Archive for the ‘the pillows’ Category

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 107

August 16, 2013

Here it is.

Electric Lunch- 『月夜心を攫う白銀の獣現る刻彼の世界終わる』

A song title so long you would think it’s the new te’ video. Electric Lunch’s new single does have the similar math rock power of that band but with the raw emotional vocal power of Ling tosite sigure.

The Insect Kids- “Henda, Henda, Henda / Full Color”

Both of The Insect Kids’ new iTunes singles are featured in this elongated video of a man riding his bike into daylight. “Henda, Henda, Henda” adds some electronic beats that we haven’t really heard from the band before while “Full Color” sounds like it could break into a dance song at any moment if it weren’t for the melancholic guitar.

mori wa ikiteiru- “Hibi no Utakata”

A really great folk song that I missed a few weeks ago but kind of already covered months ago on band of the week. Enjoy the banjo filled, country twang of”Hibi no Utakata” while the band showcasew their record collection in the park.

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Posted in Electric Lunch, J-Rock Fridays, mori wa ikiteiru, SAKANAMON, Sankaiten to hitohineri, Shishido Kavka, The Insect Kids, the pillows, The Rockin' Baritones | Leave a Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 87

December 28, 2012

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.

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Posted in Dir en grey, DOLL$BOXX, J-Rock Fridays, kindan no tasuketsu, miila and the geeks, NOKIES!, Pirates Canoe, Sawao Yamanaka, SEVENTEEN AGAiN, Skall Headz, the cabs, The Crater, The Girl, the pillows | Leave a Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 37

January 21, 2011

Programming the common people’s subliminal orchestra to wake up and say yes. Rocknrollas let out a doggie howl that’s wasted on Scarface’s shining head. You’re in treble, boy. Tonight’s forgotten story.

Pay Money To my Pain- “Deprogrammer”

PTP added disco to their screams. Turns out pretty good, even the old man in the top hat is dropping balls over it.

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Posted in cero, Champagne, Each of the Days, EeL, J-Rock Fridays, Joseph Nothing Orchestra, Pay Money To my Pain, PeopleJam, sads, Sister Jet, The Madame Cats, the pillows, uhnellys, VIVASNUT | Leave a Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 35

December 10, 2010

Looks like my J-Rock Fridays playlist that I never advertised or mentioned to anyone hit 500 views the other day. Good to see I’m doing better on YouTube than here.

OCEANLANE- “Submarine Volcano”

Well this is the first time I’ve seen Kay Naoe sing lead in a single. It’s about time they used his boyish good looks.

Listen. Buy 1. Buy 2.

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Posted in AIRPORT, anyuu-rizumu, Chirinuru Wowaka, DALLAX, FOOLON, Heavenstamp, J-Rock Fridays, Local Sound Style, Mo'some Tonebender, Oceanlane, Odotte Bakari No Kuni, PINKLOOP, pocketlife, S.M.N., the pillows, The Suzan | 1 Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 34

November 26, 2010

Ultra late Black Friday edition!

SAKEROCK- “Muda”

I’m not sure this is the kind of rock I would listen to if I drank sake, but that trombone is awesome.

website Buy@ CD Japan

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Posted in 2side1BRAIN, arukara, broken little sister, Champagne, Drinkped, dry river string, J-Rock Fridays, REAL REACH, Sakerock, the pillows, The Unique Star, Water Closet | Leave a Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 10

December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas.

Nicotine- “Last Christmas”

I posted this last year, but who cares. Here’s a little holiday cheer from the Nicotine boys. Note: drugs are bad for you. (myspace)

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Posted in Asobi Seksu, Christmas, Ellegarden, Hong Kong in the 60s, J-Rock Fridays, L'arc~en~ciel, Nicotine, Ryuichi Sakamoto, the pillows | Leave a Comment »

the pillows x Ben Kweller

November 4, 2009

I’ve always enjoyed collaborations between Japanese and foreign artists. Today I came across “Lightning Runaway” by the pillows and Texan rocker Ben Kweller. The single was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tower Records in Japan. The one-track single is available now, but only at Tower Records.

http://www.myspace.com/thepillows

http://www.myspace.com/benkweller

Posted in Ben Kweller, the pillows | Leave a Comment »

J-Rock Fridays Vol. 5

October 16, 2009

Welcome back to the second part of October release madness. The last column was actually the most viewed J-Rock Fridays column so far (but still no comments). I will probably continue featuring upcoming releases in future columns, but try not to be so obvious about it. While I’m here, I would like to thank indiesmusic.com for being an excellent source for upcoming release information and music videos.

