jaymee

I think Laputa is just one of those bands that will always be appreciated more in the Japanese VK scene than the overseas one, and there's not too many VK shows I've seen in Nagoya where the band didn't mention them at some point while joking/MCing.
 
My fave songs by them are "Yurenagara..." and "Eve ~last eve for you~". But for the latter, it sounds nicer on the album with the piano intro imho.
 
Aki has one of those really unique voices in VK, so if you're feeling it, might be worth checking out his solo work after Laputa disbanded.
 
 
 

In case anyone was interested in a translation of the blog post @Takadanobabaalienlinked, or at least the part relevant to MALICE MIZER.
 
 
After that there isn't any other mention of MM, just more details about his early solo career.

In case anyone was interested in a translation of the blog post @Takadanobabaalienlinked, or at least the part relevant to MALICE MIZER.
 
 
After that there isn't any other mention of MM, just more details about his early solo career.

I don't talk about it because enough Japanese people do irl and Japan doesn't usually factor in positives or negatives so it's like... only 4 personality types in the world for them I guess lmao. It wouldn't be such a big deal if some older Japanese (bosses, etc) didn't buy into it 100% like some of the crazy astrology girls in the West. Either way I'm O though most Japanese people think I'm A because I'm thorough at my job. Little do they know I'm a lazy ass at heart lol

I don't talk about it because enough Japanese people do irl and Japan doesn't usually factor in positives or negatives so it's like... only 4 personality types in the world for them I guess lmao. It wouldn't be such a big deal if some older Japanese (bosses, etc) didn't buy into it 100% like some of the crazy astrology girls in the West. Either way I'm O though most Japanese people think I'm A because I'm thorough at my job. Little do they know I'm a lazy ass at heart lol

I don't talk about it because enough Japanese people do irl and Japan doesn't usually factor in positives or negatives so it's like... only 4 personality types in the world for them I guess lmao. It wouldn't be such a big deal if some older Japanese (bosses, etc) didn't buy into it 100% like some of the crazy astrology girls in the West. Either way I'm O though most Japanese people think I'm A because I'm thorough at my job. Little do they know I'm a lazy ass at heart lol

Old thread but thought I'd add my two yen. Taking some stylistic liberties but
 
the kind of unconsciousness where you wonder
if you're aware in the moment
or if you're conscious at all
 
 
 
 

I figured it would be cool to have a thread like this for people just starting out going to lives, or maybe even some of you veterans out there that are always trying to make the most of your time and/or maximize efficiency getting in and out.
 
Hack #1: Getting Good Ticket Numbers
 

Hack #2: Getting a Locker
 
 
Hack #3: Have Everything Ready
 

Hack #4: How to Bring Your Own Drink/Keep It Out of the Way
 
 
Hack #5: Buying Goods
 
 
Hack #6: Trying to See Better if You’re Short
 
 
Hack #7: Showing Your Spirit
 
 
Hack #8: Making gya friends
 
 
Hack #9: Saving Money on Transportation Costs
 
 
Hack #10: Finding Cheap/Close Accommodation
 
 
Hack #11: Buying Tickets
 
 
Hack #12: Bringing/Giving a Gift
 
 
If you know of more tricks, please add to the list by replying! 
 
EDITED 5/23/2018 with suggestions from the replies  Also, thanks mod @platyfor the sticky!

bone in meat is all trash

Kind of related, but I like finding random items inside the spine of the case. Like with Dir en grey's Macabre having wooden beads or Mucc's Antique having a nail. Wish more bands experimented with that.

Yeah, that’s what I meant- it would be completely different so it was easier to tell when album covers were the same

Yeah, that’s what I meant- it would be completely different so it was easier to tell when album covers were the same

Bootlegs too did have obi tho (or at least some of them). I have one chinese bootleg Lareine DVD bought (knowingly) in my comic shop in like 2001/2 and it has an obi. The difference it's that is written in chinese and it's different from the original.

- Chipotle is trash
 
- The reason Trump is president is almost solely because Clinton rigged the Democratic primary and forced herself as a Presidential candidate despite the projections that she would lose against Trump. Yet Dems have learned nothing from this and continue to blame Russia, Sanders, and whoever else they can so they’ll probably lose again in 2020 to the detriment of the rest of the world
 
- The Last Jedi is one of if not the best Star Wars films and most of the hate it gets is because people are too dumb to understand it and don’t get complex literary themes nor read any books outside the YA genre on a regular basis, if they even read at all
 
- Instagram eyebrows are ugly af
 
- Pop music needs to stop trying to sell how cool it is to pop pills, get drunk, or fuck anything that moves
 
- Recently there’s this trend that every series or every fan work of any series need to depict ideal relationships or it’s abusive, have xx representation for every kind of person under the sun, only allow white men to die or it’s automatically racist or sexist, and god forbid anyone make any nsfw content of it that isn’t the most boring sex you’ve ever seen/read or the keyboard warriors will come after it/them
 
- On that note most SJWs are fake wokes who think policing, dragging, or canceling other people with good intentions online is more productive than donating or volunteering to assist the issues or causes they’re supposedly fighting for (Hint: it’s not)

I keep them for CDs but throw them out for books and the occasional time they come with a DVD or whatever.
 
