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MAKE IT POP I haven't seen any kind of general pop thread in the global music sub-forum and that just will not do! 2020 is shaping up to be an amazing year for pop music and there must be a thread to discuss everything pop-related! I'm going start by sharing some upcoming releases I'm looking forward to and then sharing some artists I've enjoyed since last year. Upcoming Releases Rina Sawayama Sawayama (04.17.2020) -Rina's been making some waves in the indie pop scene. She seemingly just came out of nowhere but managed to make an impression on people with her self-released EP "Rina" with hits like "Cyber Stockholm Syndrome" and "Ordinary Superstar". Her sound is very reminiscent of 90's pop/r&b but she finds ways to make it sound fresh and interesting. She's got a new album coming out in April of this year titled "Sawayama". Samples Purity Ring Womb (04.03.2020) -Purity Ring is a Canadian electronic pop duo drawing from sub-genres like glitch-pop and synth-pop. While they can sound bright and poppy, their sound is more strongly defined by dark and ominous undertones both lyrically and musically. They're probably most known for their tracks "Fineshrine" and "Obedear". They'll be releasing a new album titled "Womb" in the beginning of April and it's sounding like it'll be a more lighter listen. Samples Recent Favorites Grimes Miss Anthropocene (02.21.2020) -I'm sure Grimes doesn't need an introduction. She's known for her unique sound of ethereal and pop music and made hits such as "Genesis" and "Kill V. Maim". Her album "Miss Anthropocene" came out earlier last month and, honestly, it's been one of my favorite releases in 2020 so far. Certainly not the most amazing album and, arguably a bit half baked, but there are some solid tracks on the album and I've been revisiting it often. Samples Charli XCX Charli (09.13.2019) -Charli XCX went to the top of my favorite artists in 2019 when I listened to her latest album "Charli". Her sound was so different than a lot of other pop artists I had heard. While she certainly has songs with tons of pop appeal featuring bright dance-y music and catchy lyrics, she also brings with that a blend of future pop and experimental sounds. The production on her latest record is absolutely amazing and I was hooked from the first track onward. Although I'm a fan of her latest sound, she's probably most known for songs like "Boys" and "Vroom Vroom" (which, I absolutely love both). Samples Sophie Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides (06.15.2018) -If Charli XCX's recent output is futuristic, then Sophie's music is so far ahead in the pop genre that by the time it's considered a classic the human race will have evolved into a higher physical state (fun fact, Sophie actually produced Charli XCX's EP "Vroom Vroom". ). All jokes aside, this album is quite simply something else. It has a few more traditional poppy moments but the other 90% hits you with leftfield experimental sounds intermixed with soundscapes and industrial bass music. The production on this record is so good though and there were so many times I kept asking, "what the hell was that sound? How did she do that?". It's certainly not for everyone, but for those looking for a more expanded take on pop music, so much as to the point of almost being unrecognizable, I highly encourage you to take a jump. Samples

HELLO. says GOODBYE. They have suspended activities today as of March 16.

love that they're optimistic that they're gonna be around until september

While I do find this panic over items that under normal circumstances would never be bought hilarious, I do actually feel terrible for low-income families & people that just want to buy regular grocery items to stay alive. That said, it is at this point of the FOMO trend where it is pretty damn hard to not want to buy 2x your normal volume, seeing that shelves are empty and the layoffs/store closures may leave everyone with some tough decisions they were never taught to begin with. It's a scary thought that this could get any worse. Obviously metro areas and other highly populated towns are seeing the brunt of this, but what about small towns? Perhaps their lifestyle may have its perks during a time like this...

but why

Meanwhile, they just put out this MV...I smell a new band (and a darker one at that)...

