For the handful of nonvocal readers that have kept up with my This Month In J-Rock columns, I thought I’d let you know that I plan on restarting the column within the next couple of weeks.

I’ve been wanting to restart the column for several months but have met with plenty of unfortunate setbacks.  Most importantly my father’s acceptance into the convalescent center in May and subsequent death at the end of October.  It’s been a difficult 6 months watching every function of his body die and finally his last breath.  His four and a half year journey with cancer has shaped me and my writing in more ways than I can write down in the lifetime of this blog.

But perhaps the real reason I’ve been avoiding the column is the standard “writing into a void” syndrome.  When you spend hundreds of man hours working on something and the only comments you receive are from a psychotic Dir en grey fan, you have to rethink your outlook on life.  It just doesn’t make sense killing myself every month to write 15-20 reviews that won’t be read.

So the next column will be posted in the next couple of weeks and if that doesn’t happen assume I gave up on the idea.  The new column will be very much condensed, combining two months into one, and will have much less reviews.  Perhaps that’s for the best.  There’s only so many ways I can say “this album sucks.”

-a

Toe will break their 3 year silence with their second album For Long Tomorrow on December 9.  The band will self-release this album on their record label Machupicchu Industrias.  From the sound of it, the album will be more chill, but that doesn’t explain the moshing in the video!

http://www.myspace.com/toemusic

I’ve always enjoyed collaborations between Japanese and foreign artists.  Today I came across “Lightning Runaway” by the pillows and Texan rocker Ben Kweller. The single was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tower Records in Japan.  The one-track single is available now, but only at Tower Records.

http://www.myspace.com/thepillows

http://www.myspace.com/benkweller

Greetings, and welcome to the special Halloween edition of J-Rock Fridays. Some of the videos here are fun, with a little bit of spook, and others are downright disturbing.  Watch at your own risk!

world’s end girlfriend- “We are the massacre”

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT In the anime Yu Yu Hakusho, former spirit detective Sensui was shown a never ending videotape detailing all the crimes and wars of humanity.  I’m pretty sure these clips were taken from that video.  Nothing but 6 minutes of archival footage of murder, stabbing, strangling, throat slitting, jumping out windows, jumping off buildings, and just plain death.  World’s end girlfriends’s music was creepy enough but this video just put him over the edge.  At least it’s in black and white. (myspace)

Utada Hikaru- “Can You Keep A Secret?’

I suppose you’re wondering why international pop-sensation Utada Hikaru is on a column like this, but I guess you’ll just have to wait for the twist ending. (myspace)

Dir en grey- “Obscure”

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT This is easily the most disgusting, disturbing video I have seen.  But if it wasn’t for this video, I probably wouldn’t have given Dir en grey a chance.  What to look for: robotic geisha penises, Kyo throwing up on himself, some guy ripping his heart out and then eating it, etc. (myspace)

mutyumu- “L’œil est Dieu”

I’m not sure what’s going on here.  All I know is there’s a dead body in the bathtub and a body-bag in the forest.  Let’s leave it up for interpretation.  Although the real mystery here is why an opera singer is in a heavy metal band. (myspace)

FACT- “A Fact of Life (Boom Boom Satellites Remix)”

What can be more creepy than watching Factboy Slim dance for 7 minutes? (myspace)

The Mirraz- “5.5.5st”

I thought I’d leave you with something a little more fun.   This is The Mirraz’s second J-Rock Fridays appearance in a row. (myspace)

Thanks for reading.

Ever wonder what happened to the original members of BEAT CRUSADERS?  Umu went on to form FREAKYFROG with ex-members of Rude Bones, SCAFULL KING, and other ska bands.  Their debut album will come out on November 4.

Listening to the video clip below, it’s hard to distinguish umu and Toru Hidaka’s vocals on the indie BEAT CRUSADERS recordings now.  It makes me wonder if umu did more than backing vocals on those recordings.  The clip for “Grasshopper’s Symphony” on myspace sounds very much like a classic BEAT CRUSADERS’ song.  Regardless I have no doubt that this will be one of the better pop punk albums of the year.

http://www.myspace.com/freakyfrogfreakyfrog

It’s hard being an overseas fan of HK indie music.  Bands can break up and reform and we’d be none the wiser.  Such is the case with noughts & exes.  Shortly after the release of their debut album (released last year by Omerta Group), Joshua and Gideon were the only band members left.  But earlier this year they reformed with a random white dude and two attractive women.  I learned all of this on Facebook in the last hour.

