How could you not want to go to a place called Biscuits & Blues? Those are both very good things.

A San Francisco Bay Area artist that I’ve been following for a few years now is a talented guy named Chris Cotton, formerly of the ragingly fantastic blues band The Blue Eyed Devils. Those guys used to play out at the historic Pioneer Saloon in Woodside, CA and absolutely bring the house down with a floor-stomping, sweaty, hours-long brand of live blues that sounded like a bunch of 80-year-old Mississippian dudes on a back porch but was really a handful of white guys in their ’20s. It was epic. The floorboards would literally shake.

The Blue Eyed Devils (not to be confused with what I understand is a similarly-named white supremacist group) have now disbanded. Their ’02 album The Legend of Shorty Brown is described as “Original junkyard blues, dark boogie, rags progressive jazz influences. No overdubs.” That pretty much sums up the sound, and it touches on a primal, elemental vein of music that I don’t hear nearly enough.

‘Buked and Scorned – The Blue Eyed Devils

Southbound –> County Jail Blues – The Blue Eyed Devils
Off their out-of-print 2001 album Hard Luck Town. They’d always play these two songs seamlessly together in concert – it wasn’t until I got the album that I realized it was two separate songs.

Rag Mama – The Blue Eyed Devils

My SF-area readers who can dig this kind of sound should head out to one of former frontman Chris Cotton’s two shows shows this week; the first is tonight at Biscuits & Blues (which is a marvelous . . . cultural experience), plus there is a cool solo show & documentary screening on Friday at the Apple Store Downtown.

The Biscuits show will be Chris with his full band plus some extra folks on guitar, pedal steel and backup vocals, and they plan to perform “at least seven new songs” from the upcoming new album, due this fall. Truthfully, I rarely listen to this kind of music at home, but seeing this guy live is guaranteed to be one of the most fun & unique shows you’ve seen all year. Just absolutely fantastic, a vanishing art form.

The Apple Store performance is a viewing and Q & A with documentary producer Michael Afendekis of the film “Cotton,” with a short solo set afterward. The documentary was filmed in Clarksdale, Mississippi at Jimbo Mathus’ Delta Recording Studio (of the Squirrel Nut Zippers) during the making of Chris Cotton’s last record, I Watched the Devil Die.

Thursday, 12 Jul 2007, 8:30pm – Biscuits & Blues
401 Mason St
San Francisco, California 94102
Cost:$12.50

Friday, 13 Jul 2007, 7:00pm – Apple Store SF
Special free preview of the film “Cotton“
One Stockton Street
San Francisco, 94108
Description from Apple Store site: “Discover the magic of the Mississippi Delta Blues as independent film director Michael Afendakis shares excerpts and stories from his documentary, Cotton, capturing the life and influence of musician Chris Cotton. After Michael’s presentation, don’t miss a very special live acoustic guitar performance by Chris Cotton himself.”

Trailer of the “Cotton” documentary (from Tin Can Films) can be seen here, and you can stream some of Chris’ solo tunes on his MySpace.

Original lineup of Superdrag reunites for six shows; nothing anywhere near this half of the U.S.

Several years after parting ways, this news just in: the original line-up of Knoxville power-punk/pop band Superdrag (Don Coffey Jr, John Davis, Brandon Fisher, and Tom Pappas) announced yesterday that they are reuniting to play six shows this fall. The official dates are:

October 05 – Nashville, TN @ City Hall
October 13 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
October 20 – Knoxville, TN @ Barley’s Taproom
November 02 – New York, NY @ The Fillmore
November 03 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
November 08 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

This has been rumored for months, so the hardcore fans are all heaving a collective sigh of ecstasy right now at the actualization of firm dates. There’s a sweet bonus autographed tour poster [shown above] for those who buy a ticket during the pre-sale which starts Thursday (7/12) at 12pm EST. Tickets will be something like ten bucks; a mere pittance for something this fine.

