10 posts tagged “ketchup mania”

As a regular purchaser of J-pop goods, I get a little spoiled when I go to Japan.  It is so easy to pop over to the local music store and having an endless supply of CDs, DVDs and other great merchandise to choose from.  And the J-music web sites do a pretty good job of making that same merchandise available to everyone.  Although you have to deal with the shipping costs, which become especially prohibitive when purchasing photobooks.

So I make a habit of price comparing my three preferred sites before making any final purchases.  This week I had three CD's in my queue that I was ready to pull the trigger on.

I know I have poked fun at Manoeri quite a bit, but I really like this her current single!  She and the H!P Eggs did a great job performing it as the opening act for C-ute and again for Morning Musume when I was in Japan last month.  So it brings back a warm memory for me.  And I love Omakase! Guardian.  Guardians 4 remind me of Athena and Robikerottsu, whose songs I found to be catchy and fun.  Ketchup Mania came out with two "Best Of's" One is a 2 CD set, the one I bought is a CD/DVD set.  I have no idea what is on the DVD, so I am excited to get it.  I would love to see them come out with a DVD of their final concert in Nagoya.  Their final show in Tokyo was unbelievably awesome!!!

*Total Price if I were buying them in Japan - Around 5600 Yen.

YesAsia - 6900 Yen.  That includes their free shipping, which is a bit slow.  What you'll notice is that YesAsia makes up for their less expensive shipping with higher prices on the merchandise.  And unlike HMV and CD Japan, I don't believe YesAsia gets the "extras" that the shops in Japan usually have.  But I will give them points for that exclusive autographed copy of Ice Creamusume's CD.  And they now report on Oricon.

HMV - 6600 Yen.  This includes EMS Express shipping.  HMV usually does include the extras in the shipments, which is pretty cool.  The extras usually include small posters, photocards, store exclusive CD covers.  I notice that I have been buying from HMV more and more lately.  I wish they had a better "frequent buyer" discount program.  But for overall service, HMV is my favorite.  If I have any criticism of HMV, it would be that occasionally my orders go on backorder.  But it doesn't happen often.

CDJapan - 8900 Yen, including express EMS shipping.  Wow!  That is so much higher than the other two.  Granted, they do ship EMS, which is really fast.  But the shipping cost (2500 Yen!), and slightly higher CD prices compared to HMV just killed the deal!  The cool thing about CD Japan is they email me quite a few coupons.  Even so, it wouldn't have made up the huge difference in this purchase scenario.

So the obvious choice here was HMV.  And I notice that I have been making that choice more and more lately.  But I always check the three sites, because you never know who might have a good sale.  And sometimes Limited Editions sell out earlier on some sites than others.

I hope some of you find this information helpful!

CK in California 

This really deserves it's own post.  It was so Epic!  This is one of the biggest reasons I chose to come to Japan during this time.  Everyone said "Don't go, it's Golden Week...the place will be a zoo!".  But I have loved Ketchup Mania from the moment I first saw them live last year in San Francisco.  So when the band announced their imminent break-up and farewell tour.  I just couldn't miss that.

Last night was their final show in Tokyo.  They have two more in their hometown of Nagoya this weekend and then it's over.  This totally unique and awesome band will be no more.  Wani (drums) and Dai's (lead guitar) new group, The Kill Kills play in Tokyo next week.  As for their amazing lead singer Hiro, I'm not sure what she is doing.  But it would be a shame if she didn't continue her rock n' roll career with that amazing voice of hers.  I adore her, she is so great!

It was an incredible show!  Club 251 is a "cracker box" of a club in the basement of a building in Shimokitazawa Tokyo.  It really looks like someone stuck a bar and a stage in their garage!  But they managed to stuff at least 500 crazy fans in that place for two hours of non-stop moshing, crowd surfing, stage diving and of course great music.  And with KM's punk-pop catalog, that meant they must have played between 30-40 songs.  I was amazed at the makeup of the fans.  It makes sense that there would be a young crowd attending.  But I was fascinated at the amount of girls in the audience.  It was pretty close to a 50/50 split.  And these girls were hawt!  Definitely schoolgirl types, most were probably late teens to early 20's.  By the way, hot schoolgirls stage diving is awesome!!!!!

