Which Japanese singers are still worth listening ?

[dj_mocok]

Honestly, i feel that decent japanese songs are getting more and more scarce these days....
most of the songs nowadays are so gimmicky (in a bad way), and unenjoyable, and too much artist-dependant... established singer will most probably make a hit no matter how crap his/her new song is... *cough... ayumi..cough...hamasaki...cough*
week after week, i find it harder to find songs that i like from yahoo japan top 20...

some recent ones (well, not so recent) that i still can enjoy are:
- Double - who's that girl
- Minmi - perfect vision, TTT, another world
- Zeebra - Big Big Money

Gone are the days of good old Toshinobu Kubota, Utada Hikaru's older songs, etc...
Even Hirai Ken, one of my favourite singers, dont really release songs as nice as his previous ones anymore... (rakuen , aoi tori, why, etc)
Are Japanese songs getting worse and worse, or is it just me ? (getting old?)

can someone tell me which singers (and what new songs) are still worth listening ?

PS: no Morning Musume please...

 

[lojay]

Quote:

Morning Musume

Hahaha!

 

[Kenny12]

Morning Musume are the weirdest........

chemistry and the pillows are alright as well, at least their older albums are, havn't heard their latest stuff

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

chage & aska - say yes

^ awsome

 

[dj_mocok]

actually sometimes its hard for me to tell the difference between morning musume and some noisy neighbour kids...

back to the topic, so are there any good singers/ new songs that are worth listening ?

Chage & Aska - Say Yes : thats a nice song, and thats quite old song... see now you know what im talking about.... japanese songs in the past are better than today's ones....

 

[tiberian]

some good singers:
...
kotoko from i've sound
坂本真綾 (Maaya Sakamoto)
lia and riya from 'key sounds label'
...
do you read japanese? if yes i can post some links.

 

[GokieKS]

Utada Hikaru (though early indications for her English debut album, EXODUS, isn't terribly promising), Maaya Sakamoto, Matsu Takako, the Indigo, and whatever band Yuki Kajiura is a part of (See-Saw, FictionJunction YUUKA, etc)... Ayu's OK... if you like the general style, if not her works specifically, maybe give Every Little Thing a try.

~KS

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GokieKS Utada Hikaru

i think she's horrible...is she still singing r&b or stuff like that?

 

[dj_mocok]

I only like Ayu's earlier songs... her songs seem to get worse and worse...
im not really into one particular japanese genre, i listen to pretty much everything that sounds good to my ears...

have you heard Supercar ? the songs are so original...

i only have 2 songs from supercar; Yumegiwa last boy and strobolights.... (all from Ping Pong soundtrack) kinda weird but very enjoyable and so original...

Yoshinori Sunahara - No Sun , is also a very very cool song IMO.

 

[Newbiez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiberian i think she's horrible...is she still singing r&b or stuff like that?

She's the only Japanese artist I listen too as I'm not too keen on the scene. Good singer, writes her own stuff, and don't require me to think hard about the lyrics.

 

[lojay]

I used to listen to Ayu and Hikki long time ago. Hikki's an OK songwriter, but kinda tired of the same stuff they force you to listen to every single time a new album comes. Ayu's a chameleon, but she has this aweful voice.

And Tiberian, 坂本真綾's real good. Nice voice, and not too much powered by the usual "popish x r&b" techniques usual jap artists suffer from.

What album should I get from her?

 

[GokieKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiberian i think she's horrible...is she still singing r&b or stuff like that?

To each his own. I think she's an incredibly talented musician (to start, she actually writes her own songs, something all too rare these days), and enjoy her music very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lojay 坂本真綾's real good. Nice voice, and not too much powered by the usual "popish x r&b" techniques usual jap artists suffer from. What album should I get from her?

Lucy, Nikopachi Single Collection, and Hotchpotch Single Collection Plus are the three that I'd recommend most. Shonen Alice (her latest album) is pretty nice as well, though I was a bit disappointed by it...

~KS

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lojay And Tiberian, 坂本真綾's real good. Nice voice, and not too much powered by the usual "popish x r&b" techniques usual jap artists suffer from.

while her voice doesn't stick out as much as some other female singers i have heard, she does sing with authority without any apparent weakness like inability to hit difficult notes, she's miles better than average pop singers.
her electronica songs are quite amazing

.

 

[soundboy]

I picked up a SACD of Misia: Single Collection - 5th Anniversary

It's very good. And she's on the chart linked above. I am feeling old now....I am from the days of Anzen Chitai, Seiko Matsuda, and Akina Nakamori.

 

[dhwilkin]

Maaya Sakamoto, as mentioned before, is always a good choice. I've quite liked the one album from Rina Aiuchi I've heard (A.I.R.). For consistently great j-rock, I really like Aikawa Nanase. There's a few more I'm forgetting at the moment, but I just got back from a long weekend trip, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.