If you’re looking for music to brighten your day and put a smile on your face, look no further than the stuff made by Shugo Tokumaru. This multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter from Tokyo is well-known for his unique instrumental indie-pop music, characterized by beautiful childlike melodies. After two years of touring around the world, Shugo Tokumaru is back with his fifth full-length album.

After the release of 2010′s Port Entropy, Shugo Tokumaru enjoyed an increase in popularity not only in his native country of Japan, but also worldwide. He’s been seen playing gigs at the smallest live-houses to huge festival stages. His newest venture, In Focus?, builds on what Port Entropy was: a whimsical and eclectic blend of folk and pop. The instrumentation is light and airy, using a wide array of instruments like bells and whistles, xylophones, bongos, guitars, and toy pianos.

Circle opens the album with the gentle plucking of the guitar strings, which is eventually joined by the piano and a bunch of chirping, playful noises. It seamlessly leads into Katachi, a bouncy folk-pop number that involves everything from claps and shakers to electronic twinkles and flutes. Single release Decorate brings together a symphony of toy instruments and folk instruments, while Call takes a little bit from bluegrass in the rhythm section.

Shugo Tokumaru breaks up the album a bit by slipping in short instrumental tracks that really show his mastery and creativity. Gamma gives off a mischievous air with its taps and squeaks which opens up into a series of sounds like it’s coming from a toy machine. Meanwhile Mubyo plays around with an out of tune stringed instrument, and Pah-Paka works in random taps on metallic things with layers of vocalizations. Bringing down the tempo, Shugo takes to himself and a guitar on Tightrope, going straight folk status.  Down Down brings in some country sing-along style groove, but gets weird with a cow’s moo and an assortment of sounds for a bit of that experimental aspect.

Shugo Tokumaru creates music that is totally unique. It’s like a child, free and without a damn thing to care for in the world. It’s totally happy and playful. In Focus? is a lot more whimsical than any of Tokumaru’s previous works. It reminds me of adventures I imagined I would go on when I was a kid, and evokes feelings of just wanting to be a kid again. This music would put a smile on a 5-year-old’s face, as well as the mom, and the grandmother too.

 
Shugo Tokumaru
In Focus?
2012.11.07

Tracklist
01. Circle
02. Katachi
03. Gamma
04. Decorate
05. Call
06. Mubyo
07. Poker
08. Ord Gate
09. Pah-Paka
10. Tightrope
11. Helictite (LeSeMoDe)
12. Shirase
13. Micro Guitar Music
14. Down Down
15. Balloon

http://www.shugotokumaru.com/

Crazy idol unit Brand-new idol Society, also known as BiS, has finally gone major.  They’re known for their weird antics that pushes the Japanese idol image to the extreme. Naturally, a lot of excitement went around when BiS announced their first full-length album, IDOL is DEAD. Find out how far they take the idol concept with their album after the jump.

In the current “idol wars” in Japan, BiS introduces something that is completely different from everybody else. They do crazy, weird stuff; like holding a 24 hour fan event, running 100 kilometers before a live show, performing the same song four times in a row, and running around naked in music videos. It’s certainly not what comes to mind when you think of an idol, who is supposed to be pure and innocent.

Now let’s get it straight, IDOL is DEAD is not cute, happy bubblegum stuff you hear being churned out from every other idol group. BiS’ debut album is firmly rooted in rock, pulling sounds  from punk, metal, and rock ‘n’ roll. IDOL is DEAD features thirteen full tracks, including 7 Brand-new songs and re-recordings of their indies singles. The album’s title track IDOL is DEAD opens up your listening experience with a huge garble of sounds full with crunchy guitar riffs, head bang inducing rhythms, and incomprehensible screaming. It is very un-idol and kind of has a bit of shock value for the casual listener. I’m sure most people will either love it, or hate it. But the trend continues with ASH and their major debut single PPCC, where this time there are some actual singing. The wall of sound type of instrumentation in the opening tracks hit pretty hard and invade the eardrums, and it may turn people off. But behind the heavily overdriven power chords and the bass drum being pounded to death with double kicks, there are some strong pop melodies that pull the songs together.

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

IDOL is DEAD mixes together a lot of rock styles; from the rock ‘n’ roll garage punk sounds in CHELSEA to the prominent chorus-effected guitar in the grunge and alternative rock inspired hitoribochi. BiS also throws in a cover of Our Song by one of my favorite electronic artists Shinichi Osawa. They turn it around and introduce noisy, distorted guitar riffs, along with a melancholic atmosphere to make it nothing short of a shoegazing style of alternative rock. The rest of the album is well-rounded with pop punk style tracks like I wish I was SpeciaL and BLEW, in addition to their re-worked indies singles like the cool electronic-laced rock-dance number nerve.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

IDOL is DEAD is a pretty damn solid album. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because to be honest, when they released a PV for the title track I thought it was garbage, but I thought PPCC was great. Listening to the whole thing though, I feel there’s a great flow to it, even with the mess that is the opening track. The rhythm sections hit hard. The vocal lines are very melodic and pull the songs back down when it seems like you’re losing it to the crazy guitars and drums. Hats off to Matsukuma Kenta, who produced the album. He took almost every aspect of rock, with a little sprinkle of electronic synths and mixed them all up to make BiS’ first major label album a great listen. This album has no trace of anything remotely idol related; and in that regard, I guess the idol is dead.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Is BiS poking fun at the oversaturation of idol groups and destroying the traditional image? or are they genuinely trying to push the boundaries and make refreshing idol music? Either way it doesn’t matter. This album makes me want to head bang and mosh and stage dive and rock out. It reminds me of going to those small live houses that barely hold 100 people, but everyone is having a good time and connecting with whoever is on stage. It’s something that BiS has a strong grasp on, and I think they’ve brought that feeling onto the album. I always joked that I think BiS is actually an indie rock band, but disguise themselves as idols to cash in on the scene. They definitely feel like one with this release. IDOL is DEAD isn’t an idol album, it’s a rock album.

BiS
IDOL is DEAD
2012.10.24

Tracklist
01. IDOL is DEAD
02. ASH
03. PPCC
04. BLEW
05. CHELSEA
06. nerve
07. Our Song
08. My Ixxx
09. I wish I was SpecIaL
10. hitoribochi
11. IDOL
12. urge over kill of love
13. primal.

http://www.brandnewidolsociety.org

AKB48 is going to Tokyo Dome! It will be probably what they consider their biggest achievement yet. Tokyo Dome is a special venue to a lot of Japanese acts. It’s where they can really say they’ve made it Big in Japan. To commemorate this momentous occasion, the group has released a new album, 1830m.

The album’s title 1830m is named after the distance from AKB48′s theater in Akihabara to Tokyo Dome. It’s not that far of a walk really, just a little over a mile. The album is jam packed with everything an AKB48 fan could hope for: a DVD with extra content, a 48 page photobook, a poster, and two, TWO discs worth of AKB48 music goodness. Pretty good deal, isn’t it?

