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I think there are two main reasons: 1. Techniques for smaller studios/home recordings are much more advanced now, so even no budget bands can finally afford making more polished releases. 10+ years ago a decent recording/mixing session would cost a lot of money while pretty much now anyone can fix songs with melodyne, preamp guitars and the like. Especially with indies band you can really feel the quality gap between recorded songs and live performances. A lot of dudes are not even playing their instruments/singing live anymore as they are aware of that. 2. Socially speaking the musicians are completely different people nowadays. Otaku-ish dudes who liked music and grew up listening to bands are more common in the scene now, while in the past it was really just a bunch of ex-chimpiras, yakuzas, bikers, hosts, etc. who did not fit into society and were in bands just because there was little else they could do to get chicks (of course there are exceptions). They had the ideas and the fierceness, but mostly no music knowledge whatsoever and especially no will to practice or overthink about their music. Now most guys went to school, have money to learn playing their instruments and afford decent equipment, and especially they all mostly compose on their laptops so there is again a bit gap in what their minds can compose and what their hands can play on an instrument. So the result is mostly polished and well performed songs but kind of lacks the raw energy and "heart" older bands had instead. There is no right and wrong about it, it really depends on what you are looking for in music.

Here's a message from my YouTube channel. Hello everyone! After a lot of reflection I made the difficult descision to private my two most recent videos, the full MALICE MIZER Deep Sanctuary VI live, and the APRÈS MIDI part of it. Why did I do it? Two reasons, one is that I'm dead scared of copyright strikes, and risking my entire channel for just a few videos is not worth it. And the second is a more moral question, I felt guilty uploading an entire new blu-ray. All of these people worked so hard on it, and I just put it free and public. It's true that the blu-ray is very, very expensive and inaccessible, but it's still very illegal and disrespectful to do it, especially so soon. It just didn't feel right or just to have uploaded in its entirity so quickly, especially when the Japanese MM store still has copies in stock. If you still wanted to watch it, or want to see it again, I'm really sorry! But I shouldn't have uploaded it in the first place. I couldn't feel at peace with myself knowing that I disappointed the artists, actual buyers and was risking to have my entire channel shut down at any time. Even though the videos were getting tons of views really fast, the numbers weren't worth the risk and guilt. The Bel Air and Gardenia are still online, with links to buy the actual blu-ray, you can use a Japanese shopping service to buy it from the MM store. I cannot control what others are uploading to YT, and I'm not here to stop anyone from doing it, but I want to feel at peace with myself. I might unprivate the videos if enough time passed, and if every copy is sold out. It might be in a month, a few months, or longer, I don't know. I hope everyone can respect and understand my descision. Again, I'm sorry for disappointing everyone... But my channel isn't going anywhere! I'll continue to upload amazing music by amazing artists! Just much older things, so nothing recent or still profitable. And I'm working on my first full album now, so expect to see occasional videos about it! Thank you for reading.

I love this topic. VELVET EDEN - madame tarantula Da’vid Shito:aL - cookie chair Da’vid Shito:aL - sankaku no tsuki

For several times on interviews i saw artists saying that they don't like to google themselves. (if i were famous i wouldn't like it too) I think some "fans" feel free to show their ugliest attitudes on internet,making assumptions and throwing adjectives just because they are safe behind their computers.The interview with Sophie Turner speaking about how she got depressed made me ponder about such things...I know,once you decide to be famous and consequently rich,you need to be ready for this kind of shit,because you'll get constantly exposed.However,she (jennie/sophie) and any other artist are still humans after all. I can only imagine the psychological pressure and the psychological wounds these people may have.I think we also know that beauty,money and all the material things human can conquer means nothing to depression.It will still be able to beat you even though you're the most successful creature on earth.We had Kurt,Amy,Jonghyun and so many other sad and awful examples. it's just funny when we speak our minds about musicians and their music on this forum ,but i'm totally against this kind of "recklessness" on MV's posted on youtube or even on their personal accounts,because it's probably where they get to know a good part of the public's feedback.Don't know much about the case below,but i thought it was a good example of how such things happens.

