Johnny & Associates aren’t just another shadowy Japanese record label christening idols and telling them not to date anyone – Johnny goes WAYYYYY beyond that. The people running this company aren’t in the business of making musicians…they create IDOLS, all caps necessary. These people end up on the fronts of CD singles, folders, television screens,…
The Music Station web site started posting what songs the artists will be performing again. Rejoice! Let’s get into it… NYC “Yuuki 100%” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCVObkaCpl8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Be wary of any musical group cobbled together for the sole purpose of performing the theme song to a volleyball tournament. Last year, Johnny’s Entertainment took two members of tween-heartthrobs Hey!…
Tokyo Damage Report posted a fascinating interview with a former Visual Kei record executive. It’s one of the rare articles written on a section of the Japanese entertainment industry that should be just as riveting to folks who could care less about J-Music as those heavily invested in it. Take some time with it and…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbZ2q1DmvJY&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Reviewing the music of LANDS is tantamount to reviewing the music of Marty McFly and the Pinheads. The group exists to serve as the “featured band” in the recently released Japanese movie Bandage, a film about the early ‘90s indie rock scene of the country and the life of budding rock stars off-stage. LANDS…
A blog focused on discovering the music landscape of Japan wouldn’t be complete without at least a mention of SMAP. I’ve had the chance to listen to a decent amount of SMAP tracks (and have even more to sort through, though I’m in no rush…) and for the most part they aren’t very good. Since…