Archive for December, 2008

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buddhistson- Eyes in the Dark

December 26, 2008


feel, cold
wind touched your cheek
again

hear, you can hear
footsteps from the dark

can you
imagine if you can break the
world?

is it impossible?

eyes
in the dark looking at us
and
growling so loud

feel, pain
while mountains burning
there
see, there are some who
don’t want to see

careful

there’s fire from both
sides

but you have to keep going
through

can you imagine you can
save the world?

is it impossible?

eyes in the dark looking at
us

and growling so loud

you
still believe you can leave here?
you have no way to
go

suddenly we’ve gotten here
it
wasn’t coincidence

eyes in the
dark looking at us
and growling
so loud

http://www.myspace.com/buddhistson

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Merry Christmas 2008

December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas from your friends at J-Rock Explosion and Nicotine!

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BEAT CRUSADERS – HAVE YOU SEEN HER HAPPY

December 24, 2008

have you ever
tried to reborn to be strong
than you’ve ever been
have you ever
tried to reborn to belong

to the place you’d go
in the meantime
you’re getting old
in the meanwhile
you’ll lose the goal

oh yeah,
have you seen her happy?
oh yeah,
have you seen her happy…

http://www.komoriclub.com/index.html

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This Month In J-Rock: November 2008 (preview)

December 22, 2008

Winter break begin!  It’s been a long month but finals are over and I almost got straight A’s 🙂  The following are PV’s from albums I plan on reviewing in This Month In J-Rock: November 2008.  Hopefully that will be done around Christmas.  There’s a lot to review!

avengers in sci-fi- “Homosapiens Experience (Save Our Rock Episode.1)”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Comments:  I love this song.  It’s so catchy.  “Save our rock, save our rock, save our rock, save our rock!”  It’s a great performance video.  It’s fascinating seeing these guys play guitars and synths at the same time.  The video follow the same “triangular” theme as the album cover.

http://www.myspace.com/avengersinscifi

dustbox- Spacewalk


Comments:  Random fat guy floating in a pool.  Not as creative as their last video (neurotic white family at dinner table eating) but does the job.  Dustbox reminds me of Ellegarden, with the English punk-rock and what not.  Another energetic song.

http://www.myspace.com/dustboxjp

hare-brained unity-ORANGE

Comments:  “ORANGE” is the latest video in hare-brain’s recent disco system.  With the help of masked power rangers and brilliant choreography, hare-brained brings the dance ROCK.  My favorite video this month.

http://www.myspace.com/harebrainedunity

Oceanlane- Look Inside the Mirror

Comments:  “Look Inside the Mirror” sounds like a British pop song.  Probably because half of their members are from Britain.  This a very delicate song.  Not very rocking at all.  The video uses stop animation and has the lyrics translated in kanji (LOL) scrolled on the right side of the screen.

http://www.myspace.com/oceanlaneofficial

reach up to the universe- S.T.A.R.S.

Comments:  A piano driven pop-punk band, similar to enie meenie.  This song is a little slower than the others on the album but still has some great synth lines.  The video is your standard band performance interspersed with animation of a girl running, reminescent of the album artwork.

http://www.myspace.com/ruttu

Spangle call Lilli line- Cast A Spell On Her

Comments:  SCLL is the ultimate chill band.  It’s easy to find yourself drifting in thought to Kana’s delicate vocals.  They decided to go the artsy way, again, for their new video.  It’s composed of still images of a girl on the beach.

http://www.myspace.com/spanglecalllilliline

Start of the Day- Space Eats the Earth

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Comments:  The best way to describe this band is a female version of Nature Living.  The synths are very heavy in this song with an 8bit quality.  It’s interesting they chose a song without screaming that highlights the singer’s J-pop voice.  This video is a backlit band performance with the members in silhoutte.

http://www.myspace.com/startoftheday

the telephones- Love & Disco

Comments: Not as “disco” as the name implies but another great pop song by the telephones.  This is an interesting video that meshes animation, a newscast, and the band’s performance.  The aerobic scene at the beginning is hilarious.

http://www.myspace.com/thetelephonesjapan





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Random J-Rock Updates #8

December 7, 2008

Sometimes I feel like I report on the same bands, but that’s okay!  In this segment, we have two new US releases announced for February and a Grammy nominee!

parms debut album will come out February 17 on Parrot On a Porch Records in the US.

-Two new Winnie songs on myspace, “sweep” and “first class speed of light.”  Their new EP Headquarter is due out January 14.

Dir en grey has a live DVD coming out!  A Knot of is due out February 3 in the US.

-I uploaded two new songs to the box.net player, “Along the Line” by Akeboshi and “Mosaic” by kacica.

Electrico has a new video for “Hail To the Friends.”

1978 Is the New Year

Cornelius is nominated for “Best Surround Sound Album” for the 51st annual Grammy Awards.

buddhistson’s new album SLOWDANCE -wisely and slow, they stumble that dance fast- will be released Januray 7 in Japan.  A new song “Eyes in the Dark” is on their myspace.

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Akeboshi- One Step Behind the Door

December 7, 2008

I met a boy
from Israel
in the western end
His country was inflamed
he needed to draw the line
Either go to war
or never see his home
he needed to draw the line
In the space of seven days

I don’t know
Black mountain
why you’re where you are
I hear the wooden pipe
fade into the night
A pond full of tears
dries in the evening sun
“All alone,” he said
“Luck of where you’re from,”
“Luck of the draw,” he smiled
he needed to draw the line
his words cut me like a knife
one step behind the door
one step behind the door…

I met a boy
from Israel
in the western end
His country was inflamed
he needed to draw the line
Either go to war
or never see his home
he needed to draw the line
In the space of seven days
“Luck of the draw,” he said
one step behind the door
one step behind the door…