows in the hopes of finding similar levels of success. For example, ever since princeling band Alice Nine built a veritable fan-girl fan-base, pretty much every new Visual Kei band’s bassist has been styled to look identical to A9‘s Saga. They even try and match their physical appearance. It must be a tough world for any bassists who don’t look like his identical twins. I guess there’s always plastic-surgery.

But, to be true, my perspective on the whole thing isn’t nearly as bleak as I make it sound. It’s not all just grasping at the fame of the forefathers– not at all. I do believe in genuine and sincere appreciation of the preceding groups– they do become famous, and thus they do become role-models for the bands that follow. In this case, of course they want to get the same perm– they’re trying to invoke the same energetic power of the person they admire. I’m sure every single Visualist has experienced, on some level, trying to copy the style of their favorite artists in the same exact attempt to draw on the strengths of their role-model. Why we choose to judge so harshly the fans who are actually trying to make music for a living, I guess we will never know. “Plagiarism” and “copying”, we call it, without actually even thinking about what it is they’re doing, or trying to achieve. Those are cruel words, I think. While certainly there are agencies behind a lot of it, saying “dress him like Saga, and then he will be popular and steal Saga’s fanbase.” I think that there is also just as strong a possibility that the member himself is saying I admire and respect Saga-san and his bass playing. And then, whether done consciously or not, he begins to style himself in the same model he so respects.

Fortunately, many people who start out copping someone-else’s style usually (hopefully) come to draw on their own unique style and strength. At the beginning, though, the effort that it can take to move from Point A to Point B can be so great that the person in question may not feel like it’s possible, and as a result, they draw from someone else and use that as their inspiration that drives them to be able to summon the courage it takes to actually put themselves forward. Once they have moved from Point A to Point B, and it becomes time to move to Point C, then, they can actually look at who they have become, and realize that they no longer need to draw directly from the source that initially gave them strength. They are able to find their own strength, their own style, and emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon, stretching out its own wingspan, colored with its own unique patterning.

Visual Kei Got Game

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WARNING: This post may contain content inappropriate for some readers. I will not require you to confirm your age before reading the insights of a jaded Visualist and their opinions about the feisty side of Visual Kei, but I would like to make it clear that you read at your own risk, and I will not be held responsible for your corruption in any way.

Today I was surfing Youtube and went to watch the newly released PV for VAMPS‘ Devil Side single that’s coming out next month. As I clicked on the link, it seriously took me to a page that said something along the lines of “this video has been flagged inappropriate for some viewing audiences by the Youtube community. Please confirm your age to continue.”

Being a long time viewer of Visual Kei and Jrock PVs and live footage, and having enough comprehension of Japanese to understand lyrics, I’m no stranger to the casual trashiness of some Visual Kei and Jrock. It can be kind of shocking if you’re not used to it, probably because the Japanese don’t have the serious hang-ups around sexuality that Puritan-based western cultures do, so in order to be really trashy and shocking, you have to get kind of ridiculous. Blatant raciness became standard fare in Visual Kei in the late ’80s and early ’90s, with leaders like BUCK-TICK, who filled their live performances with all the sensuality and raunchiness of the lyrics– with that in mind, however, it was all in good taste. At least, I don’t think that’s my visualist dementia speaking for me. Fan-service was usually enacted by vocalist Atsushi, the god-father of on-stage sensuality, who romped around the stage drawing on monitors with crimson lipstick, and pole-dancing with his microphone stand bound with roses. It didn’t stop there, though. The late ’90s and early ’00s saw the rise of GACKT and his solo shockers.

Any standard GACKT fans will probably be at least relatively familiar with his long line of major-hit-atrocities such as Vanilla, Papa Lapped a Pap Lopped, Dispar and Koakuma Heaven. The earlier pieces like Vanilla and Papa Lapped created the friction that set off a spark in J-music genre-wide, but which particularly set fire to the edgier Visual Kei groups. I think every self-respecting Jrock fan has witnessed his 2004 live footage of the hip-thrusting classic, Vanilla.

And that was the tame version.

Within Western music we have raunchiness, yes, but it has such a profoundly different feeling. It’s practically seething shock-value; if so-and-so can have a more inappropriate video than who-and-who, then they’ll most likely have a greater sales spike. In Jrock the same applies, I think, but there’s also a different attitude around sexually themed music. As I already mentioned, there aren’t the same hang-ups around sexuality in general that there are in our so-easily-shocked culture.

There’s also a bit of a misconception about the lyrical content, though. Many of the above-mentioned GACKT songs have pretty dirty lyrics when translated, but actually have a wide range of innuendo and implication involved in the word-choice and kanji use. His Koakuma Heaven, which deals with the theme of host-girls, is packed with the female innuendo that trickles out of the Japanese “water-trade”. Therefore a lot of it isn’t as brutally obvious as the translations sound.

In any case, now that we’ve had “the talk”, today I want to showcase some of the trashiest PVs in Jrock and Visual Kei. These videos may offend you.

DIRTIEST PV: 19sai (Ju-Kyuu-Sai)/ Suga Shikao

I give this award to Suga Shikao’s [スガ　シカオ] 19-sai [１９才], which was used as the opening theme to the anime XXXHOLIC (which actually wasn’t XXX at all, except for maybe the theme song). Although there are plenty of trashier songs lyrically, it takes a lot of guts to actually show enough that the video has to be censored. Plus, the whole energy of the song and the characters is so depressing, it’s all a bit disturbing. Awesome song, though.

MOST BLATANTLY XXX: Gather Roses / SCREW

Pretty self-explanatory, really. One of the raunchiest VK PVs on the ‘net.

Rated PG for Thematic Content and Some Sexuality…except I don’t actually recommend you have ‘parental guidance’ for this one. I wouldn’t show it to my parents, and probably, neither should you: Devil Side /VAMPS


And despite the two above, I actually had to confirm my age before viewing. Hyde is really turning into a horrible influence on Visualists. Setting the stage for your PV in a nightclub complete with scantily clad poledancers is sort of inappropriate, I guess, but VAMPS never pretended to be tame. Probably this was flagged by a frustrated fangirl when she got to there scene where…well, I won’t spoil it for you.

Image: byouto.blogspot.com