It’s been a few years since I dropped in on the Far East boys, but in the meantime they’ve managed to sign a record deal with Interscope and become the first Asian-American group to break into Billboard’s Hot 100 charts with “Like A G6.” Far Eat Movement made their TV debut on Lopez Tonight last night with the booty-bouncing Dev. It’s got a “Boo Boom Pow” beat and a chorus so stupid it’s catchy. I’m surprised I haven’t heard this song after hours of Kiss FM in my sister’s car this summer. Their new album Free Wired comes out October 12. Grab a copy if your slizzard.
Archive for September, 2010
BiidoRo
September 29, 2010myspace band of the week
BiidoRo (ビイドロ) formed in 2000 as the home-recording project of singer/songwriter Takashi Aoyagi. The lineup has changed over the years, including ex-Quruli member Nobuyuki Mori. Since then the band has become a three-piece active in Chiba and Tokyo. They have released 3 singles and 4 albums through PTA and P-Vine, the latest being 2009’s King of Nonsense.
They play that special blend of indie rock that is perfect for the fall weather. Aoyagi’s vocals can be playful as in “Penguin in Antartica” or shoegazey as in “Moonlight.” The band explains their music as “a beautiful melody and a performance that keeps free and is delicate. A transparent word echos in the music, and it makes your head become numb.” No wonder they write songs about staring at themselves from the moon.
oshare boys- How to Dance in the World
September 24, 2010You know me and my interpretive dance videos. Here we have a pretty young thing in a tight pink dress and sexy black tights performing a number in the middle of a Shinjuku station. And because this is Japan no one seems to notice. If my area had a subway station and a girl did this I guarantee you everyone would stop and watch. Maybe some horny bastard would flick pennies at her. I did spot one old guy staring at her crotch when she spread her legs open. Thanks for being honest and doing what I would have. I suppose there’s some deeper meaning about Japanese society hidden here but I’m content with the sexy girl.
“How to Dance in the World” isn’t exactly a dance-worthy track but it has that nice melancholic vibe some may find beautiful. Information on the oshare boys is hard to come by. From what I gather it’s a collaboration between KUJUN and Arata and they’ve released two mini-albums that don’t include this track.
Usotsuki Barbie
September 22, 2010myspace band of the week
Usotsuki Barbie (嘘つきバービー) is a pretty cool rock band from Sasebo. The 3-piece formed in 2002 but didn’t release their first mini-album until 2007. They released their second mini-album the following year with a full-album release soon after.
The first two songs on their myspace come from their 2010 single Kagaku no Shinsaku and the last two come from their 2009 double A-side Babibube Igai Ningen / Neko single. The vocalist 岩下優介 has a nice funky voice that sounds like he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Add in some funky guitars and we’ve got some catchy songs. I even liked the “neko nyan” song.
The Barbie liars are probably best known for their eccentric videos and the vocalist’s Mick Jagger swagger. Most of the songs on myspace can be seen in video format below.
envy- Worn heels and the hands we hold
September 22, 2010Envy has a new album out and a video to go along with it. “Worn heels and the hands we hold” begins with a two-minute instrumental, assuring us that this album will be no different than Insomniac Doze. Unsurprisingly, Tetsuya Fukagawa bursts out with an explosion of screams that eventually turns into poetry reading. The video follows a lanky girl who walks around a forest and occasionally the city. On second thought, no different than the video I made for “an umbrella fallen into fiction,” (it even ends with a close up of a lake for @#$%’s sake) except maybe not as crappily made.
Recitation came out today in Japan. Temporary Residence will release it stateside next month. Catch them on tour in North America starting this weekend.
Caroline on a boat
September 21, 2010Caroline recently performed “Bicycle” for Hennessy artistry’s Street Session series. She is joined by rOry and her big sis, J-Pop sensation Olivia. “Bicycle” comes from her 2006 album Murmurs available from Temporary Residence. Check out Hennessy artistry’s website for more exclusive performances.
It’s been a while since Caroline has put out any new material, but it looks like she’s become an unofficial member of the Mice Parade. She sings several songs on their new album What It Means To Be Left Handed, which came out last week. Below is the music video for “In Between Times,” one of Caroline’s songs.
J-Rock Fridays Vol. 29
September 17, 2010Posting this early for a change. Hokkaido Fair next week!
Ashigaru Youth- “It’s so GOOD”
Nerdy guys in knickers. My kind of band.
The HARPY’S
September 15, 2010myspace band of the week
“We are Japanese girls? Band!!” Yeah, they’re a Japanese girl band. I didn’t know if that was clear. Maybe not.
Satomi and mAKi (Falsies on Heat) formed The HARPY’s in March 2009 and Tomo joined a month later. They had their first gig and released a CD-R a few months later. Musically they are in the garage/punk genre. Kind of like Shonen Knife. But they don’t care about genre, as they want their music to be borderless.
So immediately when I started listening to their music I found something off about this “girl band.” One of the vocalists definitely sounds like a dude. A little digging and I find out Tomo is a transvestite. Makes sense. No really, it’s amusing. But kind of useless information unless you’re seeing them live (lucky for you there’s a clip below). But back to the music, it’s fun rock and roll that’s mostly sung in English. They released their first single “a Lost” from Due Records on 9/11.
The HARPY’s are touring America this week. Check them out in Connecticut tonight and New York the next three.
http://www.myspace.com/theharpys Read the rest of this entry ?
Apocalyptica x Kyo
September 11, 2010Finnish-cello-metal-band Apocalyptica invited Kyo of Dir en grey to sing on “Bring Them To Light” during their co-headlining tour. The song comes from Apocalyptica’s new album 7th Symphony. Joseph Duplantier of Gojira provides vocals for the album version, but Kyo brings the appropriate “power” live despite being a foot or two shorter than everyone else on stage. There’s still a couple dates left on this tour so check out their myspace.
bed
September 8, 2010myspace band of the week
This band named themselves after something I haven’t seen enough of this week. So before I wrap myself in the cold embraces of death my pillow, here is the band of the week.
Bed (originally Diary Tree?) formed in June 2005. They were influenced by Fugazi and US indie bands. Their first EP turn it off was released in February 2007 and their first album Response was released a year later. Both were mastered by Chad Clark in America. Earlier this year they signed to 3P3B and contributed a song to the Carry That Weight II compilation along with some other cool bands. Their second album On Off came out in July.
Their myspace consists of old songs. From the turn it off EP we have “otosomino,” an indie jam with loud, whiny vocals that slightly remind me of Sparta. The Response material is tighter; almost math rock. The whiny vocals persist in “uchiagaru” and “sosite” but they’re much more pleasant. On the other hand you can barely hear the vocals in the “Sophisticated Man” demo. If you’re into J-indie bands like Ogre You Asshole or lostage you’ll like bed.
New music videos from On Off are below and they sound awesome. Order the album at CD Japan.
J-Rock Explosion 