I miss my blog

Motormustang - Delusion

Genre: punk, alternative
Song style: makes you want to headbang, mosh around, and dance

I have run out of music. My music library had the longest gap in song additions in five years, and the last new one was a cheesy Korean pop group. During my life in Japan, I have been to concerts here and there but I somehow misguidedly thought that I had tapped out all the good Japanese indie. Well, after a three month break, I return to youtube and realize I don't recognize the bands there anymore, and some of them sound great! When I look at concert schedules, I find myself only knowing single bands here and there. I want my Japanese indie rock life back!!

While I will likely not have the daily updates of the past or pretend to be up-to-date with the industry, I will still post some of the cool music I've found while I've been here. Especially going to concerts, I realize there's a lot of unexposed talent here, much better than the "big guys". In the past three months, I've been going to some shows, meeting some awesome people in the music industry, and sincerely enjoying my life.

Here is the catchy music video from a punk group who I saw in concert two days ago. Very random, but I befriended a girl on the street when I got lost once, and she works with the drummer of this band, so we went to support their show on Saturday. The openers were also amazing, and expect some of them to appear here. The rest of the show was very energetic and exciting - they really had great charisma. The singer looked creepily similar to the My Chemical Romance guy. Overall, great show!

狂ってる

A Flood of Circle - 博士の異常な愛情

Genre: hard rock, grunge, punk
Song style: catchy scratchy rock

I don't know much about this band but I've seen some of the music videos off their DVD special - (the pair of this song and the song Ghost) - and they sound pretty awesome and exciting. There's not enough heavy bands like this in Japan! Dunno what's up with the random table tennis videos though. These songs come off their album "Paradox Parade", which was released last year. I feel the craziness they talk about in the song - I've graduated but strangely been warped back to freshman year because of my summer job. Living a strange life as a semi-adult. And getting excited for Japan!!

Fight!

The Back Horn - 戦う君よ

Genre: hard rock, punk
Song: pretty heavy and militaristic

I can't believe I missed this! I got blindsighted by my fav 9mm's release on the 21st and managed to completely miss this new single from my second favs the Back Horn, "戦う君よ" that came out April 21st. It's not attached to any album thus far. Gotta say it sounds like their other stuff - nothing really new or unique, just "safe". But still fun to rock out to. And shoutout to all the great mothers out there who have helped their kids rock on in this world (hint: it's mother's day). Including to my own mom, who has always supported my endeavors and my love of rock music. :-) We had a wonderful day today, just the two of us, eating ice cream and walking around the mall.

Champagne

Champagne - For Freedom

Genre: punk, emo
Song style: higher pitched, lighter punk but catchy

I'm really curious as to these guys' background. The singer's English is good enough (though not perfect) to have studied in the States and the drummer has a USD shirt on. They've released their first indies album this year with the awesome title, "Where's my Potato?". I wonder what happens to bands like these. Not many punk bands like this make it into the limelight. Are they aiming for a Japanese audience or an American one? Hard to say, but I find this song unique and exciting.

PS - happy b-day to my sister! For her freedom from school.

Nothing's Carved in Stone

Nothing's Carved in Stone - Isolation

Genre: punk, alternative
Song style: powerful, post-hardcorish punk

I love the complex guitars layered onto the simple ones at the beginning, and the interlude near the end is great. The chorus is a little bland for me, but I think any punk lover should enjoy a band like this. Nothing's Carved in Stone was formed in 2009 as a project coming out from Ellegarden's guitarist. Overall, a catchy, solid track, though I don't know much about the band.

Oldies: The Blue Hearts

The Blue Hearts - Linda Linda

Genre: punk
Song style: sloppy but energetic hard 80s punk

This is one of those classic Japanese rock songs (and bands!) that everyone should know. I would call them the Japanese "The Ramones". This guy has such passion and energy when he rocks out to this song - I love it. Though the band is defunct now, you'll hear these songs everywhere - the first time I heard it was playing a taiko drumming game at an arcade center (I'm not a geek okay!!) This song was released almost exactly 23 years ago (imagine, just barely older than me haha). Where will we all be in 23 years? I'm feeling so sentimental as my final days as a student here draw to a close. But at the same time I am stressed about getting everything done in time and in a satisfying way.

