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crossparallel

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  1. Like
    crossparallel reacted to Jigsaw9 in Buck-Tick new album, "ABRACADABRA" release   
    Some previews, heckyeahhhhh
     
     
  2. Thanks
    crossparallel reacted to Himeaimichu in What makes vkei, vkei music?   
    I was actually wondering this myself. There are a lot of cliche musical elements in 90's Visual Kei that I can easily point out, but don't know the music theory behind because I'm barely a musician. There are certain drum beats, chord progressions, scales, effects, vocal techniques, and more that have become cliche in Visual Kei.
     
    One notable example is what I call "THAT" Visual Kei chorus. It's not really one thing, but a combination of factors that come together. Mainly the drum beat and chord progession.
    Compare the chorus of these songs:
    These aren't the best examples, but they're the first that comes to my mind. From what I've seen, it seems to be a synthesis of influences from Luna Sea, G-Schmitt, BOOWY, Zi:Kill and whatnot, but I really don't know which artists made it "cool", per-se, probably Luna Sea. They don't all use the same chord progessions or drum beats, but they revolve around similar ones.
     
    Then there are the pinch harmonics. (This is where my super basic knowledge in playing guitar comes in). For those who don't know what pinch harmonics are, they're when you lightly touch the guitar string with your thumb joint while picking a note, in order to get a higher pitched sound. In Western Rock, these are referred to as "squealies" because they're often used to make high pitched squeals. In Visual Kei, however, they're used as ornaments to a riff that basically shift around the octaves of the notes.
    I would say this started as mainly a glam rock thing, as BOOWY implemented it occasionally in songs, such in the bridge of LIKE A CHILD (which has also influenced Vkei in other ways)
     
  3. Thanks
    crossparallel got a reaction from Desqui in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    @sads123 Already signed up for premium! I'll be at work during the concert😔, but promise a recording in the evening.
  4. Like
    crossparallel got a reaction from meat in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    @sads123 Already signed up for premium! I'll be at work during the concert😔, but promise a recording in the evening.
  5. Like
    crossparallel got a reaction from suji in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    @sads123 Already signed up for premium! I'll be at work during the concert😔, but promise a recording in the evening.
  6. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to Triangle in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    I've known about Merry for like years but never really thought of diving too deep in their music. They did so many taibans and colbas with MUCC and I kinda just knew they were awesome, have listened to few songs, but that was about it. Until like this year.
    BUT BOI! Their livestreams got me hyped and so happy and now I literally went from 0 to Core in like few days XD. 
    The izakaya Merry is my favorite one, but also every Yuu/Zaku sama streams are so good! I'm so happy they're like fully in my life now XD.
  7. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to Shaolan974 in Liphlich new single release, ケレン気関車 (Keren kikansha)   
    ケレン気関車-Prologue Single-「三千世界」 (Keren Kikansha-Prologue Single-「Sanzensekai」) will be released at 2020/05/09
     

     
     
  8. Like
    crossparallel reacted to sads123 in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    I have no information on this but I believe the band themselves have no idea what to reward for attending all 6 concerts so 9 months later, they haphazardly remixed "不均衡キネマ" (a song that they heavily pushed back in 2011), slapped the 5 remixes onto a cassette tape ("its retro cos its old technology so it fits our retrock image!!!!") and called it a day. Definitely not demos IMO.
     
    By the way, the date found on the cassette tape is the same date as "MERRY 【collector】Tour EXTRA~謎の日~@恵比寿LIQUID ROOM" which the attendee in the blog that @crossparallel cited so ya, you got to attend 6 concerts to collect the stubs in Nov 2011 and then pay to attend that 1 gig in Aug 2012 to get that mystery gift WTF   
  9. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to suji in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    it's April 2 in Japan and it's Yuu's birthday!
     
     
  10. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to sads123 in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    So I was cleaning my storeroom earlier when I realized wtf, I have the mystery cassette tape!
     
     https://ibb.co/pffxcDn
     
    Taken with monochrome heaven website as the background for authenticity haha. Should be given to me when I met my friend in her country years ago.
     
    https://ibb.co/rys6F8Z
     
    Now you have a release date to tag the mp3 folder!
     
    https://ibb.co/Y0KVJbQ
     
    Signed postcard by all members for ordering the 6 DVD box set.
     
    https://ibb.co/94rRmZm
     
    The box set itself is a thing of beauty; the individual album art can be found behind each DVD.
     
    Sorry for the edits; I kept finding merry related items ha. And yes, I have yet to figure out how to post photos in my posts, sigh
     
    I bought a ticket for the tour final with kenchi but looking at the situation, it's most likely postponed/cancelled. Oh well.
     