Actually, the two disc set is a bit misleading, as the first disc is more of a compilation album, where the second disc is all new content. I’ve never been a big fan of AKB48′s album releases. Last year’s Koko ni Ita Koto wasn’t so great aside from one or two songs, and some fans even said it was “pretty bad”. Kamikyokutachi from 2010 was good however that was a compilation itself. I’m pretty glad to say though, 1830m is quite a decent album.

The first disc houses all past stuff including: singles, coupling tracks, and some of the most recent stage songs(recent being 2009). The disc is well-rounded enough for an idol album. The opener First Rabbit starts off with the innocent twinkling of a music box, before launching into the ever-familiar chugging rock-inspired idol pop of AKB48. It has all the characteristics of an AKB48 anthem of recent years, similar to Shojotachi yo before it. Few unique tracks stand out among the rest. Yasai Uranai is a silly but festive song about your very important veggies. Ougon Center, performed by the group’s Kenkyuusei, is fun and funky, akin to the style that was popular with Hello! Project back in their heyday. Romance Kakurenbo‘s mid-tempo oldies style performed by young upstart Omori Miyu is a nice surprise, as not only is it a solo, but also it’s sang quite well. That said, there are also some bland and generic stuff thrown in there too. Jung ya Freud no Baai is middling and just… bleh, I don’t know how else to put it. And other tracks like Renai Sosenkyo and Lemon no Otoshigoro, while not too bad, are just stuff that’s been heard and nothing spectacular. The first disc is pretty much anchored by the group’s successful singles such as summer hit Everyday, Kachuusha and Maeda Atsuko’s election winner Flying Get. 1830m‘s first disc has a number of good and unique idol pop, but it’s also balanced by some generic and boring idol pop.

The second disc is where the real stuff is at. This is where all the new content resides. There are team songs, duets, solos, and other fun things. Team A’s song Hate opens disc two quite strongly. Hate is a pop-electronica track that’s a little bit on the darker atmosphere. The synths that accompany the song could be something you would hear out of Perfume. It’s often joked when fans talk about team songs, that Team A ALWAYS gets the best song. Well, it’s true here. Shinoda Mariko follows up the electronic start with a progressive style pop track Plastic no Kuchibiru. If Hate is reminiscent of Perfume, then Plastic no Kuchibiru is capsule. Cascading synths run through the whole song and Mariko-sama stylishly sings her lines on autotune. Plastic no Kuchibiru is perfect for Shinoda Mariko. I couldn’t have imagined a more fitting song for such a stylish person.

The second disc’s two opening tracks are probably the strongest on the album, but there are a few that are still good in their own right. Gu~ Gu~ Onaka is cute, child-like, and should be some kind of nursery rhyme. Team B’s No Kan is just what you would expect from them; kind of silly and dumb, but cute because that’s how they are. Team K gets a usual chugging pop-rock piece with Iede no Yoru, but it’s a good choice to showcase their strength and drive. Chokkaku Sunshine and Sakuranbo to Kodoku by Teams 4 and Kenkyuusei respectively unfortunately doesn’t have the same pull like their senior teams, and just falls into the generic idol pop we’ve all heard.

Kojima Haruna and Oshima Yuko’s duet Scandalous ni Ikou is a fun pop-rock number; while not very different, it sounds good as the duo are having fun with the song. It’s similar to what Buono! would release. Really, Kojiharu as a Hello! Project fan probably wanted a song in their style, and Oshima of course follows along because of her love for the Nyan. If you’re looking for the most “idol” song out of this whole album, look no further than Avocado Jane~shi by Sashihara Rino and Watanabe Mayu. The track is straight up IDOL—singing about fruits and being cute, cute, and cute. Maeda Atsuko and Takahashi Minami’s duet was the most anticipated by fans, but Omoide no Hotondo is just your usual mid-tempo idol ballad. The duo sings the piece very well though, and they sound great together. And then, there’s that other ballad, Bokutachi wa Ima Hanashiau Beki Nan da by Itano Tomomi and Kashiwagi Yuki. What the hell were they thinking with this one? It’s well known that Kashiwagi is one of the better singers from not only her Team B, but all of AKB48 in general; and Itano, well she’s the total opposite and doesn’t sing very well. These two do not complement each other at all; they’re somewhat an anti-pairing and definitely clash when they sing. Kashiwagi blows Itano out the water when she sings. Did I mention it was a ballad? Yeah. Nope.

Just like with disc one, disc two has a number of good tracks, but it also has it’s fair share of shortcomings. Aozora yo Sabishiku Nai ka? which features EVERYONE from the 48 family(except JKT48, sorry Japan only) is a boring mid-tempo ballad. I don’t know what it is about these kinds of arrangements, but I can never enjoy them without starting to fall asleep. Disc two fortunately ends it off on quite a good, but solemn note. The group’s ace Maeda Atsuko, who is leaving AKB48 subsequent the release of 1830m, sings her last solo song in the form of Sakura no Hanabira(tachi). AKB48′s debut single gets a re-arrangement tailored for Acchan. The tempo is taken down and only single notes of the piano opens the song. As the piece progresses a group of strings back the instrumental, and pretty much by this point, you’re misty eyed. It’s quite the heartbreaking piece, not only because of the brilliant re-arrangement, but also what the song is representing. Maeda Atsuko, the face of AKB48, is leaving. Who knows what’s gonna happen next? Big changes are coming to the group, and this is the first test to see if they can survive.

1830m is a huge release. Two discs worth of music, along with a bunch of extra stuff. The music is good and bad, there are highs and lows, but as a whole it is a pretty decent album. 1830m pretty much has all the styles you would find from AKB48: slow ballads, energetic pop-rock, electronic-inspired pieces, and cute stuff kids would love. To established fans of AKB48, 1830m is probably nothing special. They’ve heard this many many times already. But this is a nicely packaged album that would serve well as an introduction to not only AKB48, but idol music in general.

 
AKB48
1830m
2012.08.15

Disc 1
01. First Rabbit
02. Ougon Center
03. Miniskirt no Yousei
04. Ue kara Mariko
05. Anti
06. Lemon no Toshigoro
07. Renai Sousenkyou
08. Yasai Uranai
09. Everyday, Kachuusha
10. Hashire! Penguin
11. Romance Kakurenbo
12. Tsubomitachi
13. Jeung ya Freud no Baai
14. Flying Get
15. Kaze wa Fuiteiru
16. Sakura no Ki ni Narou
17. GIVE ME FIVE!