Here are a few songs from the aforementioned Bender Sessions (94-95) that are finally going to be seeing official release. Even in raw form, these songs still sound so good – better than most of the new artists I filter through.
Sugar – Superdrag
Garmonbozia – Superdrag

The Bender Sessions will be released hot on the heels of the excellent Changing Tires on the Road To Ruin rarities comp that was just out in April. I am glad these guys are bringing the show back on the road, should be an excellent time for old fans who miss the band and new ones who never got a chance to see them live.

100 Moments That Changed Music

Blender.com has an entertaining new list up of 100 Moments That Changed Music. It was an excellent memory-refresher and date-clarifier for me for a series I’ll be working on in the coming weeks in conjunction some friends on the topic of Memorable Moments in Music. The whole Blender list is eminently readable, this specific entry made me laugh out loud:

#14: October 8, 1980
Prince poses in black undies
Until this point, Prince had been just another upstart R&B singer. With the cover of his third album, Dirty Mind — a black–and–white shot of him giving the camera a come–hither look, wearing bikini briefs, a jacket, a bandanna and nothing else, and standing in front of an abstract design that looks a lot like bedsprings — he became something else.

It looked (and the album sounded) like a new–wave record, and it delivered two clear messages. One was “I don’t fit into any category anybody wants to put me in.” The other was “I am coming to f*ck you, right now.” The combination worked well for Prince for the better part of 20 years.

And my sister wonders why Prince kinda gives me the heebie jeebies.

New album from Stephen Fretwell: Man On The Roof (August ’07)

Manchester artist Stephen Fretwell graced my thankful ears with easily one of my top 5 songs I was introduced to in the last year. The slowburn stunner “Emily” is sublimely sad and slightly bitter, one of those bruised and rueful moments of clarity about someone you love(d). But somehow it sounds so winsome, I can’t get enough. One reviewer thought (and I echo), “Emily was actually a great, bleak pop song and one of the most beautiful ‘fuck you’s’ I’ve ever heard whispered on daytime radio.”

If you didn’t catch it the first time around, this is from the Abbey Road-recorded album Magpie, which was his major-label debut (’04 in the UK, ’06 in the US) and went gold:

Emily – Stephen Fretwell

Fretwell is now poised to release his follow-up album to Magpie this August. Titled Man On The Roof, he’s just posted four new tunes from it on his MySpace, and I really like what I am hearing. The first tune is likely to be the first single off the album.

Scar – Stephen Fretwell
(link removed)
San Francisco Blues – Stephen Fretwell
(link removed)

Prolific songwriter that he is, Fretwell also just released an EP in May: Four Letter Words is available here, and you can download a free track (called “What”) from that collection on his website.

A few noteworthy releases today: M. Ward, Foo Fighters, and (surprise!) Stars

News of three releases today that I found to be of interest:

M. Ward‘s debut solo album Duet For Guitars #2 (tricky, naming your first album something with a #2 in it….) is finally back in print, re-released today by Merge Records. Originally out in 1999 on the Co-Dependent label and then also re-released in 2000 by M’s friend Howe Gelb (Giant Sand) on his Ow-Om label, it’s been out of print for a few years now. If you, like me, may just be hearing about Ward for the first time with his superb Post-War album last year, delve into the rich back catalog.

The Foo Fighters have re-issued The Colour and The Shape today for the ten year anniversary, with the addition of 6 bonus tracks. Coming on the heels of the news of their 6th album forthcoming this fall (rumored to be called Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace) this is an exciting week for Foo fans.

Also, an eagle-eyed reader sent me the news that Arts & Crafts has unexpectedly digitally released the new Stars album In Our Bedroom After The War today, three months in advance of the physical release date.

Monday Music Roundup

If you’re a guy thinking of cutting off those luscious Shannon Hoon locks you’ve been growing since your sophomore year of high school, what better way to go out than in a blaze of glorious mulletry?

