J Rock Pick

Let's make it clear (and you know this if you have been following this blog over the last year) I am not the expert on any of the music I post lists about. It is always just my pick or a connection I made of songs I have heard and liked. So a story about Japan. I was an early adopter of the CD technology (well, a lot of other technologies too, but we're talking CD's here) And Japan had CD's. We mostly did not. So I would get Japanese import s to start my CD collection. Had one place that would bring new ones couple times a week. I drove 45 minutes to get to it. And they had a couple of hundred CD's to choose from. That was it. Eventually you could get them everywhere, but not in the beginning. Got all sorts of crazy things, but YMO or Yellow Magic Orchestra was one of the few Japanese bands they ever had. I love YMO, but they are not J Rock. I was still getting LP's too, though. One day in New York on a visit I saw a Japanese band perform for their first time in the US (before their tour in 1991). I loved this band! Punk, cute and very nice. A real language barrier as I spoke no Japanese and they spoke almost no English. But I met them, hung out and did our best to communicate. That band was Shonen Knife. Still collect their records. They are still great and still cute, but now older, as am I. Over the years I discovered more non-J Rock bands. Like Melon and Masami Tsuchiya and tons more that one day I will compile. Eventually I found more Japanese Rokku. Here are some of my picks of that. Not end-all, be-all, just the ones I know and like.

J Rock Pick

01 Scandal - Shunkan Sentimental

02 Band-Maid - Secret Maiko Lips

03 Puffy Amiyumi - Friends Forever

04 Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Haruka Kanata

05 Shonen Knife - Twist Barbie

06 Aldious - Bind

07 Band-Maid - Choose me

08 One Ok Rock - The Beginning

09 Maximum The Hormone - Zetsubou Billy

10 Nightmare - The World

11 Babymetal - Gimme Chocolate!!

12 Wagakki Band - Tengaku

13 Dir En Grey - The Final

14 the GazettE - Filth in the Beauty

15 The 5.6.7.8's - Woo Hoo

16 Versailles - Zombie

17 L'arc-En-Ciel - Ready Steady Go

18 X Japan - Endless Rain