6th Station ~Other Bands for H!P Fans~

[Zunu]

^^ Had to look up that Chuning Candy MV. Didn't think they were Japanese until they started singing. They're from Okinawa, familiarly known as "Chunican," around 16-17ish, only released a couple of singles.

Anyway, BiSH in full epic mode:

[TotallyUncool]

They've come a long way from having buckets of poo thrown in their faces!

[Moh]

Playing catch-up with my YouTube recs.

Frederic - Hyouhyou to Emotion

Spoiler: show

ELRIS - Summer Dream

Spoiler: show

NeonPunch - MOONLIGHT

Spoiler: show

[TotallyUncool]

At this point, I think that Gang Parade is one of the best live groups anywhere. Here's a full (1 1/2+ hour) performance in Okinawa from yesterday:

[Moh]

I found out from someone I follow on Twitter that MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS just released their first album in 8 years.
I kinda stuck them in the back of my mind after they "broke up". Aside from the lead singer, they've had a line-up change.

If you're unfamiliar, here's Hikizuru Beat, which is one of my personal favorite songs.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

I think I've noticed an increase in chubby idols lately (or I was entirely blind before).

Though I don't really have much to say about it, outside of the observation itself.

[Celedam]

In another thread, I posted…

I really, really don't care about any of the late night TV hosts. (Craig Ferguson was the last one who was worth a damn.)

viewtopic.php?p=234866#p234866

…which reminded me that it's been a while since I last watched / listened to this…

Keep bangin' on…



2005–2014.

viewtopic.php?p=173473#p173473

Here's the original by Dead Man Fall…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzCZEIqezJg
https://itunes.apple.com/album/880650842

The original is too subdued, in my opinion. It's fine for a rainy day in Glasgow, but Ferguson's live version is more passionate and new wave-y, and that pushes it over the top.

(Craig Ferguson actually got his start as a punk rocker in the early '80s, before he switched to comedy. Peter Capaldi — the Twelfth Doctor — was his bandmate and best friend.)

[Celedam]

From another thread…

Anime music is the cornerstone of a lot of J-Pop international fans. That’s how I found my way into the H!P boat.

Ditto.

http://jplop.com/viewtopic.php?p=235358#p235358

I'm older, though, so my collection started with older anime music: the first J-pop album of any kind that I bought was the soundtrack for Kimagure Orange Road (1987)…



…followed shortly thereafter by the soundtracks for Bubblegum Crisis (1987–1991)…



…and Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (1991–1992)…





And that was long before we had CD Japan, the iTunes Store, or YouTube. We — my friends and I in the university anime club — had to special order everything through Nikaku Animart, a brick-and-mortar store in San Jose that catered to anime fans in North America. When we went to Anime Expo '93 in Oakland (which was a big deal for poor students from Michigan), we made a special trip down I-880 just to visit Nikaku in person. Even though there were plenty of dealers already at the convention. It was a pilgrimage for us.

Amazingly, the store is still there at the same location!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/nikaku-animart-san-jose-2

[TotallyUncool]

Sakura Ebis are apparently going to be releasing one digital single per month over the next 12 months - this one's very good, and very retro-90s:

[Nayoko-Kihara]

Produce48

The Korean and Japanese girls really do not care about the "versus" thing the show is trying to do, so it was nice seeing everyone interact even though they barely understood each other.

The show became much more enjoyable once they let up on the "look how great we are, and how bad they are" mess from the preliminary grading. I'm still sad that part didn't end up being as much fun as the first season, but the rest of the show has been alright so I guess it's fine.

They need to pick better songs for the evaluation challenges though. I can understand not wanting to use non-*48 Japanese idol songs (I guess), but using Japanese versions of Korean songs is so damned boring. I don't even like but maybe two *48 songs, but at least using more of them would take advantage of the opportunity to diversify the challenges.

That being said, my favorite from "Produce 101 China" - who was in the top ranks for majority of the show - didn't make it into the final group. Because of course. I'm ready for maybe 1 of my Top 12 in PD48 to make it into the group, if I'm lucky.