Rock Band Japan Part VI

Back around June of last year, there was announcement that Rock Band was going to be localized for the Land of the Rising Sun. Being a huge fan of Japanese Music, I started writing about bands that I would like to see on the game. One of my problems with games like Rock Band/Guitar Hero is that the music has to appeal to you for you to really enjoy it. I had been out of American Music for so long that I really didn't know who any of the bands were. We haven't heard anything about the project since then, so I'm a little worried. Maybe Harmonix and Q Entertainment realized that a multiplayer game with big bulky instruments wouldn't work in the small living spaces of Japan. In case the project is still in works, here's a post about a band I would love to see in the game.

The band was originally formed in high school with six members but as time moved on and interests changed they lost members and gained others. Finally around college time, they solidified into the three piece rock group known as Chatmonchy.

The first time I heard this band was when I watched the PV for Shangri-la I was immediately hooked as the upbeat bouncy song started off with Bassist Fukuoka Akiko and her hopping around on one leg. Her energy is unmatched and I'm always looking to see what she's doing in the videos or on stage. I've heard complaints about the band sounding annoying due to Hashimoto Eriko's nasally voice, but that's the something that you can't escape in Japanese music. I actually really like that quality and I think it's just something that you just get used to honestly.

I have to say two things. One, I like this band because of it's simple complexity. I think a lot of bands try to do too much and smush everything into their songs and it's hard to listen to. Others are too simple that I can't really grasp onto anything and it becomes kinda boring. The middle ground is what I find about this band and also the drummer Takahashi Kumiko. The second thing I wanted to say was that Takahashi Kumiko is one of my favorite drummers. While I can't say that I am greatest dummer myself or say that she is among the elite in the world, for the same reason I love the band, I love Takahashi Kumiko and her drumming. It's more of being skillful at knowing who you are and what fits your type of music. If I could one day be on the same level as her, then I would have accomplished everything I wanted out of the drums.

Chatmonchy is one of the reasons why I prefer Japanese rock over American music. Every person in this band has their part and they play their pieces perfectly. I feel that it transcends just a music rock band. That is why I chose their newest song to be on Rock Band Japan. Please listen and try to envision what kind of emotion or feelings are being conveyed through the music and imagery. Try to get over the fact that you're not Skyliner and you can't understand the words. Focus more on how the vocals are used, how her voice builds during the chorus. Why and what is she calling out? Also listen to how the back up vocals are used.

Chatmonchy - Last Love Letter


Now, you've heard the music, here are the lyrics. If even one person heard what I did and understood why I listen to Japanese music, then I feel satisfied with my post.

If you liked the song, here is a Live Version (Please Watch In High Quality)
Sometimes you can find out more about the personality of a band by seeing them play live.

Also here is the link to the last Rock Band Japan post I wrote. You can also click on the Labels link the the bottom of this post to bring up all of them.
Rock Band Japan (Part V) - Asian Kung-Fu Generation


Thanks for reading my post,
David

Rock Band Japan (Part V)

It's been a few months since I posted something about Rock Band Japan and my song wishlist.

To reintroduce this section again, I've picked the band that first got me into Japanese Rock Music, thanks again to Frank Smith for giving me an ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION cd. Ajikan, as they're called for short has done numerous opening for Animes, including Rewrite for Fullmetal Alchemist, Haruka Kanata for Naruto, and After Dark for Bleach. Their lyrics border on EMO but their musical style has always been developing. Their earlier albums reflected their unpolished youthfulness but their last two albums have seen them mature and change into a band that is always changing their sound and complexity. I love almost anything I hear from them and I'd love to see them in Rock Band Japan.

I chose this song because of well roundedness and also because it's a great intro song for someone to just jump in and listen to. Plus the video is pretty entertaining. And also because it's not from and Anime.

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - Kimi no Machi Made


I hope you enjoyed it,
David

You can check out the last one here, it will link back to all the older ones.
Rock Band Japan (Part IV) - Oreska Band

Rock Band Japan Part IV

Continuing with my Rock Band Japan Wishlist, this time we have Female Ska Group, ORESKABAND. I first found out about them after I missed them at South By South West in Austin 2007. If anyone's heard of them, it's probably from the ending theme to the anime Bleach that they did called Pinocchio. The six of them are currently touring as part of the Vans Warped Tour. For the song I chose

ORESKABAND - Tsumasaki


Although it seems a little strange to put a SKA band on Rock Band, the song's upbeat SKA nature made me want to play it. The guitar, bass, and drum lines are all complicated enough to be fun for each part to play and also the sync-ness of the three are a big factor to why I choose this song. One of the things about being is a band it to play together and not just play your own individual parts.

