"Bands You Should Be Listening To" Volume 4: SuiseiNoboAz

Today's Subject: SuiseiNoboAz

I've been sitting on this for a while now (read: almost a year). I've wanted to talk about this band for just about forever, but I wasn't sure if it was a good candidate. The thing is, they only have one album out. No other EPs or singles. The ten songs on their self-titled album is all that they have offered so far to the world.

But holy shit was this not one of my favorite CDs in the last year - if not ever.



("From Mercury with Love")

The trio formed in Takadanobaba, Tokyo in 2007 and came out with their debut CD in March 2010. It was produced by Number Girl and Zazen Boys' Mukai Shutoku, which makes sense because the little Zazen Boy's I've heard is pretty similar in tone. They released it on their own record label.

And that's as much info there is readily available on the net. But seriously, did you listen to that song above? What? You need more? Go for it:


Damn I can't stand how awesome these guys are. I almost went to see them right before I had to go back the US, but it was really last minute and I was running out of money. Man I wish I had done it anyway.

I apologize that I don't have much else to say about them but just say how great they are. But even after only a single album they have this really defined and polished sound. And each member of the trio really know how to play - listen to those bass licks in that first video. And the drums in this:

プールサイド殺人事 (Poolside Murder Case)



I know this isn't how most people would describe them (cause it's not how anyone uses this word), but to me, these guys got swagger. I'm counting down the days until any news about a follow-up EP or album.

How to Get 'Em: Looks like CD Japan is your only option if you live in the US.
 

God Bless America

"Bands You Should be Listening To" Volume 3: the telephones

Today's Subject: the telephones

Looking through the titles of all the songs that comprise the telephone's creative output, you may notice that the word "disco" comes up. A lot. I don't know if disco is quite the right word for describing the telephone's sound; you say disco and you think of that unique '70s sound, composed of not just a danceable beat and synthesizers, which the telephones admittedly have plenty of, but oftentimes brass and orchestral backings as well. There's no denying that the telephones make pop music, but it's pop music with a healthy dose of punk attitude, humor, and an overwhelming need to get your ass on the dance floor (another important phrase in the telephones vocabulary).

D.A.N.C.E. to the telephones!!!

They also make amazing music videos.


Where to Start: See that Youtube video right above? I personally would recommend the EP from which that music video comes from, the Love&DISCO E.P. (you guessed it). I may just be an EP kind of guy; I think there is something in my pop-culture-lovin' nature that responds to shorter, tighter pieces of pure craft than something with more (in my mind, sometimes unnecessary) volume. For me, the perfect sized novel is roughly 200 to 250 pages (for example, Sputnik Sweetheart, my all-time favorite), and some of the best TV shows are the ones that get out (or are forced out) before the creative well runs dry (i.e. Freaks and Geeks). But I digress.

I think the other place to start is where I started, their first full-length Japan. "Sick Rocks" is what started it all for me anyway. Dance Floor Monsters, their second full length and their first on a major record label (to which I say "Sell-outs!", to which I actually I mean, "Good for you, the telephones; you deserve the resources to expand your audience. Just don't let The Man change you too much." Hmm, this might be my longest aside yet!), is a solid album, certainly not a bad one, but maybe not my favorite, besides the infectious singles. Speaking of which, here's their newest, which comes off the brand-new Oh my telephones!!! ep that just came out a not even a week ago. I literally can't stop playing this song.


How to Get A Hold of 'Em: It's your lucky day! The US iTunes Music Store has both Japan and the Love&DISCO EP for download. They also have an exclusive live bundle for sale, but I wouldn't recommend it at all. I'm not sure what live show they taped it from, but it has terrible sound quality and is generally just not worth the four bucks when you're otherwise not getting anything new.

