Last year in Tokyo I saw huge video billboards advertising a !!! tour, above Tokyo's busiest intersection. That's one of the few foreign acts I saw advertised among the perfectly synthesised J-Pop. What's up with Japan?
Unrelated to this thread but important - This guy Fish Across Face was a really cool, smart fellow with good taste in music.
I raise this point because I think he maybe left the forums because of me. I had a bad day at work once and I wrote a really mean post about another forumite, which he instantly chastised me for. I immediately deleted the post and sent a PM thanking him for his comment and apologising for publishing it in the first place. I hope he didn't think my massive dickery was a big enough deal to leave the forums over because he was a genuinely sound guy.
I am sorry again, Fish Across Face. I hope you did not leave the forums because of my superdickery.