The J-Pop Thread

And yes, that's some bad fact checking. University press too.

Had you seen this author's name previously?

There's a whole chapter on Misora Hibari.

certainly no way around that

new perfume!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCwzIJnJnFI

This one is way better than "Spending All My Time" imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCjcmOR1lT4

Kind of weird how Spending/Hurly Burly/Point all sound old-fashioned in different ways.

yeah, I don't care for "spending all my time" at all, really. seems like a kind of lame and late to the game attempt to jump on the sound that's been all over pop music for a few years now. admittedly I don't like this sound anyway...

"point" and "hurly burly" are fun tho.

But Spending All My Time still doesn't sound remotely like 'the sound' it's referencing, I mean, it's there in some form but the song otherwise more or less ignores it and the result is so different from that.

yeah, maybe my hatred of those synth stabs is causing me to overreact but this sounds like a nakata rihanna remix to me. smoother and less frenzied, and yeah, agreed that the result isn't a carbon copy. but there's enough in the final product to irritate me.

but like I said, I'm a grouch about these productions in general.

I like "Spending All My Time" way more than "Point." Too skittery and herky-jerky for me; the beat works against their vocal style.

Maybe that's the point.

(I don't like it either, but I never got the Perfume bug.)

not perfume or particularly perfume-esque, but here is the song most listened to by my group of friends in japan this time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiyDCdpDQ5c

whoa i was not expecting that to become an american football song

Did the world need an instrumental hiphop mixtape made from Kyary Pamyu Pamyu samples? No, but it's fun nonetheless.
http://makebelievemelodies.com/?p=7606

Have I posted this link before? Blog of the author of a book I'm reading on the roots of Jpop:

http://bourdaghs.com/blog/category/j-pop/

Probably leans more to the artier side of the spectrum than a lot of the regulars here would prefer, however. I'm happy I discovered a new Zazen Boys song this way.

new Sakanaction single
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AozElbRnTM

I just watched that from the Bourdaghs blog. The video is kind of interesting as it goes on, but not enough to carry this type of song for me. I like the bass player's hair!

The Bourdaghs book I mentioned earlier is good by the way. Every time I read anything remotely historical it reminds me of how utterly ignorant I am of everything. It gets into fascinating issues of how Japan's national identity necessarily shifted after the war, and the sort of backing off from a pan-Asian cultural approach (not a term from the author and probably not how he would say it) in the wake of Japan's lost empire in Asia. What do I know of imperial Japan? Essentially nothing.

The Korean musical roots of enka. . .

Stuff like that.

was hedging on buying that. but yeah, sold.

Genuinely amazing scenes as Perfume takes on the 'Rock In Japan' fest

http://youtu.be/Gvgh7jn1Atw
http://youtu.be/tuuJvSaJseY

holy crap

New Kyary Pamyu Pamyu video; it's called "Fashion Monster."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GivkxpAVVC4

!

I'll say it again: WOW.

I've always enjoyed this band's catchy singles but couldn't really call them anything special - catchy straight j-rock by the book. This year, though.. 8 months after this song's release I can confidently say it's a Big Song. The instrumental hook is soo satisfyingly huge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ufh2CL-K4k

Also I'm seeing Perfume live in a month omg.

Also I'm seeing Perfume live in a month omg.

!!!

x-post

I kind of like that. The vocal sound, especially when they all sing together, is what stands out the most to me. Would you agree it's a little out of the ordinary, or no? I'm not familiar enough with j-rock/j-pop to say. I could almost see them go j-country or something.

(I wish I could learn to drink the perfume kool aid. You all seem to have so much fun with it.)

Yeah, the huge contrast between the two lead vocals make for fun dynamics on some of their tracks. Some people don't like the bassist's chipmunky voice but it stands out when used in harmony. She does a fun track on their new album http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xtx34u_scandal-kill-the-virgin-queens-are-trumps-track-06_music

Here's the Perfume crowd pleasing at Rock in Japan re-uploaded http://vimeo.com/49485967

I'll see them at a much smaller venue, but I'm sure it'll be a party.

loving this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmzfKSlv0ss

Bourdaghs apparently considers this a very important early j-pop (qua j-pop) single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C2-me3pC18

but he goes off on more unhinged critical theory/cultural studies* type rambling to justify it than probably anywhere else in the book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWSbfCPkTBk

<3 MomoClo, especially after reading this blogpost about how their manager used tactics usually found on the pro-wrestling circuit to promote them - interesting how mainstream they've become in the last year
http://patrickmacias.blogs.com/er/2011/11/on-momoiro-clover-z.html

With a ludicrous 5 minute metal epic and a 7 minute long, oddly shaped feminist-ish rock anthem written and produced by Yakushimaru Etsuko, so it's not like they've 'sold out' either. I genuinely thought the latter was too inaccessible and lacking in obvious hooks for a band approaching star status in the country, but it's the first physical single of theirs to break 100k sold.

