VIDEO: Scandal "Namida no Regret"

Warning: Japanese schoolgirls in super short skirts ahead!

OK, now that the Google baiting is out of the way, here's Scandal. Looking all sad again. What's the deal with sad girls lately? I don't know. Anyway, here that are slowly rocking out in the library, you know, like you do when you're a rock band. Turns out that someone's boyfriend is now interested in some other girl because apparently he suffered major head trauma and no longer wants to hang out with a hot chick in a major-label rock band. What's the deal, dude? I mean their tiny skirts poof out and everything! Sheesh. Anyway, I'm sure the girls will be OK since they have about 18 million other guys waiting in line to carry their books and tell them jokes.

VIDEO: Scandal "Taiyo to Kimi ga Egaku Story"

This new one from girly pop-rockers Scandal takes objectification to new heights. Sure, they can actually play, but this video is all about fan-service. Oh, and selling bottled water, I suppose. Nothing says "buy our water!" like an up-skirt shot of a Japanese school-girl playing a guitar between her legs. But hey, you know it's what you want, and the Scandal machine is ready to deliver.

If this leaves you wanting more, the single comes with a couple more songs.

Videos of the Week 8/16/09

Gackt "The Next Decade"


Here's the video for the new Gackt song used in the movie Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker. He also appears in the film. I always like Gackt's more rockin' songs, and this one fits the bill nicely. Not really a lot going on in the video, but seeing Gackt fighting and posing his ass off is certainly better than just watching him stand around in a forest looking sad.

Check out much more after the jump!



Scandal "BEAUTeen!!"


Here's the new Pocari Sweat commercial, featuring Scandal! OK OK, so gratuitous product placement in music videos certainly isn't anything new, but wow, this is a little over-the-top. I must admit though, it really makes me want some Pocari Sweat! As far as weird sounding drinks go, it's actually pretty good. Oh, and the song, well, it's another Scandal song, I suppose.

De De Mouse Live


Here's a cool new song from De De Mouse, performed live a few months ago. I'm never quite sure what it is he's doing behind that laptop, but he sure does seem to be having a lot of fun doing it. This track seems to have more discernible lyrics than much of his previous stuff, so maybe we can expect some to have something to song along to on the next album?

Nuito "NeKoMaJiN vs (β)"


If you've ever wondered what it's like to be at a band rehearsal, this video from Nuito is it. Small rooms. Crappy sound. Terrible lighting. Generally uncomfortable and usually stinking from the years of booze and ash (and worse...much, much worse...) soaked into the carpeting. I've spent far too much of my life in rooms like this, usually with a few more people both in the band and just hanging out. Anyway...

Becca vs Vocaloid "Shibuya" remix


Finally, here's a really cool remix version of the newest Becca single "Shibuya." It's sung by the idol-in-a-box Hatsune Miku. The cool thing is that it's an official release! You'll be seeing more news on all of that soon... :D

Scandal

Formed around 2006, Scandal began its life just like so many others, in high school. The group of four girls began playing smalls shows on the street and quickly grew a substantial following. They were scooped up by Tower Records who released their first single in early 2008. The band hopped on America's Japan Nite tour later that year, and then even later in 2008 they were signed to the Sony label. Now that's a whirlwind career!

Scandal is essentially the reincarnation of Zone, only with their amps turned up to eleven and the sappy ballads tossed out the door (at least, so far.) That's not to say they are a hard rockin' punk band of anything. They are straight up pop rock, but with a bit more bite than your average safe rock group. They have the same positive, can-do outlook as seen in so many other teen/school-based groups like Morning Musume or Puffy, and just happen to all play their own instruments.

Speaking of which, the few live performances out there are, well, rough. On the one hand it's refreshing to hear such a heavily scrutinized band actually play live (for real). The fact that they are obviously new to the whole thing fits the pop idol model, where fans are also a part of the group's growth. On the other hand, it's a little disconcerting to hear just how different they sound in the studio after what must be some heavy practicing and editing wizardry.

The band started their life in the media spotlight as illustrated and animated anime characters, instead of the usual fan-service photo-shoots more common to the female idol scene. The cover to their Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal EP features these characters in a format much like that of the Beatles album Let It Be. This also goes a long way to describing their sound, which is full of four part harmonies and simple, direct song-writing. Their production is straight up guitar, bass, vocals and drums. No frills, but very poppy and catchy. Much like their transition from simple caricatures to the real girls behind the instruments, their sound and their proficiency also seems to be maturing. Their first full length album from Sony should be very interesting.

BUY SCANDAL RELEASES HERE

Koi Moyou



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Haruna Ono - Vocals, Guitar
Tomomi Ogawa - Bass, Vocals
Mami Sasazaki - Guitar, Vocals
Rina Suzuki - Drums, Vocals

Albums:
Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal - 2008

Koi Moyou (animated version)


Space Ranger


Live

SCANDAL to play Sakura-Con 2008

Many pre-fab idols are the very definition of style over substance, having their air-brushed and Photoshopped visages emblazoned across every available flat surface. Failing all else, the production companies want you to know their faces and to see them even when you have your eyes closed. It's a rare treat to have any mystery behind that exterior gloss.