Disc 2
01. Hate
02. Plastic no Kuchibiru
03. Omoide no Hotondo
04. Iede no Yoru
05. Scandalous ni Ikou
06. No-kan
07. Avocado Jane~shi
08. Chokkaku Sunsshine
09. Bokutachi wa Ima Hanashiau Bekinanda
10. Sakuranbo to Kodoku
11. Daiji na Jikan
12. Itsuka Mita Umi no Soko
13. Gu~Gu~ Onaka
14. Yasashisa no Chizu
15. Itterasshai
16. Aozora yo, Sabishikunaika?
17. Sakura no Hanabira

http://www.akb48.co.jp/

Electropop queens Perfume are slowly plotting to take the global market. With the switching of labels and opening of a global website, the trio have already taken their first step into the expansion. Now with an Asian tour and compilation album on the way, Perfume is supplementing their move outside Japan with new material, by way of a 16th single. Check out the review after the jump.

I must say I haven’t been excited for a single release in a long long time, but this one’s had me wiggling, or rather dancing, in my seat. Even though Perfume’s previous single Spring of Life already has a spot in my top Jpop releases this year, it didn’t grab me nearly as quickly as this single. Spending all my time is the title of the 16th single, and it’s coupled with two tracks, Point and Hurly Burly. It’s been a while since a Perfume single came out with two coupling tracks, so it’s quite a nice treat.

Spending all my time steps out a bit from the usual Perfume sound and style. At it’s opening, the track sounds like an intro to songs by countless Western artists nowadays. Singled out synth chords greet you, and it seems like it’s gonna be some run-of-the-mill club banger. But as it progresses the song opens up and becomes a pretty solid electro track, with cool synthesizer lines and vocoded harmonies. Some people may be turned off by the way the song opens, but I think Spending all my time is moving Perfume towards a good direction. With the plan for the group to hit the global market, a sound more familiar with Western music seems fitting. For me though, it’s a bit of nostalgia as it looks like Nakata has drawn inspiration from the eurodance and electro type stuff I used to listen to back in high school. As a whole, Spending all my time is like a cool combination of Western and Japanese style electropop.

The coupling tracks complement their A-side very nicely. Point adopts a super quick drum and bass groove, but it’s layered under floating synths and dreamy twinkles at half the tempo. There’s a sense of urgency with the rhythm, but the melodies force a total opposite and pull it back. It creates a cool dynamic and atmosphere for the song. Hurly Burly, on the other hand, is a straight up dance track. This song is the jam, period. It opens strong with a hard-hitting house beat that really sets the groove for the rest of the song. The synths and vocalized “ooh” greatly supplement the strong beat, and progresses in this almost hypnotic trance-like fashion. If you’re able to not bob your head at some point of this song, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Hurly Burly wants you to dance, and you will do it.

The lyrics of Spending all my time is mostly in English. Although they’re just repeating the lines over and over, it shows they’re trying for a more global sound. In contrast, Hurly Burly only uses English in it’s hooks, while Point is full on in Japanese.

This may very well be Perfume’s most solid single release. This is their first single with two coupling tracks since Linear Motor Girl, their first major label single. And looking back to their first releases, it’s great to see their musical progression and maturity; from the cute and young beginning of Linear Motor Girl, to breaking the mainstream and setting firsts with love the world, and now reaching out to the global market with Spending all my time. I’d say they’re ready for the world. Now please come to America.

Perfume – Spending all my time
2012.08.15
1. Spending all my time
2. Point
3. Hurly Burly
4. Spending all my time -Original Instrumental-
5. Point -Original Instrumental-
6. Hurly Burly -Original Instrumental-

http://www.perfume-web.jp/

Japan’s summer drama season has been underway for a few weeks now, and I’ve been able to check out a nice handful. So this season I’m back with my drama digest, taking a look at the first few episodes of some high profile dramas in order to help work out some of your indecisions.

Beautiful Rain

Prodigious child actress Ashida Mana stars in the human drama, Beautiful Rain, alongside veteran Toyokawa Etsushi. Beautiful Rain is one of those dramas that’s going to make you cry, for what other reason would you use Mana-chan’s devilsh powers of Super Adorability?

Toyokawa plays Kinoshita Keisuke, a factory worker living above the small machine shop where he works. Kinoshita is very skilled at his job and well respected by his boss, peers, the general public, and even coaches local boys’ baseball. Despite this, his highest priority in life is his seven year old daughter Miu, played by Ashida Mana. The two live a pretty easy, normal life of working, going to school, having a pretty awesome father-daughter relationship. But lately, Keisuke’s been quite forgetful—forgetting things on an everyday basis, even when Miu reminds him constantly. After an accident at work forces him to the hospital, Keisuke’s doctor puts him through a series of mental tests. The result: Kinoshita Keisuke is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s.

Beautiful Rain is that kind of drama that’s sole purpose really is to make you cry, but teach you the lesson that every moment is precious, etc. Besides that, it’s just a very nice show. The dynamic between Toyokawa and Mana is what drives this story. They are so effortless and natural with each other, you could almost mistake them for a real father and daughter. Toyokawa shines in his role, playing the doting father struck down in his prime, that you might wish your own father was like him (minus the Alzheimer’s, of course). Mana continues to do what she does best, be excruciatingly cute. The plot isn’t too original, but it still works, especially with the team’s performances. I’m kind of a sucker for this kind dramatic tension; being forgotten by or forgetting everyone you love is a huge emotional wall for me (my saddest movie ever: Korean tearjerker A Moment to Remember), so I can already feel my lip quivering. Keisuke gets his diagnosis pretty early on, so the bulk of the drama will be spent exploring how his relationship with Miu suffers from his illness. Get your tissues ready.

Boys on the Run

We go from the beautifully dramatic to the beautifully absurd. Boys on the Run is an over the top, slapstick, gross out, sex comedy starring Kanjani8 member Maruyama Ryuhei and model/talent Minami Akina. The rest of the cast is rounded out by other pretty faces and Japanese character actors. I’m pretty sure the content of the drama and it’s time slot have made Ryuhei and Akina the biggest actors on the show.

Ryuhei plays Tanishi Toshiyuki, a pretty invisible, geeky, loser—by his own admittance. He’s constantly harped on by coworkers and family alike and wishes he could be a cooler guy. The source of all his depression: hes a 27 year old virgin with no lady killer skills. Because of his lack of confidence and experience, Tanishi is unable to approach his coworker Uehara Chiharu, played somewhat annoyingly by Akina, who he has a huge crush on. After getting black out drunk at a work party, Tanishi finally opens up to Uehara, and the two start a slightly flirtatious friendship and already Tanishi is in over his head. After getting some advice from suave and cool Aoyama (Saito Takahiro), a rep from a rival toy company, Tanishi feels like he can be on his way to finally getting some. Of course, we know it can’t be that easy and hilarious and unfortunate hijinks ensue like a fox!

