Archive for the ‘Man With A Mission’ Category

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 101

July 5, 2013

So I’ve been doing J-Rock Fridays biweekly for the longest time. Let’s see how long I can keep this up every Friday.

saisa- “Blessing the Circulation”

To tell you the truth, the post rock scene hasn’t been doing much for me lately until I found saisa’s cassette tape last year. Their melancholic instrumentals and off kilter vocals struck a chord with me that bands like Mono have failed to do with their extravagant orchestras. “Blessing the Circulation” comes from their debut album, released last month by Chinese label 1724 Records (apparently the first debut of a Japanese band on a Chinese label, politics).

salyu × salyu- “Jibunngainai (Studio Live Version)”

Ghost in the Shell fans were surprised by the announcement of a new OVA series this year. Instead of going with Yoko Kanno for the music department again, they chose Cornelius who then reunited with salyu for the theme song. “Jibunngainai” continues in the salyu x salyu tradition with Salyu’s ethereal voice and Cornelius’ production touches. Unfortunately, the only project we’ll remember her for (aside from Lily Chou-Chou) when her pop career ends.

BiS Kaidan- “好き好き大好き (Special Edit)”

BiS is back again this week, this time teaming up with members of legendary noise rock band Hijokaidan. Seriously? What kind of idol group does that. This video is a delightful mess, with the girls SCREAMING in blood soaked dresses destroying EVERYTHING. Thankfully, we have a full album of this to look forward to.

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Posted in BiS, BiS Kaidan, Champagne, Cornelius, HenLee, Hijokaidan, J-Rock Fridays, Large House Satisfaction, Man With A Mission, Miyavi, saisa, Salyu, salyu x salyu | Leave a Comment »

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 91

February 22, 2013

Hello all! I had a wisdom tooth pulled last Friday and am still on a lot of pain killers so forgive me if I’m more incoherent than usual. I was thinking it’s time to start doing individual video posts. Let me know what you think!

Elen Never Sleeps- “Shine On Me”

“If you love me, don’t fall asleep.” My favorite track off Elen’s new EP, “Shine On Me” again borrows footage from some old black and white film. A reflective video with plenty of dancing, kissing and bare breasts.

The fin.- “Glowing Red on the Shore”

The fin. takes us on a grainy chillout session at the beach as the sun’s going down. A very literal interpretation of the song title but a great second track from the band. Looking forward to more from these guys.

Hotel Mexico- “A.I. in Dreams”

Two videos in one month, Hotel Mexico is really making up for lost time! There has been a live studio version of this song kicking around since last year but this Richard Law directed video really cranks up the creepy.

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Posted in 99RadioService, Analog Fish, Back Drop Bomb, BALZAC, Elen Never Sleeps, Gesu no Kiwami Otome, Hotel Mexico, J-Rock Fridays, Keytalk, Kuso Iinkai, Lyu:Lyu, Man With A Mission, Neverlost, The fin. | Leave a Comment »

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 89

January 25, 2013

Now that we’re done with the best videos of 2012 we can get around to dedicating this column to new J-Rock videos! By coincidence there was a new J-Rock Fridays every week in January. I don’t know if you enjoyed that but we’ll probably go back to biweekly from now on even though I have to cut a lot of videos each time (I guess that’s what Tumblr’s for).

sakanaction- “Music”

Get your headphones ready it’s the time of the year that sakanaction releases new music. Here we’ve got a bit of a split screen video with the vocalist tiredly watching a cute girl running away from handsy dancers.

Man With A Mission- “Emotions”

When emotions run dry, the wolves come out to play! I can’t tell if their English has gotten progressively better overnight or if they hired a foreigner to sing the verses but this song is pretty tight.

Baroque- “Tatoeba Kimi to Boku”

If you enjoy watching women wrestle each other in wet bikinis then “Tatoeba” is your new favorite J-Rock video. I was shocked by the negative reaction over at Tumblr, but still this is the first visual kei video I’ve watched all the way through in a long time.

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Posted in Baroque, Champagne, Dad Mom God, Egg Brain, indigo la End, Ito Shohei, J-Rock Fridays, Kinoko Teikoku, kuuchuusen, Man With A Mission, sakanaction, The Captains, wah-wah | 1 Comment »

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 70

May 4, 2012

Warming up to the 70s.

ZeZeZaZa- “Ponpidon”

I still don’t know what a “ponpidon” is but it’s been redone in all its dreamy glory for ZeZeZaZa’s first official CD. Shoegaze is off to a good start this year with this and Plastic Girl In Closet.

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Posted in andymori, Beat Crusaders, COgeNdshE, Crossfaith, DOACOCK, Fed Music, J-Rock Fridays, kataomoi, Liaroid Cinema, Man With A Mission, SiM, Taffy, The Flickers, The Love Ningen, Toru Hidaka, Tricot, ZeZeZaZa | Leave a Comment »

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 42

April 1, 2011

Back on schedule. No foolin.’