That’s definitely what this guy did in a wonderful bit of photo-chronicling (what did we do before the Internet?). Also check his endeavor to consume locally and scramble up a pigeon egg instead of his normal chicken fare. Not to give away the story, but he writes, “All in all, pigeons, I was let down by your egging skills. The yolk was no different than a chicken yolk. I was hoping for some kind of natural spice or kick given all the wacky, awesome stuff you guys eat.”

Here are five (no, six!) new songs for you this week, to support your musical habits in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed:

Number One
Miss Fairchild
I think I’ve asserted this opinion before, but each of us inherently has a certain Required Daily Allowance of funk — something that makes you wanna stand up from your desk and shake it while you grimace slightly, something that makes you wanna walk down the street like Shaft. You might not know that you have this requirement, you may eschew it – but Miss Fairchild wants to help you stay happy and healthy. Miss Fairchild is a New England band who brings you “fun with a capital K.” Although their name conjures up images of a proper British Mary-Poppins-trainee, their velvety funk conjures up visions of a young Prince meets James Brown (and maybe a little of that “Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Puff” song if we can name-check embarassing ’80s pleasures). And I love it. From their Ooh La La Sha Sha EP.

ALSO, they love you so much, they made you a mixtape for free download. You have to register (I just did it, nothing scary happened) but then you get an instant party with 4 of their new songs mixed with pop-funk classics, all in a sleek zip package.

Off Work
Thurston Moore
So many years in Sonic Youth may have in fact driven Thurston Moore a little bonkers. All you need do is listen to the closing track on his new solo CD Trees Outside The Academy, where he repeats this line,”What you are about to hear is…” me opening a can of Lysol, me dropping a penny, me snapping the scissoors away at random, etc. And YET, he still sounds cool even just wasting time. Such is the life of a rock legend. Take a listen to this fantastic cut, which sounds like the scuzzy, harmonic art-rock of Rather Ripped meets the likeable melodies of The Archies. The album is his first solo effort since 1995′s Psychic Hearts, and will be out in September on (his label) Ecstatic Peace.

Temptation By Your Side
Bellavista
Formed from the ashes of Sub Pop-signees Vue (who opened for everyone from BRMC, The Faint, and Franz Ferdinand to . . . The Rolling Stones), Bellavista is a San Francisco trio of childhood friends who grew up in the picturesque Half Moon Bay area. Fitting with the foggy splendor of those parts, this music is formidable and sounds bigger than a trio — like it could stand up a dark and brooding Pacific storm. Other tracks on their 2007 self-titled album (Take Root Records) feel like some of the swirl and haze of early Verve, but this song pounds and wails with a slightly off-kilter warble that Julian Casablancas made okay to let loose with. They’ve got a handful of shows in very cool SF venues coming up.

Tomorrow Is A Long Time
(demo, Bob Dylan cover)
Nick Drake
The posthumous collection of unreleased material from British hushed-folk troubadour Nick Drake will finally see release this week. Family Tree (Tsunami Records) is a warm and elemental view of a pensively troubled man, but one who nonetheless loved his music. Drake died in 1974 of an overdose of antidepressants at the green age of 26, leaving behind reels of demo tapes and home recordings. We hear his own sketches, his unfinished vignettes, his duets with family members. He covers artists as varied as Jackson C. Frank, Bert Jansch, and Blind Boy Fuller as well as traditional arrangements. Listen for the lyrical misstep in this Dylan cover at the beginning of the second line (when he starts to say “tomorrow” instead of “tonight”) and the clinking of a glass in the background. Intimate and surprisingly lovely.

Torpedo
Hawaii Mud Bombers
Finally – summer’s here and the time is right for . . . lots of surf music. I’ve added four or five surf albums to my collection this past week, including this fun “surf-meets-The-Ramones” blend of Sweden’s Hawaii Mud Bombers. Yes, they’re from the dappled sunkissed swells (right) of Falun, Sweden, and their album Mondo Primo just saw U.S. release on Wicked Cool Records (the label run by Little Steven Van Zandt, of The Sopranos, the radio show, and the E Street Band — and trivia answer here, also the writer of the awesome song “Patriot” that Pearl Jam deftly covers in concert). This song’s instrumental, but they usually sing along.