This new one ("Farewell My Sorrows") sounds pretty conventional in comparison, but rocks.

looking fwd to playing "santa san" around xmas time

ayo zappi i love that song you posted upthread

these are mostly rearranged miku songs right?

like this is the most insanely up my alley thing in the world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOrzlgiPkbc

Yeah that's great.

And this is super nice, early Utada vibes http://www.wat.tv/video/miliyah-kato-konya-wa-boogie-5ccnb_2ey5f_.html

'UK Rampage'? what the hey. good song, I would take a risk on that album if I saw it

SF Amoeba's J-pop section has shrunk to a meaningless size, it's basically just a used section. shouldn't have to be that way.

The group's name is actually called "Rampage Tangible" or "Tangible Rampage" - I downloaded the album and made it about halfway through. It's not all as weird as that song; a lot of it is jazz-funk-prog, but there are a bunch of guest vocalists, some better than others.

Queen Utada is on a hiatus but releases a new song as theme for Evangelion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWLGEU5cfd8

I have now been to a Perfume concert. I have now lived life.

Still living on that high. My itunes and youtube play count is now absurdly slanted in favor of this group. Qhen you've experienced concerts with artists whose fan bases are as exstatic, ready to jump and dance and be 'on' the entire show you kinda don't want live music to be any other way.

Needless to say 'Fake It' exploded onto the crowd.

Thought this was a nice reminder of how they struggled for a long time in obscurity even after establishing their trademark sound and releasing some of my favorite singles.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8dtgnQXdn1qa23ffo1_500.jpg

line up for New Year’s Eve program "The 63rd Kohaku Uta Gassen" announced, no K-Pop this year as far as i can tell
(numbers in brackets are amount of times they've been on the program including this year)

Red Team (Female)

aiko (11)
Ayaka (6)
Ikimonogakari (5)
Ishikawa Sayuri (35)
AKB48 (5)
SKE48 (1)
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (1)
Koizai Kaori (16)
Koda Kumi (8)
Godai Natsuko (19)
Sakamoto Fuyumi (24)
Tendo Yoshimi (17)
Nakashima Mika (9)
Nishino Kana (3)
Perfume (5)
Hamasaki Ayumi (14)
Fuji Ayako (18)
Princess Princess (1)
Mizuki Nana (4)
Mizumori Kaori (10)
Momoiro Clover Z (1)
YUI (1)
YUKI (1)
Yuki Saori (13)
Wada Akiko (36)

White Team (Male)

Arashi (4)
Itsuki Hiroshi (42)
HY (2)
EXILE (8)
NYC (4)
Kanjani 8 (1)
Kitajima Saburo (49)
Go Hiromi (25)
Golden Bomber (1)
Kobukuro (7)
Saito Kazuyoshi (1)
Sandaime J Soul Brothers (1)
SMAP (20)
Tachi Hiroshi (2)
TOKIO (19)
Tokunaga Hideaki (7)
AAA (3)
Naoto Inti Raymi (1)
Hikawa Kiyoshi (13)
FUNKY MONKEY BABYS (4)
Fukuyama Masaharu (5)
Hosokawa Takashi (36)
Porno Graffitti (11)
Miwa Akihiro (1)
Mori Shinichi (45)

There was a big number made out of the no k-pop thing earlier with some insiders saying it's because of political reasons which seems massively dumb to me - better if they'd jut decided that Kohaku is just for Japanese artists as a rule.

Nice to see MomoClo there though.

really surprised that its YUKI's first time? maybe she turned them down before, idk. Want to see Perfume, MomoClo, Kyary. and lol Golden Bomber, they are so terrible.

Yeah that's surprising. Some people do decline though.

Kyary's getting everything easy in her career so far, huh? Album sales surpassed expectations and now an early invitation. Feels like the similarly novel MomoClo had to work harder to get here. Not a dig and I've never placed much value in these spots but it's an argument that could be made.

Kyary has like two good songs so I'd agree with that.