I just wish I could have seem them live. This song obviously cops a lot from Talking Heads's "Crosseyed and Painless" but I'm not complaining.
Framtid Disclose Effigy Gallhammer Zoe Poikkeus Deconstruction GISM Abraham Cross Reality Crisis Defector Coldrain
I don't know if this is my favorite Japanese band ever, but it is good. Magnesium- "Tell Me"...I should add, this was from the mid 90s. It sounds nothing like the mid 90s.
Nice; YMO and Pizzicato Five! I have a limited awareness like many others, but glad I lucked into these. P5 is sort of the Japanese take on Swing Out Sister (you could say Swing Out Sister is the Japanese Swing Out Sister, as they're bigger there than most everywhere else in the world), but their quirks fit in with mine. Anybody play Katamari Damacy on Playstation? They provided the soundtrack.
been listening to a GREAT new power pop band from called The Sharona, and yes, they did style their sleeve after The Knack!!!!
I saw their first-ever US performance, at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in 1994. Ronnie told my Japanese girlfriend (now wife) that some creepy guy was hitting on her and she didn't like it, but she didn't want to be rude to a "fan." Mariko told her (in Japanese), "This is America, it's OK to tell him to go ***** off!"
Some favorites of mine: Yuzo Kayama & the Launchers ('60s teen movie idol who also played guitar and did some rippin' Ventures-inspired eleki) The Playmates (power pop trio from the '90s, not sure if they're still active) Tamio Okuda (great songwriter/singer/guitarist with a long career; he wrote and produced a lot of stuff for Puffy, aka Puffy Amiyumi) Pizzicato Five (some of their stuff is a little too cute and/or disco-y for me, but they were pretty clever, and their best stuff is great) The Spiders/The Carnabeats/The Tempters, etc. ('60s "Group Sounds" bands - Japan had a very unique approach to Beatles-style rock'n'roll)
I remember watching a Japanese TV show in the '90s, and the men in the audience voted lead singer Yuki to be the most, uh, desirable celebrity.
There is (was?) a very popular group in Japan with the most ridiculous name - "Mr. Children" - but they did some pretty good pop that sounded a lot like classic Elvis Costell0.
