Save the Trees!

I just received my copy of Phantasmagoria's "Splendor of Sanctuary" today.

When I cut open the outer envelope, I was confronted with another envelope. Shrugging, I ripped the second envelope open, but to my surprise, there's yet another envelope inside. Bloody hell? There's nothing to it but to keep on opening envelopes, until 6 envelopes later, the Phantasmagoria album was revealed. Whew, I was starting to worry that there was actually a ticking time bomb in the package.

Dear Free-Will America:

Bubble-wrap would have worked just as well.

Love,

Me

Hmm, it looks like this album will be out of stock soon, since it's the America-only limited release with 1,000 copies printed. Not even Free-Will America has it anymore, the only other place to get it is JPopHouse. Currently, this album used is worth 7,800 to 10,500 yen in Japan (about $80-93, even though the original retail price is $20). If you're a collector, this would be a good album to invest in.

D-ilemma!

I'm in the market for D's "The name of the ROSE" album. But, but... the story is not so simple.

Not surprising for a visual kei band, D has released 3 versions of this album (kicks record label). The two limited editions came out in 2005. They've got 10 tracks, and a different PV on each. The situation is complicated by the fact that D's original bassist left and a new one joined. So in early 2006, a regular edition of "The name of the ROSE" was released. This time, the songs were re-recorded with the new bassist, and 3 new tracks were added.

So, the problem is obvious here. Which edition should I get? For choosing between the limited editions, it comes down to the PV's (the audio tracks are identical). The PV's even out in the end, because one has a great song but okay PV, the other has an okay song but great PV. Only 5,000 copies were released for each limited edition, and now are out of print. But if I look hard enough, I can still find one or two on auction for a pretty reasonable price. However, I can't ignore the fact that the regular edition contains 3 extra tracks. They're good tracks, too. And I want them.

God freaking dammit, should I get one of the limited editions or the regular edition?! I can't decide! And I really really can't afford to get all of them.

Life sucks.

"Mayatsuki no Hitsugi", the PV that came with the Type-A limited edition. Okay song, great PV.


"Sleeper", the PV that came with the Type-B limited edition. Great song, okay PV.

ガゼット (the GazettE) / THE $OCIAL RIOT MACHINE$ (PSC Tour 2005)

Jesus Christ, I can't stop watching this amazing performance. The explosive energy, the wild crowd, THIS is what lives should be like. Gazette kicks so much ass!