Overall the drama is pretty funny. It’s one of those overacted, over the top type of comedies that Japan seems to do rather well (see: My Boss, My Hero or Unubore Deka,  but without the polish). Maruyama does his best to channel the king of hilarious over actors, agency mate Nagase Tomoya, but falls short. He’s still funny and somewhat likable, in that loserish kind of way. Akina on the other hand bothers me. Her acting is stiff, unbelievable, and somewhat annoying. This is actually the first time I’ve seen her in a drama, so I have no idea how she usually is. The story lends itself well to the gags and actually pushes what I would consider the Japanese envelope pretty far. Overall, the tone reminds me of something akin to seminal raunchy classic Golden Boy. While not the funniest show, Boys on the Run does have a quirky charm about it, and for now, I can see myself enjoying this.

GTO

GTO is of course a remake of the 1998 classic, itself an adaptation of the immensely popular manga series. In this treatment we see EXILE dance member AKIRA taking on the Onizuka mantle to right the wrongs in class 2-4. Former SweetS member and current adorable crush Takimoto Miori plays Fuyutsuki Azusa, Onizuka’s female contemporary. His former biker buddies are filled by ikemen veterans Shirota Yu and Yamamoto Yusuke, and class 2-4 is full of random up and coming young actors, chief among them is Kawaguchi Haruna as lead bitchlet Aizawa Miyabi.

If you’re at all familiar with Japanese culture, you pretty much already know what GTO is all about. Onizuka Eikichi, a former biker gang leader, becomes an unlikely high school teacher after impressing school chairwoman, Sakurai Ryoko. The school of course has a class that needs Onizuka’s harsh brand of justice and don’t-give-up attitude—the fabled 2-4. Onizuka is met with skepticism, discontent, and disrespect, but this won’t stop him from being the best teacher he can be and helping each and every student that needs their life changed.

GTO is probably going to be one of the more popular dramas this season and not unfoundedly so. It’s written rather well and acted just fine. AKIRA is surprisingly good in the role, which was originally supposed to go to Johnny’s upstart Akanishi Jin. The only problem I really have with AKIRA in this role is that he’s too old. Visibly, he doesn’t fit in with Shirota and Yamamoto as high school friends and old biker buddies, and is about 10 years too old to play opposite Takimoto. Everything else about AKIRA really works for me; he has that swagger and confidence I would expect from Onizuka, and the perfect attitude and presence to pull off the part—it’s just hard to look past his age. Elsewhere, there hasn’t been nearly enough Takimoto Miori for my tastes, so I hope this is addressed in future episodes. The class cast is well suited for their roles. Kawaguchi Haruna just looks like a bitch and is completely believable, and the other younglings chosen for the more important classroom parts haven’t done anything overtly wrong, yet. GTO set the stage for the heroic teacher/delinquent class trope over a decade ago. Remakes can obviously go wrong (AKB Hanakimi?), but I have faith that this update for the younger generation will fare just fine.

Higashino Keigo Mysteries

Riding out the slew of mystery dramas, this season we’re treated to a collection of one off stories penned by Japan’s premier mystery writer. Each episode is its own story, starring a different big name actor. The line-up of centers does look pretty stellar, including some favorites like Toda Erika, Hirosue Ryoko, Miura Haruma, and Shinohara Ryoko, just to name a few.

With each episode getting its own story, it’s hard to review it as a whole. I can say that the first couple of episodes are quite well done, though. The plots are some of Higashino’s more famous, so each mystery is written well with even pacing and difficult cases. The production has chosen some top notch actors for each episode, so the performances should be good throughout the season. The one thing tying each episode together is a frame story of our story guide, played by Nakai Kiichi, who has been murdered himself. Each episode shows a quick glimpse into the investigation of his murder, with him providing a key element to solving mysteries that will play a key role in the current episode’s plot. It’s an interesting device and is a tidy way to keep all the stories together.

Iki mo Dekinai Natsu

And so we come to the Takei Emi vehicle of the season. Iki mo stars Japan’s current it girl opposite Eguchi Yosuke in this human drama of unfortunate, and unusual, circumstances. Kaname Jun also appears, along with gravure favorite Hara Mikie (yay Mikie!). The show’s premise is almost completely lost on a western audience, but maybe Takei’s magic powers can save it.

The drama is based on an old piece of Japanese legislation that makes it hard for a very select number of people to live a normal life. Basically, if a child is born to a couple where the wife was previously married 300 days prior, the child will be registered on the previous husband’s family registry regardless of DNA and actual heredity. It sounds pretty backwards and messed up, but that’s the law. The show follows Takei Emi as Tanizaki Rei, a budding patisserie who happens to be a victim of this law. Though she’s unaware of it, she has no family registry—she doesn’t exist as a person to the country of Japan. Her mother’s hidden this from her all this time, and with a new job offer and chance to study in Paris, Tanizaki is suddenly facing this shocking crisis. Eguchi Yosuke plays Kiyama Ryuichiro, a worker at Tanizaki’s local ward office, who takes it up as a personal mission to help Tanizaki and her family deal with their dark past and get her on the right path—bureaucratically speaking.

I can’t really get behind this show. As much as love Takei Emi, this drama just feels so irksome and lackadaisical for me. I don’t mean to trivialize the situation, I’m sure it’s a very serious issue, especially in Japan; but, I just don’t find the whole thing that important and dramatic. It’s kind of a pisser to be kept off the family registry, learn dark secrets about your mother and feel like your world is crashing down—that part I can understand, but really that doesn’t get me past two episodes. This also might be the first time where I’m not enjoying Takei Emi’s performance. I find her acting in this to be over the top and far reaching. Watching her tear through the house looking for her health record and then collapsing on the street from all the stress…I just roll my eyes at it. Eguchi Yosuke, on the other hand, is a light in a dark tunnel. I find Eguchi’s performance to be reserved and subtle, giving the character a kind of soft realness. From what I understand from promos and the like, some sort of romance is supposed to develop between Takei and Eguchi’s characters, which could be interesting…but Im really not sure.

Majisuka Gakuen 3

I decided to include this show just so I can rant even more about it. If you’re an AKB48 fan, you’re undoubtedly already watching this regardless of reviews; and if you’re not an AKB48 fan, you probably have no use for this show anyway. This year, we’re treated to new leads in Shimazaki Haruka, her Team 4 mates, and a handful of SKE girls. It’s exactly the same, but completely different.

Majisuka Gakuen 3 is actually a reboot of the series and has nothing to do with first two seasons of the show. It also doesn’t take place in a school, go figure. What it is is another misguided vehicle for Akimoto Yasushi’s army of Idols. Set in the year 20XX, the Japanese government has passed laws that allow the creation of private, for profit prisons as well as condemning the youth of the nation—cus screw the youth, right? This season follows Paru, played by Shimazaki Haruka, as she is thrust into Majisuka Prison and her adventures being, reluctantly, the baddest in the land. The rest of the cast is filled out by other AKB and SKE girls, and this season is rumored to be the first appearance of NMB48 as well.

