JMusic365

Further hiatus updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Oh my god.....Internet..... @_@

So, I think it's obvious from the title of this post that I'm not back yet. I've completed my move, but I've been having trouble convincing Comcast to give me internet, so I don't actually have any way of posting or doing my research. (I'm posting from a cafe right now, but you can imagine how I might not want to pay a $5 per hour "coffee charge" for the internet.) Until Comcast hooks me up, I can't really post, and I don't have any word from them yet on when I'll get a connection. Right now all I can promise is that I'll start working again as soon as I have the internet. Thanks for being so patient - I can't wait to make my comeback! :D

Hiatus Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Hello all!

It's the beginning of September, and I figured it was about time for an update.

The good news: my husband and I were able to recruit my sister for childcare until she goes back to school at the end of the month, which took a lot of pressure off us in terms of my husband being able to wrap things up at his job and me being able to pack. We found a place in Portland (woot!) and will be moving up there on the 10th. Best of all (for me...maybe not for the blog), I'll have my weekends back! Wahoo!!!

The bad news: the site will be on hiatus until at least the 12th while I get the rest of our stuff packed up and moved out. It's looking like I might have to use the rest of my vacation for it, too, which is sad, because I wanted to use it to see Dreams Come True in Seattle. *has a sad*

So I'll make the promise to be back, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, on the 15th. Hopefully that'll give me enough time to finish this crazy thing, at which point I can go back to my routine of being unstressed, listening to Japanese music, and providing awesome commentary on it. Also, buying tea from the specialty spice place down the street from us. And sipping coffee from cute little corner bistros for breakfast. And going to Japanese lives on weeknights because I only have to make a 15 minute drive to get back to my house to sleep at night. You know. The usual.

squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

To hold you over, here's the playlist I've been using to pack to (after the jump). I literally could never get sick of listening to this music.

"ENDLESS NIGHT," HALCALI
"YES," HALCALI
"LOVE is," MiChi
"YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!," MiChi
"DADA," RADWIMPS
"Diver," Nico Touches the Walls
"Shikina," GLAY
"Matsunatsu no Tobira," GLAY
"Yes,Summerdays," GLAY
"Kanojo no 'Modern...'," GLAY
"TWO BELL SILENCE," GLAY
"ONE," JASMINE
"Change Myself," ICONIQ
"VOICE," Perfume
"Nee," Perfume
"Fushizen na Girl," Perfume
"Natural ni Koi Shite," Perfume
"Wandafogeru," Quruli
"Aruku Around," Sakanaction
"lalala-uh-uh-yeah!," Noanowa
"Yami no Furu Ame," Shiina Ringo
"Marunouchi Sadistic," Shiina Ringo
"Kofukuron," Shiina Ringo
"Itami," Abe Mao
"19-sai no Uta," Abe Mao
"Bach no Senritsu wo Yoru ni Kiita Sei Desu," Sakanaction
"Kidoairaku plus Ai," Kimura Kaela
"GO GIRL," DOMINO
"Sora ga Natteiru," Tokyo Jihen
"Spell," LAMA

Hiatus Freaking AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:02:00 +0000

So some things have come up in my life that require me to take yet another effing hiatus. Long story short, we've completely lost access to childcare, so my husband has to quit his job to take care of our son. Unfortunately, his job provides the place we live, so we also have to move. (Before you ask, I can't quit my job for a number of reasons, foremost of which is that I have the bigger income, the retirement account, provide the health care, etc.) Worst of all, we're losing our current day care in less than two weeks, so that's all the time we have to find a place, get packed, and moved in. So I'm going to be packing and cleaning and calling apartments for openings like a crazy mad woman (yeah, double crazy) until the beginning of September. At which point I'll be unpacking and cleaning like a mad woman, but at least then I won't have a deadline as tight as a noose.

So I'll see you all in September. As a parting gift I offer you the following discs that I would have written about. They're all good (and surprisingly so in two different cases).

- Chemistry, "independence" (Single, Pop)
- Buono!, "Partenza" (Single, Pop)
- SCANDAL, "BABY ACTION" (Album, Rock)
- Tanimura Nana, "NANA BEST" (Album, Pop)

Also, don't bother with Yamashita Tetsuro's "Ray of Hope." It sounds like he was purposefully trying to recreate horrible 90s ballads.

Until we meet again, friends.

Perfume to Appear in "Moteki"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:52:00 +0000

From Tokyohive

Perfume is making their big-screen debut in the romantic comedy "Moteki," a movie about a young man taken by surprise by moteki - a period time time where he's more attractive and popular. The movie is an adaption of a drama (which is an adoption of a manga), and in one scene of the drama the main character dances to Perfume's song "Baby Cruising Love." The director decided to do a similar scene in the movie, but this time with Perfume themselves dancing as well. The movie will be in Japanese theaters on September 23.

As they're one of my favorite groups, I'm excited to see that Perfume's really getting a lot of attention this year. I hope they have just as much success with this as they did with "Cars 2!"

How Can I Help You?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:13:00 +0000

Now that I've changed the format of the blog, I'm having a lot more fun. It's great to be able to review music I like it, instead of reviewing mediocre music just because my J-Music Wheel of Fortune commanded me to write about it.

Still, I feel like there's more out in the J-Music world that I could be learning, and thus sharing with all of you. I mean, I'm constantly translating interviews to post on Gaijin Kanpai; should I post those here, too? I see news from Tokyohive; should I pass along the interesting stories? Maybe I should translate more lyrics, like I did for "Sora ga Natteiru." Maybe I should pass along interesting PVs and other interesting videos. Maybe I should post videos of cats! (Hmm...perhaps not.)

I want to hear what you think. Go over to my Facebook page and vote on the poll I created. ("Like" the page while you're at it. Do it!)

8/3/11 Releases (Part 2): Kimura Kaela, LAMA, NoGod

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:23:00 +0000

Before I go on with the reviews, I want to pass along a tidbit of knowledge that I learned this week: S/milage makes terrible, horrible music. So horrible that I don't even want to review it. Seriously, this group has no excuses for itself.

Okay, well, now that that's out of the way, let's get onto what was good!

Kimura Kaela, "Kodoairaku Plus Ai"
Single, Pop

I cannot express how much I love "Kidoairaku Plus Ai." I've listened to it and it's instrumental nine times each since Thursday, watched the PV countless times, and have started singing it to my son. I've looked up the lyrics, I've translated an interview with Kaela, and I'm thinking of doing a lyrics translation as well, all because of this song. I'm trying to memorize it for karaoke, even though there isn't a Japanese karaoke place within 100 hundred miles. This song has single-handedly reversed my opinion of Kaela's music, much the way that "ENDLESS NIGHT" turned around my opinion of HALCALI. "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" is a pop-rock song with way more emphasis on the rock. It has a great synth presence that makes the song sound really unique, and the quick tempo and repetitive guitar and bass lines create a great feeling that's a mix between sprinting and long-distance running. (I think I finally understand what interviewers mean when they say that a song has a "scampering" feeling.) The distorted "Get Ready" line just makes me squee every time I hear it, and it's in the song three damn times. It's wonderful and beautiful and fun and I wish that I could have it on endless loop in my head. The instrumental is essentially identical to the original because of the synth version of Kaela's voice that's under her regular voice in the original version. Normally having a song repeat on a single would bother me, but remember how I want this song on endless loop? My only problem with the single is the B-side, "Hoshi no Tane." It's not bad - actually, it's really good: it has a much cuter, poppier sound than "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" but still has fun synth and adds some very endearing piano - but I dislike it on the single because it interrupts to the flow of all the "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" madness. I actually wish this song was on a completely different single so that I could listen to it and love it for what it is, without just seeing it as a break from "Kidoairaku Plus Ai" that I don't want. But if you aren't as fanatically in love with the first track as I am, you'll probably love the single as a whole - it's great, and the instrumentals are actually good instead of horrible filler like on most singles. This is one that's worth the money.

