I stumbled upon Sheena Ringo hearing her first album being played in a trendy Taipei record shop in the late 90s and became an instant fan. Back then she was known as the Queen of Grunge and her first two LPs really drove that home. After her pop success she expanded to psychedelic jazz with a fabulous vibe of 1960s seedy burlesque clubs and 1930s gin joints. Hands down Japan’s most high concept pop star, she never does a show or tv appearance without pulling out every stop and putting on a mixed media barrage of classy retro homage to the past century of japanese music. Her latest work in 2024 is a series of collaborations with younger pop divas which honor and respect both artists but with the expected and extravagant Ringo flair and polish. Heres a few videos, please watch them all.
oscilloscope music
halfway between noise music, experimental and techno, the folks at oscilloscopemusic.com have a floppy disc based app for mac and pc that creates graphics on a hardware oscilloscope using just the audio content. for those without one of these ancient devices it emulates the oscilloscope graphics conveniently on your computer screen. as seen demonstrated on techmoan.
The first goth band?
The Poppy Family with their darker take on late 60s pop psychedelia could very well be an inspiration for the early 80s goth flavors of post-punk such as The Cure, Siouxsie and Strawberry Switchblade. Lush, well produced radio friendly with an ominous tone. Terry Jacks would later have a #1 solo hit in 1973 with the morose Jaques Brel inspired death ballad “Seasons in the Sun”
dont ever change texas
this song came out 51 years ago and the sentiment still holds. texas is still at least 51% populated by racist sexist anti-gay fucktards who cant rock n roll to save their lives.
Our next show – Ultrabunny – June 14, 2024 Brooklyn
the art of the anime opening song
Series: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure-Stone Ocean
Title: Stone Ocean
Music: ichigo from Kisida Kyodan & The Akebosi Rockets
One cant say enough about the JoJo series – a 133 volume action/horror/adventure/comedy/fantasy manga thats been running for nearly 40 years and in which “bizarre” is the vastest of vast understatements. Part of its charm is that the hundreds of characters are named after 1970s, 80s and 90s rock groups, musicians and songs. Its a music fans dream show. David Production has done stunning work of adapting it to an anime yet keeping all the comic-book feeling visually. Kisida Kyodan & The Akebosi Rockets are a rock band known for writing songs for popular anime series or as the genre is called in japan “Anison” (animation songs).
Series: Zom 100-Bucket List of the Dead
Title: Song of the Dead
Music: Kana-Boon
How do you take the zombie genre and make it fun and upbeat? Well just watch. A refreshing take on a tired subject! Great video with zombie choreography : ) Netflix made a live action version of this of 2023 but i really didnt think it lived up to the anime, not nearly as funny. The band Kana Boon although i dont know them, have racked up 287 million views on just one video alone
Series: Concrete Revolutio
Title: The Beginning
Music: Yamamoto Yosuke
A strange sci fi anime from Bones studio, the story is a postmodern take on Cyborg 009, a classic anime from the 60s, in a world set in an alternate 1962 where superheroes are suspect, similar to the Watchmen series in the US. Very unique animation and powerful music.
Series: Gankutsuo (The Count of Monte Cristo)
Title: We Were Lovers
Music: Jean-Jaques Burnel
Major animation studio Gonzo adapted Alexandre Dumas’ classic french novel to a sci fi setting, and to go with the watercolor-like impressionist artwork and actual costume designs by Anna Sui, they hired Jean-Jaques Burnel from The Stranglers to do the soundtrack music.
Series: Peeping Life
Title: HOTEL Alien
Music: Bradio
Bradio are a funk rock band signed to Warner Brothers Records. Theyre quite good! Very party-oriented music. Peeping Life is a animated-in-real-time improv sketch comedy series, this season here doing sketches based on classic 1960s and 70s anime characters like Astro Boy, Black Jack and Time Bokan.