And they are a totally different group when they are on their home turf.  So much looser, and they love whipping the crowd into a frenzy!  They did so many great songs.  The crowd went crazy for Real Yaayo and Sakura UTA, and Wani did an amazing drum solo during Bastards.  I was in heaven when they played L.O.V.E. and Jingle Berry!  They did two encores.  Now this was different, the fans don't chant "encoree" while they are waiting for the group to come out.  They chant the chorus to the song Melt.  It was so funny!!!  And that was the song they ended with.

KM's MC's were extra special, as they reminisced about the band's history and how much they appreciated the fans.  At one point Hiro got visibly teary and choked up.  At the very end they joined the fans in a group hand-hold.  It was such a bittersweet moment...incredible!

As if this trip hasn't been awesome enough.  This is the moment that made it extra special.  Well at least so far.  I can't believe I am still on the first half of the vacation.  I have done so much already!  What else could be in store???

Hontoni hontoni hontoni arigatou gozaimasu Ketchup Mania.  I will never forget you!!!

CK in Tokyo    

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AKB48, Morning Musume, C-ute, Ketchup Mania and a whole lot more to come.  Do you think I am a little excited?

CK in California

I was originally planning to do this as a continuation of my last post about AKB48.  Since I have now declared them my favorite J-pop group, it is time to begin my AKB collection.  I had finally reached the point where I had most all of the old H!P CD and DVD's I wanted, and now I could focus on just buying new releases.  It's not that I don't already have a few AKB48 items, I do!  This is going to be total hell on my wallet all over again.  But I am really excited about this "new beginning"!

Fly To High posted this What J-Pop Do You Buy post earlier this week.  To answer the questions on the post...

I buy "most" of my collection on EBay.

Most of my collection has come from Japan, although I do have a few overseas versions mixed in.  A few of my DVD's are Hong Kong bootlegs.  But after I bought an all-region DVD player I have only purchased Japan DVD's.

I have purchased quite a few items from Yes Asia.com, but now I am buying most of my stuff from HMV Online.  And for special items I almost always buy from the amazing Ohta!

As I begin to turn my attention to the girls of Akahibara, let's see what kind of damage has been done to my bank account so far.  Shall we?

 

Morning Musume

"First Time" CD

"Second Morning" CD

"3rd Love Paradise" CD

"4th Ikimasshoi" CD

"No. 5" CD

"Ai no Dai 6 Kan" CD

"Rainbow 7" CD

"7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!" CD (LE)

"Sexy 8 Beat" CD

"Souda! We're Alive!" CD Single

"Aruiteru" CD Single

"Mikan" CD Single (LE)

"Resonant Blue" CD Single (LE A&B)

"Resonant Blue" Event V

"Morning Cop" OST CD

"Best Morning Musume 1" CD

"Best Morning Musume 2" CD

 

Melon Kinenbi

"1st Anniversary" CD

"Fruity Killer Tune" CD

"Kokuhaku Kinenbi" CD Single

"Akai Freesia" CD Single

 

Berryz Kobo

"1st Cho Berryz" CD

Dai 2 Seichouki" CD

"Special! Best Mini~2.5 Maime no Kare" CD

"3 Natsu Natsu Mini Berryz" CD

"Anata Nashi Dewa Ikita Yukenai" CD Single

"Fighting Pose wa Date Ja Nai" CD Single

"Happiness~Kofuku Kangei!" CD Single

"Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi" CD Single

 

C-ute

"2 Mini ~Ikiru to lu Chikara~" CD (LE)

"Sakura Chirari" CD Single (LE)

"Meguru Koi no Kisetsu" CD Single (LE)

"LALALA Shiawase no Uta" CD Single

"Edo no Temari Uta II" CD Single (LE)

 

Country Musume

"Daizenshuu 2" CD

 

W

"Duo U&U" CD

"2nd W" CD

"Koi no Fuga" CD Single

"Ai no Imi wo Oshiete" CD Single

"Miss Love Tantei" CD Single

 

Matsuura Aya

"First Kiss" CD

"T.W.O." CD

"X3" CD

"Double Rainbow" CD

"Matsuura Aya Best 1" CD

"Tropical Koishiteru" CD Single

"The Bigaku" CD Single

"Ne~e" CD single

"The Last Night" CD Single

"Kiseki no Kaori Dance" CD Single

 