LAMA, "Spell"
Single, Alternative Rock

This is LAMA's first single, and I already want another one. The style is elctro-pop-rock that's airy and cool without being cerebral or atmospheric. It's very approachable, and has a lot of energy. This isn't music that you could sleep to; this is music for a party. "Spell" is a party-opener with a very light tone combined with a really fast tempo, and it's catchy without sticking in your head like yesterday's gum on a shoe. "one day" is a party-pre-closer, telling your friends that they should get another drink soon because it's crossed your mind that you should kick them out in...maybe another couple hours. The vocals are very high pitched, but the mixing has them leveled down lower than vocals usually are, which helps take the edge off and gives it more of a techno feel that I'm very okay with. The "Spell" remix takes the techno feeling to the next level by throwing every noise on the synthesizer at the song. Some of that's cool, and some isn't as cool. But being as how it's the only song on the single that's on the weaker side and it's only a remix, I don't think it counts heavily against the single as a whole. Definitely check this one out.

NoGod, "Genjitsu"
Album, Rock

Was was first introduced to NoGod during during a GK AA, and although I liked their song "Kamikaze," they didn't really catch my attention. Happily, they got it back this week! Sadly, it took them half their album to do it. The album opens with "Kamikaze," and I was surprised to find that I was happy to hear it again, as though it was a friend I hadn't seen in a few weeks. Unfortunately, after that the album hits a rough patch: "Kowaremono" isn't very memorable or interesting, "downer's high!" has a weird (but definitely memorable) choral aspect to their backup vocals, "Yasashisa no Imi" is the obligatory boring-ass ballad. "Raise a Flag" is next, and it gets my hopes up a little, but it still sounds pretty generic and just a little too happy. It's not until the next track, "Aishitekure," that the music gets really good. The album gets moving from there, and the quality is high enough that you can get lost in the music at that point. This is hard, no-frills rock with a very slight 80s vibe. There's some really strong work on the bass, and the shredding on the guitar is solid and frequently pushed to the forefront. I particularly like "Aishitekure" because of the desperate sound that it has (and because that's just a cool title) and "Tenba, Sore wo Iku ga Gotoku" for being a great song despite having no lyrics. I can't recommend buying it, I'm afraid, since half of it isn't really that good, but at least it helped NoGod recapture my attention.

8/3/11 Releases (Part 1): DOMINO, STRAIGHENER, LOSTAGE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:00:00 +0000

STRAIGHTENER, "STRAIGHTENER"
Album, Rock

Holy crap, you guys. I love STRAIGHTENER. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. (Why do I consistently forget them in lists of my favorite bands? Because my mind has been on a mission to sabotage me ever since I started trying to spread the J-music love.) This self-titled album is everything that I've been wanting out of a rock album lately. Although I'm always in the mood for a truckload of kick-ass in my rock songs, I'm not always in the mood for something upbeat or angry. Unfortunately, those two emotions make up about 99% of the rock scene, so I get to suck it up and deal. STRAIGHTENER heads in that direction with this album, but not before making several interesting pit stops; the emotional texture moves in a progression from uncertainty, brooding, and desperation to bright, but not sappy, confidence. All the songs are strong and hard, but many have an atmospheric quality not commonly found in rock pieces. Best of all, the track order moves the album logically from one point to another, as though STRAIGHTENER is telling a continuing story with each song. "A LONG WAY TO NOWHERE" opens the album with a brooding sound, and "Pleiades" moves the vibe forward, going more toward the depressed end of the spectrum, but without getting whiny or pathetic. "VANDALISM -prototype-" is more upbeat, but in a quirky, slightly crazy way. "KINGMAKER" takes the crazy vibe and runs with it. "YOU and I" is almost buoyant, but with sad undertones; "LEAP IN THE DARK" moves forward the buoyant feeling but adds a touch of determination in place of the sadness; "Koori no Kuni no Byakuya" moves both emotions forward, with determination taking a more prominent role; "SILLY PARADE" moves into determination and a little anger; "CRY" sounds freer with an emotional profile that's hard to pin down; "PROLOGUE" is heavier and more confident; "Hitsuji no Mure ha Oku wo Noboru" is confident and cool. The album ends with "VANISH -prototype-" which brings back the atmospheric quality from the beginning with interesting use of synth and combines it with the confident feeling of the songs just previous to it. Because of this sublet progression, this is a great album for taking you out of a funk and making you enjoy life even when life doesn't seem that great. I highly recommend this one; it'll likely make my Top 5 of the year.

DOMINO, "GO GiRL"
Single, Pop

Although this single isn't terribly strong as a whole, the A-side attracted my attention enough to get it an honorable mention. That A-side, "GO GiRL," has lean instrumentation (just vocals and a few layers of synth), a simple beat, and a simple melody which, rather than adding up to a boring piece of work, combine to make a fun, catchy song that will animate your limbs with its magical powers and force you to dance. Yeah, it's actually sort of creepy how good this song is. The second track, "Sunrise," is also surprisingly good - more of that lean instrumentation and back-to-basics approach to the melody and beat that are just the thing to listen to when you want to move. Although the approach doesn't work quite as well as it does in "Sunrise," it's still a fun song that's easy to listen to. Unfortunately, the other four tracks are just boring. It's like DOMINO ran out of steam but kept going anyway. "Ima" is a bland pop ballad, "BRAND NEW DAY" sounds like it was born to be a B-side (not a compliment), and "Chocolate Muffin" is actively annoying. Oh, and the final track is an instrumental. Yeah. So this definitely isn't a single to buy, but definitely listen to the A-side, even if it means having to watch the year's most heavily tutued PV.