Probably just a typo but track 4 is called yogoreta buta @monkeybanana4

So.. given that pretty much nobody anywhere can go see concerts at the moment, I thought I'd post this live report I wrote but never posted from back in 2016. Only one of these four bands even exists any longer, and a lot of the info and things I didn't know about VK shows is kinda glaring four years later, but maybe this can take your mind off real-world concerns for a few minutes. I’m still not used to the fact that shows start (and end) so early in Japan. At home a concert means dinner, and then waiting for the first band to start half an hour late, and then the show, and then finally getting home in the early hours of the morning. This show, featuring Shiva, Morrigan, and Synk;yet (and Elysion as an opening act), was scheduled to start at 17:30… before the evening rush hour has even started in earnest! A quick walk from Ikebukuro Station and I’m descending the steps into Ikebukuro Cyber, which was marked on the outside only by a spray painted name and logo on a black door. Shoutout to the fellow M-Her that helped me get into this show, I like to think I made a few VK fangirls jealous when I got to tell the ticket-taking-girl that I was 'on the list' and a 'guest of Morrigan'. (ok I didn't actually *say* those things... I said a single line I had rehearsed about being on someone's guest list... still pretty cool though.) The space inside Cyber is small but not tiny. Including the stage it’s probably a little bigger than half a tennis court, a little wider than it is long. The interior of Cyber was a bit spartan, but modern building aesthetics are in favor of lots of exposed ductwork and supports and other industrial touches anyway. The most charming part of Cyber is that one corner wall is just the rock they dug the basement out of…. no need to finish every wall if you don’t have to. Cyber has a pretty standard layout with the bar and march tables near the rear, and there are no columns or other obstructions blocking the view from any part of the floor. I was going to say the stage was high enough to offer a good view of the band to everyone, but I’m 6’4” (193cm) so, really, I can see no matter the height of the stage. Promptly at 17:30 the house lights go out, the background music is turned up for just a second as a warning the show is about to start, and Elysion is revealed (by the manually drawn curtain) looking positively 2000’s era Matina. The three members at the front of the stage had lots of black vinyl on accompanied with plenty of decorative straps, buckles sparkles, feathers, and plenty of visible thighs. The bassist was going for a creepy look with white and black lipstick and a ripped black stocking covering parts of his face. This bad ass demeanor was neutralized somewhat by the fact that he was definitely chewing gum throughout the show (I’m not even sure how he did that while doing backup screaming!). As they launched into their first song the vocalist remained lit only from behind striking an imposing silhouetted figure on the riser at the front of the stage. Elysion, as the opening act, only had enough time for a short set and that meant no time for ballads. They played four (I think!) bangers and called it a day. The head banging of the girls in the crowd mirrored the typical VK guitar leads in the songs; a little swirlier and dizzying than at most western shows. I was getting hit by hair not only from the front and back but also occasionally from the sides! Elysion’s sound didn’t have anything especially unique to separate them from their peers yet, but the members are starting to develop their on-stage personalities… and they had some fun parts where the vocalist and both bass and guitar were all singing/screaming slightly different vocal parts simultaneously. I like when bands go the more organic route of having the non-vocalist members do the gang-shouting and background vocals (however imperfectly they do them) rather than a pre-recorded vocal track. Between sets the room seemed to get slightly more crowded as many of the fans simply sat or squatted in place (I can’t even imagine doing this on the club floors I’m used to in America!). This was my first chance to some people-watching in earnest. I noted that it’s ok to be ‘that guy’ at VK shows… the only band tees I saw were of the bands playing. A stark contrast to the unwritten rules of American metal shows where the dress code heavily favors band tees but strictly of bands that are not playing the show you’re at. Over at the merch table I saw something fun and unique (though it wasn't there later… maybe it broke). Shiva had a gachapon machine with little containers filled with what I’m not sure; cheki or buttons I’d guess. Seemed like a fun way to sell small things, and kept the contents random to encourage trading among fans. Speaking of Shiva, it was obvious they were up next (I didn’t particularly trust the order listed on the sign outside) as the music between sets was a somewhat ethereal instrumental piece with sitars…. nicely tying in with the Hindu theme of their name and the names of their releases. Shiva came out and introduced themselves (not with words or anything, they just struck poses and preened for the crowd a bit