MiniMoni

"MiniMoni Song Daihyakka 1 Kan" CD

"MiniMoni Songs 2" CD

"MiniMoni Telephone! Rin Rin Rin" CD Single

"MiniMoni Hinamatsuri" CD Single

"Lucky Cha Cha Cha" CD Single

"Kazoe Uta" DVD Single

 

Buono 

"Cafe Buono" CD (LE) 

"Gachinko de Ikou" CD Single (LE)

 

Athena & Robikerottsu

"Shouri no Big Wave" CD Single

"Seishun Love Lunch" CD Single

 

ZYX

"Shiroi Tokyo" CD Single

 

v-u-den

"Single Best 9 Vol. 1 Omaketsuki" CD

"Hitorijime" CD Single

 

Goto Maki

"Yaruki! It's Easy" CD Single

 

Abe Natsumi

"Hitoribocchi" CD

"Date Ikitekanakucha" CD Single

"Koi no Telephone Goal" CD Single

"Yuma Naraba" CD Single

 

Kusumi Koharu

"Mitsuboshi" CD

"Kirarin Land" CD

"Balalaika" CD Single

 

Fujimoto Miki

"Boogie Train '03" CD Single

 

Tanpopo

"All of Tanpopo" CD

 

Nochiura Natsumi

"Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger" CD Single

 

High-King

Cinderella/Complex CD Single (LE)

 

Milky Way

"Anataboshi" CD Single

 

THE Possible

"Happy 15" CD Single

"Love Message" CD Single

 

Hello! Project

"Otome Gumi Ai no Sono" CD Single

"Otome Gumi Yuujou" CD Single

"2003 Shuffle Units" CD Single/PB

"H!P All-Stars 2004" CD Single/PB

"Pucchi Best 1" CD

"Pucchi best 2" CD

"Pucchi Best 3" CD

 

Photobooks

Matsuura Aya Alo-Hello (2003)

Matsuura Aya- Ma! Chura (2004)

Abe Natsumi- Nacchi (1999)

Abe Natsumi- Natsumi (2001)

Abe Natsumi- AloHello (2005) *DVD*

Takahashi Ai- Photobook (2002)

Yaguchi Mari- Yaguchi (2002)

Yaguchi Mari- Love Hello! (2003)

Iida Kaori- Kaori Kaori Kaori (2002)

Kago Ai- Go on the Journey (2003)

Kago Ai/Tsuji Nozomi- TsujiKago (2002)

Ishikawa Rika- Photobook (2001)

Ishikawa Rika- Photobook (2002)

Kamei Eri- 17 Sai (2006)

Tanaka Reina- Reina (2005)

Tanaka Reina- AloHello! (2007)

Konno Asami- Photobook (2004)

Konno Asami- AloHello! (2006) *DVD*

Tanpopo- Photobook (2001)

Morning Musume- AloHello! (2003)

Morning Musume- AloHello! (2004) *DVD*

 

Concert DVD's

Morning Musume First Live at Shibuya Kohkaido 1998

Morning Musume Memory Seishun no Hikari 1999  (Fukuda Asuka Graduation)

Morning Musume First Live at Budokan 2000  (Ichii Sayaka Graduation)

Morning Musume Live Revolution 21 Haru 2001  (Nakazawa Yuko Graduation)

Morning Musume Green Live 2001

Morning Musume Love is Alive! 2002 Haru

Morning Musume Love is Alive! 2002 Natsu  (Goto Maki Graduation)

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2003 Haru "Non-Stop!"  (Yasuda Kei Graduation)

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2003 15nin de "Non-Stop!"

Morning Musume Otome Gumi Concert Tour 2003-2004

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2004 Spring "The Best of Japan"  (Mika Todd Graduation)

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2004 "The Best of Japan Natsu~Aki"

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2005 Haru "Dai 6 kan Hit Mankai"  (Ishikawa Rika Graduation)

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2006 Aki Odore! Morning Curry

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2007 Spring Sexy 8 Beat  (Yoshizawa Hitomi Graduation)

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2007 Aki Bonkyu Bonkyu Bomb!

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Single Daizenshuu

Hello! Project 2002 Kotoshi no Sugiozo

Hello! Project 2002 One Happy Summer Day

Hello! Project 2003 Winter Tanoshinjattemasu!