LOSTAGE, "CONTEXT"
Mini-album, Rock

LOSTAGE plays gritty indies rock, and after some of the more laid-back and poppy content of the last few weeks, it's nice to hear something harder and louder and less polished. "HELL" starts the album out like a punch in the face, and the punches keep coming from there. Unfortunately, much like one punch in the face feels about the same as any other, their heavier rock tracks are similarly unmemorable. Thankfully, it's not all unmemorable rock. "Rakuen" has an almost reggae beat during the verses, then moves to a more cerebral and languid vibe - with xylophones! - during the last half of the song; "Iu," combines sections of heavier punk-esque guitar and vocals in the verses with long wailing vocals and some acoustic in the hook for a unique performance; "NEVERLAND" is lighter in the vocals and guitar during the verses, with contrasting harshly distorted guitar in the hook. So, since it's a mini-album, that means that half the songs are memorable, and half aren't. That sure as hell doesn't sound like something I'd recommend, and I guess it's not even that I want to recommend it. Instead, "CONEXT" shows LOSTAGE's potential, and especially after listening to "Rakuen" I'm excited to see how much further they can go.

THE TOKYO HIGH BLACK Releasing Digital Single on 8/11

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:06:00 +0000

From Tokyohive

PS Company’s super band, THE TOKYO HIGH BLACK, has announced a comeback!

The “mixed band” consists of Alice Nine’s rhythm guitarist Tora and bassist Saga, Kra’s vocalist Keiyuu, and former Kagrra bassist NAOKI. D=out’s bassist Reika and SCREW’s drummer Jin are being added to the group as support members, making the band even more irresistible for visual kei fans.

The group will be releasing a new digital single on August 11th titled “wanna see u“, breaking the year-long silence since the group announced their major label debut. The group also plans to hold a revival stage at Tokyo’s C.C. Lemon Hall on August 16th.

Stay tuned for more from THE TOKYO HIGH BLACK!

Although I've never heard of HIGH-BLA or listened to any of their music, I'm excited to see where this goes! I love the bands they come from, and all the mixed bands that I've heard before (THE PREDATORS, Acid Black Cherry) have been great, and I'm sure HIGH-BLA will be too!

While I was looking for info on them, I found this video of them that's been subbed in English. Thanks to whoever put the hard work into this!

Musasaby = Naoki (formerly Kagrra,)
Mon-Marshy = Tora (Alice Nine)
Tako-chan = Reika (D=out)
Tomorrow Joe = Saga (Alice Nine)
GEY = Keiyuu (Kra)
Madao = Jin (SCREW)
(and seriously, if I have any of those wrong, someone let me know)

7/20/11 Releases (Part 2): MAA, Kimaguren, Milky Bunny, Sakanaction, One Ok Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 06:34:00 +0000

Time for more reviews! LET'S DO THIS.

MAA, "Okay"
Single, Dance

Although the releases from last week (and several weeks previous) don't really show it, I'm a sucker for dance music. Even so, this single is so weird for me, because "Okay" would normally fall into my "Meh, it's dance music" pile that I listen to but don't feel like promoting. But despite all my attempts to chuck this single into that pile, it seems to climb back out of it's own damn volition. Although the music itself is fine, the thing about this single that really catches my attention is MAA's voice. It's much lower than most female singers in Japan, and it has this lazy quality that makes it seem as though she's saying "Yeah, I'm a good singer. Whatever." Normally that would cause me to fly to Japan and chuck things at people's heads, but I find it infectious with "Okay." The title track is good, but I really prefer "F.B" out of the two. (Although it has this barfing sound at the end that always ruins the song for me. If I can skip past that, though, I'm solid.) The final track, "Tomorrow @ Your Kingdom," is very minimalistic and starts to approach techno, which is really great for me. Overall, the music is solid, but the most standout part of this single is MAA's voice and I'm interested to hear more.

Kimaguren, Hotarubi
Single, Pop/Reggae

I found this album very refreshing. Although I really love the laid back, easy style that I heard all last week, I was starting to get bored of "laid back." Okay, okay, okay. "Hotarubi" is laid back. But it also has plenty of energy, and there's such minimal instrumentation on each song that it brightens the laid back feel like a squeeze of lemon in your water. The light reggae feeling (and I emphasize the word "light") gives the music a Carribean feeling without making you want to smoke a joint and shoot your brains out because you're listening to island music. Both "Hotarubi" and "Bucket List" and very easy to listen to, and I just can't pick which I like better. The instrumental of "Hotarubi" is even more minimalistic, but good. It's hard to say what the world is coming to when I say something like that, but I can only assume that it's a generally positive direction. Worth a listen if you want a little lemon in your water after last week's picks.

Milky Bunny, "Bunny Days"
Single, Pop

I. Cannot. Believe. That. I. Am. Writing. About. This. Single. I saw it on the list and thought, "Well, there's a waste of bandwidth. At least I'll be able to skip it after one track." I mean, it has a girl on the front in a Playboy bunny outfit. The group name is Milky Bunny. It's the epitome of what I don't want to like in Japanese music: over-Westernized and grasping at a cuteness that it will never achieve because it has no idea what the hell it's doing. But the music was actually...pretty good. Unlike AKB48, there's no trace of "over-voice" (i.e., 6,000 tiny Japanese girls singing together), and the singer has a surprisingly good voice. Although the title track is a little strained in places, it's essentially a classic rock-feeling piece that's fun and upbeat. The better song is "Song For..." which is really pretty and simple, despite it's horribly cliched name. Even the instrumentals are good! Although this isn't my favorite single of the pack, and the songs aren't necessarily all that memorable or amazing, I feel that I needed to relate my surprise and shock at finding my preconceptions challenged. Try this single out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Sakanaction, "Bach no Senritsu wo Yoru ni Kiita Sei Desu"
Single, Electronic Rock

Ah, Sakanaction. The makers of "Aruku Around." I love these guys. When I saw them on my list this week I was happy and relieved because I knew there would be at least one good CD. As always this is a disc full of electronic rock that just blows the mind. The title track, with it's title so long that I usually just reduce it to "Bach," is energetic and desperate sounding. There's a great use of chorals, and it's interesting to hear the piano against the strongly electronic sound that Sakanaction has. (I find it jarring, but it makes sense in the context of the PV, which you should watch if you have any interest in being my friend.) "Years" is slow and intense, with great use of a stuttering sound in the electronic elements. "Right Dance" (single remix isn't linked, but you'll get the idea) has awesome opening drums and an interesting vibe that plays back to the 80s but still sounds fresh and updated. My favorite part about Sakanaction is how they keep the synth interesting so that it contributes to the priece raher than simply adding it to the back of the music like so many other bands. I know, I know - they're electro rock and that's their M.O. Well some genres should get credit just for being smart about how they make music, okay?

ONE OK ROCK, "Re:Make/NO SCARED"
Single, Rock

This is a good single, but I was somehow expecting more from it. I was really taken back by how good "SELECTION" was, and this single just seems weak in comparison. Don't get me wrong: "Re:Make" is good (and I love the PV, which you need to check out via their Facebook page; just trust me) and it's sort of Panic At The Disco vocals is really interesting to hear out of a Japanese band. "NO SCARED" is far and away the harder of the two A-sides, and also a great song with more screamed vocals. But when you hold these songs up to "Kanzen Kanaku Dreamer" and "Answer Is Near," there's just no comparison. I wish that I could pin down the reason for you, but I'm not sure what it is myself. Maybe it's that "Re:Make" and "NO SCARED" feel less polished? I don't know that it's that, either. All I know is that I would listen to "Kanzen" and "Answer" until they evaporated from exhaustion, but "Re:Make" and "NO SCARED" just don't get that kind of commitment from me. Don't get me wrong: this is a really great single (except for "Rock,Scissors,Paper" - blugh amatuerish blugh), but it's just not where I was expecting ONE OK ROCK to be.

