J-Pop/J-Rock

[Ruki]

So, yes....lets talk about the glory of J-Pop/J-Rock music....Gogo showed me this horrible/awesome video last night

I don't mind the song (for the most part), but the video scares me. I have also been in love with this song lately, but fuck all the crappy videos to go along with it http://youtube.com/watch?v=f5Sa18bnk9w

Also....the GREATEST VIDEO EVER! The motherfucking Yatta Song!

So yes, share good/addicting J-pop/rock music.

[Katsuya]

Ayumi Hamasaki.

Awesome.

[GhostMachine]

I like Koda Kumi, but most of my favorite videos by her don't appear to be on Youtube - I get them off Veoh, mostly.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZNZcoTzgAaA - She also did an english language version which is also on Youtube, but for some reason they went with someone else for the english version of the game, which is unfortunate because her english language version is a LOT better than the one they went with

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kd6EIHH0MDY&feature=related. - Personally, I prefer the other version called DDD, which is more Koda Kumi, less Soulhead. (Not that I don't like both versions of the song)

If you want to see more, check out her videos on Veoh; my favorite ones (Trust You, Ningyo Hime, Candy, DDD) aren't on Youtube right now, apparently.

Ayumi Hamasaki I really like. The first thing I ever heard by her was Dearest (yes, I was watching Inuyasha), but I also like Jewel, Beautiful Fighter, and a few other songs.

Do As Infinity were pretty good, but I think they disbanded a couple years ago, or something like that. I have an English language version of Fukai Mori that's done live with a harmonica instead of a flute, but I haven't been able to find out for sure if its by them or someone else. Some of the lyrics are different than the translated lyrics I've seen for the Japanese language version.

TM Revolution I kind of like, but I can't stand to watch his videos.

Can anyone suggest some decent hard rock\heavy metal Japanese bands? (Not death\black metal type stuff)

Edited February 14, 2008 by GhostMachine

[Skummy]

Flower Travellin' Band were the hard-rock band in Japan in the '70s. If you can get hold of "Satori", it's essentially Japan's answer to Black Sabbath.

More recently, Boris are a fantastic Japanese metal band. X-Japan are corny at times, but a very good rock group most of the time. As an offshoot of that, Hide's Spread Beaver is the guitarist's side project, and really very good.

Also try; Shonen Knife, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, Ruins, Polysics, Boredoms, OOIOO, Speed Glue & Shinki, Number Girl or Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

[stokeriño]

I can't type much now, so instead I shall merely skim through a few tracks on my mp3 player and note down some of the ones that come up:

angela

High and Mighty Color

Abingdon Boys School

Stuff from the NANA soundtrack (the bands' names in the story are 'The Black Stones' and 'Trapnest', but I can't remember their 'real' names)

Actually, there's a load of stuff on here which is from anime op/ed themes and doesn't have the artist name in the filename, so I can't tell you. I'll come back and do this later.

[Momo]

abingdon boys school is a great J-Rock band. Luna Sea is good too. I obtained the memorial album just cause it had abs covering one of the songs, but all of the songs are great.

I like a few Hamasaki songs, mainly the ones from anime's like Gundam Seed.

Utada Hikaru is amazing. The Kingdom Hearts songs are awesome, even if you don't like the games.

Akira Sudou is a great J-Rock chick as well. She's not everybody's thing though. If you've seen BubbleGum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 and like the music from that, she's the singer.

Yoko Kanno and Origa kick ass. There was not one song on the Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society OST that didn't perfectly fit the movie. Some of the best music I've ever heard in an anime movie.

Home Made Kazoku is a very unique sound to me. I love the Eureka 7 theme they did.

Izawa Asami did one of the ending themes for Eureka 7. Very catchy.

Nirgilis did the final theme for Eureka 7. Absolutely beautiful. It starts off with Amazing Grace and then goes into a J-Pop hit. I love it. My favourite song from an anime series.

Orange Range does the Bleach theme. The tune stays in my head. The opening credits may have something to do with that though. I hate Bleach with a passion though, so for this song to stick in my head is an amazing feat.

