David Bowie: "Look up here, I'm in Heaven"

From DavidBowie.com

"David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief."

In this song "Lazarus" he sings "Look up here, I'm in Heaven"

Quite a fitting stage exit from this world, indeed. RIP.

Note: The sold out off Broadway play Lazarus written By David Bowie & Enda Walsh continues through January 20th. Most likely it will be continued for a much longer run.

See all related previous posts here.

Kraftwerk Live in Tokyo @ NO NUKES

Kraftwerk performs "Geiger Counter" and "Radioactivity" live in Tokyo at Makuhari Messe on July 7, 2012. This performance was part of the No Nukes 2012 music festival which was started by composer Ryūichi Sakamoto and included many celebrity musicians and bands. All of the event's proceeds were donated to the anti-nuclear group Sayonara Genpatsu of which Sakamoto is a member.



See also:

Makoto Wada Anti Nuclear Poster

mishmash＊Julie Watai Release "Go Furby Go"

Yesterday mishmash＊Julie Watai released the short version of their fourth single/music video entitled "Go Furby Go". The full length version will be available from October 26th, 2012 on iTunes, amazon.com, Google Play and other sites. Meanwhile please enjoy the abridged compositions on Youtube:

English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBItKqGfa2U

Japanese
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTEZhpnvO7Q



As an early listener of the full length audio release, I have come to really appreciate this slow, mysterious tune in its expression of the lifestyle of a very busy model/singer and her music team. More than just an "an ode to the toy" this song features some interesting English, Spanish and Japanese lyrics in an abstract array describing some hasty preparations and inner feelings leading up to a fictional mishmash＊Julie Watai TV debut. Also featured is Furby's hacked voice that babbles some cute and funny electronic phrases in English and "Furbish". Additionally, in the video we get to see Julie-san wearing some sexy lingerie by Neon Opera Tokyo. mishmash＊Julie Watai is Toyoaki Mishima, Julie Watai and Masu Hiroshi Masuyama. Be sure to download this group's popular mp3 songs from Amazon, Ototoy and iTunes.

Related:

Julie Watai & mishmash* Debut Single "Roll of Love"

mishmash＊Julie Watai 'Veiled by Reverb' 2nd Single

mishmash＊Julie Watai Release 3rd Single

Julie Watai's Furby Toy Video

New DPRK Theme Song for Kim Jong Un

Via Buzzfeed Jul 6, 2012

In an seemingly ongoing effort to create a new image, North Korea aka "Best Korea" recently released a new patriotic theme song for The Great Eater: Kim Jong Un. This is a majestic, upbeat tune entitled "Onwards Toward the Final Victory." But strangely enough, in the official music video for this song, there are no photos nor video footage of Kim Jong Un included within it. Instead, there is a greater emphasis on industrial power, happy workers and, of course, the military. Check it out:





See also:

Sacha Baron Cohen & Kim Jong Il's Ashes @ The Oscars

North Korean Version of "Take on Me"

Why Kim Jong-Un is Immortal

Julie Watai in New Music Video

Via mishmash＊Julie Watai May 24, 2012

Released yesterday, here are some nice photos of Julie Watai as seen during the current production of a new music video by mishmash＊Julie Watai. Dressed in this smart tour guide uniform, Julie will also be seen on the upcoming new website for this popular music duo.

For more information please visit the mishmash＊ website or the official Facebook page.

Related:

Julie Watai & Toyoaki Mishima Photo

Julie Watai & mishmash* Debut Single "Roll of Love"

Yodeler Takeo Ishi Sings "New Bibi-chicken"

Well-known and loved for decades, the television/radio star yodeler Takeo Ishi is now going viral on the internets with this hilarious WTF and beautiful music video entitled: "New Bibi-chicken":



Ishi began yodeling as a student and practiced in the mountains of Japan. He joined the "Alpine Yodeling" club and wound up on Japanese TV in a short time. He then went to Switzerland and sang in a restaurant for tourists and was immediately hired. That was the beginning of a 20+ year singing career in Europe. Along the way he teamed up with master yodeler Franzl Lang and since then has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows throughout Europe. Now he is becoming very popular on the web. He lives in Germany with his family and is very highly regarded as an amazing talent in the genre of yodel music.

See also:

Julie Watai & mishmash* Debut Single "Roll of Love"

Japan's #1 Forever Alone Musician

Julie Watai & mishmash* Debut Single "Roll of Love"

FLASH NEWS UPDATE: April 21, 2012

The original Japanese version of this song "Koi No Tamashii" is ranked as the number one best seller on Amazon Japan.

FLASH NEWS UPDATE: April 19, 2012

This debut single by mishmash* and Julie Watai is now ranked at the number one and number two positions for hit songs/most popular downloads on Amazon Japan:





Just released the other day, here is the short version of the international debut single by Julie Watai and mishmash* entitled "Roll of Love" with music video by Kerokeroking:



The long version of this song is available on iTunes and Amazon Japan. mishmash* aka. Toyoaki Mishima 美島豊明 is the sound programmer for the world-renowned musician and producer Cornelius. There is a rumor that this solo project could soon become a full-length album.



Related:

New Julie Watai Self Portrait

Julie Watai's 2012 Calendar

North Korean Version of "Take on Me"

Unless you've been living in the DPRK, you probably have seen or heard about some kind of strange and funny North Korean videos. Most of the time they feature young kids playing and singing traditional folk tunes or patriotic songs. But now all the way from the Kum Song School in Pyongyang, we have a group of accordion students playing A-Ha's big 80s hit "Take on Me":



This performance is a part of "The Promised Land" project by director and artist Morten Traavik. You can read more about this production at Traavik.info Creative Intelligence Agency and at Barents Spektakel 2012.