7/20/11 Releases (Part 1) and Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:55:00 +0000

What with the continual Robot War skirmishes at my house, I've been getting so behind on listening to music that I'm afraid there won't be a Part 2 for the 7/13 releases. There was a lot of good music that I did get to listen to (which I'll list below so you can check it out) and a lot that I suspected would be good but didn't have time to listen to (which I'll also list), but that's precisely why I can't post on them; there's too much, and I started too late on that week. So: my apologies.

As for the week of 7/20, so far I've listened to Buono ("Natsu Dakara!"), Ikimonogakari ("Warattetainda/NEW WORLD MUSIC"), and NMB48 ("Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo") and it's all boring and lame. I'll be getting more music from this release week today, and I'll (hopefully) have some good music for you on Saturday!

GOOD STUFF FROM 7/13
ViViD, "BLUE" -- VK, single
NIKIIE, "*(NOTES)" -- Pop rock, album
School Food Punishment, "Prog-Roid" -- Rock, album
Fear, And Lothing in Las Vegas, "NEXTREME" -- Rock, EP
Naomi & Goro & Naruyoshi, "Calendula" -- alternative, album

HEARD IT'S GOOD, BUT DIDN'T GET TO HEAR
Arukara, "Kocchi wo Miteiru" -- Rock, album
Straightener, "YOU & I/Hitsu no Muro ha Oku wo Noboru" -- Rock, single

7/13/11 Releases (Part 1): Kato Miliyah x Shimizu Shota, Negoto, Miyano Mamoru, JUJU

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:51:00 +0000

Well, my JMusic-loving friends, the Robot War continues at my house. It seems that one of the droids reassigned our static IP address so that we were totally without our home internet for awhile. I tried leaching internet in the area to get around it, but you know how leaching goes - sometimes a pleasant surprise, sometimes unpleasant. In this case, not as pleasant.

But enough! Less chatter! More music!

Kato Miliyah x Shimizu Shota - "BELIEVE"
Single, Pop

Anyone who's reads this blog or listens to me on GK will know that I'm not a big pop fan. Pop is fine and all, but it just doesn't usually get my blood pumping. So the fact that I think this is a pretty decent pop single probably means something like "THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST POP SINGLES OF ALL TIME! OF ALL TIME!!!" The title track is catchy, pretty, and beautifully performed by both Miliyah and Shota. Their voices really compliment each other, and the song is very strongly composed. That also goes for "My love goes on," which has a more relaxed feel and some light synth and piano going on in the background. As a dance music fan I also really loved "Love Forever (DAISHI DANCE REMIX)." It takes the relaxed vibe from "My love goes on" and moves it forward, but it still ripples with energy to carry the single along. It has more of a trance feeling, so a lot of people will probably hate it, but that's exactly what I like about it. The "BELIEVE" instrumental is surprisingly strong; I usually find instrumentals are a waste of time, energy, space, money, life, etc. But when they work, they're good. (If only the industry would learn to pick and choose what they turn into instrumentals, rather than throwing an instrumental version at every song that comes out of the factory.) Overall, this was a very satisfying single that I'd be happy to listen to over and over.

Negoto - exNegoto
Album, Alternative Rock

Damn this is a good album. Although lacking in the "weird" that I love so much, Negoto does a great job balancing the relaxed feeling and tempo of their music with energy that carries the album along and doesn't let it languish. "Cider no Umi" starts the album out in a relaxed way, while also pumping the listener up for the music to come; "Loop" opens with the bass and drum to get the album moving; "Charon" (one of my favorites) has lots of synth at the beginning and a really catchy hook. "Week...end" has a little harder feeling than the other songs, while "Kisetsu" (another favorite), and takes is back down just a tad but adds in a lot of great piano for a slightly different feeling. "AO" calms the album further and is the first truly slow song, sleepy and relaxing. The album ends with "Instrumental," which is not actually an instrumental, but is cool and quiet and slow. Careful mixing and delicate guitar work give the music a spacial quality, while the bass and drums keep everything grounded so that the music doesn't just float away. I'm a bass whore, but it's a rare day when you'll hear me comment on drums; in general I feel that they don't add much more to the music than a beat. On "exNegoto," however, I immediately noticed the drums and the way that they subtly effect the atmosphere of each song. Along with strong drumming, the guitar work is very subtle and beautiful, the vocals are strong and sincere, and the paino and synth add just the right classical and jazzy flavor to make this album stand out.

Miyano Mamoru - Orpheus
Single, Rock

This single really grated on me, because it should have been good. It's a rock single, it uses synth, it's high energy. True, Miyano Mamoru has that almost-too-high Hyde-voice, but I can usually overlook that if there's good music to listen to. I was so excited when I heard the title track: it's fast, it's energetic, it uses a lot of piano alongside the electric guitar, there's a bit of synth to spice things up a little. But then we go into "MOONLIGHT," and the single heads deep into bad R&B territory: crappy clap tracks, copious use of chimes. Synth strings. The "woosh." It's like he wrote it with the express purpose of pissing me off as much as possible. Finally "MOONLIGHT" ends, and "STAND UP SOUL" starts. I think "Okay, good! Rock again!" But it doesn't even take 30 seconds for me to realize that, as much as I thought that "MOONLIGHT" was meant to piss me off, the coup de grace is "STAND UP SOUL." It's a song with good bones: good energy, good vocal performance, good beat. But those good bones have been covered up with muscle and flesh of annoying anime-opening-style synth, lackluster guitar performance, chimes, and a freaking organ, to create a brain-eating musical zombie. This single makes me want to fly to Japan and punch Miyano Mamoru in the face for being so deceptive, and for associating this piece of crap with Orpheus.

JUJU - YOU
Album, Pop

I shouldn't be surprised that I don't really like this album. If you forced me to choose the number one thing I hate about Japanese music, I wouldn't choose at all because it's a tie between two very different things. But of those two, the thing that pertains to this album is the OVER-FOCUS ON BALLADS. I hate ballads, and it's all J-music's fault. When I first started listening to J-music I liked them okay; they weren't my favorite, but listening to them didn't make me wish my eardrums would burst and put me out of my misery. Over time I heard more and more and more of them because they're ubiquitous on the J-music scene, and I found that the quality is almost never good. There are a few exceptions ("Gibs" by Shiina Ringo being the most notable), but 99% of ballads are crappy filler that the record labels force artists to include because Japanese people are insane and can't get enough of ballads since X-Japan made them a thing in the 80s. So, what with JUJU being voted the #1 ballad singer, you'd think I'd know that I wouldn't really like this album. And yet it came as a surprise. It's not that the songs are bad, because they aren't. It's because they're all ballads, and I can only take so many of them. I liked "Sayonara no Kawari Ni" (the only good ballad of the group), "If" because of it's jazzy vibe, and "Voice" because of it's more upbeat feel and fun use of strings. "Tsunagari" wasn't too bad, either. But if you hate ballads the way I do, avoid this album at all costs.

