Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Japanese iTunes


http://www.jpopasia.com/

So I found this site which is practically the iTunes of Japan.

I don't think you can actually buy it.
But the format and gist of it is just like iTunes.

So if you like iTunes and its format, and love Japanese music, this is for you.

Plus there's Chinese and Korean music there too!

And it's not just JPop.

There's:
1) J-Rock
2) J-Rap
3) Anime
4) J-Pop
5) R&B
6) J-Trance
7) C-Pop (Chinese)
8) K-Kop (Korean)

And there's not just music. There are also music videos, news, charts, lyrics, forums, journals, photos, play lists, etc.

It's easy to follow and I just wanted to share that with other Asian music lovers.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Okayama Gakugeikan Symphonic Band

52 years ago, San Jose made a sister relationship with the city of Okayama in Japan and established the Santa Clara International Exchange Concert.

From this city, a group of middle and high school students from Japan traveled to the United States to perform.

The Harker School was one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to see them.

During the assembly today, we got to experience this amazing band.

It was hard to explain what it was like. But it felt like you were in a Disney movie. You know the scenes where something magical/ lovely/ happy happens and you hear this whole orchestra. It was like that. And surround sound.

It was different than a regular orchestra. A group of girls put on glittery boas and started singing and dancing to a song. And there were featured musicians. And they got out of their chairs and came off of the stage and started to play in the audience.

They played from classical to popular songs.

Here is a video of one of their performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eI54-pOUa8&feature=channel_page

After the performance I got a chance to talk to some of the members of the band. With my limited Japanese, I was able to ask simple questions.

They say the tour is long and somewhat tiring but very fun since they get to travel with friends. They also said that they love America but it's hard since they do not know much English. They phrase they say they use a lot is "Sorry I don't know much English."

It was actually fun to use what I learned in the classroom to talk to them!

Anyways, this band is amazing and I reccomend you go see them. They perform in many different places so if you search in google, I'm sure you can find a performance.

They tour to San Jose, Santa Clara, and San Fracisco.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Japanese Hip Hop: M-flo

http://charmless.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/mflo_lovesong.jpg

Next featured Japanese singing group: M-flo

M-flo consists of Verbal (yes, that is a name) and Taku Takahashi.

They do JPop, Japanese Hip-hop, rap, jazz, and techno.

They have 5 studio albums, 5 remixed albums, 2 best albums, 4 compilations, and 22 singles.

Including my favorite: Miss You (single) which I have been addicted to lately
Featuring Ryohei Yamamoto, Japanese R&B singer


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-zWIsDmKQo&feature=related

Official website: http://m-flo.com/index2.html

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Japanese Music(日本の音楽)- Yuna Ito

I haven't been up-to-date on Japanese music lately but I have all-time favorites.

I listen to a lot of of Japanese Pop (JPop).

I will do a post a day on my favorite artists.

Today's singer: Yuna Ito



Born in Los Angeles, Yuna Ito started to become interested in singing in Hawaii, where her family moved to. She originally debued as an actress in Korea. Then she moved to Japan to pursue her singing passion.

In 2005, she was casted in an acting role in the manga-based Japanese series "Nana" where she sang the theme song for: "Endless Story." This song started her whole singing career.

Since then, she has made 13 singles, 2 albums, and won 7 awards. Including 3 "best new artist" awards and MTV Video Music Awards Japan: Best Asia from Japan.

"Endless Story" is one of my favorite songs of hers.
This is a slow ballad of hers.
It showcases her amazing voice.
It was #1 and #2 for weeks and named "Best Love Song of 2005"
A year later, another hit-single debuted: "Stuck on You" which is my personal favorite.
This is an upbeat and happy song.
It makes me want to dance and sing along.
I play this when I am having a bad day to cheer me up.

So those are my favorite songs of Yuna Ito and I will post more artists later!

Her official site: http://www.yunaweb.com/