Series: Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
Title: D City Rock
Music: TeddyLoid feat. Debra Zeer
Gainax is one of the worlds most successful and innovative anime studios (they made Evangelion, widely considered the greatest ever anime). They decided to send their staff to America for 6 months and absorb the culture and especially watch as many american cartoons as possible, and on return created “Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” based on what they learned. Tons of sex, foul language, extreme violence and rude and disgusting purile gags, all that look vaguely similar to american animation but just so extreme that the satire will shock and offend the staunchest cartoon fan. Its funny yes, but absolutely NOT safe for US television.
japanese music you should be listening to – part 4
Plasticzooms – Personal Communication
wearing an einstürzende neubauten and spacemen 3 shirt in your music video is a great way to have me instantly like you. Plasticzooms are a japanese postpunk band currently living in Berlin.
Scanch – うそつき天国 (Liar Heaven)
Hard rock and glam rock mainstays since 1982, Scanch is fronted by Rolly Teranishi, (seriously watch that link) a major celebrity now doing TV and Film appearances as well as anime voice acting. He’s basically Japan’s Marc Bolan/David Bowie/Mick Jagger/Rip Taylor rolled up in one. He played Frank n Furter in japanese productions of The Rocky Horror Show and is known to cult movie audiences as the psycho bowling alley serial killer in Sion Sono‘s horror film “Suicide Circle“. I have to remember which Scanch video it was where the keyboard player caught on fire from an accidental flash pot explosion but they kept the camera rolling anyway.
Ningen Isu – Farewell to the World
Their name translates as “The Human Chair”, the name of a creepy short story from Japan’s literary master of horror Edogawa Rampo, the band started in 1987 and are masters of their brand of intellectual heavy metal, and big fans of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and KISS. I also speculate they may have been the inspiration for the popular heavy metal comedy manga “Detroit Metal City“.
Histujibungaku – Addiction
major label alt-rock trio from Tokyo, founded by the singer when she was in junior high school. Their name translates as “Sheep Literature”.
Max Fleischer’s Color Classics
Last week i caught the tail end of a week long Fleischer Studios animation retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. You likely know them for the 1930s Betty Boop and Popeye shorts, but they started in the silent era and were interestingly based in Times Square rather than Hollywood. The 5 immigrant brothers built a film empire producing 800 films between 1919 and 1939, capped by their feature Gullivers Travels and the 1941 Superman series before being bought out by Paramount Studios and moving to TV in the 50s. They are credited with inventing many innovative animation techniques such as rotoscoping, 3D backgrounds, sound, color and combining animation with live action. The museum screened that day selections from the Fleischer Color Classics series from the 1930s, the first few shot on two strip technicolor, an early color film process using only reds and blues. Some excellent short films, lovely and funny. Unlike Disney, a midwesterner whose cartoons represented middle america, The Fleischers were New Yorkers and many of their films represent urban life with its diverse dialects, working class and immigrant culture, jazz soundtracks and even gay references.
Find the complete collection here
a brief history of australian (and new zealand) rock bands pt 2
The Boys Next Door – Somebody’s Watching (1978)
Nick Cave’s first band, before the Birthday Party and long before The Bad Seeds, way back when he hadnt even done drugs yet, imagine that?
Radio Birdman – Descent Into Maelstrom (1977/78)
70s Aussie punk / indie garage rock heroes
Split Enz – History Never Repeats (1981)
Formed by Tim and Neil Finn and Phil Judd in 1973 in New Zealand, Split Enz would become the face of Australian New Wave with a multitude of top 10 hits, later moving to the UK and eventually splitting off into the international pop success Crowded House.
The Swingers – One Good Reason (1979) [7″ version]
Phil Judd‘s next band and another of Australia’s iconic new wave bands (although originally from New Zealand). The band was featured in the popular 1982 cult movie musical “Starstruck” doing a totally revamped version of this track.