When most imported VK was from bootleggers, having a pic of the obi with the release was one way you could prove it’s authenticity to potential buyers. Now I just think keeping them is mostly out of habit lol

This thread is dedicated to band beefs. Discuss anything, from the more well-known stories about messy disbandments or extreme rivalries to the more obscure ones. Both 'band x vs band y' and 'band x imploding on itself' are acceptable. Not just limited to VK, any and all examples from the Japanese music industry are welcome to be discussed.
 
I'll start off with one of the more well-known cases of a VK musician  fucking over his own bandmates, which is how the drummer Dai from Himitsu Kessha Codomo A screwed over his band by pulling all sorts of shady shit (including theft and leaking members' personal info if I'm remembering correctly). 
 

I think on CDs, they're just okay. They can be hit or miss for me depending on the "type" of obi it is. And by that I mean, I've seen a few common types used.
 
1. Solid strip of color with some text
2. Have just the album name and band logo on the front.
3. Be an extension of the booklet artwork.
 
It's nice when they're more fleshed out and have more info about release, add to the aesthetic of the overall package, or include easter eggs or photos like @Jigsaw9mentioned. But, either a) extra content is rarely included, or b) they're more often than not, boring.
 
Here's an example of what I'm talking about (Please excuse the old and terrible photo):
2 out of the 4 CDs here that have OBIs are just a plain black strip with minimal text, and 1 is just an extension of artwork. The one on the bottom right I think is actually interesting to look at and it also has more information about the CD beyond just the band name and title.


 
 
@Kaya-Rose-Addict & @Bear bring up a great point about obis on vinyl, which I also love. The medium allows for bigger OBIs, so I've seen some pretty cool stuff being done. These are a few of my favorite OBIs on vinyl releases (the first two are obis that slide onto the sleeve and stay on)


 

 

Hard to say but when I was a university student and lived there rent/utility free I averaged 5-8 lives a month (including do-minor shows and maybe an instore ), maybe an ensei or two if the live count that month was low, on about 5 man a month. This included maybe buying a few new releases and a couple of tour goods (tho often I bought nothing) that month, and live tickets were about half of what they cost now. I mostly ate at Saizeriya lol. When I enseied I didn’t stay at a hotel (just night bus to night bus) or stayed at an Internet cafe. Needless to say it wasn’t glamorous and I didn’t have a big social life outside of VK.
 
So whatever rent (majorly varies, a lot of people don’t actually live in Tokyo but in Saitama, Kanagawa, or Chiba and commute in to reduce rent costs since companies will usually pay the train fare) + utilities + taxes/health/pension + food and then at least 5 man on top of that for VK stuff.

- Chipotle is trash
 
- The reason Trump is president is almost solely because Clinton rigged the Democratic primary and forced herself as a Presidential candidate despite the projections that she would lose against Trump. Yet Dems have learned nothing from this and continue to blame Russia, Sanders, and whoever else they can so they’ll probably lose again in 2020 to the detriment of the rest of the world
 
- The Last Jedi is one of if not the best Star Wars films and most of the hate it gets is because people are too dumb to understand it and don’t get complex literary themes nor read any books outside the YA genre on a regular basis, if they even read at all
 
- Instagram eyebrows are ugly af
 
- Pop music needs to stop trying to sell how cool it is to pop pills, get drunk, or fuck anything that moves
 
- Recently there’s this trend that every series or every fan work of any series need to depict ideal relationships or it’s abusive, have xx representation for every kind of person under the sun, only allow white men to die or it’s automatically racist or sexist, and god forbid anyone make any nsfw content of it that isn’t the most boring sex you’ve ever seen/read or the keyboard warriors will come after it/them
 
- On that note most SJWs are fake wokes who think policing, dragging, or canceling other people with good intentions online is more productive than donating or volunteering to assist the issues or causes they’re supposedly fighting for (Hint: it’s not)

I was gonna say this but I wasn't sure how unpopular it'd be here. They just look like negative space unibrows.

Cats > humans, no discuss

I feel the same way about dogs.

All in all, one should really consider if Japan is to be a short or long term option. Also note that if you are going there in the prime of your youth, you might, or might not meet your significant other and if you are really interested in having a J-husband in the long term. Including overtime, him going to nomikai, possibly hostessbars for work, the woman seen as a stay at home mom, pressure to have children, other values, enternal racism etc...
And you might not even find anyone serious and be the strange gaijin...
 
I actually decided against asia when thinking about these thing when I had to make the decision of where to go. 
Japan would have been fun for a year or so, but not a long time option. 
Now I have a 10 year serious relationship with a scandinavian national of the contry I did my masters in and he is super supportive and totally for equal rights and has no trouble with me earning more and him staying at home.

JET may put you waaaaay out in the boonies so you can’t do lives since JET costs more money for Boards of Education to contract and your experience is still up to how well you get on with your school, but yeah bc it is run thru the government you will be a proper full time worker with subsidized health insurance/pension benefits and the pay is better.
 
I agree if you don’t plan on making Japan a home for more than a year or two do study abroad. Working society in Japan is really a bummer in most job sectors (even outside of teaching) bc of the huge wage gap for women, sexism, and forced overtime.

I know this thread was dead before but just to add on...I've never taught English in Japan before, but I have friends who do or have. From my understanding if you really want to do it, go through JET. And do NOT work for an eikaiwa. You will not have a good time. And from the rest of the replies here I'm seeing the same thing. 😕 If you really want to go to Japan and don't want to teach, my advice is to study abroad. It only lasts a year but it can be a really great experience! I studied abroad in Kyoto for a year and absolutely loved it.