What better way to start off a Maso Monday article than by writing it at 5am? Personally, I don't usually do one episode "reviews", just because I haven't seen the complete package to warrant a judgment. Perhaps I can make the case for AKB0048. But first some background information!

AKB48 is one of the most popular idol groups in Japan today. Not only do their singles constantly chart up to number one on the Oricon, but they have a legion of loyal fans who can still visit them daily in Akihabara. AKB48 is the founding branch by veteran producer Yasushi Akimoto--some other "sister" groups such as SKE48 (Nagoya), NMB48 (Osaka) also are popular. They've even gone international-- JKT48 (Jakarta), TPE48 (Taipei) and of course the upcoming SNH48, based in Shanghai.

leetNEET Readers!

Who among you is itching to break free and cut loose, but can’t do so because the nearest convention is weeks away!? Fear not – for I have brought the solution!

Descending from the haven of rock heaven in 2003, led by Amaterasu herself, the US has been graced with a musical showcase that has rocked hard and rocked its patrons even HARDER!

What the hell am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about the annual rising sun band showcase – JAPAN NITE!

Every year, an eclectic selection of Japanese bands and artists gather for a short but epic concert tour across the good old US-of-A. Awesomely exploding onto the stage at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX – Japan Nite will once again bring to you solid walls of sound!

Five years ago, Asian Kung-fu Generation put forth an album called Fanclub and it remains to date my favorite album. I only have a few albums in my possession that I'm able to listen from the first note all the way to the last without skipping a song in between, the others being AC/DC's Back in Black and Green Day's American Idiot, but since leetNEET is all about the Japanophilia, I shall focus on that.

Based in Yokohama, Asian Kung-fu Generation made their mark on Japanese anime by creating the second opening of Naruto ("Haruka Kanata") before branching off in other popular series such as Full Metal Alchemist ("Rewrite") and Bleach ("After Dark"), even though they were on the playlists of local rock stations with their first single "Konayuki". Asian Kung-fu Generation, shortened to AKFG, or Ajikan by Japanese fans, has that balance with catchy rock riffs and mellow vocals from lead singer Masafumi Gotou that polishes up the album when it needs to. And Fanclub was made for the fans, specifically with the fans of any kind of rock in mind, hence the album title.

When it comes to the overall sound of the album, it's very nostalgic looking back, as I believe it was the transition between the upstarting band's sound of rough, power-driven rock exemplified in "Haruka Kanata" and how Ajikan sounds now; Fanclub could be the representation of its adolescence. But at the time, AKFG toned down that rawness from their previous two albums with Fanclub, yet the album still holds little references here and there. For example, "World Apart", the second single, the vocals were done not by Gotou, but guitarist Kensuke Kita, implying a style shift in how AKFG approached songwriting and arrangement. Not only were the usual song styles there, but there was more of a variety present, such as "Blackout" and "Gekkou", and the way the songs were laid out on the album made it seem as it had a central musical theme. I remember the first time I had the album on a mixed CD and went from start to finish; it was very ambient and yet attention-grabbing with the arrangement. The only constant throughout the album was Gotou's vocals, this soothing voice which feels like being on the edge of a precipice would totally snap back with its bite. And because Fanclub is the third full album, AKFG at that point had a solid musical style foundation to lean upon, and they continue to branch out yet maintaining their power rock roots. Not an easy feat to pull off, in appeasing fan expectations and balancing band growth and maturity.

With eleven songs in the album, it's less than one hour in length, but I do prefer quality over quantity. I can absolutely state I love each song and am able to listen to all of them (albeit some songs I repeat more than others), especially compared to most new albums out where I like just one or two songs that happened to be radio singles. Fanclub is the sort of album that focuses on the album, not having eleven songs that all compete to become radio singles. It's not thematically nor musically disjointed since AKFG typically only plays with guitars, drums, vocals, and occasionally some piano. In turn, the album also has a minimalistic aesthetic to it, just enough to keep the listener going, yet not too much to reduce it into mindless noise.

