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Controlled Karaoke: Backstreet Boys Still Have Fans In Japan
Last week I ate lunch with some of the students I teach. We talked about Japanese music and then the topic changed to the kids telling me the American musical groups they knew. The first artist out of there mouths? The Backstreet Boys. They all loved the Backstreet Boys. And High School Musical, but that’s…
Especia Meet Negicco: Negipecia’s “Girl’s Life”
It isn’t necessarily made clear here, but if you follow Make Believe Melodies on Twitter or on Tumblr, you’ll pick up on the fact that J-pop idols are responsible (or, at least represent) for some great music. This outlet…which, in theory, focuses more on the independent/not-mainstream side of Japanese music except, uhhh, when it doesn’t…hasn’t…
Bright Lights: L.E.D.’s “Kara Mizu Ni Naru” Featuring Salyu
J-Pop singer Salyu deserves two superlatives: 1. Best voice in J-Pop today 2. Most misused voice in J-Pop today Salyu’s voice is a thing of wonder, part Bjork-ish while also being able to hit high notes a bit better. Yet for the majority of her career, she’s been saddled with songs meant for traditional J-Pop…
New Sweet Vacation: “ラブカメラ~セカイが恋するメッセージ~”
It’s officially the weekend (at least on this side of the world) so I’ll keep this brief…Sweet Vacation have a new single out called “ラブカメラ~セカイが恋するメッセージ~” and it’s a fun little piece of bouncy retro J-Pop. With congas! It’s a nice Juicy Fruit piece of pop to carry you to next week. Here a little bit…
Just Doesn’t Mix: MiChi And The Telephones “WoNdeR WomaN”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh-OomjdUR8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] In which one of the better rock bands in Japan get transformed into the house band for a party desperate to be raunchier than it actually is. Clearly the idea of the record label higher-up thinking “if we combine Artist A with Artist B, we’ll grab both their markets! Double money!”, “Wonder Woman” (take…
Perfume Set To Play Biggest Show Ever At Tokyo Dome On November 3rd
Sometimes I play a Jeopardy-like game with my English students, asking them about America facts and quizzing them on grammar. For kicks, I also throw in a few personal questions like “what’s my dog named” or “how old am I?” The big finale, usually, is “what is my favorite Japanese band?” Since none of my…