Hello! Project 2003 Natsu Yosha! Bikkuri Summer!!

Hello! Project 2004 Winter C'mon! Dance World  (Abe Natsumi Graduation)

Hello! Project 2004 Summer Natsu no Doon!  (Kago Ai/Tsuji Nozomi Graduation)

Hello! Project 2005 Winter All-Stars Dairanbu, A Happy New Power!  (Iida Kaori Graduation)

Hello! Project 2005 Natsu no Kayou Show '05 Selection Collection!

Hello! Project 2007 Winter Live DVD Box  (Country Musume Graduation)

Hello! Project 2007 Summer 10th Anniversary Dai Kanshasai

Hello! Project 2008 Winter Live DVD Box

Matsuura Aya First Concert Tour 2002 Haru "First Date"

Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2005 Haru 101 Kaime no Kiss

Matsuura Aya "Captain Koen" Hello Pro Party 2005

Matsuura Aya Live in Shanghai 2006

Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2007 Autumn

W "Standby!" Double U and Berryz Kobo 2004 Natsu

Berryz Kobo Live Tour 2005 Aki ~Switch On~  (Ishimura Maiha Graduation)

Berryz Kobo Concert Tour 2006 Haru, Nyoki Nyoki Champion

Berryz Kobo Concert Tour 2007 Sakura Mankai

Berryz Kamen/Cutie Ranger Nakayoshi Battle Concert 2008 Spring  (Berryz Version)

Melon Kinenbi 1st Anniversary Live Tour 2003

MiniMoni Special Live Dapyon! Haru 2003  (Yaguchi Mari Graduation)

 

Other DVD's

Morning Cop

Pinch Runner

Tokkaekko

Nama Tamago

Koinu Dan no Monogatari

The MiniMoni Movie

17 sai Tabidachi no Futari

Sukeban Deka, Codename: Asamiya Saki

Morning Musume Musical "Love Century"

Berryz Kobo Event V 2005

MiniMoni Single Clips 1

W no Eizo no Sekei Vol. 1 (Single Clips)

Hello! Project 2000 Shuffle Units DVD

Sakura/Otome Gumi Single DVD "Sakura/Yuujou"

 

Now for my Non-Tsunku related items...

 

AKB48

"Aitakatta" CD Single

"Bingo!" CD Single (LE)

"Set List" 2006-2007 CD (LE)

"Team K 2nd Stage" CD

"Team K 3rd Stage" CD

"Team A 4th Stage" DVD

"Set List, Live at Shibuya-AX 2008" DVD Box

 

Perfume

"Game" CD

"Electroworld" CD Single

 

Pipo Angels

"Luvly, Merry-Go-Round" CD Single

"100% Pure" CD Single

 

Ketchup Mania

"Everytime Music Freak" CD

"Greetings From Tokyo" CD

"U.R.G.E." CD

"L.O.V.E." CD

 

SCANDAL

"Hello Scandal" CD/EP

"Space Ranger" Single CD/DVD

 

Various Items

Andromedia DVD

Battle Royale DVD

Densha Otoko DVD Box

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon DVD Box

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon OST Vol. 1

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon "Dear My Friend" OST

 

T-Shirts

SCANDAL Concert T

Hello! Project 2008 Winter T-shirt plus sweatband

 

 

Oy!  That list was a total pain in the a$$ to put together!  If you add the cost of two trips to Japan plus concert tickets, that's a pretty big dent in the savings.  I'm not really into collecting rare items, instead I focus on CD's I want to listen to and DVD's I want to watch.  When I first started collecting I was enamored with the thought of watching Hello! Project on my big TV screen and cranking up Morning Musume in my car during the daily commute!

Now it's all about AKB48.  Let's see how much of their crap I can amass over the next year!

CK in California

My stupid little boycott is over.

A couple of months ago there was a bit of a debate between the folks at japanfiles.com and LiveJournal over illegal file sharing on that blog site.  I threw in my two cents with this post sparking a small debate between Japanfiles and I, which you can read in that posts' comments.  It wasn't that I disagreed with them, it was just that I thought their argument was overly defensive and possibly alienating to their biggest supporters.  Ultimately I temporarily stopped listening to their web radio program at live365.com.

