So this morning I woke up with Kurt Vile on my mind. I had finally processed his new album "Smoke Rings For My Halo" and was ready to write up a Friday review, when I logged onto Facebook and saw the status update from a close friend of mine who works as an editor at the Chicago Tribune. He has a tendency, given where he works, to know the news as it happens, and his status read "Poor Japan!" I knew there had been seismic activity over the past few days in Japan, and immediately a horrible sinking feeling came over me as I read my friend's two-word post. I quickly clicked onto a news site to see the horror that had unfolded. All I could do was sit in front of a live feed from Japan and watch images appear on the screen that looked like what I imagine the end of the world would look like. Once I was able to contain the shock to some degree I began to think of all the rich culture and history of Japan, particularly post-WWII film and music. Japan kind of is the land of unparalleled genius after all. Personally, my all time favorite film director is Akira Kurosawa, and right behind him is Masaki Kobayashi, an opinion I share with Coppola, Scorsese and Tarantino. Younger generations of Japanese filmmakers were not exactly slouches either, giving us a treasure trove of over the top crime and horror films that reinvented both genres in the 1990s and 2000s. Then there is the music; oh yes, the music. I always think of the Japanese as the first experimental musicians. Their lyrical and instrumental folk music is some of the most intriguing, bizarre and haunting historic music that we have record of. I spent an entire year once captivated by biwa, shamisen and koto music, as well as Noh, the musical drama form that was experimenting with rhythm and space long before Western 20th-century avant-garde composers were.
Japan's music of the modern era is vast and brilliant. Ranging from Toru Takemitsu's astonishing mixture of classical and traditional folk to the psychedelic-punk of the Boredoms, there are few nations outside of the United States and England that house the diverse mixture of musical geniuses that Japan does. So not really knowing what else to do in the wake of the disaster that hit Japan this morning, and certainly not having it in me to write a review of Kurt Vile's new record, I thought I would assemble this hodgepodge of Japanese music to honor that great country. This is certainly not a definitive list of the massive talent and artistry that hails from Japan, but I think it is a good jumping off point from which you can start to explore the incredible talent of that now devastated land. Before I get started though, here is a link to go to for ideas on how you can help the people of Japan right now.
And here we go:
Before America ever got its deconstructed acoustic ambient freak-folk on in the mid-aughts, Japan was way ahead of us with the mind-boggling Taj Mahal Travellers way the hell back in the very early 70s. They are mythic, they are kvlt all the way, and if you understand them, I understand you. Get "August 1974" and freak the fuck out.
Les Rallizes Dénudés were communists, terrorists and total fucking rock and roll. They sort of sound like The Velvet Underground but as a noise-psyche band, and ended up being the most influential band in Japan, creating a blueprint for rock-n-roll in that country that has endured for over thirty years. Their "Le 12 Mars 1977 À Tachikawa" should be in ever respectable record collection.
"Night Of The Assassins" live
Fushitsusha are probably the next most influential band in Japanese rock. Decidedly darker than Les Rallizes Dénudés, the "band" was really more of a launching point for the man who would become the most overpowering shadow in all of experimental music worldwide, not just in Japan; Keiji Haino. I have always kind of thought of Fushitsusha as the post-punk Les Rallizes Dénudés, and just as good. They will melt your face off and take you to a place as black as Ian Curtis on a block of ice waiting to die. Start off with "Live 1" or "Live 2" (also known as "Untitled 1 & 2").
Which leads me to...Keiji Haino. What can I even begin to say about Keiji Haino? He is a one man tour-de-force, and as with Les Rallizes Dénudés, if you don't have his work in your collection, well then...you have some work to do before you can hang with the big dogs on the proverbial front porch. Harrowing, brilliant, emotionally raw and abrasive. We may have Bob Dylan, but Japan has Keiji Haino, and it's a toss-up between who is better to be your country's musical legend. The man is prolific. My personal favorite, and a great starting point, is "I Said, This Is The Son Of Nihilism." Gut-wrenching stuff.
"My Only Friend"
Merzbow is one of the first actual "noise" artists. He has written music inspired by both S&M and animal rights, and is pretty much responsible for extreme music worldwide post-Norway. He really is that important.
And now for something completely different: Shonen Knife. Part of "Alternative Nation" history, Kurt Cobain claimed them as a favorite, and stated that they reduced him to "a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert" when he saw them live.
"Banana Chips" live
Shonen Knife wasn't the first punk band in Japan by any means. Guitar Wolf is Japan's Stooges. Their adherance to punk traditions in the late 80s made them that much more authentic.
