GreeeeN (J-Pop)

GreeeeN is a 4 member Japanese pop/rock group which made their debut in 2007 and have 3 cds so far (as well as a string of hit singles). Their music is hard to describe, more rock than pop but very light (although not ballad heavy). The main characteristic that stands out is the sing-along nature of the songs (and the lyrics), a GreeeeN single is something you can sing and shout along with, and almost calls for it. It feels like music made to sing along to during the Summer. That's the best way I can describe it. GreeeeN is nothing else if not fun. (Each E in GreeeeN stands for a member of the band, which is why there are 4 E's.)

One of the interesting things about GreeeeN is that they never show themselves in the videos or the promotional pictures of the band. It's always images or other people, etc. One of the member's brother takes care of the PR for the band. The more interesting thing is why they don't show themselves, it's because they are in dental school and they don't want to disrupt that. 1 member still needs to graduate, and once he does, they will request permission to become more public. Tell me that isn't unusual.

GReeeeN - Ayumi (One of their more recent singles)

This is a link to KISEKI, a great song by GreeeeN, the theme song to a show called ROOKIES in Japan (a baseball drama). For some reason the parent company disabled all the embedding for the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_lcH_2nw-o

Greeeen is the kind of happy, sing along type group that the US music scene really lacks right now but J-Pop seems to have in abundance. (US rock music has become folksy or Emo and pretty painfully dull IMO.) They have a bunch of singles which are karaoke staples already. They are definitely a group worth checking out.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeeen - Wikipedia page
http://www.greeeen.net/ - Official Site

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Anime)

I don't watch anime. I don't like the pacing, I don't like the artwork, and I find it all painfully boring except for two shows, Evangelion (I'll talk about that later) and this. This show is hard to describe properly but I will give it a chance.

Kyon is a high school student, generally bored with life. One day a new student comes to school (Haruhi) who promptly declares if anyone is an alien or otherwise paranormal being to please let her now as she has no time for anyone else. Kyon decides one day to speak to her, and this seems to get her in motion as she makes a club with him and several other people (she practically kidnaps people to do her bidding) to make a club, the S.O.S. brigade whose mission is to really find paranormal things but often becomes just to serve Haruhi's whims.

Through the club Kyon meets other paranormal beings, the club's members who range from Time Travelers to interstellar police to robots. Oh, and Haruhi may or may not be a god, and may or may not be controlling the universe and all the occurs in it. So Haruhi getting upset may cause the entire universe to be destroyed, which at times isn't even Kyon's most pressing problem.

The entire first season was shown not in order, with each episode being an event within the school year culminating in the final act, Kyon trying to keep Haruhi from destroying the universe and starting it over, which he may or may not have done. Just great stuff.

It sounds heady but it's generally funny and manic, with Haruhi being simply insane in a wonderful way. (It's got a bit of the MY SASSY GIRL vibe with Haruhi pulling Kyon all over to do her current whim.) More for guys than for girls though, as a lot of what Haruhi does to get attention from the outside world is fanservice.

Haruhi got a lot of attention for the dance the characters did in the closing credits which became a youtube hit, with people copying it all over the world, making videos of other characters doing it, gathering hundreds of people to do it, etc. This has been removed from the second season ending, probably to put the focus on the show instead of the dance.


Opening Theme

If you are a anime fan, or a sci fi fan who has a bit of appreciation of strange japanese things, then this show would be something you probably should check out. Haruhi is right now in the beginning of its 2nd season. The 1st season is self contained but you probably should watch that prior to watch the 2nd, as there isn't any explanation in the first two episodes really of what came before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruhi_Suzumiya#Anime - Wikipedia page

Ai Otsuka (J-Pop)

I think Ai Otsuka is and has been one of the more interesting artists on the J-Pop scene since her debut in 2003. She writes the lyrics and composes the music for her own songs, which gives her a sound unlike anyone else. (She is also an accomplished pianist and sometimes plays the guitar.) She is at times pop to an extreme (it's the happiest, poppiest music you will ever find sometimes), but other times she sings beautiful ballads and yet other times her songs are straight out punk or ska. (Happy Days is an extreme example, a blaring song where the chorus is HAPPY DAYS shouted over and over through a megaphone). She is Osaka born, and her concerts there often get recorded for her tour DVD as the energy in those concerts is off the charts insane. I am not exaggerating at all.

