During the two years or so when I wasn't writing for this blog, I found a YouTube channel called "C Lippe" which regurarly posts live gigs from various South Korean bands. In The Endless Zanhyang We Are were one of those bands and the only one to really take a hold of me. I thought they were amazing and for the past eighteen months my mp3 player has always had something of theirs on it, whether it was the LP, EP or some live mp3s I ripped from YouTube.
Recently, I learnt through Facebook that they were playing their first gigs in the UK. Such is my love for this band, that I would've happily travelled hundreds of miles to see their first gig on British soil. As it was, it was only a twenty minute walk from my flat. How convenient.
The best bit about reviewing music on the Internet is that instead of describing the sound, you can post a handy link that would tell the reader all they need. Here’s a link to some live stuff from earlier this year.
Suffice to say, I find it both elegiac and immense, fragile and over-powering. The set itself was only half an hour long, held in a room over a pub that might hold fifty people at a pinch, but the smallness of the venue mattered little once they started playing. The lead vocalist went from gentle crooning to banshee wailing, arching her back and throwing out emotions far bigger than the room could comfortably contain.
The drums powered through, driving each song forward and I remember thinking how much more rhythmic and raw it felt compared to the studio album. The bass guitar added melody to the drums while the guitar acted as a counterpoint to the vocals and keyboard before heading off on its own into wild pounding chords, sending the song further and further away from its starting point before bringing it all back round again.
A stunning performance and, by itself, was worth the entrance fee. They were actually fourth on the bill. Astonishing. Their name should be tattooed on every shoulder blade and down every calf muscle in the Western world, in my opinion.
But, yeah. Incredible. If you need someone to restore your faith in music, then give them a try.
Track listing for the night
1. 5.41
2. Greensleeves
3. And So It Goes
4. Nightglow Sea
5. What If
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 May 2018
Sunday, 11 March 2018
Folk singers
For the purposes of this blog post the term “folk music” refers to the Western style of music and not actual indigenous Japanese folk music.
I recently bought a book on Japanese folk musician Mikami Kan. I’d never heard of him before I saw the book in a Tokyo record store, but since it was the only English language book about a Japanese topic, I picked it up and bought it there and then.
The book is excellent, and it talks about music, the creative process, friendship and his career through 1970s Japan. It does so in short, punchy paragraphs, most of which are only one sentence long.
On one page, in a paragraph with six sentences in it (possibly the longest in the book) he lists the acts who performed at the 3rd All Japan Folk Jamboree in 1971. When I saw this, I thought this would be a great place to start and learn more about the genre. These are the highlights of what I found.
First is Okabayashi Nobuyasu 岡林 信康. According to Wikipedia, this guy is “Japan’s Bob Dylan” and he is best know for his song “The Letter” which is very nice but I was blown away by the electrified blues of “Watashitachi no Nozomumono wa” performed live with the band Happy End.
and if you prefer something more acoustic, this full concert (audio only) from 1969 is beautiful.
Next is Takada Wataru 高田渡 with this gentle singalong, “Seikatsu no gara”
Finally, a song from Masato Tomobe 友部正人. This song may date from 1983, so it's a bit later than the 70s vibe I've been searching for, but I like it all the same.
While looking through YouTube for these songs, I kept getting sidetracked by the suggestions automatically provided by YouTube. A few of these lead me down some very nice paths, especially to this copy of Misora by Sanchiko Kaneobu.
And, of course, I had to include Mikami Kan himself, didn't I?
I recently bought a book on Japanese folk musician Mikami Kan. I’d never heard of him before I saw the book in a Tokyo record store, but since it was the only English language book about a Japanese topic, I picked it up and bought it there and then.
The book is excellent, and it talks about music, the creative process, friendship and his career through 1970s Japan. It does so in short, punchy paragraphs, most of which are only one sentence long.
On one page, in a paragraph with six sentences in it (possibly the longest in the book) he lists the acts who performed at the 3rd All Japan Folk Jamboree in 1971. When I saw this, I thought this would be a great place to start and learn more about the genre. These are the highlights of what I found.
First is Okabayashi Nobuyasu 岡林 信康. According to Wikipedia, this guy is “Japan’s Bob Dylan” and he is best know for his song “The Letter” which is very nice but I was blown away by the electrified blues of “Watashitachi no Nozomumono wa” performed live with the band Happy End.
and if you prefer something more acoustic, this full concert (audio only) from 1969 is beautiful.
Next is Takada Wataru 高田渡 with this gentle singalong, “Seikatsu no gara”
Then there is Endo Kenji 遠藤 賢司 (and you’re going to need those kanji if you want to search for him) who sadly died last October. He wrote the song Bob Lennon which was later used in the film 20th Century Boys.
Finally, a song from Masato Tomobe 友部正人. This song may date from 1983, so it's a bit later than the 70s vibe I've been searching for, but I like it all the same.
While looking through YouTube for these songs, I kept getting sidetracked by the suggestions automatically provided by YouTube. A few of these lead me down some very nice paths, especially to this copy of Misora by Sanchiko Kaneobu.
And, of course, I had to include Mikami Kan himself, didn't I?
Sunday, 26 July 2015
You know you’re a k-pop fan when...
Actually, my infatuation with all things k-pop has died down a bit in the past couple of years. I still keep an eye on the scene, but not with the same sense of anticipation as before.
But since I spent a lot of this weekend listening to Girls' Generation, I thought I’d sit down and write a list describing the signs that you’ve finally given in to the allure of k-pop. These lists are all over the internet, but even so they never really reflect how k-pop affected me. So here’s my personal list and maybe it’ll strike a chord with you.
1. When you listen to Western pop, you imagine a Korean act is singing it
Once upon a time, when I listened to a song, I used to imagine myself in the pop video. Not any more. Now I imagine acts like BigBang or Miss A instead. It depends on who I’m listening to, of course, but I’ve definitely noticed a tendency for me to imagine song X is a particular act’s first English release, and then I wonder what the video would be like, their appearance on Music Bank, etc etc.
2. You listen to music every day but you have no idea who is number one in your country
I used to have my finger on the pulse of the music biz. I worked for EMI for four years and I was quite the expert on upcoming acts. Then I lived in Italy for several years, but I still had an idea of who was big in the UK. Then I came back to England, discovered k-pop and then suddenly the UK top forty just seemed unnecessary. I was so out of touch that I didn't even know when a couple of bands I liked (The Lumineers and First Aid Kit) became successful.
3. You get annoyed when people confuse Korean, Japanese and Chinese pop cultures
Seriously, I never used to give a shit about this stuff, but then it started to really get to me (now, not so much. I just assume they’re being ironic and laugh it off). Even stuff like confusing Soju and Sake would annoy me. They’re completely different! If they weren’t different they wouldn’t have the different names! I mean, come on!
4. Saying “aishh” or “aigoo”
This is one that I’ve seen on other lists, and personally I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. But I must admit, if I get annoyed enough with someone saying something stupid, I find myself saying “aishhh” before explaining exactly where they’re wrong. Slightly embarrassing, and I hope nobody notices.
5. You feel sorry for people who don’t like k-pop
This one’s a bit patronizing. I mean, snobbish dismissal of other people’s tastes in music is common in school children, but just looks absurd when coming from a grown adult. This means when I meet someone who says they don’t know about k-pop, I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying “Really? So you have no fun at all?” Western pop tends to look like a dour mix of greys compared to K-pop's dazzling palette of primary colours. Having said that, I genuinely do feel sorry for anyone who hasn't seen The Genius and that's not patronizing: that's a genuine feeling of remorse for someone's misfortune.
6. You get far too excited when Korean TV shows a Korean brand that you use in real life
I admit when I saw episode six of My Love From Another Star where Jun Ji Hyun offers someone a coffee of the same brand that I buy, I felt strangely elated. Like it somehow validated my interest in K-pop, making me feel a little bit more... authentic, somehow.
7. You start feeling like you’re in some kind of social experiment
Ever stopped to think about how weird your situation is? You’ve decided to divorce yourself from the culture that surrounds you and adopt a different culture instead. Your conversational skills drop off rapidly as you can’t discuss the latest TV/music/films that everyone else has seen. In fact, it’s not that different from being old. You find that no one understands your cultural references and when you do speak, people wait patiently until you’re finished and then change the subject.
8. You’re surprised when people say they don’t like songs in a foreign language
This depends on where you grew up, of course, but in the UK foreign pop music has always been patronized, probably due to its connection to the Eurovision Song Contest, which is now more popular for the fancy dress parties it inspires that the actual music. But after years of listening to foreign music, it comes as a shock when I’m reminded that some people have a real issue with songs in another language. Maybe it’s because they can’t sing along. I don't know.
- - - - -
So that's my list. No idea idea if anyone else feels the same and I guess it's applicable to any xenophile, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.
But since I spent a lot of this weekend listening to Girls' Generation, I thought I’d sit down and write a list describing the signs that you’ve finally given in to the allure of k-pop. These lists are all over the internet, but even so they never really reflect how k-pop affected me. So here’s my personal list and maybe it’ll strike a chord with you.
1. When you listen to Western pop, you imagine a Korean act is singing it
Once upon a time, when I listened to a song, I used to imagine myself in the pop video. Not any more. Now I imagine acts like BigBang or Miss A instead. It depends on who I’m listening to, of course, but I’ve definitely noticed a tendency for me to imagine song X is a particular act’s first English release, and then I wonder what the video would be like, their appearance on Music Bank, etc etc.
2. You listen to music every day but you have no idea who is number one in your country
I used to have my finger on the pulse of the music biz. I worked for EMI for four years and I was quite the expert on upcoming acts. Then I lived in Italy for several years, but I still had an idea of who was big in the UK. Then I came back to England, discovered k-pop and then suddenly the UK top forty just seemed unnecessary. I was so out of touch that I didn't even know when a couple of bands I liked (The Lumineers and First Aid Kit) became successful.
3. You get annoyed when people confuse Korean, Japanese and Chinese pop cultures
Seriously, I never used to give a shit about this stuff, but then it started to really get to me (now, not so much. I just assume they’re being ironic and laugh it off). Even stuff like confusing Soju and Sake would annoy me. They’re completely different! If they weren’t different they wouldn’t have the different names! I mean, come on!
4. Saying “aishh” or “aigoo”
This is one that I’ve seen on other lists, and personally I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. But I must admit, if I get annoyed enough with someone saying something stupid, I find myself saying “aishhh” before explaining exactly where they’re wrong. Slightly embarrassing, and I hope nobody notices.