Of course this show is not good. It’s starting out to be exactly like the first season of Majisuka Gakuen, just with a completely different setting. Paru is Maeda, SKE’s Kizaki Yuria is taking Nacchu’s place, the school is a prison—it’s all the same. The first season was interesting and fun enough, idols beating the shit out of each other and being badass. But the first season had character, it had style, something this incarnation is definitely lacking. I really like Team 4, they’re great, but none of them can act yet, least of all Shimazaki. She’s basically playing herself (minus the fighting skills): cardboard and quiet. The rest of the girls so far have been used in a somewhat meh manner, with the exception of SKE’s Kimoto Kanon who might be one of the most annoying characters in Japanese dramas. The plot is, so far, contrived and unoriginal, but I don’t really expect much there. For this drama to become passable, even by lowered Idol show standards, it really needs to get its shit together. Non-AKB fans shouldn’t pay any attention to this and actual AKB fans will watch despite the crap—myself included.

Rich Man, Poor Woman

So lastly we have our star driven, younger generation, true sense of the word drama. Ishihara Satomi heads up the young cast alongside pretty playboy Oguri Shun and an extremely tan Aibu Saki. This show feels like your anticipated summer drama with an interesting yet easy plot and bankable stars, basically the kind of show you think of when you hear the words “Japanese drama”.

Ishihara Satomi stars as Sawaki Chihiro, a young woman currently attending Tokyo University and desperately looking for a job (aren’t we all?). She’s applied at over 50 companies with no luck and she’s starting to lose hope. On a whim, she applies at Next Innovation, the leading technology company in Japan, started by young genius Toru Hyuga (Oguri Shun) and his partner Asahina Kosuke (Iura Arata). On Toru’s side of the story, he’s been searching all his life for the mother that abandoned him as a baby, going only on the name Sawaki Chihiro. See what they did there? During the hiring event, Sawaki Chihiro is berated mercilessly by the flamboyant and unforgiving Toru until he hears her name. Also suffering from prosopagnosia, Toru is unable to remember most people’s names and faces—even his assistant reminds him who he is every day. But for some reason, Toru remembers Sawaki Chihiro. This unique link between Sawaki and Toru sets the two on a path of coincidence as they become entangled in each other’s lives…but Sawaki Chihiro isn’t everything she seems.

The drama overall is light, yet quite intriguing, a perfect combination of story and characters that makes for that ideal summer drama. Ishihara is one of my favorites, but here she’s turning in an even better performance. Usually relying on her cuteness and expressive face, rather than inherent acting ability, it’s nice to see Ishihara actually flexing some acting muscles here. She seems rather suited opposite Oguri with her naïveté and emotion playing nicely off his utter douchiness. Yeah, he’s a pretty big tool in this, but at the same time it’s more like a troubled genius thing. But regardless of his character’s misgivings, Shun is absolutely fantastic in this role. I haven’t seen a performance like this from Oguri Shun in ages. It’s to the point that when Hyuga Toru is angry, I’m terrified of him. In supporting roles, Iura Arata as Hyuga’s best friend and partner, Asahina, is average. Aibu Saki plays Asahina’s sister, a young chef opening a restaurant nearby who has designs on Toru. She’s quite cute and charming, how I usually picture Aibu roles, and as I said earlier, very tan (it’s noticeable!). The plot is pretty easy to follow, but pretty interesting once the show gets rolling. It’s dramatic, somewhat funny, and even a little mysterious. I have a feeling this is the show that will draw in the most casual drama fans with its accessibility, and I look forward to seeing it through.

While it’s a little late, those are the preliminary reviews for the current drama season. Rich Man, Poor Woman so far has been the standout of summer. The more I watch, the more I like. And as I’ve said in previous reviews, the highest compliment for a show is to want to watch another episode as soon one is over—and Rich Man has that in spades. GTO is also high atop the list, using a new recipe to bring the classic flavor.  Of course this is just a smattering of the dramas airing this season, and if there’s a show out there you think I should be watching, let me know!

Let’s face it. You see them on YouTube. You listen to them on your iPod. You wait in line for 12+ hours to get the best chance to see them in person. I’m sure many of you have even dreamed of becoming one of those sexy, popular K-Pop idols yourself! Well if you think you’ve got the talent, MBC Star Audition is back with Season 3 searching for contestants all around the globe, and in LA on August 12, 2012, you have the chance to show them off for a chance to be on this celebrated television show competing for cash prizes and a chance to debut as a K-Pop singer!

Star Audition is MBC’s answer to the popular talent finding reality shows that have been going strong for almost countless years. Star Audition separates itself from the competition by having industry representatives actually mentor the contestants on their way to Korean stardom. With famous artists and composers such as last season’s Lena Park and Yoon Il Sang, the opportunity to receive helpful one-on-one training from those who are experienced in their art is second to none. Not to mention, MBC is one of the most prestigious broadcasting companies in South Korea. Star Audition is definitely worth watching and auditioning for. In the later stages of the contest, you’ll even get a chance to perform live in front of thousands of people on stage competing for that grand prize and superstar fame. A chance to be flown to Korea and have your dreams come true? I bet you can’t wait to sign up.

“Hold on…” you say to yourself, you’ve got the skills and talent, but now you’re thinking, “There’s no way I’d meet the requirements!” Well, I’m here to tell you that anyone can apply and the only pre-requisite is that you can sing one song in Korean, but you don’t even have to be fluent in Korean. We know top Korean idols such as G.NA and Nicole of Kara who’s Korean was far from perfect. Now here’s your chance, hop on over to the MBC website linked below and you too can get on the road to K-Pop Stardom!

Application Link!

While the deadline is August 11th, they will still accept walk-in applicants in their search to find the talent they are searching for, so give it a try, and maybe you can be the next K-Pop star everyone’s watching!

If you need more info, just call (310) 243-6930, or hit up their Facebook page with the link below.

More Information!

Official Press Release

“MBC STAR AUDITION” SEASON 3 AUDITIONS IN LOS ANGELES

Auditions to be held on August 12, 2012

Los Angeles, CA, 7/6/12 – MBC is proud to present the 3rd season of “MBC Star Audition”,
Korea’s celebrated singing competition show. Contestants will be picked from all over the
globe to compete for a cash prize and a chance to debut as a pop singer in Korea.

The Los Angeles auditions will be held on Sunday, August 12, 2012. (Details including
time and location will be released soon.) Contestants who pass the initial audition phase
will be flown to Korea in September to compete against other finalists for the grand prize,
and an opportunity to become an international singing sensation. As the auditions move
along, finalists will be able to make dazzling appearances on stage to perform live in front
of thousands of people. Consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make your dreams
come true!