before picking up their instruments) and were all wearing white except the singer clad in mostly black and his ever-present headband. The bassist for Shiva looked very young and very cute, with a pretty sparkly silver bass to match. He came out later sans shirt and, while I enjoyed the view, it was a bit ‘fit but you know it’. The three ‘headlining’ bands got to play sets long enough that they could actually devise setlists that had a purposeful flow and cadence. Shiva started with a couple scream-ier examples of their discography to get the crowd excited, slowed it a bit in the middle for everyone to catch their breath, then picked the pace back up straight through until the finale. The vocalist even did a ‘screaming with lots of echo and feedback’ interlude to give the guitarists a chance to grab some water. I’ve always thought Shiva’s vocalist had a versatility and unique timbre to his voice that made him special among a landscape of often interchangeable VK singers. His performance live just reinforced this thinking. He was energetic and charismatic… and I found it evidence of his versatility that in songs where there were two simultaneous vocal tracks they’d often switch whether he was doing the screaming or singing live with the pre-recorded vocal track handling the other. The most fish-out-of-water experience of the show for me, and a thoroughly embarrassing moment, happened when during one song the entire crowd (even back at the rear of the floor where I was standing) got down on their knees in a prayer position in unison… had everyone here already seen Shiva live or something?? I remained standing thinking with misplaced confidence “oh this will just be a second or so, I don’t want to get down there too late while they’re coming up.” No such luck. It was a solid 10 seconds of me being the only person standing around like an idiot. It was definitely a cool crowd participation thing to do… and I was a little more prepared when they did it a second time during ‘Bury Lullaby’. Overall Shiva did a good job inciting the crowd to headbang, dive into the girls in the front row, and do the other various synchronized dancing I wasn’t prepared for. The (cute, remember) bassist had the best fan service moment of the night when he sucked the vocalist’s finger fleetingly, but seductively. I haven’t mentioned anything about the drummers yet, as they are always (necessarily) sitting in the back and the bands so far hadn’t really interacted with them, but Shiva’s drummer was by far the hardest working of the evening. He was pounding his kit as if he was mad at it, and I swear he just got stuck in double-time halfway through a couple songs and just went with it for the next two minutes whether it was supposed to be that way or not. Shiva’s rhythm (for lack of a better word) guitarist was a bit shy at this show. He never jumped up on the crate or really leaned into the crowd from the front of the stage. As they waved goodbye the bassist flicked his pick at somebody as opposed to just up in the air to be caught. He had a cool/cocky swagger that I enjoyed. Another break between sets, more changing spots and sitting on the floor. If I had to guess I’d say Morrigan was the most anticipated band of the night; they seemed to have the most people move up before their set and definitely had the most people wearing some of their merch. There were even another couple guys in the audience that were excited for Morrigan to begin (I could be wrong, because I’m basing this on about five concerts worth of experience, but I get the sense the boys generally come out for one-mans…. not so much for event shows where they’d have to endure bands they don’t like to see the ones they do.) If I had to sum up Morrigan’s set in just a phrase it would be; holy hell the relentless energy! Morrigan appeared wearing their newish outfits that were mostly black with just a pop of color each (and in my humble opinion a big upgrade over their previous red vinyl look) and demanded the entire crowd jump, or headbang, or dance around, or scream the entirety of their ~40 minute set. I was hesitant to get too involved most of the night, seeing as most of the participation was synchronized and I didn't know any of it, but I couldn’t help but pump my fists and clap along with the rest of the crowd to Morrigan’s unique brand of driving riffs and digital bounciness. All the members of Morrigan had the confidence of a band on the rise. The vocalist, Aryu, especially interacted with the crowd in ways I’ve never seen at a VK show. He was singing while leaning on girls in the front row. He was splashing the crowd with his water. During the extended girls crashing into the front row (there isn’t really *moshing* at VK shows, rather during heavy sections of certain songs the front row of girls lean forward over the front of the stage and allow people behind them to rush forward and jump into them timed with the guitar/drum hits) song he went on a mission to make sure that every member of the audience was participating in one way or another. At first this was yelling and pulling from the stage, but it soon became lowering himself to the floor and literally pulling people forward from the back so that almost everyone in the venue had jumped into