Enter SCANDAL! They are a fresh new high-school girl pop-rock group. The hook here is that not only is their music pretty good, but they have yet to show their faces to the world at large, instead hiding behind lovely manga characters and a brand new Flash movie (here on their site.)

All of this makes their upcoming appearance on the Japan Nite tour all the more anticipatory. For those of you who won't be able to make it out to one of those shows, you now have one more option, Sakura-con!

Joining the already fantastic line-up including ketchup mania, The Slants and Ali Project, the four girls will be floating around the con all weekend, performing twice, doing some Q&A and signing autographs. They are also releasing a slew of singles (but no album yet) over three months. It looks like these girls are ready for the media blitz at last.

Check out the calendar for the entire SCANDAL itinerary. 

BUY SCANDAL RELEASES HERE

Japan Nite 2008

The Japan Nite tour has a long history of bringing some of the best bands from Japan over to America for a short but blistering tour. Past shows have seen the likes of Number Girl, GO!GO!7188, The Mad Capsule Markets and Husking Bee gracing stages across the US. This year is no exception.

This year the tour kicks off with a huge bang at one of the biggest music festivals in the States, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin Texas. On March 14th six bands will be taking over Elysium for a night of rock and roll like no other. Here are all of the dates:

March 14th (Friday) Austin TX @ELYSIUM
March 16th (Sun) NEW YORK @Knitting Factory
March 17th (Mon) BOSTON @ TT The Bears
March 18th (Tue) CHICAGO @ Empty Bottle
March 19th (Wed) DENVER @ TBA
March 20th (Thu) SEATTLE @ Hi Dive
( *ketchup mania is not performing in Seattle)
March 21st (Fri) SF @ Independent
March 23rd (Sun) LA @ Knitting Factory

Since I've already covered the basics, I thought we should take a closer look at each of the bands involved with the tour this year. It just so happens that I have a cool promo CD right here next to featuring songs for each band. Let's listen together after the jump!




Avengers in Sci-Fi are a futuristic rock trio. While they may look like your average rock band on the outside, their arsenal of pedals and electronic track will fool your ears into thinking something much different. While they do rock out, it's a very trance-like rock, played at light-speed.



Detroit 7 are a hard rock trio with a snarling female lead singer. Sounding a lot like Electric Eel Shock, they bring a dose of sludge and fuzz to the table, with an upbeat feel overall.



Ketchup Mania is probably the band best known to American audiences, having played A-Kon last year. This year in addition to playing Sakura Con they'll be part of the Japan Nite Tour. They are an extremely upbeat pop-punk band fronted by the candy-glossed chirpy vocal styles of Hiro.



Quartz-Head 02 is the project of Fujiwara Daisuke. A graduate of Berkley, he went back to Japan to bring his experimental sax and samplers electro tracks to the club scene. Along with Hata Ken on synths, Fujiwara blends snarling basslines with heavily effect sax playing and murky beats. Think grocery store bossa muzak on a really groovy acid trip and you might start to get the idea.



Two Japanese girls a-pickin' and a-grinin' to fast paced bluegrass tunes might be something you'd only expect to see in a twisted Christopher Guest mockumentary, but they do exist in the real world. Petty Booka have been bringing their down-home country/folk/bluegrass ukulele based songs for over twelve years now. How could anyone not love someone with both The Aquabats and Tiny Tim in their top friends list?!



Sodopp is an all girl garage rock trio. Channeling spirits from Shonen Knife and Noodles, the band has intentionally rough edges and strong melodies, and their no-nonsense attitude shines through.



The Emeralds have that in spades. Another rock trio, they have a bit of a Guitar Wolf-ish rockabilly edge without the ear bleeding production values. A more fun-loving Guitar Wolf, if you will.



If fresh-faced pop-idol-rockers ZONE turned up their amps to eleven, you'd have Scandal. No wait, you do have Scandal! They have a really unique blend of pop production and four part harmonies over guitar-driven songs. Like an indie rock Morning Musume. This sense of for rocking "idols" is only perpetuated by the fact the there doesn't seem to be any actual photos of them. Instead we are giving stylized manga-like illustrations of the girls. In fact there will be a series of anime shorts released featuring the members of the band. I am intrigued to say the least!



The Beaches live up to their name, bringing a broad pallet of traditional Japanese sounds blended with reggae rhythms and tropical island vibes. The playfull keyboard sounds also add a dose of new-wave, propelling The Beaches into territory far beyond what you might expect.

