Or have you? I know a lot of the younger guys here are into Japanese cars & culture. I have to admit, I am really into Japanese food. A fat bowl of udon in dashi broth with chunks of chicken and egg lights up my tounge just as much as anything else I've ever had.
That being said, my only exposure to modern Japanese music was the little pop ditties I saw at work, back when we aired a lot of "anime". Weird thing is, I liked one of those shows a lot, and after recently buying the DVDs of the show, I discovered that I really liked one of those songs a lot. I did a lil' research on da internetz, and found that this particular band isn't just a "pop" band..but can rock pretty hard when they want to.
This post is really for older folks like myself. Try some of this Japanese stuff, it's not all just Cliff Richards and Celene Dion wannabes...some of these people can really sing-and really play. Like a lot of things Japanese, this band's music seems to be derivative & somehow "original" at the same time (like a 240Z!!), but this stuff really has me grooving right now like nothing I've heard in 15 years.
This band was called "Judy & Mary", and the joke seems to be that no one actually in the band is named "Judy" or "Mary". My research also shows that they disbanded about 10yrs ago, but man, I wish I'd been there back then!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yngNO0JTDsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Miw5tZtSQAk
Jeez, it's like the Ramones with cheerleaders..or Nirvana without tattoos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL4zu9TDf2Q
Nice ballads, too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4bQm3mhJFU
Minimize the video, it's weird. Just listen to the tune.
Here's the one that hooked me, it was the opening theme song to the anime I enjoyed so much at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQPPLsBsqQ
I think perhaps some of us have been discarding the high quality Japanese music simply because they've come to the table so late. I think I'm going to get on this bandwagon a lil' sooner than I did with Japanese cars...I sure wouldn't like to make that mistake twice..
EDIT: The singer's name is Isoya Yuki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Isoya
And the guitar player is Asanuma Takuya:
http://www.jrawk.com/Content/R/robots/articles/TKjune09.html
It seems that just like "Western" rock, they've gone on with solo projects, and still make a living from making music.
.......