5. You feel sorry for people who don’t like k-pop
This one’s a bit patronizing. I mean, snobbish dismissal of other people’s tastes in music is common in school children, but just looks absurd when coming from a grown adult. This means when I meet someone who says they don’t know about k-pop, I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying “Really? So you have no fun at all?” Western pop tends to look like a dour mix of greys compared to K-pop's dazzling palette of primary colours. Having said that, I genuinely do feel sorry for anyone who hasn't seen The Genius and that's not patronizing: that's a genuine feeling of remorse for someone's misfortune.
6. You get far too excited when Korean TV shows a Korean brand that you use in real life
I admit when I saw episode six of My Love From Another Star where Jun Ji Hyun offers someone a coffee of the same brand that I buy, I felt strangely elated. Like it somehow validated my interest in K-pop, making me feel a little bit more... authentic, somehow.
7. You start feeling like you’re in some kind of social experiment
Ever stopped to think about how weird your situation is? You’ve decided to divorce yourself from the culture that surrounds you and adopt a different culture instead. Your conversational skills drop off rapidly as you can’t discuss the latest TV/music/films that everyone else has seen. In fact, it’s not that different from being old. You find that no one understands your cultural references and when you do speak, people wait patiently until you’re finished and then change the subject.
8. You’re surprised when people say they don’t like songs in a foreign language
This depends on where you grew up, of course, but in the UK foreign pop music has always been patronized, probably due to its connection to the Eurovision Song Contest, which is now more popular for the fancy dress parties it inspires that the actual music. But after years of listening to foreign music, it comes as a shock when I’m reminded that some people have a real issue with songs in another language. Maybe it’s because they can’t sing along. I don't know.
- - - - -
So that's my list. No idea idea if anyone else feels the same and I guess it's applicable to any xenophile, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.
Saturday, 4 April 2015
Currently listening to: MFBTY and Humbert Humbert
It’s Spring! Which means it’s time for a bunch of big name K-Pop stars to make their comeback. Or, as everyone else in the world calls it: release new material.
Despite my somewhat sarcastic opening, I am a little excited about this. For the past couple of months, I’ve been quite frustrated that I’ve haven’t found any new act that made me think “Hey, I want to know more about this!” so I’m kind of hoping that this new round of releases might change that.
Miss A have already released a good (but not great) mini-album, and BigBang and Girls’ Generation have new releases coming up soon. I have no idea what to expect from BigBang (and that’s a good thing) but the teaser for the new GG single sounds pretty awful. I didn’t like Mister Mister either, but at least it had a couple of good b-sides.
I’ll be honest (and I’m not proud of this) I didn’t like Girls’ Generation at first and the only reason I gave them a second chance was because they put the apostrophe in their name in the right place. I’m such a grammar geek that I thought, “Well, if they can do that, they can’t be all bad.” And so I gave “Gee” a few more listens, and the rest is history. But despite all that good feeling toward them, I have grave doubts about their new stuff.
But what I really want to talk about is MFBTY. Their new album, Wondaland, is out and in my mp3 player and it’s a bit special. Better that their debut The Cure, this is a great (frequently brilliant) collection of rap/dance tunes, with Angel coming out a clear favourite.
It made me wonder about the name, though. MFBTY is generally explained as My Fans Better Than Yours, but on the new album one song has the refrain “MF Bizzy TY.” This got me thinking: if B stands for Bizzy, then T must stand for Tiger JK and Y must mean Yoon Mi Rae: the three memebrs of the group. So what does MF stand for? Are there two more people in the band? Or does it actually stand for “Mother Fucking Bizzy, Tiger, Yoon Mi Rae”? Since I’m never going to meet them, I’ll never know, but I kind of hope so.
So, if that wasn’t enough to restore my faith in music, one day after I bought Wondaland I discovered a new band through the unlikely source of a YouTube recommendation. Humbert Humbert are a Japanese folk duo with an incredible ear for a chorus and some heart-breaking harmonies. Never more so than on their song “大宴会” (Daienkai) which is exactly the kind of song you’d expect to hear when you’re out hiking in a mountain forest in Japan, floating across a valley on a slight breeze. Somehow it feels like it comes from long ago but also could have been written yesterday: that’s how beautiful and universal it is.
But I don’t want to praise this song in favour of others. Most of their songs have that timeless quality. Unfortunately, they’re not the easiest band to search for. They’re on iTunes (along with two other bands also called Humbert Humbert) but I’ve found a fair amount of stuff on YouTube. Definitely worth the effort, though. They are one of those bands that sing songs that are so simple that you can hardly believe that no one has written them before.
Despite my somewhat sarcastic opening, I am a little excited about this. For the past couple of months, I’ve been quite frustrated that I’ve haven’t found any new act that made me think “Hey, I want to know more about this!” so I’m kind of hoping that this new round of releases might change that.
Miss A have already released a good (but not great) mini-album, and BigBang and Girls’ Generation have new releases coming up soon. I have no idea what to expect from BigBang (and that’s a good thing) but the teaser for the new GG single sounds pretty awful. I didn’t like Mister Mister either, but at least it had a couple of good b-sides.
I’ll be honest (and I’m not proud of this) I didn’t like Girls’ Generation at first and the only reason I gave them a second chance was because they put the apostrophe in their name in the right place. I’m such a grammar geek that I thought, “Well, if they can do that, they can’t be all bad.” And so I gave “Gee” a few more listens, and the rest is history. But despite all that good feeling toward them, I have grave doubts about their new stuff.
But what I really want to talk about is MFBTY. Their new album, Wondaland, is out and in my mp3 player and it’s a bit special. Better that their debut The Cure, this is a great (frequently brilliant) collection of rap/dance tunes, with Angel coming out a clear favourite.
It made me wonder about the name, though. MFBTY is generally explained as My Fans Better Than Yours, but on the new album one song has the refrain “MF Bizzy TY.” This got me thinking: if B stands for Bizzy, then T must stand for Tiger JK and Y must mean Yoon Mi Rae: the three memebrs of the group. So what does MF stand for? Are there two more people in the band? Or does it actually stand for “Mother Fucking Bizzy, Tiger, Yoon Mi Rae”? Since I’m never going to meet them, I’ll never know, but I kind of hope so.
So, if that wasn’t enough to restore my faith in music, one day after I bought Wondaland I discovered a new band through the unlikely source of a YouTube recommendation. Humbert Humbert are a Japanese folk duo with an incredible ear for a chorus and some heart-breaking harmonies. Never more so than on their song “大宴会” (Daienkai) which is exactly the kind of song you’d expect to hear when you’re out hiking in a mountain forest in Japan, floating across a valley on a slight breeze. Somehow it feels like it comes from long ago but also could have been written yesterday: that’s how beautiful and universal it is.
But I don’t want to praise this song in favour of others. Most of their songs have that timeless quality. Unfortunately, they’re not the easiest band to search for. They’re on iTunes (along with two other bands also called Humbert Humbert) but I’ve found a fair amount of stuff on YouTube. Definitely worth the effort, though. They are one of those bands that sing songs that are so simple that you can hardly believe that no one has written them before.
Saturday, 8 November 2014
The Fifth Annual November 8th Awards
Given that this past twelve months has seen my amount of TV viewing fall off a cliff, this is probably the least representative November 8th awards that I’ve done. Nevertheless, I have seen some very good things and I’d like to celebrate them. And so, with a conspicuous lack of nominations, here are the winners...
Best drama
Petero no Souretsu
Actually, this was going to be Border right up until last week, when I finished Petero no Souretsu. Plenty of dramas this year were quite nice, but most were abandoned halfway through. These two, however, kept me gripped until the end. Border expertly took a silly idea and played it straight, turning it into something quite unique: a sensible supernatural cop show. But Petero no Souretsu was a fine piece of drama, expertly played and I think it just deserves the win.
Best comedy
River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha
I did enjoy No Con Kid (didn’t write about it, though) and Kagi no Kakatta Heya but to be honest, River’s Edge had no real competition. Made with such care and acted so perfectly, there was almost nothing to dislike about this series. The idea of a detective series that takes weird cases is hardly original (after all, last year’s winner Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi had almost exactly the same plot) but I fall for it every time. Gorgeous.
Best Film
Ah, now this is a category that I have kept up with. Mostly.
The Great Passage
Petal Dance
The Last Chance:Diary of Comedians
Snow White Murder Case
A tough one. The Great Passage is a film about dictionaries, and I love words and language, so it obviously struck a chord with me. The Last Chance made me cry with its tale of a failing stand-up comedy act. The Snow White Murder Case was a great story that kept me thinking long after it ended but, despite all that, I cannot explain the hold that Petal Dance has had over me since I first saw it. It’s gentle semi-improvised pace means it is more of a mood piece than a story to be followed. And that’s how I’ve enjoyed it each of the six or seven times I’ve seen it. Almost like ambient cinema. Delightful.
Best Actor
Oguri Shun (Border)
A winner by a country mile. His performance in Border held the storyline together, and was full of nice touches as he slowly lost his ability to trust his colleagues while he relied more and more on his supernatural power of seeing the dead. Perfect.
Best actress
Inoue Mao (The Snow White Murder Case)
Tricky one, this. I almost gave it to Toda Erika for Kagi no Kakatta Heya, simply because for the first few minutes of her performance I didn’t realise it was her. Quite a convincing change in appearance and mannerisms.
But Inoue Mao takes it with a great performance as the suspect in a murder investigation who has already been tried and charged by the media. The best role in her career so far.
Best Game Show
The Genius
Crime Scene
Game Centre CX
Running Man
After three years of being first, Running Man slips back a few places, displaced by two new game shows from Korea: Crime Scene (basically Cluedo for TV) and The Genius. I decided to give the award to The Genius since it's a stunning piece of work: tense, exciting and funny. It is everything you want from a game show. Crime Scene was an excellent example of how murders can be fun. Meanwhile, Running Man is still funny enough that I can barely wait for the subs each week and Game Centre CX remains a fixture on my list of essential viewing.
Best album
Bump Of Chicken “Ray”
I knew half the CD before I even got it, since so many singles had been released from this album. Luckily, the half I didn’t know was well worth the cost. A great piece of work. The three opening tracks by themselves are almost worth the win.
Safe Pair of Hands Award
Odagiri Joe (The Great Passage, Gokuaku Ganbo, River’s Edge, Real)
This award could have gone to Hong Jin Ho, the ex-Pro Gamer from Korea who appeared in The Genius, Crime Scene and a nice bit of Korean fluff I saw called “Sweet 17” where he gave advice on romance, of all things.
