10 Japanese acts that would have been way way better choices than AKB48 for the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack

I just saw that the super-creepy Japanese pop act AKB48 is on the soundtrack for the video game themed animated film Wreck-It Ralph*. While I suppose it should come as no surprise that such factory processed mega-sleaze could manage to shlerm its way onto the soundtrack (we are talking about Disney here after all), it does send this fanboy into something of a tailspin. Because for God's sake, there are exactly ONE ZILLION better Japanese acts to choose from for this sort of fun, nostalgic, vibrant love letter to video games. (I'm assuming most of that. Haven't seen it.)

So I took two seconds and wrote a list of the first ten acts I could think of. HERE IT IS, in order of relevance and everything, just in case you get bored of listening to incredibly awesome music halfway through like a moron who deserves total junk like AKB48 forced into your slack jaws and down your bloated food-chute.

*Looking up the correct punctuation is the beginning and ending of the research I did for this post.

#1 Sexy Synthesizer



If you get 15 seconds into this and don't know why it's number one then stop reading and smash your damn fool face into a brick wall until it's nap time. COME ON. Sexy Synthesizer is amazing and uses a handful of Namco arcade game sounds in just about every song he writes. Including Galaga which is the best game ever made. Disagree? See above advice.

You can hear his entire ROCK album below.



#2 Plugnet



THIS IS THE COOLEST CHIPTUNE ALBUM EVER CREATED. Why? LISTEN TO THE RAPPING OH MY GOD. Oh, and it should be obvious unless you're a dummy but Sexy Synthesizer had a hand in its creation. GOT MORE SPICES.

#3 Omodaka



OK, so we've been pretty spastic right out of the gate. Maybe what you'd expect. And then BOOOOM. Omodaka. That's right, funk-tastic chip driven funky funk courtesy of a Stevie Wonder bass line and some wickedly weird traditional folk singing layered over the top. If Disney really wanted to blow people's minds, THIS would be playing through Wreck-It (I'm too busy to bother with the Ralph and more) non-stop.

#4 YMCK



"Y! M! C! K! Let's go! Let's go! *clap clap* Y! M! C! K! Let's go! Let's go! *clap clap* Y! M! C! K! Let's go! Let's go! *clap clap* Y! M! C! K! Waaaaaaaa!"

I rest my case. (They also built their own chiptune software.)

#5 Perfume



I mean come on, it's called "Electro World" for crying out loud. And Perfume is HUUUGE. And waaay less creepy than those dead-eyed AKB slaves. Much more family-friendly and all that. And the bass line rules my soul.

#6 The Aprils



Alright, if the over-the-top commercialism is getting to you, then The Aprils are here to wash it away with a blissful wave of super duper cute synthpop. Absolutely non-ironic and just plain happy. All in a way only Japan can pull off. This should be the ending theme to every happy animated film, in my totally factual analysis.

#7 Halcali



Remember when people made good, clever videos? This is one of them! And it has blurred out Super Mario Bros in it! And it's an amazing song! COME ON GUYS JEEEZUS! AKB48? Really? When THIS IS A THING THAT EXISTS???

#8 Capsule



Screw Tron. THIS is what living in a video game from the 2000s would sound like.

#9 Floppy



Sorry if I fell off the chiptune tip for a second there. Back on track! Floppy brings a more rock/punk/weirdo vibe to their tunes. A nice foil to all the happy crappy girls, am I right? Look, we can all get along because chiptunes!

#10 Polysics



BECAUSE I WILL NOT REST UNTIL POLYSICS RULES THE ENTIRE WORLD. Because reasons, that's why.

So there you go. Take your stupid factory-pre-set J-pop and CHOKE.

VIDEO: Perfume "Voice"

It's a new Perfume video! Watch it while you can!

This time around we've got a little more to look at than just the girls walking around and shopping, which is always nice. There isn't really much more going on here, but at least the backgrounds are interesting. There are a few quick little vignettes sprinkled throughout. You might recognize the "human Tetris" bit that became a full-fledged game show for about ten seconds. There are a few other simple little visual tricks, but an OK Go video this is certainly not. (Which is just fine since those things are a little on the over-hyped side anyway...but I digress) I think my favorite part is when all three girls walk off a cliff.