the back of another member of the crowd at least once. (for the record, he was content to simply give me a high five rather than try to coerce me into smashing into somebody.) My favorite moment of the show was when he walked into the entry hallway and scolded the few girls sitting out there for not joining the mayhem in the main floor (and a couple even listened and ran out to crash into the front row!), he was not content until every single person there was moving around enjoying themselves. Don’t let my praise for Aryu make you think his supporting cast wasn’t just as energized, the rest of the band were no slouches either. The bassist, Kuloe, and his one black angel wing were a blur in front of the two black coffins Morrigan had set up on the stage to give it a little flavor. And their guitarist, Pitty, jumped/bopped around endlessly while moving his head side to side to accentuate his pigtails. He liked to make maybe slightly longer than was comfortable eye contact with individuals in the crowd while playing, there was no doubt exactly who he was staring at and motioning to. Pitty surprised me with a couple guitar solos. When I think of Morrigan’s music I generally focus on the bombastic riffs and very purposefully computer-generated-sounding effects, but there was some technicality that bubbled up over the surface occasionally. Setsuna, Morrigan’s drummer, really knew how to help propel a riff and a couple times during the show he was basically the only member left playing his instrument as the others were busy yelling at and reaching into the crowd. Look out for Morrigan! Between the number of people in the venue excited for them and their upcoming one-man tour, they really have the characteristics of a band with the potential to do some things in the VK scene. Their sound is familiar enough to get into right away but has just enough unique elements that they have a USP they can hang their hat on to separate themselves from the crowd. I can guarantee that you won’t be bored during a set of theirs. During the last between set break one member of the crowd lit up a cigarette. I’m glad it was only one person who was taking advantage of this (lack of) rule. Quick shout-out to the member of Shiva (I think the drummer but I wasn’t sure out of their outfits and makeup!) who was helping to sell things at their merch table and tried to talk to me a little/seemed genuinely excited about me enjoying their set and buying some of their CDs. Our last band of the evening, Synk;yet (who I always want to call SkyNet), are a kind of melodic/symphonic goth-y visual rock band signed to Starwave Records. Starwave having hosted the event this evening, it made sense that the band they represent got to close the show. The first thing I noticed about Synk;yet, other than the vast amount of skin the two guitarists were showing, was that they had no bassist on stage and all the bass tracks were pre-recorded. I’d later learn when researching the band that they have a bassist but he is out with a pretty serious illness… get well soon! The stage left guitarist for Synk;yet did some very slinky dancing for most of the set, and while I would have called him the lead guitarist based on persona, it was actually the opposite side guitarist who had the tougher, sweep-picking infused solos. Synk;yet’s songs were pretty typical slightly heavier VK with a nod toward the dramatic thanks to the vocalist… who is the only singer of the evening who did a diva vocal run on a long note to try and show off his singing chops (he didn’t really hit Mariah Carey-esque heights, but I’m a fan of his willingness to just go for it). The most fun part of Synk;yet’s set was the last song where the vocalists from Shiva and Morrigan joined them on stage to get the crowd whipped up into a frenzy. Aryu even grabbed a guitar from one of Synk;yet’s members and played the simple riff for a couple minutes. I cringed when that same Synk;yet guitarist smacked his hand really hard on an overhead light while pumping his fist skyward… ouch. His recovery of looking disapprovingly at the light like it was its fault was pretty classic. More and more members of previous bands emerged with the sole intent of encouraging the audience to throw themselves toward the stage and the chaos of the night peaked. That last song in which all the bands and the whole crowd participated was a fitting crescendo for a night filled with passion and electric energy. The biggest mistake of the evening was that the show didn’t end on the fever pitch but the band members spent five minutes talking (maybe this was more interesting for the rest of the crowd who could actually understand what they were saying… My Japanese is non-existent to terrible so I really could only catch ‘thank-you’s and the months they were talking about things happening) after playing their last song. I’m more a fan of dropping the mic on a high energy note than letting the ending meander as it did. All in all the four bands who played as part of the show acquitted themselves well and left me with a big smile on my face. Each brought a little something different to the table, but their sounds complemented each other well enough that no one in attendance couldn’t find something to like in each.

