Recommend J-pop and/or J-rock

[Ashe.Fallen]

I was just wondering if anyone can recommend some good or their favorite J-rock/pop band, singer, or song. I'm just discovering this genre and haven't had much of a selection, being the only songs I've heard are off of Final Fantasy games. Thanks.

[Tia]

Hmm. If you like final fantasy, I'm guessing odds are you will also like other music that involves more of the classical components. I think you might like Raphael. They are unfortunately not in existence, though, due to the accidental (though this is still being debated) suicide of the lead guitarist, Kazuki. Their music is very beautiful, and they combine many different styles.

You might also like L'arc~en~ciel, Janne da Arc, La'chryma Christi, Porno Graffiti, Zinkoku, or Plastic Tree (although I do not as yet own any of Plastic Tree's cds, I have heard good things about them). If you like a more rock-ish sound sometimes, too, you might try Psycho le Cemu, The Yellow Monkey, or BUCK-TICK (I love them!). Or if you like really hard rock, maybe Dir en Grey.

[Michi]

My personal favorites include: T.M.Revolution, Morning Musume, Maki Goto, Nanase Aikawa, Glay, L'arc~en~Ciel, Malice Mizer, and Gackt. I like a good deal of others but those are the ones I've listened to the most. ^^

If you've heard the vocal themes from FFX-2, the Japanese singer of these has a pretty strong career now and some great songs out. Her name is Kumi Koda (first name Kumi). ^^


Hmm. If you like final fantasy, I'm guessing odds are you will also like other music that involves more of the classical components.

I think she means the vocal themes from Final Fantasy games which have recently delved more into J-pop, but I could be mistaken. ^_^;

[Ashe.Fallen]

Yeah, I was talking about the Koda Kumi's music in FFX-2 and the others in 10 and 9. I like Koda Kumi although I've only listened to those 2 songs. I've heard of Gackt, since my friend is a fan girl but I haven't listened yet. I'm also unfamilar with the methods of aquiring the music. ^.^; Geez. I really am an Uber Newbie. But hey, if I would of never got out there and opened my big fat mouth, then I would of been living in a naive little world. XD

[lavender_mists]

Orange Range and Asian Kung-Fu Generation are seemingly popular new j-rock groups right now. Asian Kung-Fu Generation have sung the opening for FMA, an opening for Naruto, and Orange Range, the ending for Naruto and a highly anticipated single for the Bleach fans... the opening " * ~Asterisk " for Bleach.
All of their CDs and singles are great!!! I recommend that you give "Musiq" (Orange Range) a good listen. :)

[Magnavox]

For sampling music, I would reccomend Soulseek (http://www.slskorg.net), and for buying, the two most reliable online stores are CDJapan (www.cdjapan.co.jp) and HMV (www.hmv.co.jp). Now, on to actual reccomendations. XD

If you like Koda Kumi, you might like Bonnie Pink, Lily Chou-Chou (or Salyu, same person, different names), Spin Aqua, Bugy Craxone, Shiina Ringo (or her latest project, Tokyo Jihen), and Kayo. Some good bands with male vocalists, though, are Oblivion Dust, FAKE?, The Back Horn, Quruli, Da'vid shito:aL, Supercar, cali=gari, Doping Panda, Guniw Tools, and Merry.

If you could tell me what kind of music you usually listen to, I'd be able to narrow down the list and point you to some bands that might interest you. :D

[Tia]

Oh, my bad. Well, I like yesasia.com and jpophouse.com but cdjapan is good too. I didn't post the whole site because somebody else just did. But those are the main three I buy from.

[Hotaru]

supercar! i like their song...last song? i think that's the name of it...

well. hm. i love porno graffitti. they rock. and i'm too big of a L'Arc~en~ciel fan girl to pimp them now. you might like hyde's first solo album Roentgen. it's got soft songs.

[Michi]

TofuRecords.com has a nice amount of samples to listen to, and they sell mixed artist J-pop albums which might be a good idea for someone just starting out listening to it.

Try out Kumi's other stuff! She's released some interesting songs lately.

[Magnavox]

Oh, my bad. Well, I like yesasia.com and jpophouse.com but cdjapan is good too. I didn't post the whole site because somebody else just did. But those are the main three I buy from.

Yes Asia has a tendency to sell bootlegs sometimes, which is why I didn't mention them. And with JPop House, it's really a lose-lose situation; they either carry lots of bootlegs and/or Chinese versions of CDs or their Japanese CDs are horrendously overpriced. I'd reccomend it for other merchandise like posters and magazines, though.