I'm not so sure that brown on brown is really the best color for the girls, but hey, at least the skirts are short, right guys?

As for the song, it's surprisingly soft compared to all of the hard-hitting, razor sharp bass and pummeling beats we've been subjected to lately. Their voices are also almost in the realm of reality, something we haven't heard for a while. Overall it's a nice enough song but it seems a little weak for a single, don't you think?

ZB's News from outside the blog

In case you've been wondering where all the daily content has been here on the A-Z, well, what can I say? Life is busy and Zac is lazy.

But that doesn't mean that I've been totally dormant! Just in case you didn't already know, I am also a regular contributor to Japanator. A few of the recent Japanese music related things I've done over there include:

- A review of sorts of the newest Perfume album called Triangle. I don't exactly give it high marks for originality, and I think that raised the dander of some of the more hardcore fans...

- Another somewhat snarky review of the new album from the crazy vis-kei band Mix Speaker's Inc. called Monsters Junk in My Pocket. While I don't really find anything interesting about the music, you really need to check out their totally over-the-top (even for vis-kei!) style.

- An exclusive interview with American songwriter and performer Becca. She's managing to make a name for herself in Japan. She also just recently played at Otakon 2009.

Something else that I had nothing to do with but that I know readers will be interested in is the coverage of Kanon Wakeshima's recent stop over in LA for a live show and autograph session. Ace0fClub5 once again managed to get some amazing photos of the event.

So, things may be a little quiet here from time to time, but I'm certainly not slowing down. (Oh yeah, there's all that new stuff for Otaku USA Magazine too...) Maybe just choosing my battles a little more carefully. But never fear! More is on the way.

Videos of the Week - 7/12/09

Well, looks like this is quickly turning into little more than a video blog! I assure you, I'm doing all I can to get be to some sort of normal schedule. But until then, hey! More videos!

Perfume - "I Still Love U"


[UPDATE: Shoot, looks like it was already taken down. Well, just imagine one shot on a white screen with three girls mouthing the lyrics and not moving much.]

Here's one of the new videos from Perfume from their new album/DVD Triangle. I did a quick review of it for Japanator, and I didn't exactly give it a thumbs up. I want to make it clear that I don't hate the album or them. I simply don't think it's a very good album and that the group, on the whole, is sort of played-out. If you like them, great! If not, well that's good too.

But seriously, look at that video. I mentioned it on Twitter yesterday:

How does the biggest pop group in Japan make a video? They rent an HD camera, some lights and a fan for 5 minutes: http://is.gd/1vyY5

Benu, one of my Twitter friends, took me to task for hating on them, and I basically said the above. Also this:

@Benu Oh, and I'll admit that it does look like they put at least twice as much thought and time into the blocking. :D :D <3 <3

All I'm saying is that a little more effort would be nice. That's all!

OK, on to the rest!



Vola and the Oriental Machine - "Weekend Lovers"


I must admit, I lost my shit when I first saw this new video from Vola and the Oriental Machine. There are far too many incredible things going on in it...I can't even begin to go into it all. Suffice it to say that I want to immediately fly to Japan after watching it. I'm sure it's like this all the time, right? I cannot get my hands on their new album soon enough!

Mouse on the Keys - "Spectres de Mouse"


Here's an example of how to make a simple and cheap video, but also a very interesting one to watch! I think it also helps that the music is crazy good. The best bit? The parts where the drummer is moving his hands fast enough to see the pictures projected on his sticks! It's subtle, but amazing.

Base Ball Bear - "Stairway Generation"


I've been waiting for something a little more ass-kicking from these guys, and there's some pretty interesting stuff going on in this song. The video, not so much. But hey, it's certainly orange!

Abingdon Boys School - "Kimi no Uta"


Here's a brief clip featuring the new Abingdon Boys School single that's the opener for the new anime series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (as pointed out over on Japanator). Not too much to say about this one other than it's not the greatest thing ABS has done, IMO. All of their recent releases seem to be a little on the weak side. On the other hand, I just might have to check out the anime!

A Plus D - "Stanky Whip"


I love everything about Bootie Blog. This video should be explanation enough.

