Yoshiki, leader of legendary rock group X JAPAN, continues his hijinks with this announcement concerning the band’s move to the United States. Since Yoshiki has been living in Los Angeles for quite some time now, it appears that the group members will now all move to the US, and use LA as their “base.” Although the group has planned some shows outside of Japan before, they have almost all fallen through (except for this January show in LA). So the second bit of news–that X JAPAN will play at Lollapalooza in August–is not a surprise. But it appears that they might be considering some more overseas shows, so perhaps the band will be coming to a city near you in the not-too-distant future!
pengie over at unchained has decided to get back into HALCALI, who she hasn’t been following since the release of Long Kiss Goodbye (a great song!). Now, she has rectified that by listening to their new single, ENDLESS NIGHT! I like the song as much as pengie does, but I’m not a huge fan of rappers. That said, pengie mentions that Bose from Scha Dara Parr was featured as a rapper here! I think I’ll be following her example here and keeping up with these girls, as I haven’t really given them much thought since Long Kiss Goodbye. Moving on, pengie also has the PV for UNCHAIN’s new extreme maximum single, The World is Yours! The PV is amazing and I love how much thought they put into it! It’s somehow both simple and complicated at the same time! I’m happy for all the activity this group has currently; they are also rereleasing two of their indie mini-albums soon! I can’t wait!
This is one of the few times I wish I still lived in Los Angeles. X-Japan finally made their long-awaited debut in Los Angeles this week. So far there has been tons of fun for the 8000 or so fans that have been in attendance. Four video shoots in concert style from the roof of Hollywood’s Kodak Theater. I am sure if Ryan Seacrest were around he would be wetting his pants.
To check out some great reports, Tim from Japanator has a firsthand account of the concert. He takes the good and the bad of being in the press section. Better vantage point, but no photos. However, included in the two Japanator posts are plenty of official press pics. Japan Zone has more pics, plus another account of the show. The appearance holds some sentimentality for the band itself. Yoshiki spoke about “dreams coming true” in a press conference, while a “guitar shrine” was placed onstage in tribute to their late guitarist Hide. I am glad to see this appearance is turning into such a success, it was a long time in coming.
Next year is the 25th Anniversary of the Blue Hearts and they’ve decided to celebrate in style! If you don’t know who the Blue Hearts are, ever heard the song Linda Linda? Yeah? That was by them! Well, their Best Of will be two discs of all their singles from both of the labels they’ve been signed on. It will also have some concert clips, of which some had not been available before. The tribute album features some of the best names in J-rock, including Beat Crusaders, Merry, NEW ROTE’KA, and Melon Kinenbi! This is a release that I am VERY MUCH looking forward to… I wanna see who sings Linda Linda in particular.
Sad news, POLYSICS fans. Kayo, who played (is that the right word to use?) synthesizer and vocoder, and did vocals, is reported to be leaving the group next year. This must be devastating, as she has been part of the group since 1998. She will take part in the group’s recently announced tour in the US, and her last performance as part of the POLYSICS will be at the Nippon Budokan in March. But not only is a member leaving, the group has decided to take a break after the Budokan run. Though, good news is, it’s only supposed to be a short hiatus. Preparation for a new era and all that. Ganbare, POLYSICS!
SXSW (South by SouthWest) might or might not be coming to a town near you, peeps. Held once a year, the festival just announced their lineup for the tour. So far, the bands confirmed seem not well known, but more bands have yet to be announced. Confirmed though, and this is the only name I recognize, is Chatmonchy. You should definitely check out this tour if you’re interested in Japanese Indie music.
Nice try Do As Infinity, but your comeback has failed. That’s the sense that I get from stylejapan’s look at the reunited J-Rock band anyway. With their latest single and their newest studio album, to say that Noah is a bit unimpressed with what the band has put together would be much of an understatement. What makes this an interesting read is not only snark and brutal honesty of the given opinion, but the fact that even with that, there is still some hope, no matter how faint, that they can produce something to dig them out of their musical grave. Whether or not you like what Do As Infinity has been releasing as of late, it’s always interesting to see it from a different perspective.