[Tia]

I didn't know they sold bootlegs 0.o;

[Michi]

Yes Asia has a tendency to sell bootlegs sometimes, which is why I didn't mention them. And with JPop House, it's really a lose-lose situation; they either carry lots of bootlegs and/or Chinese versions of CDs or their Japanese CDs are horrendously overpriced. I'd reccomend it for other merchandise like posters and magazines, though.

Actually, I think the international version CDs people think are bootlegs are real CDs. They're just the versions made to be sold outside of Japan in Asia. I have this non-Japan Asia-only Nanase Aikawa singles collection CD. It's totally official, and made by avex trax (official Japanese company), but it's not a Japanese CD.

[Tia]

Oh! Yes, those are always the ones I buy. I thought they were official, too. Are they just specially released for US distribution? I'm slightly confused. The only cd I ever got that wasn't specifically north american release was a BUCK-TICK one, and that was only the very short dvd that came with it. I was bummed when I saw it, too. It was only like five minutes. The cd with it plays fine in region 1, though. It would make me really sad if Yes Asia really did sell bootlegs, as I would have to stop buying from them. I like them a lot, too. They've got a really good selection and fast shipping.

[Michi]

No, they're made for outside-of-Japan Asia distribution. The "overseas" ones, right? They're just as official, but just not Japanese CDs. I prefer owning the Japanese ones though, so I spend the extra money on them. ^_^; At least this is what I read on a board where everyone was talking about YesAsia's bootlegs and a guy stepped up and explained what they really were.

CDs aren't region coded... ^^;; Only DVDs are.

[Shibura Tsubasa]

Hmm, people may find me nuts for this.. Which is crazy cuz she is the own.. but my personal favorite J-pop singer is Ayumi Hamasaki(Or if you eant to get technical Hamasaki Ayumi) .. Either way.. I find her talents amazing. She has this voice that you know its her just by listening to her songs. Id say she is a bit more high pitch than most singers, but that still has no effect on my opinion. She is very talented.

Plus if you like techno, she does ALOT of remixes, nice for raving ::ocugh:: ohh baby::cough:: or just for fun.

My votes on Ayu.

[#180screaming]

My 2 most favorite bands are ones that aren't together anymore, D-SHADE and Lastier. They were both around 1998 and 99, and D-SHADE was constantly on the Oricon, so you may have heard of them actually. They only did 2 major albums though, the first being a real album, the second being a single collection. They were a really good band, and I like every song they did from "Memories" all the way to "Zero".

Lastier is maybe a bit better than they are, and their last two singles, "Dive into shine" and "Seeds style 2000" were magic. It takes a while for their first album though.

Bootlegs? I only bought one, and that was from eBay. It was the Gauze DVD, that also had "I'll" and a few others. It wasn't the stupidest thing I did however. I once let someone borrow La'cryma Christi "Lhasa" and I never got it back...my dad told me I should have just made a copy of the disc. Luckily, I've still got a copy of it, so it doesn't matter much besides the missing lyrics and pictures ><

And you're half-right about J-Pop House, Magnavox. It's not a lose-lose situation, for the only reason: Sometimes, it's the only place that has what you want. And it's kinda easy to tell on the bootlegs, I mean they'll have like 25 songs on 2 discs or whatever, and have it really cheap. I think HMV is the best store however.

[Tia]

Okay, well since they're legit, I guess I can still buy from Yes Asia. I thought cds were region coded, too. Oops. What is HMV again?

[lavender_mists]

Okay, well since they're legit, I guess I can still buy from Yes Asia. I thought cds were region coded, too. Oops. What is HMV again?

HMV is a huge chain of music/video stores. I never knew that it existed outside of America until now... silly me. I never knew what HMV stood for until now actually "His Master's Voice" That was nothing like what I thought it might have stood for. :woah:

[#180screaming]

DX...that's pretty weird. Really, you can find stuff that's pretty rare there that you can't at a place like Yes Asia(who only sells stuff that dates back a few years. I think maybe even Dir en grey Gauze is out of print there, among other things!) or others. Like Lastier's R, a whole bunch of D-SHADE stuff, and SHAZNA's indies mini-albums. Also, there's a lot of the customers who review stuff, and you can give the things you buy a rating. It's pretty cool!

[Tia]

I can't find half of The Yellow Monkey's stuff on there, either. It's all out of print. And some of the BUCK-TICK, also. Really, I prefer Jpophouse for that. The prices aren't that much different from Yes Asia's. Besides, it's a quick fix for me. I'm going to look into HMV. Tampa's a big town, so most chains are here. Do they have a website?