But Odagiri Joe was in so many films and dramas I saw in the past twelve months that I lost count. And, amazingly, I liked all of them. Well, Alice no Toge wasn’t so great, but everything else was good. Certainly, twice he was involved in stuff that’ll I want to watch over and over, and everywhere else he was able to lift his scenes into something above the norm. Effortlessly talented.
And that's my opinion (albeit very uninformed) on the previous twelve months.
Best drama
Petero no Souretsu
Actually, this was going to be Border right up until last week, when I finished Petero no Souretsu. Plenty of dramas this year were quite nice, but most were abandoned halfway through. These two, however, kept me gripped until the end. Border expertly took a silly idea and played it straight, turning it into something quite unique: a sensible supernatural cop show. But Petero no Souretsu was a fine piece of drama, expertly played and I think it just deserves the win.
Best comedy
River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha
I did enjoy No Con Kid (didn’t write about it, though) and Kagi no Kakatta Heya but to be honest, River’s Edge had no real competition. Made with such care and acted so perfectly, there was almost nothing to dislike about this series. The idea of a detective series that takes weird cases is hardly original (after all, last year’s winner Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi had almost exactly the same plot) but I fall for it every time. Gorgeous.
Best Film
Ah, now this is a category that I have kept up with. Mostly.
The Great Passage
Petal Dance
The Last Chance:Diary of Comedians
Snow White Murder Case
A tough one. The Great Passage is a film about dictionaries, and I love words and language, so it obviously struck a chord with me. The Last Chance made me cry with its tale of a failing stand-up comedy act. The Snow White Murder Case was a great story that kept me thinking long after it ended but, despite all that, I cannot explain the hold that Petal Dance has had over me since I first saw it. It’s gentle semi-improvised pace means it is more of a mood piece than a story to be followed. And that’s how I’ve enjoyed it each of the six or seven times I’ve seen it. Almost like ambient cinema. Delightful.
Best Actor
Oguri Shun (Border)
A winner by a country mile. His performance in Border held the storyline together, and was full of nice touches as he slowly lost his ability to trust his colleagues while he relied more and more on his supernatural power of seeing the dead. Perfect.
Best actress
Inoue Mao (The Snow White Murder Case)
Tricky one, this. I almost gave it to Toda Erika for Kagi no Kakatta Heya, simply because for the first few minutes of her performance I didn’t realise it was her. Quite a convincing change in appearance and mannerisms.
But Inoue Mao takes it with a great performance as the suspect in a murder investigation who has already been tried and charged by the media. The best role in her career so far.
Best Game Show
The Genius
Crime Scene
Game Centre CX
Running Man
After three years of being first, Running Man slips back a few places, displaced by two new game shows from Korea: Crime Scene (basically Cluedo for TV) and The Genius. I decided to give the award to The Genius since it's a stunning piece of work: tense, exciting and funny. It is everything you want from a game show. Crime Scene was an excellent example of how murders can be fun. Meanwhile, Running Man is still funny enough that I can barely wait for the subs each week and Game Centre CX remains a fixture on my list of essential viewing.
Best album
Bump Of Chicken “Ray”
I knew half the CD before I even got it, since so many singles had been released from this album. Luckily, the half I didn’t know was well worth the cost. A great piece of work. The three opening tracks by themselves are almost worth the win.
Safe Pair of Hands Award
Odagiri Joe (The Great Passage, Gokuaku Ganbo, River’s Edge, Real)
This award could have gone to Hong Jin Ho, the ex-Pro Gamer from Korea who appeared in The Genius, Crime Scene and a nice bit of Korean fluff I saw called “Sweet 17” where he gave advice on romance, of all things.
But Odagiri Joe was in so many films and dramas I saw in the past twelve months that I lost count. And, amazingly, I liked all of them. Well, Alice no Toge wasn’t so great, but everything else was good. Certainly, twice he was involved in stuff that’ll I want to watch over and over, and everywhere else he was able to lift his scenes into something above the norm. Effortlessly talented.
And that's my opinion (albeit very uninformed) on the previous twelve months.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Great Korean songs with hardly any views on YouTube
Well, I’ve been rushed off my feet this month. I’ve been making a short film for once, instead of writing about them (you can see a teaser for it here) and it’s taken up a lot of time and energy.
Anyway, with the news that Psy’s song Gangnam Style has hit 2 billion views on YouTube, I decided to write a quick post about Korean songs that I adore, but that have got barely any attention at all.
First up is Lee Geun Jung with this video, posted on April 2012 and it has only 365 views so far. It’s a quiet acoustic ballad. It’s only three minutes long, and just as you think it’s reaching a crescendo, it drifts back into melancholy at the end.
In October 2012, this video by Park So Yun was posted and, to date, it’s had just 115 views. Fly High is an upbeat number, with exactly the kind of chorus you’d expect a song called “Fly High” to have. Don't know why I can't embed it, but never mind. Click on the link! It's worth it.
Next is from February of this year. Han Chae Yoon’s song is a delicate tune that skips along with a smile in its heart. It’s charming childlike qualities have picked up 617 views to date, though.
The last one is a bit of a cheat, since it’s only been up for two months. But in that time, it’s only got ten views. It’s from Nine9 (lead singer with the quite excellent Dear Cloud) and it’s a typically uplifting piece of stadium pop.
Anyway, with the news that Psy’s song Gangnam Style has hit 2 billion views on YouTube, I decided to write a quick post about Korean songs that I adore, but that have got barely any attention at all.
First up is Lee Geun Jung with this video, posted on April 2012 and it has only 365 views so far. It’s a quiet acoustic ballad. It’s only three minutes long, and just as you think it’s reaching a crescendo, it drifts back into melancholy at the end.
In October 2012, this video by Park So Yun was posted and, to date, it’s had just 115 views. Fly High is an upbeat number, with exactly the kind of chorus you’d expect a song called “Fly High” to have. Don't know why I can't embed it, but never mind. Click on the link! It's worth it.
Next is from February of this year. Han Chae Yoon’s song is a delicate tune that skips along with a smile in its heart. It’s charming childlike qualities have picked up 617 views to date, though.
The last one is a bit of a cheat, since it’s only been up for two months. But in that time, it’s only got ten views. It’s from Nine9 (lead singer with the quite excellent Dear Cloud) and it’s a typically uplifting piece of stadium pop.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
My Top 13 Japanese albums
To be specific: albums that were released in Japan. A couple of things to note: I have not carried out a comprehensive search throughout all Japanese modern music to find the best thirteen albums. It is just the result of my somewhat random ramble through the world of J-pop.This is why some big names are missing (Southern All-Stars and Utada Hiraku, for example) and there’s not much before the year 2000. And I know thirteen is an strange number for a chart (lucky I’m not superstitious), but after this I couldn’t think of anything else that could compete. All of these albums have, at one time or another, lived in my mp3 player for months at a time on high rotation. Bless them all.
13. Comeback My Daughters “Outta Here” (2011)
This blend of easy-going guitar driven pop is charming and catchy in all the right places.
By the way, if I had to recommend one video from this page, it would be this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Snh-9CM50
12. Zerii “No need” (2001)
This was their second album and it was to be their finest hour. Well, just over half an hour, anyway. Mind you, I haven’t heard their first album: This isn’t the easiest band to find on the internet. To do so, you need to search for ゼリ→ otherwise you get a load of links to pages about jelly. It’s a blistering punk blast, with occasional overtones of ska.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TBG6OacLJY
11. Dragon Ash “Harvest” (2003)
Mixing rock and rap is notoriously difficult. Either the rap is clumsy or the rock is plodding and dull. Not here. Dragon Ash nail this perfectly, drifting from stomping balls-out anthems to quiet, thoughtful musings. And, sometimes, both at the same time.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ic6u_dragon-ash-morrow-q4_music
10. Hitomi Yaida “Candlize” (2001)
Hitomi Yaida was one of the very first Japanese artists I discovered. She can always be relied on for great singles, but this was the time when it all came together for a whole CD: her second album has no weak tracks and is awesome pop goodness from start to finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVEpbOEZK7o
9. Kokia “moment” (2011)
I once read an article or blog post about Kokia saying that your favourite album of hers would probably be the first one you heard. Well, that’s true in this case. Maybe it was the shock of such a great voice matched with those songs that enchanted me. Whatever, no other album of hers has had the same effect on me. This is a glorious celebration of her voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3dHe0kPff8
8. Missile Girl Scoot “Fiesta” (2000)
While researching this list, I noticed that this CD was on sale on Amazon at a mere $52. I mean, it’s great, but is it $52-worth of great?
This metal-rap-punk-ska hybrid hit the ground running with their debut album. A searing blend of two female vocalists (yes, they’re both female) over some grunge riffs, ska rhythms and irresistible songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_EM3S7QN4
7. Specialthanks “Seven Lovers” (2011)
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of band I always wished existed. A super-cute female lead singer backed with some joyous punk-pop. There really is nothing else to add.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBMUuEEx9tY
6. Girls Generation “Girls Generation II: Girls and Peace” (2012)
I think the problem I have with Girls Generation is that I always expect every release to be a slice of pop genius, which it rarely is, although I usually like it. This album is the one time that Girls’ Generation matched my expectations. Light, frothy and fun, it is an undeniably adorable collection of great pop choons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKAnYWNnYW8
5. James Iha “Linda Linda Linda OST” (2005)
James Iha’s contribution to the soundtrack of the film Linda Linda Linda was pivotal to it’s atmosphere. The sense of motionlessness that somehow heightened the sense of nostalgia. Like the sound of a distant band practice echoing down school corridors, his ambient pieces are beautiful and also somehow hypnotic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnnHXL-vDQo
4. Veltpunch “Black Album” (2010)
This tangle of guitars and choruses was my album of the year not so long ago. It remains a favourite of mine. It's awkward, experimental feel means I never get tired of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LoH4dnybp0
3. Faye Wong “Sing and Play” (1998)
This was recorded at the height of Faye Wong's infatuation with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins. Faye Wong’s voice is at her most ethereal, riding through spell-binding choruses on swooping walls of synthesisers. (Sorry about the lapse into bad poetry, but that’s the sort of thing this music will do to you.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2I42WDOhA
2. Bump of Chicken “Orbital Period” (2007)
Bump Of Chicken’s obsession with astronomy reaches an artistic peak with this album. It is perhaps their most gentle album, with many of the songs beginning with a phrase picked out on acoustic guitar before growing into a life-affirming crescendo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLnUctmUzsI
1. Supercar “Highvision” (2002)
It wasn’t until I moved to London in 1998 that I really discovered Japanese culture. Without the internet, there was really no way for J-pop to reach me in my suburban commuter-belt town. However, I’d always been kind of fascinated by it, ever since my brother came back from a holiday there during the 1980s and said it was the closest you could get to leaving the planet.
