YuyoDrift

Neat! Looking forward to listening to more music this year. (I hope I can keep up better than last year ^^;) [Opinions =/= quality~]
 
Ratings List
 
Release List
 

Welp here we go
 

Alright, first ratings are up. Same rating system as last time
 
 

Damn! Just two days ago and so many comments. 
Let's see what 2020 holds for us...
 
ALBUMS
 
WAITING LIST
 
Previous year just for my own personal reference here.

Gonna give this a shot again, although I never seem to get very many releases in.
 
Last update: December 5th
 

updated: 02/06/2020
GREAT
(stuff that I TRULY enjoy listening to, and that truly moves me. the question here would be "which tracks DON'T stand out?".)
 
★★★★★★★★★★ ---> ★★★★★★★★★★

 
downy - 砂上、燃ユ。残像
single | 2020.02.05
This is not the greatest downy track in existence, but dayum, this band's sound just speaks to my very soul! It's almost like it gets better with each listen. The remix is dope too. Looking forward to the album next month!
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DECENT
(stuff that I consider listenable, but not particularly compelling. may have potential to grow on me. could have a few of standout tracks)
★★★★★★★★★★ ---> ★★★★★★★★★★

 
DIMLIM - MISC.
album | 2020.01.28
I had very high hopes for this after hearing "what's up", but those hopes were quickly dashed. I honestly can't decide if I want to file this one under "Decent" or "bad". "What's up" is still a great track, and I like "For the future", too. And there are some nice ideas here and there, but everything about this album was handled in such a tacky fashion that it's almost embarrassing.
-
sleepy.ab - fractal
album | 2020.01.29
Stellar production and beautiful soundscapes that are, unfortunately, restrained by boring songwriting. Given their last few albums, I expected this turnout tho. Despite the snoozefest, there are a few wonderfully written tracks here that are well worth it.
-
tricot - 真っ黒
album | 2020.01.29
I haven't really been into tricot since their early, EARLY material, so I was pleasantly surprised at just how listenable this album is. In fact, this is definitely the best stuff I've heard from them in ages, plus their musicianship is has grown exponentially. Still, they're just missing something. Maybe this one will grow on me?
-
envy - The Fallen Crimson
album | 2020.02.05
I'm a sucker for envy's sound in general, but the excessive, airy post-rock elements here just get really old really quickly. It's like they were playing straight from the post-rock handbook on some songs. That said, I do appreciate the more hardcore moments on the album. "Fingerprint mark" in particular is amazing. Shoutout to Achico for being featured on track 4!!!
-
羊文学 - ざわめき
ep | 2020.02.05
Typical, run-of-the-mill indie-rock with female vocals. Pleasant, but completely lacking in character.
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BAD
(stuff that doesn't do a thing for me/stuff that I have no desire to listen to again. may have one or two  standout tracks, but is irredeemable otherwise.)
★★★★★★★★★★ ---> ★★★★★★★★★★

 

Maybe if I start earlier than halfway through the year I'll manage to listen to all the stuff I want to~? 
 
visual kei / jrock
 
 
jpop / kpop/rock / everything else
 
 

It's my first time doing this in a very "why not" fashion, expect me to give up in 0.5 days
I'm bad at ratings so sorry if I reevaluate  this in 0.2 days 
 
I decided to do this because I thought Dimlim's album sucked so bad I found myself skipping all of it and I'm glad I'm not alone in those thoughts lol.
 
* = It's not yet released OR I didn't listen to the full thing yet so my comments are concerning the MV/previews
 
J-MUSIC  
[January 07] [single] グラビティ↗︎↗︎楽しさFULLVOLTAAAGE!!! (Gravity) - 決意ゼロヒャクMAX!! (Ketsui Zero Hyakku Max) - 7/10
It's... a very solid rating coming from me I swear. [January 20] [album] ACME - WE ARE VISUALKEI - 7/10
This Best Of album is so goooood. The only thing I don't like about ACME, as I realized, is that they somehow got robbed during that US tour if that means they won't want to come/feel safe in my country lol aside from that, I love. Rock on.  [January 25] [pv] SHIN x Alice Nine - Velvet - 8/10
This is a rating pure out of nostalgia because this cover really sent me back to the Rainbows days. Great song and great vocals singing. [February 19] [album] Queen Bee - BL - 7/10
First time properly listening to Queen Bee mostly because of their videos on The First Take and it's pretty cool. Not really in a "ohh my jam" way but it's good and chill music. What drew me to them was probably how the vocalist looks anything but generic j-pop/rock singer but their voice is as generic as it goes, although very skilled. [February 26] [single] flumpool - 素晴らしき嘘 (Subarashiki Uso) - 6/10 
Still need to watch Ahiru no Sora ... I really need to watch it ....... the song is ok but I bet it looks amazing as a TV size opening and I don't want to spoil myself. Because I swore I'd watch it but lol [March 01] [album] DaizyStripper - INFINITY - 6/10
* It's OK and my brain is like "mugen no kanata heeeee" all day lol [March 4] [single]  SID - delete - 6/10
* Technically, rhythm-wise it'd be a 5/10 tops but I adore his voice lol [March 4] [single] ACME - 嘘顔 (Usogao)  - 6/10
* I mean... it's cool [April 22] [album] Miyavi - Holy Nights  
K-MUSIC
[February 12] [album]  펜타곤 (Pentagon) - UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL - 7/10
The first full album is definitely not their best but far from being their worst.
 