Somewhat old news but...

JinnyOops! - (clip from) HO!コミュニケーション

Genre: punk, ska
Song style: some serious female energy!!

So I know I saw this Osakan band about a month ago, but yesterday my friend just sent me the sample CD he got from the Boston Japan Nite show. I ended up only getting through half of the 9mm Parabellum Bullet album (liking it so far) but had a good time reminiscing with the sampler. And I realized, I really like JinnyOops!'s music. They're very talented and have such charisma that defies normal ideals of Japanese cuteness. Unfortunately this is only a clip of their awesome song HO!コミュニケーション but if you want to hear a full track, here's a fan-made music video. I really see this band going places. They released their first mini-album in February and hopefully will strike it big. They're also so friendly and sweet, especially the vocalist! I hope she enjoyed her time in America.

Note: I realize this combo of youtube and blogger has been cutting off the side of a lot of clips since youtube went widescreen. I'm looking into a solution!!

New Release: 9mm Parabellum Bullet!!!!

9mm Parabellum Bullet - The Revolutionary

Genre: post-hardcore, heavy punk
Song style: fast-paced heavy guitars, melodic melancholic singing

Today comes my most-anticipated album of the year - 9mm Parabellum Bullet's "Revolutionary". This band's beautifully sad and powerful music has served as the background to my life for the past two years. I have laughed, cried, sang, danced, and fell in and out of love to this band. This video is the new single off of the album, sharing a similar title. This band is amazing for their complex guitar, bass, drum parts and melodic vocals to contrast the heavy instrumentals. Their style is distinctly Japanese, with Japanese and idiosyncratic melodies, and all of their lyrics in Japanese except for one sentence in one song. They copy no one. With that in mind, they have become so popular that I fear mainstreaming in their new album - so I have downloaded it, but am a bit afraid to listen to it. My heart is beating quickly to think of how this new album could change my life (or sadly fail to). Listening to this new single has been enough for me today. Now I will use the remainder to dance around the album - listening to previous and related songs. My favorite ever is their song Interceptor off of their early EP Gjallorhorn. It was nostalgic even the first time I heard it.

Flying high

The Mad Capsule Markets - Fly High

Genre: noise rock, experimental, metal, punk, eletronic
Song style: metal guitars + electronic backing + punk vocals

What a memorable band. Someone long ago introduced them to me, and now they are both gone. And soon I will be gone from here, as I have just turned in my senior project, phew. This band has gained international recognition for their unique style that combines elements of electronic music, punk, and metal. Unfortunately they're on long-term hiatus since 2006, and it is difficult to say if we will ever hear from them again. Their music videos are always very creepy or bizarre (this one is just trippy) and their sound is fairly constant across tunes. I'm in the mood for something cathartic like this where you can just let out your craziness.

Concert: Uzuhi

Uzuhi

Genre: punk
Song style: a pianoy alternative song. Not wonderful hehe.

I walked outside this morning and saw the beautiful scenes of petals drifting down from trees all around me. These weren't the cherry blossoms I was used to in Kyoto, but from today I will be going to Washington DC to see some and relive my memories. While I'm there, there will be a "Sakura Matsuri," or Cherry Blossom Festival, featuring many Japanese cultural activities. I'm very excited, I've never been to it before... let's hope it's not fakey! At this Matsuri, this band "Uzuhi" will be performing. The members are all Japanese but formed their band in New York. They're really a very "local" band, and they still seem amateur to me. Not really my style (in particular, check out their really bizarre not so wonderful single. But I'll still be there to check them out. They'll be playing Saturday, April 10 at the Sakura Matsuri in Washington DC.

Silent promise

WRECKingCReW - 無言の約束

Genre: punk
Song style: reminiscent of Bad Religion, high-paced but a sense of sadness

This song is amazing even though the band is relatively mysterious - no wikipedia page and this is their sole music video, despite being active for about 12 years. They're currently searching for a drummer and on a live tour. It looks like they're finally gaining success with a tour with The Back Horn. This song really reminds me of Bad Religion. What a grungy video though! Ahh this song fits the exact mood I'm feeling. Drained from many days of rain but my mind is still jumping.