There you have it. Simply put, this is a fantastic collection of bands from all over the spectrum. I strongly urge anyone out there who can attend one of these shows to get your tickets now and prepare to go nuts. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

March Calendar

February 9-March 3
Polysics
European Tour

3-01 - Dijon/France GeneriQ Festival Vapeur
3-02 - Agen/France Florida
3-03 - Nantes/France Olympic

Source: Japanator

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March 1-8th
Maximum the Hormone

03/01 Reno, NV - New Oasis (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/02 Anaheim, CA - The Grove (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/03 Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/04 Albuquerque, NM - Midnight Rodeo/Gotham (w/Dropkick Murphys)
03/08 Kathedral (Toronto, Ontario)

Source: Japanator

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March 7-9th
Swinging Popsicle
Convencion de Juegos de Mesa y Comics
Monterrey, Mexico

Source: Japanator

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March 8th
Pine AM
Rhode Island School of Design
Provenance, RI

Source: Japanator

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March 13-22
The Pillows and Noodles
Delicious Bump Tour In USA 08

March 13 (thu) Los Angeles @ El Rey Theatre (Tickets)
March 15 (sat) Austin @ Elysium [The Pillows only] (SXSW)
March 17 (mon) San Francisco @ Slim's (Tickets)
March 21 (fri) New York @ Blender theatre at Gramercy(Tickets)
March 22 (sat) Boston @ Hynes Convention Center [The Pillows only] (Anime Boston)

Source: Japanator

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March 14-23
Petty Booka - The Emeralds - Ketchup Mania - Detroit 7 - THE BEACHES - SCANDAL - quartz-head 02 - Avengers in Sci-Fi - Sodopp
Japan Nite Tour
(See each venue for actual line-up)

3-14 (Fri) - SXSW 2008- JAPAN NITE - Austin, TX @ Elysium
3-16 (Sun) - NEW YORK @Knitting Factory
3-17 (Mon) - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
3-18 (Tue) - CHICAGO @ Empty Bottle
3-19 (Wed) - DENVER @ Hi-Dive
3-20 (Thu) - SEATTLE @ Hi Dive
3-21 (Fri) - SF @ Independent
3-23 (Sun) - LA @ Knitting Factory -Main Stage-

Source: SxSW-Asia - Japanator.com

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March 15th and 16th
Haruko Momoi
Hawaii Convention Center

Source: Japanator.com

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March 15-27
Antic Cafe
Tour

03-15 - Tavastia/Helsinki
03-16 - Klubben/Stockholm
03-18 - Markthalle/Hamburg
03-19 - Columbia Club/Berlin
03-20 - Zeche Bochum/Bochum
03-22 - Georg Elser Club/Munchen
03-23 - Roxy/Saarbrucken
03-24 - LaLoco/Paris
03-25 - Underworld/London
03-27 - Bikini/Barcelona

Source: Japanator.com

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March 15-April 3
Boredoms
US Tour

3-15 - San Diego, CA - Cane's Bar and Grill
3-16 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
3-18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
3-20 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
3-21 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
3-25 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
3-26 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
3-29 - Boston, MA - Paradise
3-30 - New York, NY - Terminal 5

CONTINUES INTO APRIL

Source: Japan Media Midwest

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March 21-23
Aural Vampire - Bespa Kumamero - Nirgilis
Anime Matsuri - Houston, TX

Source: Japanator

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March 21-23
Toyko Pinsalocks - The Pillows
Anime Boston - Boston, MA

Source: Japanator

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March 28-30
Ketchup Mania - SCANDAL
Sakura-Con - Seattle, WA

SCANDAL itinerary:
3/28 (Fri)
15:00 SCANDAL live performance
17:30-18:30 Fan Meeting - SCANDAL Autograph Session

3/29 (Sat)
10:00-11:00 SCANDAL Q&A Session
11:30-12:30 Sakura-Con 2008 Press Meeting

3/30 (Sun)
11:00 SCANDAL live performance
13:30-14:30 Fan Meeting - SCANDAL Autograph Session

Source: Japanator

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February 29-April 15
MUCC - D'espairsRay - The Underneath
Rockstar Taste of Chaos US Tour

3-01 - Saturday - Memorial Hall (Kansas City, MO)
3-02 - Sunday - The Eagles Ballroom (Milwaukee, WI)
3-04 - Tuesday - Roy Wilkins Auditorium (Minneapolis, MN)
3-05 - Wednesday - Family Arena (St. Louis, MO)
3-07 - Friday - Hara Arena (Dayton, OH)
3-08 - Saturday - Cobo Arena (Detroit, MI)
3-10 - Monday - The Armory (Rochester, NY)
3-11 - Tuesday - Aragon Ballroom (Chicago, IL)
3-14 - Friday - Tweeter Center (Philadelphia, PA)
3-15 - Saturday - Convention Center (Asbury Park, NJ)
3-17 - Monday - Patriot Center (Washington, DC)
3-18 - Tuesday - Cumberland County Civic Center (Portland, ME)
3-20 - Thursday - Nassau Coliseum (Nassau, NY)
3-21 - Friday - Tsongas Arena (Boston, MA)
3-22 - Saturday - The Armory (Albany, NY)
3-24 - Monday - Gwinnet Center (Atlanta, GA)
3-25 - Tuesday - USF Sundome (Tampa, FL)
3-26 - Wednesday - Bayfront Park (Miami, FL)
3-28 - Friday - UCF Arena (Orlando, FL)
3-29 - Saturday - Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Biloxi, MS)
3-30 - Sunday - TBA

CONTINUES INTO APRIL

Source: J-Rock Revolution

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See something missing? Add it in the comments!