The Mirraz- “check it out!check it out!check it out!check it out!”

This is a rather low-budget video, likely made by the band themselves, parodying the local news. It probably wouldn’t work if the song wasn’t so catchy. They remind me of a punker version of BACK-ON. The second album Necessary Evil came out this week and it’s a lot of fun.

http://www.myspace.com/themirraz

riddim saunter- “Sweet & Still”

Anyone remember when this band had crazy synthesizers and punk rock choruses? Yeah, they’re way mellow now. They decided flutes and violins better fit their style. This is a rather pleasant, chill song and a humorous video. I love how the lead singer runs around town with a “FUCK YEAH” t-shirt. Their third album Days Lead comes out next week.

http://www.myspace.com/riddimsaunter

serial TV drama- “Space Opera”

With the liberal use of the word “Oi!” and epic guitar solos, serial TV drama is bound to be the next act to climb out of the indie scene. Another good band from UK.PROJECT, who gave us BIGMAMA, the telephones, Karen, Vola & The Oriental Machine, and Ogre You Asshole.

http://www.myspace.com/serialtvdrama

the pillows- “Your Order”

I wasn’t a fan of the first single off Ooparts “Ameagari ni mita Maboroshi,” but “Your Order” fit the bill. This is another stop-motion animated PV from the band. Some pretty abstract stuff here, but a fun video.

http://www.myspace.com/thepillows

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Posted in J-Rock Fridays, Local Sound Style, riddim saunter, serial TV drama, Starboard, The Mirraz, the pillows, your gold my pink | 1 Comment »

Artist Spotlight: THE PREDATORS

October 20, 2008

Just as BEAT CRUSADERS fans don’t know Toru Hidaka has an acoustic side project named GALLOW, it seems fans of the pillows don’t realize Sawao Yamanaka has his own side project THE PREDATORS. The members came together in 2004 when JIRO from GLAY covered “Sad Sad Kiddie” on the pillows tribute album Synchronized Rockers. During the recording, the two met up with Shinpei Nakayama from Straightener and formed the J-Rock supergroup THE PREDATORS. They released two mini-albums, Hunting!!!! in July 2005, and Kiba wo Misero in October 2008. Kiba wo Misero will be released on iTunes on October 28.

Stylistically, THE PREDATORS doesn’t sound that much different than the pillows. They list Nirvanva as an influence and dedicate a song to The Ramones “C.R.S. (Come on Ramones Song)” on their latest mini-album.

THE PREDATORS are
Vocal,Guitar : SAWAO YAMANAKA (the pillows)
Bass : JIRO (GLAY)
Drums : SHINPEI NAKAYAMA (STRAIGHTENER)

http://www.myspace.com/thepredatorsofjapan

“Shoot the Moon”

Random J-Rock Updates #4

September 7, 2008

Just wrapped up my second week of the new semester. Not bad so far, even though I’m taking 18 credit hours. I also just turned in my graduation dues, $125 down the drain! Sigh…I’ve been forced to take 2 night classes this semester which means 2 nights off work a week. My wallet’s just about empty. It doesn’t help that the Christian bookstore by my house is going out of business and that they have such great deals on my Tooth and Nail bands! I bought 8 CDs today alone, for about $20. Might take me a while to get to the new Japanese music now…

–parms (ex-DRUMKAN) will be recording their debut album in Louisville, KY with Kevin Ratterman this month.

-Sawao Yamanaka from the pillows is in a new band named The Predators with members from GLAY and straightener.

–MUCC will be headlining 2 shows in LA and New York.

–girugamesh’s self-titled album will be availabe at Hot Topic by the end of the month. Their discography is also on JapanFiles.

–TsuShiMaMiRe have a new song up on myspace named “Hyper Sweet Power” that has some connection with the Powerpuff Girls. They are currently on a US tour.

–buddhistson have uploaded studio updates.

New on JapanFiles:

girugamesh- girugamesh

girugamesh- Reason of Crying

girugamesh- 13s Reborn

LOVE PSYCHEDELICO- This is Love Psychedelico

Tokyo no Records pre-orders:

The Captains- I Love GS (10/22/2008)

Thee 50’s High Teens- Punch De Beat 9/9/2008

Various Artists- The Time Was Then Is Now 9/30/2008

Posted in buddhistson, girugamesh, JapanFiles, LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, parms, The Captains, the pillows, Thee 50's High Teens, Tokyo No Records, TsuShiMaMiRe | Leave a Comment »