30. Michiyo Honda “Paradise Lost” J-Pop remains an easy punching bag in 2011 because most of the criticism lobbed at Japanese mainstream music ring true. A large chunk of acts crowding the upper reaches of the Oricon chart are 90’s holdovers with appropriately bland tunes. Labels seem to be in an arms race to see…
Did ya know MTV turned 30 this week? A little bit of pointless trivia as we introduce two music videos that premiered this week. First up, indie-poppers andymori decided to go hippie, hopping in a van and flailing balloons around for the “Sunrise & Sunset” clip. Watch below. It’s nothing special – at least do…
New review over at The Japan Times, this one about the latest andymori album. Check it out to discover why I wasn’t all that impressed by Kakumei outside of the under-two-minute tracks. I will admit that the title track, listenable below, is probably gonna’ be jostling for space on my year-end song list. Shame the…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYGXVVNaxk”] Indie-pop darlings anymori aren’t messing around. On new song “革命,” the trio dash through a guitar-centric bounce-around in just under two minutes, slowing down only once or twice during the short playtime. Nothing that you’d call complex, but andymori usually likes to operate in that way – favoring simple, driving tracks that allow them…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIjtaKwgCpE&hl=en_US&fs=1] Stop motion! Swimming trunks! Funny sunglasses! Playground equipment! All present in this quick, fun video from the dudes in andymori. It’s basically a reminder to enjoy what’s left of the summer. Oh, it’s also a personal reminder that I’ve never mentioned andymori around these parts before despite them being really good. Go listen to…