This is one of my favorite bands and they're relatively new so I'm hoping for more stuff from them in the future. If you like SKA or just want to listen to some more here's a link to another of their songs.
ORESKABAND - Hana no Suka Dance

Also if you're interested in revisiting past entries, here's the Part III - Kishidan. That'll take you back and link to the previous ones as well.

Thanks,
David

Rock Band Japan Part III

Continuing with my Rock Band Japan wishlist, I've decided to go with the very unique band Kishidan. The "Knights" are basically a bunch of "high school" guys who never grew up and never wanted to. They're been criticized by many especially the older generation as their rebellious antics and lyrics tend to find fans with the younger generation. They're a energetic bunch and are known for their easy to learn choreography, Ouendan like uniforms, and of course the crazy hairstyle.

Kishidan - One Night Carnival

I didn't want to use this song because it's been used in so many other Japanese Rhythm games before, but after listening around it really is the best song for Rock Band. Every instrument plays it's part and no one gets stale for too long.

They're a very unusual band, so of if you have any questions..
feel free to ask,
David

If you liked the song, Here's another song of theirs that I like, Kishidan - Kira!Kira!

If you guys want to go back and read about the others Japanese Bands I've featured, this will take you to the previous one, Part II - the Ulfuls.

Rock Band Japan Part II

Last time I posted about the announcement of Rock Band going to Japan I said I would be compiling my own personal song list for the game. So I'm continuing that with one of my favorite bands the Ulfuls. The name is derived from the word Soulful which one of the band member's misread off an album. They're a really goofy band at times dressing up as cowboys or having weird choreography. They're from Osaka and I've heard you can hear it in their music, although I'm not exactly sure how. They're put out 11 albums and very well know, although I'm not sure about their popularity.

The song is called Ai ga nakucha, which I believe translates to "There's got to be Love." If I've gotten that incorrect someone please let me know. I picked this song cause I think it would be a blast to do Karaoke and the Drums are lively.

It's funny cause I've picked two songs now and both of them have bear references in them. First Base Ball Bear (which you can see here) and then if you can spot him, the bear in this song. Funny how that kinda happened. Actually the Ulfuls have a video where the bassist is dressed up in a bear suit running around town being silly. I really love this band and if you want to hear more, here's Ulfuls - Jounetsu A Go-Go. (Jounetsu meaning Passion) It's a hilarious video and a great song.

BABY, I LOVE YOU!!!
David

Here's the link to Part I - Base Ball Bear

Rock Band Japan

So my dreams, may or may not have come true yesterday. Harmonix and Q Entertainment are teaming up to bring Rock Band to Japan. If you've listened to the show, watched the broadcast or just know me in general, you'll know that I'm a huge Japanese Music Listener. Yes, I'm into Japanese Bubbly Girl Pop. But I'm hugely into the Rock Scene too. So you could say I'm a little excited about this announcement.

The problems I see are that I'll have to import this game. Of course if I got it on Xbox 360 I'd have to buy an import machine to go with it. But along with that comes the possibility of me playing Idolmasters.

If it's out on PS3, of course I could just import the game and buy a few of the peripherals here. But then, I'll have boat loads of plastic guitars and drums sets. Not including the Guitar Hero ones coming out later this year.

Another scenario is that they release the songs as a download. This would be great, It'd cost a few bucks for each song, but be less than importing a system or buying another set of controllers. Plus I could choose which songs I wanted to buy.

My only problem I could see with the game is that the Karaoke is probably going to be mainly useless. Unless when it's on download they use romanized letters, most people (including me) won't have enough experience with Kanji or speed reading to keep up in Japanese. But it's a small price to pay to play a rhythm game with the music I love.

So I decided to start compiling a list of songs that I'd like to see on Rock Band Japan.

I'll start off with Base Ball Bear. They're an "indie" group who formed in high school for culture fest/competition. I've heard they sound a lot like the pillows. Bassist Shiori Sekine played the Bassist in the movie Linda Linda Linda. But we'll get into that story another time. I chose Aishiteru because of it's well roundedness in drums and guitar. Honestly there are more complicated songs on guitar from this band, but the bass and drum parts were extremely easy. The title of the song means "I love you" and the music video has even got translations. I heard about them late last year through this song and they're steadily becoming one of my favorite bands.

If you liked the song and want more, listen to Base Ball Bear - Dramatic. I love the solo in this song, but overall I don't think the song would be fun to play on Rock Band.

Hope you enjoyed it,
David