Volume Four: The Limits of Authenticity

• Essay

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• 27.Feb || Essay
• Real Fake Idols || pengie

• Much like the H!P girls, Perfume’s members don’t write lyrics or work on composition, simply sing what they are told and perform dance routines for PVs or concerts. But their singing is processed in such a way that any flaws can go unnoticed, and furthermore, they don’t often sing live at their concerts. So instead of reaching the level of authenticity that H!P has, in that their members will get on stage for a concert and perform every song live, both singing and dancing, Perfume just dances and lipsynchs.

  pengie explores her longstanding ambivalence to pop idols and how she came to terms with enjoying what they do.

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  About pengie: pengie is a writer, student, and passionate lover of jpop. She enjoys driving slightly over the speed limit with indie rock blaring out her car windows, and is always up for a good Tanaka Reina joke.

• Idol Theory

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• 27.Feb || Idol Theory
• Dropping the Masquerade || Cliff Modes

• Most popular Japanese rock artists and groups heavily rely on their created images, their attractivity, and their potential for visual controversy. This isn’t surprising and certainly not a Japan-only phenomenon. But while a certain visual element often also accompanies Western bands, many Japanese bands go for a rather unique style with elaborate make-up and often theme-based outfits, ranging from lavish baroque costumes to cute schoolgirl uniforms.

  Cliff considers why visual kei is so… you know… visual, and what happens when the visual is dropped.

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  About Cliff Modes: Cliff is the author of a book of fiction and has been blogging at 4am for three years. He dedicates most of his free time to music, football, reading and partying around.

• News

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• 27.Feb || News
• Faking It || Vee

• Upon reading the news myself a couple of years back, I had to lift one eyebrow and wonder if everyone was serious. “OMG AYU NEVAR LIPSYNCZ!” and the like did more than just grate on my nerves. The staunch claims of artistic superiority were troublesome because I wondered just how closely these people watched the concerts.

  Vee muses on an accusation leveled by one singer, Eason Chan, against another, Hamasaki Ayumi.

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  About Vee: Vee is a novelist and J-Pop blogger living in Florida. She dedicates most of her free time to cosplay and singing, between lazy jags.

• Profile

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• 27.Feb || Profile
• The Voice Encoder: Is It Really the Easy Way Out? || johpan

• In the case of the music industry, the vocoder seems to be the easy way out of actually having to be a good vocalist and still be able to sell. Turn on the radio these days and you’ll probably bump into a song that uses it, but in the technopop world it’s hard to find a song without it. It is this effect that serves as technopop vocalists’ greatest weapon and also their biggest crutch when improperly used.

  johpan looks at the mechanics and aesthetics of the much-maligned electronic instrument.

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  About johpan: johpan is a geek, music-lover, blogger, gamer, student, and everyday guy. He somehow balances all of that into his life and enjoys sharing the love for the things he enjoys.

• Meta

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• 27.Feb || Meta
• Volume Four Poll

• You’ve read the articles.

  Now tell us what you think!

  n

  What article did you most enjoy in Volume Four?

  • The Voice Encoder by johpan
  • Faking It by Vee
  • Dropping the Masquerade by Cliff
  • Real Fake Idols by pengie

  View Results

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