Nepenthes’ stinging blog post about “instafans” got me thinking. Tetsu, Ken and Yuki are not Hyde’s backup band. L’Arc~en~Ciel is an entity to itself, with all four members playing vital parts.
Because of this we’re in the process of making Mesmerized a Hyde only site, highlighting just his solo projects, and have created a fansite for the whole band called, Get Out From the Shell.
On Mesmerized this will mostly effect the sidebar. Soon we'll be removing the L'Arc links (they're already at Get Out From the Shell). We also won’t review L’Arc concerts here anymore. And, instead of featuring a “Live of the Week,” we’ll have permanent links to a number of Hyde’s performances.
Before we make the change, though, I’m going to include one last L’Arc live that I came across today on YouTube. It is a fantastic performance of Route 666 . The band is simply on fire. And Hyde’s performance is pure shmexiness.
So enjoy. It will be in the sidebar for the next week or so. And thanks to GankiL1 for uploading it.
11 comments:
I just left a rather drawn out post on that site because, to be honest, it stung a little.
Mainly because I became a fan of Hyde and L'arc because of Moonchild.
I realize they were not really talking about me because I think my appreciation of Hyde is more well rounded then the people they were complaining about, but I see why you are converting the site.
Side Note - I noticed in the newest version of Netscape, I can't see the word for word verification.
Hi, jules, appreciate your thoughts.
I just commented at Nepenthes' site, too. When I said her post was "stinging" I was referring to how she made her points (writing style) more than the points themselves.
It will be interesting to see how the fandom changes as more and more people get into jrock.
Not sure why you can't see the word verification in Netscape.
I left a message clarifying my long spurt of thoughts - I was probably being overly sensitive.
The netscape thing is probably an issue with my settings. I'll adjust them and see.
I thought your comment on N's blog was just fine. I liked how you differentiated between "insta-fans" and new fans.
well I guess that's good, because my second comment seems to have been eaten up by the internet.
Boo! Here I am. XD
I was talking about fans of Hyde who are fans primarily because of his looks. I.e., they saw him before they ever heard him and that's why they even bothered to look up his music.
These fans in turn become "instafans" of L'arc because Hyde is a member. So yes, these fans are also, by definition, new fans. As obviously they can't be old fans. It's not a lumping, it's a fact. Like, a goose is a bird and it is also an animal.
I have no problem with new fans who are also fans of L'arc's awesomeness and not just "ooh, hyde's so pretty!"
What I don't like is those same new fans who then run around on blogs, forums and websites talking about the band as if they know something, when they barely know their history or discography. The basic things.
I know there are a lot of old fans that agree with me, and believe it or not, there's a lot of them that are a lot meaner about it.^^
Musing,
I love the idea of a seperate L'Arc blog. Awesome! Will comments be open to everyone there, or just other bloggers? I'd love to comment every once in a while there but since I don't, you know, blog, It won't let me. In the past year I have slowly but surely become a L'Arc junkie. I bought all of their albums & concert DVDS (Asia Live on peorder, woot!) With Hyde solo, it's half about the music & half about the man...with L'Arc, it's all about the music & how incredible this very talented quartet is. Keep the info coming! I find your site one of the best fan sites out there, especially since you, me and most of your other regular vistors tend to be out of their teens here.
Thanks for clarifying, Nepenthes.
I've seen some meanness out there in the fandom, on all sides. I've been participating in online discussions in one way or another for about seven years and have had my share, and fill, of heated debates (if people think jrock fans can be mean they should try posting on religious forums!).
I try and stay away from nastiness, now. But I do understand the frustration sometimes.
And, Patty, I changed the default setting for Get Out From the Shell, so anyone should be able to comment. Glad you said something. :-)
Forgive my ramble, it's 4am here and I spent all day doing a 7th birthday party for my daughter. 8 little girls and one protective mom, all day. I'm a little fried, as I'm sure the moms here can empathize. My entire opinion on the insta!fan thing-
Is Hyde pretty? Hell yes. If he were an actor I'd collect pictures and probably see every movie he made.
But if all I liked was the prettiness factor I wouldn't collect the music, too. I wouldn't spend $60+ to get a new cd rush shipped to me on preorder. I wouldn't be spending tons of money to get to California to see him live. I might watch a video here and there, but I wouldn't choose them based on the song, I'd base it on the hot-scale rating.
If I were a Hyde fan I probably wouldn't listen to L'arc. Come on, those other guys keep hogging the camera. *eye roll*
but as it is I collect L'arc even more enthusiastically than I do Hyde. The music is totally different. When I saw them at otakon I wasn't thinking 'ooh, it's Hyde!' it was 'wow, it's L'arc!'. I spent more time watching Tetsu or Ken then I did on Hyde, honestly. Ken is my scruffy guitar god, I had to see what he really does.
See, in the L'arc videos, they keep focusing on that pesky Hyde guy... ;)
Great comment, arisma!
I love Hyde, but when L'Arc plays it's about all of them. If we ever do get to see them live I will faint four times over.
And about that pesky little camera hog, it's great when people upload the camera angles that focus solely on other members of the band, like Yuki performing Ibara no Namida and Ken in Fate (and there used to be a Tetsu angle one but I can't find the link, now).
oh nice extended shot of Ken. I wish I could see more shots that focus on his playing, he really is amazing.
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