[Babbit_Chan]

Yeah, this is really sad that I have this much time on my hands, but I went and alphabetized all the suggestions so far o_O I included my own ^^ (with the asterisks)

*ACIDMAN
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
*AYA
Back Horn, The
*Baroque
*BAZRA
Bonnie Pink
Buck-Tick
Bugy Craxone
*Bump of Chicken
Cali=Gari
D-SHADE
Da'vid shit:a:
*Deadman
Dir en Grey
*Drug Store Cowboy
Doping Panda
FAKE?
Gackt
Glay
Guniw Tools
Janne Da Arc
Kayo
*Kozi
La'Cryma Christi
L'Arc~en~Ciel
Lastier
Lily Chou-Chou
Maki Goto
Malice Mizer
Merry
*Metronome
Morning Musume
Nanase Aikawa
Oblivion Dust
Orange Range
*Pierrot
Plastic Tree
Porno Graffiti
Psycho~le~Cemu
Quruli
*Road of Major
Shiina Ringo
*Siam Shade
Spin Aqua
Supercar
Yellow Monkey, The
*Youjeen
T.M. Revolution
Tokyo Jihen
*Tomoyasu Hotei
*TRAX
Zinkoku

[#180screaming]

All right, a Pierrot fan and a La'cryma fan. I like them both too. ^_^

It's www.hmv.co.jp/ And Tia, HMV may be more expensive for shipping than YesAsia, because they cater mainly to Japanese buyers, but they do ship. I'm not sure though...

That thing about YesAsia, yeah, that's the one thing I really don't like about them. If you like a band that isn't together anymore, chances are they won't have it. And sometimes bands from now... what is with them saying an item still being made is "out of print"? Though I guess it is mainly with items like callendars and special editions of said bands.

[Kaitou Kid]

the groups i recromend to you would have to be two mix and rina aiuchi maybe even the pillows! but the main ones i recromend you are two mix and rina aiuchi ( there my personal favorites )

[Magnavox]

Actually, I think the international version CDs people think are bootlegs are real CDs. They're just the versions made to be sold outside of Japan in Asia. I have this non-Japan Asia-only Nanase Aikawa singles collection CD. It's totally official, and made by avex trax (official Japanese company), but it's not a Japanese CD.

That's not what I'm talking about. Yes, there are international CDs, and there are ALSO bootlegs, which is what Yes Asia carries on occassion. Usually, if you're buying a full Japanese CD for less than $20, it's most likely a bootleg.

[Tia]

That's why I was asking about HMV. Thanks for the website. A lot of the bands I like are older ones (80s) and Yes Asia doesn't carry their older stuff. Jpophouse doesn't really have them either, and I prefer not having to import them directly. I may have to, though, if it comes to that. *sigh* It seems whenever I find a band I really love, they've either broken up, are temporarily pursuing other projects or somebody's dead. =(

[#180screaming]

Another one is barks.co.jp, but they don't seem to have all that much.

Also to add to Babbit Chan's list is La:Sadie's. I like their stuff more than a lot of Dir en grey's, and "Lu:Ciel" has got to be one of the saddest songs I ever heard :waaaah:

[Koiji Shugotenshi]

I didn't read the other posts, too many of 'em, but I'd suggest Moi Dix Mois, Malice Mizer and Amadeus... some of Dir en Grey's songs are good too ;)

[Tia]

I just realized that I forgot to mention SID. They are an incredible J-rock Indies band. I love them. I keep having a lot of difficulty trying to buy their one full cd, though. =( I have only found it through their official site, but it is giving me some kind of bug when I try to order it through their record label, Danger Crue. Does anybody know a place that carries their stuff? I checked the usual places, but I could only find one of the two singles at Jpop House, and Yes Asia doesn't seem to think they exist. I haven't checked HMV yet, but I'm going to now. Help please!

[Miyavi-desu]

For my suggestions, Ill just name my 5 random ones that I like (I have to many favs), Dir en grey has nice hard music, X-japan has a very pretty sound, The yellow monkey...I dont know why, Miyavi has awesome music, and La'cryma christi has great guitar lines ^-^

[tsuki_NO_uta]

ummm....some of my favs are.....Gackt, L'arc-en-ciel, Dir en Grey, hide, Psycho le Cemu, Miyavi, Malice Mizer, Ayumi Hamasaki, BoA (she's Korean but she does some Jpop), W-inds.....oh oh! Check out Asian Kung-Fu Generation too! Theyre worth it! =D

[Plasmagic]

I have so many favourites. Topping the list is /\ucifer, but I also like Kotani Kinya, T.M.Revolution, Pierrot, Hamasaki Ayumi, Ishida Yoko, Malice Mizer, and Sharam Q. There's so many. ^__^

[KANEDA]

Guitar Wolf
Assfort
D.M.B.Q.
Violent Onsen Geisha
Melt Banana
Atomic Fireball
Coaltar Of The Deepers
Korean Buddhist God
Gaji
Surfers Of Romantica