Japanese Pop Punk

For those who don't like to read: Haha, this is going to be a really long fucking post. Go wild at the bottom, all bands are great. Looking back after writing this, this isn't as long as I expected, whatever.

Maybe I'm a little too into Japan. Sure, there is only 3 posts on this blog (including this one, because I got really fucking lazy already, oops), but I can't even remember when I got seriously interested in Japan. I can guarantee that the music that comes from that island is a big reason for it though. Seriously, every country has their shitty bands, but the good bands in Japan are really fucking good. Maybe I can't understand them all the time, but that doesn't stop it from being some really enjoyable shit.

I think the weirder thing about this whole thing, and this post, is my gradual descension into pop punk. Sure, I can call what I listened to most of elementary school/middle school pop punk, but this is different. This is the rawer sounding late 90s pop punk that was going around (think Sore Loser, Dig Dug, other Texas pop punk bands). Then mostly throughout late middle school through my graduation (and a year after that) all I would listen to is idiots screaming at the top of their lungs. Really, just anyone in the town I lived in knew exactly where the fuck I was because of what was coming out of the car. Well, now that my ears only work at half capacity, and I'm just not as angsty anymore, I've moved more into the pop punk style of music. Not exactly the most creative genre around, but it's more about listening to great tunes, and the happy jams. A complete fucking shift in what I listen to now, maybe I'd rather just get blackout fucking drunk now instead of whining about how unfair the world is and how much life sucks (but alcohol costs money, and tears don't cost a god damn thing!).

Minority Blues Band- "Hands to Build"

I don't remember exactly how I grew so interested in Japanese pop punk, but my greatest guess would be to pin it on 1000 Travels of Jawaharlal. Shit, they're not even pop punk (maybe one of the best bands to come out of Japan, because Owari Wa Konai definitely ranks as one of my favorite LPs of all time), but they sure did do a lot of splits with pop punk bands, respectively: Minority Blues Band and Pear of the West. These two bands were definitely the first experiences I've had with not only Japanese pop punk, but Japanese punk in general. Sure, finding the actual split between 1000 Travels/Pear of the West is absolutely fucking impossible, but the 1000 Travels/Minority Blues Band split isn't, and really, it's almost as fucking good (Pear of the West is #1, for reasons explained soon). I don't know much about any actual histories of these bands, and for Minority Blues Band, I know they existed between 1998-2004. They released two LPs, and a final album that was a compilation of all their splits and such. Really, I'm awful at describing bands, so for any next bands, just give the videos I'm posting a shot, and if you enjoy it, really consider downloading the stuff I post.

Pear of the West.

Now this is where shit gets really good, really fucking good. I'll always rate Pear of the West as one of my favorite things to come out Japan, because it's female fronted pop punk, really fucking good female fronted pop punk. Honestly, I can't describe just how perfect this band sounds for me. It's either the just the fantastic combination of pop punk and her voice, or maybe because I don't understand a fucking thing she is saying, but holy shit it's really good. It's everything you're looking for, short and fast songs, great riffs, you wanna bob your head to it, whatever. I already told you once I fucking suck at describing things, now I have to tell you twice. Get a fucking hint.

But really, female fronted pop punk that is really good? ITS LIKE DREAMS ARE SHATTERING EVERYWHERE. No really, I love the idea of this, and I wish I knew about more female fronted pop punk bands that I would totally be into (hint). I honestly wish I knew more about these bands, but I have no idea how to read Japanese, so until then, I'm stuck giving you half-assed descriptions of why I really love these bands.

Pear of the West- "All I Want All I Need is Communication"

Her Spectacles

Her Spectacles are another great pop punk hailing from Japan. I'd tell you more about them, but their website looks like someone vomited a bunch of text that ASCII couldn't understand, so I'm basically grasping at straws here on what to actually say about them. And I feel like this late in the post you should get the fucking idea what kind of music it is.

Her Spectacles- "Deception"

Then there is Cigaretteman:

Cigaretteman- "Fade Away"

Thanks to the idiots that shut down megaupload though, this one is going to have to be saved for another day.

I wish I knew more about Japanese pop punk, and if you do know more, or would just like to converse on the subject, please feel free to send me an email and we can talk until the Mr. Burns blocks off the sun. But really, learning new music is the best thing there is around, and I hope whoever reads this learns and finds something new to love and enjoy, that's what this blog is about.

Minority Blues Band

Capitalized Suffering

Grab the Fire Swinging in the Rain

Momentary Beautiful Burnout

Pear of the West

This Means Little Resistance And The Proof Of Existence

They also have an 'incomplete discography' called Passed Out on Wasted that I hope to get sometime.

Her Spectacles

Remain