     
  11. Thanks
    crossparallel reacted to sads123 in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    Its the same cassette tape; in the blog entry you linked, the writer stated that she used a 'mystery card' in exchange for the cassette tape. If I remember correctly (from what my friend told me, cos I was unable attend the last day), on the last day of the 6 day gig, there's a special counter for you to change your 6 ticket stubs for this 'mystery card' and what this mystery card is for will be revealed in future. I suppose this "[collector] Tour Extra ~Mystery Day~" (and maybe other gigs during the period?) is where you exchange the mystery card for. Basically forcing you to attend ANOTHER gig on top of the 6 you already attended but its MERRY so whatever hahahaha 
     
    However, there is one more cassette tape that was released; the demo version of "SIGHT GLASS"; it can be seen here:
     
    http://merryweb.jp/goods-archive/5384/
     
     I took a quick glance; its missing:
     
    2005.09.10 - rareケミカルレトリック (live versions「迷彩ノ紳士」&「溺愛の水槽」, given out for free at one of their gigs)
    https://puresound.co.jp/user_data/sp_artist_product_detail.php?pid=101004612&aid=merry&bck=%2Fuser_data%2Fsp_artist_product.php%3Faid%3Dmerry%26psd%3D99%26mt%3D1%26perPage%3D20%26sk%3D1%26zk%3D2%26kwdstr%3D%26pd1%3D1%26pd2%3D2%26pd4%3D4%26pd5%3D5%26pageID%3D5
     
    2005.09.07 - 首吊りロンド B-ver (comes with that month's issue of Fool's Mate)
    https://puresound.co.jp/user_data/sp_artist_product_detail.php?pid=101007879&aid=merry&bck=%2Fuser_data%2Fsp_used_product.php%3Fpageid%3D29%26pageID%3D2
     
    2005.09.07 - さよなら雨(レイン)~リバース~ (lucky draw prize for those who bought the "PEEP SHOW" album)
    https://puresound.co.jp/user_data/sp_artist_product_detail.php?pid=101005389&aid=merry&bck=%2Fuser_data%2Fsp_artist_product.php%3Faid%3Dmerry%26pageID%3D4
     
    2009.12.24 - チック·タック (acoustic ver.) (live distributed CD at TOUR09 under-world [ ] final)
    https://www.bilibili.com/video/av5106345/
     
    2010.02.24 - THE BLUE HEARTS 25th. Anniversary TRIBUTE (cover of 皆殺しのメロディー)
     
    2010.11.10 - ピエロとスイカと88ライダー (cover of -新宿ナナ)
     
    2011.07.27 -  Beautiful Days・ F.A.D YOKOHAMA (live recording of the gig in title. For those who bought the 2 limited editions of  beautiful freaks. Ditto for the Freaks Day CD)
    http://merryweb.jp/bf0727drop/sample.html
     
    2011.08.28 - Freaks Day・名古屋OZON公演 (live recording of the gig in title)
    https://www.mercari.com/jp/items/m36498110141/?_s=U2FsdGVkX19r1yXiVV9PqxoKwxFkJQS2GQcyt0LhfLJ2cDbsfiv7K-m9RDYpM9nwxAItQuhIfx-IAFlB-bcF_I3qAbusTaFQbAKaOirpFNLV7w1Lnp3R9jArR6sIEO2N
     
    2012.07.04 - PARADE II - RESPECTIVE TRACKS OF BUCK-TICK (cover of 悪の華)
     
    2017.00.00 - Demo version of "SIGHT GLASS"
    http://merryweb.jp/goods-archive/5384/
  12. Thanks
    crossparallel reacted to sads123 in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    Its a gift that you get when you submit ticket stubs from all 6 different gigs of "10th Anniversary NEW LEGEND OF HIGH COLOUR" (each day where the band will play all the songs from 1 specific album) in 2011. There are 2 versions; 1 with the cover in red & the other in black. There is no difference in the content though.
     
    I attended the 1st 5 days and passed the stubs to a friend who attended the 5th & 6th day, after which she used to exchange for the cassette tape then
  13. Thanks
    crossparallel got a reaction from suji in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    @Tokage Well the title literally translates to Mystery Cassette Tape, after all 😄
     
    From what I could find, it was a live surprise thingy that you could get on the [collector] Tour Extra ~Mystery Day~ concert in exchange for your mystery card, don't know what the deal with the mystery cards was though and I couldn't be bothered to google it more, so hope that was useful.
  14. Thanks
    crossparallel got a reaction from Tokage in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    @Tokage Well the title literally translates to Mystery Cassette Tape, after all 😄
     