OTHERS
   

I've been trying to make this list for 2 years, and I've never lasted more than 6 months! In order to solve this problem, I'm just going to make a list of albums I enjoyed in 2020 with comments on them.
 
 
 
 
-update memo-:
Review tricot and Shohei Takagi and make a little category about EP's

Gleipnir just premiered in Japan and will be on funimation for everyone in like 30 mins. absolutely cant wait to watch this this series the manga is fucking nutty 

RESULTS!
 
On to the Results!
______________________________________________________________
 
Best Overall Artist/Band
 
Best Album
 
 
Best Single/Maxi-Single/EP
 
Best Cover Art
 
 
Best Look
 
Best Newcomer
 
Best Veteran
 
Best PV
 
Saddest Disbandment
 
Most Overhyped Band
 
Most Overhyped Release
 
Most Underhyped Band
 
Most Anticipated Release
 
Band that Changed their Sound for the Best
 
Band that Changed their Sound for the Worse
 
Band that you spent most of your money on in 2019
 
What the hell were they thinking!? Award
 
Best Revival/Returns 
 
 
Now I know what you're thinking: 2019 sucked for VK 😅.
I agree lol but thank you to those who voted this year!
 
Let's hope this new decade will be a return to form for the scene!

Gee, off the top of my head, Sui (David)'s the type who goes hunting for pussy on tanuki (allegedly), but as for more severe actions, Gara would be another one. There's that rumor going around of Kyo and his posse raping groupies back in the day when Daisuke was still alive, and I'm pretty sure Gara was one of them. He's also fucked around with other girls even when he had a girlfriend/was engaged???? As for non-jrock artists, I've listened to plenty of black metal/dungeon synth artists who are self-proclaimed murderers and Neo-Nazis (Burzum, Bacchia Neraida, etc.), but at the end of the day, I don't let that get in the way of listening to their incredible music.
 
Their actions shouldn't affect the band as a whole (although I can't really say much about 90s black metal artists LOL), it's just one person fucking up immensely and it would be really petty to drag the rest of the band into it (ie, Egoist guy who killed his mistress was smart enough to say he's a part-timer instead of bringing up his band), unless they appeared to be condoning it (ie, people who still work with Kisaki and treat him as indies Yoshiki or whatever). As long as they don't glorify their actions thru their music, they should be separate from the actions of one dude.

It's penis music lol. Okay, I'm not here to talk shit about pop music, especially not Kpop. There's more artistic merit to it than some give it, and many perfectly sane Kpop fans get unfairly lumped in with the Stans. 
 
But man, I used to be really neutral and happy towards Kpop back when I first got into VK, y'know, being like "Hey guys, let's all get along and talk music and have fun 🤗" but then some of them got into my DMs and completely disrespected my music taste, insisted that "It's all Asian, it's the same, so you should love BTS too or something's wrong with you weeb" and I even got into a fight with one because she said some super ignorant things about--not VK or the band--but just metal music in general (didn't help that she attacked Insanity Injection whom I really like but she said "this isn't music, it's people screaming into the mic" and so I just reversed the logic with "[Kpop] is not music, it's meaningless noise created for brainless consoomers"). All of this shit wasn't even on Twitter, it was on fucking anime Instagram posts and random or VK Youtube videos. And nothing, not even saying "I don't like western pop" or "I'm not fond of Jpop myself" calms them down. I've been called racist against Asians because I don't like Kpop--never mind the fact that I'm on this forum so that says something about what I think about Asian people--I'M FROM ASIA. I don't even pass for white more than like 25% of the time... Honestly, it just makes me more and more irate as the years go by, because I was so open minded about it and willing to be friendly and actually listen to their damn band recommendations. At this rate I'll be an unironic Anti before I'm legally old enough to pour my own drinks. 
 
That background is needed to understand my current stance. I did genuinely try to get into Kpop; I started with BTS like they all tell you to and I listened to about 5 different releases of theirs.
 