And with that I leave you readers with a potential album to grow into and to enjoy. It's definitely one of those works that you don't have to worry about the language barrier to enjoy. Fanclub is personally one of my top three albums, and to stick a rating onto it now probably wouldn't make sense. However, I will leave the readers with this: Fanclub made it to the #3 position on the Oricon charts, #7 on the World Chart, and "World Apart" was the #1 single for 2006 on the Oricon charts.

Sources: Wikipedia | Incomplete Playlist via Youtube

One more note: It has been a great journey for me and hopefully readers who have enjoyed reading my articles. Unfortunately I have decided that the journey's done for now and ended with probably the most touching and personal article I've written for leetNEET. Thank you all, and I hope readers will continue to enjoy the site!

—Phoeny

Music is a powerful thing, ne? Whether you’re head banging to the latest heavy metal sound, mosh-pitting with the newest grunge rock, belting out the blues at karaoke amateur hour or singing in the shower to the newest Justin Bieber song, one cannot deny that music is an inherent part of our lives. Hell, during the writing of this article I had my YouTube favorite’s list on repeat. Music is like water – we all need it, but some just throw themselves into it. Musicians, singers, conductors, DJ’s – all those people are the ones who “throw themselves into the water” as I’ve so eloquently phrased it. Which brings us to this issue's subject: Nodame Cantabile!

In 1981, Nintendo released a game called Donkey Kong. This game also marked the first appearance of a little known character called Mario (named "Jumpman" at the time). Little did people know, this game started a video game series starring a character whose recognition rivals Mickey Mouse in this day and age. To celebrate such a momentous achievement, 40 Japanese creators created this 18 minute music video spanning almost every game in the Mario series, including some spinoffs.

Cramming 30 years worth of (remixed) music into one video is an impressive feat on its own. But being able to make it look and, more importantly, sound amazing is in a league of its own. I can't recall ever watching a video on Youtube that's 18 minutes long from start to finish that wasn't something that should be removed due to copyright infringement. But I did just that without even realizing it. The video features music from so many games, it's nothing short of remarkable. If you have 18 minutes to spare, I sorely recommend watching this amazing piece of work.

It took 30 years for this to happen. I'll gladly wait another 30 to see what has yet to come.

“Will you say that we can love...love each other?” Today music review is a single from BUCK-TICK, which has been featured as the opening for the anime, Shiki.

Release Date:  September 1^st, 2010

CD Length: 8:18 (2 Vocal Tracks)

The first track, “Kuchizuke (くちづけ)”, begins with a light hearted, musical box-ish tune which repeats faintly through song. The song quickly transitions to a dark theme when its vocals kick in with the guitar riffs. BUCK-TICK, with their long history in music, does not disappoint with vocals and instrumentals. The distinction between all the instruments blends well with each other to create a great melody. Compared to other bands, BUCK-TICK gives a very distinctive sound. Their vocalist, 櫻井敦司 (Sakurai Atsushi), brings great expression in his vocals. Sakurai’s vocals clearly set an emotional, dark, tone with how the lyrics are sang. You can literally feel the darkness seeping through the song. The pitch/loudness through the song goes quite well from when it’s low and calm, to dramatic and upbeat. This song had me rocking out with it the entire time.

The second and last track, “Yougetsu (妖月-ようげつ-)”, quickly kicks off with a smooth, dark theme. The instrumentals set a nice, a slow, thumping, beat through the whole song. The melody is able to make you feel as if you’re plunged into a dark but relaxing setting, silently rocking your head to the music. Sakurai, once again puts fantastic emotion into his vocals as he really makes the song’s impact much stronger.

Both tracks have excellent quality and deserve a listen if you’re into the visual kei, J-Rock scene.

BUCK-TICK’s single, Shiki, scores an impressive 10/10. Please continue to create great music.