This album sounds like how I imagined Japan in those early years. Sleek, futuristic, minimalist. Now I know Japan a little better, I realise that's quite unlike the real thing, but when I listen to “Highvision” I’m taken back to that futuristic idea of Japan where driverless taxis glide past and couples wearing space-age clothes speed upwards in transparent elevators to the hyper-restaurant on the 110th floor. Bliss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqnE9zwcO_Q
13. Comeback My Daughters “Outta Here” (2011)
This blend of easy-going guitar driven pop is charming and catchy in all the right places.
By the way, if I had to recommend one video from this page, it would be this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Snh-9CM50
12. Zerii “No need” (2001)
This was their second album and it was to be their finest hour. Well, just over half an hour, anyway. Mind you, I haven’t heard their first album: This isn’t the easiest band to find on the internet. To do so, you need to search for ゼリ→ otherwise you get a load of links to pages about jelly. It’s a blistering punk blast, with occasional overtones of ska.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TBG6OacLJY
11. Dragon Ash “Harvest” (2003)
Mixing rock and rap is notoriously difficult. Either the rap is clumsy or the rock is plodding and dull. Not here. Dragon Ash nail this perfectly, drifting from stomping balls-out anthems to quiet, thoughtful musings. And, sometimes, both at the same time.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ic6u_dragon-ash-morrow-q4_music
10. Hitomi Yaida “Candlize” (2001)
Hitomi Yaida was one of the very first Japanese artists I discovered. She can always be relied on for great singles, but this was the time when it all came together for a whole CD: her second album has no weak tracks and is awesome pop goodness from start to finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVEpbOEZK7o
9. Kokia “moment” (2011)
I once read an article or blog post about Kokia saying that your favourite album of hers would probably be the first one you heard. Well, that’s true in this case. Maybe it was the shock of such a great voice matched with those songs that enchanted me. Whatever, no other album of hers has had the same effect on me. This is a glorious celebration of her voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3dHe0kPff8
8. Missile Girl Scoot “Fiesta” (2000)
While researching this list, I noticed that this CD was on sale on Amazon at a mere $52. I mean, it’s great, but is it $52-worth of great?
This metal-rap-punk-ska hybrid hit the ground running with their debut album. A searing blend of two female vocalists (yes, they’re both female) over some grunge riffs, ska rhythms and irresistible songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_EM3S7QN4
7. Specialthanks “Seven Lovers” (2011)
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of band I always wished existed. A super-cute female lead singer backed with some joyous punk-pop. There really is nothing else to add.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBMUuEEx9tY
6. Girls Generation “Girls Generation II: Girls and Peace” (2012)
I think the problem I have with Girls Generation is that I always expect every release to be a slice of pop genius, which it rarely is, although I usually like it. This album is the one time that Girls’ Generation matched my expectations. Light, frothy and fun, it is an undeniably adorable collection of great pop choons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKAnYWNnYW8
5. James Iha “Linda Linda Linda OST” (2005)
James Iha’s contribution to the soundtrack of the film Linda Linda Linda was pivotal to it’s atmosphere. The sense of motionlessness that somehow heightened the sense of nostalgia. Like the sound of a distant band practice echoing down school corridors, his ambient pieces are beautiful and also somehow hypnotic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnnHXL-vDQo
4. Veltpunch “Black Album” (2010)
This tangle of guitars and choruses was my album of the year not so long ago. It remains a favourite of mine. It's awkward, experimental feel means I never get tired of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LoH4dnybp0
3. Faye Wong “Sing and Play” (1998)
This was recorded at the height of Faye Wong's infatuation with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins. Faye Wong’s voice is at her most ethereal, riding through spell-binding choruses on swooping walls of synthesisers. (Sorry about the lapse into bad poetry, but that’s the sort of thing this music will do to you.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2I42WDOhA
2. Bump of Chicken “Orbital Period” (2007)
Bump Of Chicken’s obsession with astronomy reaches an artistic peak with this album. It is perhaps their most gentle album, with many of the songs beginning with a phrase picked out on acoustic guitar before growing into a life-affirming crescendo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLnUctmUzsI
1. Supercar “Highvision” (2002)
It wasn’t until I moved to London in 1998 that I really discovered Japanese culture. Without the internet, there was really no way for J-pop to reach me in my suburban commuter-belt town. However, I’d always been kind of fascinated by it, ever since my brother came back from a holiday there during the 1980s and said it was the closest you could get to leaving the planet.
This album sounds like how I imagined Japan in those early years. Sleek, futuristic, minimalist. Now I know Japan a little better, I realise that's quite unlike the real thing, but when I listen to “Highvision” I’m taken back to that futuristic idea of Japan where driverless taxis glide past and couples wearing space-age clothes speed upwards in transparent elevators to the hyper-restaurant on the 110th floor. Bliss.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqnE9zwcO_Q
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Currently listening to: Bito
Ah, YouTube. It may be stuffed full of videos of pranks and home-made channels whose videos have titles that scream “You just won’t believe this dirty fail!” but on the positive side you can find examples of almost anything.
I decided to look for some Japanese singer songwriters. Recently I’d been thinking about the archetypal guitar playing troubadour, the kind slightly arrhythmic, eccentric yet deeply passionate type who would suddenly go into a rambling monologue about something, with only the occasional strum on the guitar to reassure the audience that he hadn't forgotten about the song. Like the kind I'd seen in Live Tape or even episode one of Ueno Juri no Itsutsu no Kaban. A couple of days ago, I wondered if I could find a few on the internet.
Before long, I found myself watching a video of some guy in a tiny venue, singing to his own guitar playing, and I was captivated. He had a great soulful voice, and after searching around I found about half a dozen more songs, and I became more and more impressed.
It’s hard to say much more than that, though. With a name like Bito (written in katakana: ビト) it’s hard to find much about him on the internet. His twitter feed (in Japanese) is under the name hamabito69, but that’s about it. I’ve no idea how long he’s been playing or what other things he’s done. But that doesn't matter. I'll just listen to these songs and enjoy the energy behind them.
I decided to look for some Japanese singer songwriters. Recently I’d been thinking about the archetypal guitar playing troubadour, the kind slightly arrhythmic, eccentric yet deeply passionate type who would suddenly go into a rambling monologue about something, with only the occasional strum on the guitar to reassure the audience that he hadn't forgotten about the song. Like the kind I'd seen in Live Tape or even episode one of Ueno Juri no Itsutsu no Kaban. A couple of days ago, I wondered if I could find a few on the internet.
Before long, I found myself watching a video of some guy in a tiny venue, singing to his own guitar playing, and I was captivated. He had a great soulful voice, and after searching around I found about half a dozen more songs, and I became more and more impressed.
It’s hard to say much more than that, though. With a name like Bito (written in katakana: ビト) it’s hard to find much about him on the internet. His twitter feed (in Japanese) is under the name hamabito69, but that’s about it. I’ve no idea how long he’s been playing or what other things he’s done. But that doesn't matter. I'll just listen to these songs and enjoy the energy behind them.
Saturday, 23 November 2013
You wait ages for a decent Japanese indie-rock band
And then three come along at once. Thanks to Sparkplugged, I now have three more names on my playlist to enjoy.
First is Suck A Stew Dry with “Colorful”.
Then there’s a new release from SpecialThanks, who have long been a favourite of mine.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, is Kinoko Teikoku, whose shoegazerish songs left me searching the net for more.
First is Suck A Stew Dry with “Colorful”.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, is Kinoko Teikoku, whose shoegazerish songs left me searching the net for more.
Friday, 8 November 2013
The Fourth Annual November 8th Awards
And so, as is usual on this blog, I mark the anniversary of If By Japan's birth with a pretend awards ceremony. These last twelve months have seen Japanese dramas offer up an embarrassment of riches in one season, followed by the embarrassment of being really quite incompetent for months at a time.
I found my free time greatly reduced as, despite still being unemployed, I started doing voluntary work this year. This means I still haven't seen Lady Joker or finished Hanzawa Naoki, although I fully intend to. One day.
Also, it seems to me that the nominations this year are more repetitive than before, with the same names cropping up. Whether that is a reflection of my viewing habits or of a patchy year in J-drama, I don't know.
But anyway, my favourite TV shows out of the past twelve months are...
Best drama
Going My Home
Osozaki no Himawari
Hitori Shizuka
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Koreeda's charming drama takes the prize. Despite being a ratings disaster (13% share down to just under 5% by the end) it was a joy to watch. Almost no story at all was somehow kept going by subtle performances and a gentle soundtrack. Osozaki no Himawari was everything that made me like J-dramas, all wrapped up in one lovely bundle. Hitori Shizuka was challenging and sometimes confusing, but still a compelling, dark drama. And it had the best shoot-out I've seen in years. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains heads and shoulders above most other murder mysteries, even 16 years after it was made.
Best comedy
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi
Saikou no Rikon
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
SOIL
I tip-toed through SOIL thanks to a patient Japanese friend (who's now, sadly, gone back to Japan) but found it's David Lynch sensibilities very funny. Yuusha Yoshihiko... isn't as good as the prequel, but still was funnier than most. Saikou no Rikon is a grown-up comedy about failing relationships and it was so excellently played and it came so close to winning, but Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi was just stunning. Original, inventive, unpredictable and perfectly cast. I said it is the closest that J-dramas have ever got to being rock'n'roll, and I stand by that.
Best film
Still Walking
The Sun
The Thieves
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
The Thieves is a great big martial arts rush, and one of the few films which I've wanted to watch again the moment it ended. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On is a brilliant documentary that challenges its viewers to sympathise with a very unsympathetic subject. The Sun is an acting masterclass from Issy Ogata, but Koreeda gets his second award with Still Walking. What can I say? I'm a sucker for anyone who can turn non-stories into compelling viewing.
Best Actor
Eita (Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi, Saikou no Rikon, and The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker)
Abe Hiroshi (Still Walking, Going My Home)
Issy Ogata (The Sun)
Eita, for me, was unstoppable in this past year. His versatility and adaptability is a constant source of amazement. I saw him in several things recently, and each time he's seemed like a different actor. Abe Hiroshi was effortlessly good in two of the Koreeda works I saw this year, and Issy Ogata was riveting in his role as a falling Japanese emporer at the end of the second World War.
