recommendations please

mizerable_d · 1 Dec 2004

hey!!!
i was wondering if anyone can recommend some good j-bands/artists or songs thanks !!!

BamaFan2989 · 1 Dec 2004

yeah, same here. I know everyone here likes Dir en Grey I think ^_^

I like O-Zone, but that's not JPOP. E Nomine has one song I like. Rammstein has a few songs I like, but none of those are JPOP they are European. So what are some things we would guys??? ありがとう！！！

mizerable_d · 1 Dec 2004

lol yup so the basic bands are Gackt, Dir en Grey, Malice Mizer, L'arc en Ceil, X Japan, Glay, Plastic tree. asian kung-fu generation is good too. and for c-rock Silver Ash got me addicted. but still i want more...help plz!!! ^_^

Winter · 1 Dec 2004

Lots of people seem to like Pierrot, and Penicillin. You might want to try them out.

There are a lot of groups and artists that were once incredible, but are now defunct. Oblivion Dust, and Kuroyume come to mind.

MHtrStevie · 1 Dec 2004

Heh heh heh... that's a real open-ended question which has been asked numerous times on this forum.

It really depends on what you're looking for... obviously, there are many J-music representatives in virtually ANY genre you could think of... so it's easier to make recommendations for you if we know a little more about what you're looking for... obviously you like rock music from the bands you've mentioned here. Are you looking for more rock-style groups to check out, or are you looking to completely change direction?

I'll throw some rock recommendations down here, since I'm assuming that could be what you're looking for:

Luna Sea is one of the "classic" VK-ish groups which you didn't mention, and probably should be checked out if you haven't already. My personal faves from them are "Rosier", "I for You" and "Storm".

Buck-Tick's a group I rarely see mentioned here, but is quite popular in Japan with a long history (at least 10 years together). I got their recent single "Zangai" which is quite rockin'!

B'z would be the ultimate non-VK rock group, with a catalog truly unmatched by any other J-group... something on the order of 35-40 straight #1 singles starting back in the early 1990's. For harder edged stuff, try "Liar! Liar!", "Fireball", "Samayoeru aoi dangan" and "Devil"... but their stuff ranges from pop/dance to rock ballad to heavy metal.

For an older influential group, try the new wave rock stylings of BOOWY... featuring two BIG figures of J-Rock music, Kyosuke Himuro and Tomoyasu Hotei. Hotei-san was the one who wrote the very well-known BGM piece from "Kill Bill Vol. 1" that now is appearing in more and more commercials.

If this is what you're looking for, let me know and I'll throw together some more... and if you're looking for other genres besides rock, I can help some there too.

Have fun, and nice to meet you!

mizerable_d · 1 Dec 2004

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH thanks ppl XD
*goes off to find tracks but will be back too look at more recommendations...*

Camui · 1 Dec 2004

the suggestions soo far are really good, but if you wanna listen to jpop you should try V6, Arashi, and maybe BoA...just a suggestion..^^

MHtrStevie · 2 Dec 2004

Hello again...

Since Camui brought it up, I'll mention a few groups/artists in the "pop" category.

Japan has its fair share of "boy bands", and you mentioned a number of the biggest ones like V6 and Arashi. If you want to find music of this type, SMAP is definitely a band to check out... they pretty much set the mold for the Japanese "boy band" for the 1990's and beyond. For earlier stuff, maybe try "Ganbarimashou", "Dynamite" or "Aoi inadzuma"... for more recent stuff, you must listen to "Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana" from last year... very BIG song in Japan...

TOKIO might serve as a good bridge from the rock scene, as they're pretty much halfway between a rock group and a "boy band" IMHO... I first heard "Juukyuu-ji no News" from the Kodomo no omocha anime soundtrack, which was quite good. Also, try "Message" or "Love & Peace"...

Camui, have you ever checked out the supergroup J-Friends? That's actually a combination of all the members of V6, TOKIO and the KinKi Kids... 13 members all told who get together every once in a while to put out songs. "Ashita ga kikoeru" is a pretty good example of their work together...