Joshua and Gideon decided to rebuild the band from the ground up and focus on a more intimate and natural sound.  The new line-up consists of Kerrie-Ann on vocals and glockenspiel, Marianne on cello, and Alex on drums.  The band is currently writing new songs and is set to play the Clockenflap festival. Below is a new song from the band:

http://www.myspace.com/noughtsandexes

http://www.facebook.com/noughtsandexesmusic

Welcome back to the second part of October release madness.  The last column was actually the most viewed J-Rock Fridays column so far (but still no comments).  I will probably continue featuring upcoming releases in future columns, but try not to be so obvious about it.  While I’m here, I would like to thank indiesmusic.com for being an excellent source for upcoming release information and music videos.

The Mirraz- “check it out!check it out!check it out!check it out!”

This is a rather low-budget video, likely made by the band themselves, parodying the local news.  It probably wouldn’t work if the song wasn’t so catchy.  They remind me of a punker version of BACK-ON.  The second album Necessary Evil came out this week and it’s a lot of fun.

http://www.myspace.com/themirraz

riddim saunter- “Sweet & Still”

Anyone remember when this band had crazy synthesizers and punk rock choruses? Yeah, they’re way mellow now.  They decided flutes and violins better fit their style.  This is a rather pleasant, chill song and a humorous video.  I love how the lead singer runs around town with a “FUCK YEAH” t-shirt.  Their third album Days Lead comes out next week.

http://www.myspace.com/riddimsaunter

serial TV drama- “Space Opera”

With the liberal use of the word “Oi!” and epic guitar solos, serial TV drama is bound to be the next act to climb out of the indie scene.  Another good band from UK.PROJECT, who gave us BIGMAMA, the telephones, Karen, Vola & The Oriental Machine, and Ogre You Asshole.

http://www.myspace.com/serialtvdrama

the pillows- “Your Order”

I wasn’t a fan of the first single off Ooparts “Ameagari ni mita Maboroshi,” but “Your Order” fit the bill.  This is another stop-motion animated PV from the band.  Some pretty abstract stuff here, but a fun video.

http://www.myspace.com/thepillows

Starboard- “ワールド・サーフ”

This is a neat video.  It reminds me of avenger’s in sci-fi’s PV for “Homosapiens Experience” with the band playing in triangle formation and green-screened cool stuff in the background.

http://www.myspace.com/starboardjapan

Local Sound Style- “Carry On”

“Carry On” is the first single from Local Sound Style’s second album Hope due out the end of the month.  It’s your standard performance video with epic zooms of the band members and headlights randomly going off in the background.  There’s plenty of pop-punk bands that sing in English in Japan, but LSS is a step above the rest.  They list The Get Up Kids and Jimmy Eat World as influences.

http://www.myspace.com/localsoundstyle

your gold, my pink- “Are You Sensitive?”

Now this is a more fascinating performance video.  It starts off more artistic but just ends with a party.  This is off their debut mini-album parade due out later this month from UK.PROJECT.

http://www.myspace.com/yourgoldmypink

That’s it for this week.  The guy’s from perfect piano lesson have a new album out next week, but their PV was MIA this morning.  Next column will be devoted to spooky and horrifying videos for Halloween!

Eleven is my favorite number.

-Asobi Seksu’s new video for “Transparence” can be seen here.  An exclusive MP3 from their new album Rewolf can be downloaded here.

-If you read J-Rock Fridays Vol. 4, the new albums by sgt., Skybeaver, and Bossfist are on HearJapan.

-ELLEGARDEN side project Nothing’s Carved In Stone will be putting out a new single and live DVD in December.

-Wow Rock will be putting out Art Cube’s The Complete Best on December 3 before Japan.

-Housekeeping: If you scroll to the left, I added a new link section named “Japanese Labels.”  These are Japanese record labels that I enjoy.  More will be added in time.  Right now, my favorite J-record label is Theory&Practice.

-Nadehiko from texas pandaa is working on the soundtrack for his friend’s indie film.  Listen to the first track “Our Big Crossing” here.

-Eastern Youth has an exclusive download for “Konomama Aki He” here.

-Luminous Orange will be putting out a best of album on November 4.  It will be available for international order on their webstore.

-EN-X is back in the studio after losing two members.

-Part 1 of FACT’s Coming To America documentary is available on Shockhound.

-Far East Movement discovered Flattop Grill.  I’ve been there.  I wasn’t as impressed.

-Another new album vlog from The Slants.

MYSPACE BAND OF THE WEEK

バードレイクス (birdlakes)

Hailing from Chiba, birdlakes formed in 2006.  The band has released one mini-album and two singles since then.  For fans of Sparta Locals and Ogre You Asshole.

http://www.myspace.com/birdlakes

Welcome to part 1 of the J-Rock Friday’s salvo to October releases.  This was originally meant to cover the first two weeks of the month, but as it turns out, October 7 is an amazing day for Japanese music.  So much so that the videos this week is double what I normally post every column.  And I couldn’t even find videos for some of the other releases I was interested in.  So I put my five favorite videos on top and the rest after the jump.

