FIVE JAPANESE ROCK BANDS YOU SHOULD GIVE A LISTEN

Well hey there dudes and dudets. Hope you've all been good people and  not terrorising society like some people on the news.

Anyway, you can disregard that random intro, it was either that or "Hey there!" which is pretty boring.

Sooo, today's post is similar to the usual posts that  I do, that aren't video subs. I had been working on two videos this past week, as one was a bit boring to do but was promised to be done long ago....so yeah. I've finished that one and I'll let you know about it when it's ready to post. The other one is also 3/4 finished now and should be up in a few days......

Ahem, so getting to the point, "Five Japanese Rock Bands You Should Give A Listen". I wrote "should give a listen" and not "good", because "good" is purely subjective, and you quite prossibly may not think the same way as me. Whatever the case, they are bands that I recommend for you to "give a listen to". I should mention that I didn't list bands that non-Japanese J-music fans people tend to already know about, such as X-Japan and L'arc en ciel etc. Several of them are very famous in Japan, while several of them aren't as much, but still well respected. That being said, I shall now announce these honourable people!

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YELLOW MONKEY

The Yellow Monkey hold a position as a legendary band among  many rock fans in Japan. Their name is based on a racist slur against the Japanese, but that hasn't stopped the fans from flocking. They were active from 1989 to 2007, and were part of the "band boom" era. They're prossibly also one of the more Western sounding bands of Japan (?) Well that's my perception anyway. Oh, and prossibly is a word that I made up, and is a combination of "possible" and "probably". It's what I use when I think it's possibly probable haha.... Please bare with me.

I first heard their song "Taiyou ga moeteiru" (The Sun Is Burning) from the game "Osu! Tatakae! Oendan!" on the Nintendo DS. Actually I was introduced to a lot of cool songs and artists off that. You should download the rom for it and play~, or get your hands on the cartridge if you already own a DS. It's really fun. Well anyway, that song prompted me to search more of their stuff on youtube and such. To be honest, they didn't appeal very much to me at the time, apart from the previously mentioned song and  "JAM". I only checked out a few songs though, and I probably just weren't ready for them at the time. Later on I found that my older brother had their 'Best Of' album...or albums I should say, because there were four of them. One day I decided to give them a listen on my Ipod, and am thanking that day ever since. I don't know if they'll appeal to V-Rock fans very much. They more err towards hard rock and kind of like a....well slightly less polished type.  Their appearance is very glam styled and could be thought of as a mild V-kei though. But that's pretty common for Japanese musicians I suppose.

I was lost as to which song to embed as a video...so I'll just list a few that I like + a video.


Spark
Kyuukon 　球根  "Bulb"

Period no ame 　ピリオドの雨     "Rain of Period"  *Period here as in 'end' or 'full stop'. Not what females have xD

Kuzu Shakai no Akai Bara　クズ社会の赤いバラ　"The Red Rose Of A Trash Society"



TV Singer  TVのシンガー
I would've liked to put a video of them actually in action but I just can't get enough of the riff on this song.




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BACK HORN 

 You may have heard of this band if you watched Gundam 00. Well that's where I found out about them anyway. Their song "Wana" (Trap) was the first or second ending theme for the anime series and as is the case with many songs that I hear, I didn't like it very much at first. But you usually start to like songs from show series because you hear it over and over again until sticks into your head. I'm glad it did get stuck there though, as I found out that I generally liked their other songs too. They have a fairly heavy sound, and also seem kind of indie in style but it's still also kind of pop rock somehow. They're sort of punk rock-ish too. Not really sure if that makes sense to anyone or how to explain it to be honest. Well, wikipedia calls them an alternative rock band so I suppose that's what they are. 

Recommended Songs

Requiem      　　　　　　　レクイエム
Hajimete no Kokyuu 　　初めての呼吸　　First Breath
Sekaiju No Shita de 　　世界樹の下で　　　Underneath the World Tree
Wana  　　　　　　　　　　罠　　　　　　　　　　Trap　

Thought about whether I should put "Wana" here but decided on something else.
Oh and I think I should warn you that they look as though they've been possessed by demons in this video.
You'll see what I mean. ;p

Cobalt Blue



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 UNICORN

 Unicorn are a unique bunch of old rockers. Well they are old now but not when they started sometime in the 1980's.You might think of them as a joke since they've named themselves after a mythological flying horse often associated with being the dream pet of all little girls. Although, I suppose it would remind people more of that youtube video these days though. Well that's okay, because they are funny guys. Comedy is like their second occupation as they incorporate a lot of absurd things in their music videos and dress up in unusual costumes in their concerts. In that sense they're quite similar to the Ulfuls (if you know of them). I don't really know how to explain their music. It's quite unique and varies depending on the song. It's basically just a bunch of good natured guys making music that they want to make and enjoy. They're well known for their energy in their live performances and it seems like a lot of fun to go to one....Luckily they've reunited 2009 are disbanding once in 1993. Yep, a 16 year gap. That hasn't changed their ways though, they're still a bunch of fun loving blokes. There are a few songs that I'd like to recommend of theirs. To be honest, you might need to get used to their style for some songs, although perhaps not for the ones I'll list here.

Okashina Futari　　 おかしな二人    "Strange Couple"
Yuki Ga Furu Machi 　　雪が降る町    "The Town Where Snow Falls"
Hattori　　服部    (Hattori is a surname, most famously of a ninja/samurai called Hattori Hanzo)
Subarashii Hibi 　　すばらしい日々  "Wonderful Days"


Daimeiwaku 大迷惑 Huge Inconvenience
This is probably their most famous song. Sounds strange like a circus at first but you'll grow to like it.





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TSUBAKIYA SHIJUUSOU

In English their name means "Tsubakiya Quartet". These guys are a fairly different bunch to what I've introduced so far. They're a lot softer sounding and have a lot of influence from jazz music. Actually you probably won't come across many bands from Japan that that sound like this. They've been described in Japan as "Charming/Enchanting Rock" which I can quite understand. They emit a slightly mysterious kind of atmosphere with many of their songs. In general they have a sound smooth and are easy to listen to but are have interesting arrangements compared to most other bands. Unfortunately they disbanded  last year after 10 years of activity. They've left behind five original albums though, which I'd say is enough to satisfy. They may be the least well known group in this list but definitely worth a listen. You will be pleasantly surprised (I hope!)


Koi Wazurai　   恋わずらい   Love Sickness
Ibarano Michi　茨の道          Path of Roses
Shuuressha　　  終列車          Last Train

Harusame　春雨 Spring Rain




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9mm PARABELLUM BULLET

These guys area  relatively younger band. They are very fast paced. Actually 90% of their songs are at  a break neck pace. Well it feels like it anyway. For that reason you might feel that a lot of the songs sound a little similar. Even so, these guys sure know how to make music to pump you up. I sometimes feel like just getting up and running around at full bolt somewhere when I listen to them lol. I've never actually done that before though as that's a bit strange to suddenly do...

Well as usual, I have trouble thinking of what to write in the later half of posts, even if I leave it and take a break for a while.

Candle no Hi wo 　　キャンドルの火を　　The Candle Light
Hoshi ni Negai wo  　星に願いを　　　　　Wish Upon A Star
Mr. Suicide

I thought it might be good to have video of a live performance for once.


TALKING MACHINE




Well, I hope you found a band that interested you here. They sure have given me a lot of cool music to listen to and enjoy so I'm pretty confident that you'll find something if you give them a chance. Unless if you only like listening to classical music or.......house music or something. Well whatever. That's all from me for the time being. Ciao!