Comments on ZB's A-Z of J-Music: J-Rock J-Pop Indie 8bit - A guide to the modern Japanese music scene: The Best Japanese Albums of 2007

@CJ: Good point. It seems like they're just follow...

2008-05-14T15:15:21.684-05:00

@CJ: Good point. It seems like they're just following each other in circles now. Avril apparently wrote one of their latest singles...bleh.

Puffy AmiYumi aping Avril? No way. More like the o...

2008-05-14T11:48:14.885-05:00

Puffy AmiYumi aping Avril? No way. More like the other way around. A good chunk of Avril's last album was her ripping off what Puffy did on Splurge the year before.

Thank you for this AWESOME list!I've been craving ...

2008-01-06T17:33:45.689-06:00

Thank you for this AWESOME list!

I've been craving some good Japan Rock in quite some time. I've been getting bored of listening to the same couple of bands (Polysics, Boris, Naiad...) This'll keep me busy for a while.

"If these guys don't burn out soon, they just migh...

2007-12-29T15:21:33.015-06:00

"If these guys don't burn out soon, they just might take over the world."

I'm actually listening to the Second album at this very moment and when I saw those words, I couldn't help but think "Efuckingxactly."

Everything in this post was dead on.

PS: A few bands to check out since I don't think I see them anywhere on this site:
Himawari (http://www.himawaring.com/)

Mad Capsule Markets

Sonic Dragolgo
(http://www.myspace.com/sonicdragolgouk)

DJ Krush

Coo:ya
(www.myspace.com/cooya)

Schwein (Collab between Members of Buck-Tick, KMFDM and Pig)

Rob, thanks for the list! I actually had a few of ...

2007-12-29T10:55:10.075-06:00

Rob, thanks for the list! I actually had a few of those on mine, but cut them after a lot of thought.

I wasn't really thrilled with the new Boom Boom Satellites album. It's good, but the songs didn't really pull me in this time. Same goes for Halcali. I really like them, but I think they're getting a bit too far into idol territory. I want the simple, fun and irreverent HC back! More rapping!

I honestly don't know why I didn't mention Orge You Asshole. My bad!

And yes, I TOTALLY forgot the new Ringo album. It's amazing! She can go ahead and re-record her older songs all she wants.

Thanks again. Now I have some digging to do. ^__^

Drat, had to make some corrections to the first tw...

2007-12-29T01:24:35.071-06:00

Drat, had to make some corrections to the first two posts. Sorry abut that. Here's the real deal.

Excellent post, Zac, and great blog in general. I'd post my own favorites list, but you've already covered a lot of the most important bases yourself. Instead, I'd like to add in a few suggestions that I didn't see on your list.

Bonnie Pink - Thinking Out Loud: Bonnie's best album in years. Pure joy from start to finish.

Boom Boom Satellites - Exposed

Chara - Union

Grapevine - From a Small Town: If you haven't heard these guys yet you've got to check them out. I think you'll really like them.

Halcali - Cyborg Oretachi: I'm always happy with a new Halcali album, and this one comes with the bonus of having a Polysics-penned tune on it.

Hoover's Ooover - Futotsushiki Tosono Kai

Kaela Kimura - Scratch: It's sort of pop-rockish, but this is one of the most brilliantly composed albums of this year. Kaela's music is a lot deeper than it may sound on the surface. There's true talent at work here.

Merry - M.E.R.R.Y.: I'm not exactly a big VK fan, but I make an exception for Merry.

Ogre You Asshole - AlphaBeta vs. Lambda: A really solid album from a very groovy band.

Rie Fu - Tobira Album: Like Kaela Kimura, Rie Fu is an artist whose songs are much richer and more nuanced than they sound at first. She's a very intelligent songwriter.

Ringo Shiina - Heisei Fuuzoku: Don't forget Ringo's film soundtrack/Baishou Ecstasy collection/sort of new album! This has gotten a lot of flak for featuring so many older Ringo songs, but every recycled tune on this album either features a new arrangement or hasn't been recorded in the studio before. Plus, there are a handful of new songs and a cover tune to round out the mix. Taken on its own, without comparison to Ringo's other work, it's really a great album.

Suneohair - Skirt

...aaand I think that's all the stuff I wanted to mention. As you said, there's just so much great Japanese music out there it's a bit extreme to try and list it all, but I feel that the ones I've mentioned do deserve some extra attention.