Finalists who travel to Korea will receive mentoring from notable Korean pop celebrities
– last season, singers such as Lena Park, Sun-Hee Lee (“Korea’s Sweetheart”), and K-
pop composer Yoon Il Sang (one of Korea’s most famed producers) participated in the
mentoring process. This mentorship program will allow finalists to receive one-on-one
training with industry professionals to further improve their knowledge and skills as they
reach for stardom.

The auditions are open to anyone, with no age, gender, or ethnicity requirements – the only
prerequisite is that contestants should be able to sing at least one song in Korean. Fluency
in Korean is not necessary, however.

On-line applications are available at MBC’s website:

http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/ent/audition3/LA/index.html

The deadline for application is August 11, 2012 – however, walk-in applicants on the day of
auditions are welcome as well.

For more information, please call (310) 243-6930, or visit:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MBC-Star-Audition-USA/136165133125177

Guys, Guys! It’s already July. The year is moving really fast, and so is music. I do write mostly about music, Japanese music to be exact, here on nandake; so since it is already the halfway point of 2012, I would like to run down some of my favorite Jpop releases so far this year.

Japanese music started off really slow this year. There weren’t many exceptional releases in the first quarter. However towards the second quarter we saw goooood stuff, some of which I featured in a previous article. Since then there has been a steady stream of good Jpop releases and I’m very glad it’s progressing this way. Here are my top releases so far this year.

Perfume – Spring of Life

Mmmm yes. I’ll say it now; Perfume is by far my favorite girl group. The AKBs and Momoclos are great, yes, but Perfume carries this air of elegance and class that captures me with almost every release. Nakata Yasutaka and Perfume have found and solidified their sound now. Spring of Life is that distinct technopop that Perfume has been branded with since they went major, but this time Nakata fiddled around a bit with techno elements. It’s quite subtle to not mess with their now mainstream and mature sound. But at the break it comes out, with the bouncy synth bass line that really hammers in the groove. You can’t help but to dance to this song.

http://www.perfume-web.jp/

Chatmonchy – Hatena

My connection with chatmonchy really fell off the past year and I completely stopped listening to them. The sudden departure of their drummer Takahashi Kumiko was quite a shock and I felt really bad because they used to be one of my mainstay favorite acts. Instead of replacing their drummer though, Chatmonchy is sticking to the duo format and has gone through a complete refresh, and they’re pulling me back in. Hatena has all the simple and cute charm that I took notice of when I first listened to Chatmonchy. But since they’re a duo, it’s completely stripped down and lo-fi with a drum kit, guitar, and a harmonica to accent everything. Hatena is a very solid, heartfelt release. It’s admirable they are continuing this way. Chatmonchy will definitely rise back up with this release.

http://www.chatmonchy.com/

80kidz – Turbo Town

Electronic band 80kidz turned a different musical direction with their album Turbo Town. It was pretty surprising to hear them go away from the hard-hitting progressive electronic style that most people were familiar with, like in 2009’s THIS IS MY SHIT and various remixes. Turbo Town incorporates a complete set of practical instruments and turns 80kidz into a straight rock band. It seems like 80kidz have found the perfect balance of rock and electronic. Turbo Town brilliantly moves through rock to electronic and back, with touches of post-rock inspired pieces in between. The overall tempo of the album has been taken down compared to their previous full albums, but overall Turbo Town is a solid album.

http://80kidz.net/

FLiP – Wonderland

FLiP is one of the most solid rock bands in Japan right now. Their third major single took a more mainstream approach, as it was used as a theme song for the anime Gintama. The Okinawan quartet’s usual hard rock approach was taken down a notch and the melodramatic melodies were replaced by a bit more of a positive and pop personality. Wonderland was different and sounded a little anisong, but I loved it. The song chugs along like your typical rock song but as it hits the chorus an explosion of awesome happens, and it’s what really carries this song. Hearing Sachiko powerfully belting out lyrics at the chorus with a positive vibe seals this release as a favorite.

http://www.flip-4.com/

Momoiro Clover Z – Moretsu Uchuu Kokyokyoku Dai 7 Gakusho “Mugen no Ai”

Momoiro Clover Z is rapidly rising to the top. They put on the best shows and have the best music; and as it is the “Idol Sengoku Jidai” right now, that’s frickin’ huge. Everyone knows Momoclo dabbles in all kinds of music styles, but with “Mugen no Ai” they’ve gone a step above all the idol groups. As Marty Friedman said, “Mugen no Ai” is the Bohemian Rhapsody of the idol world. Yeah, it’s that epic. Maeyamada Kenichi, or Hyadain, pulled all the stops when producing this piece. Momoiro Clover Z’s seventh major single is an amazing heavy metal rock opera, on a flying pirate ship, in space. There are metal breakdowns, twinkling electronic sequences, intense guitar wankery by Friedman himself, and a damn choir singing. The arrangement brilliantly captures the grand scale of this song. It’s a huge adventure. This is why Momoiro Clover Z is on their way to the top.

http://www.momoclo.net/

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – Pamyu Pamyu Revolution

Join the revolution. Kyary’s debut album is a total LOLfest. I don’t know how else to put it. Pamyu Pamyu Revolution is so silly, quirky, funny, cute, and whatever else that go with those words. You just can’t help but laugh and dance along with it. This album is perfectly Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and Nakata Yasutaka is a genius for taking Kyary’s outrageous image and turning it into music. Pamyu Pamyu Revolution is inspired by and themed like an amusement park. It could be pretty much the soundtrack to one. For this, Nakata pulled sounds from his old capsule works and more recent productions like Perfume and Coltemonikha; with a sprinkle of shibuya-kei plus random stuff that he probably thought would be funny to throw in. Somehow it all works and while baffling at first, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution quickly buries itself into the brain. This stuff is catchy, man. By the way, check out tenkei’s full review of it.

http://kyary.asobisystem.com/

Ken Arai – “Kagi no Kakatta Heya” Original Soundtrack

That’s right I’m including a soundtrack. Ken Arai recently produced the soundtrack to one of the best dramas of the Spring 2012 season, “Kagi no Kakatta Heya”. It’s a drama about locked room cases, so one would expect mysterious sounding songs with a creepy atmosphere. No. Ken Arai made an amazing electronic album and he forced the drama to go with it. There is a whole range of styles in this soundtrack. You got sick floor shaking complex electro tracks, cool fusion of acoustic and electronic pieces, rock-based electronic stuff, funk, breakbeat, and really cool pop that could easily be an instrumental to Nishino Kana song. Soundtracks are usually not very solid. There could be a few good songs here and there, but not the whole album. Ken Arai’s “Kagi no Kakatta Heya” soundtrack is definitely one of the few wholly solid ones.

http://www.addicted-tokyo.com/kenarai/

Tricot – Shougakusei to Uchuu (School children and the cosmo)