BONUS TUNE! This cover is just completely . . . unnecessary and I think you should hear it. A whole new generation of concertgoing ladies (not me) wanted to take their panties off and toss them with wild abandon across his golden stage.
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor – Tom Jones
(Arctic Monkeys cover, live at that Princess Diana shebang)

Something about hearing the aging bronzed-Welsh-sexbomb Tom Jones sing that line about “dreams of naughtiness” with such gusto definitely makes me want to go take ten very hot showers, maybe pour bleach in my ears.

[via my favorite guys who beat me to the rip]

New songs from R.E.M. rehearsals in Dublin, 6/30/07

R.E.M. gave Irish fans a fantastic treat this last week by playing five shows at the historical Olympia Theatre (the oldest theatre in Dublin), calling the shows working rehearsals of new material for their next album. All in all, ten new songs were debuted in this first night’s show (June 30, 2007) and they sound really strong to these R.E.M.-loving ears.

One of the best of the new batch is “Until The Day Is Done,” because it’s reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite R.E.M. songs, “Sweetness Follows.” Several of the new songs (“Horse to Water,” “Staring Down . . .”) have a sort of a fervent Monster-era feel to them; this is good in my book, Monster remains one of my favorite R.E.M. albums.

Continuing this theme of Heather’s Favorites, the encore also contains two of my favorite songs from New Adventures in Hi-Fi: “New Test Leper” (man, what a fantastic, gorgeous, sad-sounding song) and “Electrolite” is simply magnificent — a pure and wonderful singalong.

R.E.M. IN DUBLIN
Olympia Theatre, 6/30/07
Living Well (new)
Staring Down the Barrel of the Middle Distance (new)
Second Guessing
Mr. Richards (new)
Houston (new)
1,000,000
On the Fly (new)
Letter Never Sent
Man Sized Wreath (new)
Little America
Until the Day is Done (new)
Maps and Legends
Disguised (new)
Accelerate (new)
Horse to Water (new)

Encore:
These Days
New Test Leper
Electrolite
I’m Gonna DJ At The End Of The World

ZIP: R.E.M. IN DUBLIN NIGHT ONE

Photos credit remhq.com and this gal. Also check out this review from The Independent (UK).

New tune and a mystery from Pete Yorn: “Shampoo”

Pete Yorn posted a new song to his MySpace page a week or two ago called “Shampoo” and I’ve been neglecting my Official Ambassador of Yorn duties in passing along the good news (I hope they don’t, uh, fire me).

This track revisits some of the fantastic male/female harmonies (it’s what made “The Man” the jam of my summer last year) with a vocalist that I swear I know. Who is that singing along with him? It’s driving me a bit nuts trying to place her voice.

Of this delightful new confection, Pete said, “[There's a] batch that is ten songs that I’m just putting together that is kind of a concept record, based on a character from a movie that I like a lot. There’s a character called George Roundie that Warren Beatty played in a film called Shampoo and all the songs seem to relate to his life or the character’s life. And so it’s a soundtrack, I made my own soundtrack to that movie I guess. I’ll put that out at a later date.”

Shampoo – Pete Yorn

UPDATED:
I’ve gotten the following three bits of information about this song from a source quite close to Sir Yorn. He says:

a little more info. i will give you three items on which to chew:
1. the “george roundy” concept album went away.
2. the song “shampoo” is part of a completely different concept album which does exist and is finished.
3. there may or may not be more tantalizing information regarding this project but i am not at liberty to disperse it.

More tantalizing information. How mysterious. I can’t wait.

