Now I Know My ABC's!

Since I've started working at a pre-school the only songs that are on regular rotation in my head are childrens songs. They're too catchy, dammit!

However, I did manage to get myself out to a punk show finally. I can't remember the last show I attended. I was really impressed with the line-up. We were a little late arriving (because we got lost) so the show had already started. The first band (whose name I can't remember because it was in Japanese) was interesting. 2 piece experimental rock I guess is the best description. One guitarist and the other guy was vocals/symbols/entertainer. Wasn't a huge fan of the music although they were quite entertaining to watch.


The next band was One Size. Pop punk in Japan is still in the 1990's North American version of the genre, back when it was in its prime, before it started getting mixed up with metal and synth and all kinds of other things. Unfortunately I don't have a website link for them.

My favorite band of the night was ALF. They were also straight up pop-punk and tight. For the first couple songs I couldn't quite place my finger on who they sounded like and then it hit me! New Found Glory! And of course they ended up playing a cover of "My Friends Over You". They actually did 2 covers, I love covers. The second one was a cover of "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter which was INCREDIBLE!! I love surprise covers like that. It sounds really good as a punk song. Here's the original in case you forgot what it sounds like:


Here's some exciting news! Darren (lead singer from The Salads) e-mailed me in regards to a previous blog post which happened to be about the musical heart break they caused me. He was really cool about my reaction to The Big Picture and has assured me that The Salads I know and love are back in full swing. Yay!! Here's a bit of nostalgia for ya:





That's all. kthxbai

I'm baaaack...

I really need to update more regularly.

So I just saw Mariah Carey's video for her new single "Obsessed". One word, creepy. As you can probably figure out from the title of the song it's about obsession and in the video there is a "male" that is constantly around Mariah throughout her day, following her, taking pictures of her etc and as it turns out the "male" is in fact Mariah dressed as a male and not very well I might add. I also noticed that her boobs have gotten a lot bigger. Just a side note.



I'm in the market for a radio. I know I can find all the music I want online even in video form but there's something very comforting going about your daily household business with a radio on in the background. And as far removed as I may feel from Western pop culture the big radio station here in Tokyo, Inter FM stays up-to-date with J-music AND Western music (their website is how I found that Mariah Carey video).

I miss working at a music store :(

I've been asleep...

...much like the music scene has been back home it seems.

Hmm I see that Papa Roach and Disturbed are still doing music. Boring! To be honest I have yet to fully listen to the new Guns n' Roses album. I know, I know I should have been all over that shit. An album 15 years in the making is definititely worth a listen whether you care about the band or not. I really admire the band (aka Axl) for sticking with the album title. You would think after 15 years you would get sick of hearing "Chinese Democracy" over and over again. Kudos to you Mr. Rose, kudos!

Another album I haven't had a chance to check out is AC/DC's Black Ice. Although I must note that I am downloading both as I type this.

Even though I recieve about 10 different music news e-mails each week I could care less about 80% of most of the content. The most recent Loudside newsletter introduced me to an interesting band though. In This Moment. Metal with a female vocalist. What I like the most is the intense screaming vocals Maria lets out. It sounds like her vocals chords are literally shredding. If they ever come through Tokyo and the price is right, I'll be there to see this chick rip shit up. I heart chicks that can rip shit up (Fuck The Facts, Kilbourne). The best part is Maria does it in pretty little dresses. Awesome! Check it out!



Fuck The Facts


My show attendance has been low lately because I've been so busy and exhausted from work but I was able to make it to the International Rockstar Taste of Chaos (why does everything have to be sponsored? It makes the names needlessly long.) Anyway here's some footage I put together from the show. Atreyu, who I was most excited for cancelled but Story of the Year were sick and As I Lay Dying killed!!!



Death Cab For Cutie are coming in February I do believe, Beck in March and Punkspring 09 is happening in April, so I'll be checkin' those out for sure. Check out the line-up for Punkspring, it's like my dream show except Anti-Flag is not on the roster.

Madina Lake
Oreskaband
Runner Runner
9mm Parabellum Bullet
The Blackout
The Damned
Mindless Self-Indulgence
**The Flatliners
**Sum 41
**Marky Ramone
**Misery Signals
**Bad Religion (fuck you fuckers who got to see them in Moncton ;)
**NOFX (fuck all you same fuckers)
**Less Than Jake (...and again)
**Rise Against (...and yet again)

Plus more that aren't listed. Fingers are crossed for Maximum The Hormone. SICK, SICK line-up!! The price isn't sick though. 90 bucks, but it's an all day thing so worth it? I suppose so but if this show were in Canada it would probably only be 60 bucks. Oh well, it's Tokyo, it can't be helped.

So that's that. Until next time, rock out with yer cock out! If I had one I would!

Banana