Welcome to Rock of Japan!---Updated February 6, 2010
I’m planning on closing down Rock of Japan in May.
Rock of Japan has been going for over ten years now. I’ve enjoyed it. I'm now seriously considering shutting down Rock of Japan. When I began Rock of Japan there were almost no sites in English about Japanese rock music. Now there are many. I may miss sharing my opinions with you, but I'm beginning to feel that my job is done. Want to show your appreciation? Take a Rock of Japan T-shirt off my hands. I've reduced the price of the Rock of Japan T-shirt in a kind of going out of business sale. Think of it as a souvenir. If you see me at the shows, say, “Hi!” maybe we can avoid the postage. I plan to continue operating Rock of Japan in the same way as I have been until I shut it down. At the moment I'm planning on pulling the plug in the summer of 2010. I hope you'll keep enjoying it until then, and hope that you'll continue supporting Japanese rock music. I know I will! Thanks for your support! Fred & Ted are gonna miss ya!
Paul Wheeler
BACKGROUND INFO:
This site originates from
New York City. Besides the obvious (CD covers, band logos, and group photos),
anything not credited was written or photographed by myself. The opinions
expressed here are my own. The discographies should not be considered complete.
I regularly neglect to obtain EPs, and almost never pick up remixes or vinyl
releases. The discographies and everything else on this site are intended
to provide information which will help you decide what you might want to add
to your own collections. Various people have helped me with the site: Special
thanks to Hitoshi Toyoda, who helped me from the beginning of this project;
Big thanks to Yuko Oz who has stepped in as my new translator; Thanks to all those who’ve
offered encouragement; Thanks to the bands, who make it all worthwhile; and
thanks to my good friend Dan Payne who told me I should and could! If you
are interested in advertising on this site, or sending promotional material,
feel free to contact me at the email address above. I’ll be happy to
post reviews of any Japanese CDs received in the first six months of their
Japanese or American release. (The artists must be living and working out
of Japan.)
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THE GIMMIES |
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& OTHERS (CD reviews) (new releases + #s-E); (F-L); (M-Z)
including: The 5,6,7,8’s; Thee 50’s Highteens; 54 Nude Honeys; Afrirampo; The Amppez; Asakusa Jinta; Blankey Jet City; Blow One’s Cool; Boom Boom Satellites; Bo-Peep; The Brilliant Green; The Captains; China Chop; Crawl; Dirtrucks; Ellegarden; The Emeralds; The Ends; Esrevnoc; Firestarter; Flamenco A Go Go; Gasoline; Gito Gito Hustler; Go Bangs; Grapevine; Green Milk From The Planet Orange; Guinny Vamps; Gyogun Rend’s; Hal From Apollo ‘69; Havana Exotica; Hige; Hoover’s Ooover; Hydro-Guru; Invisibleman’s Deathbed; Jet Boys; Jitterin’ Jinn; Judy And Mary; Kegawa No Maries; Lin Clover; Ling Toshite Shigure; Lolita No. 18; Love Pigs; Love Psychedelico; Luminous Orange; Macarthur a Contti; Mad Moisell; Mean Machine; Thee Michelle Gun Elephant; Milk Crown; Missile Girl Scoot; Molice; Mong Hang; Mono; Mummy The Peepshow; Akina Nakamori; Papaya Paranoia; Polysics; The Portugal Japan; Prambath; The Predators; Puffy (aka Puffy AmiYumi); Rocket Jack Vaders; The Rodeo Carburettor; Ron Ron Clou; Sentimental Bus; Shakalabbits; Six O’Minus; Spandecks; Spoozys; Stone Deaf; Supercar; Supersnazz; Susan; Tama; Teeny Frahoop; Jun Togawa; Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re; Up-Tight; Who The Bitch; Yen Town Band; and Zoobombs
& OTHERS (live reviews) (#s-A); (B-C); (D-E); (F); (G-J); (K-L); (M-N); (O-R); (S); (T-Z)