ヘルタースケルター (Helter Skelter) new album (title not yet finalized) will be released under PLUG RECORDS at 2020/06

マツタケワークス (Matsutake Works) new mini-album "すこしふしぎ" (Sukoshi Fushigi) will be released at 2020/05/13 (2300yen) [tracklist] 01. バンドマンオブザデッド (Bandman of the Dead) 02. TM DEADWORK 03. 配信さん (Haishin-san) 04. 滅亡しようよ (Metsubou Shiyou yo) 05. 世界は終わってくれない (Sekai wa Owatte Kurenai)

DOBE New 7th Digital Single『GHOST TOWN』2020.03.11 iTunes, Spotify etc New Member Gut Kou. Composition song all lyrics are written in English https://music.apple.com/cl/album/1502276610?app=itunes

INITIAL'L Ba..緋遊 (hiyuu) will depart on April 27.

my friend here panicked when she saw all the tp gone and ordered 96 rolls online despite having only a two star rating. 🙄 either way, with all this going on i was gonna go watch a movie airing this week but i just found out they delayed it.....as well as many other titles. i went to walmart today and it didn't look that bad, but non-perishable foods are mostly gone over here. i can't imagine what it's like in bigger cities and i feel sorry for those struggling financially when jobs might start shutting down soon as well.

cambada de irresponsável da porra. sorte que enrolei pra trocar meu voo, ia perder uma BABA nessa brincadeira

After 3 months... China is starting to come back normal life. Europa maybe after June. Interesting... maybe will be not a happy summer on this year.

Indie Musician: *does some pose where he covers an eye* Preachers and neckbeards: OMG IT'S THE NEW WORLD ORDER!!!

Somehow with the little content we got with the WT documentary, I ended up on the Dallas portion of it. Thanks GazettE, I look pissed AF.

Man Ryu sounds pretty rough in that one lol Also props to them for making PVs for every song on the album and all but so far most of them seem kind of... boring

Mas o que mais me impressiona é que o show não foi cancelado... ainda

Just saw the news update on this guy. He had to leave his house because he got death threats and people started showing up lmao. Too bad so sad.

MISC just took me by surprise...I was waiting for the same anguish from CHEDOARA and they changed it to a sokoninaru/lingTosite atmosphere,but still with DIMLIM's identity.Sho's clean vocals are so enjoyable that I don't even miss his growls,not to mention Retsu and hiroshi's work,they are magicians. Thank God, different from DEZERT,they are keeping it interesting and not a boring ass emo-keihelpme stuff

Microsoft's new update literally is trying to force Microsoft Edge up my ass. When I removed the desktop icon, it literally made another one!

@jon_jonz Thanks! I was actually doing something so I couldn't see it so I'm going to watch it now! Lifesaver!!!

They also joined GLK MUSIC (same label as Undeux) and have changed their name to サイノ筐ニワ~31-8520~ (Sai no Hako ni Wa ~31-8520~).

btw, vk.com users you Russian! why do you always re-post stuff without credit or giving a source. lol.

