Up there? That’s the new seasonal flavor of Pepsi here in Japan, the stomach-churning “Strawberry Milk” flavor. I’ve yet to summon the courage to try it, but the very presence of the word “milk” on the soda wrapper has me buggin’ out. Just a terrible combination. Arashi “Meikyu Love Song” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_b5fgzCC34″] AKB48 grab all the…
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2oymHHyV1M”] Music Station has been away for a really long time now, but finally returns this week with a pretty loaded show. I feel like the dude jacked up by the antelope in the above video…except I probably don’t have long-term kidney problems now. Onward! KARA “Winter Magic” [youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qkl0EMs2Zc”] I loathe the winter with every…
Before we dive into the music, quick AKB48 update. They still seem to be shattering records, now courtesy of that boring single they put out. Keep in mind, though, that one guy bought 5500 copies of it – if other AKB fanatics are even buying just a thousand copies, that’s still probably skewing it a…
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…
Photo by me at a Circle K. SMAP “We Are SMAP” Long-time-coming theme song “We Are SMAP” might mark a turning point in J-Pop history. Since the early 1990s, the Johnny’s-concocted boy band has dominated the Japanese pop scene, hitting Oricon gold with many singles and albums during that stretch. They’ve hosted multiple TV shows…including…