40 years of perspective / Sgt. Pepper’s BBC tribute

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone arrived on Tuesday and I sat down and read it cover-to-falling-asleep (I got about halfway through) last night, enjoying it more than any issue I can recall — and that includes the Pearl Jam ones. Reading each page like that is rare for me these days in Rolling Stone.

RS 1030 is the second of three issues devoted to celebrating the 40-year anniversary of Rolling Stone as a magazine, and this issue is wholly devoted to the year of its nascence, 1967. As a historical document, it is absolutely fascinating: the Letters to the Editor, the news bits, the music charts on the last page are all taken from those first few issues. The content of this issue is mostly in-depth profiles of the scene in 1967 in cities around the world (San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Detroit, New York, etc). On every page there are firsthand quotes and recollections from those who were there, and commentary on the impact that various scenes have had on music today. I especially enjoyed the feature on SF, since I grew up just south of there but had no idea of things like the extent of the acid tests in my own backyard (they didn’t teach us that in high school civics class).

This issue also made me think very critically about the music of today, and how it will be remembered. There’s a deification of all these bands from the ’60s, yet they all look so young and naive in their press photos. They didn’t know they were shaping history or changing the world; they were just playing their music. I wonder which bands from today will stand the test of time, and how their albums will be ranked and remembered on the 80-year anniversary issue of RS. Reading this issue gave me a weird and disorienting sense of vertigo.

An interesting musical feature to tie together exactly what I am talking about was recently streamed over the BBC internet radio to the world. One of the biggest musical events of 1967 was the release of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album (and the corresponding psychedelic-general/long ‘stache/matching fashion plate look).

Three weeks ago, the BBC recreated this album through covers by the young and hot bands of today, in the same Abbey Road Studios where they were first recorded, on the original 4-track analogue equipment. The results were filmed as a documentary (assumedly for future release?), but many of those covers are here for you today. I wonder how these bands will be remembered 40 years from now.

Please note: I left off a few tracks that did nothing for me (such as the Bryan-not-Ryan-Adams cover of the title track), and these are radio rips, so you take what you can get.

With A Little Help From My Friends – Razorlight
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – Athlete
Getting Better – Kaiser Chiefs
Fixing A Hole – The Fray
She’s Leaving Home – The Magic Numbers
Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite – Jamie Cullum
Within You Without You – Oasis
alternate version with Noel interview
Lovely Rita – Travis
Good Morning Good Morning – The Zutons
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) – Stereophonics
A Day In The Life – Pete Doherty and Carl Barat

[more pics here]
ZIP THE SESSION

Guest post: My little brother defends his musical honor, schools us on Japanese music

Last weekend I posted something that my little brother out in San Diego had recommended to me, and I made a tiny dig at his past musical interests (who am I to talk, I liked NKOTB). Brian graciously called me on it, told me he actually still likes Japanese music, and suggested he write a little something about it to school all of us. An excellent idea, fitting in with the World Music Wednesday feature that I can’t seem to find enough time to maintain these days, but am still very interested in.

In addition to trying to teach me the fine points of guitar playing (pictured above, harder than it looks), he also loves to talk music just like his big sis. So it’s a pleasure: take it away, dude.

—————————————————————————
GUEST POST
I am Brian, and you are Heather’s friends. My whole family, it seems, has this deep love for music in one form or another, and I could probably fill Heather’s entire daily blog with music of my own tastes, because like her, music is my life. I love studying music, learning new types of music, spending hours listening to it, and constantly growing my library from which I can draw the beautiful sensations which music always delivers. Music is my fuel, which would, in some strange reorganization of words, making my sister my drive in life – but I guarantee you that is not the case. Since I breathe, eat, sleep, and drink music day in and day out, I thought I would share some of my tastes with you, Heather’s faithful readers.

I have learned something as I’ve aged [editor’s note: he’s all of 25, folks], and that is that if someone who claims to love music cannot listen to music they don’t understand, or music belonging to a culture with which they do not associate, they are lacking in something. I want to open the doors to what is in my opinion wonderful music, that like a fine wine may take time getting used to and learning, but will grow on you if you give it time. Sit back, relax, and take a second to try to enjoy music that you might not normally listen to.