    From what I could find, it was a live surprise thingy that you could get on the [collector] Tour Extra ~Mystery Day~ concert in exchange for your mystery card, don't know what the deal with the mystery cards was though and I couldn't be bothered to google it more, so hope that was useful.
  15. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to suji in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    I don't blame Ken for being wore out from band life, it's been almost 20 years now that he's been a part of Merry. I know I wasn't around during their heyday, but all my years I've stanned this band, I've noticed how quiet Kenichi is, especially now that the members all have social media (even Gara!) and Tetsu sometimes posts on the band account about deadman stuff, and Ken is just...there. I hate to see him go, but he deserves to live his best life, whether moving onto something different, or taking a break from music altogether.
  16. Like
    crossparallel got a reaction from meat in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    I just want to go home and listen to all Kenichi's songs on repeat... Jigsaw's onto something with his sparse credits on recent albums, but still I was not ready for this. I can't even imagine Merry without Kenichi. I hope he finds happiness and the band continue being strong - they've been through so much!
  17. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to Lereku in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    This is unexpected and surprising news that will be strange to see become a four band with a session guitarist or quintet again with a new member, I  hope it will have a last release with Kenichi on guitar.
    All songs composed by Kenichi per albums (except Beautiful Freaks which was composed at 100% by Yuu) :
    - Gendai Stoic : Bruisy Night, Yellow Girl, Dramatic Children
    - Modern Gate : Haraiso, Seishun Neurose, T.O.P
    - Nu Chemical Rhetoric : Kubitsuri Rondo, Dekiai no Suisou,Bara to Katasumi no Blues, Shambara, Karappo na Uta
    - Peep Show : Kyousou Carnival, Sentimental New Pop, Kimatteru Taiyou,Mado Kara Nigeta Love Song
    - M.E.R.R.Y : Blind Romance, LULULU LALALA, Shaite no Parade, Hirahira Tonderu, Komorebi Ga Boku Wo Sagashiteru, Utagoe Kiss Modern
    - Underworld : Piranha, under-world
    - Non Sense Market : Kurayami ni Pink
    - M-Ology : Happy Life
  18. Like
    crossparallel reacted to *littlelamb in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    Such a bummer. I doubt there's anything dramatic behind it though, he's probably just sick of the band life after two decades. Can't really blame him. I can't imagine Merry with a brand new member after all this time, but I also can't see how they'll keep playing their old material with just one guitarist. Maybe they'll just hire a support member.
  19. Thanks
    crossparallel reacted to meat in How would you define Angura?   
    My two cent is that angura-kei is a music/ visual/ theatrical exploration of the post war Japanese identity. I think a lot of artists in the Heisei period (post-Bubble and pre-millennium, so basically the 90s), the so-called "lost generation", questioned their place in a post-modern Japan that went through a century of extremes of war and peace. Some found inspiration and identified with the existential anxieties expressed by the counter-cultural movements in the 1970s, led by figureheads like Terayama Shuuji and Shibusawa. And the raccoon people have carried that subversive and transgressive context on to the present time by toying with time: some like the Inugami, Guru guru eigakan, etc. deliberately dress in pre-1945 ways with ghost/ butoh white face paint and sing about folktales and myths, as if to remind their modern audience of an innate Japaneses-ness by digging into the past; whilst the bleep bloop raccoon people, such as Metronome, Shinjuku Gewalt, etc. are trying to reconcile the technologically fast advancing future Japan with the lost identity in the present.
     
    Of course, a lot of raccoon people feel the need to dress like characters from Terayama's films and make nagomu music is probably because many were born around the 1970s and be deeply influenced by all the social upheavels then. But I think it is because of their play on time, by the subversive questioning of the past and future in a transgressive fashion, that I think set angura kei bands apart from other bands that dress in kimono or sing kayoukyoku.
  20. LOVE!
    crossparallel reacted to suji in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    bitch what the fuck....:( 💔
  21. I feel ya..
    crossparallel got a reaction from Jigsaw9 in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    I just want to go home and listen to all Kenichi's songs on repeat... Jigsaw's onto something with his sparse credits on recent albums, but still I was not ready for this. I can't even imagine Merry without Kenichi. I hope he finds happiness and the band continue being strong - they've been through so much!
  22. Like
    crossparallel got a reaction from suji in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    I just want to go home and listen to all Kenichi's songs on repeat... Jigsaw's onto something with his sparse credits on recent albums, but still I was not ready for this. I can't even imagine Merry without Kenichi. I hope he finds happiness and the band continue being strong - they've been through so much!
  23. Like
    crossparallel reacted to Kiyoharu is God in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    Sad/shocking to see. I really liked seeing the unity and longevity in bands like Merry and MUCC when other younger bands rotate through members like every few weeks.
     
    Anyway, I'm happy to see the band continue on. I've been very happy with their music. Even when I'm not fully on board with a release initially, I've always eventually gotten around to loving it. I think they really should seek a replacement. The duel guitars is something that I always felt was very strong in this band compared to most other bands and I can't imagine Merry without someone else in that position.
  24. 悲しい
    crossparallel reacted to Jigsaw9 in Guitarist Kenichi leaving MERRY in late 2020   
    Soooo MERRY just announced that Kenichi (guitars) will be leaving the band in May 2020.   A final tour is in the works as five-piece. Afterwards, MERRY will continue with four members (no word yet on whether they will recruit a support or fulltime 2nd guitarist).
     
    Announcement on YT:
     
    Message from the band:
     
    Jesus, this sucks... they've been practically together without any member changes for almost 20 years... Hoping for the best!
  25. Like
    crossparallel reacted to suji in MERRY (f.k.a メリー)   
    MERRY has renewed their Youtube channel to include more content such as acoustic lives and other ways to connect with their fans!
     
     
    Here's a shortened subbed version, which highlights the important parts (I highly recommend following this account if you want exclusive scoops of Merry content in English!!) :
     
     
    Here's their first acoustic live video, the acoustic version of "Bara to katasumi no blues" from just a couple of days ago~
     
     
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