Smart boi

Reposted here, since the Youtube link is down: https://vk.com/video140573587_456239348

Their third mini-album titled "正体不明" (Shouta Fumei) will be released on 2020.03.25 and sold for 2,500 yen (+taxes). Tracklist 1. piano♯6 2. 逆上のパルス (Gyakujyou no pulse) 3. ファントムミュージック (Phantom music) 4.パッチワーク (Patchwork) 5. 君と罰（正体不明 Ver.) (Kimi to batsu) (Shouya Fumei Ver.) 6.スライドショー (Slideshow) 7.おやすみ (Oyasumi)

Them fellas will release the 𝓛 𝓘 𝓠 𝓤 𝓔 as a regular Blu-ray on April 29. http://sukekiyo-official.jp/news/1227/ 映像音源集『LIQUEFACIO』 RELEASE DATE : 2020.4.29(水) TYPE : 通常盤 PRICE : ￥6,000(tax out) DISC : 1枚 FORMAT : Blu-ray CATALOGUE NO. : PZBD-001 Manufactured by sun-krad Co., Ltd. Distributed by sun-krad Co., Ltd. sukekiyo TOUR2019「FORTY」 2019年6月27日(木) 中野サンプラザ 01.偶像モラトリアム 02.猥雑 03.沙羅螺 04.アナタヨリウエ 05.純朴、無垢であろうが 06.kisses 07.elisabeth addict 08.aftermath 09.白濁 10.dorothy 11.君は剥き出し 12.本能お断り 13.濡羽色 14.anima 15.ただ、まだ、私。 16.憂染 17.漂白フレーバー

Dobe is highkey the most improved band in terms of newish/recent vk bands. These last 2 singles have been absolute bangers

Huh, was never super crazy about WANDS... Now that Mikoto (ジグザグ) is their new vocalist for their revival after 20 years, I might have to revisit them. It's been quite the journey from Ray°C to doing a Conan opening. Happy for him being part of this historic moment.

Should be coming in the mail in the next couple days. Will report back!

Thanks, I like it. I'm sure the Depeche Mode comparison is an easy one. Ken Morioka even has that Martin Gore vibe! And I like DM so I should enjoy SB. And I just watched this video and found out Takashi Fujita from Doom was the guest guitarist for Soft Ballet for a few years!

They're saying that it looks like schools won't be open for the rest of the year. This entire situation reminds me so much of Contagion it's scary.

Hopefully Ikuma won't take long to pop up again. I feel bad for the dude. He puts a lot of love into what he does.

[members] ＜OFFICIAL Twitter＞ @MAKO_KAKUMAY @PARK_KAKUMAY @ARAMAKI_KAKUMAY @TANAKA_KAKUMAY

If they're very naissu, they could still stream the entire thing instead. But I guess Kisaki won't do it, becuase that won't give him cash…

No one asked me but I'll continue to post and badly translate italian Corona memes. (the ones understandable to not italian people at least, sadly there are some truly hilarious ones that needs layers of italian cultural/pop knowledge one can have only by living here) "Pope Francesco, I came from the future, listen to me, there will be a pandemic you must alert the woooorld."

New lewk for Hydra

There's toilet paper shortages on my end as well, as well as wipes, water, hand sanitizer, those small microwave dinner bowls, eggs...we're all gonna die apparently. The store in town is actually closing at nighttime so they can actually stock their shit without being assraped by greedy ass hoarders. It's fucking sad how dumb this country is.

The new DIMLIM is all about ignoring reality and pushing forward with no brakes, if they cancelled their shows it would not be in character

It's only a matter of time until I get it lmfao. 🙄 (I work in an ER and 2 outpatient clinics)

ah my favorite anime "Giu- Giu sempai"

First case confirmed in my small town today. Time to grow our own vegetables. (My father is 65 and my mother is very at risk) Meanwhile hordes of teens and not are thirsting over our prime minister. 😆 "All will be alright, we will get through this together." (from his last discourse) "Today let's stay far apart, to hug more warmly and run faster tomorrow. We'll make it all together." (still from his last discourse) Source Sorry for the shitty english.

New music video for a song that wont be on the upcoming release sadly

The vocalist, 朝比奈 悠 (Asahina Yuu), and the bassist, kaz, will be withdrawing from the band after their live at Shibuya REX on 2020.05.22. Thus, both their one-man tour in July and their new album (announced to be released in June) will be postponed.