New year means a whole slew of new opportunities to tune into Music Station and see what’s up in Japanese mainstream pop. This is the first new installment of the show in 2011 and promises…a very unexciting lineup. Still we soldier on to dull out hate and maybe some praise. Onto the jams. Aqua Timez…
AKB48 “チャンスの順番” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONCCENIlSXE”] Since AKB48 usually ends up being my whipping posse whenever I write about them, let’s mix it up and start with some positives. The video for this new single isn’t nearly as creepily voyeuristic as some of their other 2010 clips. Plus, it even has a halfway decent idea…a giant rock-paper-scissors league/tournament…
UVERworld “NO.1” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBD56ynXHI”] This UVERworld song presents an interesting dilemma…should a single trying to be something mammoth get points for effort when in the end it still sorta comes off as just another J-Pop track? “NO.1” wants you to leave thinking you’ve just listened to an epic production, a five-part play stuffed into six minutes….
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfCTBOTHsVU”] Man, Obama looks so uncomfortable surrounded by all those weird-ass robots. Dude did get to try out the Charles Xavier chair though so I’m sure that was cool. KAT-TUN “CHANGE UR WORLD” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue1M1BRVzOs”] It’s almost time to buy a new page-a-day calendar, and as the 2010 editions brace for trash day my biggest surprise…
After reading this, I hope you’ll see why I think I need a small vacation. Arashi “Hatenai Sora” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTG1HAxgfWM”] Glancing back at recent entries into this series…collect ’em all by clickin’ the tag!…I’ve noticed a slight increase in overall negativity aimed at most of the tracks appearing on Music Station, one of my major sources…