Videos of the Week 6-28-09

If you've spent any time on this blog, you know that I'm not a huge fan of pop music. But I must admit that I have a pretty big soft spot for Perfume. I really liked them right from the start, and have been following them ever since. Most of their music sounds very "same-y" lately, but their newest "Night Flight" single is quite different and just plain loaded with retro smoothness. It's like a long-lost Yellow Magic Orchestra track unearthed and updated. Plus, the video (or the commercial that the song is used in, actually) also looks great. Like living inside a Famicom!

Perfume "Night Flight"


More after the jump!



Vola and the Oriental Machine "Self-Defense"


This is an amazing live performance from Vola. It's totally chaotic, but the amount of energy they bring is incredible!

Ling Tosite Sigure - live


Speaking of high-energy live shows, here are a couple live songs from Ling Tosite Sigure. 'Nuff said!

Yellow Magic Orchestra "Tighten Up"


This is a "live" version of "Tighten Up" by YMO (originally by Archie Bell and the Drells), on the classic US show Soul Train nonetheless! Obviously they aren't actually playing, but it's still a historical "performance."

Oh, and just in case you didn't know why I found this even funnier the first time I heard it, watch this:





And, of course, the obligatory bizarre Japanese Michael Jackson "Thriller" parody.

Album Review - 8bit Project - Spicy Innovator vs Superior Marionette

Quick, what do (deep breath) Perfume, Michael Jackson, Exile, Utada Hikaru, Ai Otsuka, Studio Ghibli, Southern All Stars, Juicy Fruits, Coldplay, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Led Zeppelin, Yellow Magic Orchestra and many more all have in common? (gasp)

Well, nothing really.

Until now!

Because now they can all be linked by the power of 8bit chiptune music! Ah yes, the glue that sometime seems to hold the very fabric of the universe together has spawned yet another compilation full of both incredible and very clever covers of some classic (and not-so-classic) songs.

The album Spicy Innovator vs Superior Marionette (see, isn't that clever, now?) was put together by a group going by the innocuous name of 8bit Project. This humble name actually obscures a rather intimidating trio consisting of Ito Toshiharu (of Mansfield), Matsutake Hideki (Logic System and the sound programmer and so-called fourth member of the highly influential 1970s-80s Japanese electro super-group Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Saito Hisahi (of YMO cover band Y Setsu O). Spicy Innovator is the group's second full release (they've also recently remixed Shoko Nakagawa). It seems to take the previous effort to a whole new level of insanity across twenty one tracks of pure 8bit overload. Sure, it may be over twenty tracks, but some of those tracks consist of five song medleys! This is, like, fifty songs, people!

If you're not already running over to HearJapan to download it or to CDJapan to get the CD (either of which I can assure you, without hesitation, is the right thing to do) then follow me after the jump to get a bit (ha ha) more background on what's going on here. Then go buy it.


There is far too much going on here to do any sort of play-by-play, so instead, the highlights.

[NOTE: All video clips are the original songs, not the 8bit covers. Just in case that wasn't screamingly obvious...]

Perfume "Polyrythm"


The album kicks off with two of the strongest tracks, both a Perfume medley and a Michael Jackson medley. The Perfume track consists of four of the singing-trio's most recent singles, “Polyrythm,” “Chocolate Disco,” “Baby Cruising Love” and “Love the World.” While none of these are really any sort of revelation when presented in 8bit form, (they are an electro/chiptune-ish band already) it will nevertheless instantly get you into the right frame of mind for the onslaught to follow. Much more shocking, and simply wonderful, is the Michael Jackson material that follows. “Bad,” “Beat It” and “Thriller” are an ascending scale of perfection (come on, a chip version of an Eddie VanHalen guitar solo?!), culminating with the album's coolest trick. When it's time for Vincent Price to give his monologue at the end of “Thriller,” 8bit Project chooses to instead use the default text-crawl blips sound heard in so many early 8 and 16 bit games. It's an obvious yet at the same time surprising gimmick, topped off with a very lo-bit laughing sample at the end that you won't be able to help but giggle at yourself. This track alone is worth the entire price of the album.