0.8秒と衝撃。- 町蔵・町子・破壊 (Machizou Machiko Hakai)

0.8Syooogeki had the top voted video of 2010. Let’s see if they can repeat it this year. Eat snow and dig in.

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Posted in 0.8秒と衝撃。, co3, FACT, FEELFLIP, GaGaGa SP, J-Rock Fridays, JAWEYE, Lily of the Valley, Man With A Mission, Puffyshoes, Sherbet Clock, the cabs, the loud function | 1 Comment »

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Stuff To Look Forward To, November 2010

November 10, 2010

Ah November.  The time of the year when releases begin to trickle down along with my willingness to blog about them.  But there’s still some good stuff coming out

Kimonos- Kimonos

Kimonos is the side project of Leo Imai and the Zazen Boys’ Shutoku Mukai.  The fact that their names rhyme is coincidence.  So far Kimonos have put out two singles.  “Almost Human” has more of a laid back rock sound while “Soundtrack to Murder” is a little out there.  They describe the album as futuristic and nostalgic, a “fitting soundtrack to the manic intensity of Tokyo City.” (myspace)

The Brixton Academy- L.O.T

Spoiler alert!  TBA’s 80s tinged debut album Vivid will probably top my end of the year list.  But it was a bit on the short side so they’ll be releasing this 3-track EP to end the year.  It took a bit of sleuthing to find this as the band still hasn’t “announced” it yet.  Both listings I found list L.O.T. as  a 2-disc release, so I would expect a DVD with a PV or two. (myspace)

noughts and exes- The Start Of Us

Just when I thought I’d never hear this, they posted a bandcamp link on their Facebook last night.  Noughts and exes is a Hong Kong indie-rock band led by Joshua Wong of Whence He Came.  Their sophomore album boasts a new lineup and was produced by Martijn Groeneveld—the same guy who does buddhistson! (myspace)

Detroit Metal City

Amai, Amai, Amai, Amai, ko-i-bi-to. Detroit Metal City is finally available on DVD in the US!  Grab a copy and cuddle up with your sweet sweet lover and a plate of cheese tarts.  DMC is the tale of one Soichi Negishi who longs to create Swedish pop music but spends his nights as the emperor of death metal.  He’s kind of a mental case.  But hilarious!  And yes, that’s Kenichi Matsuyama, the guy that plays L on Death Note.

Buy Kimonos @ CD Japan, Jet Set, Play-Asia

Buy L.O.T. @ CD Japan, Jet Set

Buy The Start Of Us @ bandcamp, their website

Buy Detroit Metal City @ Amazon.com, RightStuf

Secondary Excitement

about tess- Song of the Bird: One of the first bands signed to world’s end girlfriend’s label Virgin Babylon and now their second release.  Song of the Bird is a 74-minute track told in four acts that reveals the journey of a bird.  (myspace) Buy @ CD Japan, Unsupermarket

Crystal Lake- Into The Great Beyond: Does this album have great cover art or what?  (myspace) Buy @ Big Cartel, CD Japan

dustbox- Starbow: Thus marks 10 years of punk rock with dustbox.  Both singles so far have bored me but they can pull an album out of their ass by now.  (myspace) Buy @ CD Japan

Fear, And Loathing In Las Vegas- Dance & Scream:  At this point I think I like them more for their name.  They would be a hit with the Hot Topic crowd.  (myspace)

Kaji Hideki and Riddim Saunter- Teens Film: Hey, it’s the guy who sang “Amai Koibito”!  And he recorded an album with Riddim Saunter!  Buy @ CD Japan

Man With A Mission- Welcome To The New World: MWAM won me over with their awesome wolf masks and their occasionally dancey tunes. (myspace) Buy @ CD Japan

Meaning- Brave New World:  The drummer from Ellegarden joined a hardcore band?  And they want to fuck the world? (myspace) Buy @ CD Japan

Perfume- Ne:  It’s a sad state of affairs when Nakata puts more effort in Perfume than his own group.  Buy @ CD Japan, Play-Asia

sleepy.ab- Kakurenbo: New single…enough said? (myspace) Buy @ CD Japan, Play-Asia

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Posted in about tess, Crystal Lake, Detroit Metal City, dustbox, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Kaji Hideki, Kimonos, Man With A Mission, Meaning, Noughts and Exes, Perfume, riddim saunter, sleepy.ab, Stuff To Look Forward To, The Brixton Academy | 5 Comments »

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J-Rock Fridays Vol. 32 The Masquerade

October 29, 2010

Looks like it’s time for another Halloween edition of J-Rock Fridays.  This time I’m only posting bands that wear masks.  I didn’t receive any suggestions last week (guess it’s time to finally shelve J-Rock Fridays) so it’s a bit shorter than I hoped.

Man With A Mission- “Don’t Lose Yourself”

Who let the dogs out?!  Er…werewolves.  Whatever they are they rock.

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Posted in AA=, Aural Vampire, Beat Crusaders, Beldgood, CustomMummy, Detroit Metal City, FACT, J-Rock Fridays, J.A.M, Man With A Mission, Omodaka, Peelander-Z | 1 Comment »