Japanese Bands You Should Listen To -PART 3-

HEY PEOPLE!

It has been a while since I've done this, and thought it might be about time.
Yes, time to introduce some Japanese music to your ear holes.

In the past I've listed five bands/people in each list, but that takes way too long and I stop writing much after the third entry.

SO! This list and probably all the lists from now on will have THREE bands for you to check out. I'm also going to post two songs rather than one this time so you can get more of a fell of what they're like.

Heeeere wee goooo~!


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ROSSO

This is band is fronted by Chiba Yusuke from Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, that plays fast paced punk/rockabilly. It also features the awesome bass lines by Toshiyuki Terui from the legendary band Blankey Jet City, and crisp drumming of Masato from.....ASSFORT (Haven't listened to their music, might be something to do with asses and castles, I don't know...). The first song I heard by them was "Sharon", which, although I didn't particularly like at first felt something about it that was really attractive. I dunno, but it eventually became song that I extremely like, and do not get tired of listening to. If you come by the translated lyrics, you'll notice they don't seem to make much sense. Maybe they're metaphorical or poetic or something. I dunno lol. It's still a great song though.


Second song is "Hakkou" (Emissions). This is a very long track, so if you're the type that likes short and quick to the point songs, this may not really be for you. But, as with any long song, they have different phases with different tunes, so you shouldn't get too bored. Unless if you hate this type of music of course. Hakkou is a slightly different track to the rest of ROSSO's discography, and is quite slow and quiet until about half way through. Anyway, you can decide whether you like it.


If that was too long for you, here's a quick 1 minute song.




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PETROLZ

This is slightly unknown band, even in Japan. It's lead by Nagaoka Ryouske (aka Ukigumo) the guitarist and occasional vocalist from the band, Tokyo Jihen. These guys have quite a light sound, which is easy on the ears. It's quite funky, sometimes jazzy. Overall, they have a unique fresh sound that is quite unlike other bands. I instantly became a fan after seeing videos of Nagaoka Ryousuke playing his acoustic guitar and singing in the streets of Tokyo somewehere (probably Shibuya or Shinjuku). This is one called "Ame" (Rain).





And another called "Kohan" (Lakeside). He plays this while walking around.






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BUMP OF CHICKEN

These guys are quite famous in Japan, and probably outside it because of their One Piece theme song. Personally, I don't like that song though (heh). They are a pop/alternative rock band who have quite a lot of songs used in anime and video games. I remember listening to them back when I first started to get into Japanese music, and frankly, I didn't like them. Well, I didn't like rock very much back then so that's not surprising. But even after I got into rock I still didn't like them very much. My motto about music is that nothing is unlikeable (usually...). If you don't like something at one time, you sometimes end up loving it later on in life once your tastes change a bit. Who knows, I may get into idol music and death metal and stuff at some point. At the same time even.

Anyway, the song that finally got me into Bump of Chicken was "Zero" the theme song for the Final Fantasy 0 game on PSP. It's quite a haunting but magical song. It reminds me of a dark European forest for some reason. I've never been to one though (so how should I know what it's like?).


ゼロ　bump of chicken by dm_509f23c1656ff


Another song, is only one of my favourites after watching a video on youtube. It's a song called "Dandelion", and is about a lonely lion that befriends a dandelion. Yeah, a bit childish right? Except the song coupled with this video made me laugh and sort of tear up a bit.

Translated lyrics are here
http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/dandelion_bumpofchicken.htm




And lastly, here's the song Harujion.
I can't be stuffed writing anymore.....lol

Recent Japanese Songs That I Like

Heya!

How's everyone doing? Hope you're all genki.
I noticed that a lot of the things I write about or subtitle on this blog are things from several years in the past, rather than recent stuff. That's not really a problem but I suppose that its good to get with the times and mention some more up-to-date stuff once in a while?

And so......I thought I might introduce some recently released songs that have caught my attention.
Not a particularly exciting post, and just about everything I write about seems music related but well....yeah sorry about that lol. I'll have to think of something else to write for another time.

So! Yes. I few songs have been released recently that have left an impression on me.


SHIINA RINGO - Carnation
I'm a big fan of Shiina Ringo (and her band Tokyo Jihen), so was waiting for this to come out as soon as it was announced. And again, she didn't disappoint. It's a very beautiful and cute kind of tune, some have described it as Disney like etc etc. It's the theme song for a drama of the same name (Carnation), which is about the life of a fashion designer or something.

KIKKAWA KOJI- Ano Natsu Wo Wasurenai
Ano Natsu Wo Wasurenai (I Won't Forget That Summer) by Kikkawa Koji  is about the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima back in WW2. Hiroshima is Kikkawa's home city and his father personally went through the horrors of the blast. Kikkwawa made this song with primary school kids in Hiroshima and sang it with them on the memorial day of the bomb drop. The song's lyrics are about that despite losing your friends. family, home and almost everything else, there is still hope and that you can have a peaceful future.

KIMURA KAELA- 8 Album
I liked Kimura Kaela's recent album '8'. It's a lot more rock oriented than her recent albums, although there are one or two of the cute pop songs that Kimura Kaela known for too. To me it feels like she has progressed a lot as a musician in this album.

You can check it out here ----> Kimura Kaela -8 

BUMP OF CHICKEN- ZERO
This is the theme song for the recent Final Fantasy Reishiki or 'Type Zero' in English. I've not really listened to a lot of this band's music and not really liked the songs that I've heard but quite liked this one. As I said before, it's the theme song for the latest Final Fantasy game on PSP, and that's where I heard it. It really fitted the game and the scene it played in and was really emotive. An enthusiastic person even reviewed it on youtube which was pretty interesting. He has also reviewed a lot of other recent singles so it might be cool to listen to a few if you're interested.... TH3JROCKFAN youtube channel