The Veronicas – 4ever (2005)
And i’ll leave you with the infectious pop anthem from The Veronica’s debut album, back when identical twin (whats with aussie bands and siblings?) sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso were just sweet innocent teenagers. Go find their further videos to see how that turned out (spoiler, still sweet, no longer teenagers, not so much innocent)
a brief history of australian (and new zealand) rock bands pt 1
The Easybeats – I’ll Make You Happy (1965)
Known as Australia’s Beatles, The Easybeats dominated Aussie rock throughout the 60’s, and after breaking up, songwriting duo Harry Vanda and George Young would continue to write and produce Number 1 hits for a dozen other bands throughout the 70s and 80s
AC/DC – Can I Sit Next To You Girl? (1974)
Their first single, with vocalist Dale Evans and Easybeats guitarist George Young sitting in with his little brothers Angus and Malcolm.
Cheetah – Bang Bang (1981)
Another Vanda and Young produced band, fronted by tough as nails hard rock sisters Chrissie and Lyndsay Hammond
The Angels – No Secrets (1979)
Brothers Rick and John Brewster formed The Angels in 1974 and preceded the late 70s powerpop and 80s no frills hard rock genre, and are still active 5 decades later. Also produced by Vanda and Young, of course.
its the most wonderful time of the year
Here are a few of my favorite xmas songs:
Akim & Teddy Vann – santa claus is a Black man (1973)
The Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy’s Christmas (1967)
Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song (1961)
Really, the only xmas album you need ever is Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Album. Just play it on infinite loop all December.
Bing & Bowie – The Little Drummer Boy (1977)
Tommy Heavenly6 – I love Xmas (2006)
Love Psychedelico – Happy Xmas, War Is Over (2011) (John Lennon cover)
Elton John – Ho Ho Ho (Who’d Be A Turkey At Christmas?) (1973)
Quiet Life at 40, new wave gets serious
Rocks burgeoning New Wave in the late 70s was a hodgpodge of quirky art rock, humorous post punk and novelty pop rock bands, but on December 20, 1979, exactly 40 years ago today, a mostly forgettable late-to-the-party uk glamrock band faux-exotically named Japan took a new turn and unexpectedly released a groundbreaking album which invented a new genre. Blending Roxy Music, Bowie/Eno and Giorgio Moroder, they dropped a bombshell of style and sophistication and daresay, serious art onto the british future-pop scene, inadvertently launching the new romantic craze (which they never claimed to be a part of). New Wave finally got real.
Japan – Quiet Life (1979)
Japan – Halloween (1979)
Japan – All Tomorrow’s Parties (1979)
the best unloved 007 theme songs
Shirley Bassey – Moonraker. Yes, the movie was cornball and embarrassing but the song, by 60s megastar and Goldfinger chanteuse Shirley Bassey grows on you and holds its own as a great Bond theme
Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice. I consider this way better than her iconic hit “Boots” and a million times better than any of her dad’s terrible pop covers.
Arguably superior than Matt Monro’s terrific, though a bit too romantic “From Russia With Love“, Tom Jones‘ – Thunderball is pure Bond – totally sexist, sultry and full of 60s macho swagger. Cannot ever be topped by any singer without a wide lapel tux, butterfly bowtie and mutton chop sideburns
KD Lang – Tomorrow Never Dies aka Surrender. Holy shit, is this the best Bond theme ever? (Answer: YES) Why was it commissioned then unceremoniously passed over for the mediocre Sheryl Crow song of the same name and relegated to 2nd end title, when most everyone has already left the theater? Its movie politics and my personal guess is producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli was an old school sexist bastard who didnt want a gay woman doing the theme.
politics should always be this funky
The Honeydrippers – Impeach The President (1973)
the drum beat on this single was “sampled” (aka ripped off, typically without credit nor compensation) over 70 times by artists such as Prince, LL Cool J, NWA and Stevie Wonder.
japanese music you should be listening to – part 3
88 kasyo junrei – butsumetsu torishunā
mysterious prog/psych/metal trio with a massive cult following.
Red Bacteria Vacuum – Roller Coaster
punk with hardcore influences – 3 woman power trio from Osaka, did a few US tours (I got to see them in NYC) and then retired to raise their families. Hopefully they’ll be back.