"Bands You Should be Listening To" Volume 2: andymori

Today's Subject: andymori

 

I have a theory that certain things can only really affect you when you're at a specific age or time of your life. For instance, The Catcher in the Rye is a novel you have to read as a teenager for it to become one of those books that changes your life. It's power comes from being able to identify with the themes of alienation and frustration with the world at that exact point in your life when you're just seeing how "crummy" the world actually can be. A Wild Sheep Chase changed my life because I read it at an age (15? 16? I don't know, late sophomore year of high school) where my precocious little mind was becoming bored and intellectually unsatisfied with "the traditional novel", even though I grew up a huge bookworm, coupled with a growing interest in Japanese culture. Some things you can only "get" at a specific time in your life, and I think being a young adult (16-23, let's say, high school to college) is probably the most vulnerable and influential time period to your (pop-/)culture appreciating self.

andymori is one of those bands, I think. The following is the first song on their first album. I suggest you listen with a) headphones and b) the volume cranked up. 

FOLLOW ME

Where to Start: Definitely their self-titled debut. It is all around a great album, though some really stand out more than others. It's just full of boundless energy and youthfulness and emotion. It just feels like being 20-something. They also have some songs that have a nice, light, jazz-y feel. This is one of my favorite albums of all time.

ベンガルトラとウィスキー

Where Not to Start: andymori just came out with a new album ファンファーレと熱狂, but it did not grab me nearly as much as their debut. There's hardly a song on here with that energy I loved on their debut. However, it seems like they're learning/exploring how to write more intricate and developed music, which is a plus in terms of their evolution as artists. It's not a bad album, but it's very different (and ironic, given the title of the album). I guess everyone grows up.

How to Get a Hold of 'em: JapanFiles has a download service that has their new album up for sale, and I know for sure they used to have their first album, but if it's still there, I can't find it. But like I said, don't start with that album. So I would suggest you, you know, do some google searching. (Whatever your moral compass allows you to do.)

I hope to see them  @ the Liquid Room in Ebisu April 2nd. I will be the gaijin who looks lost and totally confused like he's never been to a rock concert in Japan (because that will be the case).

"Bands You Should be Listening To" Volume 1: Ogre You Asshole

It's time to start the aspect of this blog that isn't entirely about literature and/or translation, but about Japan and Japanese culture in general. Therefore, I'm starting my hopefully somewhat regular column I'm calling: "Bands You Should Be Listening To!"

Although maybe I should call the column "Music I Would Suggest You Listen To If Your Taste Might Be Similar To Mine But Have Never Ventured Into The World of J-Rock!" But that's a little wordy. All (pitiful) joking aside, music is an entirely subjective experience. There's so much out there that caters to a lot of different tastes. So the bands that I'll be profiling is going to be really only stuff that I, personally, like. So I guess some of you are going to love this column and some of you will hate it, and I guess for some others it'll be hit and miss. (And it's my blog, I'll do what I want!) But in general, this column is going to be featuring Japanese bands that could typically be categorized under the huge blanket of "rock", specifically, "indie". I'll try to keep from being pretentious, but I make no promises. You've been warned!

Today's Subject: Ogre You Asshole

 

Ogre You Asshole got their (very strange) name when one of their members attended a Modest Mouse concert, and got his arm signed with the phrase "Ogre You Asshole" by MM's bassist. (The phrase "Ogre, you asshole!" being a notable quote from the movie "Revenge of the Nerds".) Well, Ogre You Asshole is very much a band influenced by Modest Mouse (well, their older stuff more than their newer stuff), but they definitely have developed their own style and come out with consistently great albums and EPs. Overall, I think of them as a pretty chill band, but they can really get into that nice post-punk groove when they want to.

マスク

Where to Start: My personal favorite of their releases is 平均は逆の期待 (and honestly, I have no idea how I would translate it. "The average is the expectation of the opposite of left and right"? Nope, that is not even close to understandable English). It's an EP, so it's only five songs, but they are five of their best songs, and they wouldn't be as great as they are if they weren't all together to create that perfect distillation of what they are all about musically. 

However, I don't know how easy it is to get a hold of that EP, whereas their latest album "Foglamp" is in the iTunes music store, for a quick and easy download for those in the States (I swear some of Ogre You Asshole's older albums used to be in the iTunes store, including the EP recommended above, but it's nowhere to be found anymore. Too bad). This is also a really great album; the first and last tracks ("Cracker" and "Wiper", respectively) are two of my other all-time favorites.