7/6/11 Releases (Part 2): SHERBETS, Nega, Higashida Tomohiro, LITE, Noanowa

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 05:24:00 +0000

When I wrote my first review for the week, I'd only been able to listen to about half the music on my list, and I thought that it was more than a little depressing that only two pieces stood out from the crowd. To be honest, I wasn't much looking forward to listening to the second half of my list, because it just seemed like it would be a boring, painful trial.

I won't lie - some of the music wasn't a walk in the park, and there were a couple of albums that I wound up skipping because, after 4 straight tracks of bad music, I wasn't willing to listen to the other 6-8. However, quite a lot of it surprised me with how good it is. Most of this set is what I would call "Michi Music," after the ex-boyfriend that had the best taste in relaxed alternative music, and I was happy to take a mini vacation from rock and let my mind wander.

Noanowa, "Hi! How Are You?"
Single, Alternative

This single is small and fun and different as you'd expect from Noanowa. It opens with the fun and happy "Have a Good Day!" then moves into the synthy "Namida Porori" that has a bit of a "Galaxy Express" anime feeling. "Peek-a-Boo" is more bouncy and fun again. "Everynight" soars with long notes on the keyboard and quick picks on the guitar to keep it moving. "Calling" is more calm, with delicate violin and cello counterbalanced with strong vocals. As good as the music is, though, my favorite part about this single is the lack of instrumentals, karaoke versions, and all the rest of that ridiculous filler that's on so many other singles. (I'm looking at you, Itano Tomomi!) I find myself wishing that there was more variety of sound, like there was on "Magical Circus," but other than that one nit-picky point, this single is wonderful.

SHERBETS, "FREE"
Album, Alternative

This is one of the most chill albums that I've ever heard, with soft acoustic guitar, pretty piano and keyboard touches, and sinple drum lines that keep the beat clean and lean. I'm particularly in love with the gentle "Lydia and David," but the whole album has a lot to offer: "Kore Ijou Itte ha Ikenai" is jazzy and upbeat, but quiet; "LOVE BEAN" has a beautiful interplay between the keyboard and the cerebral, echoing guitar; "Aoi Sunglass" feels almost too quiet, shimmering with subterfuge. There are a few tracks that pet peeve me - "Motor Blitz Breakers" has more of a rock flavor that interrupts the atmosphere of the album, and "Nothing For All" uses horrible synthed strings - but there's more good than bad. This is my go-to relaxation album right now - a great album to listen to while looking at the stars and drinking scotch on the rocks.

Higashida Tomohiro, "AROUND THE WORLD"
Album, Alternative

If "FREE" is a stare-at-the-stars-and-drink-scotch album, "AROUND THE WORLD" is an after-party-with-close-friends-and-bourbon album. It's a little more upbeat and "fast," but is still remains firmly in the chill music department. The title track gets the album off on a good foot with a steady, head-nod-able beat. There are a few more of those faster songs - "ROCK N' ROLL" (a little classic rock for my taste, but not bad), "Still Crazy," and "HEY MY BROTHER" are several of the best - but the album is mostly slower songs with minimal drum, finger-picked acoustic guitar, and the occasional synthesizer ("LAST SONG," "Cafe," "Nomad") or cello ("Tasogare no Waltz"). Overall, there's not a lot to complain about with this album but the length: it's only 9 tracks long with an average track length under 5 minutes, and two tracks fully under 4 minutes. Although I prefer to see closer to an hour of music on an album, "AROUND THE WORLD" at least has the quality to get make up for it.

LITE, "For all the innocence"
Album, Alternative/Instrumental

"For all the innocence" has the same length problem that "AROUND THE WORLD" does, but it also makes up for it with quality. Here we're out of the "chill" music; instead, the entire album is energetic instrumental electronic music. I'm in love! This is obviously not everyone's tasty cup of sencha, but it's worth a listen if you think you can handle not having lyrics. The opening, "Another World," shines with electronic instruments playing together with more traditional instruments (including some kick-ass bass) and nature sounds, then moves into "Red Horse in Blue," which soars with energy, carried along by electric guitar. Unfortunately, the album falls a little in the middle for being a bit too repetitious, but there's still some interesting stuff going on musically. It regains its footing toward the end with "Duck Follows an Eccentric," "7day Cicada," and "Mute Wale." If this were any other genre of music I probably wouldn't have given it a spot when several of the tracks were less strong than the others, but "For all the innocence" has such a different style compared with everything else out there and it's all so well-executed that I had to include it. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from LITE.

7/6/11 Releases (Part 1) - ONE OK ROCK, SuiseiNoboAz

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 05:17:00 +0000

ONE OK ROCK - "One Ok Rock Selection"
Single, Rock

Damn this is an ass-kicking single. Although One Ok Rock (pronounced "One Oke Rock," like "one o'clock" with a Japanese accent) is one of those bands that I've had a feeling I would really like, I haven't had a lot of experience with them to confirm that feeling. Sure, I watched the "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer" PV (below), but one song isn't enough to know for sure whether you like a band. Now four songs - that would be plenty! If only I had four songs... Well would you look at that! "Selection" has four songs! And I'm convinced: these guys are amazing. Each of the songs is energetic and powerful, including "Answer Is Near," the "slow song." (I mean that in the sense that it's slower than the others, but it's really not that slow. I don't know if One Ok Rock knows the meaning of "slow song," and I hope they never learn.) If you want music that will make you dance in your seat and headbang a little, this is the single for you.

SuiseiNoboAz - "THE (OVERUSED) END OF THE WORLD and I MISS YOU MUH-FUH"
Album, Rock
The music on this album is so weird, and if you know me, then you know that's a good thing. The style that SuiseiNoboAz has juxtaposes very chill guitar and bass work with intense drums, backup guitar, and vocals. Unlike One Ok Rock, none of these songs is really fast or intense, but they do give that feeling because of one or two parts that are. This makes the songs really easy to listen to but keeps them well out of the soft rock genre. Each part is very skillfully played, and there are a lot of fun little stylistic treats throughout the album to keep your interest up: bubbly sounding bass in "ultra," rolling guitar in "shoegazer," a sort of jazzy cadence in "a song about camping," and others for each track. One annoying point is that the singer is always yelling, which wore on my ears after a whole album, but he uses a lot of very cutely poor Engrish pronunciation that redeems him. My favorite line is "I HATE YOU, MAH-ZUH-FAH-KAH!" in "64." Near-literal lolz occurred when I heard that. Overall, this album is weird enough to keep your interest, but normal enough to be approachable. More great balance on SuiseiNoboAz's part.

Hiatus is OVER

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:29:00 +0000

Damn if that didn't take long enough!

My apologies. You'd never believe everything that's happened to me since the beginning of June. Let's just say that we had a mini Robot War at my house, and we'll call it close enough.