Melt Banana are one of the most insane bands in the world, and yet another example of Japan's fearless experimentalist. A mixture of punk, noise and electronica, their insanity is matched only by their sense of humor. It is no wonder that Mike Patton loves this band.
"Sick Zip Everywhere"
Melt Banana exists to make the Boredoms seem sane. Here is what you need to know about the Boredoms; other than the fact that they are almost, but not quite, as insane as Melt Banana, they fucking rule. Their psyche-punk is the stuff of dreams and transcendence. Seriously, you could start a religion based on their music. Beautiful, powerful and utterly unique. "Seadrum/House Of Sun" is a pretty great starting point.
"Super Go"
"77 Boardrum" WATCH THIS!
OOIOO is Boredoms drummer Yoshimi P-We's side project; an all female group that combines organic elements with electronics to make for a mix similar to the Flaming Lips. Like the Boredoms, it is hard not to come away from an OOIOO album without a huge smile on your face. I'm a pretty big fan of "Gold And Green."
"Grow Sound Tree"
And then there is Acid Mothers Temple. Combining psyche, metal and everything awesome about the 60s and 70s, Acid Mothers Temple are an institution. Although, I'm sure they would love for you to think of them as a cult. With every cult there is a leader, and AMT's leader is the unbelievably talented and prolific Kawabata Makoto. He is a goof, but he is also a guitar genius that can do Hendrix, Eno and Zappa simultaneously. Yes, he is that good. For a while I attempted to buy every AMT release that came out, but I found myself quickly going into debt and also losing prime real estate on my record shelf. They have so many unbelievable albums, but I'll try to recommend only a couple - You absolutely cannot go wrong with "Univers Zen ou de Zéro à Zéro" or "La Novia."
The first 10 minutes of AMT's epic "Pink Lady Lemonade"
Makoto helped make modern psych-rock history outside of AMT with Mainliner. More straightforward than AMT, Mainliner were "these go to 11" in-the-red rockers who killed it all the way. Mainliner only made a couple of albums, but that is really all that was necessary to ensure them a place in Japanese rock history. Get their awesome "Mellow Out" and weep.
Kawabata Makoto's solo material is something else entirely. Makoto is responsible for some of the most beautiful ambient music of the last twenty years. Seriously. His solo work is as profound and gorgeous as AMT's is profane and over the top. It's like Windy & Carl or Stars of the Lid, but even better. I can't help but recommend pretty much everything he has ever done solo-wise, but I guess if you put a gun to my head I would say start with the "Inui" albums.
Corrupted exploded in the mid-90s and became one of the first progenerators of doom-metal as we know it today. When people list modern doom masters they usually include Corrupted alongside Sunn 0))) and early Earth. Considering the video featured here is of the band playing live in 2000 and this approach to sludge/doom is what has come to dominate the American doom scene over the past few years, it goes without saying that Corrupted are one of the most essential metal bands not only in Japan but the world.
Ghost continue Japan's love affair with psyche, but politicize it in the service of Tibet and progicize it in the service of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. At the same time, their ethereal experimentalism is hard to deny. The band has a long and storied history, and runs the gamut of boundary pushing left-of-center rock. Check out "Snuffbox Immanence."
"Hazy Paradise"
Nagisa Ni Te aren't only the best Japanese dream-pop band, they are one of the best dream-pop bands anywhere. Imagine a Japanese Galaxie 500 and you have an idea of what Nagisa Ni Te sound like. The one to get is "The Same As A Flower."
Do you like Neil Young? Do you like Keiji Haino? Do you like Spacemen 3? Then you will love LSD-March. Awesome drug-addled psyche with a bit of a rustic feel at times.
"Dare Ga Hoera"
And finally...BORIS. Seriously, do I need to write anything about them? If you don't know who Boris is then you better check yerself, before you wreck yerself. They are not only the best band in Japan, but one of the absolute best bands in the world...ever. No other band is able to navigate punk-metal, sludge, doom, ambient, drone, pop and goddamn everything else you could ever throw at them. They are so good that I sometimes take for granted how great they are, like Radiohead. Boris isn't just Japan's national treasure, they are a world treasure that makes being alive at this time worth while even now.
Thank you Japan for all of this amazing music, our hearts are with you.
"Statement"
"My Neighbor Satan"
"A Bao A Qu"
"Flower Sun Rain"
Beginning of "Untitled" from "Smile"
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