The coming together of of shojo manga and glam rock that created Visual Kei in the 80s.
How Japanese recording acts are formed and popularized.
How popular bands find ways to maximize revenue from fans (selling photos, lots of “limited edition” merchandise, and special izakaya parties for the most gullible/hardcore fans)
Where the labels go to find talent (it’s mostly ex-thugs).
Why Japanese record producers—think Yasushi Akimoto of AKB48, Tsunku of Morning Musume, etc.—are so heavily relied upon to produce every aspect of the final product that they become drug-addled auteurs.
The typical salary for a visual kei band member (lots of in-kind perks, very little cash)... and why they put up with it
The willingness of label bosses to forego short-term financial gain in favor of long-term connections (perhaps an ubiquitous aspect of Japanese business relations)
For some reason he’s been sitting on this gem since 2008! Shame on you, man.
It’s hard to tell the credibility of some parts, but I think it’s easier to swallow as a true-to-life mockumentary than as a faithfully transcripted interview.
To close out, here’s the video for one of my favorite viz-k songs, Luna Sea’s “Tonight”:
Apparently my profile is high enough that someone in China wants to sell me Metal Fun. I guess they finally realized that I don’t need any Viagra?
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CHICAGO (AP) — The Sears Tower, one of the world’s iconic skyscrapers and the tallest building in the U.S., was renamed the Willis Tower on Thursday in a downtown ceremony, marking a new chapter in the history of the giant edifice that has dominated the Chicago skyline for nearly four decades.
The linked story might claim the building is being named after an insurance broker. But that’s just not true. Everyone knows the building was named after the late native Chicagoan and prolific schizophrenic songwriter Wesley Willis.
Rock over London! Rock on Chicago! Taco Bell: Make a run for the border!
As a fan of his since junior high, I was shocked when Willis died in 2003. I couldn’t think of a better tribute than to name a huge building after him!
Seiyu is a discount supermarket/general retail store that’s owned and operated by Walmart. Since first investing in the chain in 2002 and eventually taking a 95% stake, Walmart has reportedlynever managed to make the stores profitable. I am not here to judge why that might be, but today shopping there I came across some evidence of why they might be having trouble making headway in the Japan market:
The letters KY are apparently intended to stand for “kakaku yasuku” (low prices), which would make the whole phrase “non-stop low prices” a translation of Walmart’s “Everyday Low Prices” slogan into Japanized English. Ironically enough, someone must not have realized that “KY” in Japan was last year’s buzzword and literally means failing to respond appropriately to the situation at hand.
Since a couple was joking about it on their way in, I can be sure I wasn’t the only one in on the joke.
For decades American manufacturers watched in horror as their Japanese rivals cannibalized their market shares by making better and cheaper products with none of the setbacks of strong unions. Today’s NYT might include some secret hints as to how those crafty Japanese were able to pull it off.
You see, their recent article discussing the Japanese “lifetime employment” system inexplicably contains the word “zombie” in the URL (html file name: 20zombie.html), accompanied by this photo:
The man has clearly been conditioned to channel his thirst for brains into a more productive dedication to just-in-time delivery. That’s right, Japanese workers can never be fired but in exchange they never die and never take days off.
So if you’ve been following along, that means the Jewish lizard people who run the One World Government are now controlling zombie Japanese factory workers to deprive American union workers of their jobs. Someone get Benjamin Fulford on the phone!
