第五: J-CULT THURSJAY!

ゲスの極み乙女

Gesu no Kiwami Otome

"Girl at the height of rudeness"

One of my good friends, who is still living in Japan, has just sent me a link to an awesome song by this band. The song, 私以外私じゃない "Not a me other than me", was released this month (I think), and I have not been able to stop listening to it. You know, it's one of those songs that is just as good as the very first time you heard it. A real banger! Well, more of a real bopper.

I love all aspects of the song, especially how the song gets all jazzy at the end. The music video, accompanies it perfectly, once again incorporating the image of old traditional Japan with images of Japan today - oh, and there's a slightly 70s disco look thrown in there as well. AND some coke bottles on the stage. From having a look and a listen at their other tracks, it seems like a lot of their songs have this interesting mix of musical styles.

Each of the band members, including Enon Kawatani from Indigo la End, enjoyed having a jam together, so they formed Gesu no Kiwami Otome in 2012. Here is their latest song: 私以外私じゃない.Once you've checked that out, have a look at the music video to one of their earlier songs ドレスの脱ぎ方 ("How to take off a dress").

第四: J-CULT THURSJAY!

Some J Soul Brothers? Anyone? Yes, please! 

Here is their new track Storm Riders feat. Slash which was released this April! I have been waiting for some new Jpop tunes for my iPod, so I am super happy right now, and also really excited to do the ironing (I iron as I listen to music)...

I love it - I think J Soul Brothers (and Exile), are defs my favourite Japanese boy band. Actually, I know so! I can't think of any others that I like more. I tend to prefer Korean boy bands to Japanese ones, and it is often hard to beat Korean boy bands because they all dance and sing so well. The music videos are also so creative. Enough about Kpop.

So, I have heard that they are releasing another song this month called Starting Over - but I haven't been able to find it sadly. If you find a link, please send it to me. I think it might be a ballad, which is usually not my cup of tea. Then again, I think they could convince me otherwise somehow. Very easily...

Well, here's the new one for your enjoyment. I added some older ones that I love to the bottom too. Hey, who is Slash, by the way? 

STORM RIDERS feat. Slash:

O.R.I.O.N:

R.Y.U.S.E.I:

FUYU MONOGATARI: (My favourite!)

第三: J-CULT THURSJAY!

I love サカナクション (Sakanaction), and for those of you who don't know them yet but like Japan and electro music, BANG! Sakanaction is a beautiful union of the two and you should have a really good listen to all of their stuff. Their lyrics are equally as beautiful.

After my time in Japan, Sakanaction holds an even more special place in my heart than it did beforehand. I got on very well with one of the ladies at my school and one day it snowed and snowed and snowed, so much that there was no way I could ride back home on my bicycle. She kindly offered to drive me home, and as the car started, Sakanaction started playing loudly from her car stereo. As she turned it down, she frantically apologised for having it so loud, but I told her to turn it back up because she was playing a song I loved! We both laughed hysterically as she couldn't believe I liked Sakanaction, and also because I had unfairly expected her not to be into such music! It was a great moment and one I will always remember. In fact, I have just finished writing a letter to her by hand and in Japanese! (I haven't written in Japanese since I left almost four months ago!)

So, here are my personal favourites which you should go and look up on youtube:

- 夜の踊り子
- ミュージック(Have a look at the lyrics for this one!)
- Ame(B) 
- minnanouta 
- ユリイカ

The reason I am posting about Sakanaction is because they have recently released two new songs, さよならはエモション (Goodbye Emotion) and 蓮の花 (Lotus Flower) which has a really awesome music clip as you will see below. One thing I love about Sakanaction is the dreamlike nature of their music and videos. As you watch, it is as though the imagery leads you toward a place where you are closer to the music, and that in turn sets your mind off on a beautiful adventure! 