Best Actress
Miyazaki Aoi (Going My Home)
Ono Machiko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son)
Maki Yoko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son, and Osozaki no Himawari)
Gouriki Ayame (Biblia Koshoudou no Jiken Techou)
Miyazaki Aoi was great in Going My Home, as the villager who seemed to know more about local fables than she admitted . Gouriki Ayame was surprisingly well suited to her role as a timid book-keeper. But really, it was between Maki Yoko and Ono Machiko. Both were brilliant this year, but I think Ono Machiko just edges it. Not sure why. Possibly just because Ono Machiko seems like more fun to get drunk with.
Best Game Show
Running Man
Game Centre CX
Vs Arashi
It was episode 124 that won it again for Running Man. Any game show that makes me want to go and research history has got to be a winner. And, despite feeling a bit predictable at times, it still has the ability to do things that no other TV show can do. Vs Arashi pushed it close, though. Especially with some subtitled shows coming online, and Game Centre CX remained fun.
Best Album
Amado Leejaram Band “Debut”
Tokumaru Shugo “In Focus”
Girls' Generation “Girls Generation II: Peace and Love”
I've been following Tokumaru Shugo for only a couple of years, but he's already become a favourite. I love his inventive approach to music, somehow folky and somehow modern, and the tunes are good, too. I was also impressed by the folk-blues from Korea of the Amado Leejaram Band, and the quality selection of pop goodness that was Girls' Generation II.
The safe pair of hands award
Eita (Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi, Saikou no Rikon, and The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker)
Abe Hiroshi (Still Walking, Going My Home)
Ono Machiko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son)
Maki Yoko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son, and Osozaki no Himawari)
In a year for Japanese TV that veered from excellent dramas all over the place to literally nothing worth watching, you could at least rely on Eita to have excellent choice in anything he did. Whether it was wry character driven comedy, or off-beat indie drama, or physical action, he can do it all.
I found my free time greatly reduced as, despite still being unemployed, I started doing voluntary work this year. This means I still haven't seen Lady Joker or finished Hanzawa Naoki, although I fully intend to. One day.
Also, it seems to me that the nominations this year are more repetitive than before, with the same names cropping up. Whether that is a reflection of my viewing habits or of a patchy year in J-drama, I don't know.
But anyway, my favourite TV shows out of the past twelve months are...
Best drama
Going My Home
Osozaki no Himawari
Hitori Shizuka
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Koreeda's charming drama takes the prize. Despite being a ratings disaster (13% share down to just under 5% by the end) it was a joy to watch. Almost no story at all was somehow kept going by subtle performances and a gentle soundtrack. Osozaki no Himawari was everything that made me like J-dramas, all wrapped up in one lovely bundle. Hitori Shizuka was challenging and sometimes confusing, but still a compelling, dark drama. And it had the best shoot-out I've seen in years. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains heads and shoulders above most other murder mysteries, even 16 years after it was made.
Best comedy
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi
Saikou no Rikon
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
SOIL
I tip-toed through SOIL thanks to a patient Japanese friend (who's now, sadly, gone back to Japan) but found it's David Lynch sensibilities very funny. Yuusha Yoshihiko... isn't as good as the prequel, but still was funnier than most. Saikou no Rikon is a grown-up comedy about failing relationships and it was so excellently played and it came so close to winning, but Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi was just stunning. Original, inventive, unpredictable and perfectly cast. I said it is the closest that J-dramas have ever got to being rock'n'roll, and I stand by that.
Best film
Still Walking
The Sun
The Thieves
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
The Thieves is a great big martial arts rush, and one of the few films which I've wanted to watch again the moment it ended. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On is a brilliant documentary that challenges its viewers to sympathise with a very unsympathetic subject. The Sun is an acting masterclass from Issy Ogata, but Koreeda gets his second award with Still Walking. What can I say? I'm a sucker for anyone who can turn non-stories into compelling viewing.
Best Actor
Eita (Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi, Saikou no Rikon, and The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker)
Abe Hiroshi (Still Walking, Going My Home)
Issy Ogata (The Sun)
Eita, for me, was unstoppable in this past year. His versatility and adaptability is a constant source of amazement. I saw him in several things recently, and each time he's seemed like a different actor. Abe Hiroshi was effortlessly good in two of the Koreeda works I saw this year, and Issy Ogata was riveting in his role as a falling Japanese emporer at the end of the second World War.
Best Actress
Miyazaki Aoi (Going My Home)
Ono Machiko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son)
Maki Yoko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son, and Osozaki no Himawari)
Gouriki Ayame (Biblia Koshoudou no Jiken Techou)
Miyazaki Aoi was great in Going My Home, as the villager who seemed to know more about local fables than she admitted . Gouriki Ayame was surprisingly well suited to her role as a timid book-keeper. But really, it was between Maki Yoko and Ono Machiko. Both were brilliant this year, but I think Ono Machiko just edges it. Not sure why. Possibly just because Ono Machiko seems like more fun to get drunk with.
Best Game Show
Running Man
Game Centre CX
Vs Arashi
It was episode 124 that won it again for Running Man. Any game show that makes me want to go and research history has got to be a winner. And, despite feeling a bit predictable at times, it still has the ability to do things that no other TV show can do. Vs Arashi pushed it close, though. Especially with some subtitled shows coming online, and Game Centre CX remained fun.
Best Album
Amado Leejaram Band “Debut”
Tokumaru Shugo “In Focus”
Girls' Generation “Girls Generation II: Peace and Love”
I've been following Tokumaru Shugo for only a couple of years, but he's already become a favourite. I love his inventive approach to music, somehow folky and somehow modern, and the tunes are good, too. I was also impressed by the folk-blues from Korea of the Amado Leejaram Band, and the quality selection of pop goodness that was Girls' Generation II.
The safe pair of hands award
Eita (Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi, Saikou no Rikon, and The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck and God in a Coin Locker)
Abe Hiroshi (Still Walking, Going My Home)
Ono Machiko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son)
Maki Yoko (Saikou no Rikon, Like Father Like Son, and Osozaki no Himawari)
In a year for Japanese TV that veered from excellent dramas all over the place to literally nothing worth watching, you could at least rely on Eita to have excellent choice in anything he did. Whether it was wry character driven comedy, or off-beat indie drama, or physical action, he can do it all.
Monday, 15 July 2013
Currently listening to: Bump of Chicken
Bump of Chicken, despite the terrible name, are one of the biggest and best rock bands in Japan. They have a string of successful albums and every single since 2000 has got into the top five. Having said that, I haven’t actually met someone Japanese who’s heard of them. I guess in a country of 125 million, it’s possible to sell millions of records, and still not make much of a dent on the collective consciousness.
Recently, BoC released two CDs, covering two halves of their career, 1999-2004 and 2005-2010. The problem with “Best of”s is that they always leave off some tracks that you’d include. I wish they’d added one of their B-sides, “Pinkie”. It’s good to see the single-only A-side, “Merry Christmas” finally on an album. Apart from that, the tracklisting doesn’t really surprise. And because it ends in 2010, none of the five singles since then are present, indicating that they’re all being kept back for the next studio album.
But this collection really emphasizes the evolution of their sound from the early, under-produced, guitar-driven work (such as Lamp, above), to the new, cleaner sound of recent albums. But always with a chorus that has some hope, innocence and optimism. That’s how it sounds. I’ve never bothered to translate the lyrics.
Recently, BoC released two CDs, covering two halves of their career, 1999-2004 and 2005-2010. The problem with “Best of”s is that they always leave off some tracks that you’d include. I wish they’d added one of their B-sides, “Pinkie”. It’s good to see the single-only A-side, “Merry Christmas” finally on an album. Apart from that, the tracklisting doesn’t really surprise. And because it ends in 2010, none of the five singles since then are present, indicating that they’re all being kept back for the next studio album.
But this collection really emphasizes the evolution of their sound from the early, under-produced, guitar-driven work (such as Lamp, above), to the new, cleaner sound of recent albums. But always with a chorus that has some hope, innocence and optimism. That’s how it sounds. I’ve never bothered to translate the lyrics.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Currently listening to: Amado Leejaram Band
Perhaps the best thing about this band having a Facebook page is that I now know what the official English name for the band is. I was never sure if it should be Amado Lee Jaram Band or Maybe Lee Jaram Band or even the completely anglicised Maybe Jaram Lee Band. But the debate is settled. Amado Leejaram Band it is.
I've been waiting for their debut album (called "Debut") for over a year and now it's out, it has pride of place on my mp3 player. They play in a sort of folk/blues style, and I would say that it has a laid-back, relaxed quality but it's too well played for that.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Currently listening to: MFBTY and Leessang
K-pop has hit the ground running this year, with two huge releases in January. MFBTY (My Fans Better Than Yours) is a sort of sub-unit of the rap band Drunken Tiger, except not really but who cares when they sound this good?
With their last album, Unplugged, Leessang proved that they're more than variety show fodder and this new single continues to impress.
As for me, this evening I was walking home from the pub in the pouring rain and I had a whole main street pretty much to myself as I looped these two tracks on my mp3 player. I kept my head up, strode through the showers and puddles and generally felt like I was in a pop video.
Surely, that's what music is made for.
With their last album, Unplugged, Leessang proved that they're more than variety show fodder and this new single continues to impress.
As for me, this evening I was walking home from the pub in the pouring rain and I had a whole main street pretty much to myself as I looped these two tracks on my mp3 player. I kept my head up, strode through the showers and puddles and generally felt like I was in a pop video.
Surely, that's what music is made for.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
SpecialThanks new release
Saw this today on Sparkplugged: one of my favourite bands has released a new E.P. and it's available for download in the West! So try out some reasonably priced pop-punk goodness now at Amazon UK (I suppose it must be available in other countries and on iTunes too).
I'm even adding an embedded video to help you decide.
And when I was talking to a barman in Hiroshima during my holiday, I asked him what bands he liked and he mentioned SpecialThanks, so they must be good. Right?
I'm even adding an embedded video to help you decide.
And when I was talking to a barman in Hiroshima during my holiday, I asked him what bands he liked and he mentioned SpecialThanks, so they must be good. Right?
