J-Rock stars Bump Of Chicken haven’t released a new single in two years, practically an eternity in the J-Music business. I’ve never listened to this rock group before, but the new single in question, “R.I.P./Merry Christmas,” popped up on the Internet a few days ago. This isn’t just another new release…this is the first new…
I’m not ready to write up some grand thesis on the matter, but I believe one of the biggest differences between American and Japanese pop is the degree to which their audiences go along with the star’s images. In the U.S. message boards chirp with discussions about the politics of Lady GaGa and don’t question…
Unlike most American “future pop” though, which relies on minimalism coupled with the occasional satellite radio shout-out, Hiroshima electro-pop trio Perfume go full cyborg and spare no artificial flourishes. The music this J-Pop group (or, more accurately, noted J-Pop producer Yasutaka Nakata) creates sounds completely robotic, all traces of humanity buried under layers of drum…