UNDERCODE

This post here was written by inartistic on Tainted World. It's so true I had to repost it here.

Yeah, because being influenced by KISAKI has really made hundreds of bands suck. Lol.


It's totally cool to hate KISAKI because it's in vogue, because he hurt Kyo's feelings, or because he has big teeth, but you don't even realize what you're saying. KISAKI has managed or produced more bands than you realize, and he's affected many, many more.

You know where D's ASAGI and Ruiza got their starts? KISAKI! DIR EN GREY? KISAKI. That little band the GazettE? Originally with a sublabel of Matina. Members of Dio and emmuree also got their start at Matina because of KISAKI. He's the only reason that harvest (who are terrific) and VAGERKE got any exposure at all overseas.

Assuming you hate those bands, consider the roughly 100 he's produced through Matina and UNDER CODE PRODUCTION. I doubt you've listened to all of those and dislike 90 of them, but, if so, what about the bands formed and directly affected by those bands he produced? If, for each band produced, a little less than one band is formed or directly affected by it, that's another, say, 70 bands. Still don't like any of those? Then consider the bands that have been affected by him just because they liked his style--there's no denying that many bands have been influenced by either the “Matina style” or UNDER CODE's aesthetics. Bergerac rode his dick for the longest time just because they thought he was neat, and bands like Madieduor are practically neo-revivals of Madeth gray'll.

Beyond that, imagine the roadies he's inspired and the musicians he's influenced after meeting them at lives. FOOL'S MATE thought his retirement was a big enough deal to make a book about him. Over 200 individuals cared enough to write official comments about him in the book; and that's bandmen and important people on the scene, not random girls who went to Phantasmagoria shows. (As an aside, if you're one of those people who criticizes his activity after retirement: so what? Activity after retirement is crucial, it's called generativity.)

Even from a purely economical standpoint, he is important. Just imagine all the livehouses he's booked over the years, all of the artists that have been signed to his labels, all of the staff that have worked at his labels, all of the shops that see income from his labels' releases, the PV companies that get repeat business from him, the costume designers that get to do visible work because of him, the sound engineers, the magazine staff (both FOOL'S MATE and SHOXX have done special releases through him), and even designers. One designer in particular, AKI OKAMURA, only has steady work because KISAKI has hired him time and time again, from the days of Matina to now. I'm not saying Japan will collapse when KISAKI is gone, but he has encouraged a ton of money flow over his years.

And speaking of money, still hate him because “he's a money-grubbing asshole?” False. If he was money-hungry, would he have helped cious pi cious release a CD? No, because no one gives a shit about cious pi cious. And yet he did help them, because he enjoyed their music and was friends with the members. So he must be money-hungry because his label releases multiple types of one CD, right? Wrong again! That is just a part of the record industry--look at Gackt, ayumi hamasaki, and even smaller bands like MoNoLith or Kiryu. In English-speaking countries too (they just aren't called “types”): Lady Gaga's new album is out in at least three versions. Still hate him because he's the only one who re-releases stuff? Wrong once more~ The Beatles perfected that long ago. And if you want a really VK-centric example, point your accusing gaze at MICHIRU of L∞p・Ash RECORDS, the guy who is responsible for consistently releasing -OZ- songs one-at-a-time and then releasing a collection of them later. KISAKI's label may try to squeeze more money out of releases, but if he's a bad person for that, so is every other person that works at every other label.

So yeah, maybe chariots sucks dick. Maybe you hate Anjyu' and despise Nega's vocalist. Maybe Sense of Shape was a lame band with a loser name that only existed because Matina was willing to sign lots of people. That's all fine. But just realize that KISAKI has produced a ton of bands beside the 10 that you had bad experiences with, and realize that he has directly affected the sound of many, many more. I can't speak for KISAKI's morals or oral hygiene, but, at the end of the day, whether or not you or anyone else wants to admit it, KISAKI is far reaching in his influence on the visual scene. To say that everything he touches is shit is to say that the scene itself is shit.