She currently has 5 cd's as well as a greatest hits cds. She is best known probably for her hit Sakuranbo, a cover of an older Japanese song that she infused with her energy that stayed in the Top 100 singles charge in Japan for 86 weeks over a period of 3 separate calendar years. If that's not impressive someone has to explain to me what is.

Ai does not get the credit she deserves because some of her subject matter is so fluffy and used for equally fluffy drama (like the cute song PEACH used for a idol laden drama last year). I think the lyrics and the symbolism contained within are sometimes lost on the J-Pop crowd who is used to fluff for fluff's sake, things like Morning Musume singing about nothing to appeal to 10 year olds. A song like Neko no Fuusen (The Cat's Balloon) has lovely images about a cat walking with a balloon that go much deeper than the simple (and seemingly silly) subject matter.

It may seem silly to say an artist who has a string of hit singles and hit albums doesn't get the credit she deserves but in a market that favors the artist who doesn't want any artistic freedom at all and only wants to sing the cookie cutter single, Ai Otsuka shines, and does so with her own songs.

Don't miss this quirky artist and whatever gem she puts out next. (Some of my favorite Ai Otsuka songs are below.)

Ai Otsuka - Sakuranbo


Ai Otsuka - Neko ni Fuusen


Ai Otsuka - Yumekui

Ai Otsuka - Planetarium

Note: I mentioned a few times how you can see that songs touch people as people perform their own versions. The imagery in Ai's songs clearly touches people in this way if not even more; if you search for her songs not only do people sing them, they create their own videos and strings of images to play along to the song. It's really common for her songs. If that doesn't show the imagery of the lyrics I am not sure what does.

LINK

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_otsuka - Wikipedia Site

Wonder Girls (Update - US Debut June 27th!)

http://www.amazon.com/Nobody/dp/B002COTNEG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1244949917&sr=8-2

Amazon has the girls US Debut single on sale June 27th. YAH! BTW, some of the comments are really stupid I've read so far. There is this thought process that somehow they will be ruined by singing in english (there is this thought process that Japanophiles have that I guess extends to Korean Music fans that the artists they like are theirs and theirs alone and cannot be shared) and the other comment that their english isn't good enough yet, which to be honest is borderline racist as well as stupid. People do things in other countries in other languages all the time. Americans go to other countries and butcher other people's languages too. Is the thought that unless you can speak another language perfectly you are not allowed to use it? That's so retarded. I speak my horrid Japanese all the time. Is this not allowed? Since when?

I love it, you will too, and the haters can stay in their corner unhappy and hating.

Wonder Girls - Nobody (English Teaser)

And notice the samples are up on youtube and have not been taken down because JYP loves us all. =P

Namie Amuro (J-Pop)

(Cover from Sweet 19 Blues)

Namie Amuro is my favorite J-Pop artist of all time. The impact she had was undeniable, there was a period of several years (not hyperbole) where she was the best selling artist and the lead cog of the juggernaut of Avex (and TK's) empire where it seemed every single successful artist was part of that group. Her backup singers (Max) turned into a hit group just off her momentum. Her style (the schoolgirl outfit, the blonde hair, etc.) turned into the Ko-Gal subculture that still exists today. (Ever see the Blonde Hair, strange colorfully dressed Japanese girls who look like they are playing dress up? That's from Namie. Baggy socks on the Japanese girls? Namie.) The most famous part of Tokyo (Shibuya) was hers, and to this day (even as she has become a mid level artist) still revels in their association with Namie, playing her new single on speakers all over the central part of the area. (Yes, her singles play on infinite loop as you walk around. Again, no exaggeration at all.)