One thing I know for sure is Greg LOVES Hangry & Angry! How many H&A plushies did he buy at AX??? He reviews the new album, Sadistic Dance. And according to Greg he just can’t stop listening to it! Greg focuses on the five new tracks, with Top Secret being his far and away favorite. He also appreciates the song Doubt for it’s departure from their usual uptempo tracks. Overall a glaring recomendation…
MB’s entry is full of pics and samples from the LE CD set. Once again H&A’s album has a lunchbox version. Again? Is this a trademark of the brand? In any case, if you want to get the full picture of what the CD is like, look no further than here. I must say the mini-photobook/catalog looks really nice. With all of these positive reviews, maybe I should give this group a second chance! Although I am still giggling about Lady Madonna…
How many of you thought they were covering The Beatles when you saw that?
Greg over at Selective Hearing has a bunch of to-the-point reviews of recent releases, the first being Erina Mano’s new single. He appears to be among the many who haven’t really been feeling Mano’s solo output so to say — in a past post, he described most of her songs as being “different shades of boring.” Brutal! Greg says he’s mostly been put off by her lifeless vocals before, but finds that on “Love & Peace = Paradise” she seems to have improved greatly. I couldn’t agree with Greg more: there’s been an audible improvement in Mano’s vocals when compared to her indie singles for instance. Round it off with a song that Greg describes as being “light years ahead of her previous songs” and you’ve got one happy Greg (and Henkka!)
Next up is the recent HANGRY & ANGRY single, sliced from their album. Greg describes it as one with a great hook and catchy chorus, but adds that the real spectacle is the music video. Unlike with Mano, I never got into the whole HANGRY & ANGRY business. One reason behind that might be that I was always expecting another “Melodies” era GAM-like group, what with the hot promo pictures that had them nearly liplocking. Now, imagine my gleeful snicker when Greg describes the PV as being full of girl-on-girl fanservice, sexual tension and, hell, even “Yossie eye rape.” Alright, sounds like it might be time to give this group another shot…
Third up is the DVD of the H!P Wonderful Hearts show from this January. Highlights for Greg include Maimi’s intense solo song, Kanon Fukuda looking like Ai Kago and, well, Koharu’s magnificent legs. If that won’t persuade you to watch this concert, I’m not sure what will. In addition to that, it seems that surprisingly Koharu sang her songs live! I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or not. Frankly, that’s something I’m a little apprehensive to hear…
Finishing off the bunch is SCANDAL’s album. You know, that “Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock” group? That’s the one! Greg calls it a well-flowing debut album with little to fault, and while I can’t exactly call it a masterpiece… I think I have to agree. But what I want to know is, will they ever release what I still consider one of their strongest tracks, “PLAYBOY“?! Also, I must add I have a huge crush on Tomomi. I want to treat her to McDonald’s so I can see her stuffing her face with a Mega Mac. Just wanted to get that off my chest.
When one lives in the UK and the only thing separating you from seeing Hangry & Angry is the English Channel, what do you do???
Road Trip!!!
That is precisely what P-Tom did, and he writes all about his experience in this three part post. It begins with the concert experience, which Tom wasn’t sure he was going to make after his travel plans went awry. But he made it in time, and had a great vantage point for some excellent face time with Hitomi and Rika. He highlights some of his favorite performances and favorite moments of the show. It’s really cool to hear how fierce a performer Yossie has become…I have never known her to have such a piercing stare!
The second post details the autograph session and Q&A. I think anyone who has attended one of these events can attest, it is a total victory to be able to blurt anything out half-intelligent when in the presence of idols. Poor Tom, once again awestruck while getting his autographs. Dude, I can totally relate. So many times I have thought to myself “Damn, I should’ve said blah blah blah”. However, I am sure the girls are used to the fans looking like a deer in headlights. And am I reading that right? They did a sing-a-long in the Q&A? The post ends with Tom showing off his H&A swag!
For the final post it is short and sweet. It is always cool to see oneself in the same shot with the girls…even if it is just the top of Tom’s head. Good show my friend!!!
Well, their Best Of will be two discs of all their singles from both of the labels they’ve been signed on. It will also have some concert clips, of which some had not been available before. The tribute album features some of the best names in J-rock, including Beat Crusaders, Merry, NEW ROTE’KA, and Melon Kinenbi! This is a release that I am VERY MUCH looking forward to… I wanna see who sings Linda Linda in particular.
When one lives in the UK and the only thing separating you from seeing Hangry & Angry is the English Channel, what do you do???
