updated 10.1.2011
Read this before you e-mail me! If your question is here, and you e-mail me, I most likely will not respond. >____<
pillows-specific questions
q. When are the pillows having a concert in America?!
a. They were here in March 2005, June 2006, March 2008, May 2010 and September 2011! Hopefully they’ll be back next year!
q. How do I get pillows CDs?!
a. Go to Japan and start shopping. ^_^
U.S. Retail Locations
Here are a couple Japanese book/music sellers that have a presence in the US.
+ Kinokuniya – This Japanese bookstore has several US locations including San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles. They usually have recent pillows’ releases in stock. Their website is not the best and doesn’t show their actual stock; I recommend calling or going to the store to see if they have what you want.
+ Book-off – Book-off has locations in New York, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and more. They sell used Japanese CDs, books and more.
Online stores
Get yourself a credit card, and check out these sites. Japanese online stores will accept foreign credit cards. The conversion from US dollars (or whatever your currency is) to Japanese yen, based on the current exchange rate, is automatically made for you once the purchase is charged to your account. Check Yahoo finance or another site for the current exchange rate. An additional fee for a foreign transaction may be charged as well, check with your credit card company for their rules.
All of these places do ship to the US. If you are not in the US, you will have to check whether they will sell/ship to you.
Note: Quite a few of the older releases are no longer in print and can only be obtained via auction sites. See the question about t-shirts for more info.
+ Yes Asia – English site with many import goods. Free shipping on orders over $39, reliable service.
+ CD Japan – English front for japan’s Neowing store. Very reliable. Offers frequent buyer discounts.
+ Delicious Label (English) – Here is where you can get 90′s my life returns, any of the Delicious compilations, and the Nine Miles CDs. They will not take credit cards, you will need an international postal money order or a Paypal account.
+ Amazon (US) – Still has listings for the domestic releases, although they have been discontinued, and sells some import albums for ridiculous prices. Not really recommended unless you want the domestic albums. But you can get free shipping.
+ Amazon Japan – Features an English interface, and has a pretty big selection of older albums.
+ Tower Records Japan – Japanese only. Has a good selection.
+ HMV Japan – Has an English interface. Good selection and service.
+ Otaku.com – You can get most newer releases here. they also accept Paypal.
+ Nippon Export – Haven’t used this one, but they have a modest selection.
q. But the CDs are so expensive!
a. That’s just the way it is. I don’t really know why. A typical Japanese CD will run you around $30 USD or more, and a single goes for $12-15 (depending on the exchange rate).
Word of warning: Certain shops (Anime Castle, for example) offer import CDs such as the FLCL soundtracks for a great price… however, some of the CDs they are selling may be manufactured by bootleg companies. If a store is selling a Japanese album for very cheap, and it isn’t on sale or isn’t used, it’s probably bootleg. When purchasing, verify that the publisher is King Records, Avex or Pioneer/Geneon for domestic releases (or other applicable company). Otherwise you may as well have just downloaded the mp3s. All the sites linked here sell only legitimate albums to my knowledge.
q. Will I be able to play DVDs from Japan on my DVD player?
a. It depends. Japanese DVDs are Region 2 coded, which means you will need a Region 2 or region free player. You’ll have to look up your particular DVD player and figure it out.
q. Where do I find pillows shirts? And those cool Kubrick toys?
a. Use a bidding service like Rinkya or Celga. Or get a friend in Japan to help you find goods… or go to a concert. ;;^^ During US tours, they do bring t-shirts and other goods to sell.
q. How do I get official tablature?
a. There are a few complete score books out that include drum, bass and both guitar parts, such as a greatest hits collection, and books for My Foot, Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! and more. See here for a list of them. The books are available at HMV Japan, Amazon Japan or other Japanese music stores (see shopping links above).
q. I found this song called ‘Flame’ and it says it’s by the pillows, but it doesn’t sound like them.
a. Because it’s not. It’s a frequently mislabelled song that’s actually by another Japanese artist, Hide. ‘Tell me why’ isn’t a pillows song either, it’s by the Penpals.
q. Is there a vocal/longer version of ______ from the FLCL soundtrack?
a. if the discography version says ‘FLCL version’ or something like that, then yes.
q. What’s the name of the song in FLCL when…
a. Sorry, I don’t answer these questions. The list is in the DVD booklet.
Site-specific questions
q. I have a pillows guitar tab! Will you put it up on your site?
a. Fabulous!! Use the submission form.
q. Why don’t you have mp3s or videos for download?
a. If you really like the band, you should show your support and buy stuff. Large files rack up a huge amount of bandwidth.
q. Could you please translate this song?
a. You can always ask, but I don’t guarantee I’ll get it done in anything resembling a timely manner. :)
q. Hey, I could use Babelfish to translate these lyrics, why are you bothering to work so hard to do it?
a. Computerized translations are fine for understanding simple phrases or getting the gist of something, but lyrics are another story. Languages do not tend to have a consistent, unchanging set of logical grammar rules that can be used to create natural-sounding translations using software, not to mention song lyrics tend to stretch the rules of grammar even further. The best translations are still those done by humans. :)
q. You messed up on this! / This lyric is wrong!
a. Erk! Please e-mail me right away!! ;;^^
q. Do you have the lyrics to _____? Why aren’t the lyrics for _____ on your page?
a. I have most lyrics sheets from their discography, not necessarily including each members’ side projects. If anyone has lyrics scans for side project albums that I don’t have up (fragments and Nine Miles are the ones I mainly need), send ‘em my way! I do not do romanizations or translations by ear, too many words sound alike in Japanese and it’s too easy to make a mistake. Otherwise it’s mostly a matter of finding time to romanize/translate them. but if I haven’t translated it, and if it’s already on Anime Lyrics, chances are it’s not a priority for me to get it up.
q. I have a translation of _____! Will you put it on the site?
a. If you wrote it, I’d be glad to post it. If you did not, I won’t post it without the author’s permission. I also won’t post it if I find it’s wrong.
q. Hey, I know Japanese, and I’d like to help translate lyrics.
a. Cool! E-mail me and we’ll talk. :D
Ok, ok I still have a question/something to send you!
Go for it: 
:D
