appears

Soundtrack, don’t disappoint.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:45:29 -0500

Soundtrack, don’t disappoint.

Photo

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:40:56 -0500

Momoiro Clover Z: What we talk about when we talk about idols

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:39:37 -0500

Momoiro Clover Z: What we talk about when we talk about idols:

This started out as a review of Momoiro Clover Z’s new album. 1,600 words later…

Ayumi Hamasaki's LOVE again

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:18:00 -0600

Ayumi Hamasaki's LOVE again:

Some thoughts on Ayumi Hamasaki’s LOVE again album over at appears.

This event is my favorite Ayu-related thing in months and...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:13:06 -0600

This event is my favorite Ayu-related thing in months and months.

Punk Isn't

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:26:07 -0500

Punk Isn't:

“Punk is totally safe, a terrain not of social contention but of cultural consumption, and as such, it is the perfect moment to sell expensive books claiming that punk is revolutionary.”

Jolin Tsai: “Re Dong” (Butterfly, 2009) So we all...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:17:00 -0500

Jolin Tsai: “Re Dong” (Butterfly, 2009)

So we all know f(x)’s ridiculously awesome hit “Hot Summer” is not exactly an original composition, but here is something I nearly forgot about: Jolin Tsai covering it first on 2009’s Butterfly.

Beyond lies the wub: a history of dubstep

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 15:23:00 -0500

Beyond lies the wub: a history of dubstep:

“I just went to the Hard Festival over the weekend,” Reynolds told me. “The thing I liked about it was that this was music that had absolutely no sense of the past being better. In house culture, or even dubstep in Britain, there’s a lot of referencing of roots reggae, or the early days of house, or the early days of jungle. In dance culture, the purist stuff, there’s sort of this in-built reverence to the past. And what I liked about the EDM vibe, there’s none of that: it’s just like ‘now, now, now.’”

This article glosses over everything fairly quickly and sort of loses its point towards the end so they can fit in some quotes from Simon Reynolds, who is forever forced to carpe diem since the publication of Retromania, but I do like this colorful chart!

Momoko Kikuchi: “ADVENTURE” (ADVENTURE, 1986)I...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:41:00 -0500

Momoko Kikuchi: “ADVENTURE” (ADVENTURE, 1986)

I didn’t really have anything new to add, but I talk a little bit about Japanese City Pop over at the blog proper in terms of its recent “revival,” most notably Hitomitoi’s City Dive. One of my favorite City Pop albums is Momoko Kikuchi’s ADVENTURE, whose cover art perfectly captures what I think is the genre’s entire aesthetic. OCEAN SIDE is probably better at defining City Pop musically, but it doesn’t have this title track.

Perfume: “Hurly Burly” (Spending all my time,...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 16:01:00 -0500

Perfume: “Hurly Burly” (Spending all my time, 2012)

There’s been a lot of wonderful, smart things written about Perfume’s new single, so I won’t bother rehashing anything, but I love that “POINT” is some sort of brilliant fantasy-destination drum n’ bass, and that “Hurly Burly” is so perfect.

Knife Party’s “Bonfire” was featured on Sunday...

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:41:00 -0500

Knife Party’s “Bonfire” was featured on Sunday night’s episode of Breaking Bad: another one of the show’s expert use of music in the footsteps of Ana Tijoux’s “1977” and Apparat’s “Goodbye” or glorified product placement?

Number of times EDM is referred to witheringly in Pitchfork's Lollapalooza roundup

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:45:00 -0500

Number of times EDM is referred to witheringly in Pitchfork's Lollapalooza roundup:

“The ever-encroaching beast that is EDM was also well-repped, but unless you sought that kinda thing out, it manifested itself only in occasional sound bleeding and neon bright attendees.”

”The French duo [Justice] is skronky enough to appeal to EDM fans, but the most fun part of Justice’s set was watching them play with the crowd’s expectations.”

“With Perry’s stage dedicated almost exclusively to EDM this year, dance music was represented in numbers. […] No matter, though, as the duo of Aaron Jerome and Sampha [of SBTRKT] brought some much needed emotional tension to the festival, cutting sharply against EDM’s geeked-up euphoria.”

”Biggest concession to EDM: So when Yo-Landi Vi$$er chanted, “I think you’re freaky and I like you a lot,” for damn near 10 straight minutes, the furry-leg-warmers set treated it like a revelation.”

”Easiest way to get trampled: By people sprinting in groups to Perry’s stage, which hosted the EDM acts this year, when the DJ dropped a particularly huge track. If you’ve ever been curious about the running of the bulls but don’t really want to run with actual bulls, just stand at the corner of Balbo and Columbus during Lolla 2013.”

“Chief Keef was added to the bill late enough that he was stuck playing Perry’s EDM-filled stage just as the sun peaked.”

= 6

Oricon Weekly Singles Chart: July 09, 2011

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:26:14 -0500

If it weren’t for the dubstep breakdown, I’d like Tohoshinki’s “ANDROID” a lot more: it’s so unabashedly moody without being tough. Actually, it’s pretty impossible to look tough when you’re wearing a hot pink leather jacket with metal spikes on it, you know? Or a white jumpsuit decorated with aluminum foil. Or anything else this group has worn at any time, ever. Unfortunate fashion statements aside, I’m glad that DBSK keep soldiering on as a duo, even when that requires listening to their Japanese releases, because one thing this group does really well is maximize on their oddity as one of the only two-member Korean pop groups, avoiding “the spread of clones destroying non-conformers” — subtle! But dubstep breakdowns are all too common now and having a perfectly good dance/hip-pop song interrupted by what has become a quota is disappointing. Here’s hoping they trend more towards the new w-inds. school of pop and keep it (dub)step free.

