23.10.14

Tower of Buck-Tick

In honor of the release of the Tour 2014 Arui wa Anarchy live album, Tower Records Shibuya is currently holding an exhibit of the Buck-Tick members' costumes from the tour (the exhibit lasts till the end of the month.)  Naturally, we went to investigate.


As new CDs are always released on Wednesdays, Tower Records was a mob scene. Teenyboppers swarmed a giant mural of Korean idol boys that covered half the first floor back wall, but we had eyes only for Buck-Tick...and we weren't the only ones.  Everyone loves Buck-Tick!


In the limited space available, fans crammed in to get pictures, but it was very difficult to photograph the outfits due to the highly reflective nature of the display case. But in case you wondered...Cayce's face isn't accidentally reflected in any of these photos, so give up looking for me.




Detail of Hide #sexybeast


Detail of Sakurai. As I was trying to frame this photo, the fans next to me were earnestly discussing the visibility of Acchan-chan's armpit hair through the lace. Riddle me this: why do y'all fangirls like pit beards but not face beards, eh?


Detail of Toll.


Detail of Imai's rockin' Anarchy necklace.


And even better, Imai's shoes!


As you can see, Hide is tall enough not to need much in the way of heels on his silver boots, while Yutaka prefers pointed platform brothel creepers (he wears them when he creeps into brothels!)


Sakurai, meanwhile, has some tall Cuban heels on him. Way to, uh, stand up, if you get what I'm saying ;)


Above the display of CDs and magazines, a large video monitor played the Keijijou Ryuusei PV on repeat...


...while fangirls read Yutaka's new autobiography in morbid fascination at the soul-baring tales of his dastardly deeds of the dudes he has done...wrong. We sincerely apologize for not posting a picture of Yutaka's costume. We took a few, but none of them came out.


We awarded this poster the Not Greatest Poster of the Year award. Some fans got to take copies home, but none of them were autographed.


No Buck-Tick, No Life!

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21.10.14

Happy Birthday Maimai

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Happy birthday to Imai Hisashi!


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He's 49 years old, kids.

This shit is getting real!

So let's wish him good health,

Because we all know...


(by the way, this is the cute badge you get if you buy that live album)



It's not too late to order the album, nor is it too late to order Eau de Buc-Tique, as there still appear to be plenty of bottles in stock. I will also be accepting orders for tour goods from Metaform Nights and (shh) FT Only, so if you're interested, drop me a line.

But kids...you've been letting me down. If you don't comment, I'm going to assume you're not reading the posts. The comments can be as Dada-ist as you like. I don't care if they're relevant. But I don't like to feel I do all this blogging for nothing!

So let's begin with a poll question: what does Imai Hisashi mean to you? Please leave a comment below.

20.10.14

Photo Montage (get it?)

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This is Hisashi Imai.



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This is Atsushi Sakurai.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai with Hisashi Imai.


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This is Hisashi Imai, with a beard.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai, with a beard.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai with a mojo face.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai, with a beard AND a mojo face.


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This is Hisashi Imai with a beard, with Atsushi Sakurai with a mojo face.


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This is Kokushoku Sumire.


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This is Hisashi Imai with Kokushoku Sumire.


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This is Hisashi Imai with Kokushoku Sumire and a mojo face.



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This is Imai Hisashi with Kokushoku Sumire, with Atsushi Sakuai WITHOUT a mojo face.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai with a top hat.


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This is Atsushi Sakurai with a top hat and a mojo face.



This is also Atsushi Sakurai with a top hat and a mojo face.


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...and this is DJ Ray.


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DJ Ray has a top hat, too.


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This is DJ Ray and his top hat with Kokushoku Sumire.


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This is DJ Ray and his top hat with Kokushoku Sumire, with a mojo face.


DJ Ray is not cosplaying as Atsushi Sakurai.

No sir, he is not.

In fact, you've got it backwards.

Atsushi Sakurai is cosplaying as DJ Ray.

DJ Ray is every bit as cool as Atsushi Sakurai.

Actually, he's probably cooler.

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14.10.14

Halloween Sale!!!

Starting today, all items on This is NOT Greatest Shopping Service page are 25% off (with a few exceptions, because what would capitalism be without fine print?)  Just to be clear: that's 25% off the prices currently listed on the site, so for example, all 2000 yen CDs are now marked down to 1500 yen!

Meaning, Cayce has too many goddamn Buck-Tick CDs.  Take them off my hands, y'all! There is some really good stuff in there, so be sure to take a look.

Sale lasts till November 1st.

Why?

Because it's fucking Halloween.



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10.10.14

Posters & More

The following posters are now available from This is NOT Greatest Shopping Service!  All three were offered as bonus features by UV magazine, so they're smaller in size, convenient for posting on the wall of a dorm room, toilet, prison cell, or secret Acchan fan shrine in your closet!  In addition, we have a few other unusual items on offer as well.  Scroll down for details.

