This Afflac ad starring the apparently famous all over the world Afflac duck and a cat has been running on Japanese TV a bunch since about mid August. It’s got cute music, cute dancing animals and I’m sure great information about insurance. Watch it, it’s charming. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j15ZDcXz3Ds&hl=en&fs=1&] Turns out the “cute music” in the ad…
This blog is currently so young (and I’m still so new to life in Japan) that trying to carve out an identity proves to be tougher than originally imagined. Should I strictly write about contemporary artists, or should I take a broader look at Japanese music, including older acts? And how does mainstream Japanese music…
Japanese indie-poppers Soda Fountains serve as a sort of cuddly litmus test: if you can’t handle hearty handfuls of cute in music, you’ll detest this group. But if the word twee turns you on, and tunes about sunny picnics and rainbows get you going…meet Soda Fountains. They have a new album out on Oct. 28,…
Indie-popster Hideki Kaji will release a new full-length, Strawberries and Cream, October 21. I love this guy’s work (though at glance at his discography reveals I have a lot more albums to hunt down) and this LP has jumped near the top of my “most excited” list. Watch Kaji’s extremely cute video starring a pineapple…
At the sundae bar we call music, irony takes the role of the extra-sugar sprinkles at the end of the table. A few spoonfuls aren’t bad and could even add some flavor, but too much ruins a perfectly good treat. This year has seen an epidemic of artists loading up on irony and absolutely shooting…