Utada Hikaru "Beautiful World"


Then there's the Utada Hikaru medley, complete with an overt Final Fantasy break and Galaga sound effects, the Ai Otsuka “Tsubomi” cover with its Metroid backdrop, and the classic pop song “Hajimete no Chu” with a ton of Kid Icarus callbacks. All of the myriad of classic game samples and homages are handled with subtly and class, so much so that you'll probably often find yourself wracking your brain to solve that “where the hell I have I heard this before?” feeling.

Yellow Magic Orchestra "Computer Games"


While some of the tracks on Spicy Innovator might leave non-Japanese music fans scratching their heads, there are also plenty of more “universal” hits for the rest of the world. The most obvious being Coldplay's “Viva La Vida,” followed by the main themes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and even a complete (though slightly compact) version of Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven.” The whole thing ends with an unsurprisingly brilliant medley of Yellow Magic Orchestra tracks. It's a perfect choice, since they are the ones who (unofficially) started the movement toward seeing video game music as something serious and something to love.

That's the real story here, too. Sure, some 8bit versions of “normal” songs can be the most tired and worn out hack move for shallow musicians to make. Anyone can run something though a modded NES and people will be there to blindly flock to their side. Here, it's the obvious love for the genre and the craft of making these songs that sends 8bit Project and Spicy Innovator vs Superior Marionette far beyond the also-rans. It's full of both silly fun and professional production. The sound of a few old-school electro masters playing around and relaxing with some of their favorite games and songs, and doing it better than anyone else. This is an album that any fan of the genre should buy right now, end of story.

Japanator Radio 45

Welcome once again to your weekly dose of auditory bliss, direct from Japan!

This week we've got new music from epic metal masters Versailles, nu-metal masters Maximum the Hormone, pounding dance goddesses Perfume and new-wave spaz rockers Polysics in the Artist Spotlight! Oh, and much more.

Also this week, I have some homework for you, dear listeners. It's pretty simple really. Just leave a comment. That's it! I know we get thousands of listeners every week and I'd love it if we could hear from all of you. I know most of you will continue to hide in the shadows, but I really want to hear from as many Jtor Radio fans as possible. Hit up the comments with whatever you want, just a "Thanks!" or a "learn how to pronounce Japanese overnight please!" or your own "people to kill" list...whatever. Just comment! 

Thanks, and enjoy the show!

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 45 ON JAPANATOR!

REVIEW: Perfume - Game

Producer Nakata Yasutaka seems to have cornered the market on hard-hitting pop groups that feature razor sharp and upfront bass-lines, earsplitting percussion and heavily robotized girly vocals. He's the mad-scientist behind not only the ultra chic Capsule, but also the new MEG sound, Coltemonikha and today's subject in question, Perfume.

Yasutaka has done a thing of genius in crafting his particular strain of dance music. He's managed to make purely fabricated pop vocals the main feature of his music, removing the final pesky variable from the equation. It's OK that they sound absolutely fake and overly processed. Gone are the days of disco divas belting out their soulful lyrics. Now it's just fine that the voices are absolutely devoid of emotion and nuance. The astounding popularity of the Vocaloid software, basically a cute Japanese singing girl in a box, only goes to show the total acceptance of this new ghost in the machine. Real singers are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Producers no longer have to deal with real, living and breathing human beings. They are free to remain in isolation, creating their own special world in their own image.


This may all seem a bit off the beaten path for a humble album review. I'll admit to that. The point is that in Perfume, Yasutaka has created a musical group that he has absolute control over, and it shows. The music on the new Perfume album Game shows an obsessive dominance over its content. The trio of voices contributed by young Kashiyuka, Nocchi, and A~chan are not only stripped of emotion, but are so mechanically pitch and tempo perfect as to be just another factory setting on Yasutaka's keyboard.

That's not to say the songs aren't great. If you're looking for head-bobbing, booty-shaking tracks full of glittery melody, you'll find no better. While the songs on Game all blend perfectly into one another, none standing out above the others, they are also a delight to listen to. The sameness of each track and their crystalline production never tires the ear like one might expect. There are certainly a number of up-beat dance tracks, like the openers "Polyrhythm," the lightweight "Plastic Smile" and heavy hitting "Game." The happy-smiley stuff greatly outweighs the down-tempo breaks, but "Baby Cruising Love," "Macaroni," "Take Me Take Me" and the album closer "Puppy Love" do offer up a nice contrast to the otherwise unrelenting cyber-dancefloor atmosphere. It's these dips and swings that manage to make Game actually listenable as an album and not just carbon-copy single after single, which it could very easily could have been.