Anyway, the hiatus is over! And I'd like to take this opportunity to announce a change in format for the blog. Previously I would assign myself one or two new releases to listen to and review each day, but I found that my assignments were usually not music I was terribly interested in. Occasionally I'd see something that I was determined to listen to and would plug it into the calendar, but for the most part the process of assigning myself music was very hit and miss. (Mostly miss.) I was starting to dread listening to my assignments, because I knew that I probably wouldn't like what I was hearing. In the mean time, I started listening to everything that was released in the week in order to pick out music for GKAA. I noticed that there was good music coming out, and that I was just missing it when I chose my reviews because only one or two CDs out of twenty or more were the good ones.

That got me wondering how I could review the good music instead of the lame music. Finally I decided that I'd just keep listening to all the new releases, then post about what I felt strongly about (either good or bad). That would keep me from writing a ton of posts saying "Well, this wasn't really that great, but I guess it wasn't that bad...." and help me look forward to listening to the music again.

So that's the new format. Right now I think I'll be posting once a week, but that will probably move up to two or three times a week soon. (Trying to compile all that information and music and save up all that passion for a week is actually a pretty tough task.) I'll be starting tonight, and will do my best to keep on a weekly schedule. Can't wait to get started!

Going on Temporary Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:08:00 +0000

Well, I guess my good intentions weren't enough. I've flaked out for a week now, because I've got to get things ready for my move. That's right, Shannon's job is taking us out of Salem and into Lincoln City, which is why I'm feeling the need to pare down - who wants to take all the CRAP that we have all the way there? "Not me" is certainly one valid answer. Sadly, because of all the work surrounding the move, I don't expect that it's going to get easier for me to post anytime soon. So here's the deal: let's consider me on hiatus until June 6th, to give me time to pack up, close down my house here, move to the new town, and settle in. After that, I shouldn't have anything big standing in my way.

See you in June!

Catch-up Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 01:27:00 +0000

GD it. Am I ever going to be able to update this blog regularly again? The past few days have been horrible: sick, struggling with a broken laptop at work, big translations for Gaijin Kanpai, figuring out details on Shannon's new job (yes! my husband now has a job!), trying not to think about having to pare down and pack up my stuff....Bah. You can suck it, every day since Friday.

But no excuses! On to the reviews! Catch-up day!

Mizuki Nana - SCARLET KNIGHT

Damn these CDs and the mixed feelings that come with them! "SCARLET KNIGHT" is a two-track single featuring the "anime music" genre. There's a lot of synth, a lot of cymbals, a lot strings, and some choral interludes. Think of an anime opening with giant robots fighting in space while handsome young pilots shed sparkly tears. (Or, you know, an anime where a middle school boy is expected to defend a country named after a pastry against enemy catgirls with the weapon of superior athletic ability. Whichever.) Not that there's anything wrong with this kind of music - it's good at getting me totally pumped for the show! - but it's just not my style anymore. The B-side, "HIGH-STEPPER" is a little closer to what I'm looking for. Although the synth still has a strong presence, there isn't as much of the dramatic "opening sequence" feeling. (Probably because it's part of the ending sequence of a variety show.) I'd say it has more of a 90s Hamasaki-Utada-BoA-NameYourPopQueenHere feeling. It hits the nostalgia button but also ties in more closely to the musical style that I like now. I still don't know that I'll suddenly get the urge to listen to it at random, but it's easy to listen to and fun. Overall, this single is a pretty good listen, but perhaps not worth the buy unless you're really into the old 90s stuff.

salyu x salyu - s(o)un(d)beams

This album may not be some people's cup of tea, but damn! This is a good album. The overall feeling of the album is chill and quiet, surreal and cerebral. Avante-garde, to be sure. There are a lot of unusual sounds (footsteps through dirt, breaking ocean waves), a lot of unusual instruments (xylophone, steel drum), and a lot of unusual vocals that I don't think I could wittily describe in parentheses. Although there are some tracks that suffer from squeaky vocals or being so avante-garde that they're somewhat annoying, the majority of the music is relaxing and well-constructed. I especially loved "muse_ic," "Kokoro," "Utaimashou" (which is super surreal - awesome), and "Hostile To Me." The album reminds me a lot of Tica, but more experimental. So, if you're one of the 10 people in the whole world that knows Tica, well, now you pretty much know what to expect from this album. For the rest of you... The very best description I have is "Zer0 music," and yes, you need to listen to Gaijin Kanpai regularly to understand that reference. But if you frequent this blog, you should be listening to GK anyway, so it's not a total loss. People with taste like Loki's should probably avoid this album as I simply cannot imagine you liking this from any possible angle. (Maybe I'm wrong, and if I am, please tell me!) But for anyone with a penchant for unusual music, this is a must-listen.

Kitano Kii - Kokoro

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 06:49:00 +0000

This album makes my brain hurt! On the one hand, it is cheezy as hell. A lot of the songs have the musical prowess of the "Sailor Moon OST" tracks: there's a lot of badly done synth, a lot of oonts-oonts-oonts bass, a lot of lame electric guitar trying to be hardcore, and a lot of chimes. But because of the musical similarities to 90s anime music, I also find myself helplessly in love with some of the tracks. "Tokumei Kibou" and "Brave 4 You" are the best/worst in this respect, because they sound so nostalgic, even though I've never heard them before. But I could listen to them forever and just think about high school. (Not my favorite occupation, but these songs do a lot to ease the memories - damn them!) Although most songs can't endear themselves to me as well as these two, almost all the others have some element to them that makes 16 year-old Erin want to like them. Sadly, grown-up Erin can't quite do it. Nostalgic or not, these songs are crap. Crap that stirs up some happy memories, but crap nonetheless. They're like gobstoppers: I loved them when I was a kid, but now that I'm a grown-up I can recognize that, while they may have made me happy once, they taste like chalk and I will never voluntarily eat one ever again. Try at your own risk.

B'z - Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 06:22:00 +0000

Man, B'z. Do you know how long it's been since I even thought about these guys? A long-ass time, that's how long. I remember that I first heard of them from Miho, the exchange student, who suggested that I might like them when she found out that I liked GLAY, and I remember listening to... something... by them. But damn if I can remember what. Did I download something of theirs in high school or college? Did I buy one of their CDs from Book Off? Did they possibly do an anime opening and the track found its way to my brother's computer? I have no idea, and their Wikipedia article won't tell me. But I remember that I listened to them. Koshi's voice is impossible to forget.

I remember that I liked them, and if "Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo" is any indication, I could like them again. This single is solid. The first track, "Dawn Runner," is a harder rock song that doesn't take "hard" over the deep end, has some good strings, and is catchy and easy to listen to. I especially like the combination of electric and acoustic going on in the opening - it gives it an "Old West meets Modern Rock" feel. But not in a cheezy way. (Just take my word for it.)

"Sayonara Kizu Darake no Hibi Yo" has the same hard-but-not-crazy rock feel and it also has a solid chorus that's so much catchy as it is easy to get into. The only fault I can find with it is that the lead-up to the chorus sounds slightly 80's, which isn't my deal. But the 80's rock sound takes up maybe 10 seconds out of the nearly 4 minute-long song, so you can barely even call the song out for it.

