Japan Nite - SXSW March 19 (Fri) Elysium - Austin,TX with: Chatmonchy / Omodaka / Red Bacteria Vacuum / Dolly / OKAMOTO'S / JinnyOops! / Riddim Saunter
Japan Nite - US tour 2010 March 21 - 27
with: Omodaka / Red Bacteria Vacuum / OKAMOTO'S / JinnyOops! + more bands
March 21 (Sun) New York @ Bowery Ballroom (also with Chatmonchy) March 22 (Mon) Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear's March 23 (Tue) Chicago @ Empty Bottle March 25 (Thu） Seattle @ High Dive March 26 (Fri) San Fransisco @ The Independent (also with Chatmonchy) March 27 (Sat) L.A. @ Viper Room (also with Chatmonchy)
Aug 15 - @ PEACE PLAZA MTV IGGY STAGE - 12 noon to 6 pm - FREE SHOW - Japantown Aug 16 - @ YOSHI'S - San Fransisco - show start 8 pm Aug 17 - The Roxy Theatre - West Hollywood
With that in mind, let's jump right to the videos...
The Telephones "Monkey Discooooooo"
New music from The Telephones. This video reminds be a little of the Vola and the Oriental Machine clip I posted last week. This one isn't quite as awesome as the Vola vid, but it's still a lot of fun to watch.
Ogre You Asshole "Pinhole"
The newest single/EP from Ogre You Asshole. I have a feeling this would be really cool to see in proper HD. The stuff with the trees in the dark at the end is great. It's just a really nice song.
Mix Speaker's,Inc. "Innocent World"
All I can really say about this new video from Mix Speaker's,Inc. is that it's absolutely hilarious. At least that damn "Turtle God" guy (Seek, formerly from Psycho le Cemu) and his damn turtle dance. So funny...
Red Bacteria Vacuum "Roller Coaster"
Japan Nite recently announced a few new US shows coming up in August. I hadn't heard of the all girl punk band Red Bacteria Vacuum before, so I looked them up, and this is what I found. Impressive! Sounds like the could give Guitar Wolf a run for their money.
"IDM Kid"
This week's non-Japanese video is this. Some little girl making random noises that are then cut-up and mixed in a sort of IDM style. It takes a while to really get going, so make sure to watch all the way to the end. Cute!
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
"The best Japanese music blog in the world." - Door Slam "Definitely a must-visit for J-pop and J-rock fans!" -The Otaku "Zac Bentz loves music. A lot." -Japanator "Very cool!" -J-ENT "...one of the foremost blogs and information centers on all J-pop and J-rock...the top source for tour information on Japanese bands in the US..." -YankeeOtaku "Wer mehr darüber wissen will, der sollte sich mal hier umschauen, ein sehr gutes J-Music Blog übrigens." -CommandSheep "...very well-written, and there’s an excellent range of artists...a useful resource." -International Wota "не плохая энциклопедия японских исполнителей/групп" -Diary.ru "Great resource for Japanese music fans who want to explore today's J-rhythms beyond Johnny's Entertainment bishonen music and anime music. XD" -Kaishi "If you are a J-Rock fan, [ZB's A-Z] is a must see." -Crunchyroll community "Otaku USA magazine finally got wise and hired Zac Bentz as a J-music contributing editor."-Radicalpatriot "Reviews practically every Asian band that has ever created a recording."- Zallie "Gewährt spannende Einblicke in die japanische Musikszene." -Laut.de