13th Floor Poster A

Pullout poster from UV magazine. The poster was originally bound into the magazine, so the right edge is rough, but if this bothers you you can always snip it off. Poster is printed on heavy, good quality cardstock and measures 32 x 46 cm.  There is a minor stain on the back side, which caused a small wrinkle near Hide, but it's nearly invisible except in strong light. Rare and out of print.
1100 yen.



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13th Floor Poster B

Double-sided poster from UV magazine features 13th Floor era Buck-Tick on one side and Mucc on the other.  The poster was originally bound into the magazine, so the right edge is rough, but if this bothers you you can always snip it off. Poster is printed on lighter paper than Poster A and contains a few nearly invisible wrinkles, but overall it's in good condition.  It measures 32 x 46 cm. I would recommend framing due to the fragility of the paper. Rare and out of print.
1000 yen.

Front:



Back:


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Sakurai Poster (smexy!)

Large poster from UV magazine features a lovely photo of Mr. Sakurai lying on the ground in a white suit...don't try this at home, kids, or your suit is sure to get dirty! However, as Mr. Sakurai was probably, um, dirty to begin with, methinks it will be perfect for feeding your dirty laundry fantasies. Poster measures 60 x 42 cm. Excellent condition.  The white streak at the bottom of the photo is merely an effect of flash photography and does not exist on the actual poster. Rare and out of print.  A wonderful gift for any fangirl.
2500 yen.


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SOLD
Darker Than Darkness Tour Pamphlet

Very large, hardcover tour pamphlet from the Darker Than Darkness tour contains 40 full-color pages of gorgeous, uber-goth closeup sexy arty glamour shots of the band members, interspersed with uber-goth arty photos of various interesting objects on fire. If you are really goth and into arson, this is the pamphlet for you! If you're really into long-haired Acchan-chan, this is also for you! Unfortunately the binding is broken (too much drooling over Acchan-chan), but aside from that, the book is in great condition - no stains, tears, wrinkles, or scratches. More images available on request. Rare and out of print.
2500 yen.




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Tsuchiya Masami - Mori no Hito

1997 solo album from Tsuchiya Masami features Sakurai Atsushi on guest vocals on two tracks, "Manatsu no Yoru no Mori," ("A Midsummer Night's Forest") and "Goblin Forest."  Beyond Sakurai's guest vocals, this is a beautiful album in general, full of mysterious, soothing tracks, including vocals and instrumentals, and incorporating many forest sounds like birdcalls and crickets...great to listen to for relaxation and very possibly one of Cayce's top ten favorite records ever!  Conceived as a concept album against environmental destruction, the case and booklet were printed on recycled paper. The album was recorded in London and released by Cross Records, Sugizo's label. Song samples available on request. Incredibly rare and out of print. Excellent condition.
4500 yen.


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All inquiries about purchases should be made to themadaristocrat at gmail.

6.10.14

~avec les lolites pretenseuses~

So, now that the Anarchy hall tour is over, I know you've all got a burning question for me, and I haven't answered it yet.

The question...

...when Buck-Tick appeared as special guests of Kokushoku Sumire at their tour final at NHK Hall on September 25th and 26th, how, exactly, did the shit go down? What happened? Where is the dirt?

As a matter of fact, the dirt appeared in the most recent issue of the Hisashi Inquirer, who published their live report on Friday, and we have translated into English and reprinted it here. The sentiments expressed below are solely the opinions of the Hisashi Inquirer and are not a reflection of Cayce's own personal views. But without further ado, let's get to the article.

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A BOUQUET OF BLACK VIOLETS FOR A PRINCE

Last weekend at NHK Hall, Buck-Tick's swelteringly sexy summer of Soviet-surrealist fantasy drew to a close at last, but not before they put on a bombastically Baudelairian show that had us all wet in the knickers and swooning in the stands! Gothique Prince Acchan in his sleeveless tunic and Really Sparkly Pants may have bedazzled us with the stage lights reflecting off his sequined treasures (wink, nudge) and sweaty, manly muscles, but our own dear Hisashi was not to be outdone! Equally as bare-armed as Prince Acchan, he braved the stage in his own dear Really Sparkly Pants without even the modesty of a kilt, and we would have seen the glorious sequined bulge of his machismo had his guitar not been in the way the entire time.

With mojo like this, is it any wonder that the ladies were all upons? Look at that mojo face. This is the mojo face of ONE guy with TWO ladies! He likes it, they like it, and boy were we in for a treat!


