So far I've introduced some relatively upbeat Sakura songs, from the hip-hopish Ketsumishi to the happy pop of Otsuka Ai. Today, I'm going with a more traditional ballad, kind of a slow transition to when I get with the really traditional, enka ballads.Naotarou Moriyama had a hit with his 'Sakura' song in March of 2003. It was the number 4 single in 2003, and was still strong enough to end up 32nd
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Posts by Tensai
Sakura Ballads
Sakura Festival
I've decided that for the next few weeks, the focus is going to turn to songs about Sakura (Cherry Blossoms). It's that time of the year when the trees are blooming all over the world (Japan, Washington D.C., Cupertino). Which leads to festivities and more importantly in Japan, songs about Sakura.One of the things I enjoy about Japanese music (Enka or J-Pop) is consistent themes. Similar to how Am
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TV Alert
In a odd bit of synchronicity, there is a chance that a current popular J-Pop star will be on U.S. TV today.During the Exhibition/Free Skate for the 2007 World Figure Skating Championship, Ayaka appeared to sing live for Ando Miki. Not only were the championships taking place in Tokyo, but Akaya and Ando-san share the same birthday from what I have heard.ESPN should be airing the exhibition today
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On The Road
I apologize for scant updates, business has me traveling on a pretty hectic schedule and I only just returned home yesterday. A week for tomorrow I'm off again.Unfortunately, my router decided to crash while I was away, which prevented me from keeping up with my TV viewing. I feel kind of out of the J-Pop loop at the moment, especially with no live shows to watch. Though this seems to be a pretty
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J-Pop Punk?
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Artist:
While in the store today, I heard some classic Blink 182 tune from a few years ago, although I can't remember the name at the moment.However, it did remind me of an excellent group from Japan, Ellegarden. Though it's hard to say, is it pop punk or emo. I can't really keep track of genres, my only exposure to U.S. music is from supermarkets, tv shows, and the occasional performance on Music Station
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Inspiring Music
One of the first differences you will notice when watching Japanese TV (whether it be a drama, animated series, or variety shows), is the importance of music. Not just the instrumental portion, but the vocals as well.Here, it's considered odd when the opening theme for a television show makes the charts. In Japan, I would say barely a week goes by where a TV-related song isn't in the top 10. Last
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Where's Perry When You Need Him?
Paul Collins over at Slate has posted a really great article on the inability to purchase music from the Japanese iTunes Store. I think it does a good job of pointing out the difficulties of purchasing Japanese CD's through sources like Amazon.com (just placed another order today myself), and the lack of a good selection on the US iTunes Store.Although, his taste in music avoids almost all the ...
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