Now we will talk about JPop (Especially in the context of Anime Theme Music)

What ever happened to P5 btw - did they officially split?

I was underthe impression P5 are done and dusted, plus Konishi is striking out under his own name more or as the Readymade Orchestra.

_{now would you?}

interesting thing about the Seatbelts: a few members were also in Ground Zero, and one of them also wrote music for Trigun.

also, PuffyAmiYumi is only called PuffyAmiYumi in North America, to my knowledge---if you go looking for proper Japanese records, you'll find them under "Puffy." apparently as they were starting to release records in NA, there was concern over being confused with P.Diddy.

the Teen Titans theme is rather fun---both versions i've heard. threw me at first to hear the Japanese version when half asleep and watching Cartoon Network one Saturday awhile ago. tried to show someone else next time it was on, but they used the English OP instead. leaving me to sit there going, "but...but...i swear it was in Japanese last time!"

also, to get back to LCE's original question, i'd say the Seatbelts, any day. mostly cos they do so many different styles so well. a lot of it's Kanno Yoko's writing, i know (that woman can write anything; it is utterly unbelievable), but i don't think them against the Pillows is really a fair fight, either.
(although, "Ride On Shooting Star" sounding more like "Why Don't You Piss Off?" are points in their favour, i'd say. XD)

(Disclaimer: all posts are "first draft")

as for the Seatbelts, that particular collaboration was created just for Bebop. however, there are so many recordings spawned from that series that there's really tons to get lost in.

also on an interesting note, someone might mention the British band Boa, which did the opening theme for Serial Experiments Lain. entirely in English, if you wondered. however, now there's an anime called Gunslinger Girl on the air in Japan featuring an opening by none other than...the Delgados!

Am I missing something?

I'm really interested to know about these artists, but the thread kind of reads like a secret code.

Thanks

BOO-YAH! HAHAHHAHA DIE HIPSTER SCUM!!!!

So anyway...'bout this Pillows album...

Is that about me? What do you mean?

Other Jpop that is less associated with anime has to cross countries by way of musical routes instead of animation routes. This would be like Pizzicato 5 or Puffy. They would be more likely to be more famous in Japan. But in Japan P5 is still concidered an indie band. Puffy is not, and are very popular. In America Puffy is more embraced by indie fans, and are are unknowns for pop fans.

There is other Jpop that is vitually entirely unknown in America that an American would only be albe to get through travelling to Japan or ording imports.

I know quite a few J-pop artits, so I was a little surprised to see several unfamiliar names of artists on this thread. Thought I'd ask about them.

It doesn't sound like you're really talking about J-pop at all, Puffy excluded. You're talking about some sort of anime theme-songs. Well, that's awfully cool. I sure do want to be part of that scene, being a hipster and all.

the pillows are sort of (but not completely) indie, as far as Japanese music goes. The members have also worked on some side projects, including the Delicious label, if my memory serves. In America, however, JPop often just refers to any Japanese music, and I'm not very aware of the Japanese labels for bands. (Particularly since, aside from hiphop, they're often all shelved together, so that you can find Gackt and GO!GO!7188 next to each other in some stores.) the pillows emphatically predate FLCL, and I believe that it was just that there were some major fans at Gainax.

Their best songs were, of course, not included on the soundtrack.

In terms of less poppy Japanese bands, I have to recommend Bugy Craxone (which is found in Tower under Punk, at least in Yokohama), fra-foa, Nirgilis, the brilliant green (the singer's side project, Tommy February6 is much more on the pop side; the b. green itself tends more towards a british retro sound), Rosso, Sharon, The Back Horn.... If you like Cornelius, atami is not as experimental (to my mind), but worth trying, perhaps. And most people into the rockier side of Japanese bands recommend Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her, but for me they're hit or miss.

I also like Youjeen's first album, but have yet to draw an opinion on her second. Oh, and I think Shiratori Miaka, while I'm not always in the mood for her music, is very impressive as a singer.

In terms of getting the music, outside of JPop, look for Japanese "rock" mailing lists, ask around to see if anyone's willing to give you a taste. That's how I was introduced to several bands I adore now. You're not going to hear this stuff necessarily even on the top 100 countdown shows in Japan.

Oh, and in terms of the truly, truly indie, there's a still starting-out band Thoroughblend, and I'd recommend trying them. Very competant pop-rock in the Mr. Children mode, at least when I heard them at a streetlive.

Along these lines, people also speak reverently of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant. And I forgot to mention Syrup 16g.

Ummmm, it's Francis. And I was calling my dear ILM posse hipster scum playfully and jokingly, seeing as I also saw the discourse as "secret code". Thank you for not understanding!