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Currently listening to: Girls and Peace
Girls' Generation's second Japanese album burst onto my mp3 player in the middle of last week with a selection of quality pop tunes that's left me a little dazed. Until now, I've become accustomed to being somewhat disappointed by SNSD albums. Their singles promise a world of catchy choruses, while the album usually serves up large portions of fillers.
But not this time. For whatever reason, the quality control on recent SNSD songs has been turned up to ten. I was very impressed by SNSD sub-group TaeTiSeo's album and I'm relieved that this has carried on to the main group.
Not every song is golden, though. After the first track (which is about spiders and butterflies, apparently) there are two fairly anonymous tracks. It picks up again with "Reflection" and then after "Stay Girls" it doesn't put a foot wrong, despite probably being performed in absurd high-heels doing a synchronised dance routine.
"Boomerang" is like "Paparazzi"s younger sister, containing a similar number of "boom"s in the chorus. "All My Love Is For You" is my favourite track on the CD and "Oh!" is given a bit of a polish for its re-release, but it's the final two tracks "Peace and Girls" and "Not Alone" really hit the high points and convince me to send my mp3 player straight back to track one to experience the whole thing all over again.
It's tempting to see this album as a step forward on SNSD's march to global domination. Looking at the song writing credits, I note a heavy international influence, with songwriters from Sweden, America, Nigeria, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands. Its healthy sprinkling of English in the choruses indicate the direction they seem to be heading.
But despite all this, there's no international release. Surely in this day and age, it's not too much trouble to put out an album on download only, just to test the water. But apparently it is. The only way for me to throw a few coins into SNSD's hat is to buy an over-priced import CD, or "The Boys" single,which has an unappetising seven version of the same song.
Maybe the Korean album in early 2013 will be downloadable for us in the West? Or will I have to wait for the fabled English release later next year..?
But not this time. For whatever reason, the quality control on recent SNSD songs has been turned up to ten. I was very impressed by SNSD sub-group TaeTiSeo's album and I'm relieved that this has carried on to the main group.
Not every song is golden, though. After the first track (which is about spiders and butterflies, apparently) there are two fairly anonymous tracks. It picks up again with "Reflection" and then after "Stay Girls" it doesn't put a foot wrong, despite probably being performed in absurd high-heels doing a synchronised dance routine.
"Boomerang" is like "Paparazzi"s younger sister, containing a similar number of "boom"s in the chorus. "All My Love Is For You" is my favourite track on the CD and "Oh!" is given a bit of a polish for its re-release, but it's the final two tracks "Peace and Girls" and "Not Alone" really hit the high points and convince me to send my mp3 player straight back to track one to experience the whole thing all over again.
It's tempting to see this album as a step forward on SNSD's march to global domination. Looking at the song writing credits, I note a heavy international influence, with songwriters from Sweden, America, Nigeria, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands. Its healthy sprinkling of English in the choruses indicate the direction they seem to be heading.
But despite all this, there's no international release. Surely in this day and age, it's not too much trouble to put out an album on download only, just to test the water. But apparently it is. The only way for me to throw a few coins into SNSD's hat is to buy an over-priced import CD, or "The Boys" single,which has an unappetising seven version of the same song.
Maybe the Korean album in early 2013 will be downloadable for us in the West? Or will I have to wait for the fabled English release later next year..?
Thursday, 8 November 2012
The Third Annual November 8th Awards
Has it really been three years since I started this blog? My goodness. As is usual on this day, I present my round up of what I've been watching for the past twelve months. And remember: this is about what I've seen since last November, not about what has been released so that the new has to battle against the old.
Best drama
Ai no Nedan
Shokuzai
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Suzuki Sensei
It is unfair to throw a classic in amongst the newcomers, but those are the rules. As it is Furuhata Ninzaburo wins handsomely with its cleverly structured murder mysteries, all set up and solved in under an hour. Shokuzai was a beautiful piece of writing and directing with a powerful storyline. Ai no Nedan was the surprise of the year: almost no publicity but it was a smart mystery based around life insurance claims. And Suzuki Sensei was another clever story, with an excellent cast.
Best comedy
Toshi Densetsu no Onna
Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Kagi Kakatta no Heya
Tokkan
Difficult to be unbiased here, since I subbed two of these series. In the end, though, I think that Toshi Densetsu no Onna made me laugh more often than the others, so it takes this prize. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko was a great piece of slice-of-life comedy, while Tokkan mixed tax regulations with Inoue Mao's physical clumsiness. Kagi Kakatta no Heya's interplay of the three main characters that was the show's real attraction.
Best film
A Pierrot
Moteki
Rebirth
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Golly, what a line up. I still haven't written about A Pierrot (Gravity Clown), but it I enjoyed it's mix of family secrets and crime solving. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an excellent documentary, made with care and attention. Watching Rebirth was a powerful experience and very moving, but it's the almost-musical Moteki that wins, simply for reminding me what is good about film-making. Very life-affirming.
Best Actor
Hosshan (Renai Kentei)
Sato Koichi (Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Tamura Masakazu (Furuhata Ninzaburo)
Hasegawa Hiroki (Suzuki Sensei)
Did I watch the wrong stuff, or was there a lack of interesting roles for men this year? Hmmm, maybe it was just me.
Although Tamura Masakazu is perfect in his role in Furuhata Ninzaburo, I think that Hasegawa Hiroki was another piece of inspired casting as the all-knowing teacher in Suzuki Sensei. Meanwhile, Hosshan was great as the god of love in Renai Kentei and Sato Koichi stole plenty of scenes as the vain lawyer in Kagi Kakatta...
Best Actress
Nagasawa Masami (Moteki)
Nakatani Miki (Seinaru Kaibutsutachi)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai)
Inoue Mao (Rebirth, Tokkan)
Nagasaku Hiromi (Rebirth)
Nakatani Miki's performance as the cold, calculating head nurse was Seinaru Kaibutsutachi's main attraction, Nagasawa Masami held my attention like never before in Moteki, meanwhile Koizumi Kyoko demostrated her range in two completely different roles this year, as did Inoue Mao. But it is Nagasaku Hiromi who takes the plaudits with her inch-perfect performance in Rebirth.
Best game show
Running Man
Nazotoki Battle TORE!
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't separate the two winners, so we'll just have to make do with a tie. And they could hardly be more different: Running Man's high-concept, CGI-laden physical challenges compared to Game Center CX's low-budget retro battles. But both of them are essential viewing, and to chose one over the other would be too cruel. Meanwhile, Nazotoki Battle TORE! and Vs Arashi offer up the same thrills and spills as they always do.
Best album
TaeTiSeo “Twinkle”
Shugo Tokumaru “Port Entropy”
Jambinai “Différance”
Taru “100 per cent”
While for most people 2012 will be the year when Kpop burst onto the scene with Gangam Style, for me it was the year when Korean artists put out some great albums. Singer-Songwriter Taru's album was a lovely collection of ballads, and Jambinai's album was an occasionally extreme (but still melodic) post-rock aural adventure. But it is the eighties disco overload of TaeTiSeo that wins. No other album has been in my mp3 player as long as this. Meanwhile, Shugo Tokumaru represents Japan in a dry year, with his charming clockwork anthems.
The Safe Pair of Hands Award
Nagasawa Masami (Moteki, Toshi Densetsu, Yasashii no Jikan)
Toda Erika (SPEC: Shou, Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai, Adrift in Tokyo)
This award is for the person who always seems to choose good things to be in, and this year it was an easy choice. Koizumi Kyoko never put a foot wrong all year, and each one of the three things I saw her in was excellent. Nagasawa Masami appeared in three things (four, if you include a cameo role in a dream I had) and each one was very good. Toda Erika, too, had two very different but very enjoyable roles.
Best drama
Ai no Nedan
Shokuzai
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Suzuki Sensei
It is unfair to throw a classic in amongst the newcomers, but those are the rules. As it is Furuhata Ninzaburo wins handsomely with its cleverly structured murder mysteries, all set up and solved in under an hour. Shokuzai was a beautiful piece of writing and directing with a powerful storyline. Ai no Nedan was the surprise of the year: almost no publicity but it was a smart mystery based around life insurance claims. And Suzuki Sensei was another clever story, with an excellent cast.
Best comedy
Toshi Densetsu no Onna
Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Kagi Kakatta no Heya
Tokkan
Difficult to be unbiased here, since I subbed two of these series. In the end, though, I think that Toshi Densetsu no Onna made me laugh more often than the others, so it takes this prize. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko was a great piece of slice-of-life comedy, while Tokkan mixed tax regulations with Inoue Mao's physical clumsiness. Kagi Kakatta no Heya's interplay of the three main characters that was the show's real attraction.
Best film
A Pierrot
Moteki
Rebirth
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Golly, what a line up. I still haven't written about A Pierrot (Gravity Clown), but it I enjoyed it's mix of family secrets and crime solving. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an excellent documentary, made with care and attention. Watching Rebirth was a powerful experience and very moving, but it's the almost-musical Moteki that wins, simply for reminding me what is good about film-making. Very life-affirming.
Best Actor
Hosshan (Renai Kentei)
Sato Koichi (Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Tamura Masakazu (Furuhata Ninzaburo)
Hasegawa Hiroki (Suzuki Sensei)
Did I watch the wrong stuff, or was there a lack of interesting roles for men this year? Hmmm, maybe it was just me.
Although Tamura Masakazu is perfect in his role in Furuhata Ninzaburo, I think that Hasegawa Hiroki was another piece of inspired casting as the all-knowing teacher in Suzuki Sensei. Meanwhile, Hosshan was great as the god of love in Renai Kentei and Sato Koichi stole plenty of scenes as the vain lawyer in Kagi Kakatta...
Best Actress
Nagasawa Masami (Moteki)
Nakatani Miki (Seinaru Kaibutsutachi)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai)
Inoue Mao (Rebirth, Tokkan)
Nagasaku Hiromi (Rebirth)
Nakatani Miki's performance as the cold, calculating head nurse was Seinaru Kaibutsutachi's main attraction, Nagasawa Masami held my attention like never before in Moteki, meanwhile Koizumi Kyoko demostrated her range in two completely different roles this year, as did Inoue Mao. But it is Nagasaku Hiromi who takes the plaudits with her inch-perfect performance in Rebirth.
Best game show
Running Man
Nazotoki Battle TORE!
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't separate the two winners, so we'll just have to make do with a tie. And they could hardly be more different: Running Man's high-concept, CGI-laden physical challenges compared to Game Center CX's low-budget retro battles. But both of them are essential viewing, and to chose one over the other would be too cruel. Meanwhile, Nazotoki Battle TORE! and Vs Arashi offer up the same thrills and spills as they always do.