summer sucks ass

nokubura started as a non-vk band, dexcore are from nagoya which always had p interesting thing going on music-wise (like "a decade ago" is 2009; deadman already disbanded by 2006, and both deadman/the studs were better than fucklust and most of dexcore's output compositionally) it probably has to do with the overall trend change; the "tired kuroyume imitation act" went away by mid-2000s, and nu-metal vk of mid-2000s in now replaced by kpop halfbreeds, neo-kawaii oshare on its 5th reincarnation, cis idol-kei and core acts. the demand for new styles means demand for more technically skilled musicians. shrinking scene profits and less earning venues (where are like half of mid-2000 VK fashion brands now that always needed models?) means that a lot less band members can just cute their way through the scene with minimal/mediocre skill. people who wanted dexcore sound 10 years ago probably would have gotten it on a western band gig with like 40 attendees; once the core-trend is done in VK, it will go the same way as panic channel/indie baroque sound of the past. it probably just fell out of favor.

蟻 (Ari) new single "虫眼鏡 (Mushimegane)" will be released at 2019/8/20. It will be limited to Tokyo and 300 copies.

parrots are something else though. i’m not sure how to put into words. they’re really intelligent and tend to chime in on things. ours laughs sometimes when we laugh at smth. she also really loves dbz and vk pvs, especially b.r.n, she loses her shit. it’s sorta like having a person around but in a bird’s body. most parrots are raised by humans, so they pick up human characteristics. some of them have human-like lifespans, too.

I saw few days ago the case involving the girl from Kara. Fortunately they found her in time,cuz it would be another Jonghyun happening in the kpop industry,she tried exactly the same method. These Asian countries are kinda inhuman....they aren't like in the western, people there can't speak their minds the way we do here. Japan and Korea are leaders in terms of organization,but at the same time I feel like people there are merely treated as part of their "perfect" system,they have this philosophy to never complain,be always polite, grateful,etc,which is nice to keep appearances, however the spiritual and mental state of those people remains blurred and shadowed. So no one is able to see who you really are or what you've been going through. That's why they have an insanely high suicide rate,which is ironic,cuz both Japan and Korea are beautiful and safe countries.

Fuck my ass

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I never enjoy discussion on this topic as a whole, because as mentioned, the stigma/process/lifestyle that helped create the old breed of bandomen in 90's VK is gone. Music at it's root, is an extension of the artist(s) overall lifestyle or mindset, or at least always has been for me. With that in mind, VK no longer carries it's "genuineness" or originality, as the bandomen that exist today don't carry that gritty lifestyle or troubled upbringing that we can easily identify in the music. I use this as a metric in order to mark the shift in VK music entering 99' to about 02'-03'. The angst was still there, but that new generation introduced new themes and methods to bring that VK aesthetic into more "professional" standards. Case in point: I would agree that in terms of skill relating to professionalism or competence to write/perform music, its gotten better, and the resources available are utilized greatly by the new/young generation. However, the skill in terms of creativity/spontaneity/genuineness has/will always lessen, largely due to time/age. We all know that maturity tends to be the biggest killer when it comes to any form of expression that comes naturally, and VK can be considered it's own being that has begun to grow out of it's prime. It's a trade-off that occurs without our consent, but when utilized properly, gives birth to the next phase/trend/era of music. It's how we can identify sounds from certain periods from the same band over the course of 20+ years. Reason why I don't like to discuss this is because we all say the same thing and are practically going in circles to reach the same point lol.

It's a DIR EN GREY session, it's not what I expected but at least it's still active as a vocalist...

This image of older bandoman being delinquent boys, and how that 'spirit' was somehow in the core of the music they created, is lately coming a lot to my mind. I've noticed it after reading some translated tanuki therads on the old Fuckyeahtanuki tumblr, where several self-proclaimed old bangya described the terrible behaviour of some famous musicians with kouhai or even their bangya (like that bizarre story of Dir's Kyo and Kagerou's Daisuke abusing bangya on parties and so on), and how it changed during mid 2000s with bands who took conscious over the subject and decided to put and end to it (I've read that Nightmare brought it up on and old interview). Other way, once popped up here on MH the idea of the severe -and actually harassing- nature of the relationship between producers, bands and members in the origins of the scene being something that, although cruel, created some kind of 'quality filter' that assured a decent output of production, thus explaining that more accesible music media and technology, plus a more 'healthy' lifestyle, didn't contribute to anything but the rising of bland 'idolized' and plagiarizig acts. I'll appreciate if someone who believes in this idea could elaborate more over it. While I actually mourn over recent VK being in most cases uninspired, unskilled, etc., and wish they could someday bring us a new Malice Mizer or The Gazette, I find kind of problematic to consider that toxic relationships, power abuse, risky life-styles, social marginalization, internalized hate, cruelty, etc. is actually the key to deliver great and memorable art... Btw, nice thread! This is for the things I'm here in MH: interesting discussion about VK's scene development!

