12 new videos for the 12 districts of Panem. May the odds be ever in your favor lol!
Did you know Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s drummer has an instrumental side project? Here’s their first PV starring a bunch of cute cats!
I don’t feel like making a Halloween themed J-Rock Fridays this year. Maybe you’ll find some spooks anyway.
Hey, I thought you said there’s no Halloween J-Rock Fridays this year? Just a well timed video from The Suzan! Fun fact: Lykke Li sang backing vocals on this track.
Football is back! And it unexpectedly brings us a little J-Rock. Verizon Wireless has used “Come Come” by The Suzan in their new commercial for NFL Mobile, some kind of app for football fans. The song is taken from their 2010 album Golden Week For The Poco Poco Beat, which was released in the US by Fool’s Gold. Hopefully the commercial will give the girls some well deserved attention over here. If you could care less about football, join me in watching their performance of this song at the Japan Society in NYC .
If you’re reading this you’re probably not down in Austin watching a ton of great bands and films. Like me. But don’t fret, this week’s J-Rock Fridays is SXSW themed. This is not a complete list of all the Japanese bands playing at SXSW. Just the ones who had their video uploaded to SXSW’s YouTube page. Plus a few I’d be remiss not to post.
German rap? Really? I don’t know how foreigner Daisuke met up with this Berlin-based band but this video is endlessly amusing.
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.
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.
This month we have classic rock music, karate, b-sides, pretty ladies, and boys who wear masks over their face. In other news I received an email for JRockRevolution.com yesterday saying that I won tickets to see X Japan in Chicago. I heard they’re popular.
If you haven’t fallen in love with the girls through their single “Home,” then they’ve got a full-length album coming out just for you. It was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn, and John who also “discovered” them a few years ago at SXSW or something. They were all over New York promoting it last month and Fool’s Gold will release it at the end of the month. (myspace)
Isobe Masafumi- Sign In To DisobeyEverybody was kung-fu fighting. Isobe Masafumi, best known as the vocalist of Husking Bee decided to pursue a solo career after Mars Eurythmics broke up earlier this year. Toru Hidaka of the Beat Crusaders was brought in to produce this album. Members of Asian Kung-Fu Generation, bloodthirsty butchers, Asparagus, toe, and more stopped by to play instruments. Sounds a lot like Beat Crusaders. (myspace)
BEAT CRUSADERS- Rest CrusadersSpeaking of the Beat Crusaders, their “last album” is also coming out. It features the singles “Situation,” “Let It Go,” and a lot of b-sides from their major label career. There might be one or two new songs stuck in there. There’s also another b-side collection named Lust Crusaders coming out the same day from their indie label and a live album/DVD in December. Rest in plaid.
BIGMAMA is putting words to music…classic music. Yeah, we got some Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach, Dvorak, even Pachelbel. It even comes with a music video DVD. I always liked the violin in BIGMAMA so this “concept album” may prove interesting. Their music video for “Eros Run,” their take on Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (Spring) can be seen below. (myspace)
avengers in sci-fi- dynamoThe avengers will release their third album and first full-length on a major label. It includes a new version of the single “Delight Slight Lightspeed” and a bunch of new songs. If you’ve enjoyed their futuristic sci-fi dance music lazer sound show before you pretty much know what you’re yourself into. So fly your space shuttle to planet dynamo. (myspace)
Is that George Bush Sr. smoking a joint on the cover? Looks like something Fat Wreck Chords would release. And a parental advisory sticker on a Japanese CD? They must be pretty damn profane. Well they did tell us to f-off a lot in their blood-soaked PV for “Jack B.” They’re pretty loud and obnoxious for a band named Silence Is Mine. Let’s see how political this mini-album gets. (myspace)
Various Artists- World Penguin’s Carnival 2010Famous post-rock label Penguinmarket Records are celebrating their fifth anniversary with a special compilation and seven days of concerts. The compilation will feature mostly new tracks from the likes of wooderd chiarie, sgt., nenem, Clean of Core, oaqk, and some foreign bands. Bound to be one of the best comps of the year! —————————————————————————————————————————————
avengers in sci-fi- dynamo: CD Japan
BIGMAMA- Roclassick: CD Japan
BEAT CRUSADERS- Rest Crusaders: CD Japan, Play-Asia
Masafumi Isobe- Sign In To Disobey: CD Japan
SiM- Living In Pain: CD Japan
The Suzan- Golden Week For The Poco Poco Beat: Amazon
Various Artists- World Penguin’s Carnival 2010: CD Japan
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80kidz- Weekend Warrior: CD Japan, Play-Asia, Myspace
Ashigaru Youth- Nice to MEAT you: CD Japan, Myspace
Asshole Unite- Never Alone/Calling: CD Japan, Myspace
Droog- Violence: CD Japan, Myspace
Lacco Tower- Kaitai Shinsho: CD Japan, Myspace
People In The Box- Family Record: CD Japan, Myspace
Versailles- DESTINY -The Lovers-: CD Japan, Myspace
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The Suzan stopped by Virgin Mobile Live the other day for an acoustic set. The sunshiny results are below. The Suzan will be playing a free show on Labor Day for the NYC folks. Pick up Golden Week for The Poco Poco Beat October 26!
The Suzan is an all-girl band from Tokyo that caught the ear of Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John. They managed to convince him to produce their new album via a myspace message and it will soon be released internationally from Fool’s Gold.
Only two tracks from the girls grace their myspace page. “Home” is a xylophone filled indie pop song that’s blissfully happy. Astute readers can download the track free here. “High and Low” has more of a garage rock feel with motown vocals. Their music can be powerful or as cute as them.
Their album Golden Week For the Poco Poco Beat doesn’t come out until September, but you can buy their new single “Home” now on a fancy 7″ record.
J-Rock Explosion 