Best album
TaeTiSeo “Twinkle”
Shugo Tokumaru “Port Entropy”
Jambinai “Différance”
Taru “100 per cent”
While for most people 2012 will be the year when Kpop burst onto the scene with Gangam Style, for me it was the year when Korean artists put out some great albums. Singer-Songwriter Taru's album was a lovely collection of ballads, and Jambinai's album was an occasionally extreme (but still melodic) post-rock aural adventure. But it is the eighties disco overload of TaeTiSeo that wins. No other album has been in my mp3 player as long as this. Meanwhile, Shugo Tokumaru represents Japan in a dry year, with his charming clockwork anthems.
The Safe Pair of Hands Award
Nagasawa Masami (Moteki, Toshi Densetsu, Yasashii no Jikan)
Toda Erika (SPEC: Shou, Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai, Adrift in Tokyo)
This award is for the person who always seems to choose good things to be in, and this year it was an easy choice. Koizumi Kyoko never put a foot wrong all year, and each one of the three things I saw her in was excellent. Nagasawa Masami appeared in three things (four, if you include a cameo role in a dream I had) and each one was very good. Toda Erika, too, had two very different but very enjoyable roles.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Currently listening to: Gangnam Style
Of course I am, and I've been doing so for some weeks now. To suddenly find it heading towards the UK number one is quite an odd feeling. I guess it really is time I wrote about it.
For a start, like a lot of people, I didn't expect something like this to be the first piece of K-pop to make it big in the West. But, with the benefit of hindsight, it makes perfect sense. It may be harmless and silly, but that's exactly what is needed to crack the UK: something that isn't threatening. The UK music market, which prides itself on constantly reinventing itself, struggles with taking foreign artists seriously. I blame the Eurovision Song Contest, which is a large multi-national, multi-lingual contest in which countries from across Europe do battle with songs, and the UK usually does quite badly.
When the Eurovision is on, it inspires a lot of fancy dress parties and somewhat arch cynicism from the British public who refuse to take it seriously. And this is the only time where British people get to hear pop music in foreign languages. As such, it is easy for your average Brit to dismiss foreign pop music as somehow fake. As if they're trying to be like us, but not quite getting it.
And now Psy has overcome that remarkably high barrier with his song Gangnam Style. And let's not underestimate how hard it is for foreign bands to crack the UK market. I remember in the late 1990s when three bands from France were popular at the same time (Daft Punk, Air and St Germain) a magazine ran an article about how amazing it was. And this was France. Our next-door neighbours. Why should this have been surprising? But it was.
So now Gangnam Style has broken one last barrier. It could be argued that, in the UK, Psy has ticked off the last ethnic minority who didn't have some kind of pop presence. Whites and blacks, we all know about. Hispanic artists became commonplace after Shakira and Enrique Iglesias and the Indian sub-continent has been represented by Billy Sagoo, Cornershop, etc etc. Only the Asia Pacific region remained.
Now this has gone, it'll no longer be weird to like stuff from Korea (and, by extension, Japan, China etc) as perhaps it once was. Only three weeks ago, I was at a party and tried to explain to someone what was happening in Korean music. If I had the same conversation now, it'd be very different.
It has been argued that Gangnam Style is nothing more than a Korean Macarena, but if you think about it, both Macarena and Buena Vista Social Club persuaded the mono-lingual Brits to listen to things in Spanish. After some years, it paved the way for more chart success.
Now that we have the internet, I don't expect the gap between Psy and the next Korean breakthrough artist to be as long as it was after Macarena (about five years, I think) but there are a lot of parallels. Psy is certainly introducing western audiences to some of the visual excesses of K-pop videos which will smooth things over for the next wave of artists.
It won't be all easy from now on. Already, Gangnam Style has become a lazy way to categorise Korean music. When people shouted at Tiger JK to perform Gangnam Style at a recent concert, he replied with a vicious outburst, and quite right too. It reminded me of the Vaudeville/Music Hall days when black artists (or, more accurately, white artists with blacked-up faces) were expected to perform songs from a strict repertoire.
But this reaction from Tiger JK's audience is, I fear, almost inevitable. Until K-pop gets a wider fan base, it'll be defined solely by those few songs that break through to mass appeal. This'll be frustrating for those artists who don't fall into the same category, and frustrating for fans who will have to smile grimly time after time and explain that, actually, there's more to K-pop than that one song.
Even if it is a very good song.
For a start, like a lot of people, I didn't expect something like this to be the first piece of K-pop to make it big in the West. But, with the benefit of hindsight, it makes perfect sense. It may be harmless and silly, but that's exactly what is needed to crack the UK: something that isn't threatening. The UK music market, which prides itself on constantly reinventing itself, struggles with taking foreign artists seriously. I blame the Eurovision Song Contest, which is a large multi-national, multi-lingual contest in which countries from across Europe do battle with songs, and the UK usually does quite badly.
When the Eurovision is on, it inspires a lot of fancy dress parties and somewhat arch cynicism from the British public who refuse to take it seriously. And this is the only time where British people get to hear pop music in foreign languages. As such, it is easy for your average Brit to dismiss foreign pop music as somehow fake. As if they're trying to be like us, but not quite getting it.
And now Psy has overcome that remarkably high barrier with his song Gangnam Style. And let's not underestimate how hard it is for foreign bands to crack the UK market. I remember in the late 1990s when three bands from France were popular at the same time (Daft Punk, Air and St Germain) a magazine ran an article about how amazing it was. And this was France. Our next-door neighbours. Why should this have been surprising? But it was.
So now Gangnam Style has broken one last barrier. It could be argued that, in the UK, Psy has ticked off the last ethnic minority who didn't have some kind of pop presence. Whites and blacks, we all know about. Hispanic artists became commonplace after Shakira and Enrique Iglesias and the Indian sub-continent has been represented by Billy Sagoo, Cornershop, etc etc. Only the Asia Pacific region remained.
Now this has gone, it'll no longer be weird to like stuff from Korea (and, by extension, Japan, China etc) as perhaps it once was. Only three weeks ago, I was at a party and tried to explain to someone what was happening in Korean music. If I had the same conversation now, it'd be very different.
It has been argued that Gangnam Style is nothing more than a Korean Macarena, but if you think about it, both Macarena and Buena Vista Social Club persuaded the mono-lingual Brits to listen to things in Spanish. After some years, it paved the way for more chart success.
Now that we have the internet, I don't expect the gap between Psy and the next Korean breakthrough artist to be as long as it was after Macarena (about five years, I think) but there are a lot of parallels. Psy is certainly introducing western audiences to some of the visual excesses of K-pop videos which will smooth things over for the next wave of artists.
It won't be all easy from now on. Already, Gangnam Style has become a lazy way to categorise Korean music. When people shouted at Tiger JK to perform Gangnam Style at a recent concert, he replied with a vicious outburst, and quite right too. It reminded me of the Vaudeville/Music Hall days when black artists (or, more accurately, white artists with blacked-up faces) were expected to perform songs from a strict repertoire.
But this reaction from Tiger JK's audience is, I fear, almost inevitable. Until K-pop gets a wider fan base, it'll be defined solely by those few songs that break through to mass appeal. This'll be frustrating for those artists who don't fall into the same category, and frustrating for fans who will have to smile grimly time after time and explain that, actually, there's more to K-pop than that one song.
Even if it is a very good song.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Currently listening to: nothing, really...
It's halfway through the year, so I decided to make some notes for my November the Eighth awards. All was going fine, until I got to the best album category. I could barely think of anything. Plenty of bands have released great singles, but in terms of albums, I came up blank.
In fact, at the moment, the Girls' Generation sub-unit TaeTiSeo has the category all to themselves with "Twinkle". I find their retro disco swagger a lot of fun. Although, whenever I see the band name abbreviated to TTS, I always think it says TITS.
There's plenty of time for all this to change. With new albums from 2NE1 and awesome wolf-headed rock band Man With A Mission coming out later this year, I'm sure that TaeTiSeo will have some competition by November. But I was a bit surprised that this category – which is usually the one with most nominations – should be so barren. Am I missing something?
In fact, at the moment, the Girls' Generation sub-unit TaeTiSeo has the category all to themselves with "Twinkle". I find their retro disco swagger a lot of fun. Although, whenever I see the band name abbreviated to TTS, I always think it says TITS.
There's plenty of time for all this to change. With new albums from 2NE1 and awesome wolf-headed rock band Man With A Mission coming out later this year, I'm sure that TaeTiSeo will have some competition by November. But I was a bit surprised that this category – which is usually the one with most nominations – should be so barren. Am I missing something?
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Currently reading: Make Believe Melodies
I found the blog Make Believe Melodies after a long, meandering journey through various websites clicking links as they caught my eye. It started at Sparkplugged and their entry on the excellent new single by YeYe. I can’t remember what I did after that but it certainly involved watching Asobi Seksu videos on YouTube. But that’s not important.
What is important is I’ve found somewhere new to get news about Japanese music which is up-to-date and well-written. Make Believe Melodies covers everything from pop to indie to experimental electro odd-ness which makes it very useful.
Also, tucked away on the twitter feed on the right is a link to a page that links to a page about new indie bands which is all in Japanese, but has plenty of links to Soundcloud and Bandcamp audio clips so you can quickly get an idea of what they’re writing about.
Mmmm... Soundcloud and Bandcamp clips. It’s the new embedded video!
What is important is I’ve found somewhere new to get news about Japanese music which is up-to-date and well-written. Make Believe Melodies covers everything from pop to indie to experimental electro odd-ness which makes it very useful.
Also, tucked away on the twitter feed on the right is a link to a page that links to a page about new indie bands which is all in Japanese, but has plenty of links to Soundcloud and Bandcamp audio clips so you can quickly get an idea of what they’re writing about.
Mmmm... Soundcloud and Bandcamp clips. It’s the new embedded video!
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
It's the 2nd Annual November The Eighth Awards!
It's been two years since I started this blog, so here's my second post in which I highlight the best stuff I've seen in the last twelve months. You know, I spent most of this year thinking that I haven't enjoyed watching J-dramas so much as I did last year. And then I sat down to write this, and remembered all the excellent stuff I'd seen.
And just like before, this is based on things I've seen in the last year, not just things that have been released last year.
