Velvet Eden Revival July 2010

Not Buck-Tick related in the least, but still cool: photos from Velvet Eden's revival show! For those of you who don't know, alongside Malice Mizer, Velvet Eden was one of the popular goth-cult-visual bands of the 90's, back in the deliciously dark halcyon days when the streets of Tokyo were painted crimson red, bats roosted in every shrine and temple, and all the men wore eyeliner to work. The band have reunited now after a long hiatus, and according to frontman Dada, this isn't just a one-time stunt: they plan on resuming activities full scale, and releasing new material. Doubtless it's a step up for Dada, who claims to have spent his time during the band's hiatus working as a salaryman (and as this is the twenty-teens now, no more eyeliner in the office anymore!) I leave it up to you to decide whether or not he's telling the truth. Can you imagine this guy with short hair, wearing a suit and tie? (And maybe even covering up his nipples?)

All photos copyright Cayce 2010.

寿記 06.07.10 Email Responses to "The Mysterious Drowsiness That Steals Over Me on Rainy Days"

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A while ago, I talked about "the mysterious drowsiness that steals over me on rainy days."

No sooner had I posted about it than I received many emails telling me reasons why it might happen.

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Thank you.

A lot of them were very interesting.

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Interactions between the air pressure and the parasympathic nervous system...

Et cetera.

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I mean, of course, we wake up with the sun, and when it gets dark, we go to sleep...

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And, if you get up early on your days off and do things in the morning, you can use the whole day more effectively, which can make such a big difference...

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But, I have to say, the middle of the night is special. It's fun. Soo much fun.

The nighttime...

It's great. The nighttime, I mean.

Yeah...it's awesome...

By the way, today I slept blissfully for three hours more than I had planned to.

I overslept. Completely.

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And, it rained, for the first time in a while.

IMAI 1:00

I know about the nighttime thing, Imai. I know exactly how you feel.

寿記 04.07.10 Kuchizuke & Shiki

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This is our new song.

To be released on September 1st.

It's going to be the opening theme of the anime series "Shiki" on Fuji Television.

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"Shiki" is a novel by Ono Fuyumi.

I used to have a hard cover copy of the whole thing right here in this very room,

And I thought to myself, "This looks very interesting, but I'll read it after I finish reading Tokyo Ibun."

So I kept putting off reading it.

Tokyo Ibun is also an Ono Fuyumi novel.

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Then the novel "Shiki" got made into a manga drawn by Fujisaki Ryuu, and then into the television anime series.

I have every volume of the manga series "Houshin Engi," also drawn by Fujisaki Ryuu.

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So then I read the manga for "Shiki."

It was really good.

...but....really....scary!

So scary, there were parts where I wanted to shout aloud "oh god, this is too fucking scary!"

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I started making "Kuchizuke" after I read the manga.

Alone, in my basement room.

It was scary.

I kept worrying what I would see if I turned around...

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The image I was trying to paint with this song is "the night with no dawn."

The working title for it was "Prologue."

I think I made something that's both strong, violent, and melodious.

A song full of junk sounds, and sweeeeet sounds.

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The anime starts airing on July 8th.

...I'm really excited.

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NoitaminA

INIMISONATO

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But still, a song I wrote, as the opening theme for the work of Ono Fuyumi and Fujisaki Ryuu...

It's just, amazing, really.

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So this picture was taken at the site of the "Kuchizuke" PV filming...

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...? ...wait...I think you can see something that looks like people...

Though it wasn't a place that people could get to...

Well, whatever.

IMAI 00:00

RIP Kagerou

It's not Buck-Tick news, but when I think of all the pleasure I derived from listening to the perfect, incomprehensible blend of beautiful melody and shrieking Tourette's syndrome that was the band Kagerou's indie sound, I feel compelled to post anyway. Daisuke, vocalist of Kagerou and later of the studs, passed away July 15th. Kagerou was one of the last bands with that authenticity of raw exploding youthful energy and anger and disgust, that leering obsession with melodrama that was what made visual rock fantastic. I was sorry to hear it when Kagerou broke up, and I'm very sorry to hear that Daisuke's gone. The world loses artists every day, but that doesn't make it a better world. "Live Fast, Die Young" may be a rock star's motto, but for a moment, I'd like everyone to memento mori.

Life isn't a joke. You've only got one, and what you choose to do with it is up to you. If late nights and consuming substances appeals, go ahead, live the self-destructive rock star life. Just remember, whether your time is short or long: it's up to you not to waste it. It's up to you to love people and to tell them how much you love them. It's up to you to pursue your dreams and not get mired in self-doubt. It's up to you to take care in what you say, so you won't have to regret things later. Life isn't a dull void to be whittled away in mundane routine. It's a vast chaos of untold possibility: you just have to see it, and try to live every day so that whenever you die, you've done something to make your time worth it.

So raise a glass to Daisuke and the last days of visual kei. Keep your friends close. And while you're toasting, toast me and this blog as well because face it, when will you ever again hear me speak with so much honesty and so little sarcasm?

寿記 03.07.10 Big Black Maria

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We always have Big Black Maria make our jewelry.

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I also asked them to fix some of my jewelry for me.

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They cleaned it up and it came back to me looking beautiful.

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Thanks so much!

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Also, for one thing and another, I got some gifts from them.

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Hmm...I'll definitely use it for something.

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Wait...a whole huge bunch of matches?

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I'll use them to light incense.

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!!

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This one is awesome!

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God, I want a drink now!

IMAI 03:00

寿記 02.07.10 rec 4

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mmmmm...when it rains I get so sleepy.

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I just felt like saying that all of a sudden.

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Whether I've just turned on my computer in my basement, whether I'm having lunch in a cafe,

whether I'm out for a walk, whether or not I've just woken up, I get sleepy.

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I don't even have to look outside. This unnatural drowsiness just comes over me, telling me, "it's raining!"

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Something like a wave, or a tremor? It's kind of like that.

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I mean, it's not really a problem for me.

It just depends on the day.

Rain.

IMAI 20:00

I know, Imai. I know exactly how you feel. The rainy season just makes you not want to do anything at all.

寿記 02.07.10 rec 3

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The guitar recording is all going as planned.

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Then when I got home, this song I'm working on started bothering me...

Wait wait what is this? This is gonna be amazing, I think!

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IMAI 04:00

寿記 01.07.10 -rec 2- In The Basement

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The recording in the basement continues.

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I'm having a good time writing more songs.

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Really, it feels like the songs are just maturing on their own.

It's great.

So easy for me this way.

I don't need to keep such a close eye on them as they grow up.

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IMAI 05:00

寿記 30.06.10 -rec- In The Basement

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done with the demo.

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checking the data now

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we're done with one song.

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and moving on, I'm in the middle of writing more songs right now...

IMAI 13:00