A note about Japanese music before we start: One thing that you should remember is that English is very popular in Japan – having song titles in English, using English in the chorus line, or as the background vocals – is very popular, widely accepted, and almost standard across the Japanese music industry. I understand that (to the best of my knowledge,) there is no English-speaking country where another language is so prevalent in its music as it is in Japan, but try to keep that in mind as you listen. It is not out of the norm – rather, it is the norm.

Pizzicato Five
Busting onto the scene in 1985, and calling it quits later in 2001, Pizzicato Five have been one of the longer running bands to have fame in Japan. They are one of the most individualistic, non-conforming, “we’re going to play whatever the hell we want to play” bands I have ever heard. Their poppy, sometimes odd music is something that takes a little getting used to. The band’s two members, Yasuharu Konishi and K-Taro Takanami, take turns singing and playing the instruments in the songs, so each song is a good reflection of both of them. Their best CD in my opinion is Playboy & Playgirl (on Matador in the U.S., 1998).

La Depression – Pizzicato 5
I Hear a Symphony – Pizzicato 5
Such A Beautiful Girl Like You – Pizzicato 5

[Heather's addition:]
Twiggy Twiggy – Pizzicato 5 (I never get tired of this one)

Utada Hikaru
Well shoot. How do I even write about Utada Hikaru and NOT take up like fifteen pages? Ahhh, bullet points. So – tell me, how many of these things have you accomplished in your life:

• Released 7 studio albums totaling over 40,000,000 in sales
• Become pretty much THE most popular musical icon in all of Japan, following the release of your first CD, at age 16 (and if you’re thinking, “oh, it’s the Japanese Britney Spears…. no. No no no.)
• Had the most number one songs of any artist ever in Japan, including 12 Golden Disk awards (like our Grammy award)
• Released full albums in both English and Japanese
• Fricken. Rock.
• Be born in New York, have a massive international audience, be popular all over the world, and…. still have no one in America know who you are, save Asian people.

That pretty much sums it up. I got into Utada Hikaru during my junior year in high school, 1999, when her first album, First Love, came out. She was 16, pretty much the same as all the girls putting out poppy little bubblegum CDs here in America, like Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera, and all the other crap that was popular at the time, but my high school, being around 65-70% Asian, had a slightly different tilt to it, and so naturally, I was sucked in.

I believe Hikaru is one of the only artists in the world who can claim the number 1 spot on the charts for seven straight albums. Hit after hit after hit – and they never stop coming. She has diversified herself from electronic-y late ’90s music to beautiful ballads, albums in full English, and almost every type of music you can think of. She is more than just an icon to Japanese listeners, she carries with her so much talent, with such a great voice, creative sounds and lyrics, and it will be so hard to give you just four songs of hers. You really need to check her out. Now.

Automatic – Utada Hikaru (off her first CD)
First Love- Utada Hikaru (title track to first CD, at age 16)
Simple and Clean – Utada Hikaru (all in English)
Colors – Utada Hikaru (off her latest CD)

Kiss Destination
To be honest – I don’t know a lot about this artist. To my knowledge, she only has one real album (and a host of singles) but her one disc, released in 1999, didn’t really go anywhere, and she’s not around anymore. If I were so lucky to have someone reading this that actually owns this CD, I will buy it off you. I can’t find it anywhere, but the five or six tracks I have from the CD are all amazing.

Kiss Destination was the project of a band we’re going to cover later, Globe –one of the biggest Japanese rock/electronica bands in the last 20 years– and singer Asami Yoshida (featured to the left). Asami’s voice is melodic, and she mixes her flavor of pop in with a little bit of rap and very memorable melodies.

