The last batch of the best J-Rock videos of 2012, although hopefully not the last list of the year. We’ve been to many places this year and it’s time to revisit.
The Novembers- “Harem”
Starting off part II of the best J-Rock videos of 2012 is another “weird stuff happens in the woods” video! The Novembers’ follow a mysterious gypsy into the woods where she does a sword dance while they look on like Twilight vampires. Haunting!
Aureole- “Live Again”
I really do love these woods videos! This time a mysterious schoolgirl stumbles into the woods and finds a magic sword while Aureole plays their flute song behind a bed sheet. She will protect them from harm.
matryoshka- “Monotonous Purgatory”
A beautiful animated video about a soul leaving its body that could have probably been expanded to a short film and submitted to certain film festivals. A wonderful treat for the 5 year album wait.
We’re not done with the best videos of 2012, but we needed to take a break to highlight the new videos of 2013 so we don’t fall behind. Some sad news, it was just announced K from Pay money To my Pain passed away on December 30. You will be missed!
Shugo Tokumaru- “Call”
A whimsical advertisement from the clothing label FRAPBOIS. Normally they make music videos with real people wearing their designs, but for some reason they decided to go the animated route for their 2013 catalog. I can’t imagine this will lead to more sales, but Shugo Tokumaru just released a great new album everyone’s talking about so at least they got their name out there.
Keishi Tanaka- “Wonderful Seasons”
Keishi Tanaka has kept busy since his band Riddim Saunter broke up in 2011, releasing a solo EP and an album as part of the supergroup The Dekits last year. Now Tanaka is ready to release his debut solo album. “Wonderful Seasons” is a happy little song celebrating the little things in life.
Shintaro Sakamoto- “From the Dead”
Bongos and horns! Shintaro Sakamoto has woken up the walking dead with his funky new single. It seems they rather dance than cause a ruckus though.
Time to look back at all the great J-Rock videos of 2012. Instead of struggling with a top 10, I decided to pick my 12 favorites from the first half of the year. As expected, poll turnout was abysmal this year so I had to use my own discretion on these (seriously, if you want to see J-Rock Fridays reach 100 I need to see A LOT more participation!).
Bertoia- “Snow Slide”
What do you do when you find a floating door in your room in the middle of the night? Enter a mystical land where all your bandmates have weird forest grass growing on their faces. A little bit Narnia, a little bit Alice in Wonderland, “Snow Slide” is a fantastical video from one of the best female fronted shoegaze bands out there.
Turntable Films- “Misleading Interpretations”
Stabbed in the heart, Yosuke Inoue defies the impossible and gets his zombie butt off the ground and heads toward the concert venue. Many obstacles later, including being hit by a car, he makes it to his band’s show on time. A well choreographed video shot in one take.
Nile Long- “See Your Eyes”
Do you like those trendy Apple commercials where they have random people play fake instruments on their phones and tablets? Nile Long takes it to the next level in “See Your Eyes.”
The last J-Rock Fridays of 2012! Just because the year is ending doesn’t mean Japan has slowed down their music video production.
miila- “Santa Baby”
Is it too late for Christmas songs? Oh well, I was never in the holiday spirit to begin with. Not the cheeriest version of the song anyway. This cover is actually a couple of years old, but I’m glad miila (from Miila and the Geeks) got around to making a video for it.
Sawao Yamanaka- “Answer”
Can you believe Yamanaka’s on his third solo album already? Just like his other side project The Predators, I can’t differentiate “Answer” from a standard pillows track. That’s great if you’re a fan of the pillows, but I would like to see him do something different for a change. This is his chance to do something new and he blew it again.
DOLLS$BOXX- “Loud Twin Stars”
DOLL$BOXX is Fuki from Light Bringer and all of the gals from Gacharic Spin. Although their other single and individual projects lean towards girly pop rock, Gacharic Spin’s keyboardist spends half of “Loud Twin Stars” screaming and it’s awesome.