You can pick up this single from cdjapan or amazon.jp for ￥ 1,874/1,800.

Band chillin’.

Due to emergency demand, I will be reviewing three character image song singles from the anime, Sora no Woto (So•Ra•No•Wo•To/Sounds of the Skies/Sound from the Sky). The first single released, “Negai go to Kimi to” is sung by Kanata Sorami (Juri Aikawa/Hisako Kanemoto) while the second single, “Yooi Tei!” has Noël Kannagi (Aoi Yuki), Kureha Suminoya (Hisako Kanemoto), and Kanata once again doing the vocals. The third single released, “Adoration”, features Rio Kazumiya (Yu Kobayashi) and Filicia Heideman (Aya Endo) as the vocalists.

Character Image Song Single #1 “Negai go to Kimi to”

CD Length: 5:06 (+ 3:57), 1 Vocal, 1 Instrumental Arrange (+ karaoke track).

Our first track is non-other than Negai go to Kimi to, which vaguely translates to “A Wish With You”. It is a lighthearted song that got my legs moving and fit perfectly with Kanata’s character. The instrumentals are quite fitting as the tone and timbre of the instruments go along quite well with Kanata’s bright and positive personality and that; it establishes a dream like feeling. Compared to other songs with light and fluffy tones, this song is distinct from the rest because of the vocalist’s unique voice and the great use of instruments.

The second track is an instrumental arrangement of Negai go to Kimi to. It brings a more symphonic feel while still expressing the lighthearted feeling of the original song. The song ends with a music box version of song as an added bonus to the wishful feelings from the track.

coldrain’s latest album, "Nothing Lasts Forever", features six tracks, including the one that is featured in the opening of the anime Rainbow ~Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin~. I find myself turning up the volume whenever their songs pop up on my music player to ROCK IT.

Release Date: June 23^rd, 2010

CD Length: 20:17, 6 vocal tracks.

“Die Tomorrow” is the first track on the album. The pitch and level of sound this song is quite fitting throughout the song. The vocals and lyrics are quite good; you could feel the emotion in the voice. The timbre in the song between the vocalist's regular singing and death growling parts along with the instruments all have distinctive differences in their sound that complement each other.

The next track, “We’re not Alone”, a track featured in the anime Rainbow ~Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin~'s opening. The powerful start to the song works nicely as it brings that emotional feeling through the song. This track makes you feel as if the song grabs you into the thoughts of a struggle where you can feel the soul of the person. This is an overall excellent track with great riffs and good usage of tone throughout the song.

The third track, “Stuck”, starts off with heavy guitar riffs and drum beats. It is a standard song about a relationship of hate and love where a couple can’t stop thinking of each other, hence the track title name “Stuck”. The vocals, riffs, and use of pitch however, make the song standout compared to other songs about relationships and love.

The fourth track, “After Dark”, also starts off heavy guitar riffs and drum beats. It’s a catchy, upbeat song that makes good use of tone and pitch. It really keeps your foot tapping to the beat.

The fifth track, “The Youth”, is another upbeat song of the album. It doesn’t bring anything too special to the album, but it’s still a good track with nice riffs and usage of pitch and tone. It's a type of song that makes you have the feeling to get physical and hyped up.

The last track, “Miss You”, is a relaxing, laid back, emotional track. This song is more emphasized on the vocals so you could feel the emotional ties from lyrics. The riffs and tones of the song complement the vocals quite nicely.

Fans of the alternative, emo, metal, and rock genre will surely appreciate this album.

I give coldrain’s new album a 9.5/10.

You can order the album from Amazon Japan for ?1,600 (tax included).

Info
Air Date: Apr 2, 2009
Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/k-on/
Animation Company: Kyoto Animation

Summary
An adaption of Kakifly's Seinen Yonkoma manga series K-ON!. The story revolves around four Japanese high school girls who join their school's light music club to try to save it from being closed despite being unable to read music or play instruments. However they are the only members. (AniDB/Wikipedia)