[Noesis]

Besides the music, there is a nitche of American culture that truely wishes they were Japanese. That could be where some of the hype comes from as well. Not saying any of you are that (I don't know any of you).

-Chad

 

[Cyphatic]

Ya, I like me some import music.

My friends think im some final fantasy guru, but the series sucks without the music. It's all about the music.

Yoko Kanno (no, not Ono (And no, no relation)) is probably my favorite japanese composer. She's composed alot of sountracks for anime, such as Macross Plus & Cowboy Bebop (the latter one you can scope the music of its movie in the theater right now). She also gets some great vocalists to work with her, and Mai Yamane (who sings in english and japanese) has one of the sexiest deep female voices right now. No Bunny-Voice.

Whoever did the music for trigun also did a pretty excellent job. You could close your eyes and feel like you are on the desert planet. That and there's some really beautiful tracks off of the OTA like Sound Life.

I never really got into J-pop. Listened to some Asian Hiphop (Drunken Tiger stuff, Tokyo to Tokyo, etc), but the jazzy/bluesy/funky/bebopy stuff is what I really like. It takes me to 50/60/70's american music, but with a definitive style and sound.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Noesis Besides the music, there is a nitche of American culture that truely wishes they were Japanese. That could be where some of the hype comes from as well. Not saying any of you are that (I don't know any of you). -Chad

Are you listening to J-pop for the wrong reasons?

I know I'm not.

 

[strohmie]

I've never been a J-Pop fan really, but I do enjoy anime and video game music and probably know more about that than anyone on this board...I've seen Uematsu and Mitsuda mentioned, along with Yoko Kanno (who, by the way, is *female*)...

I haven't liked Uematsu since Final Fantasy VII and Mitsuda since Xenogears. Neither is in the upper echelon of vgm at this point. I'd highly recommend Akira Yamaoka to anyone who wants to hear some really good video game music...he composed music for the Silent Hill games and the recent Contra: Shattered Soldier (with Sota Fujimori). Yamaoka's Silent Hill 2 OST is pretty accessible, and has a good deal of variety. Can't wait for Silent Hill 3...

Uematsu and Mitsuda have always been thought of as Square composers, even though Mitsuda left the company a few years ago. Mitsuda's Chrono Trigger and Uematsu's FFVI were both fantastic, but their more recent works aren't quite as high quality in my opinion. Masashi Hamauzu is my current favorite Square composer, whose music for the SaGa series (and also Final Fantasy X) is excellent.

One of the all time best vgm soundtracks is Hiroki Kikuta's Soukaigi...damn good.

As for anime composers, you simply can't go wrong with Yoko Kanno. Her music has a ton of variety, and almost all of it is incredible. Hajime Mizoguchi's Jin-Roh is another excellent anime OST...

So, if anyone has video game music questions, come to me. ^_^

 

[disturbed]

Quote:

Originally posted by minya I like to think of myself as "special." - Chris

ARRRRGGHHHHH .... *faints*

 

[Cyphatic]

Gosh, I was wrong

I've been into kanno's stuff for about a year now, and I heard she was a man. Guess I mixed her up with another seatbelts band member.

Oh, who did Seiken Densetsu 2's OST? Was it Kikuta?

Oh, forgot to mention that Yoko Kanno's band, the Seatbelts, have a extensive group in NYC.

NY
DRUMS : Jim Mussen, Bobby Previte, Tony Reedus
GUITAR : Stuw Cutler
PF : Mark Soskin
BASS : Booker King
TRUMPET : Steven Berstien
TROMBONE : Josh Roseman
S. SAXOPHONE : Steve Wilson
A. SAXOPHONE : Bob Debellis
T. SAXOPHONE : Paul Shapiro
B. SAXOPHONE : Jim Hartog
JEMBE : Mike Wimberly, Jonh McDowell
HARMONICA : Bill Lynas
CHORUS : Paule McWilliams, Nicki Richards, Sharon Bryant-Gallwey, Lisa Fischer
RECORD & MIX : Rudy van Gelder

You guys may have heard of some of them. I wonder if the 'belts ever do any US shows. I know the following is sorta small, and I wouldnt be suprised if one would have to go to anime conventions to see em.