Best drama
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Jin & Jin 2
Marks no Yama
Soredemo, Ikite Yuku
Perhaps it's a little unfair to bundle the two series of Jin together, but that's how I watched them: I finished series one just as series two was beginning. And I adored this show. The adventures of a time-travelling doctor in 19th century Japan may not be the most challenging or thoughtful television, but it was done with wit and charm and the ending didn't disappoint. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains agonisingly un-subbed which is a real shame, since the four episodes that I saw made me keen to see more. Marks No Yama was by far the best crime series of the year, and Soredemo, Ikite Yuku was an emotionally-charged drama with some great acting.
Best comedy
Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro
Tiger and Dragon
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro was a blissful romp through RPG cliches, and Ishihara Satomi once again showed she can do comedy better than drama in Reinryokusha... but the winner of this category was Tiger and Dragon, a sharp, intelligent work that has become my favourite Japanese comedy of all.
Best film
Parade
Live Tape
Memories of Matsuko
Love Exposure
Do I have to chose between these? Really? We've got four works of genius here. Parade is a perfect example of Generation X slacker film-making – cool, distant but interesting and funny. Live Tape is indie DIY cinema at its best – a cameraman follows a busker around some city streets. Watching Love Exposure is like speed dating at a psychiatric ward. But Memories of Matsuko wins against these excellent competitors by being emotional and romantic and cynical and cruel. But most of all, by being beautiful.
Best actor
Kubozuka Yosuke (Long Love Letter)
Keisuke Koide (Parade)
Eita (Soredemo Ikite Yuku)
Eita takes all the plaudits as the guy between two families who've both been destroyed by a motiveless murder that happened years ago, and it's through him that the viewer is expected to view both sides of the story. Without him holding it together, the whole story would quickly fall to pieces. Kubozuka Yosuke's performance in Long Love Letter is a masterclass in understated cool and when he's on the screen, it's hard to look at anything else. Keisuke Koide has a similar energy in the film Parade, in which he effortlessly holds your attention.
Best actress
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko)
Naka Riisa (Cafe Isobe)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure)
Nakatani Miki's perfect portrayal of the permanently defeated Matsuko was the real hook for that film. She really made you share in Matsuko's optimism, which made it all the harder when things inevitably went wrong. Naka Riisa was great as the schoolgirl who watches in despair as her father make a fool of himself over a woman. Mistushima Hikari's performance in Love Exposure is also a tour de force, a remarkable source of energy that keeps you watching for the whole four hours.
Best game show
Running Man
Family Outing
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX
No real competition here. Once I've downloaded an episode of Running Man, I can't have it sitting on my hard drive unwatched. I have to see it immediately, which usually means I'm awake until half past one on a weekday morning. Which is no bad thing. This cross between a game show and a Hollywood blockbuster is always entertaining and at its best, it's the closest that television gets to being a rollercoaster.
Vs Arashi is all bright colours and knockabout fun, and very easy to follow, no matter what your level of Japanese. Family Outing is a glorious example of how a TV show can build a relationship with the viewer. And Game Center CX remains a lot of fun to watch, as Arino struggles through various retro video games. And it's still a perfect analogy of my life – middle-aged man fights battles he should've left behind when he was young.
Best album
Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"
SpecialThanks "Seven Lovers"
Dear Cloud "The Bright Lights"
Organic Stereo "The Moments Linger"
Kokia "moment"
For the second year in a row, my favourite album from Japan is my favourite album full stop. Bump of Chicken's “Cosmonaut” continues their impeccable track record. Perhaps not as immediate as “Orbital Period”, but still a great album which has never been away from my mp3 player for long. At the time of writing, it's also the last time I bought an actual CD.
SpecialThanks are all youthful energy, crashing guitars, female vocals and catchy punkish tunes. It's very hard to find anything wrong with that. Korean music makes an appearance with Dear Cloud offering bright vocals and big choruses that would fill a stadium, if only they had the chance. Organic Stereo's album was a little bit ambient and a little bit pop, with a series of dreamy instrumentals, each one of which sounded like the soundtrack to a happy ending. Lastly, Kokia's album “moment” was a folk-tinged collection of ballads with lush production values and some achingly melancholy harmonies.
Safe pair of hands award
This award is for people who consistently choose good shows to appear in
Yoo Jae Suk (Running Man, Family Outing)
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko, Jin, Jin 2, Densha Otoko, Keizoku)
Keisuke Koide (Parade, Jin, Jin 2, Surely Someday)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure, Moteki, Sawako Decides, Kakera, Villain, Soredemo Ikite Yuku)
I was a bit late in discovering Mitsushima Hikari. I checked her filmography and I saw that she was in Death Note and Shaolin Girl, but I can't say I noticed her in either. But this year I caught up with her recent film work and, by God, she's got good taste. From her minor role in Villain as the obnoxious murder victim to her central role in Love Exposure, it seems she can do no wrong.
She beats some strong opposition: Yoo Jae Suk is a brilliant presenter who's kept me entertained through some tough times this year. Nakatani Miki holds a special place in my heart for her roles in Matsuko and Keizoku. And Keisuke Koide showed me how wasted he was in Nodame Cantabile with some great performances.
And just like before, this is based on things I've seen in the last year, not just things that have been released last year.
Best drama
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Jin & Jin 2
Marks no Yama
Soredemo, Ikite Yuku
Perhaps it's a little unfair to bundle the two series of Jin together, but that's how I watched them: I finished series one just as series two was beginning. And I adored this show. The adventures of a time-travelling doctor in 19th century Japan may not be the most challenging or thoughtful television, but it was done with wit and charm and the ending didn't disappoint. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains agonisingly un-subbed which is a real shame, since the four episodes that I saw made me keen to see more. Marks No Yama was by far the best crime series of the year, and Soredemo, Ikite Yuku was an emotionally-charged drama with some great acting.
 |
| Best Drama: Jin and Jin 2 |
Best comedy
Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro
Tiger and Dragon
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro was a blissful romp through RPG cliches, and Ishihara Satomi once again showed she can do comedy better than drama in Reinryokusha... but the winner of this category was Tiger and Dragon, a sharp, intelligent work that has become my favourite Japanese comedy of all.
 |
| Best comedy: Tiger and Dragon |
Best film
Parade
Live Tape
Memories of Matsuko
Love Exposure
Do I have to chose between these? Really? We've got four works of genius here. Parade is a perfect example of Generation X slacker film-making – cool, distant but interesting and funny. Live Tape is indie DIY cinema at its best – a cameraman follows a busker around some city streets. Watching Love Exposure is like speed dating at a psychiatric ward. But Memories of Matsuko wins against these excellent competitors by being emotional and romantic and cynical and cruel. But most of all, by being beautiful.
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| Best film: Memories of Matsuko |
Best actor
Kubozuka Yosuke (Long Love Letter)
Keisuke Koide (Parade)
Eita (Soredemo Ikite Yuku)
Eita takes all the plaudits as the guy between two families who've both been destroyed by a motiveless murder that happened years ago, and it's through him that the viewer is expected to view both sides of the story. Without him holding it together, the whole story would quickly fall to pieces. Kubozuka Yosuke's performance in Long Love Letter is a masterclass in understated cool and when he's on the screen, it's hard to look at anything else. Keisuke Koide has a similar energy in the film Parade, in which he effortlessly holds your attention.
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| Best Actor: Eita (Soredemo, Ikite Yuku) |
Best actress
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko)
Naka Riisa (Cafe Isobe)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure)
Nakatani Miki's perfect portrayal of the permanently defeated Matsuko was the real hook for that film. She really made you share in Matsuko's optimism, which made it all the harder when things inevitably went wrong. Naka Riisa was great as the schoolgirl who watches in despair as her father make a fool of himself over a woman. Mistushima Hikari's performance in Love Exposure is also a tour de force, a remarkable source of energy that keeps you watching for the whole four hours.
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| Best actress: Nakatani Miki |
Best game show
Running Man
Family Outing
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX
No real competition here. Once I've downloaded an episode of Running Man, I can't have it sitting on my hard drive unwatched. I have to see it immediately, which usually means I'm awake until half past one on a weekday morning. Which is no bad thing. This cross between a game show and a Hollywood blockbuster is always entertaining and at its best, it's the closest that television gets to being a rollercoaster.
Vs Arashi is all bright colours and knockabout fun, and very easy to follow, no matter what your level of Japanese. Family Outing is a glorious example of how a TV show can build a relationship with the viewer. And Game Center CX remains a lot of fun to watch, as Arino struggles through various retro video games. And it's still a perfect analogy of my life – middle-aged man fights battles he should've left behind when he was young.
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| Best game show: Running Man |
Best album
Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"
SpecialThanks "Seven Lovers"
Dear Cloud "The Bright Lights"
Organic Stereo "The Moments Linger"
Kokia "moment"
For the second year in a row, my favourite album from Japan is my favourite album full stop. Bump of Chicken's “Cosmonaut” continues their impeccable track record. Perhaps not as immediate as “Orbital Period”, but still a great album which has never been away from my mp3 player for long. At the time of writing, it's also the last time I bought an actual CD.
SpecialThanks are all youthful energy, crashing guitars, female vocals and catchy punkish tunes. It's very hard to find anything wrong with that. Korean music makes an appearance with Dear Cloud offering bright vocals and big choruses that would fill a stadium, if only they had the chance. Organic Stereo's album was a little bit ambient and a little bit pop, with a series of dreamy instrumentals, each one of which sounded like the soundtrack to a happy ending. Lastly, Kokia's album “moment” was a folk-tinged collection of ballads with lush production values and some achingly melancholy harmonies.
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| Best album: Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut" |
Safe pair of hands award
This award is for people who consistently choose good shows to appear in
Yoo Jae Suk (Running Man, Family Outing)
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko, Jin, Jin 2, Densha Otoko, Keizoku)
Keisuke Koide (Parade, Jin, Jin 2, Surely Someday)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure, Moteki, Sawako Decides, Kakera, Villain, Soredemo Ikite Yuku)
I was a bit late in discovering Mitsushima Hikari. I checked her filmography and I saw that she was in Death Note and Shaolin Girl, but I can't say I noticed her in either. But this year I caught up with her recent film work and, by God, she's got good taste. From her minor role in Villain as the obnoxious murder victim to her central role in Love Exposure, it seems she can do no wrong.
She beats some strong opposition: Yoo Jae Suk is a brilliant presenter who's kept me entertained through some tough times this year. Nakatani Miki holds a special place in my heart for her roles in Matsuko and Keizoku. And Keisuke Koide showed me how wasted he was in Nodame Cantabile with some great performances.
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| Safe pair of hands: Mitsushima Hikari |
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