LITE- “The Sun Sank”

LITE is one of the first bands to pop up when discussing Japanese post-rock, after Mono.  In an effort to diversify themselves, LITE decided to discofy their latest single.  I actually like this song a lot, the synthesizers are noticeable but pleasant without getting in the way of their post-rock styling.  This single is part of their Turns Red EP, the first release on their new record label I Want The Moon.  Not many post-rock bands incorporate synthesizer well, lets hope LITE is the first.  http://www.myspace.com/liteband

Skybeaver- “For A Long Time”

Skybeaver is a fun power-pop band.  This PV includes the band’s humorous portrayal of a fashion metal band.  The song is also damn catchy.  Their second album is due out October 7.  http://www.myspace.com/skybeaver

Supe- “Let Bodies Scream”

Holy Metallica!  Did those guys just rock out on a moving trailer bed?  That’s so hardcore.  Their new mini-album The Black will come out on October 7.  http://www.myspace.com/supe

New Strike Zipper- “Promise”

New Strike Zipper is an all-girl punk band that made their debut on a Blink-182 Tribute compilation.  “Promise” is taken from their second mini-album All Is Lost due out today.  This new song sounds harder than their older material, almost like Bleach 03 without the dead animal screeching.  http://www.myspace.com/newstrikezipper

sgt.- “銀河の車窓から (live)”

Sgt.’s new mini-album Capital of Gravity is actually my most anticipated of the month.  But due to the lack of an official PV, I had to scoot them to the end of the list.  Instead I found a live performance of “銀河の車窓から” from their first mini-album Perception of Causality. The new mini-album will include a remix of this song.  http://www.myspace.com/sgtofficial

Last Alliance- “Wedge”

If I watched this PV on mute, I would’ve assumed they were a hardcore band. But it’s just more pop-punk.  I guess they rock pretty hard live!  “Wedge” is taken from the new mini-album Kawasaki Relax due out October 7.  http://www.myspace.com/lastalliance

fam- “what I can do”

I can’t find much on this band, aside from being one of two bands on Plugs Records and that they are releasing their first mini-album Changes Here on October 7.  The singer reminds me of Koyuki from BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad.  A lot.

margaline- “nanana”

Nanana.  The most overused line in music history.  I guess margaline missed the memo.  Or they’re just punk.  I love how they abuse the camera equipment at the end of the video.  Their third album Everything’s Gonna Be Alright is coming out October 7 on Dustbox records, which I can only assume is owned by personal J-punk favorite dustbox but I can’t tell.  http://www.myspace.com/margalinejp

BOSSFIST- “Departure”

There’s a lot of pop-punk this week.  “Departure” is taken from their second mini-album Strike A New Cord coming out October 7.  Low budget PV but that’s to be expected.  http://www.myspace.com/bossfist

Ogre You Asshole’s third album also comes out October 7.  YouTube deleted their latest PV before I finished this column so they got the boot.  Two other releases I’m looking forward to are the debut albums by The Sun and Nice View on Sonzai Records.  This is the label that brought us Envy and they kind of sound like them (before they went mellow).

That’s it for this week.  Now that I think of it, I’ve only posted about one of the bands in this column before.  Impressive.  The next regularly scheduled column is for October 16.  I might break that if there’s simply too many videos to post.  Until then, I plan on doing a special J-Rock Fridays column for Halloween.  If anyone has any “scary” J-Rock videos to recommend, leave a comment!

In an attempt to make more regular columns on J-Rock Explosion, Random J-Rock Updates returns!  I’ll probably be doing this every Wednesday from now on, starting the Wednesday after next Wednesday.  I compile these mainly from myspace Activity Stream and bulletins, sometimes there’s nothing to report for days.  I’ve also added a new feature to this column, Myspace Band of the Week.  This is a band that randomly added me on myspace or vice versa and doesn’t suck.  These are mostly small bands that don’t have any music videos for me to show off for J-Rock Fridays.  There’s probably more words in this paragraph than the actual news, but go on…

-Asobi Seksu’s new album Rewolf will come out November 10 via Polyvinyl records.  The album was one of the last recorded at the legendary Olympic Studios.  Pre-order is available here.

-Muon has 4 new live tracks for free here.  They are currently writing their new studio album.

-Cornelius is producing original music for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

-Absolute Polysics will be available on iTunes September 29.

-Freaky Frog is putting out their debut album on November 4 in Japan.  The band is fronted by former BEAT CRUSADER umu.

-Overground Acoustic Underground has a trailer for their new album.

-BoA’s US album was released again.

-Maru Music will put out An Cafe’s new album BB Parallel World on October 20.  It will include a DVD with four music videos and a live clip.

-Dir en grey will be in North America this November.   FACT will be touring with Senses Fail this October.

MYSPACE BAND OF THE WEEK

BANK

BANK is an acoustic/jazz band from Too Young Records.

http://www.myspace.com/bankjp