Japanese Music Recommendations

[Rashid]

For years I've always loved listening to Japanese music. Thought most of the Japanese music I've listened to are either wrestling theme songs (for example, Jushin Liger's NJPW theme) and anime theme songs ("Just Communitcation" and "White Reflection" from Gundam Wing).

I'd really like to get into it more. So can someone please recommend me some good Japanese bands, and good Japanese songs.

[Skummy]

Melt Banana.

Sigh.

Hide/Pink Spider.

Polysics.

Guitar Wolf.

[Jukeboksi]

Merzbow and Masonna.

[PkmnTrainerJ]

The obvious ones:

Utada Hikaru

Ayumi Hamasaki

BoA

Cocco

Namie Amuro

[Bushmeister]

Melt Banana.

Sigh.

Hide/Pink Spider.

Polysics.

Guitar Wolf.

[stokeriño]

I have this curious liking for Ali Project. They're just rather...odd.

Also, Angela do some purdy singing.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

[caucasianheat]

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra is one of my favourites at the minute, give them a listen.

[tristy]

The Sex Machineguns.

[GoGo Yubari]

The Pillows, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Asobi Seksu (actually they're from New York City but half of their songs are in Japanese, so), and definitely seconding Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

[Zaz]

Two songs:

1. X-Japan's "Art of Life". It's like 28 minutes long but is quite good if you don't count the boring bits >_>

2. This song.

[GhostMachine]

Ayumi Hamasaki is a must. Seriously.

L’Arc~en~Ciel is also pretty good. (They did Ready Steady Go, the first Fullmetal Alchemist theme) Their lead singer Hyde has a solo album or two out, but I haven't listened to any of it.

Note about Ayumi Hamasaki and BoA; if you watch Inuyasha, you've already heard their work. Ayumi did one or two of the end themes, and I think BoA did a couple. BoA is actually Korean, btw, but is a Jpop star. I've got an English language version of "Every Heart", which is one of the Inuyasha themes she did.

If you listen to podcasts, look up one called J-pop Blast and decide what artists you hear on there you like. Its defunct, I guess, as there hasn't been a new episode in a few months (last was in October, I think), but you can still download episodes probably; just not from the podcast's main website, which apparently has been erased.

There's a label called Tofu Records which has some samples on their website. You could check that out, as well.

http://www.tofurecords.com/artists.php

Also, check Youtube. There's plenty of stuff by Ayumi Hamasaki, BoA and other artists on there....

[GoGo Yubari]

Their lead singer Hyde has a solo album or two out, but I haven't listened to any of it.

Hyde's music is... ah. Okay, sort of, but it has no edge to it so I find it to be really, really bland.

Conversely, the late, great hide of X-Japan made awesome solo music.

Also, this is bar none the greatest Japanese music video EVER. God, so much crack.

[GhostMachine]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLnIhtIFKOw - Utada Hikaru singing Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" in English. I just discovered this about half an hour ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKkO3zrBroA - BoA - "Every Heart" (my second favorite Inuyasha end theme after "Fukai Mori") - this is the Japanese language version, but if you search Youtube someone posted the same video with the English language version of the song (so it'll look like a bad dub like most Godzilla movies and old HK Kung Fu movies.....). She's cute as a button.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzGuop5z8DM - I'm not gonna say anything, but Xero Gravity used to have an animated .gif from this as his avatar. Currently not working for me, though, so something may be wrong with it.

And I seriously need to check out more stuff by TM Revolution (another J-Pop star I discovered from anime - he did the song "Heart of Sword", from Ruroni Kenshin)....

[Zaz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzGuop5z8DM - I'm not gonna say anything, but Xero Gravity used to have an animated .gif from this as his avatar. Currently not working for me, though, so something may be wrong with it.

[GhostMachine]

I forgot to mention Koda Kumi, but wasn't sure if I should, because I've only heard a couple of her songs and that's not really enough to judge. However, from what I've seen, she's porn star hot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzGuop5z8DM - I'm not gonna say anything, but Xero Gravity used to have an animated .gif from this as his avatar. Currently not working for me, though, so something may be wrong with it.

Already psoted

[stokeriño]

For all of the talk on Ayumi Hamasaki: she's...well, she's of the uber-mainstream techno variety. I do listen to some of it sometimes, but it's really not much in the way of special.

I actually prefer some Hyde songs to some L'arc~en~Ciel. Most notably Midnight Celebration (and not the really bland one that was an opening theme on Blood+).

And because it seems relevent: at this exact moment in time I am listening to 'Kaidoku Funou' by Jinn on my mp3 player (the second opening theme to Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion). >_>

Edited January 29, 2007 by stokeriño

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Ugh, J-Pop *shudders*

When I was over there it was probably the most annoying thing of the trip - J-Pop being played on the big advertising screns they have on most street corners in Tokyo. Loved the bigscreens, hated the music.

[stokeriño]

I of course only ever hear about 0.02% of all Japanese music, but I can only assume that - like every other country - the stuff that gets thrown in your face everywhere is the really, really shit stuff that sells to the pre-adolescant bracket.

Thus, I'm not so condemning of it as a whole.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Well some of their rock, punk, rap and electro is pretty good.