At the opening of the first encore, our FAVORITE lovely lolita ladies joined Buck-Tick on the stage for a delightful interlude of classical femininity, dainty and delicate. These girls always look darling, and how could tonight be an exception? The bargain-bin nylon of their matching hoop skirts and Halloween costume wigs took on a plasticky sheen in the stage lights - and what better for Buck-Tick, the ORIGINAL authors of "Plastic Syndrome"! As they twirled across the stage, the flimsy, flower-shaped hoop skirts swayed gently back and forth like bells in the belltower of the Church of Mana-sama the Blessed, invoking an extra-lite touch of faux that would have been the envy of any Disney princess. As the skirts swayed, we even got a peek UNDER them, just high enough to see those giant red heels and boldly clashing trim on the skirt hems - mustard-colored pompom upholstery trim on black, white, and red dresses!  It looks hideous and it doesn't match, but what of it? THAT'S DADA, FOLKS. As the Hisashi Inquirer, we always ask, what would Hisashi do? The answer is, he would pick something that's hideous and doesn't match, and these girls were sure rocking his style tonight.

As for rock, there was none to be had...but that's to be expected, because lolitas don't rock! Lolitas are far too elegant and refined for rock-n-roll, and that's why we love them. Even Gothique Prince Acchan surely loves them, which is why he deigned demurely to don a white lace poet shirt with long, long sleeves, the better to cover his barenaked man-muscles. While as tabloid writers, we're not afraid to admit that large, well-toned muscles (not to mention those luscious ringlets of raven-black armpit hair!) do have a certain crude appeal, we agree that in this case, they would have spoiled the mood.  After all, making "Victims of Love" TOO SEXY FOR A SHIRT would be to betray the original spirit of the song!!!

But Prince Acchan is a seasoned performer, and we knew we could trust him on this one. As the lolitas took the stage, he turned the Sexy Level down to near zero, keeping it all to himself on center stage so as to avoid even the remotest possibility of accidental sexual chemistry with our lolitas - they're Hisashi's girls, after all!

And just like our own dear Hisashi, for these ladies, sticking to the original score belies what they're capable of. Improvisation is the spice of life! Plus, to sing in tune would have been tantamount to declaring submission to the repressive right-wing regime of the Hegemony of Right Notes...but this tour is about ANARCHY! And we're proud to say that Yuka, the lovely vocalist, did not capitulate to The Man by ever once singing in tune. She was NEVER on the correct pitch, that we could hear, but if she was, her wide vibrato disguised it enough that we couldn't tell what note she was singing, so it's all good ;) Don't worry, Yuka, we won't tell!

Even when "Victims of Love" reached its tragically virginal conclusion (how lolita!), our Violet Girls weren't done yet. That's right - they stayed onstage to treat us to another song, by which we mean TWO other songs, but different each night!!

On Night One, we enjoyed "Alice in Wonder Underground," followed by "Diabolo," and Yuka demonstrated yet again that she's a woman of many talents, who can sing daringly off-key while tinkling with delicate fingers on the pure ivory keys of a Roland toy piano (how lolita!) With so many musicians on stage at once, the sounds of each instrument blended together into an indistinguishable tangle of noise like a tangle of silk ribbon or lace threads, a riotous cacophony of sound like a Dadaist concert at the Cabaret Voltaire. Which was guitar, which was piano, and which was violin, none of us could say, but as Yuka raised her elegant lolitique warble to join in the harmony, her voice clashed as exquisitely with the voice of our own dear Hisashi as a corpse drinking young wine. Hugo Ball would have been so proud!

But however good Night One was, Night Two was even more of a thrill, bringing us not only a reprise of "Diabolo," but also a whole new arrangement, of a song we've always loved and dearly missed, a song that's just perfect for these two ladies - yes, that's right, I'm talking about "Doll"!





Far from the shockingly violent sexual scene pictured above, tonight's "Doll" was the picture of maidenhood and beauty. Opening with nothing but Sachi's violin and Yuka's toy piano, the gentle, feminine sounds licked at the entrance to our eardrums like gentle tongues, sending us into paroxysms of aural pleasure! Rearranged for lolita and violin, the song achieves a new level of ephemeral gossamer refinement, like sugar, spice and everything nice without any pesky Chemical X thrown in.

Bowing to the mood of romantic understatement, Gothique Prince Acchan approached Yuka with a dashing wave on the line "suteki da yo mon amour" ("you're so beautiful, my love"), but backed quickly away, deftly avoiding every possible possibility of accidental sexual chemistry yet again! Though he circled the stage like a knight on horseback, he very gallantly avoided touching even the hems of the ladies' skirts, choosing instead to put his arm around our dear Mr. Hisashi, enacting a tableaux of love between men, as pure and true and lacking in titillating homoerotic undercurrents as Ancient Greece.

"These lovely flowers have bloomed in Buck-Tick's garden!" Gothique Prince Acchan declared as the lolita segment of the program drew to a close.  "Please give them another round of applause! They were truly lovely. Lovely Lolita is Lovely!"

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.


Black and white and trimmed in mean mustard! Those colors sure clash and clash! We could almost call this i-costume-clasm!


Gothique Prince Acchan has a bad case of bitchy resting face, but we forgive him. A REAL Byronic Anti-Hero NEVER smiles. Keep it up, Acchan-chan, we luv u.

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Source: The Hisashi Inquirer, number 46 vol. 27.
Translation by Cayce.

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