Yoriko did the theme for Black Cat. I love this song too. I used to hate missing the opening credits to Black Cat just because of this song.

I've more stuff, but it's not been added to my iTunes library cause I've run out of space on my iPod. I hate manually updating stuff. >_>

[stokeriño]

Personally, as far as ultra poppy 'idol' types go, Maya Sakamoto >>> Ayu.

In terms of anime, see the ending theme to Wolf's Rain (Gravity) or the opening theme to Rahxephon (Hemisphere) for further details.

Edited February 14, 2008 by stokeriño

[LUKIE]

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

Rosso

The Birthday

All lead by the absolutely amazing, and king of Dirty Rock and Roll himself, Yusuke Chiba.

Also:

Guitar Wolf (their rendition of Born to be Wild from their new album is fucking bad ass.)

Animetal

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

Lonesome Dove Woodrows

And... that's all you need to know about

None of this shitty j-pop shit, which makes American commercial pop look tame. I mean, how much more commercialised can Ayumi and the fucking Morning Musume girls get. Fucking pop. Epic Failz.

[Momo]

Wow LUKIE, it's so nice to see you respecting other people's opinions for a change and not shitting all over them because you don't agree. (Y)

[Skummy]

How the cock did I forget Guitar Wolf? They're fucking bad-ass.

Think The Ramones, but Japanese and sleazier and heavier.

And to be fair, J-Pop is shit.

Edited February 14, 2008 by Skummy

[LUKIE]

Shhh Momo.

Pop music is shit, and people who have opinions otherwise are not allowed them.

EDIT:

Skummy, I forgot to double up on the Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her

Most random duo ever.

And Shonen Knife is epic funky.

Edited February 14, 2008 by LUKIE

[stokeriño]

Everyone knows J-Pop is shit. That doesn't stop us from enjoying it.

Oh, another one: Tommy february6 for electro-pop nonsense.

I echo LUKIE on the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, but have to say that I downloaded the entire Animetal discography at one point and, frankly, found it to be one big mesh of generic metal noises.

Edited February 14, 2008 by stokeriño

[LUKIE]

Animetal is only good when you get to understand what anime/tv show they are singing too, then just randomly rock out to it

[stokeriño]

It's therefore a shame when said series are too old for me to have bothered watching. ¬_¬

Besides, I'll take The Black Mages for my rock geekery any day.

Edited February 14, 2008 by stokeriño

[Skummy]

World's End Girlfriend/World's End Boyfriend/Wonderland Falling Yesterday is one of the better Japanese muso types out there, too. Post-rock, glitch-rhythms, ambience, sprawling beautifulness.

But, seriously, if I could only recommend one Japanese band, it would pretty much have to be Flower Travellin' Band.

Also, though, Les Rallizes Denudes are sometimes impenetrable, but worth a listen for the odd burst of SunnO)))-esque drone...forty years ago. They're a mess of The Velvet Underground, Hawkwind and...feedback. Lots of feedback. But they do a lot of minimalist drone-y stuff, decades ahead of their time, amongst some rather pleasant psychadelia. Very difficult band to get into, though.

[Momo]

Everyone knows J-Pop is shit. That doesn't stop us from enjoying it.

[GhostMachine]

Flower Travellin' Band were the hard-rock band in Japan in the '70s. If you can get hold of "Satori", it's essentially Japan's answer to Black Sabbath.

More recently, Boris are a fantastic Japanese metal band. X-Japan are corny at times, but a very good rock group most of the time. As an offshoot of that, Hide's Spread Beaver is the guitarist's side project, and really very good.

Also try; Shonen Knife, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, Ruins, Polysics, Boredoms, OOIOO, Speed Glue & Shinki, Number Girl or Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

[Katsuya]

Right now, my most played song on iTunes, by about seventy playings above number two, is fairyland from (miss)understood, albeit it's a live version...still, most awesome and uplifting song I think I've ever heard. Plus, I can now actually sing it...

[LUKIE]

According to Katsuya. If you like Ayumi, then you are gay.

And who is better to know that, then Katsuya.

[stokeriño]

Post Hoc, Ergo Procter Hoc, eh Katsuya?