Dark Translations' Feature: Music of Japan
Nephrinn :: Monday Dec 1, 2008, 14:07
GAM
Another Japanese pop band that have a really nice upbeat sound. I've only listened to one of their albums (Amai Yuuwaku), but I would say at least half of the songs on it are fantastic. Here are some youtube links to them:
メロディーズ
純潔～Only
愛情オアシス
甘い誘惑
愛の船
Dark Translations' Feature: Music of Japan
Nephrinn :: Monday Nov 24, 2008, 09:14
I first was turned on to Utada Hikaru from the Kingdom Hearts' song "Passion", which is nothing short of amazing. Naturally, I inquired a little further into her discography and came upon the album "Ultra Blue", which contains "Passion" and arguably one of her most famous songs "Keep Tryin'". The video for "Keep Tryin'" is actually quite amusing to watch and you really get to see how beauitful Utada is. Another favorite from "Ultra Blue" is "にちよのあさ", which means "Sunday Morning".
I would say about half the songs on "Ultra Blue" are upbeat Japanese Pop while the rest are sort of slow love-type songs, which I'm not a big fan of. I haven't got a chance to checkout any of her other albums, but I'm all up for recommendations. Preferably with a more upbeat Utada. :)
Dark Translations' Feature: Music of Japan
Nephrinn :: Tuesday Nov 18, 2008, 00:42
Thanks to Remedy for giving me the idea and the motivation to at least try it, starting today, I will comment/writeup a short article on a different (Japanese) theme for each day of the week (excluding the weekend). The layout will be as follows (subject to change):
Monday Music
Tuesday Culture
Wednesday Grammar
Thursday H-Game Review
Friday H-Game Preview
Monday will feature a Japanese artist/song that I like, why I like it, and a youtube link. Mostly Jpop, but some metal.
Tuesday will have something interesting about the Japanese culture, mostly taken from the Japanese magazines I get.
Wednesday will have something on Japanese grammar; most likely something I have personally struggled with and learned through trial and error.
Thursday will be a simple writeup of an H-game I've played, why I liked it, where to find it, and so on.
Friday will be either a game that's coming out soon (that looks good) or a game that's already out that I haven't played (that looks good). Probably a simple synopsis of the plot and comments.
All of this shouldn't be hard to do since most of it is very familiar territory and I enjoy writing about it. The main thing will be whether or not people like it or if it'll detract too much from the website. Honestly, I'd love to have more to add to the blog and this is the closest I can get without diverging too much from the theme (dark H-games) and doing extra work (namely translating).
Your feedback is always welcome, so let me know if you like it and feel free to comment on the features.
So, without further ado,
One of the most celebrated, famous Japanese rock/metal bands was X-Japan. I sort of think of them as the "Guns & Roses of Japan", and like G&R, they too died out in the 90's and even had an equally famous guitarist in Hide. Unfortunately, Hide's apparent suicide in 1997 pretty much killed off the band, although I heard they're doing a reunion of sorts. It's actually a really sad ending to what was a great band.
I recommend listening to the song "Silent Jealousy".
While all of their albums are good, I think they were at their best in "Dahlia". You can find a review of that by clicking here. My favorite song off that album is "Rusty Nail".
Anyway, if you can look past their ridiculous 80's look, there is some great rockin' music to be had in X-Japan.
