so ive been listening to japanese music for about 6 years or so now i think maybe like 5 but anywho
i have to say, not to be rude... but alot of you have bad tastes =P
these are bands that i listen to alot, it ranges from more popish stuff to rock but no V-Kei cuz all that crap is the lamesauce which is why alot of you have bad taste =P
Shiina Ringo / Tokyo Jihen - has to be my favorite, of any form of music, i think Shiina Ringo has an insane amount of talent, and i hate to say it, but i didnt even like her the first time i heard her music, but it grew on me and now i cant get enough
Sherbets - most recent band from Kenichi Asai, rather old actually but it is the most recent, he was in Blankey Jet City, Jude and Ajico, from what i know of at least, good rock band
Bugy Craxone - Good rock/punk band, i say rock/punk because some of thier stuff, mainly older, isnt as punk as the newer. Good band either way, female vocals, good rock music
Mihimaru GT - hip-pop band, more pop than hip tho. dual vocals, male is more hip-hop like, female is kinda hip-hopish but more pop, she has a beautiful voice, alot of thier songs are upbeat and even when they are ballads her voice still makes me smile
Namie Amuro - hip-pop, self-proclaimed queen of hip-pop. i think her voice is awesome, most of her songs kick ass, cept for her first 2 cds... they are kinda lamesauce, but after that she took a break and then was being produced by Dallas Austin (an american hip-hop producer) and her songs got alot better.
Ai Otsuka - jPop, i dont like all of her stuff, but some of it is good, she has a good voice, but her things tend to go moe which i dont care for, or the lyrics are just childish, which i generally dont care for either, but she has some awesome songs
Ajico - an Avant Garde band that only released once cd, includes Kenichi Asai and UA (an avant-garde japanese singer, dont care for her solo stuff really) this band is good and i wish they made more music together, good rock music from Kenichi Asai's influence i think, and good vocals from UA and some mixed vocals between UA and Asai
Akiko - J-Jazz, i consider this japanese cuz the singer is japanese and the music isnt in USA stores, but all her songs are sung in english. its good jazz music, mellow and emotional, she also does some covers of old jazz songs. great to listen to when i want to relax
Aural Vampire - Darkwave, awesome cyberpop/darkwave band. which if u dont know what darkwave is, its like if techno met a zombie movie, techno type beats but evil/melodic vocals. this band is composed of Exo-Chika and Raveman, Exo-Chika sings and her voice is beautiful, i dont care for techno really, but her voice is kinda hypnotic, ive met ppl who ive made like this band even tho they hate techno and japanese music. they have music available on US iTunes.
the brilliant green - Alternative rock, older band.. i think they broke up in 2001 or '02. They put out 4 cds, then for some reason they disbanded. Awesome feel good rock. Tomoko Kawase was the front girl, lead singer, she is also known as Tommy February6 and Tommy Heavenly6. She married the bassist of this band and the guitarist joined an english band known as Meister. a pretty good band, but not as good as The brilliant green. is also known as Buri Guri. They "reformed" last year (i think) and did a couple new singles for an anime, then released a 10yr single collection, which is kinda ridiculous cuz they werent together for that whole 10 years.. but w/e. good band all the same, i listen to them alot
Tommy February6 - Pop made by Tomoko Kawase, its Jpop, but it kinda has a sound of 80s US pop, to me at least, i like most of it, its very upbeat and positive tho. she only released 2 cds under this alter-ego. and a few singles, did some anime songs, even did the voice for an anime, that ive never seen and dont remember the name of lol, Tommy is her nick-name and Feb6 is her birthdate, thats where the name comes from
Tommy Heavenly6 - Rock made by Tomoko Kawase, this is an alter-ego of Tomoko that she transitioned into after Feb6. This music kinda reminds me of Avril Lavigne. Its rock but at the same times its like pop. Good music for the most part, like Feb6, i like most of her songs. Also released 2 cds under this alter-ego and some singles.