Well, maybe I'll post more later with some other pop stuff... this is pretty much all "boy band" stuff here...

mizerable_d · 2 Dec 2004

wow...so many bands...^_^ thank you guys so much XD

MHtrStevie · 2 Dec 2004

Heh heh... I'll keep going if you'd like... any other genres you'd be interested in? Pop? Hip-hop? Rock? Jazz? Reggae? Punk/ska?

PrincessBerriKiller · 6 Dec 2004

Winter said:
Lots of people seem to like Pierrot, and Penicillin. You might want to try them out.

There are a lot of groups and artists that were once incredible, but are now defunct. Oblivion Dust, and Kuroyume come to mind.

Oblivion Dust, similar band (same vocalist and Sugizo of Luna sea in it as well) is Fake?, and Sads (Vocalist is same as Kuroyume's, does solo stuff too) are good as well. Trax is an up and comming band from Korea who reciently realesed their first single in Korea and are releasing their first single in Japan on the 15th. The are "powered by Yoshiki". I really enjoy them. As well Baroque is good, They broke up thou... I was really sad cuz I like them. Nightmare, MUCC, Hanamuke (they broke up too), and Camino are all good as well!

antantrevolution · 6 Dec 2004

I'll have to ante up these suggestions to you.

1. B'z - WITHOUT a doubt, one of the finest J-Bands out there. They have been going strong since the early 90's and have chart topper after chart topper. They have been around awhile and show no signs of slowing down. A nice thing about them is that while they are never afraid to try new sounds, they never stray far from their 'sound'.

2. Mr. Children - I can't explain what it is about this dude, but I heard Mr. Children once and was hooked. Try it out.

3. Dragon Ash - While the newer stuff isn't as good as the earlier works, I would have to say that DA deserves special mention solely for not being a joke when it comes to Japanese Hip Hop/Pop/Rock/everything else. Listen to it and you too may enjoy.

4. Tak Matsumoto - Yes, I know he is from B'z, but somehow, his soothing guitar fits in just about anywhere. He did a nice instrumental solo album called Hana. Us fans can pick this one up under Steve Vai's label. He also has several othersolo stuff as well as a new side project going on.

5. Shane Galaas - While not J-Music, he does a majority of the drumming chores for B'z. An astounding drummer to say the least, hear it once... love it forever.

6. Koshi Inaba - The lead for B'z has a totally new sound when making solo albums away from guitarist Tak Matsumoto... but that's ok. Shian is a good solo, especially O-no-re. (God, I hope I spelled that right, I am sleepy.

That's all for now. More later. (And it won't contain B'z offshoots, either.

Ant

MHtrStevie · 8 Dec 2004

antantrevolution said:
2. Mr. Children - I can't explain what it is about this dude, but I heard Mr. Children once and was hooked. Try it out.

I just want to interject quickly and second this suggestion... I've been working like crazy to collect the music of Mr. Children, and they've become one of my favorite groups (though it's still hard to abandon L'arc~en~ciel as my fave). They've got great music ranging from fairly hard rock to softer rock ballads... Kazutoshi Sakurai's really a great composer and performer. If there's one band I'd love to see live in my lifetime, it would be this group...

Quick suggested listens:
HARD -- "everybody goes", "Nishi e higashi e"
SOFT -- "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Hana ~ memento mori", "Hero"
POP -- "Dance Dance Dance", "youthful days"
COOL LESSER-KNOWN TRACK -- "LOVE hajimemashita"

I also like the collaborations between Sakurai and Takeshi Kobayashi from My Little Lover... heck, why not try My Little Lover's music? They're pretty good in their own right!

antantrevolution · 8 Dec 2004

@MHtrStevie's post - Yeah!