But I am over that now.  I have always liked what Japanfiles is doing.  All they are really guilty of is trying to expose Japanese rock music to the western fans, and helping their groups be a success.  So we are all on the same team and should be supporting one another and the music we mutually love.  I am happy to say I am back to listening to "Ketchup Mania Mondays", and as a result have picked up two new purchases...

Ketchup mania ~ L.O.V.E. (2007)

L.O.V.E was Ketchup Mania's third full length album, and was released August of last year.  While it isn't my favorite of their cd's, it does mark as sort of graduation from club band to professional rock group.  There is noticeable difference between this release and their previous effort, U.R.G.E.  The production values and packaging have been upgraded, and quite a few tracks have a "radio friendly" feel to them.  This trend has continued on their newest release, FLAG.  But whatever the trend, they continue to be an "in your face" hard rock band with an incredible lead singer!  Here is a sampling of my favorite tracks...

Track 2: Sunshine Girl ~  This is one of two songs with English lyrics on the CD.  And you can hear Lead Guitarist Dai's influence on the lyrics.  As it sounds like a guy talking to his girlfriend.  But the greatest thing is the echo effect put on Hiro's voice!  The rhythm of the song has a ska beat which was a lot more prominent on their indie releases.

**the two songs I usually skip on the CD is the first track BASTARDS! and the fourth track LIFE SIZE, which ironically is the CD's major single!  And it isn't that the first track is a bad song, it's just that Hiro isn't singing on it, which is the main appeal of this group to me**

Track 5: L.O.V.E. ~ This is my favorite track on the disc.  I love the little bells ringing in the background, and Wani's drumming is amazing.  It is a kick-ass, fast paced rock song.  And the clarity of Hiro's vocals are a great example of why she is so great.  She has such a pretty voice, and seems so shy and "normal" off stage.  Which is precisely what she was like standing outside The Independent in San Francisco.  But it also could have been that she was standing among a bunch of English speaking people.  But when she gets on stage, she is all business!

Track 7: MY manual ~  Another headbanger!  It was after hearing this on Live365 that I finally decided to buy this disc.  And the same can be said for Track 9, Hime no Omoi which is a great example of the contrast of Ketchup's frenetic pace and Hiro's angelic vocals.  LUCKY STAR is a very pretty and melodic song to end the CD.

Keep in mind when I am critical of a Ketchup Mania song, it is a comparative criticism.  I think just about everything they have done has been great.  More than H!P, more than AKB48, Ketchup Mania has been the most played artist on my CD player since the day I discovered them.  Greetings From Tokyo is still my favorite of all of their releases.  But this "more mature" version of KM is a solid purchase as well.  If you like this group, you will certainly like this CD.  As for my second purchase...

 Ketchup Mania ~ Everytime Music Freak (2003)

I just happened to come across one of KM's early mini-albums available cheap on EBay, so I snatched it up as quickly as I could.  And I love every song on it!  I know this is starting to sound like a big, boring lovefest.  But I am just so enamored with this group.  Their punk/ska roots are a lot more prevalent here.  And the English lyrics (on about half of the songs) are a laugh riot!  Their English is much improved on more recent releases, so somebody must be taking language lessons.  Oops that reminds me, where is my Rosetta Stone software?  I don't have any sample tracks for you, but if you've listened to the above links (or read any of my previous KM reviews) you get the basic idea.  I hope they are touring Japan when I make my next visit in October/November.  I would love to see them on their home turf.  In the meantime I will keep plugging this group until you all jump on the bandwagon, so get used to it!

And I still think Hiro is hot!

CK in California 

Official Website http://ketchup-mania.com/

Surveys are fun!  This one is from Cutie Party, here goes...

 

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?

I'd like to answer this question last (see below)

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?

Yes, I would say it made me a fan

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?

The J-pop CD that has been in my collection the longest AND I still regularly play is Pipo Angels' "Luvly Merry-Go-Round"  I love that song.  And I love that group!

 

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?

That would have to be Shonen Knife, because I have liked them consistently since I discovered them while I was in college...

 

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player?

I can only base this on memory, since I don't use a media player other than CD's and YouTube.  But the song I have listened to the most would have to be Ne~e by Matsuura Aya

6. Is that song your favorite?

I've never thought about it, but it might be

7. If not, what is?

Difficult question.  Ne~e is my favorite Ayaya song.  I'll list my favorites of a few UFA groups:

Morning Musume:  I Wish

Berryz Koubou:  (tie) Berry Fields or Fighting Pose wa Date Ja Nai

C-ute:  Ookina ai de Motenashite

Melon Kinenbi: Kokuhaku Kinenbi

W: Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro

Mini Moni:  Mirakurun Guran Purin

ZYX: Shiroi Tokyo

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?

