music
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Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Solid State Survivor” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ I fear it’s time to answer the question that has tormented humanity for ages – what does it mean to be a Solid State Survivor? From a clearly semantic point of view, this album’s title makes zero sense. So let’s try to make sense of it from another perspective. For there to be… Read more
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Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Naughty Boys” review
Final verdict: 3/10 ★⋆˙⟡☆☆☆ I reckon “Naughty Boys” has achieved cult classic status, but this kind of sucks ass, I’m sorry. I’ve given it so many tries, yet I cannot get into it at all. First time I listened to this tears formed in my eyes actually, and not for good reason. I was so… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, writing -
Haruomi Hosono – “Philharmony” review
Final verdict: 6/10 ★★★☆☆ “Philharmony” is just a weird ass sampling experiment, with a couple of poppier songs thrown in there for good measure. To those who regarded Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “B-2 Unit” as pretentious… behold “Philharmony”. Because it’s nothing but 37 minutes of Hosono noodling around on synthesizers and samplers, an over-the-top display of his… Read more
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Akiko Yano – “ただいま.” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ Sometime last year, I figured I’d give Akiko Yano a try, and this album specifically was recommended to me – it was touted her “weirdest” work, and I enjoy fucky music, and so you see, it was meant to be. And with my beloved YMO tackling the production, was there any… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, hell yeah, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing -
Yellow Magic Orchestra – “Service” review
Final verdict: 6/10 ★★★☆☆ This is basically what YMO attempted to do with “Naughty Boys”, just a lot better than its unfortunate predecessor. The songs are probably far from the greatest in YMO’s discography, however you have complete bangers like “Limbo”, “Chinese Whispers”, and “See-Through”, so it’s hard to dislike. Not much against the rest… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, writing -
Yukihiro Takahashi – “Saravah!” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ “Saravah!” is just quintessential city pop. It does everything is sets out to do perfectly and it’s overall very difficult to point out any major flaws regarding it… or is it? I first checked this album out sometime last year, I reckon – can’t remember when exactly. But in any case,… Read more
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Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Thousand Knives” review
Final verdict: 9/10 ★★★★⋆˙⟡ First thing’s first, this album cover is amazing. I wish I looked that cool, and I wish my outfits went as hard as Sakamoto’s. But man, he really shouldn’t be bringing electrical appliances into the bathtub. That’s an electrocution hazard, for sure. Additionally, no one man should have as many knives… Read more
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Akiko Yano – “ごはんができたよ” review
Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★ Could it be, we finally found a double album that’s so great, it actually justifies every single minute of its runtime? Akiko Yano’s 1980 release “ごはんができたよ” is one beefy album, clocking in at 74 minutes. Yes, that’s long, admittedly far longer than what I’d usually go for. However, every song contributes something to… Read more
1980s, 80s music, album review, blog, hell yeah, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing -
Chisato Moritaka – “非実力派宣言” review
Final verdict: 4/10 ★★☆☆☆ Of course, this album’s incredibly fun and eye-catching cover artwork was what drew me to it – and as the successor to “見て” (an excellent album, by the way), I thought, how bad could this possibly be? The answer is plenty bad. This isn’t very pleasant to listen to whatsoever. And… Read more
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Every Little Thing – “Time to Destination” review
Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★ One thing Every Little Thing always did throughout their entire run was deliver good music, consistently. While their discography did have its ups and downs – as is natural for a group that’s been active for almost 30 years – none of it is bad, and therefore it can’t be said that… Read more
1990s, 90s music, album review, blog, hell yeah, indie, japan, japanese music, jpop, music, Music review, pop, pop music, review, reviews, rock, rock music, writing