Red-haired Kelly

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant -　赤毛のケリー

Genre: garage rock, punk rock
Song style: intense, nostalgic, sophisticated garage rock

I had trouble with deciding whether to call these guys oldies since most of their activity was in the 90s, but this song came out 2001 so I guess they're safe. I'm a huge fan of this song, has just such a cool vibe to it. The rest of TMGE's music is a little too thrash/guitary for me (constant shouting) but these guys are considered one of Japan's big punk rock gods. Too bad they broke up in 2003. It's nearing the end of spring break, but sounds like it'll go out with a splash. This red-haired Wilma is going off to have coffee with someone who suddenly wants to meet, it may be the last time. Then going to a man-filled party of people I don't know hehe~.

The flowers of dreams

The Back Horn - 夢の花

Genre: hard rock, punk
Song style: unstereotypical of them, melodic and soft

Here's a second posting of The Back Horn in honor of the DVD they released exactly a month ago (2/10/10) entitled "Emotion Picture Vol 2". A couple of weeks after its release, it managed to reach number 10 in the Oricon music DVD charts, congrats! That's the Back Horn's highest DVD ranking yet. I decided to present a different side to them - a more contemplative, emotional side (contrasted with the Cobalt Blue post). I remember when I went to Japan alone for the first time (back in 2007) and had little access to music - no computer, just a junky PocketPC. My friend took the effort to ship a SD card over from America filled with a collection of all of the Back Horn's music. So this band was my soundtrack for a couple of months. The purple flowers in my garden bloomed for the first time today, so a fitting song to post.

The last breath of the shooting star

Hands down my favorite Japanese band for the past 2 years...

9mm Parabellum Bullet - Supernova

Genre: according to Wikipedia Japan, hardcore punk, heavy metal, and emo. I would also add in post-hardcore
Song style: heavy yet very melodic, fatalistic

This band has just really blown me away. It has been so hard for me to wait this long to make a post about them. I discovered them walking around on the streets one day and seeing a music video advertisement. I'm sure all you music lovers go through phases in your life defined by one main band (like for me, middle school was Korn, high school was half Nine Inch Nails, half Muse, etc). My life right now is 9mm Parabellum Bullet. Their extremely intricate guitar parts and effective mix of melody-driven vocals but intermittent screaming makes the band so fresh. The singer has a voice very unique to Japanese music, yet the melodies are all something you would never find in America. They started out pretty unknown, but in the recent couple of months have gained huge popularity, their singles constantly making it into the top ten. Their heavy touring also generates a strong fan following. I saw them almost exactly a year ago in Kyoto in a small club. Though the venue was small, it was the first concert where I couldn't see the band at all and instead watched their reflection on a shiny poster.

Another thing that really stands out for me is their beautiful, cryptic lyrics. Check out the English translation for this song thanks to this site and some editing from me:

When I embraced the 100,000 degree sun
My mind became a desert
And every time the chilling wind blew through my head
The rain drops of my tears glistened

With just the touch of my fingertip

Maybe everyone’s hearts fall apart without making a sound
I won’t gather those pieces even if they get scattered
What was I looking at beyond the full moon?
A sea of broken stars

If I want to help that girl
Who embraced my 100,000 degree body

With just the touch of my fingertip
Only a scar is opened

I won’t forget the things I burned in order to shine
Even if it all falls apart

Was I looking at the darkness beyond the full moon?
A sea of broken stars

Maybe everyone’s hearts fall apart without making a sound
I won’t gather those pieces even if they get scattered
Beyond the full moon, beyond the full moon
Was god watching from beyond the full moon?

A sea of broken stars
The death of shooting stars

We are in the wind

The Back Horn - Cobalt Blue

Genre: alternative, punk, grunge
Song Style: high energy

This band has been around for a while (since 1998) and is a pretty well-known name in terms of Japanese rock music. This is one of their big songs, back from 2004. They were my first introduction to Japanese rock with their really headbanging-inducing Requiem (check out this one too! Maybe even before Colbalt Blue). Soon I will be revisiting Japan. I just learned I got a fellowship to study at a robotics lab in Tokyo for a year! So with this post, let me also revisit my first favorite Japanese band.