Nowadays it would be hard to pick favorites. Instead, I'll give you the five bands I listened to the most in 2009: Grizzly Bear, Mates of State, Animal Collective, Anathallo, and Minus the Bear. Maybe my tastes aren't as eclectic as I wish they were, but that is quickly changing.
Ever since Jess and I finally got serious about getting a job in Japan, I had no intention of stopping at just getting employed. In the past six months or so, I've done more historical research, learned more Japanese, watched more films, and listened to more music from Japan than I have in the entirety of my decade-long infatuation (embarrassing proof circa 2002) with the country.
Most of you out there are probably familiar with Japanese movies and television on some level, whether you're into the great samurai westerns from the 50s and 60s, or you're just an otaku. Either way, Western perception of Japanese visual culture is generally more favorable than their view of Japanese music. High sucrose bubblegum pop is probably what you have in mind, and you're not necessarily wrong. That dreck is legion over there. Here's a song (title means "Ponytail and Scrunchie") that reached #1 on Billboard's Japan Hot 100 a few weeks ago:
Dreadful. This particular group, AKB48, contains three groups (A, K, and B) of 16 girls each. That's a 48 member strong pop group, folks. They perform atrocities like the one above at daily performances in Tokyo's Akihabara district, sort of like Penn and Teller in Vegas. Or Garth Brooks.
I am happy to say that while this garbage exists, so does some really fantastic music.
This is Happy End, and they certainly make me happy. The song is "I Want to Hold You," the first track off of their 1971 album, KAZEMACHI ROMAN (Windy City Romance). Rolling Stone Japan was kind enough to rate this album as #1 on their first-ever list of the 100 greatest Japanese rock albums of all time, way back in...2007. Actually, if you have seen LOST IN TRANSLATION, you've already heard your first Happy End song! Rejoice!
Sound familiar?
These guys are the band apart, an indie group from Tokyo.
I loves them.
And to top it all off, here is YMCK, an 8-bit electronica group. Note the sick groove that kicks in at 0:15.
I could sit here all night and post music, but I'll leave you with this tiny sample instead. Here's a list of some of the other Japanese bands I've discovered recently: Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Mr. Children, eastern youth, Number Girl, Maximum the Hormone, and POLYSICS. And there are so many more to discover!
By the time I actually get to Japan, I'll have a nice tall list of bands I want to see live!
Ever since Jess and I finally got serious about getting a job in Japan, I had no intention of stopping at just getting employed. In the past six months or so, I've done more historical research, learned more Japanese, watched more films, and listened to more music from Japan than I have in the entirety of my decade-long infatuation (embarrassing proof circa 2002) with the country.
Most of you out there are probably familiar with Japanese movies and television on some level, whether you're into the great samurai westerns from the 50s and 60s, or you're just an otaku. Either way, Western perception of Japanese visual culture is generally more favorable than their view of Japanese music. High sucrose bubblegum pop is probably what you have in mind, and you're not necessarily wrong. That dreck is legion over there. Here's a song (title means "Ponytail and Scrunchie") that reached #1 on Billboard's Japan Hot 100 a few weeks ago:
Dreadful. This particular group, AKB48, contains three groups (A, K, and B) of 16 girls each. That's a 48 member strong pop group, folks. They perform atrocities like the one above at daily performances in Tokyo's Akihabara district, sort of like Penn and Teller in Vegas. Or Garth Brooks.
I am happy to say that while this garbage exists, so does some really fantastic music.
This is Happy End, and they certainly make me happy. The song is "I Want to Hold You," the first track off of their 1971 album, KAZEMACHI ROMAN (Windy City Romance). Rolling Stone Japan was kind enough to rate this album as #1 on their first-ever list of the 100 greatest Japanese rock albums of all time, way back in...2007. Actually, if you have seen LOST IN TRANSLATION, you've already heard your first Happy End song! Rejoice!
Sound familiar?
These guys are the band apart, an indie group from Tokyo.
I loves them.
And to top it all off, here is YMCK, an 8-bit electronica group. Note the sick groove that kicks in at 0:15.
I could sit here all night and post music, but I'll leave you with this tiny sample instead. Here's a list of some of the other Japanese bands I've discovered recently: Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Mr. Children, eastern youth, Number Girl, Maximum the Hormone, and POLYSICS. And there are so many more to discover!
By the time I actually get to Japan, I'll have a nice tall list of bands I want to see live!
Dusty Kram Kram! This is TOO interesting. I like The Band Apart. Too good.
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