After a few weeks off, Music Station thankfully returns this Friday to save me from thinking of one more piece of original content every week. Oh the humanity! It has been awhile, but let’s check in on the world of mainstream J-Pop, shall we? Arashi “To Be Free [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chWKkT49So8&hl=en_US&fs=1] Arashi haven’t been on a winning…
Looking for some good television before the South Africa-Mexico game kicks off the 2010 World Cup? Music Station airs three hours before the match starts, so you could pregame to the week’s finest J-Pop singles. Wait, what am I saying…if you do that you’d have no reason to read this article!!! Rent a DVD or…
Abe Mao “Lonely” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jg19Im4PyLo&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Let’s first talk about the video for Abe Mao’s “Lonely,” because it’ll end up serving as a solid writing device in the next paragraph. The clip works as a sorta meta-video wherein the (fake) making of one’s music video becomes the music video itself. It’s a theme plenty of band have…
Can any of the songs on this week’s Music Station come close to equaling the majesty of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s shirt? Not an easy task. Let’s find out though! Arashi “Monster” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bo-NOjtu4&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Excuse me while I get self-referential for a minute. In pretty much every instance where I rave about robo-bop disco divas…
Ikimono-gakari “Arigato” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nk0uVMV5_A&hl=en_US&fs=1&] The first time I wrote about “Arigato” I focused mostly on the overly long track’s negatives. Though I’d still prefer to see Cheech Marin shoot bad guys while dressed as a priest three times, my imaginary therapist advised me to be a bit more positive about Ikimono-gakari’s latest. As long as we…