As a whole, I was sad that this was a single rather than an album. I don't know anything about their previous albums; all I know if that if there were ten tracks of what I heard instead of two, I'd be that much happier. Also, because the songs aren't precisely catchy, they tend to flow right out of your mind. This is a good think for the people who are embarrassed to see me dance to the music in my head. (Then again, maybe it doesn't matter to them at all, since even if I'm not dancing to B'z playing in my head, I'm sure as hell dancing to someone.) But it's also kind of a bad thing for B'z because it means that I will probably not remember the single to buy it. Ouch.

Still, the music is solid, and I recommend it. I mean, these guys are the first Asian band to get their hand prints and signatures on Hollywood's Rock Walk, and the guitarist won a Grammy last year for gods' sake. (No, not a Japanese Grammy. Yeah, that is hardcore.) I don't know if they actually can make bad music.

Lyrics Translation: "Sora ga Natteriu," Tokyo Jihen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:22:00 +0000

I know I've been bad. I realized yesterday that I hadn't posted in 10 days. Ouch. That makes today Day 11, if I'm bad.

So as a gesture of good faith, I'm posting a lyrics translation (and transliteration) to show that I'm still thinking about the site. You'll also notice an updated schedule on my calendar down at the bottom of the page. Yes. I'm doing this!!!

“The Sky is Ringing,” Tokyo Jihen

Does life sway on the freeway for me?
The record's high frequency sound waves are frozen

Why am I afraid?

Where will the freeway carry me away to?
Only the echo of two breaths remains

If I look up into the wild, limitless night
Even now the stars seem ripe enough to burst

The moment I have everything, look!
Slow motion
If we're undoubtedly the happiest people in the world right now
Then if there's a dangerous bridge I want to cross it all the more
Dear God, please, don't let it end

How long will the freeway enfold me?
The pulse painfully resounds once

If I fumble for you, defenseless and limitless,
Even now your eyes seem dead enough to break

The feeling of having everything, look!
Non-fiction
I don't know how fast we had to accelerate
To make us the happiest people in the world right now
Dear God, please, let me accept it

I also have the transliteration, as promised, behind the jump:

"Sora ga Natteriu," Tokyo Jihen

Freeway inochi wo yurashite kureru no?
Record no koushuuhaon koori tsuiteiru

Kowai no ha doushite

Freeway doko made saratte kureru no?
Kokyuu no oto daka ga futatsu nokotteriru

Nohouzu kiwamarinai yamiyo miagereba
Ima ni mo hajiketobisou ni ureta hoshi

Subete wo te ni ireru shunkan wo goran!
Slow motion
Ima nara bokura ga sekai ichi shiawase ni chigainai
Abunai hashi nara naosara wataritai
Kami-sama onegai desu, owarasenai de

Freeway itsu made kakotte kureru no?
Kodou ha ajikenaku hitotsu hibiiteriu

Muboubi kiwamarinai kimi wo masagureba
Ima ni mo kudakechirisou ni kareta hitomi

Subete wo mono ni shita jikkan wo goran!
Non-fiction
Ima made bokura ha sekai ichi shiawase ni naru tame ni
Dorehodo kasoku shitekita ka wakaranai
Kami-sama onegai desu, akirame sasete

Down Week Rewind: GLAY and "Global Communiation"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:31:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who answered the survey! I got some responses saying I should take a day off (so I took a couple for my sister's birthday, as you may have noticed - it was lovely, thank you!) and some responses saying that I should review the singles and albums that got me into Japanese music. Now that I've had my days off, I'll be doing the rewind. First up: GLAY's single "Global Communication!"

The very first song I ever heard that was definitely Japanese music without coming from an anime soundtrack was GLAY's "Global Communication." I figured that it's title perfectly described what I wanted to attain by listening to Japanese music, so how could I possibly go wrong with it? I remember the first time I heard it. I had exactly two thoughts: "This shit is weird," and "This sounds way too much like American music." I don't know what I was expecting. I'd already been listening to anime music. I knew Japan had electric guitar and synthesizer technology. I knew it wasn't all shamisen and taiko. But "Global Communication" sounded so mainstream pop-rock that I had trouble swallowing it. I obviously wound up coming back to it later, and it continues to get at least 85% of the credit for what got me into Japanese music, but at the time I was less than impressed.

It's hard to review it now, when I've been listening to it for ten years. It's part of the "soundtrack of my high school years," for gods' sake. I'm not even going to try to pretend that I can review it as though I've just heard it for the first time, in a complete GLAY vacuum. I won't try. "Global Communication" is one of the songs that I think of as being part of the First GLAY Golden Age. These are songs that GLAY recorded after they'd hit their stride at a major label, but before they had their souls crushed by the recording industry machine. Included in this list: "Glorious," "Mermaid," "Survival," "Winter, again," and "Yuuwaku;" classics all. Still, despite being a classic, "Global Communication" still isn't one of my favorites: I'd give it a ranking of three or maybe three-and-a-half stars out of five. I like the synth elements, the guitar work is great as always, and I like that it's very upbeat, but it's a little too poppy for my taste and Teru's "Ooh yeah!" gets annoying when you've heard it for as long as I have. Also, with all the guitars and synth and drum the sound tends toward the messy side, which makes it a touch difficult to listen to. Still, it's a solid song from a good time in their discography, and I'm happy that this was my first instead of something ridiculous like "Trouble on Monday," or worse, "Shuumatsu no Baby Talk." Definitely a worthy track for newbie and oldbie alike.

(Sadly, the PV isn't as good as the song. Such is the nature of GLAY PVs. This is a fact I have sadly learned to live with.)

Berryz Koubou - 7 Berryz Times - Sugar, Sugar, and Anime

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:23:00 +0000

Berryz Koubou is a girl pop group formed in 2004 by the evil geniuses who brought you Morning Musume. I'm not sure whether they qualify as an idol group in their own right quite yet, but there's no denying that they're popular - singles regularly reaching the top 10 in the Oricon charts - as well as gaining footholds with international J-music fandom; they're slated to perform in America for the first time at Sakura Con in Seattle at the end of April. Those of you who aren't familiar with Berryz Koubou but are familiar with Morning Musume probably already have a pretty good idea of what this group sounds like; those of you who don't know either group can form a good approximation of their sound by imagining sweet Japanese girls in cute outfits with rainbows and sparkles and ponies flying out of their mouths as they sing.

(Artist's impression)

As you can imagine, this isn't exactly my type of music. About a third of the album is saccharine to the point of inducing opening-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant-style face melting: should I ever listen to this album again, "Bomb Bomb Jump," "Girls Times," and "Onna no Power" are all getting the skip for this reason. Another third of the album tends toward the bland: "Maji Bomber!!" "Masshiroi Ano Kumo," and "Shining Power!" fit into that category easily, and will also get the skip if they ever cross my path again.