Girl Next Door - Jpop, this band arose 4th quater of last year, already released 3 videos, that i know of and a cd. Its kinda typical Jpop, the singers voice is really good i thinks, female vocals. They are kinda reminiscent of Every Little Thing, maybe.... maybe Do As Infinity. If you like either of those 2 bands you would probly like GND.
melody. - Jpop, she retired recently =( she has an insanely awesome voice. She released 4 albums, not all of her songs are that good tho. her first album is more dance music like, but its for the most part good, her 2nd and 3rd album are awesome, kinda dancy but good ballads, look up See You... on Youtube, awesome song and fun video. her 4th album was released pretty fast after her 3rd and she did it all in Hawaii, not so good as her 3rd (Ready to Go!) which i think is her best. Heard she retired a couple months after 4th release, makes me sad...
Natural High - Jazz, i kinda consider it jazz, but its like pop/jazz. Hard to get ahold of, wish i had more than i do. Good fun songs, with alot of piano. Band is composed of 2 girls and they are both awesome on the piano. Good vocals as well.
Taia - Jrock, female vocals. As far as i know they have 2 cds released. very hard rock sound but more of a melodic-esque vocals, kinda like evanescence but better. Really good band, rather knew, which is why they have only 2cds out.
Every Little Thing - Old pop band, which i think is still around but not nearly as good as they used to be. Female vocals and lots of keys and guitar. Good pop music, well their old stuff was... they newer stuff is not as good.
Ayumi Hamasaki - Jpop - Jrock, im sure most of you know of her. She used to be the queen of Jpop, but after her 5th cd she started to go more Rock and i think it sucks personally... She was the first J-music i ever listened to, i used to adore her, her old Pop music is good, but i think her rock stuff sucks... makes me sad. but it happens
KOTOKO - jpop/rock, She does alot of songs for animes and hentai games. She has released 2 cds, her first was alot better than her 2nd. She is produced by I've which does alot of anime songs, and released alot of compilations including her.
Hitomi Yaidi - Acoustic pop/rock, She is kinda older, like 90s, good music tho, if you like acoustic rock
Hitomi Shimatani - Pop, shes been around since the 90s as well, decent pop music, i like some of her stuff
Maaya Sakamoto - kinda pop? She has an insanely beautiful voice, i think its the prettiest of anyone ive heard. She has done lots of songs for animes, She did the opening theme for RahXephon and the ending for Wolfs Rain. also has done some songs with Yoko Kanno.
GO!GO!7188 - Good rock band, been around awhile. i like em but dont listen to em that much
Hayami Kishimoto - Jpop, She hasnt been very active lately, i dont think she does music anymore. I like her tho, good pop music but kinda hip-hopish, i love her voice.
Olivia - jrock, Olivia Lufkin, was a member of an old jpop band which i dont remember, She has an awesome voice, her music is kinda artsy, and her lyrics kinda suck lol... but i like her voice enough to get past it, usually...
Puffy - jpop/rock, Puffy AmiYumi, as they are known in US. They are an old rock duo. I like them but most ppl i know think im lame for it cuz of their old cartoon on Cartoon Network, which i also liked lol.
Rina Aiuchi - Pop, she has a nice sound and voice. I listen to her sometimes when i play MMOs.
SNoW - acoustic rock, She is awesome i think. Her voice is amazing, she has only released 1 cd so far tho, and i think it was independent, she has a myspace tho (or used to) so ifn u want to hear her music look it up.
The Yellow Monkey - Jrock, i have a couple cds by them and i think they are awesome, i think they are older tho like early 90s maybe? i dont know that much about em, but the stuff i have is awesome.
Tsukiko Amano - Jrock, good vocals kinda dark tones but still upbeatish.
sooo im thinking thats about it...
if any of these bands sounds interesting to you look em up on Youtube, most have vids there
also i got most this music (if not all) at Jpopsuki.com
thier main site is down and has been for years
but they have a torrent server that is always up and full, constantly, of new updates
vids/music/dvds n such