Over and Over – Kiss Destination
Long and Winding Road – Kiss Destination

Ketsumeishi
Finally! I’ve been waiting to write about Ketsumeishi since I started this post last night, because they are absolutely amazing. Ketsumeishi is an awesome blend of pop music, amazingly talented rappers, great voices, and awesome beats. I don’t want to lay down some blanket statement about an entire genre of music, but when most people think of rap, it has the impression of American popular rap. “oh. that.” This is NOT what you’re thinking. Japanese rappers are incredible — the way that Ketsumeishi can flow is unlike anything I’ve ever hear out of American rap, so I highly encourage you to listen to these two tracks of theirs.

This is where I REALLY need you to put on your culture hat, and try to get past the fact that you do not understand this, and that the style of rap is totally not what you’re used to. Please, do it for yourself. You will be a better person for liking Ketsumeishi. They consist of four members, Ryo, Ryoji, 大蔵, and DJ Kohno, they have released 4 albums and are working on a new release for 2007. To date, they have sold more than 4,000,000 copies. Call me crazy, but try to watch the Sakura music video without crying… I’m just a sucker for love stories.

Yorukaze – Ketsumeishi
Sakura – Ketsumeishi

Watch:

m-flo
m-flo is a Japanese hip-hop group consisting of two guys that I would just love to go out and drink with, DJ Taku Takahashi and VERBAL. Apparently the original name for the group was meteorite flow, but their producer said that it was too long, so they shortened it to the now famous m-flo. Formed also in 1999, (seems like a popular year in Japan musical history!) with their third member, Lisa, they released 5 albums and had amazing success before she decided to leave the group in 2002, citing artistic differences.

For the first several years, m-flo put out several awesome CDs and singles, and were more the type of group to have a killer CD over a ton of number one hits, but for the last few years m-flo has made their largest impact on the music scene by working with other famous artists to produce “m-flo” remixes of popular songs. Produced under the name “m-flo loves [artist] – [title]” their work has become internationally known and recognized as some of the best hiphop and remixing work in the world. I love m-flo, so again, it’s going to be hard to just choose a few tracks for you to listen to, especially since both members speak perfect English and often-times interweave English and Japanese in the same sentence, or have English in the left channel and Japanese in the right – it’s pretty awesome to listen to. I wonder if it would give you a headache if you were fluent in both…

m-flo loves yoshika – Let Go
m-flo loves chemistry – Astrosexy
m-flo loves ketsumeishi & Lisa – Tegami

Every Little Thing
Last, but definitely not least, is the band that is probably most responsible for my love of Japanese music, other than Utada Hikaru. I learned about Every Little Thing around 2000 – 2001, and instantly fell in love with them. They sound a lot like an ’80s rock band full of power chords, distorted guitars, synthesizers, and killer guitar solos. Some of their music has a softer quality to it, like many of the late ’80s bands who would put crazy soft ballads in the middle of two hard songs.

There isn’t anything that I can say that would explain why I love ELT so much — they don’t do anything better than any other group in this list, they don’t have the best vocals, the most catchy sounds, or the most difficult guitar parts, but something about the sound just . . . captivates me. They have released so many CDs over the years that they were able to release 4 CDs of greatest hits, entitled Every Best Single, Every Best Single 2, Every Best Single 3, and Every Best Ballad.

So needless to say, they have a huge history of fame on the island to the west. They are semi-impervious to time, it seems, as they have not been caught up in much of Japanese pop culture (much like Pizzicato 5) and have really just done their own things, sticking to their deep rock roots regardless of what time period it is now.

Every Little Thing – Dear My Friend
Every Little Thing – Shapes of Love
Every Little Thing – Jump
Every Little Thing – Futari De Jidai Wo Kaetemitai

So . . . I hope this was a nice venture into the land of Japan for all of you who read Heather’s blog. I might just come back and do more international music sometime in the future. Feel free to email me about any of the bands listed here, if you just have any questions in general, or if you just want to be my friend and talk about music. I’m way cooler than Heather. You can reach me at powel033@csusm.edu