Why hello there. I have nothing witty to say this week. I’ve just been listening to a lot of Japanese music and attempting to job hunt. It’s been quiet around the house since my sister went back to school, so I’ve been able to “restart” my other two blogs. And here we are with this week’s assortment of Japanese music videos.
Shinichi Osawa- “Star Guitar”
Last week, Shinichi Osawa released his 2-disc remix collection TEPPAN-YAKI. It wasn’t doing much for me, so I decided to give The One another spin. Still one of my favorite techno albums. “Star Guitar” is the lead single off The One. The video is flashy and trippy until the two and a half minute mark when the girls of Au Revoir Simone step in. But it doesn’t take long to get trippy again. Instantly catchy and unique, “Star Guitar” always makes my techno mixes. http://www.myspace.com/shinichiosawa
DE DE MOUSE- “east end girl (keeps singing)”
Similar to Omodaka, DE DE MOUSE lays heavy beats over the voice of a Japanese girl. It’s a little strange, but addictive in high quantities. “East end girl” comes from his second album Sunset Girls. The animated video is cute, but doesn’t really fit the tempo of the song. 2:15-3:00 is reminiscent of the first Naruto ED but maybe that’s just me. http://www.myspace.com/dedemouse
FACT- live?
The astute members of Absolute Punk are accusing FACT of lip-syncing. Now, concerning the heavy use of auto-tune in “A fact of life,” I find it kind of impossible for Hiro to not sing without a back-up track. But after I watched a couple other videos I’m not so sure. Bummer if it’s true, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve put out several badass albums. So, what do you think? http://www.myspace.com/factjapan
URCHIN FARM- “Role-Playing”
Every time I have trouble figuring out what band to feature on here, I log on to myspace and pick a random band that added me (and doesn’t suck). URCHIN FARM plays a nice blend of powerpop with the addition of piano (but the drums are the stand-out instrument on this track). Kind of like ELLEGARDEN meets enie meenie. The video is flashy, but does it’s job. They seem like they could be the next indie band to blow up. http://www.myspace.com/urchinfarm
KAREN- “Enemy”
I’ve seen this band posted on Spark Plugged and a few other J-rock blogs, so I finally decided to give them a listen. “Enemy” is so great! I love the flutes in the background. It just makes me smile for no reason. KAREN is made of members of Art-School and downy, enough to make any J-Indie enthusiast wet their pants. http://www.myspace.com/karenofficial
And now this column has officially outlived the former J-Rock Fridays haha. Personal triumph, I guess. Next time I’m going to try something a little different. Or if that doesn’t work out, more random videos. Whatever. Bye.
J-Rock Explosion 