Ant

Nightwalker · 8 Dec 2004

Buck Tick is good. I have only heard one song from them. It was from the Nightwalker anime and it's the opening song. Really good! Goes right with the anime...so vampiric I love it.

antantrevolution · 8 Dec 2004

Oh, I almost forgot to mention a band, not sure if they're still around, Pizzicato (sp) 5. Very interesting 60's sound. Their CD's can usually be bought here in the US.

Other noteable mentions.

TRF - Don't think they are around anymore, more early 90's pop/dance, but nice nonetheless.

Globe - Nice songs.

The Brilliant Green - LOVE this band. Could be a decent overseas breakthrough. Lead singer has a nice voice, and her English is pretty damned goo, too.

Ken Hirai - Sakura is a phenominal song. His other stuff is great too.

Toshinobu Kubota - Kind of a failed attempt to bring him here made me stop listening to him for a long time, but when in Japan last year, I heard some other stuff. He's a little R&B, pretty cool.

Oda Yuji - Actor/Singer has some catchy songs, most noteably the themes for Bayside Shakedown and Okane Ga nai.

More to come later.

Ant

MHtrStevie · 9 Dec 2004

antantrevolution said:
Oh, I almost forgot to mention a band, not sure if they're still around, Pizzicato (sp) 5. Very interesting 60's sound. Their CD's can usually be bought here in the US.

Sadly, they're not... I believe Konishi-san is still producing, however.

TRF - Don't think they are around anymore, more early 90's pop/dance, but nice nonetheless.

Globe - Nice songs.

Both good TK (Tetsuya Komuro) projects... I believe TRF is no longer around, but globe still is (and even featured Yoshiki from X-Japan for a brief time at least).

Personal faves:
TRF -- "EZ Do Dance", "Boy Meets Girl", "Masquerade"
GLOBE -- "Love again", "wanna be A Dreammaker", "Sweet Heart", "Seize the Light"

The Brilliant Green - LOVE this band. Could be a decent overseas breakthrough. Lead singer has a nice voice, and her English is pretty damned goo, too.

A few of their songs have been released in the USA, on the "Japan for Sale" compilations... let's see if I remember these correctly:

Vol. 1 -- "Call My Name (english ver.)"
Vol. 2 -- "Goodbye & Good Luck"
Vol. 3 -- "I'm a player in TV games"

They haven't been active recently, with lead singer Tomoko Kawase spending time with her solo alter egos Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6.

Personal fave: "Baby London Star"

Ken Hirai - Sakura is a phenominal song. His other stuff is great too.

Are you talking about the big song from 2003 in Japan, "Sakura"? If so, that was actually Naotaro Moriyama. Ken Hirai's excellent too... I really liked "Ring" from last year and "Hitomi wo tojite" from this year!

Oda Yuji - Actor/Singer has some catchy songs, most noteably the themes for Bayside Shakedown and Okane Ga nai.

Speaking of actors/singers, you ever hear Takashi Sorimachi's music from his dramas? There's "Poison" from the GTO drama, and "Forever" from Beach Boys where Sorimachi-san teams up with Richie Sambora...

I'll post more later, and not just as a response to Ant's great suggestions...

Twisted · 10 Dec 2004

PrincessBerriKiller said:
Oblivion Dust, similar band (same vocalist and Sugizo of Luna sea in it as well) is Fake?

Actually it is the other Luna Sea guitarist, Inoran, that's in Fake?. <--- this questionmark is making this a real hard to read conversation.

I can also recommend solo-work from Sugizo though. His solo-album "C:Lear" from last year really proves he was the driving force behind Luna Sea.

PrincessBerriKiller · 10 Dec 2004

Yeh I got kind of confused when they told me that. I was like Sugizo? Wasnt he solo and doing Sugizo and the Spank your Juice? Thanks for the correction. Sugizo's solo stuff is very good as well thou.

antantrevolution · 12 Dec 2004

MHtrStevie said:
Sadly, they're not... I believe Konishi-san is still producing, however.

I figured as much. Believe it or not, I got into them because of their song in the end credits for that silly Paulie Shore movie, Jury Duty.