But the final third is actually pretty good. "Icchome Rock" (the opening) and "Magical Future!" (the ending) are catchy and fun with surprisingly good musical qualities for a girl group that relies more on sweet smiles and cute costumes than singing or dancing ability. And even better than these two are "Heroine ni Narou Ka!" and "Joshikai the Night," both of which I'd be happy to play again. "Heroine ni Narou Ka!" actually got a mini "squee" out of me when I first heard it: it has a bit of a retro electronic sound, kind of like the music you'd hear from a DDR machine, and the old school feeling expands into both the primary and backup vocals as well. The whole song feels like the opening song for a magical girl anime, and it's easily my favorite on the album. "Joshikai the Night" takes a close second with a similar electronic, anime opening-style sound. I don't know why I'm so attached to the songs that remind me of being a dumb kid whose biggest wish was to make out with Tuxedo Mask, but there you have it. Overall review: I doubt I'll be replaying the album again unless it's to pull out "Heronie ni Narou Ka!" and "Joshikai the Night." Both of which are likely to, embarrassingly, join regular playlist rotation.

*Point of interest: my husband, who (supposedly) likes bands like Korn, Slipknot, and Slayer, loved this entire album except for maybe one song. So, I guess the lesson here is that Berryz Koubou has the power to melt brains as well as faces. :\

JM365 Needs Your Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:28:00 +0000

The earthquake/tsunami one-two-punch on Japan has resulted in several singles and albums being postponed until April, and so I'm quickly running out of new music to write about. I'm thinking the new Berryz Koubou album tonight, but after that I've got nothing.

So here's where I need your help: what should I do? Please reply by 4/1, 12:00 PDT.

UPDATE: The survey is closed. Thanks for voting!

RADWIMPS - Zettai Zetsumei - Better Than a Stalemate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:23:00 +0000

First off, sorry for the Day of Fail yesterday. Let's hope it's the last for awhile.

"Zettai Zetsumei" is the new album by RADWIMPS, a band that is quickly becoming my new favorite. They were founded in 2001, but only just began to gain ground on the charts around 2008. Their music is solid rock with odd touches here and there that make each song totally unique in both the discography and the rock world at large. Although I haven't listened to their music extensively, I've begun to get a sense for it and I already have a few favorite songs.

Knowing what little I do of RADWIMPS, I can't say whether "Zettai Zetsumei" is a good representation of their work. But I can say that I feel conflicted about it. On the one hand there are great songs peppered all through this album: "DADA," "Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao," "Gakugeikai," "Kyoushinshou," "G Koui," "DUGOUT." All of these are great songs that I'd replay a hundred times. But then there are the weird songs: "Daidarabocchi" and its dragging melody, "Ground Zero" opening with the laughter of small children, "Keitai Denwa" and it's rock-country fusion, and the fully unnecessary bonus track. These aren't bad songs either, but I can't really say that I enjoyed them. A good illustration of how odd the songs can get is in the vocal quality: Noda's voice sounds a lot like Fujiwara's (from Bump of Chicken) during ballads, which isn't so much bad as it is odd; and then in "G Koui" he turns around and sounds exactly like Eminem. And in the rest of the songs he sounds like Noda, his unique voice perfectly suited to the music. A lot of the songs start out really weird and get better, making for a disjointed experience through the entire album. As weird as RADWIMPS is as a band, I can see them making the album disjointed on purpose to keep it from getting boring. But I can't help but have the sneaking suspicion that they aren't intending for the album to be quite as weird and disjointed as it feels to me.

But even though it's disjointed, I do like it. Most of the music is good without question, and most of what's left if good once you see where they're going with it. And, just as important as these other two considerations, none of the songs are actually bad.

I listened in on today's UStream broadcast for GK, and I heard MellowB from JPop Suki mention that albums 3 and 4 ("RADWIMPS 3" and "RADWIMPS 4," incidentally) are the best in their discography. And although "Zettai Zetsumei" isn't ideal for me all the way through, I'm encouraged by how good the really good songs were and plan on listening to those albums as well. Although "Zettai Zetsumei" has introduced me to parts of RADWIMPS I'm not as sure about, I've come out more convinced than ever that I really am in love. (So wish me luck on albums 3 and 4!)

KARA - Jet Coaster Love - Kiddie Coaster

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 06:33:00 +0000

KARA is a Korean pop group that debuted in Japan last year and quickly began to take top spots in the Oricon charts. So right off the bat, these girls have some strikes against them: they're Korean (I hate Korean music - it sounds just as manufactured as it actually is) and they're mainstream pop. What a terrible combination. I picked the single to listen to, though, because the tsunami delayed so many releases that I didn't have too much choice. So I bit the bullet and went for it - how bad could they really be?

As it turns out, significantly less bad than I was expecting. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time applying the word "bad" to this single at all. "Jet Coaster Love" is surprisingly well-executed, with music that's just as cute as the vocal performances. "Ima, Okuritai 'Arigatou'" isn't as good as "Jet Coaster Love," but it's not actually bad, either. "Typical" is a better word for it, I think. It's a solidly produced pop ballad that I don't think I'll ever specifically decide to listen to again, but I didn't want to fast forward through it, either. The instrumentals, unfortunately, are more problematic: the "Jet Coaster Love" is not too bad, though the brass and "woosh" sound effects are much more annoying when there aren't sweet little girl voices to counter-balance them, but other than those two elements it's not that bad. (If I were the producer, I would have just removed them from the instrumental and hoped that no one would notice or care.) The "Ima, Okuritai 'Arigatou'" isn't nearly as good, which I blame on the damn synth strings. If they'd used real strings I think it could actually have been rather pretty, but the synth are so lifeless that I can't enjoy them.

I think the best way to describe the single is the words "Kiddie Coaster." The single isn't exciting or exhilarating or breathtaking, but it is fun. It starts high and a little fast, then slows down and ends nice and safe and a little boring. Not bad - and for a Korean pop girl group, incredibly good! - but still not enough to get me excited about the Hallyu Wave.

SCREW - DEEP SIX - VK, BGM Style

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:05:00 +0000

SCREW is an indies Visual Kei band, and "DEEP SIX" is their 12th single. I have to admit that I don't have a lot of say about it. It's solid v-kei: solid work on the drums, solid work on the bass, solid work on the guitars, solid work on the vocals. I couldn't find a lot wrong with it other than the fact that the four tracks all sound somewhat similar and tend to bleed into one another in my mind.

That being said, I couldn't find anything that I was truly impressed with, either. I think that the band's inspiration must be to play music that's "Dir en Grey light:" there's a lot stylistically (especially the vocals) that reminds me of Dir en Grey, but they lack the ragged edge that makes Dir en Grey unique. The music is easy to listen to (I could turn "DEEP SIX" on and listen to it on loop several times without it bothering), but if I wanted to listen to something that got my feet tapping or my head bobbing or my blood flowing "DEEP SIX" wouldn't be my choice. It's a hard to pin down what went wrong when a performance is essentially good but lacks the spark that animates a mass of coherent rhythm and sound into a head-banging Frankenstein's monster. Let me reiterate: the music on the single is good. It is not "meh." But it's not all that great, either.