including: 2Up; The 5,6,7,8’s; 10 Yen Ana Kinoko; 50 Kaitenz; Thee 50’s High Teens; 54-71; 54 Nude Honeys; Accel 4; Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paradaiso U.F.O.; Acid Mothers Temple SWR; Tomomi Adachi; Afrirampo; Agatsuma; Air; Akaten; AKB48; Akima & Neos; Asakusa Jinta; Attack Haus; Bakubeni; Balloons; Bathtub Shitter; The Beaches; Big Frog; Blue III; Bonkin’ Clapper; Boom Boom Satellites; Boredoms; Boris; Bossston Cruising Mania; Budo Grape; The Captains; Charisma Pampie; Clammbon; Clione-Index; Condor 44; Core Of Soul; Cornelius; Curlies; Demi Semi Quaver; Déspairs Ray; Dip; DMBQ; Do Thank Anal; Drillchop 9; The Dudoos; Eastern Youth; Ed Woods; Electric Eel Shock; Elekibass; Ellegarden; The Emeralds; Emulsion; Envy; Steve Eto; Falsies On Heat; Fantasy’s Core; Far East Native; Flight Of Idea; Flip; Flower Travellin’ Band; Fushitsusha; Fuzzass; Garorinz; Gasoline; Gaucho; Gevil; Ghost; Gito Gito Hustler; Goggle-A; Gouka; Grapevine; Green Milk From The Planet Orange; Guva; Keiji Haino; Hard Tricks; Head Phones President; Heart Bazaar; The Heiz; Henry Tennis; High Rise; The High-Lows; Hikashu; Himawari; Holidays Of Seventeen; Hypercube; Indian Hi; Invisibleman’s Deathbed; Jackie & The Cedrics; The Jerry Lee Phantom; Jet Boys; Jitterin’ Jinn; Kahimi Karie; Masami Kawaguchi’s New Rock Syndicate; Ai Kawashima; Ketchup Mania; Kiiiiiii; Minami Kizuki; Koenji Hyakkei; Kokeshi Doll; Kokusyoko Sumire; Limited Express (has gone?); Local Sound Style; Lolita No. 18; Love Psychedelico; LSD March; Luminous Orange; Macarthur a Contti; The Mad Capsule Markets; Mainliner; Marble Sheep; Melt-Banana; Mermort Sounds Film; Merzbow; Thee Michelle Gun Elephant; Miminokoto; Kosetsu Minami; Takako Minekawa; Yuto Miyazawa; Moja; Mong Hang; Mono; Muddy World; Mummy The Peepshow; My Way My Love; Nananine; Natural Calamity; The Neat Beats; Ni-Hao; Noodles; Numb; Number Girl; OK City OK; Omodaka; OOIOO; Oorutaichi; Orange Pekoe; Ovum; Papaya Paranoia; Peck You!!; Perorins; Petit Mit; Petty Booka; Pe´z; Picarince; Pillows; PINE*am; Pistol Valve; Polysics; The Portugal Japan; Prambath; Puffy (aka Puffy AmiYumi); Puppypet; Quaff; Qypthone; Red Bacteria Vacuum; Rin’; Rinken Band; Rocket Jack Vaders; The Rodeo Carburettor; Ruins; Ruins Alone; SA; Sabbat; Ryuichi Sakamoto; The Salinger; Scandal; Seikazoku; Shrinp Wark; Space Combine; Spanam; Sparky Quano; Sparta Locals; Spoozys; Stance Punks; Stone Deaf; Strike Out; Suishou No Fune; The Suzan; Swinging Popsicle; Techma; Teengenerate; Titan Go Kings; Tokyo Pinsalocks; Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra; Tomiya; Tomovsky; Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re; Noriko Tujiko; Understatements; Unicorn Table; Up-Tight; Vampillia; Veronica’s Violet; Volume Out; We Acediasts; Fuyuki Yamakawa; The Young Ones; Yura Yura Teikoku; Zazen Boys; Zoffy; The Zoobombs; ZOoOoOm; and Zubi Zuva X
ARTISTS’S LINKS
Recent Additions:
Segment 2 (of 8) of the Hoppy Kamiyama interview was added on February 6th
Added November 7: THE HEIZ live at Don Pedro’s; and reviews of THE HEIZ’s The Heiz CD; TSU SHI MA MI RE’s Ah, Umi Da. CD; CHINA CHOP’s Apes On Frontier CD; and The QUESTIONMARKS’ Boo! I’m A Ghost! CD
Added November 8: THE HEIZ live at Santos Party House
Added November 10: MARBLE SHEEP live at Bar Matchless
Added November 18: SHONEN KNIFE live at Brooklyn Bowl
Added November 24: MELT-BANANA live at Bowery Ballroom
Added November 25: BOOM BOOM SATELLITES live at Santos Party House
Added December 8: Reviews of Aiha Higurashi’s Perfect Days CD; and MARBLE SHEEP’s Purple and Green CDs
Added December 21: THE GIMMIES page; and a review of THE PLASTICS’ Origato25 CDs
Added January 19: Reviews of BLEACH’s Bleachstone CD; KIRIHITO’s Question CD; and HOOVER’S OOOVER’s Futoushiki To Sono Kai CD
