{"id":1489,"date":"2012-06-28T16:37:25","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T20:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/?p=1489"},"modified":"2012-06-29T13:17:47","modified_gmt":"2012-06-29T17:17:47","slug":"hearjapan-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/hearjapan-top-10\/","title":{"rendered":"HearJapan Top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So I was looking at my HearJapan folder and figured I can make a top ten album list. That&#8217;ll be cool. People that never used this thing are not going to explore the site in the last couple days, but give the people a last minute shopping list, it&#8217;s not too late for that. Why not.<\/p>\n<p>Didn&#8217;t work out so great. Most of the stuff I got there is gone. Then there&#8217;s that credit system. <s>When they made a big deal about redesigning the site a few months ago, I figured the credit thing would be the first thing they&#8217;d want to change.<\/s> <\/p>\n<p>[UPDATE: They did indeed change that. Rant removed.]<\/p>\n<p><tt>(I thought the site was hacked when I first tweeted him. I could use some more sleep.)<\/tt><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jimhaku?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jimhaku<\/a> You don&#39;t need to by credits on HearJapan 2.0.  You can buy what you need and checkout.  Credits are only for those who want a deal<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; HearJapan (@HearJapan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HearJapan\/status\/218451469937033216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 28, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Anyway, here&#8217;s a list of bands\/artists that <i>were<\/i> on there, at least:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<h1>0.8 Byou to Shougeki<\/h1>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=0.8+Byou+to+Shougeki\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This band has done pretty well despite their <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/0.8Syooogeki\">extremely confusing name<\/a> and you can get it the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/entity\/0.8Syooogeki\/B002NYYN4K\/?ie=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;linkCode=ur2&#038;sn=d&#038;tag=r053e-20\">usual places.<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=r053e-20&#038;l=ur2&#038;o=1\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/><\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Clams<\/h1>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=clams\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cute shoegaze band, you can get some free tracks on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.last.fm\/music\/Clams\">last.fm<\/a>, which I think is where I heard them first and was glad to find and pay for the full album. Now I am not glad because you can&#8217;t find that first album anywhere else. Amazon has the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B002NNKHAK\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B002NNKHAK&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;tag=r053e-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=B002NNKHAK\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>Sakura River EP.<\/a><\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>DJ Baku<\/h1>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/artist\/dj-baku\/\">[artist page]<\/a><br \/>\nSome interesting beat production, somewhat more post-rock than hip-hop. Apparently the 2008 release <i>Dharma Dance<\/i> is not a 3-track EP but a full album, <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/album\/dharma-dance\/id304316005\">which is available on iTunes<\/a>. There was either a shorter Japan-only version or I only bought 3 tracks. I was mostly checking it for the doseone appearance, which is worth it if you like that kind of thing.<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>OOIOO<\/h1>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/artist\/ooioo\">[artist page]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Was planning to pick up these other albums but I guess that&#8217;s not happening. I recommend the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/mp3\/eight\/\">1st album<\/a>. Pretty sure I paid $30 for the CD which is like a dollar a minute. <\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Lite<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/artist\/lite\/\">[artist page]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Their new stuff with vocalist <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/carolinelufkin\">Caroline Lufkin<\/a> is cool, but they seem to have picked up a Vampire Weekend influence. I prefer the first few, which&#8230;good luck, they ain&#8217;t there anymore.<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Maki Nomiya<\/h1>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=maki+nomiya\"> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=maki+nomiya\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Glad I got this stuff! I would have spent way to much for these couple new songs she did recently. (Or just gotten them somehow else.) There was the <a href=\"http:\/\/mexicanflyer.info\/2011\/07\/05\/maki-nomiya-looker\/\">LOOKER single<\/a> and a few songs she did with <a href=\"http:\/\/coolestsound.jp\/Nomiya_MakiFernanda_Takai_Maki_Takai_No_Jetlag\/2009.10.14\/006819\/\">Fernanda Takai<\/a> (Inc. a very cool cover of P5&#8217;s <i>A Message Song<\/i>, worth tracking down for completists.)<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Omodaka<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/artist\/omodaka\/\">[artist page]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Omodaka has a pretty solid formula of 8-bit beats and enka samples. My fave is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/mp3\/plum-song\/\">Plum Song EP<\/a>. I think you can get his stuff anywhere now though.<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Tokyo-chutei-iki<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=tokyo-chutei-iki\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now this is the type of band that justified the entire service: an instrumental 10-man bari sax ensemble. I only got part of one of their albums and now I&#8217;m bummed I can&#8217;t get the rest of it. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TokyoChuteiIki\">They have a facebook page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ty_IP7Wpk-g\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Then there was the free stuff, or there used to be. There was at least one HearJapan branded promo comp. I&#8217;ve got one here from 2009 which included Quaff, Dirty Old Men, Asakusa Jinta, The Emeralds, Honey Sac, and Omodaka. Omodaka was the clear winner here, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.last.fm\/music\/+noredirect\/The+Emeralds\">The Emeralds<\/a> were pretty good. (They continued more or less as <a href=\"http:\/\/schedule.sxsw.com\/2012\/events\/event_MS15948\">the Rubies<\/a>.) Asakusa Jinta is one of my favorite bands in theory, but none of their songs have grabbed me much. These other bands, I dunno.<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Japan Nite<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\" http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=japan+nite\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At least two volumes of the promo comp for the popular North American package tour were on here. Included were Geeks, Bo-Peep, The Dolomites, Camisama, Red Bacteria Vacuum, White White Sisters, Vampilla, Suck Piggy, Ydestroyde, Zukanasisters, Sonodaband, DJ Teraoka and the Revolution, and Lolita No. 18. I did wind up getting the White White Sisters album but I <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B003VCH1TC\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=390957&#038;creativeASIN=B003VCH1TC&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;tag=r053e-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=B003VCH1TC\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>got it on Amazon<\/a>. Don&#8217;t have much to say about the other bands except that DJ Teraoka is sampling <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OOPomToqgf0\">Seo Taiji<\/a>.<\/p>\n<li>\n<h1>Next Music From Tokyo<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\" http:\/\/www.hearjapan.com\/en\/search\/?q=next+music\">[no longer available]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There were two much shorter volumes in &#8217;09 &#038; &#8217;10 for this smaller (Canada only) event that included Kulu Kulu Garden, Goomi, Mothercoat, Sgt., Susquatch and Uhnellys. I would say Japan Nite focuses on garage\/punk bands and Next Music is more experimental stuff, but that&#8217;s not really true anymore, they got some weird stuff going on at Japan Nite now. I&#8217;d say the Next Music line up is less jokey or gimmicky bands. Mostly a general high-quality of various styles of post-rock by bands still working on the whole songwriting thing. Some of them will either get there or more likely splinter apart and form new groups that will.<\/p>\n<p>Japan is still cool, right? Someone&#8217;s going to figure out how to sell this stuff, right? Let&#8217;s just watch this video I needed an excuse to post and contemplate life and shit:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/40379322\" width=\"640\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>%<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So I was looking at my HearJapan folder and figured I can make a top ten album list. That&#8217;ll be cool. People that never used this thing are not going to explore the site in the last couple days, but give the people a last minute shopping list, it&#8217;s not too late for that. Why [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-list"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1m3oy-o1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1489"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1543,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489\/revisions\/1543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jimhaku.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}