BTW, anybody seen X? X-Japan does the theme song. Hands down, the best speed metal/glam rock band from Nihon EVA.

regarding the Seatbelts, I'd also mention that while it's true that many people interested in anime in general would be more predisposed to have knowledge of them, they're also something that pops up in the context of international jazz. i've known people who've got no particular inclination towards being interested in animation in general who've been VERY interested in the Seatbelts, primarily because of the music they play and also because several of the players are well known in the context of experimental jazz in Japan---and, of course, the Ground Zero connection i mentioned above.

there's of course other bands such as Lolita No. 18 (and a bunch of the Benten Records roster, actually) which i'd mention, as well as one of my favourite bands, Hi-Posi (which i started a thread on here at ILM some time ago---don't know where it went). if we're sticking strictly to a pop vein, there's always Utada Hikaru, Kick the Can Crew, Love Psychedelico, Hamasaki Ayumi, and the ever-present Morning Musume and Mini-Moni. if we wish to get off into other veins such as super-eurobeat (or most of the Avex Trax catalog), or possibly visual kei (Gackt, Hide, X, etc.), there are always those avenues to explore as well. plus there's the notion of J-hip-hop, and there's loads of other things...Ryuichi Sakamoto and the YMO, and Ken Ishii, and the myriad things Towa Tei has done, and DJ Krush, and...and...

really, the list goes on and on. but the anime references are what LCE brought up, and so they were discussed. don't think "anime" is really meant as secret code at all, quite honestly.

I'd separate out the fight-o! like this, perhaps: Seatbelts vs. Ego-Wrappin', and the pillows vs. Charcoal Filter (did the first opening theme to Saiyuki) or Penpals (Berserk; heck, let's make it a tag-team). Fight! Any takers? :)

GO!GO!7188 did a cover of the Cutey Honey theme song recently, I just remembered.

(Likewise, any opinions, while on J-hiphop, on Dragon Ash or Zeebra? I'm not sure whether to put Kick the Can Crew here or in pop, personally....)

the Cutey Honey Go!Go!7188 thing, i definitely remember. and don't forget Animetal, speaking of covers of anime songs (and other stuff in general). agreed on Charcoal Filter, not to be confused (of course) with Color Filter.

which then brings up the Bloodthirsty Butchers and the whole burgeoning indie(s) thing, too...

re: Ego Wrappin'...have heard the name, but indeed, have not yet heard. er, pretty-please? ^^ and by way of return, did you ever end up hearing Ground Zero from me? i need more. ^^

Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her has got to be one of my favourite band names EVAH.

(or "evar," even)

if we want to tie Avex Trax into anime, they put out the CDs for the series Initial D, which is unsurprising if you've heard any of the original (ie, non-North-American-version) music, as it's nearly all in the Super EuroBeat vein.

I have nothing to add to this thread, except possibly that I have never heard a Yoko Kanno soundtrack I didn't like. The woman is a genius.

ask Ms. Minogue if you don't believe me. ;)

also, cissichu, darling...O/~~NO ONE SLEEP IN TOKYO~~~!

*halos*

As for anime music, I think Kanno Yoko realy takes the cake. She's got "chops".

It's hard to find live music in Japan according to the linked article.

"Before I go further, I should admit that I can't read much Japanese. I can (more or less) understand the two varieties of kana, the language's phonetic syllabaries, and recognize some basic kanji (Chinese-derived characters, often called "pictograms" although their pictographic meaning is usually enigmatic). But when trying to figure out who's playing where, I mostly rely on the English-language press. So maybe there are whole musical regions—cultural or geographic—whose existence is unknown to me.

I doubt it, though. Everything I read (in English) agrees that Japan is very short on music venues ("live houses," in local parlance). Bands frequently announce national tours that consist of only four or five cities, with maybe a two-night stand in one of Tokyo's handful of clubs. (Most of them are in Shibuya/Harajuku, the J-pop and youth-fashion nexus, with a few nearby in Shinjuku, which is more diverse and, in parts, mostly X-rated.) "

Go to Warzawa in Shibuya and they have lotsa Boredoms. Also DJ EYE djed three days ago at Unit. I suppose it's like anywhere. You have to dig a bit but it's there. It's a foriegn country!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_X7mMU6Gb0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjI4e3QEoPQ

some K-On! fan labor /Don't Say 'Lazy'/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZowE-gGGz0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaRXNNYgHA

yeh have been fascinated by the whole K-On! phenomenon recently, hope it has inspired thousands of Japanese kids to start bands up. there seems to be 2 different streams of music, the songs that the band in the tv show play, and "character songs" that are based around individual characters and released as singles.
favourite at the moment is this Abba-esque song based around the keyboard player
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXaPPPUhLBE

I've never actually seen the show but all the characters are named after members of P-Model right? I hope it gets people interested in them...P-Model is incredible.

boring & cheap video, but love this song (from Gosick)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cup6JB5pCCo

love this Notwist-like song even though i goes on about 2 minutes too long (opening music to Ano Hana)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFpfD0THdv0