J-Music and Me: BABYMETAL

Rocketnews recently posted about the new album release of a band called BABYMETAL (all in caps, yes). This is a band I was unfamiliar with. Some might call the marriage of raging guitars and hoarse screamer metal with cutesy girl pop an abomination. I am not such a one. Or maybe I should say that even if it is an abomination, there's something to it. I'm not sure what that something is, but it definitely exists.

To co-opt a thought from one of the top commenters to the above video:

"I didn't want to like this, but it consumed my soul and now I do. Pretty f[#^$ing] metal."

Are there other bands like this? And what other insane musical combinations are out there? Only time will tell, but I will report back with any extraordinary findings.

the TV show

Via Cracked. Very nice.

Robot Salarymen

Here's a cool one I got from Dylan:

This is a band called World Order, led by Genki Sudo, a retired martial artist who was known for being somewhat flamboyant. I don't know if the salarymen's robotic manner is some kind of social statement or just interesting choreography, but it's entertaining to watch either way.

J-Music and Me: 8-Bit Ikimono

When it comes to J-pop and J-rock, I'm very picky. There's a lot of stuff out there that just doesn't do it for me. Maybe part of the reason is that most rock/pop stars in Japan are also idols and TV or movie stars. They're watered down because they don't focus on their music. Now I'm sure the same charges can be leveled against many Western artists, but in most cases not the ones I like. People like David Bowie and Sting are the exception rather than the rule (and even they are a lot more well-known for their music than the movies they were in).

(Image from: http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/smap.shtml)

That's right, SMAP - stop singing and go make another poopy movie!

Basically a lot of mainstream artists just strike me as toolboxes. That said, I do try to give Japanese artists a chance, and sometimes something will strike a chord with me for one reason or another. This time I wanted to share a music video by a band named Ikimono Gakari (いきものがかり). Some people translate their name into English as "Creature Clerk" or something to that effect, but I don't find that accurate enough. In Japanese, an ikimono is a living thing (or, yes, a creature), and a kakari (or gakari in some cases) is a clerk or caretaker. But an ikimono gakari, I believe, is a school child who is charged with the task of taking care of his or her class' wildlife - whatever pets or plants they may be keeping.

Anyway, while Ikimono Garakri probably isn't a group I would listen to on my i-Pod, they do have some pretty rad music videos and the songs themselves aren't too bad either. Last year I came across a video of their's that features 8-bit video game graphics. Woot - right up my alley. Doesn't hurt that their vocalist is easy on the eyes, either, although that's a pretty standard feature of J-pop. So here's Ikimono Gakari's "Kimagure Romantic," which I figure to mean something like "Fickle Romantic"

(Used to be on YouTube, but appears to have been removed. For now, check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=48311588857)

Creepy Juice!

Back when I was studying Japanese in college, there was a professor who would hold a semesterly presentation on Japanese music. He showed this music video one of the first times I went, and I still remember it to this day (which is why I looked it up so y'all could have a peek).

It's called "君にジュースを買ってあげる" (I'm gonna buy you some juice) and it's by Group Tamashii. Have a look/listen:

Now, does anything about that strike you as odd? I know that normal music videos are the exception rather than the rule, but I'm still a little surprised at the unabashed high school girl fixation. I mean, come on - how old is this guy who is trying to earn the affection (and indirect kiss) of the high school basketball girl? And man, that part where he goes for the boob grab. Dude. Were they trying to lessen the skeeziness by dressing him up like a dog? Because I gotta say, I don't think it worked. I do like the random part where the guy rolls up on the bicycle, though. He's all like "Hey, uh, I'll buy you a juice. Whichever you like. Oh, uh...I, uh...I'm 10 yen short. Oh well - next time!" and then rides off.

The song itself is catchy and innocent enough. The lyrics are about how the singer wants a give and take relationship. Aside from the chorus, "I'm gonna buy you some juice," he sings about how he will do stuff like waiting waiting at the (train) station and carrying your bag, and pushing the button on the elevator, but that you should do things like giving up your seat for him and paying the bills (Hmmm...).

That video, though, is just...well...

What do you think? Am I overreacting, or is the video indeed crossing the line into creepy?