The only J-pop artist I can think of is Buono!  But they have only produced one album and one additional single.  As for J-Rock, I have three Ketchup Mania CD's, and I like just about every song on them

9. What is your favorite agency?

Up Front Agency, I thank heaven for their existence!

10. What is your favorite group/singer?

Matsuura Aya

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?

I had to think about this for a minute.  The first Japanese pop song I ever heard (and it came out long before I was born!!!) had to be "Sukiyaki" by the great Kyu Sakamoto.  It is such a beautiful song, and proof positive that it IS POSSIBLE for a Japanese artists to "strike gold" in the west as it was a #1 song on the billboard pop charts in 1963!  And it is probably the best known Japanese song in history.  Sadly, he was taken away from us too soon in the 1985 crash of JAL Flight 123 in Gunma...

Rest in Peace, Kyu-chan

CK in California!

Tomorrow is going to be great!!!  It is my best friend Dan's birthday, and we are renting a limousine and spending the day in Napa Valley cruising from winery to winery.  Just one of the many cool things about living in Northern California.  The tough part is picking the appropriate gift.  I am very bad at gift giving, and always put it off until the last overly-stressful moment.  On Wednesday I finally broke down and asked Dan what he wanted for his birthday.  He plainly stated, "I want you to take me to see Iron Maiden tonight!"  Little did I know...

Dan has always found my transformation into a J-pop fan a bit...comical???  Dan is strictly a Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Ozzy kind of guy.  Dan also knows that I used to be a big fan of those groups many years ago.  So in his mind this was going to be as much of an intervention for me as a birthday gift for him.  Unfortunately for Dan I was the designated driver for the event, which meant one thing...

I control the CD player in the car!!!

Yes, the conversation during the car ride to the show was pretty interesting.  It must have gone something like this...

CK:

Dan: Yeah Chris, But...

CK:  I know Dan, I know, but...

Dan: Whatever Chris...

Okay Dan, fine.  I'll continue to fantasize about Reina, Ayaya and Nacchi while you fantasize about Bruce Dickinson and Sammy Hagar.  And anyway it's my car so Mr. "Metal for Life" gets to be the latest lab rat in the Western J-pop experiment.  I honestly didn't hold out too much hope to convert him, but at least I would get a chance to share why I like these groups so much.  I decided to ease him into it...

Ketchup Mania ~ I figured musically they would be pretty palatable for Dan.  And I was correct, although it took a few songs for him to get used to Hiro's high pitched voice, which Dan compared to "Chip n' Dale".  But overall he liked them, and thought the drummer kicked a$$.

The Possible ~ Of the two singles I have, I think he preferred "Happy 15", as he laughed everytime they screamed "HAPPY!!!"  Plus he preferred the "slutty" (his quote) outfits on that CD to the cuter look in "Love Message".  His best observation being that Kanami looks like she is "begging for it"

Buono! ~ He got a kick out of the cover, but that's about it.  He thought they were just o.k.

Perfume ~ He hated!!!  And I think he found AKB48 only slightly more tolerable, only because I was telling him what some of the lyrics meant.

Morning Musume ~ He seemed to find surprisingly listenable.  As I mentioned before I didn't have high hopes, so anything he didn't hate was a victory!  So much for the experiment, onto the show...

 

Now to be honest with you, this was actually the SIXTH time I had seen Iron Maiden live, although it was only the second time I had seen them in the last twenty years!  Boy do I feel old, and boy do they look old!  And the girls in the audience were probably pretty cute in 1985.  And now...sheesh they all look old too!  But it was really a great show!  Musically speaking, Iron Maiden is an amazing band.  They are all terrific musicians, and the songwriting is so creative!  Their lyrics can best be described as "an evening watching the History Channel".  There is no group quite like them.  Then again, there is nothing quite like a Hello! Project concert either.  But the motivations for seeing each respective show is quite different.  Personally I'd rather stare at Charmy and Maimi than Jannick Gers and Nicko McBrain any day of the week!  Then you have the fans...