Anadorei – We’ll Break Male’s Fantasy Fuck Your Myth Of Musculinity Full Of Anger EP
The bands name translates as “Ass Slave” and from what Ive seen they are all dominatrixes who do a seriously noisey noise rock act. Here, this review says it all
BiSkaidan (BiS + Hijokaidan) – Suki Suki Daisuki
Famed japanese noise outfit Hijokaidan collaborates with genre-breaking idol unit BiS (Brand New Idol Shit) to do a cover of Jun Togawa’s 1980s hit (as seen in the previous post)
japanese music you should be listening to – part 2
0.8syooogeki – Arishima Machine Gun
translated as “0.8 Seconds and a Crash” the band released 5 albums between 2009 and 2017
Midori – Doping☆Noise Noise Kiss
prog/jazz/noise/punk quartet Midori are a genre all to themselves. Manic and yet cohesive. They released 3 albums before lead Mariko Goto went solo as seems to happen to many japanese bands.
Jun Togawa – Suki Suki Daisuki
1980s avant garde new waver Jun Togawa is kinda sorta like the japanese Kate Bush, but so much weirder. Between her solo works and collaborations and her bands Yapoos and Guernica, she paints a very broad canvas of diverse musical colors and poetically profound and disturbing lyrics. The song represented here is a manically happy love song about a Yandere girl, the kind of psychopath who’s love for you may end in murder. (youll want to turn captions on for the english lyrics!)
Fra-Foa – aojiroi tsuki (pale blue moon)
On the periphery of the japanese late 90s indie rock boom, Fra-Foa were amongst the heaviest and most dynamic grunge-inspired bands. With a massive sound and near psychotic vocals from frontwoman Chisako Mikami, they were a powerhouse small club band but never achieved great fame but released two superb albums before Chisako went solo. The video here is her singing about her deceased brother and the intense emotion is breathtaking.
japanese music you should be listening to – part 1
Kinoko Teikoku – Spring and Carnage
in-your-face indie rock, technically labelled as shoegaze group but much more down to earth in my opinion. The bands name translates as “Mushroom Kingdom”.
Lovely Summer-chan – Part-Time Robot (in 360 degree video!)
The pseudonym and solo project of of Aika Imaizumi, ex-vocalist for shoegaze band For Tracy Hyde, She self produces as a one-woman band.
She In The Haze – Doubt
considered rising stars in the late 2010s, this band who also shoot their own videos and do their own production, did a european tour to some acclaim but then mostly disappeared
Esrevnoc – Bijin
riding the japanese indie rock boom, this major label girl-rock power trio encapsulated the fun 1990s sound
japanese music you should be listening to – a prelude (updated jan 2025)
Sheena Ringo – tsumiki-asobi (playing with blocks)
Japan’s avant-pop, psychedelic-jazz uber-diva Sheena Ringo started out in the 90s as a grunge rock firebrand during Japan’s indie rock boom era. For more superb 90s alt-rock check her first 2 albums Muzai Moritorium and Shouso Strip. For an update on her latest music see my blog post here.
Perfume – Edge (triangle mix) Live 2020
Its believed that Perfume are not actually just 3 girls from Hiroshima but in fact 3 girls time traveling from the future to show us how pop music will be done 100 years from now. Not just Japan’s biggest technopop idol band for the past 20 years but a collaboration between Shibuya-kei era band Capsule‘s songwriter and producer Yatsutaka Nakata, the group themselves, their high tech choregrapher Mikiko and a vast army of lighting, video, animation and stage mechanical technicians. The end result is a string of lush and catchy albums and live shows that would surpass even Pink Floyd’s fever dreams.
NiNa – Happy Tomorrow
Late 1990s supergroup consisting of Kate Pierson (B52s), Yuki (Judy & Mary), Mick Karn (Japan) and the founding members of Plastics. They made just one album together and its essential listening. Infectious soaring pop!
bothneco – choco-mint flavor
Vocaloid dreampop at its absolute dreamiest from a mysterious anonymous composer known only as bothneco. No information anywhere about who they are, but a playlist of wonderful songs are up on youtube.