This is the second album from Perfume, and it's starting to become difficult to see what more they can do as a group. Yasutaka has a voracious appetite for young female singers, and he shows no qualms with jumping from one to the next. Perfume seems to be his major focus for now, but the pop audience can be fickle. If Perfume doesn't start expanding their sound, maybe moving out of the cyber-dance cage Yasutaka has built up around them into, say, more real-world territory, their remaining time may be limited. Then again, there will always be those little boxes full of cyber girls ready to pounce, and plenty of bedroom producers willing to bring them to life.

Buy Perfume albums here!

Secret Secret


Polyrhythm


Chocolate Disco


Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow

MEG

I was just about to post this entry on MEG, thinking she was just another re-packaged version of Capsule, Perfume, Coltemonikha and others, all produced by the seemingly inexhaustible Nakata Yasutaka. Then I looked a little deeper into her history (hey, it's what I do here, after all) and found that it was only recently that she seemed to suffer a mild case of schizophrenia.

Prior to her working relationship with Yasutaka, MEG seemed to be your typical pop singer working in the realm of lighter dance tunes and soft ballads. She also started her own clothing line, Carolina Glaser by Cheryl. Then in 2006, she changed her name from "meg" to "MEG." She also changed her musical focus to club-land. Enter Nakata Yasutaka.

In the grand scheme of Yasutaka's portfolio, MEG falls somewhere between Perfume's young innocence and Capsule's more mature sophistication. Meg herself sounds a bit like the playful Yuki from Judy and Mary, but for the most part she fits exactly into the typical Yasutaka mold, namely slightly lifeless and a bit bland. Perhaps that's why his singers are always slathered in effects and vocoders. Then again, maybe the lifelessness is a result of the over-production stripping away any sense of individuality from the singer?

Nevertheless, fans of Yasutaka's razor-sharp production and pounding beats will find a lot to love with the new MEG. The songs are the usual upbeat dance tracks with the vocals very much in the forefront, surrounded by twinkling pianos and ear splitting synth-bass carrying it all along. It may just be more of the same, but when it sounds good, why try harder?

Check out the videos for a look into MEGs gradual transformation.

BUY MEG RELEASES HERE

Precious




Official Site

Major Releases
ROOM GIRL - 2003/07/09
Dithyrambos - 2006/11/22
Aquaberry - 2007/4/11
Beam - 2007/12/05
Step - 2008/6/18

OK


Magic

Coltemonikha

Coltemonikha is yet another electro project from producer Nakata Yasutaka, the man behind Capsule and Perfume, among others. This time he brings along vocalist Sakai Kate to add the sugary frosting to the Daft Punk-like beats and Pizzacato Five sense of style. Coltemonikha is almost an exact replica of the aforementioned bands. In a blind taste test I would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference between songs like Coltemonikha's "Sora Tobu Hikari," Capsule's "Sugarless Girl" and Perfume's "Computer City." They are essentially the same song. Not that there's anything wrong with that. A good pop/dance/electro song is a good pop/dance/electro song is a good op/dance/electro song, and Nakata Yasutaka has the formula down to a science.




Official Site

Members
Sakai Kate (vocals)
Nakata Yasutaka (everything else)

Major Releases
COLTEMONIKHA (2006.05.17)
COLTEMONIKHA 2 (2007.09.26)

After you watch the Coltemonikha video above, check out the perfume and Capsule videos below to see what I'm talking about.

Perfume

Before Capsule producer Nakata Yasutaka took them under his wing, Perfume was just another girl pop group. After, they became a sleek, techno-pop powerhouse. It's hard to tell whether Capsule now sounds like Perfume, or vice versa. Regardless, Perfume now has a much harder edged sound than most pop groups, which propels them far above the crowd. Sure, they're still obviously an industry creation, but with Nakata at the helm, at least they produce some very good songs. Personally, I think "Electro World" is one of the best dance tracks ever made.

BUY PERFUME RELEASES HERE