[Music] J-Pop: An Introduction (and discussion)

Originally Posted by Soprano1

Maybe i'm off topic, but can anyone tell me some good B'z songs?

I haven't heard too many myself, but I'll list what I like off the top of my head.

OCEAN
LOVE PHANTOM
Konya tsuki no mieru oka ni
ARIGATO
LADY NAVIGATION

TMG's OH JAPAN ~OUR TIME IS NOW~ is very good. I also liked Koshi Inaba's Wonderland.

Thanks for your suggestions. I didn't know they started THAT early (1988!!!).

Nice thread. I'm a huge Ayumi Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru fan, got nearly all of their albums >.< I thank eBay for that.

Hey Evo-X, welcome aboard. If you have the ability to order things online I'd recommend you check out YesAsia and CD Japan in future as they should be able to hook you up with CDs you're after. YesAsia is especially good for people in the UK as you can get free shipping + VAT paid, which is great.

I have to say, well I have all of Hikki's albums except the Singles Collection, but collecting all of Ayu's albums, now that's one hell of a task. Does that include all the remix albums?

EDIT: I know Hiro will probably be aware of this, but there's a new GARNET CROW album on the way, "The Twilight Valley", which will be out on 4th October and has some very pretty covers.

Thanks for the welcome, and yes I know about YesAsia =) They got some albums I want by a Japanese group called "M.O.V.E" they're my favourite Japanese group. Check them out if you haven't heard of them.

And yeah, I have "A Song For XX, Rainbow, My Story, A Ballads, A Best, Ayu Trance 2 and her Missunderstood album with the bonus photo booklet and DVD. I still need to get other albums of hers though. As for Utada Hikaru, I have Distance, Deep River and Exodus. I'll be getting her Ultra Blue album and Debut album soon though.

Speaking of Ayu, I have all (if not, almost) her singles and albums, thanks to torrents all over, including her remix albums. Acoustic mix, eurobeat and other trance albums, etc. It is seriously one heck of a task. Downloaded of course. It'll cost a fortune to actually buy ALL her stuff.

Originally Posted by Evo

I have "A Song For XX, Rainbow, My Story, A Ballads, A Best, Ayu Trance 2 and her Missunderstood album with the bonus photo booklet and DVD

You do realize that, your collection is hardly anywhere near "all" of her albums right? ='D

Also OP, just saw your post with Mio and Eri's rip links. Getting those now.
Missed it earlier since I hardly post in this thread.

[Edit] After trying out both Eri and Mio's albums, I must say, they're both great. I favor more on Eri, as her voice is very similiar to Younha, but less piano and more guitar! I particularly like her style too, with a mild touch of rock. ^^

Mio is awesome too, but too Rie Fu-like music style and with piano pieces in almost all her songs. Very suitable for light and easy listen. Pleasant voice too.

I didn't mean her mixes and stuff, i just meant her proper albums, dude. I could really care less about those Eurobeat stuff, lol.

Originally Posted by Kairi Li

Quoting a older post I know, but how is it that Faye Wong has her own "style" of songs when she probably didnt write any of them, and the only songs I liked from her turned out to be covers of "Dreams" from the Cranberries and "Silent All these years" by Tori Amos? (Which by the way cause me to realise that the Canto Pop industry is full of lazy stars that won't write their own music to the point of covering famous western tracks to make them "hot". I stop listening to Faye and all Canto stuff after I discovered this)

Unless of course she has a legion of the same composers writing her songs, I don't see how the fans dislike Eyes on Me cause its not her "style" when there isn't seem to be her own style to begin with.

On a personal note, I much prefer Aki's rendition of Eyes on Me than Faye, her voice is much more powerful and projects better and she plays the piano with it too, just like Julia did in the game. Faye on the other hand probably can't project well enough that she relies on the microphone.

