How to rock!, the Japanese way :)

[Angelcake]

Its no secret. The Japanese love to rock. As a matter of fact, they like to rock so much that they still are big fans of bands that have LONG since passed there prime in the states.

Of course, some bands have made a name for themselves by touring in Japan. Remember a little band called Cheap Trick and that famous live album at the famous Japanese stadium?

However, the Japanese can make there own rock, as well. In fact, they can rock pretty hard....That's where our story begins.....

In the late 70's, the sacred art of heavy metal found its way to Japanese shores, and needless to say, they ate it up! Japan became a mecca (no offense to my muslim friends) for hard rock and heavy metal all throughout the 80s.

However, if there's one band that ever made it out of Japan, and gained a cult following outside of the island, its a particular heavy metal quartet named Loudness.

Formed in 1981, Loudness became famous for their hard rocking riffs and ridiculously talented musicians. Their success finally made paydirt with their 1985 breakout album "Thunder In the East"

There was just one problem. Loudness was Japanese, yet they sang in English.......you know what usually happens then.

Sadly, because of their lack of English skills, the band became a novelty, and never again found success in teh states.

today, you can stil buy their albums on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

If you have any love for rock n' roll, you owe it to yourself to hear these guys out. They were ridiculously talented, despite their short comings.

Sincerely,
Angelcake

[Stan Sakai]

Off hand, I remember a few singers (though not rock bands) that made an impact (though nothing major) in the American market.

There was The Peanuts--twins that made a few records here. Their biggest notoriety though, came from their appearance in the first Mothra movie.

Finger Five--kind of like a Japanese Jackson Five.

Pink Lady--two cute girls that even had a TV variety series in the US: Pink Lady and Jeff. Jeff was Jeff Altman, a talented comedian who did stand up, and went on to do a couple of other sit coms. Each episode of PL&J ended up in a hot tub. Why this series never took off is a mystery. Could it be because the two spoke no English? This is one show that Mark Evanier keeps off his resume.

[ziritrion]

My favourite Japanese bands, although not necessarily heavy metal:

-Pizzicato Five: my favourite Japanese band and one of my favourite bands ever. The band doesn't exist anymore, but they were the kings ob Shibuya music, a kind of Japanese dance music which takes its name from a Tokyo neighborhood. I recommend their disc "The sound of Music", which I think was recorded in the USA back in 1995 or so.

-Animetal: these guys play heavy metal covers of anime openings and endings. Don't miss them .

-L'arc~en~Ciel: if you like anime then you probably have heard of these guys. They composed and played the second opening of Fullmetal Alchemist, the opening of DNA², the first opening of Great Teacher Onizuka, and many others. Really nice melodic rock with a few keyboards and electronic instruments from time to time.

-Asian Kung-fu Generation: awesome punk rock, and composers of the second Naruto opening and the 4th and last Fullmetal Alchemist ending.

-The Pillows: go watch FLCL and tell me about the soundtrack .

Lastly, I'd like to point out an anime show that recently finished in Japan, called Beck. The series has about 26 episodes, I think, and it's about a 14 years old guy who wants to join a rock band. The soundtrack is absolutely mindblowing: when I saw the first episode and I saw the opening ("Hit in the USA" by the Beat Crusaders) with a friend of mine, we both were so blown away that we just had to play the opening again, even before the actual episode had begun! (and my friend is the kind of guy who only watches an op. or an ed. once and never does again).

[Todd Shogun]

I've always been a big fan of Mari Iijima. She's hot and can sing like nobody's business. I got to meet and actually hang out with her for a bit at Fanime Con 2000. Mucho cool lady. We had invited her to the Dojo Dinner with Stan, and she almost made it, if it wasn't for some geeky low-life con staff who talked her out of it Imagine how cool it would have been to hang out with her and Stan at the same time. Talk about a fanboy's dream come true.

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[Angelcake]

"Pink Lady-Two cute girls who even had a variety show in the U.S.: Pink Lady and Jeff" -Stan Sakai

I saw old reruns of Pink Lady and Jeff on trio. Actually, I'm glad it never took off. It was a bad show, for one thing. On top of that, it was a notoriously racist show, where the writers reveled in Pink Lady's awkward command of the English language and regularly ridiculed there Japanese heritage.

On a side note, though people don't know this, Pink lady and Jeff was where character actor Jim Varney got his start. He would, of course, become famous for creating and accting the part of Ernest.

[Anjin-san]

How about the one American band who took Japan by storm and sold out the Budokan faster than Cheap Trick did ? You know, the one whose members wear the kabuki make-up and sing "Rock and Roll All Nite" ? EZO's Yoshiki appeared on their tribute album with a full orchestral arrangement of "Black Diamond."

As for Pink Lady and Jeff, I remember them though I was very young when they were on. I thought, and still think, Jeff Altman is hilarious.

As for Japanese comediennes, anyone remember Tomayo Otsuke ? I'm not sure if she's still working in America but she's done stand-up here and appeared as a regular in at least one American sit-com. My favorite joke of hers:

"Smart Japanese people leave parties early in order to get the best shoes."

[hakucho]

Dir En Grey is an alright J-Rock band, I'm particularly fond of Undecided, The Final and Saku. The lyrics (when translated) are really interesting...

This Pink Lady and Jeff show somehopw reminds me of Gwen Stefani and the Harajuku Girls in that they don't seem to speak at all let alone a word of English.