Most of the fans of the 80's metal scene have grown up and gotten responsible jobs...MOST of them.  Yeah, they bang their heads and flash the "Lucifer's Horns" hand signal, but it's all so "kitschy" now!  The audience in general looked like stockbrokers in Halloween costumes, and many of them even brought their kids to the show!  I found them a lot less scary than the rabid J-pop Wota-gei Otaku's.  Now those guys are scary!

So I'm glad I have a varied musical taste.  I can have as good of a time going to a concert like this as any J-pop group.  But as for which one I prefer?  My vote is for the "kawaii"...

Sorry Dan, the intervention didn't work.  The biggest lesson learned here?  Henkka aka H!P Metalhead is an amazing anomaly.  Trying to convert a true hard rock fan to J-pop can be sort of fun, but it's mostly frustrating and painful.

Oh yeah...Happy Birthday Danny-Boy!!!

CK in California 

This week I received my second Ketchup Mania CD...U.R.G.E

 

I loved "Greetings From Tokyo" so much, that it seemed fitting to sample their second full length CD.  I made many comments in the first review that their debut CD reminded me a lot of the first CD by The Ramones.  In many ways their second CD is reminiscent of The Ramones second CD, "Leave Home".  Where the first disc is straightforward punk/rock in successive short bursts, this CD is a bit more experimental.  KM keeps their basic sound, but branches out into different punk/rock styles and sounds.  This was definitely an attempt to "spread their wings" creatively.  The result was a couple of "near misses" surrounded by some creative gems.

This album had me thinking back to all of the punk bands I idolized so much in my youth.  Yes, like Nakazawa Yuko I was a bit of a punker in my formative years.  And it's easy to hear many punk influences above and beyond The Ramones on this album.  There are definitely some Dead Kennedys and Sex Pistols influences.  But what really grabs me are the similarites to my all time favorite L.A. punk band, "X".  HIRO has a tendency to sing a little "flat" on many of the tracks.  And no one sings flat quite as well as Exene Cervenka!  It's interesting, when I saw Ketchup Mania live I thought of them more as a straight rock n' roll group.

 

KM starts the album with a wierd intro (Welcome to the Ketchup World) much like their first disc.  It seems to be their signature bit.  But to be honest, it's my least favorite part of both CDs.  It then goes straight into their only "all English" track I've ever heard., KISS. (press the little button, it's the link to the song on lastfm)

 

This song reminds me a little bit of Hole (Courtney Love is another "flat" singer), but it's a great punk track.  There is no band quite like them, and they use a heavy echo dub on Hiro's voice.

 

The third track, Handcuffs of Love is pretty good.  Track 4 is the song I fell in love with at Japan Nite 2008.  Real Yaayo is a great example of the overall sound of the band.  I really love this PV (the only video I could find from the album)...

Track 5, TOKYO almost sounds like the rally chant for England's national Footie Team.  The musicianship on Doubt Mail sounds like like the classic sound of the Dead Kennedys.  All OK! is a pretty cool track, but the last two songs on the CD are by far my two favorites.  The first is Juicy Candy.  It's extremely fast-paced, and at the same time very melodic.  It's the one song on the CD I love listening to over and over again...

LAnd the CD ends with another great track, POP POP POP POP POP POP POP LOLLIPOP, which starts off like The Ramones' Rock and Roll High School.  I'm glad to hear them get back to their roots...

Although this CD holds up pretty well, I still prefer "Greetings From Tokyo" because I simply love more of the songs.  But I am really falling in love with this group (and obviously their lead singer)!  They sound great, and are a lot of fun to listen to.  And I'll give a little plug to japanfiles.com, where you can not only download their music, but listen to a one-hour block of KM every Monday night on their live365 radio show.  I hope they make it back to the U.S. very soon.  But I am planning to make two trips to Japan in the next eight months.  So I won't be too heartbroken if I have to see them on their own turf.

 Anything you say HIRO...CK in California

 

A couple of days ago I posted this review of Ketchup Mania's first full-length CD AND their newest single/PV.  Yesterday I e-mailed the link to the article to KM's site, this is the response I received...

