Tokyo outfit Shiggy Jr. are specifically talented at two things: 1. Songs about the summer 2. Late breakdowns that up the drama of the proceeding pop jam significantly. Point two is especially worth pointing out, as it is what transformed last year’s hoppy “Listen To The Music” from a very good single to something I…
It has been 20 years since Fukuoka outfit Number Girl formed, an outfit that went on to create some of the best (and most frantic…and intense…and, well, more adjectives could be stuffed here) rock music of the ’90s and early Oughts. To honor them, a bunch of artists from across Japan have put together Good-Bye…
(That art is so cute!) Einsteins have a new song posted online called “Hypnotism,” and it is…well, not quite worthy of being dubbed “hypnotic” but more comforting. It’s a lovely mush of synthesizers and singing, an easygoing (and dreamy) way to start the week. Listen above.
(First off, the “interactive” element of this video is hilarious, but also sort of genius, like Google releasing Google Glass a couple years back and now settling on some cardboard specs. Put your finger here, and you can pretend it squirts mustard! Also, a furry relationship sub-story.) Namie Amuro’s switch from Japanese to Japanese/English singing…
This isn’t a new revelation, but one worth restating — I tend to avoid writing about Japanese rap music for several reasons (the key one being I just don’t know enough about it to sound remotely smart). This year, though, I’ve reached a dilemma — I’ve written about a lot of artists who rap, but…