She does write alot of her own lyrics and compositions. She does do alot of cover songs, but I don't think this is a sign of being lazy. She's just singing songs she likes and wants to promote to an East Asian audience. Most of her discography is original material, though. Like alot of artists, she doesn't write all of her songs. I'd be too time consuming and I'd take alot of time with her busy schedule. She does have a style, but it changes every now and then. She likes to experiment with new things and at the same time give something for fans who like her older work too.

To each their own concerning "Eyes On Me", but from someone who knows Faye very well and her discography, it is certainly not a Faye styled song.

No problems, Evo-X, and yes I have heard of MOVE and have heard some of their songs and whilst it was nice enough didn't do much for me.

For Hikki, apart from ULTRA BLUE, you're missing her First Love (as you mention), her Single Collection, and there's also her US debut release, which I have, from years ago when she went by the artist title 'cubic U' (called "Precious").

As Scarletdeath implies about your Ayu collection that's a bit of a way off (though a good collection none the less). Ayu has 9 original albums, not to mention one mini-album (Memorial Address), but when you add remix albums to that it goes up to 30 albums. The one of those I'd recommend in a heartbeat is "MY STORY: Classical" which is an brilliant album. The little of her trance remix stuff I've heard I've not been won over by, but to each their own.

So yeah, good luck with your collections. ^^

Originally Posted by Evo-X

I didn't mean her mixes and stuff, i just meant her proper albums, dude. I could really care less about those Eurobeat stuff, lol.

(miss)understood
My Story
Memorial Address
A Ballads
Rainbow
I Am
A Best
Duty
Love Appears
A song for XX

That's about it for her proper albums. Not to mention Ayu Trance 1, 2 (that you own) and 3 is included as her Eurobeat remixes. Guess you have 4 more albums to go. =D

Yeah, I was gonna get her Duty and Love Appears albums a couple of months back but I decided to go for some Utada and Do As Infinity instead. I only have Do The B Side and Need Your Love by them. But yeah, the remix albums isn't my goal ;p

Hate to be a completely anal git, but it's not "LOVE Appears", the album is called "LOVEppears". FYI.

Yeap, it says LOVEppears on my iTunes too. I simply wrote that list off the top of my head, so..

By the way, you mentioned My Story: Classical. Personally I think that is a great arranged album too, since My Story itself is one of my favourite albums compared to the rest there. If you liked that classical album, you should look for her other acoustic remixes as well. ^^

I've also been trying to look for her "Nothing From Nothing" album. Even though it wasn't a success for her, it's still a gem. I only got one song, "Limit" and i really like that song. I also had this other song of hers, which was basically hip hop, real old skool.

I have Nothing From Nothing as well. It's her first so-called album, which has her featured in it along with some rap band and DJs. With her rapping in it, while rap isn't my cup of tea, it's the only rap I've heard from her. Her voice sounds really young in there, rather cute like a small kid rapping.

The songs in that album consists of:
Gut it-pez
LIMIT
NOTHING FROM NOTHING (Album version)
NOTHING FROM NOTHING (Single version)
PAPER DOLL

I believe you can get it off Jpopsuki's trackers. If you're looking to buy one, good luck. The album is quite old.

Nah, dude. Downloading albums isn't my cup of tea. Besides, it's kinda fun searching for gems like these.

Does anyone have Ultra Blue? If so, how is it? So far, the songs I've heard from that album have been damn amazing.

I have it, and whilst it's not the best album from Hikki (I'm rather partial to "Deep River" myself) it is still a very good album. If you've enjoyed the songs you've heard so far I can't imagine you'll be disappointed, that's for sure. "Keep Tryin'" = <3

Originally Posted by Evo-X

Nah, dude. Downloading albums isn't my cup of tea. Besides, it's kinda fun searching for gems like these.

Does anyone have Ultra Blue? If so, how is it? So far, the songs I've heard from that album have been damn amazing.

Omg, Ultra Blue is so awesome; I love every single song on it. My favorite tracks are "This Is Love" and "Making Love". Very catchy. Worth buying.