When Radicalpatriot invited me to Japan Nite in San Francisco last March, the only band that really interested me was SCANDAL.  And why not?  AKB48 rocking out with guitars?  How hot is that?  SCANDAL was pretty cool, but what I didn't know was that I would leave the concert as a huge fan of another group all together.  And that band is Ketchup Mania!

Like Henkka, I can also be described as somewhat of a "metalhead"  The list of groups I have seen live includes Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy, Motorhead, Van Halen, Dokken, Twisted Sister, Guns n' Roses, Dio, and W.A.S.P..  Outside of J-pop and Hello! Project, My all time favorite artists are The Ramones, The Surf Punks, X, The Pixies, and 311.  I'm also a huge fan of The Smiths (I know, pretty random for this list)  I've now received my first of hopefully many Ketchup Mania purchases, their first full-length CD...

 Greetings From Tokyo - 2006

This is an unbelievably great album!  Every track is fast, furious, and features the amazing voice of the ultra-sexy HIRO.  There are many groups in the J-rock universe that have a punk/thrash sound with an Anime-styled lead singer.  Berry Roll is one I've heard, The Soap is another.  But no singer has the command of HIRO, and her sound is so unique.  The musicianship is ultra tight.  DAI's guitar work and WANI's drumming are lightning quick, but very crisp.  And they sound great live too!

 

The CD is a set of twelve under-2 minute songs in rapid succession.  In a way, their style could be described as repetitive.  But I love their style, so it doesn't bother me at all.  The CD in many ways reminds me of The Ramones first album.  Pretty much every song is great!  My favorite tracks...

Track 2 ~ BES-POSI  They go into a reggae style on the bridge, which is a great variation!  Like an amped up version of The Specials.  HIRO goes very high in her vocal range on the chorus. 

Track 3 ~ NAMIDA VACUUM SOUND  The guitar solo is a great variation of Wipeout by the Ventures.  Their second PV...

Track 7 ~ SUN FLOWER  This is my favorite song on the CD.  On almost every track, HIRO harmonizes with herself.  I'm pretty sure it's an overlapped track.  Twice the HIRO, twice the fun!  Many songs on this CD are just fast, but this one is one of the most melodic.  I wish I could find a video of this!

Track 8 ~ YOUR WORLD  For some reason, the guitar work on the chorus reminds me of the 80's alternative sound.  BTW, The sound on the PV is kinda low...

Track 9 ~ CANDLE ON THE BIRTHDAY CAKE  This song is so reminiscent of Bow Wow Wow, especially the intro guitar.  It's very melodic, with a caribbean rhythm to it.  My Japanese is weak at best, but I've never heard so many phrases end with the sound "lu"  What does that mean???

Track 10 ~  JINGLE BERRY  is my other favorite song, and just might be the best Christmas song ever made!!!  Sorry Bing!  Although it's slightly more "Christmas-y" than Spinal Tap's "Christmas with the Devil" and Dread Zeppelin's "Christmas in Las Vegas"  I'll be alternating between this and Sayumi and Koharu's "Merry Pinku Kurisumasu" this holiday season.  To me this is their best PV, simply because it is almost exclusively closeups of HIRO...

I love just about every song on this CD.  I highly recommend it.  I found it for a very reasonable price (new) on EBay, and YesAsia has a CD/DVD version.

You can hear Ketchup Mania every Monday night (10 eastern/7pacific) on the Japan Files channel on live 365.com.  There's a link posted on their MySpace page.  By the way, here is their brand new PV, Please! Marry Me!!!  Oh HIRO, if only...

I was surprised by the comparative "softness" in the beginning, but the song "rocks out" more as it progresses.  It sounds A LOT more polished and produced than "Greetings From Tokyo".  I believe they might be grooming them for a more mass market appeal!  The purists might not like it as much, but it is a step forward in their career.  When they become huge stars, I'll always have the memory of hanging out with them and having a smoke on Divisadero Ave. in San Francisco!  DAI's "Wedding March" guitar solo in the middle is awesome!  I just love when guitarists do "classical favorites" as solos.  The video is a continuation of the theme from their previous PV, BAD BAD BAD.  And I love the R. Crumb-styled animation!  Ya know, after listening to this song a few times, it's really starting to grow on me, very cool!

 

And by the way, did I mention HIRO is too friggin' HOT?  Even if she does deserve a Hall of Fame spot on my "Great Orthodontist Adventure"!!! 

CK in California