Half of this entry should be relatively self-explanatory — these are albums that, for various reasons, just missed our final cut. All of them are worth your listening time, and them falling just outside of the top 30 really shows just how much good music came out of Japan. The other, though, is a bit…
Another year draws to a close, but 2011 wasn’t just another run-of-the-mill desk calendar for Japanese songs. The past 365 days saw an abundance of great tunes from Japan-based artists, ranging from shadowy electronic movers from Tokyo to dreamy pop numbers born in Osaka to space-tripped clackers via Kyoto. Just as exciting, though, were how…
Nobody else in the Japanese music landscape could have pulled this, a Sphinx-sized ballad coping ideas from the Middle East and summoning what might as well be a chorus from a Greek epic, off. On paper…and maybe on initial listen…this seems bloated and ridiculous, pretty much the opposite of Occupy Wall Street manned by an…
Oh man, a jumbo-sized Music Station this week. Featuring all the heavy hitters. Buckle in folks. AKB48 “Flying Get” WATCH HERE See the logo at the top of this page? That’s the new design/slogan for the “Cool Japan” campaign, the Japanese government’s attempt to spread soft power via culture. Basically, they want Japanese media, like…
Great news gang! College and pro football is back! Which means there is a very real chance I get distracted away from J-Pop at times. Just leave a snappy comment about how I missed the new AKB48 single or something and I’ll pry myself away from directional college versus directional college. Meisa Kuroki “Wired Life”…