Girls playing rock music are already cool, what could be cooler? Girls playing math rock influenced indie rock. Aww yeah. With all this idol madness saturating the Jpop scene, I have neglected the really good stuff in the Japanese indie and underground. Tricot’s School children and the cosmo mini album reminded me there are still tons of amazing stuff to be discovered, and this is one of them. Math rock may sound weird, but the appeal is its complex stop-and-go time signatures and super tight rhythm sections. And while this is a big part of Tricot’s repertoire, the band still focuses a good bit on a driving melody, which trades back and forth with really fast spoken word style of delivering the lyrics. This album is damn cool.

http://tricot.tv/

Avengers in sci-fi – Yang 2 and Disc 4 The Seasons

Avengers in sci-fi has a very distinct sound. They play rock music, but it’s infused with a lot of electronic and dance elements. To put it simply, their sound is like a spaceship. When I first discovered them, I thought their sound was very unique, but I always wondered if they were able to keep up such a unique sound and not become stale, as if it was novelty. However with every release since then, they have impressed me with how they adjusted their music. These releases just continue that trend. Yang 2 was a digital single that almost got by undetected. It’s a fast moving electronic-rock piece that has a lot of good hooks and dance rhythms. Avengers in sci-fi put in some interesting harp use to reel you in, and then rocks you with some really catchy chant-like call and response motif. This is all layered with the band’s signature space-esque synthesizers and laser gun blasts; and supported by a pretty insane drum groove. Yang 2 is the lead track to the album that followed, Disc 4 The Seasons. Disc 4 The Seasons is Avengers in sci-fi’s best album yet. It displays how much the band has grown from just cool rock with space-themed synths, to a very well-balanced rock-electronic band of awesomeness with very catchy vocal melodies. Their sound has expanded to fit a larger scope. It feels really vast, like outer space, like futuristic technology stuff, like sci-fi. If Avengers in sci-fi aimed to fit their music to their name, this release nails it. And there are only three of them; that’s crazy!

http://www.avengers.jp/

There you have it, my top picks for the first half of 2012; some albums and some singles. By the way it’s picking up now, this year looks to be a pretty good for music. There are already a few great ones from this month alone. The second half of the year should be even better. Just how many of these will make it to the end of the year? If none make it, then damn, 2012 music is awesome. We’ll find out at the year’s end.

It’s the big 5-0 for Morning Musume! Their new release One Two Three marks the iconic Idol group’s 50^th single. It’s been nearly 15 years since Tsunku♂ put this little girl group together, and while the faces and the music have changed, Morning Musume has arrived at this landmark in style.

First thing I have to say is: holy crap. I’m not sure where this single came from, but in true hello!project style we have a completely surprising piece of wonderment on our hands (this isn’t always a good thing, mind you). My first impression a few weeks ago was mixed, but listening to the single now I don’t know why I was ever hesitant to approve of it (I think the shitty PV distracted me, honestly).

One Two Three is something I can wholeheartedly say I never imagined coming from Morning Musume. The group that I’ve gone on record as saying is done, over and past their time has put out simply a fantastic Idol record. The a-side is only hampered horrendously by its terrible and possibly cancer causing PV; besides that altogether skippable piece of crap the song is awesome. The first thing I’m want to compare it to is K-pop, but that’s only because there is not entirely a lot of J-pop with this record’s sound. It’s electro, it’s hip hop, it’s pop, it’s Idol—it’s some kind of Frankenstein amalgamation that works incredibly well. Unlike K-pop, it goes well beyond the 4-chord progression present in most of their urban techno fare and into something that is solely Idol, perhaps a sound patently hello!project. One thing’s for damn sure: I haven’t felt this good about a Morning Musume song in years.

The single’s other a-side (I dislike double a-sides), The Matenrou SHOW, is something you probably expect from Tsunku and his band of merry men—except it’s rather good. Overly disco, this track has all the trappings of a DANCE☆MAN production from the groovy bass line and funky strum on the guitars to the persistent saxophones. I grew a pair of polyester bell bottoms listening to this song. Negatively, the mix is out of whack and extremely loud on all fronts. I’m not sure if this was on purpose to fill the obvious platform shoes in which the song struts around so energetically, but it does bother me somewhat. However, the girls sound great and even Tsunku♂’s backing are right in place.

For b-sides, each generation has done their own thing. First up, the old ladies of the group, 6^th gen members Tanaka Reina and Michishige Sayumi have graced us with a humdinger. On one hand rockish and thumping, on the other hand poppy and chaotic, and all at once confusing, Watashi no Jidai! might be better than the a-sides of this single. Something about this track just sits really well for me. I’m not sure if it’s the heavily filtered instrumental (Daft Punk’s underwater bubble?) or just the fact that these two girls are my last link to an era gone by for this group. The only thing I can think to compare the arrangement to is happy hardcore. That racing tempo, melodies of what can only be described as an orchestra of synthesizer, head bopping and foot tapping sugary fun.

The 9^th gen girls’ b-side track is perhaps the most stereotypical hello!project sounding song on the single.AISARETAI NO NI… sounds pretty much what I expect any Morning Musume, Berryz, or C-ute song to really play out like. Some kind of generic electro synth rhythm, girls with stacked harmonies to make the track sound fuller, weird whisperings and an electric guitar solo wanking over the bridge. It’s pretty standard h!p: generic, somewhat bland, the cream of wheat of Idol pop.

The third generation specific track belongs of course to the newest batch of preteens to join Morning Musume’s ranks, the ‘Tenkigumi’. The overall feeling of this track is expressly happy, bubbly, kiddie pop; a genre within Idol pop I like to warmly refer to as loli-pop (see: old Berryz Koubou and C-ute, current Watarirouka Hashiritai). Seishun Domannaka has that prancy, theme park jaunt to it built by high pitched fanfares, boogie woogie pop piano and carnival line synths that twinkle, sparkle, and bounce through the background. The girls’ vocals work perfectly for the style of music, being full of youth and a buoyancy that could’ve kept the Titanic afloat. This type of production is reminiscent of what Nakata’s done for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu or what Akimoto’s done for Watarirouka; only not as devil-may-care turned genius as Nakata nor as saccharin and (sometimes) overwrought as Akimoto. It fits somewhere nicely in the middle, and I dig it.

I suppose it’s fitting that for their 50^th single Morning Musume comes back with such a strong release. I’ve been touting their downfall and the waning skills of Tsunku♂ for some time, but I’m always happy to eat my words when it results in something like this, a happy surprise of well done music. This is honestly the type of thing they should be doing, shaking up their status quo and experimenting. There’s a great mixture of new sounds and old hat on this record and it shows both what Tsunku♂ is capable of and what he was once known for.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt this way about a hello!project release and I wish they could make this my default reaction.

