The J-Pop Thread

Yeah that's an oddly f itting end to the great experiment that was BiS. Will have to write some more once it's all over.

The new Especia is gorgeous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e089x6ba1Zo

that's great. sounds a little like some of the slicker tokyo girls' style singles to me.

Charisma.com album out in one month (June 4), excited! The EP was super good all the way through.

that EP got a super limited vinyl pressing for RSD btw, not that I'll ever see a copy :/

another week, another great track from this especia album that can't come out soon enough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQz4GIOB8gg&feature=youtu.be

LOVE the video too

Yngwie Malmsteen is playing guitar on the rerecording of MomoClo's "Mugen no Ai" lol
not really feeling this new Perfume song tbh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0XFiU3i1vM

hahaha hilarious yngwie x momoclo news. I am actually pretty curious about how that one out, but y'know, friedman already shreds p hard!!

really dig perfume when they're at their sweetest and the production is as bright as shiny as possible, so that one is actually sounding real nice to me after the EDM onslaught of their last one (which I do like too...)

Yeh I'll probably end up loving it by the end of the week haha

I'm so bummed there is hardly any of this stuff on Spotify

Don't love the Perfume song yet...it sounds too much like a song from a TV show for pre-K children. When the Tom Tom Club-ish keyboard bit comes in at the very end of that clip it improves a lot, but the first minute or so is rough. I'll need to hear the full-length version.

Perfume are like a drug to me, I'm helpless to resist. Plus my wife's name is Merry. A+

yea I've already played that short clip a ton. have gotten back into the complete best comp of early stuff in a major way lately, so I think that's made me especially happy about this change in their sound. hope it's not a one-off, I'd love an album in this style.

Full version! https://a.tumblr.com/tumblr_n5vmttYWZ71t5237ro1.mp3#_=_

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoJVENqCAAAtEiA.jpg:large

hmmm interesting a 4 track EP? hope they make a PV for each track!

new Charisma.com track, album is out in two weeks I think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1_8zHnvudc

Horrible: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27572723

Two members of popular Japanese pop group AKB48 were injured after a fan attacked them with a saw.

Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were meeting with fans in the northern city of Takizawa on Sunday when a man lunged forward and slashed them.

They sustained cuts on their hands and heads, reported Kyodo. A male staff member was also cut on his hand.

I saw about that on one of the AKB48 news Twitter feeds and couldn't believe it. Jebus.

yikes that's awful, glad that no one got seriously injured
Alice one half of the duo ClariS is quitting to focus on studying, no word yet on what the other member Clara is going to do. Find their story interesting - discovered by a record company via karaoke videos on Nico Nico, no photos exist and they have always been represented by cartoon drawings, supposedly even their closest friends have no idea that they have been singing professionally for 3+ years?

those akb meet and greets are fucked. men ejaculating into their palms before shaking hands with a group member, groping, sexual advances towards preteens etcetc. hopefully after this people in japan will begin to more thoroughly scrutinise the idol industry and the misogynistic attitudes that permeate it

hopefully but I'm not really betting on it. at least this guy didn't have a gun :-/

Well yes there are many problematic aspects to how this business is run and its fanbase acts but it seems this guy was just after a random, big mass of people to attack, if news is to trust.

If you're a brit be sure to check out the two UK dates tricot have added to their schedule http://ro69.jp/news/detail/102821?rtw

Shiina Ringo covering Utada is really touching to me for some reason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRHioDs1E08

Babymetal is starting to really nail their peculiar formula now. I see Ned discovered them three years ago - ahead of the curve as usual.

live stream, Charisma.com on right now, BiS on later http://sp-stream.2-5-d.jp/

listening to the charisma.com album right now, think I like this even more than the EP (which I loved).

especia album kills

yeah, it's awesome. just from the funky, fusion-ey intro into a top-notch slow jam, I knew I was gonna love this one. still need to digest it all and I don't love every track (it's a long album), but overall, yeah, def kills. and this is coming from someone that's a little picky when it comes to classic 80s 'city pop'. I don't think this is a strictly retro album even if it's working with retro sounds and I like the variety across the whole album.

excited for the charisma.com album! new single has an aggressive 90s rave thing going on that I dig. but I hope they still do the summery throwback jams like 'OLHERO' - easily my fave cut from the ep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh8y-K-xC-E

wobbley

Oh my, the Especia album is tremendous! Was seat dancing on the train like an idiot!

For a very effective introduction to BiS I recommend this crazy TV appearance (hosted by AKB's general director for max contrast) w many highlights

1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObwZguGX7Qc
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19Ro_mnyJ2g

haha Saki impersonating MomoClo!
also there's a video for the recent recording of 'Nerve', including a nice scene where the only 2 original members Pour Lui & Nozomi wear their costumes from the original Nerve video from 3 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5C8xFyLS18

I want to go to gigs on boats pls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtOyrpas5UI

Ok I'm watching tricot covering Let It Go..

A very weird live show of theirs is being streamed atm http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ssmobile2

Babymetal has announced an L.A. show—waiting for an NY announcement now...

promising start for new black metal/darkwave (!) idol unit NECRONOMIDOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88BXeo1ogo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_z6G_h59_w

Perfume are playing New York and L.A. in November.

YES

ALl americans must go

going LA to London to NYC with a couple of days in between is a bit daft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbq2ZhZ5Wwge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHdS83J50VE

Sashihara no Ran - that weird show where AKB's #1 of last year Sashihara Rino goes around poking at things in the industry to show things idols normally don't finally gets an episode subbed. It's a great show, she all natural in trash talking with her sidekick the director, who's got his own agenda and is clearly set on making original tv first and foremost (show was aired late on a minor station). They try and fail to get a number of projects going although she did manage to haggle her way to making a photobook. In this ep it's the lucrative mascot biz

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t1.0-9/q71/s720x720/10482856_874100665952180_6838167968583963735_n.jpg
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21f3yb_aidol-140226-sashihara-no-ran-ep20_fun#from=embediframe

hahaha

hugely into suiyoubi no campanella right now. a little like charisma.com but the production is more melodic/pretty/idm and the vox are rawer. the videos are kinda neat too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpLgEQig1AE

Sounds nice. Charisma.com is a bit hit and miss for me, some huge songs though.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsYG0GICMAAXp_T.jpg:large
tricot have finished their European tour and it's gone very well. Two of the festival shows were streamed live, can't find full uploads yet. Here's a sample

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgicmlvYvw4

at Madame Jo's http://youtu.be/xOoiE386D38
More @ Pohoda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUcIJqd6qhQ

With Pixies @ Eden
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsJVbEPIQAAO0um.jpg:large

Really digging that Suiyoubi no Campanella track, the contrast between the smooth electro & her raw vocals work so well.
Sashihara no Ran TV show was interesting, I have no use for AKB style idol music/culture but would watch more of that. abcsfk do you have any other recommendations of similar TV shows that have been subbed?

Does anybody know if there is a subbed version of the documentary about the least popular AKB girl losing her mind, kicking around the net? It's about 4 years old, dying to see it.