 

[strohmie]

Yes, Kikuta composed Seiken Densetsu 2. And you might be thinking of Tsuneo Imahori of Seatbelts fame, who also composed the Trigun soundtracks.

 

[Guyferd]

I like j-pop.
Infact I grew on j-pop.
Among my favs are:
chage aska, fujii fumiya, fukuyama masaharu, l'arc en ciel, utada hikaru, mr children, noriko sakai and lots lots more!

 

[howie75]

I always wondered...What's the deal with $30+ prices for japanese cd's? I enjoy listening to some of the Japanese artists, listen to mp3 streamcasts, own a few cd's, and would like to purchase more cd's. But difficulty in finding stores that carry them, and the high prices always made me reluctant.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

Originally posted by howie75 I always wondered...What's the deal with $30+ prices for japanese cd's? I enjoy listening to some of the Japanese artists, listen to mp3 streamcasts, own a few cd's, and would like to purchase more cd's. But difficulty in finding stores that carry them, and the high prices always made me reluctant.

www.yesasia.com

and yes japanese cds are always expensive. korean cds on the other hand are really cheap. usually 8-12 bucks for brand new releases.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by howie75 I always wondered...What's the deal with $30+ prices for japanese cd's? I enjoy listening to some of the Japanese artists, listen to mp3 streamcasts, own a few cd's, and would like to purchase more cd's. But difficulty in finding stores that carry them, and the high prices always made me reluctant.

It makes me sad. It's why I only have a few actual legit japanese CDs, only some of my favorites. The fact is that not only are the prices high because they're imports, but cds cost a lot in japan as well. The price of living is higher there and CD prices are ridiculuous. We're talking ~3000 yen or $27 for a full length album. That's crazy...

Anyway, you can buy stuff online, but the prices get crazy with shipping costs and everything. I wish there was an import store around where I could buy japanese CDs.

Try:
www.cdjapan.co.jp
www.jpophelp.com (cheap shipping but higher prices)
www.yesasia.com (already mentioned)
www.amazon.co.jp (in japanese)
www.towerrecords.co.jp (in japanese)
www.deodeo.com/ (in japanese)

 

[adhoc]

if you all could find some friends living in asia, you all could get your albums plenty cheap.

eg. i bought aikawa nanase's foxtrot for 19 singapore dollars, which translates to about USD10.50 before shipping.

eg2. my sister has bought all her hikaru utada albums for nothing more than sing$21. which equals about ~USD12.50.

which implies that these retailers must be making a killing off you guys.

edit: which also makes me wonder how they can sell you all linkin park's meteora at US14.99 and then sell it over here at sing$19.90.

 

[Maxvla]

i'd love to get a few aikawa nanase albums for 10 bucks each

 

[Guyferd]

adhoc, I believe those cds are not original japan import, but rather taiwan/hk/even some malaysian press.I own utada's first love but that's by EMI malaysia. Yes, infact in Singapore you can never find original japan import with the exception of HMV. However their price is killing. If you must, order from overseas.. that's what I usually do. End up paying about 23 US bucks per album but then I think it's worth collecting if you really like the artist. I have noriko sakai and zard cds coming already(with my friend now). The sound quality is definitely better on this original import, though not like night and day difference from the HK/taiwan press

Actually the HK press is still not bad(if you get by those avex one because they're under the japan avex). But if you get by other labels, chances are.. it could be a bootleg version.

 

[adhoc]

hmm. somehow i doubt they sell bootleg versions in hmv/tower/cdrama.

perhaps the quality of the actual disc (as in disc materials used) may have taken a hit, but i believe the recording is exactly the same.