In addition to a change in the cadre of bandguys, there's also been a cultural shift in general. Nu-metal got off with far less and when the metalcore century arrived it sealed the deal that the general public went for more polished sounds and professional musicians. If you explore deep youtube, twitter or even band OHP's in the old traditional way you can still find those indie bands that sound like no one knows what they're exactly doing, but these bands just aren't popular enough anymore to gain traction outside of performing at multi-man events. Avelcain comes to mind as one band that managed to defy the trend and peek its forehead above the surface even though all they had to offer was spirit.

I guess Kyuhoo was right about K-Pop’s industry after all lol

there definitely needs to be more of an importance placed on mental health. i remember when park bom (2ne1) got in trouble for smuggling anti-depressants into korea bc she couldn’t get them there. i don’t remember the exact details, but that whole thing makes me so mad. then that girl from kara (i forget her name) recently attempted suicide. and let’s not forget that drug scandal w top and that trainee and his subsequent suicide attempt which is extra bullshit since that whole ikon thing that recently happened with that dude on coke. tbh yg is a p scummy guy all together.

I am so fucking glad you made this topic. And people wonder why I get defensive over people (often celebrities) in these kinds of situations... I don't have time to watch the second vid you posted because it's 4am (lol whoops) but I watched the first one and it pretty much summed it up. Thank you.

Ah i like Seth voice better than Kamijo... His voice is so relaxing

Yatagarasu is a ton of words; I started it, then lost the file with the kana written, and then gave up for a bit since I lost like 2.5 hours of work 😓 Here are scans of the lyrics, though, if someone else wants to take a stab at it

I've been so tired lately and it feels like a rubber band is wrapped tightly around my brain =(

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New band "黒い給食当番(Kuroi Kyuushoku Touban)" will commence activities at 2019/07/15. "黒い給食当番(Kuroi Kyuushoku Touban)" members: vo.おまる(Omaru) gt.るぅ(Ruu) ba.つむじ(Tsumuji) Twitter

I'm opening this thread hoping all the tanuki trash here share those funny pics of bandmen sleeping, etc There's not a way to confirm if A from B band is that dude in the pic, since bangya don't know how to take photos in HQ. So names here are mostly assumptions. Anyway... My favorite pics at the moment are: Tenshi (the raid.) Cult (Tensai) And this pic from Subaru (royz) which will probably provide inspiration for your Royz x Reader fanfics Edit: since I'm curious of this last pic and if anyone wanna search more context about, here is the original post

no

I'll definitely agree that they're a level above, as I've never had one I have no point of reference, but yeah, that sounds crazy.

Convincing arguments. I always question whether using actors that appropriately fit the roles would be a better solution. I understand the history of Hollywood, and how people of color who could perform roles that would be just as good as their white counterparts, are never even considered. I want to believe that the actors that existed during the 90's (mostly Caucasian) simply had better connections in the industry, for roles that anyone could play, and for the most part they did. Feel free to educated me about the dark side of the industry, I'm all ears because we're hearing about stories of unfair treatment all the time. I suppose with the rise of new studios, producers, and directors that cast roles for characters they've conjured up have now become more cut and dry, making it known that they need this type of actor and this type of background for their movie. I think another problem stems from films that are adaptations of books, comics/manga, anime, etc., that clearly identify everything about the character for us to become familiar with. If we knew none of that, then there wouldn't be a problem, as we have no attachment to it (sentimental or another form of personal identification). I always look at it from the perspective of an actor trying to make it in Hollywood, and would use this as my defense for them (the irony). Say for instance (I really feel bad for using my boi) Leonardo Dicaprio's role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Are we gonna really say that it would have been better if someone who was actually mentally handicapped would have been a better fit for the role? My take is no, and the reason being is that playing the role of playing someone like that is the challenge for an actor. To be able to place yourself in that mindset, and some actors go out of their way to study the workings of someone/something, in order to properly portray them in film. To be able to do that, allows them to better understand that type of person/ideal/lifestyle on a level that only someone in acting can use to grow. So playing a gay or trans (sorry I don't know the terminology well) person should be no different because the process should be the same, and no interference from the fanbase or whatever should be had. This is why we have critics that do their thing after the film is released. I wanna mention this because I wonder if anyone feels the same way as I do, but a film about a certain type of subject/theme, only played by a cast that are applicable to that subject/theme, always feels like it was only intended for an audience that can apply to it. So in a way I completely understand what SJ is trying to say, but I wonder if they even needed to say it. Sometimes I feel actors forget that they can show them they are up to par by walking the walk, and talking the talk. Making an effort to show fans their processes as an actor/actress playing new roles, and how they get a better understanding of these characters says a lot more than a statement from the heat of the moment that can be cut up and misinterpreted. * I am going to mention now that voice acting for an animated film/show is on a whole different spectrum, as most of the time the audience would not even know who the voice behind the character is, let alone their ethnicity/race of color, since voice pitch and mannerisms are taken into account (i.e Seth Mcfarland, Phil Lamarr, etc.).

