J-Music Thread #Reloaded

ctrl+awesome · Post by **ctrl+awesome** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 00:18

so Hora is J-music? i have a ton of unheard of bands i listen to. but its not J-music so i loose.

Bugle/Hawk'M · Post by **Bugle/Hawk'M** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 00:39

I don't really care much for Psycho le Cemu, but how tough are drug laws in Japan?

Who cares if other people listen to j-music because they heard it in an anime? I love L'arc~en~Ciel, but I don't give a shit about GTO or Full Metal Alchemist. Same goes for Do as Infinity and Inuyasha. The whole point of music is to find something you like and enjoy it.

To correct myself from earlier, Nightmare isn't really an indy band anymore, not that their indy and major stuff sound much different.

Edgey · Post by **Edgey** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 06:13

Bugle/Hawk'M wrote:I don't really care much for Psycho le Cemu, but how tough are drug laws in Japan?

A legal amount of pot in Canada can get you 2 years of jail time in Japan. Just imagine how much time meth could bring.

Kyosuke Kagami · Post by **Kyosuke Kagami** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 19:38

Xenogias wrote:BoA

She's considered more like a KPop artist, not a Jpop one.

... and I <3 her. Valenti and Jewel Song are adorable.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 19:42

Xenogias wrote:Meh, most of the J-Rock ppl listen to is just cause they heard it through an anime :\ same with some J-Pop (BoA and Ayami is all I see ppl talking about).

I only listen to two J-Rock groups, one of them doesn't even play anymore. But i've been listening to them for years.

LunaSea and X-Japan

I've never bothered to try any of the J-Rock groups there mentioned cause I will imediately think of some slow tuned anime song. X-Japan & Hide own

Actually, both X Japan and Luna Sea disbanded quite a long time ago.

Monpochi · Post by **Monpochi** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 21:01

Just nabbed Shiina Ringo's Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana album from a rotation using my new external HD (w00t!) and a shop's DSL connection. I like this album of Shiina's, less loud rock and more interesting type of sound and stuff incorporated. (Oi SS, if you liked Maaya-chan's High Touch.... i recommend this.. XD )

Also... discovering Crystal Kay.... a part Japanese part African-American female. Vocal sounds nice due to the mix. Gotta get more songs of her...

Post by **SonicTempest** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 20:56

Janne da Arc's new album, JOKER, is out now. Here's a quick overview of it.

There are 13 tracks total, 3 of which have appeared previously on singles.

in silence - not to be confused with the Luna Sea track of the same name, this track has a very... "Dir en Grey" feel to it. Hard and gritty, with some techno influence in it. Lyrics in English. It's not too bad.

Tsumetai Kagerou - a more "traditional" JdA track - fast paced with synth violins, and a lot of energy. Decent.

Gekkouka - this was one of their singles. A slow-paced melancholic tune in the vein of Kokoro no Yukue from their ARCADIA album. A very good track.

D DROP - Another fast-paced number, with a nice intro guitar riff and a nice beat. One of those tunes you subconsciously tap your foot to.

Good song.

HELL or HEAVEN ~Itoshi no Psycho Breaker~ - a very interesting arrangement, with synth organs, and a nice drum beat. Again, about on par with what I expect from them.

Kamen - all sentai jokes aside, this is probably one of my favourite new tracks on this album. It's a slow song, but it has a simple, yet powerful tune that pulls you in.

I'm so Happy - this song makes me happy

an uplifting track, with a nice piano accompaniment. It's a bit on the slow side, but that just adds to its relaxed feel.

WILD FANG - apparently this was the opening theme to Rockman X8. It's fast paced, and has energy, but like some of their earlier tracks such as Phantom, that energy doesn't seem to go anywhere. An OK track.

easy funky crazy - this sounds a LOT like something Siam Shade would compose, from the slightly distorted guitar chords in the background to the way the song is sung. That's usually a good thing.