Namie started out as a more eurobeat artist (like most of the Avex stable at that time) within a group, the Super Monkeys (with the girls who later became MAX). That quickly became by her popularity Namie and the Super Monkeys, and then she split solo where she added some R&B overtones and moved a little away from the eurobeat. Eventually, she moved fully toward R&B and became the artist she is today, basically completely her own artist, writing what she wants, singing what she wants, and performing and releasing WHEN she wants. (Namie doesn't do all the big shows, etc. She is still famous, yet outside the main circle. It's actually a fantastic accomplishment that most artists in Japan would never be able to do, to be somewhat free but still popular.)

Namie is to me the artist that really brought J-Pop to the mainstream outside Japan. She was everywhere on the net, and her singles, etc. brought her attention outside of people like me who were looking for this kind of entertainment. Pre Namie - there were a few Japanese artists people liked, a lot of them coming from Anime (like TM Network). After Namie, there was an absolute flood of information you could find about Japanese artists if you wanted. Her impact is just undeniable.

Namie has had a few different periods in her career so I wanted to go through them a bit with a song (video) from each. (All in all she has 12 cd's, 8 studio cd's and 4 single collections. I own them all.)

Namie Amuro (with Super Monkeys) - Body Feels Exit (Live)
This is her first period, becoming a solo performer right after the Super Monkeys, still doing the eurobeat type stuff. This song was HUGE.


Namie Amuro - Can You Celebrate (Live)
One of her biggest hits from the second phase of her career, the solo artist moving away from the eurobeat stuff. This is a HUGE wedding song in Japan. I can't tell you how big this song was, it's indescribable. Think Celine Dion and Titanic.


Namie Amuro - Say the Word
She is moving away from TK at this point, but still trying to do the same type of J-Pop. Her popularity is going down at this point and her music is pretty unfocused.


Namie Amuro - Queen of Hip Pop
Completely reinvented as an R&B artist with J-Pop influence, Namie's return to the album charts is complete. Her last few cds, if you listen to them, you can see how comfortable she is with herself and the music. It's all really good.


Namie Amuro - New Look
This is from her single 60s,70s,80s which featured songs with samples from all 3 decades. This is 60s with new look. Great fun, I wonder if it influenced the Wonder Girls Trilogy that came out late last year (with the single Nobody). Her first #1 single in 10 years.

In recent years Namie has faced some unbelievable tough times in her personal life, but has come through with great aplomb and resolve. She must be a strong person. I would not be shocked 20 years hence to see her still writing, performing, and reinventing herself once more.

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namie_amuro - Wikipedia Page
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/0724/japan.okinawa_sb1.html - Time Magazine - The Songbird who made Okinawa Cool (2002)
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/10/news/10iht-idol.t.html - NY Times - New Teen Queen reigns in Japan (1998)

Wilber Pan (M-Pop)

Wilber Pan is a Taiwanese singer (and rapper) who is clearly heavily influenced by hip hop and R&B music. I am honestly almost never a fan of these hybrid Chinese artists, I just don't like how the rapping sounds in Chinese and a lot of it feels very forced, like they woke up one day and decided to be hip-hop (like Janice's sister). However, Wilber has a very nice mix in his music, it doesn't overpower the singing, and generally a nice mix in his albums which allows his style to shine. He is actually American born, and although he moved to Taiwan at an early age he cannot read or write in Chinese. (His music is in Mandarin as he releases cds out of Taiwan.) His songs range from ballads for faster, almost dance music type songs. He sings, occasionally raps, and generally has a good mix. I really like his cd from 2006, Around the World. Although if you are just starting to check him out, I'd recommend his Singles + Collection (Will's Future).

Wilber Pan - Bu De Bu Ai (Have To Love) I really like this single. Interesting if you go to youtube, you can see the (pointless) back and forth K-Pop fans seem to engage in with non K-Pop fans. I think some of that comes from the fact people don't realize how much the asian pop scenes cross polinate each other, and they all accuse the other artists of stealing, etc. It's funny Japanese and Chinese pop fans don't argue this with each other, just both of the fans with K-Pop fans.


Wilber Pan & Akon - Be With You - His new single with Akon. Great song, typical Akonish song but on a Taiwanese cd!

Check him out.

Links
http://www.willpan.com.tw/ - Official Site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilber_Pan - Wikipedia Page