 I was far from impressed. They sounded behind the times. Not in a charming way, but in a way that made me feel... Uncomfortable? I recognized the electronica-infused choruses and hip-hop inspired verses from Western pop music and even some elements from 2010s fads like tropical house production [God I hated that fad] and asked myself "Why is this any better than the white people stuff?" I don't think it is. I think it's on par, personally. I think this stems from an issue Kpop fans have. They can't just call a mediocre album a mediocre album, or even acknowledge a bad song/album because of hype. It's all got to be amazing, flawless, like the second coming of Christ. Honestly, even bands I consider to be absolutely amazing have some songs I don't hype because they're a step in wrong direction or have questionable production choices, but when I say "Yeah, this album is pretty great, but stay away from track X Y Z, they're not the best" the person receiving my recommendation often finds it funny and listens anyway, and then we can have a laugh about how weird it was for a VK band to do Ska or for the vocalist to think that now's the time to try opera vocals for the first time in his life. Sometimes I even completely shit on a band I love because they're an acquired taste or have an endearing charm and originality that lacks any and all technical savoir-faire. 
 
 
Personally, I don't understand how anyone from any counterculture/alternative music group (wassup punks and Goths) could be really into something mainstream at the same time, I thought we gathered around this stuff because it was alternative and had messages in it that differ from the mainstream.  Sure, you could remark on all the Oshare bands that aren't particularly deep or meaningful to say that VK in general is artistically bankrupt but it also wouldn't be fair if I pretended that this whole scene is just deliciously layered social/political commentary like Diru or idiosyncratic cultural experimentalism like Guruguru Eigakan.  On the mainstream aspect, I mean, the mainstream kind of defines the space that creates a counterculture. It's not what they are. Well I mean, what's not mainstream is the they, and mainstream is the us. I think this sense of othering VK bands and fans experience is central to the culture's structure, as something that exists as a byproduct of failed standard conformation. 
 
 I don't know how some VK fans can up and leave for Kpop so quick. Maybe they just liked the Oshare stuff, I guess, but I can't believe they would leave behind all the great post-punk, experimental, speed metal, alt-rock, etc. groups behind when Kpop doesn't offer anything similar. When I listen to pop music, I long for that missing guitar solo, or lack of Jpop chords (if it's Western pop music). Also the PVs are completely different--least from what I see. Every Kpop group I've seen is good at dancing. Hella good. And I've been doing dance for 8 years of my life, I know good technique and stage presence when I see it. When I say that, you might be shocked to know that I still prefer VK PVs where the bandomen just stare at the camera and sulk, or dance around while playing guitar or something. There's been masterful executions of this simple formula, like in cali≠gari's 歪んだ鏡 which legit gave me nightmares of Hage Shuuji staring into my soul.  Might be a false positive because that song dredges some mental trauma other than his face but my point still stands. There's also a lot of PVs that don't have killer dance moves but have a lot of creative spirit to them, like BUCK-TICK's EMPTY GIRL or literally anything Malice Mizer filmed, and that's the stuff I like the most. I've lost interest in big-budget MVs, and prefer a smaller scale spectacle.

New single「瀧夜叉姫」
2020.4.29 release
 

 
1. 瀧夜叉姫（たきやしゃひめ）
2. 鉄皇（くろがねおう）
3. 豪賊（ごうぞく）
4. 瀧夜叉姫 -Instrumental-
5. 鉄皇 -Instrumental-
6. 豪賊 -Instrumental-
価格：1,400円

I honestly don't know what there is to gain by white knighting some high school dropouts rockstar dreams in the year 2020. The world is in lockdown, the polar caps are melting; I think if you're making art for profit in this age then you can fuck the right off and get a real job, even if it's visual kei where half of the appeal of this niche comes from the weird economy that sustains it. 
 
 

I mean, gotta take the good with the bad I guess. My particular mountain town is funded entirely by sales tax so we literally run because tourists come here and spend money. It's pretty wild how empty it is now that the ski areas have been closed. 
 
Glad I still have a job... though I currently have been home for ~a week with maybe Covid-19. (you don't get tested unless you're really bad off and in the hospital, which thankfully I'm not as of yet.)

Be safe @YuyoDrift and everybody!

Back then? I wouldn't confide in my answer as I was not in Japan but I'd say that bands like L'arc, Buck-Tick, and Luna sea as opposed to pop artists making their debuts were looked at equally by promoters and those looking to market music labels across the country (of Japan), so that's why you saw bands in anime OPs along with OPs made by Ayumi, BoA, and other artists/composers like Izumi Sakai (ZARD), Yoko Kanno, etc. 
 
We know now that VK is harder to produce now, but I'm not as in-the-know to tell you why other than resources drying up (era that died out in the late 90's) and scandals giving the scene a bad image even today. I'm just saying that the 90's marketing boom for all forms of media bled together when it came to how to promote it and what was promoted.

