The J-Pop Thread

yeah, I'm honestly not super into indie/shoegaze/etc. and the last 50mins of that dots single aren't particularly compelling noise music either (imo)... but I still appreciate that they went there. the initial back-and-forth between songs and drones is fun too, yeah. I like the interlude w the locust hums <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq16jUhk9As
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jilbr-dW2Cc

monari from especia's solo album is quite nice

hell yeah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol-P9BxDHuw

had completely missed that there was a new FAMM'IN track in march. a bit disjointed and not quite as transcendent as circle but still a lot to like

Hey Zappi, thanks for recommending CRCK/LCKS above! They're kicking my ass with jazz chords

FAMM'IN still feels slightly 'off' to me (the concept's promising but I think they need to go the full Dawn Richard or something, both musically and visually). But I did discover FEMM as a result so I'm grateful for that. FEMM's new album is going to be all covers of classic J-Pop songs from the 80s and 90s:
http://aramajapan.com/news/music/femm-announces-new-album-80s90s-j-pop-revival-releases-new-single/80961/

The cover of 'Roman Hikou' is sounding pretty great to these ears.

new Tentenko single rules, produced by the same people behind Goodbye Good Girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJSP6aEo7_o

Wow, that's great, v '80s Hasono sophistipop vibe.

New YMM, more than just a bit Talking Heads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgXMDYXRq5A&feature=share

Oh, the EP is apparently called Talking Hits *slaps forehead*

last 2 links have been great :D

Had that YMM song in my head all weekend, love how they took that Remain In Light sound and made a jpop song out of it.

new Keyakizaka46 so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Cvad9iPRQ

Getting a “this video is not available in your country “ message when I clicked on that (I am in US)

works ok for me! (uk)
and i'm happy for it, it's absolutely gorgeous

Will look for it elsewhere

albums on spotify here, and it rules too

first KPP single I've liked in... years, now? oof.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWxrIblJHO0

but this one's good!

Maison Book Girl UK tour dates next month!

5/16 : Hare & Hounds at Birmingham
5/17 : East Street Tap at Brighton (Alternative Escape)
5/18 : The Arch at Brighton (The Great Escape)
5/19 : Boston Music Room at London
5/20：Banquet Records Instore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-85OdVKkIao

never heard them before but I like the sound - proggy chamber pop idols is a new one

Ha, zappi, I was just gonna post those dates! I'm completely skint but very much eyeing up the Birmingham show.

Yeh I’m too sick to go myself, so I encourage others to go in my place!
At least the 7” is now up for order, even I can manage that lol https://readtheairrecords.bigcartel.com/

kyary interview and song http://www.papermag.com/kyary-pamyu-pamyu-2573616884.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCaC2a5_jWo

Five years old now but love this and the Perfume samples

Massive jam

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

really into this wonky Jackson 5 rip, unexpected Sarah Records reference at the end of the MV too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Qpx4nQiBc

new KOTO record is unbelievable, just too good for this world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7xKs92IMsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6PO6Eep9NA

also liking this retro tentenko ballad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8mkCgkAB6w

Wow @ "BBQ"!

Another acronym song, "U.S.A." by Da Pump, was subtly dissed by The Japan Times

- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/07/18/music/da-pump-scores-unexpected-summer-hit-u-s

Loving that KOTO record. Someone nominate it for the EOY poll.

i am really enjoying Koutei Camera Girl Drei's mini-album New Way of Lovin'

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

driving techno-idol pop epic "Toronto Lot" is the highlight, probably going to make my EOY ballot

yeh Toronto Lot is one of my top tracks from 2018, although I tend to skip the first minute intro
Girlz Can't is also killer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaof0Urpmp8

Just when you thought the AKB universe couldn't get any more toxic:

Biggest controversy on Japanese internet (and now, finally, in Japanese media) involves the targeted assault of Yamaguchi Maho, a member of the Niigata-based idol group NGT48, a sister group of AKB48 (which I think Westerners are more familiar with). #山口真帆

— Kat Bee (@katbeee) January 10, 2019

I'd never thght I wld post this: my 13 yo is obsessed with k-pop. It's like my dEUS obsession multiplied by pi.

xp Yes, but the reactions since that tweet 8 days ago have also been stronger and different from before, signalling a shift of some kind. The story didn't go away, the company was forced to respond, the manager was removed, Japanese media have had to tackle it

new kyary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9hGYrc0GYI

really like the way this new Chai song gets messy in the middle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCOh2r6ML0

The more Momoiro Clover Z live clips I watch the less I understand what's going on.

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

i didn't entirely get it, but i feel like i sort of half got it. is the song about feeling unloved and abandoned in a "black day" sense but instead of just moping about it and spiraling, also praying to the shinto god raijin to gain strength from their experience?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZfMQ-ydw28

Rinne Yoshida - "Mu"

fun dance pop produced by Wednesday Campanella's Kenmochi Hidefumi

Oh yeah the ne w Denpa track is a frenetic banger of the old skool style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgUm0xYI6fU&

Sakanaction, delightful as always:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxqYUbNR-c0

^^ love that

Dempagumi reaching next level of brilliance here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4JOIgA1XHd6BPtv3kkEDzl?si=BoBge8FFTt-MJpU_y5M5HA

tune

that rules

Can anyone give me any insight into this 3776 album Saijiki? It’s getting buzz on Rym. I can only find it on YouTube. I’m new to j-pop and Idol groups in general but what I understand is they were once a larger group now it’s one girl and a producer. The cover and name are all representing mt. Fuji in shape and size. Lots going on musically, sounds like Stereolab with tons of odd time elements at play. Any insight beyond that? I kind of love it but am pretty unsure of exactly what I’m getting into here. Couldn’t find much discussion.

https://youtu.be/Bv-V9tD8gdc

Can anyone give me any insight into this 3776 album Saijiki? It’s getting buzz on Rym. I can only find it on YouTube. I’m new to j-pop and Idol groups in general but what I understand is they were once a larger group now it’s one girl and a producer. The cover and name are all representing mt. Fuji in shape and size. Lots going on musically, sounds like Stereolab with tons of odd time elements at play. Any insight beyond that? I kind of love it but am pretty unsure of exactly what I’m getting into here. Couldn’t find much discussion.

https://youtu.be/Bv-V9tD8gdc

i haven't heard much of the album yet (have been aware of the rym buzz which is usually worth checking out when it's something like this) but there's a long history of vaguely experimental and underground groups that still cling to the "idol pop" form and this seems to be in that tradition, if weirder than usual. i did do a bit of searching and find that there's a few places that claim that Akira Ishida, the songwriter and producer, is the famous voice actor of the same name but i don't think that's actually the case.

yeh I've been following 3776 for a few years now. they started as a "local idol" group to promote Fujinomiya, a city at the base of Mt Fuji, but the group has since become more of an arty postpunk group with the duo of Chiyono & Akira.
they use a lot of Fuji imagery in the lyrics and the number 3776 in their songs e.g. in the below song during the breakdown about 90 seconds in Chiyono counts out measures of 3,7,7 and 6 before 1234ing back into the song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2UcGmhVnpI

their discography has all sorts of neat twists & turns e.g. there's a pretty bossanova e.p. so just dig around, there's lots of great stuff to discover. No idea what's going on with the new album though lol, sounds like she's constantly saying animal names?
Oh and Chiyono also made a really solo album (produced by Akira of course)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9x8cIwypFs

ok reading up on the new album's concept and wtf!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saijiki
so it's a chronicle of a year, every 12 seconds is a day (counted out by one zodiac sign per second, hence the animals)
each of the 12 songs roughly the length of that month, i.e. in seconds x 12