UPDATE: Some readers have already written in and Anna from Tokyo wrote: "Didja notice how the phone rang immediately after they finished the song? Probably it was the new Best Kim (aka "The Young-Un" and "Kim Jong Iliberace")



demanding their immediate arrest and incarceration for playing that "foreign devil's music."

We also have an update from the almighty Taro, the lame who says "Japan is always better than Korea! See irrefutable proof":





And, obviously, that is correct as everyone knows that the Japanese are superior to all other humans. But don't forget that Pyongyang North Korea is ‘better’ than Tokyo!

Related:

New North Korean Videos

North Korean TV Segments

WTF Chinese Beach Party Dance Video!

In case you missed it, and you probably did, recently on Youtube there has been a growing popularity of these wild and funny low-budget, locally-filmed, WTF Chinese dance music videos! Think cheap Bollywood on too much caffeine. Well for this one entitled "Local Swimsuit Dance - (Chinese peasant singer dancing)", the uploader/owner of the video zuoyezhideng claims the following:

"This is a very low budget production for peasants in southwest China. All the dancers in the video are peasant singers. They usually sing funny/flirting/teasing songs to each other, which is a tradition of rural southwest China. A lot of the people in the video have hundreds of Albums and are very popular in rural southwest China."

WARNING: This is a NSFW age-restricted music video which once seen, cannot be unseen:



You can see more of these kind of WTF, funny videos on Zuoyezhideng's Youtube channel.

Deerhoof vs. Evil - The Merry Barracks

Deerhoof just released a new album with this featured single "The Merry Barracks":



See more about this new release here: Deerhoof vs. Evil

Be sure to listen to more tracks at Deerhoof vs. Evil | Global Album Leak

Okinawa Gaijin Party in the USA!

Via FG here is very cool Okinawa GAIJIN rendition of Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA:

Tokyo Koenji Street Show 2010 Video

From Lazysupper - here is a brief but very amusing video of the recent Koenji Street Show 2010 filmed nearby in West Tokyo:

Left My Heart in Tokyo

Here is "Left My Heart in Tokyo" by Mini Viva
This debut single from last year was very popular and charted well in Europe. Their new album is due out any day now. See more at Viva Mini Viva

'Headphone' Video by Molice

From their first album 'Doctor Ray' here is an all-new promo video called 'Headphone' by one of Japan's hottest alternative rock groups Molice:




Be sure to also check out their very cool first promo video Ms. Panic

To find out more about this quickly up and coming band, please visit the Molice Official Website

Aria Asia Live: 'Morning Sunshine'

In the spring of 2008, Aria Asia started out by playing solo violin in the streets of Shibuya, Tokyo. She quickly became very popular and has since worked with Do As Infinity and Japan's "Empress of Pop" Ayumi Hamasaki. Also, she will tour later this year with the world famous Kitaro. The below video features Aria Asia and her rock band in a recent live performance of "Morning Sunshine" in Tokyo:




Aria Asia's current band is Aria(violin), D・A・I (guitar), Acchi(bass) and DUCCI(drums). This group will appear today (Friday, July 24th) at the Fuji Rock Festival in the Gypsy Avalon starting around 7:00 pm. To find out more please visit the Aria Asia Official Site

Mass of The Fermenting Dregs - ハイライト

Yes, I have been posting often about "Masu Dore" lately, but, seriously, modern-day alternative rock music does not get any better than this incredible band from Kobe, Japan. Here is a digital YouTube audio clip for their awesome ハイライト ("Highlight") single:




To hear more, check out their Myspace Page And also, be sure to visit the official website of Mass of The Fermenting Dregs

Related posts:


Live Video: Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs Tokyo Concert Review

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs Live Video

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs Promo Video

Who Are The Japanese Popstars?

Well, they're not Japanese and they don't even play 'pop' music, but the The Japanese Popstars are one of the most popular electronica/house DJ groups going these days. Check out this very cool video for their "Facemelter" single released earlier this year:



The Japanese Popstars are Decky Hedrock, Gary Curran, and Gareth Donoghue. This group will appear at the upcoming Fuji Rock Festival. You can find out more information and download about five hours of their music tracks for free at The Japanese Popstars Podcast

a flood of circle promo video

Here is a recent release called "Buffalo Dance" by a flood of circle:



a flood of circle will appear at the Fuji Rock Festival. To find out more about this band, please visit their official website

Scandal: "SHOJO S" - "Young Girl"

Here is a new single release entitled "SHOJO S" or "Young Girl" by the Japanese power pop group from Osaka Scandal:Scandal is Haruna Ono (vocals, guitar), Tomomi Ogawa (bass, vocals), Mami Sasazaki (guitar,vocals) and Rina Suzuki (drums,vocals). To see more about this band, visit the : Scandal Official Website

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs Promo Video

Released earlier this year, this is a very cool promo video entitled このスピードの先へ　(Kono Speed no Saki E) or "This Speed Ahead" by the Japanese alternative rock group Mass of the Fermenting Dregs:




To find out more about this up-and-coming band, visit their official website: Mass of the Fermenting Dregs Also you can hear more of their alternative rock music at their official MySpace page: Mass of the Fermenting Dregs on MySpace

Related posts:

Live Video: Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

Mass of The Fermenting Dregs - ハイライト

Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs Tokyo Concert Review

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs Live Video