This is still done today by some distributors, but this was how media (music, games, videos) were promoted. 
Regarding the VK music being there, most of what was considered "rock" in Japan didn't have a label (well, maybe you could call it "visual rock") and so X Japan, GLAY, Luna Sea, etc were all treated the same in terms of marketing back then. I thought it was beautiful to see b/c there was no stigma on what you could have for anime OPs when it came to artists we now consider VK like the OP for GTO:Great Teacher Onizuka. I like that it carried over to even later anime of the 00s (like the OP/ED of Death Note) or even stuff from the last decade (this sounds weird lol) like the 2nd OP for Black Butler, it gives me hope that this stigma never existed in the first place and that VK could be promoted in this fashion still.

LOL fucking Imeem for myspace was so good and so shitty sometimes, but it worked lol
I did enjoy being able to upload my own shit doe for my page but the names people were putting in did suck for those looking for the actual artist.

Wow, someone really wants to know this? lol
I mean, I'm glad because it's information that needs to be archived, with plenty of us around still to provide this.
 
My memory is vague as fuck for the late 90's (I was under 10 years old) but it was the cool kids on my block that had access to these magazines (I think from MixxZine aka TokyoPop! and VIZ Media, who were the biggest sources for this stuff) CDs, and VHS tapes that were being converted into early file types that took up the entire HDD lol. There was really no online presence that was being translated for english speakers that I recall because the scene was still nonexistent and the otakus/weebs were more interested in the anime aspect of the Japanese culture (there's a LONG history of the otaku boom of the 90's that you should read up on cuz it was GREAT!). A lot of them were learning Japanese and they talked with Japanese people online that could type in english, which I think is how the sped up birth of forums and subforums on popular websites happened for like Newgrounds, Ebaumsworld, and the one's everybody else has mentioned.
I can text some old neighbors and see if they can provide more info if needed (assuming they still remember me lol).
 
For the early 00's when I actually had my own PC (for "homework" lol), it was mostly blogspots, MySpace pages of fangirls/collectors, major websites like JpopAsia and talking online with just anyone interested in Japanese rock in general. VK was still small imo but bands like D'espairsRay, DEG, and even the GazettE were making the rounds as it was what normal fan girls were interested aside from ayabie, antic cafe, and other Oshare Kei. The music was not entire albums but songs that could be acquired from P2P applications like the ones @saishuu mentioned. Once you got a real understanding of the internet (to which at this point I think most of your PC was virus infested lol) then you we're able to find .rar files and torrent websites like the ones mentioned above. People I knew shared Mixtapes/burned CDs (sometimes with no metadata on them, ugh) to distribute and once files became the norm we just did that.
 
 
 

Wow, someone really wants to know this? lol
I mean, I'm glad because it's information that needs to be archived, with plenty of us around still to provide this.
 
My memory is vague as fuck for the late 90's (I was under 10 years old) but it was the cool kids on my block that had access to these magazines (I think from MixxZine aka TokyoPop! and VIZ Media, who were the biggest sources for this stuff) CDs, and VHS tapes that were being converted into early file types that took up the entire HDD lol. There was really no online presence that was being translated for english speakers that I recall because the scene was still nonexistent and the otakus/weebs were more interested in the anime aspect of the Japanese culture (there's a LONG history of the otaku boom of the 90's that you should read up on cuz it was GREAT!). A lot of them were learning Japanese and they talked with Japanese people online that could type in english, which I think is how the sped up birth of forums and subforums on popular websites happened for like Newgrounds, Ebaumsworld, and the one's everybody else has mentioned.
I can text some old neighbors and see if they can provide more info if needed (assuming they still remember me lol).
 
For the early 00's when I actually had my own PC (for "homework" lol), it was mostly blogspots, MySpace pages of fangirls/collectors, major websites like JpopAsia and talking online with just anyone interested in Japanese rock in general. VK was still small imo but bands like D'espairsRay, DEG, and even the GazettE were making the rounds as it was what normal fan girls were interested aside from ayabie, antic cafe, and other Oshare Kei. The music was not entire albums but songs that could be acquired from P2P applications like the ones @saishuu mentioned. Once you got a real understanding of the internet (to which at this point I think most of your PC was virus infested lol) then you we're able to find .rar files and torrent websites like the ones mentioned above. People I knew shared Mixtapes/burned CDs (sometimes with no metadata on them, ugh) to distribute and once files became the norm we just did that.
 
 
 

It's a shitty Diru song, but a very good Lynch. banger

You got to be smart, girl. Head over to places like gas stations, hardware stores (not kidding), and well I hate to say this, but apparently from what I've heard is that Asian markets are still stocked with products.

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...

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...