On a different topic, have you ever heard of Rabbit Island? ウサギ島 (Usagijima) or 大久野島(Ōkunoshima)? Well, neither had I! It's a little island located near 竹原 (Takehara) in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Originally a home to Japanese fishermen, the island was used in WWII as a place for producing poison gas for chemical warfare. After WWII, the poison gas factory became a museum and hotels, a golf course and camp sites were built. Now the island is home to hundreds of rabbits which are tame and can be fed. I am so sad I never visited the island when I was in Japan, but as I love rabbits, I will add it to the list of places to go.

I found a lovely little video of the rabbits which you can see here (click me!), or have a look here at the following video by David Tang on his adventure to the island! After seeing it, I really want to go there and have rabbits jump all over me! 

I hope you enjoyed the THIRD J-CULT THURSJAY! Here are some links that might interest you:

Sakanaction on Wikipedia

Sakanaction Youtube

Okunoshima on Wikipedia

第二: J-CULT THURSJAY!

I'm already one day late for my J-Cult Thursjay post! How awful. I will try harder next week!

This evening, after finding articles on Japanese art trends, strange panda seats on trains, and an elaborate advert for the Japanese department store Isetan with their song isetan-tan-tan (you really should have a look. It's so cute!), I finally found something really awesome! 

Vampillia is a Japanese band which was started in Osaka in 2005. They have a really interesting style which I find incredibly exciting yet difficult to describe. Their music takes you on a journey from gentle, hypnotic sounds and experimental orchestral music to fast-paced death metal crossed with punk/grunge. I'm not very good at describing musical styles - never have been - but this one is really hard to label. They say it themselves on their facebook page! Anyway, who needs labels.

This evening I have been checking out their newish song Mirror Mirror. The video clip complements the music incredibly well with beautiful and sometimes shocking animations playing with fractals and images melding together to form interesting shapes. In fact, the more I watch it, the more intriguing it is seeing the beauty juxtaposed with quite horrific images! Have a look! 

Having a quick listen to some of their other music, lilac is also really lovely! Such beautiful orchestral music! Northern Lights is really awesome as well! I will definitely spend a little more time with these guys! From the look of it, they have been quite successful and have done a lot of tours all over the world including one to Australia! I wish I'd known beforehand! Here they are for your enjoyment! 

If you want to know more about Vampillia, here are some links!

Vampillia Official Web Page

Vampillia @ facebook

Buy an album!

第一 J-CULT THURSJAY!

Over a year ago, I remember posting the following:

Ha! Well, that never really happened. Perhaps my little project was unreasonable considering how busy my life was at that time. Short films, theatrical productions and the like...     . . .

Instead of going all out, researching and writing a thesis on each topic that interests me, I am going to trawl the net each Thursday and find one thing I like from Japanese culture. I'm going to call this section THURS J-CULT! I'm hoping there are no horrid cults out there calling themselves this. So, this is most likely going to be from Japanese pop culture, but I wont close any doors. Not even my front door. (It's rather hot and the breeze is gently blowing up my short leg...)

Today will be the first, and I have no idea what I'm going to find. Let's have a look now. BRB......

Well, I have found something super interesting related to Japanese culture! It is also related to teddy bears, and who doesn't like soft, fluffy things!

Steiff, the maker of the very first teddy bear in the whole entire world, has just made a totoro plushie! In case you didn't know, My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロ) is an anime and a Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece from 1988. (Check here for a trailer!) 

(From http://yattarjapan.com/en/3008302/)

Apparently Steiff has made Hello Kitty plushies in the past, but the totoro plushie will be the first plushie from a collaboration between Steiff and Studio Ghibli. 

Unfortunately you can't buy it now, but if you get in early, you'll be able to score yourself one for about $400 sometime next year in 2015! Remember, you have to fill up the back seat of your car with soft toys and that includes Steiff teddy bears. Just don't park anywhere with a high crime rate... Steiff totoro plushies are a limited edition, so don't wait! I want one, but I am still trying to justify purchasing a giant pikachu plushie from the Pokemon Centre in Japan last year...