Christmas and New Years are coming up. There may be an end of the year wrap coming up soon but for now new videos!
Post Modern Team- “Never Let You Down”
Another ano(t)raks band decided to make a music video this week, this time Post Modern Team with one of my favorite songs of the year. “Never Let You Down” is a sweet, simple little tune aptly put to video with a girl running through the flower fields.
Take Ambulance- “Keys In Your Rubble of Hopes”
Take Ambulance are rather proud of their cuss storm that takes place in the middle of this video. Not only is it the only line they bother to subtitle, but they even printed out t-shirts to wear in the video. Hilarious!
kindan no tasuketsu- “Nemui”
Dreamy music and a sleeping girl. After releasing three albums in six months, kindan no tasuketsu deserves a nice rest.
Raining down a new bunch of J-Rock videos. Just FYI, this is the time of year my part-time job becomes a full-time crap fest so don’t be too worried if I disappear for a while!
Shugo Tokumaru- “Decorate”
Finally! P-Vine has been region blocking this video for months, but now we have a viewable upload thanks to Polyvinyl announcing they’ll be releasing Shugo Tokumaru’s new album In Focus? in the states in January. “Decorate” continues what Tokumaru does best, bedroom pop with a mix of childlike wonder.
Magdala- “Memories”
If you’ve been missing mutyumu, hatis noit has a new project with Aureole frontman Daichi Mori. She drops the operatic voice for Magdala, substituting her universally beautiful voice. Sure I miss the random screaming in the background but this is pretty too.
LOST- “Christmas Eve (English Version)”
It’s Christmas time, again, and LOST recorded a non screamy cover of Tatsuro Yamashita’s “Christmas Eve.” You can find it on Santa Causes: It’s A Pop Rock Christmas, which I can only hope is a continuation of this awesome CD, with a bunch of other mostly Japanese artists.
I have run out of ways to tell you it’s Friday. In any case here’s your usual assortment of Japanese indie rock and even some rap!
Jesse- “Access Violation”
We just heard from RIZE last month but busy frontman Jesse McFaddin has his own solo album that apparently came out this week. Jesse has worked with rap groups before and also in RIZE but it seems like he’s going all out rap on his solo project. “Access Violation” still has a BACK-ON rock edge though. Check out his duet with American Idol finalist Julissa Veloz at SoundCloud.
The Beatmoss- “Flippin’ Out”
Unlike Jesse, rapper MC ILMARI is taking his break from Rip Slyme and using it to front brand new rock band The Beatmoss. That doesn’t mean the flow stops though. Ilmari still raps in “Flippin’ Out” but there’s a good rock chorus.
indigo la End- 「白いマフラー」
Bouncy blue balls! Indigo la end really loves the color blue and four minutes of this color scheme really is making me feel blue. Nice indie rock anyways…
What better way to start the month of November than with a brand new PV from The Novembers? Another solid shoegazy track from the band and a cool video with a dancing gypsy while the boys admire and give their best Twilight poses in the woods.
Czecho No Republic- “Ivory”
CNR’s korg is set to accordion, which gives “Ivory” a cozy, wintery feel. They also have a new band member who shakes a tambourine and just stands around looking pretty. Eye candy!
Yutaka Furukawa- “Beast”
Doping Panda was epic dance rock, but now that they’re broken up frontman Yutaka Furukawa is rocking with multiple versions of himself. Because this sounds like just another fun Doping Panda single, we’re excited for his solo album due out next year.
Japan’s brightest new indie band has released a new version of their first PV in time for the release of their debut album. The album version of “Toumei Kan” contains 100% less furries but otherwise sounds the same as the original, which was apparently co-written with beat maker Idiot Pop who also just released an awesome dance album.
Straightener is here to rock with the help of Tabu Zombie from SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS and Kunikazu Tanaka on glorious sax. A song so epic it could only be the opening theme to the RPG-style live action drama Yusha Yoshihiko Chapter 2.
J-Rock Explosion 