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Supersnazz

November 10, 2010

myspace band of the week

Garage band Supersnazz has been rocking Japan almost as long as Shonen Knife.  They formed in 1990 as an all-girls band with the original lineup of Spike, Tomoko, Skinnie Minnie, and Kanako.  They caught the ears of American label Sup Pop Records early on who released their first album Superstupid in 1993.  Skinnie Minnie left the band a year later.  They released their second album Devil Youth Blues in 1997 after extensive touring in the US and Japan and released three more albums between 1998-2001.  Their all-girl lineup was broken in 1997.  As of now, Tomoko and Spike are the only original members left, with Greg and Marky the new guy members.

And then the buzz died down once the chick-band image was broken.  But they continued to release albums and tour extensively in the past decade.  Their myspace contains songs from their 2008 album Get Down.  It’s full of Ramones-esque tunes such as the shout out loud “Let’s Go” and the feel good “Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind.”  Supersnazz never stopped making rockin’ tunes even though the music industry forgot about them.

Supersnazz albums are available at CD Japan.  Amazon.com is selling Diode City in CD-R and MP3 format.  Interpunk has it on vinyl.

http://www.myspace.com/supersnazzmusic

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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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The Return of Lily Chou-Chou

November 8, 2010

Fans of the Tarantino-approved cult classic All About Lily Chou-Chou can return to the ether next month.  Lily Chou-Chou will release a brand new single on December 8 and perform live in Tokyo on the 15th. Salyu, who kind of became a big J-pop star in the 9 years since the film was released, will return on vocals along with composer Takeshi Kobayashi and Yukio Nagoshi.  Keep checking their website for any future news on the project.  I know I’d like to hear a new album.

The movie is available on DVD now along with the original soundtrack.  Songs from the film below.

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Turntable Films- 10 Days Plus One Sampler

November 5, 2010

Second Royal uploaded a sampler of Turntable Films’ new mini-album 10days Plus One on YouTube.   To my dismay it has much more in common with the soft country sound of their self-titled debut than Parables of Fe-Fum.  But at least it has that cool flute again on “Collection of You,” which you can listen to in full on myspace.  They even rerecorded my favorite track off their self-titled, “Here In My Heart.”   The mini-album was released on November 3 but you’re not going to get it unless you go to their release tour.

http://www.myspace.com/turntablefilms

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the loud function

November 3, 2010

myspace band of the week

Appropriately named the loud function formed in Osaka in 2001.  After several member changes their current lineup was established June 2009.  Prior to their first mini-album Black Dance Hole in 2008, they released four demo CDs.  A single release is due out later this month.

The loud function specializes in the emotionally charged alternative-rock scene similar to The Rodeo Carburettor and Fox Loco Phantom.  The band shows powerful aggression in songs like “ハイ” and “Just Like Yesterday” and smooth it out on songs like “Dangerous K.”  It looks like they’re currently unsigned but hopefully they’ll be able to put out an album soon.

http://www.myspace.com/theloudfunction

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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 »

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Friends

October 27, 2010

myspace band of the week

My second favorite record label announced a new band signing and a slew of good Turntable Films and Hotel Mexico news last weekend.  Like all cool bands their first release will be on a dead format.

Friends is a band of 3 people from Kobe and Osaka.  They were inspired by The Beach Boys and surf music.  Second Royal will release Friends’ debut casette tape Young Days Forever by the end of they year. Four of the tracks were already available on their demo (download for free at bandcamp or SoundCloud) and two will be new.

Their music can be best be described as lo-fi surf pop. The swirling guitars are a lot of fun but the vocals sound like they were recorded under water. “Since I Made A Mistake” and “We’ll Never Stay Together” both come from their demo while “I Think I Love You” (download for free at Second Royal’s SoundCloud) is new.  There’s not a whole lot of difference in sound quality between the new and old tracks, but it’s safe to say a cassette release would be natural for this band.  The retro vibe of Friends will have you longing for days on the beach.

http://www.myspace.com/friendsjp

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Aural Vampire LIVE in Chicago

October 27, 2010

Finally a video from Aural Vampire’s Anime Central performance in Chicago Rosemont surfaces on the internet. Maybe my “walking around like a sick puppy dog” comment makes more sense now.  More pictures from Anime Central can be found on their Flickr page.  I found my head in one of them.  Evidently that was the point of the afternoon when my ninja no jutsu wore off.

In other news I finally uploaded the X Japan pics from my cell phone.  Too late to write a concert review?

http://www.myspace.com/auralvampire

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Saw 3D loves J-Rock

October 24, 2010

If you haven’t seen the tracklist for the upcoming Saw 3D Soundtrack you may be surprised that it includes not one but three J-Rock bands.  Dir en grey is getting the most attention with the exclusive track “Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamituita Shakunetsu no Yami.”  Well, I wouldn’t call it exclusive if it was released as a single last year.  But maybe they released a new PV?  Not quite, but they did insert scenes from the film including Chester Bennington of Linkin Park fame being tortured to death, which may be worth a watch for some.

The other two J-Rock songs on the soundtrack are Boom Boom Satellites’ “What Goes Around Comes Around” and Wagdug Futuristic Unity’s “Ram the Crush!!!” The Boom Boom Satellites song was previously released in America on the Over and Over compilation.  On the other hand, this is the first time we’re seeing Wagdug in America, which is exciting.  The song is taken from his new album R.A.M. You can listen to the soundtrack here and pick up a copy of the CD tomorrow.

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Posted in Boom Boom Satellites, Dir en grey, Linkin Park, Saw 3D, Wagdug Futuristic Unity | Leave a Comment »

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LOST recording blog

October 24, 2010

The band LOST recently recorded a new song “The Red Leaf” for their upcoming tour.  It will be given out as a free CD at the “Discovery Tour Final” shows in November.  Check the dates on their myspace page.  Everyone else can watch a video of the band reading magazines er recording the track above.  Their second album Discovery is available now.

http://www.myspace.com/lostjapan

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