The J-Pop Thread

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.

zappi - similar shows, probably not, which is why I've been praying for months and months for this to be subbed. she's laidback friends with the director dude, they aired this show in an obscure slot late at night, no other idol really talks money and raw industry chat like her, or if they tried they wouldn't do it with the same wit. I mean there are other shows where the idols make fun of themselves and do wacky stuff but it's innocent fluff in comparison. there's hope more eps of this will be subbed.

maresnest - hmmm, was the docu just about her?

I'm not totally sure, but I think so, I heard it mentioned in a podcast ages ago and I've wanted to see it ever since.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Va228UhRs

Merch already exists quoting the song

http://www.lookhuman.com/render/product/0901/0901064858802080/bb453wp-w484h484z1-56916-we-are-not-helpless-girls.jpg

wearing that right now tbh

This is really j-rock, not j-pop, but who can resist a name like ROLLICKSOME SCHEME?

http://open.spotify.com/album/2fwafN66NaKnvJq9z1jYjR

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

And another one in a similar vein but a little heavier: Trill-Dan.

http://open.spotify.com/album/3V5SlpNV0TIN4HbkrNgEUr

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

new Dempagumi, sounds a lot like MomoClo from 2 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOin4bwUQ5c

yea, I dig it. hard to top "sakura apparation" but I'm always up for more light-speed dempagumi tracks.

This is so good I feel like talking about it for days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDEl77WMY8

If that didn't load, Charisma.com VS Tempura Kidz http://youtu.be/NDEl77WMY8Q

That is fantastic

wow!

echoing everyone - music video of the year right there

Mummies! This is awesome. What is it pastiching? Are there 80s Japanese music videos that look like this?

I get Michael Jackson vibes from that bit but idk really

The video was produced by NAGOYA TV and parodies the what the late-night music program BOMBER-E would have looked like in the 80s.

The lyrics talk about people who are like “mummies” wrapped in bandages that are just an empty shell and have no free will of their own. They want to kill them.

http://aramajapan.com/news/tempura-kidz-vs-charisma-com-in-new-80s-inspired-video-for-miirakiraa/4084/