i used to think this too, but now i’ve been around a bird for like a year? they’re really amazing and so interactive in a different way than cats are. so now i love both birds and cats the same way. 😂

Well people abusing their kouhai's and women in general is something that is peculiar the Japanese society of that time overall, not really limited to visual kei. I'm not trying to say that being delinquent boys is the key to making inspired music, but probably their "spirit" somehow helped them to make something new and sincere. Someone "educated" and with enough music knowledge are keen to think inside the box and play along the rules, pretty much put a stop on their creativity. They would be great writers and performers but not the innovators. For example I hardly imagine skilled musicians being able to write and perform the complete mess that bands like La'Mule or Kuroyume were doing in the 90's. Those bands could write those songs and end up being original because they probably had no idea of what they were doing in the first place. As soon as they got able to play a bunch of chords on guitar they were ready to write songs right out of a 30 minute jam session. Sure a lot of bands were just atrocious and eventually got forgotten, but I guess the ones with fresh ideas, charming persona and decent taste could emerge as popular acts in the end. Some other bands like BUCK-TICK eventually became skilled musicians and polished writers, but kind of kept their original spirit intact as well (looks like BUCK-TICK members still get themselves drunk till morning after all of their gigs, probably younger bands would die at 25 if they had the same lifestyle). Some other eventually learnt about the grammar through experience, and that's when they started being good musicians but suddenly unable to write memorable songs like at the beginning of their career. Probably this applies to other genres as well, when lots of people seem to like a band's indies works even though the musicians got so much more mature in their latest albums.

it seems like GE+IM will resume their activites at 2019/09/09 at Ebisu club aim

They have only lost one component.

LOL I have like 5 pairs of those, they're super comfortable ^^

I don't like this

I really hate that media's over-saturation with this thing made me miss Megan Fox at her prime tbh

recently had a dream about walking by a pond w a friend through a bluish november evening, and waking up to a roasting mid-july sunrise was my biggest disappointment of this summer tbh #csb

It's all thanks to the Internet. Nowadays one has access to so many tutorials and hacks to polish skills.

I’m fine with giving musicians and actors constructive criticism. It help them improve and do better the next time. However, when the artist is receiving death threats and ends up getting shit on, that’s where I draw the line. I think people just tend to forget that they’re still people as well. I remember people lost their shit over GOT season 8 and just went all out fanboy rage over it. Obviously, we are more open on this website because we’re pretty niche tbh. It’s not like some bandmen will come in here and just lurk lol

Welcome! nice initiative to start a VK channel!

welcome!! nice candy spooky theater avatar, I used to be obsessed with Peggy back in 2008 lol...

the problem is, these roles typically don’t go to actual queer people, but rather cishet people. i don’t, however, think the problem is so much in cishet actors playing these parts as much as it is that queer folk aren’t casted as often. consequently, trans people (in cases where they are openly trans) should get roles as cis people. so, no. she’s not wrong. this is what acting is. alec baldwin voiced a literal baby. 😂

He meant he'll be performing fellatio, not actually singing

I recently bought a collection of some of lovecraft's works and it just arrived. man am I in love with it, it's gorgeous Though that's to be expected from Darkside, they never sleep on the job Got excited and took a ton of pics of it

Medievil II for le PS1