INFORMATION

モーニング娘。
One Two Three / The 摩天楼ショー
released 2012.07.04

Tracklist

01. One Two Three
02. The 摩天楼ショー
03A. 私の時代! (モーニング娘。ロッキーズ)
03B. アイサレタイノニ・・・(モーニング娘。Ｑ期)
03C.  青春ど真ん中 (モーニング娘。天気組)
04. One Two Three (Instrumental)
05. The 摩天楼ショー (Instrumental)

Affiliate link:
Buy Morning Musume’s One Two Three here!! 

I’ve been singing the praises of girl dance unit Happiness for over a year. With four singles under their bedazzled belts and already losing one member to “studies”, the six girls have just released their first album, Happy Time, and are hopefully on their way to stardom.

At first listen, Happy Time didn’t really grab me quite nearly as much as I was hoping. I’ve been quite the proponent of Happiness since they danced on to the scene in early 2011, so I was really hoping for their first album to give me that spark—but it just wasn’t there. This was only first listen though. The second time around I started to feel it more, the third time I was diggin’ it; it’s one of those kinds of albums.

The girls’ first full length feature is slickly produced dance pop, full of breaks, memorable hooks, and the ever sought after groove. The overall feel of the album is throwback dance r&b, vocal pop with a groovier edge perfect for the kind of group Happiness wants to be. Songs like I’m for you and Magic na…Love embody this feeling best. 80′s syncopation and easy 808 clap beats make up their backbone, with funky bass lines and multiple layers of housey synths to fill them out. Even with its taste of current club flavor—DJ friendly repetition, bankable beat builds and synth haven bridges to drop-in ready choruses—the latter track is covered in 80′s neon and glitter. A cover of SPEED’s classic Body & Soul helps the younger group’s retro cred still, full of the original flavor with the slightest updates and tweaks.

In all of the album’s upbeat numbers there is always quite a bit going on, enough to drive a reviewer trying to pick apart all the layers crazy; but, nothing feels overproduced. Every keyboard stab, orchestral transition, subtle twinkle, lilted synth, xylophone scale, break beat drum roll, and funky, dirty, crunchy bass swagger has its place—and that’s all one song, advanced single Wish (which was one of my top singles of 2011). Instrumental album opener Bigbang Breakout is akin to big brother group EXILE’s dancer anthem series of cuts. High energy, sequenced perfectly for the girls to show off their dance skills mid-concert, smoke and flashing strobes whizzing around them. Other busy tracks like r&b pop-rocker We Can Fly and groovy dance number Friends help round out the group’s repertoire.

The girls are able to show off their vocals more as the album slows down with mid-album tracks Shining, Spica and Kiss Me. While the arrangements are still full, it’s nice to hear more singing. Shining in particular is a stand out among the ballads on the album, balancing the lower tempo with the r&b production. Spica on the other hand feels generic and somewhat boring. A big piano ballad with light string accents, it feels lost in the overarching scope of the album. Have a Good Time is another track that feels shuffled into the wrong deck. While not a bad song itself, I’m just not sure it’s in line with Happiness’s image and style. It sounds more like something any one of the many idol groups could have done better with.

I’ve been touting Happiness as the spiritual successor to my beloved SweetS, and while some may feel that Fairies is better suited for the title, I stick to my guns. The girls have put out quite a nice first effort with Happy Time. I may have almost pushed it aside after the first run through, but it grew on me with each listen. The girls are certainly talented dancers and their performance heightens the enjoyment that much further, but the music itself is not to be overlooked. We all know I’m a sucker for retro, old school sounds, and while this record may not be on JYP’s level, it still evokes that back in the day swing and drive that get’s my fingers typing the praise. It’s not yet been two years since their debut, but I hope and feel that Happiness has a bright future ahead of them.

INFORMATION

Happiness
Happy Time
released 2012.06.20

Tracklist

01. Bigbang Breakout (Instrumental)
02.  I’m for you
03. Friends
04. Wish
05. Shining
06. Spica
07. Kiss Me
08. We Can Fly
09. Alive
10. Magicな…Love
11. Have A Good Time
12. Body & Soul
13. Perfect Smile
14. Happy Talk (2011 Version)

Affiliate Link:
Purchase Happiness’s Happy Time here!!

For a while now I’ve been searching for a small bag to take on day trips, small outings, and other fun stuff like that. Recently I found one such bag from Herschel Supply Co. Hit the jump to find out if this bag is the one.

Even though I don’t carry a lot of stuff, I like bags. I have several backpacks and messenger bags, but one I always liked but never had was a hip bag… or waist pack, or lumbar pack. Whatever the hell you wanna call it, I’ve always wanted a damn fanny pack. Problem is, the things are considered fashion faux pas, and are often associated with out-of-place tourists and old people. They also look terrible, like ugly fake leather or unnecessary mesh and straps all over the place. Fanny packs are seeing a resurgence recently though, and are already pretty widely used in places like Asia. In the West, bag company Herschel Supply Co. has taken the initiative with their entry, the Eighteen.

Herschel Supply Co. is a pretty new company (founded in 2009) and focuses on simple and timeless looking bags. The Eighteen certainly fits that description, featuring two small zipper pockets to accompany the main compartment. The back is mesh-lined and padded for comfort. The bag has pretty low profile adjustable straps on the sides and the bottom, to be used for holding water bottles, hooking stuff on, and whatever else you want, really. On the inside, we get Herschel’s signature striped lining (that’s found on all their bags) for a nice pop of color. Zippers are pretty standard zippers you would find on any other bag, but also has decent leather zipper pulls which is a nice detail. The compression buckle is a nice proportionate size, and of course the straps are fully adjustable. The Eighteen comes in a variety of colors, both solid and two tone. There is also a camo version made with tougher Cordura fabrics.

The bag seems like a perfect match for what I’ve been looking for, however it has a few shortcomings. The front pockets have extra coverings for the zipper, which makes it hard to open the pocket all the way; kind of a hindrance there. The inside compartment is plain and could use a small card pocket or pen holsters. The biggest knock I have for it is the bag’s size itself. It’s just a hair too small for my 10 inch tablet. An inch of two bigger in the main compartment and this bag would have been a total winner.

Overall though, the Herschel Eighteen is a nice, versatile little bag. Its shape allows it to be worn on your hip, or slung over your shoulder, which is probably how I’ll wear it most of the time. The buckle makes it easy for the bag to come off, and it’s probably why I wanted a bag like this in the first place: versatility and convenience. Backpacks are nice and can hold a lot of crap, but when I needed to grab something out real quick like my camera, it’s a bit of a hassle (yeah I’m lazy). Messenger bags are pretty quick access, but I’ve always found them awkward and I never really felt comfortable using them. This bag will definitely get a lot of use from me, but it’s still not the one. The search goes on.

The Herschel Eighteen retail for $35-45 from various stores.

Eighteen at Herschel Supply Co.
Eighteen at Zappos
Eighteen at Amazon