Wonder Girls, Madonna, Akon, money, etc.

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:33:12 -0500

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts regarding the awesome/dumb lyrics of Wonder Girls’ new single “Like Money,” particularly the lines “Love me like money / Love me like cars.” I’ve seen similar lyrics earlier this year on Madonna’s new album, MDNA, for “Love Spent”: “Hold me like your money / Tell me that you want me / Spend your love on me.” The song also features a riff reminiscent of ABBA’s “Money, Money, Money,” but I suppose this is a different case since Madonna’s lyrics are directed towards her divorce and are overwhelmingly bitter next to Wonder Girls’ enthusiastic embrace. I’m sure there could be further discussion on this at some point if it keeps cropping up.

As for the song, I’m ambivalent about it, particularly regarding Akon. He seems to be the go-to guy for foreign collabs: last year he was featured on the soundtrack for Ra.One, the third-highest grossing Hindi film of the year starring mega-superstar Shahrukh Khan. The two songs “Chammak Challo” and “Criminal” are decent enough, though the latter contains the appalling lines “Sexy like a girl should be” and “Spending all my money on her,” where Akon’s affection can be calculated by the amount of money he drops. Next to all that, it really sharpens how excellent 2NE1’s new single “I Love You” is, both for its utter vulnerability, and for creating something epic out of the simple, a song that places ultimate value on a phone call and three words.

The Avex Apex: A Brief History of Trance-pop in Japan

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:17:00 -0500

The Avex Apex: A Brief History of Trance-pop in Japan:

I wrote about two genres close to my heart: trance and Japanese pop.

Yu Hayami: “YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON” (GET...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:39:00 -0500

Yu Hayami: “YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON” (GET DOWN!, 1987)

Yu Hayami was one of the biggest idols of her time, naturally excluding her from having a timeless sound. If anything, all the tracks on GET DOWN! are the essence of 80’s cliche, full of dizzying synths and moogs culled far greater from italo disco than new wave. But while “GET OUT OF MY LIFE” is the album’s highlight, “YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON” is its notable companion, a cover of The Supremes hit as the decade’s nostalgic nod to the 50s and early 60s gained traction. As electro-pop continues to barrel its way into the mainstream, it’s a great time to look at where Mitsuki Aira and mini owe some thanks.

What's your opinion on Electra Heart? I remember that you liked The Family Jewels (actually, you were the one who introduced me to Marina!) so I was curious for your take on her new album.

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:46:00 -0500

There’s so much to unpack in Electra Heart: as a pop album, it’s a brilliant piece of collaboration, taking bits and pieces from producers like Dr. Luke and constructing a broad homage to the earnest hearts of small-town, big-dream American girls everywhere. Some people might have a problem with her association with such big names, but I think her spin on each of the glossy productions never strays far from the same nihilism that runs through The Family Jewels. It reminds me a little of Luke’s work on Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, where every song is bubbling with some sort of fundamental sadness. But where the songs were appropriated by kids everywhere as party anthems, Marina’s songs are more private, more internal, the type of songs better played through headphones or in a room, alone.

Lyrically, it’s just so self-defeated: “Starring Role” wallows in its unhappiness, “Teen Idle” acknowledges its inertia without any plans to get out of bed, “Power and Control” tries to reclaim supremacy in a relationship, even as it expresses a distaste for a never ending game where the winner is the one who cares less… The songs can start to seem a little petulant, not unlike their sometimes whiny, spoiled speaker, but I get the sense it’s not something that was unplanned. It’s an album that looks for sympathy as it ignores it when offered.

Marina has a bit of fascination with Americana and fabled glamour, something captured in bits and pieces on her first album, here taken to the extreme. It’s like a teenage girl’s diary or scrapbook or Facebook page or tumblr, generation after generation of desiring myths, people as reinvented characters, fabrications packaged as worthy dreams, and it’s as gloomy as that sounds. I kind of love it.

Thanks for the question, awesome to hear from you!

Arashi's "Face Down" = Myon & Shane 54's "The Beach"

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:23:00 -0500

I think within 7 seconds of this song I recognized what it was plagiarizing (sampling? I don’t have the liner notes so I’m not sure if there is any credit given). Look, I don’t mind that people are recognizing how awesome EDM is and are deciding to use it in all manner of pop songs on the Billboard, and apparently, the Oricon, but you should be really careful if you’re one of the biggest boy bands in Japan and are planning to snatch one of the most seminal prog trance songs on one of the most famous trance labels in the past fifteen years for your new single. Especially if you plan to make it to #1. Just saying.

That being said, of course I like Arashi’s “Face Down,” because I always loved “The Beach” and, I cannot stress this enough, they are pretty much the same song. However, I’m ambivalent about the pseudo-dubstep/distorted vocals breakdown because I don’t think they pull it off and also, this is not K-pop.

Listen to Arashi’s “Face Down”
Listen to Myon & Shane 54’s “The Beach”

Above & Beyond

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:29:36 -0500

Above & Beyond

mini's "ELECTRO HAKO BANBAN PICASSO"

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:03:00 -0500

mini's "ELECTRO HAKO BANBAN PICASSO":

A short review of mini’s ELECTRO HAKO BANBAN PICASSO.