Oh, random note - when the singer says "easy funky crazy" It sounds like he's saying "Is he fucking crazy?!" LOL

Mr Trouble Maker - Nice intro, but I think the percussion tends to overpower the rest of the instruments in this one track. No big deal, though, it's still quite listenable. Not too bad a track. It has a nice bass/guitar duet interlude too.

Love is Here - this track was also a single before (although I didn't get to listen to it). A nice, upbeat track with a great arrangement. It sounds like something that could be used for an anime OP. Probably my second favourite track on the album.

Kaze ni notte - a slow-paced ballad-type tune. Very beautiful...kind of like a cross between Carnation (from ARCADIA) and Rainy ~ai no Shirabe~ (ANOTHER STORY).

Diamond Virgin - the last track that came from a previous single. Full of energy, awesome drum skills and an addictive synth main riff.

All in all...great album. A couple of tracks aren't that great, but the quality of the rest is enough to let me recommend this album to any JdA or J-Rock fan.

Xenogias · Post by **Xenogias** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 17:07

Yeah I know all of that Sonic, but I still like them till this day

Meh, I wish Hide didn't pull a Kurt Cobain... ehm, sorta. Anyway... Yeah, My fav song is always goinna be Kurenai.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 22:42

L'Arc's new album AWAKE is out...not bad. It has a bunch of singles on it (Killing Me, Jiyu e no Shotai, New World, Jojoushi) and most of the new tracks are quite well done. Personal favourites: LOST HEAVEN, TRUST, My Dear, Hoshizora, Ophelia and twinkle twinkle.

...damn, that's almost the entire album. LOL.

There aren't too many songs that sound like "traditional" L'Arc on this album, but it's mostly good, and very listenable.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 02:55

Bump again!

While I was at AnimeFest over the weekend, I snagged the US release of Sakamoto Maaya's singles collection, Hotchpotch.

Easily worth the $16 I paid for it, and more. If you're a Maaya fan, you have no excuse to not buy this album (unless you already own the Japanese version), especially at such a reasonable price. The booklet is in English, and features both romaji and translated lyrics for each of the 15 tracks on the album.

As for the tracks themselves...I can't really pinpoint a single one that I don't like. They're all singles from her early career, and as a result they're all composed by Kanno Youko. I therefore present to you the golden equation:

Sakamoto Maaya + Kanno Youko = VICTOLY

Go buy it.

Circular · Post by **Circular** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 01:42

If you can find the CD collection for X-Japan's final concert, pick it up. You can tell that they were committed to going out with a bang and putting on a great show for long-time fans. It's fun just to listen to, and makes me wonder what it would've been like to be there.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 16:35

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/pressre ... hp?id=1251

DAI breaks up

Bugle/Hawk'M · Post by **Bugle/Hawk'M** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 22:42

Well, that sucks but at least they've put out a lot of good stuff.

Bugle/Hawk'M · Post by **Bugle/Hawk'M** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 23:43

I apologize for double posting, but whatever.

Well, Gackt's new album comes out tomarrow, so of course it's on the internet today. I suppose I'll give it a sort of review.

Gackt - Diabolos

After the 2 accoustic albums and then the singles that were put out for this album, I was expecting for Gackt to just sort of fall back on his usual rock style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Diabolos is a fantastic blend of his old rock sound and a little bit of accoustic and a little bit of electronic. The overall mood is darker, with the exception of the songs Black Stone and Road. I'm surprised Road wasn't selected as a single instead of Black Stone considering it's generally a better song and it doesn't have the familliar guitar sound of Another World. The track Future was probably my favorite, mainly because the fantastic violin. I don't think there was a track on it that I didn't like. I really enjoyed it and would probably say that I like it better than some of his older albums, but I'd have to wait for it to settle into my playlist and decide later.

ctrl+awesome · Post by **ctrl+awesome** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 10:21

feel free to c/p that in the review forum.