MHtrStevie said:
Both good TK (Tetsuya Komuro) projects... I believe TRF is no longer around, but globe still is (and even featured Yoshiki from X-Japan for a brief time at least).

I don't think TRF is around any longer, either. I still have Billionaire as my all time favourite CD from them. Boy Meets Girl is their best in my eyes, I remember hearing a remix of that song but can't remember which one. I know that BT is bad, but I usually use it for rareties in J-Music and English mucis as well and came across a HK remix album. Not bad stuff at all.

MHtrStevie said:
Personal faves:
TRF -- "EZ Do Dance", "Boy Meets Girl", "Masquerade"
GLOBE -- "Love again", "wanna be A Dreammaker", "Sweet Heart", "Seize the Light"

Yeah, I like the TRF songs you mentioned as well. The Globe stuff is usually good, yet I have no favourites there!

MHtrStevie said:
A few of their songs have been released in the USA, on the "Japan for Sale" compilations... let's see if I remember these correctly:

Vol. 1 -- "Call My Name (english ver.)"
Vol. 2 -- "Goodbye & Good Luck"
Vol. 3 -- "I'm a player in TV games"

You know, I didn't even realise that there were 3 volumes until I looked in Newtype! Haha.

If Tofu is releasing them on those compilations, I have a feeling that BG will make it out here soon.

MHtrStevie said:
They haven't been active recently, with lead singer Tomoko Kawase spending time with her solo alter egos Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6.

Personal fave: "Baby London Star"

You know, I had heard that and found an I-Radio station that has her newer stuff. I'll get you the link later.

MHtrStevie said:
Are you talking about the big song from 2003 in Japan, "Sakura"? If so, that was actually Naotaro Moriyama. Ken Hirai's excellent too... I really liked "Ring" from last year and "Hitomi wo tojite" from this year!

Yeah, I realised that I had gotten the two mixed up.

D'OH!

MHtrStevie said:
Speaking of actors/singers, you ever hear Takashi Sorimachi's music from his dramas? There's "Poison" from the GTO drama, and "Forever" from Beach Boys where Sorimachi-san teams up with Richie Sambora...

I'll post more later, and not just as a response to Ant's great suggestions...

I had actually heard those songs when I had seen GTO.

See ya.

Ant

Norna Urd · 13 Dec 2004

Dir En Grey, that's what rules.

MeltdOwn_Akira · 13 Dec 2004

ooioo... not jpop but still very good.
:ex- the bordoms.

May · 29 Dec 2004

well, i personally like the "boys band" in Johnny's Association which have SMAP, Tokio, V6, Kinki Kids, Arashi etc.
if you like j-pop they are really great, especially SMAP and Kinki Kids, they are the most famous ones. For SMAP, i recommand "yoru no mukou" and "seikai ni hitotsu dake no hana". I'm a Kinki Kids fan, so their songs i think are all great.

and also Orange Range which is a new j-pop group i think. they mainly do rap. i like the song "hana", it's worth to listen.
and the artists like hamasaki ayumi and irai ken are also worth to listen to. i like ayumi's new single "carols" and irai ken's "hitomi wo tojite"

if you like j-rock, you should try some visual rock bands. like L'Arc~en~Ciel, Dir en grey, Gackt etc. or some non-visual ones: B'z, Mr. Children, Southern All Star (Southern is the one i like*^___^*)

PrincessBerriKiller · 29 Dec 2004

hmmm *jumps up and throws her fist in the air* The Trax, and Psycho le Cemu, and Siam Shade, and Cascade, and MAD CAPSULE MARKETS, and MUCC, and Kagerou, and Kagrra, and Plastic Tree, and Art School, and La'Chryma Christi, and Merri, and Nightmare, AND Perriot. At this point in time I cant think of others but I know they are there....XD

mizerable_d · 29 Dec 2004

ahhh i got so many replies...i love people...^_^

recommendations please

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