For a long time running, JPopular.com has not been updated in terms of music reviews, videos, let alone anime. It has been partly because I’ve been busy or too tired to work on this website. A person gave the suggestion that a member’s section will help keep the site running itself. Now, as much as that sounds logical, I’ve tried to build a community around my website without any luck. However, I do believe in the prospects of a few individuals that may be willing to help out in making the members section work.

I am currently adding a WordPress installation for the members section. It will still be some time before it is ready, but I want to make things clear. I will be moderating posts and members for this section. My web host prohibits any pornography or slander to be posted. It also prohibits me from spreading copyrighted material by other artists. There will be rules and appointed moderators. If I have to, I will close the members section if things get out of hand.

Now that the messy stuff is out of the way, I would like to know who would be willing to help me out? Give me a couple good reasons why I should give you collaborative rights and/or editor rights and how you will make the experience at JPopular.com better.

AAA - Break Down Banner

Hey people, what’s up? I know, I know… I’ve been slacking off from reviewing stuff for the better part of the year and a half. Since that’s the case, I figure I’ll add some reviews that I’ve been meaning on writing. The first of the series is AAA’s “Break Down/Break Your Name/Summer Revolution” single. This single was released on July 29th, 2009 and it is AAA’s 21st single. Considering that I personally haven’t heard anything by AAA for a while, this is a nice refreshing change of pace in what I’ve been listening to lately (non-Japanese music).

So what’s new with this single? Nothing much breaks (no pun intended) from the typical AAA sound. It’s the same Japanese dance-pop music with techno influence for instrumentals. It’s good stuff though, don’t get me wrong. The beat is prominent and catchy and the vocals are excellent. No slow songs for this single, so for those people that love those lovely AAA balads, too bad. The instrumentals are good for all the songs, but I’d say it doesn’t stray from what has already been done before.

Instrumentals: 8.7

Although the instrumentals and the dance beat along with the techno feel makes this song sound like something from the 90s, I’m not very impressed. I like how well it is blended and mixed, but much of it is too similar to what I’ve heard before from T.M. Revolution and even Two Mix way back when. Everything is crisp and clear with little muddiness. The breaks in the music don’t interrupt with the flow and rather add effect to what otherwise may be boring. In terms of what is used for instrumentals, it’s synthesized beats and computer sounds along with sirens. All of which I think AAA has used before. The effects are fairly typical of the techno and trance genre.

Vocals: 9.5

Everybody sings well in all three songs. Every note sung is sustained well. There is some nasally sounds coming from both the girls, but that is just how they sing. The vocal parts and arrangements were produced and performed well in all three of the songs. Nobody seems to over sing.

01 Break Down

First off, it sounds like “brak down” in the beginning, but they actually sing “break down” in the parts where there isn’t any mixing involved with the vocals. If you can get past that, the rest of the song is pretty good. It definitely is a techno/dance mix with good vocals. The effects are reminiscent of things I’ve heard in the 90′s. I guess you could call it a throw back, but AAA has pretty much been in this area of music since their creation. The rap sections are combined pretty well with the singing portions. The blending between the two is well done. There isn’t much variance except when the rap comes in periodically throughout the song.

02 Break Your Name

This is a guys only song. The instrumentals are pretty much the same from the last song. You could say it keeps with the dance/techno theme of this whole single. The sirens are well incorporated into the song. It’s a fast moving song with a pretty good melody. The beat is strong and mostly in the midrange. Good balance and little break in the music between transitions from section to the next section.

03 Summer Revolution

This is the girls’ song. It keeps with the dance/techno theme of the whole single. It has lighter instrumentals than the guys’ song. The melody is the typical JPop sound rather than the hip-hop rhythms that are rather popular with artists now-a-days. I would say that nothing is really exciting about this song.

Overall:

All of the songs are fast beat and rather good, but not exciting or different from most Japanese dance/techno beat music. You could say it’s a take on JPop in the late 80s and 90s. If you think of it that way, it’s a good retrospect on music, but for the current trend in music it is a little dated. I think AAA could stand to be a bit more creative.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 8.7
Vocals: 9.5
Replay Value: 7.0
Quality: 9.0
Overall: 8.55 (Great)

And we are back after  a long break because of school and an awfully short vacation. I noticed my viewership is about the same and I thought it was about time to start posting again. When thinking of my comeback post, I thought long and hard about what I should do. Should I introduce a new section or feature to the site, or should I try and bolster what I have? As you can see, I decided to go with the latter.

I’ve been a continual fan of GLAY for a couple of years now. Their music has always lifted my spirits and added variety to my mostly stagnant collection on my computer and iPod. For this review, I’m going to analyze GLAY’s “I am XXX” single. If you haven’t noticed, many of my reviews are based on my first listen through and I write what ever comes on my mind and what I like in the songs. I hope this single is as good as the other music I’ve heard from GLAY.

Instrumentals:

A bit heavy on the bass, but it added good instrumental effect. I liked the incorporation of the electronic effects on the instruments. There seem to be more personality in the music outside of what you typically hear from GLAY. Drums were loud, but solid.

Vocals:

Strong as ever and very clear.

01 I am XXX

This song introduces a bit more synthesized and effects driven instrumentals than what I’m used to with GLAY. “I am XXX” is also a bit heavier in the instrumentals as well. In a way, this song is more like art rock with plenty of experimentation with their sound. It doesn’t have the same rhythm as their past music, which makes “I am XXX” interesting. Good song, and worth a listen if not a couple more.

02 冬のエトランジェ (THE GREAT VACATION-extra- Live ver.)

Great melody and I love the effects done to the vocals. The song has a distinct beat that is heavy and slow, but it is fitting to the feel of this song. Again, a great experimentation with GLAY’s sound that doesn’t carry much of the familiar feel of their past ballads. The piano is very nice and complements the rest of the instruments and ends this song well.

03  I am xxx (Instrumental)

04 THE GREAT VACATION VOL.1 (予告編)

Blast from the past?

Overall:

Good experience overall. I like this single for how different it sounds from past GLAY works. There are some moments that I felt were a little slow or didn’t meld well in “I am XXX” but it was good in the whole sense. As for replay value, I’m peculiar and will let anything play again at least two or three times depending on what comes up on my computer. If you aren’t like me, you may want to take a step back before getting this single and consider how much you like GLAY. It’s a good single, but if you don’t like the difference or if you’re stuck on how GLAY sounded for the last two albums, reconsider.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 8.9
Vocals: 9.0
Replay Value: 8.6
Quality: 9.0
Overall: 8.875 (out of 10, great single)

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Hey everybody, it has been a while since my last post. Sure this site seems dead, but our viewership seems to remain at a constant flow. If you’ve been checking back periodically, thanks for the support. Too bad the internet won’t allow for the transmission of hugs or cookies. Well, I could ship cookies but that would be expensive.

Here’s what’s coming up on Jpopular.com. We will resume music reviews, but I plan on expanding our coverage. It’s been a while since we’ve done any snack and candy reviews. I also want to try and cook Asian cuisine, so that may become a photo adventure for the website. As for member sections… I will have to try and work that out. I’m a little unsure how this will go, but I may set an area off for members to log in and be able to add posts to the website.

What are my current interests:
1. X Japan “I.V.” PV
2. Facebook
3. Rock Band 2 because I have X Japan’s “I.V.” DLC’d.
4. Call of Duty: World at War
5. Getting a copy of Iron Man and finally watching it for the first time.

So, check back people and see if we have anything new in the coming months. School was hectic, but I should be able to push stuff out this summer. Thanks a lot for visiting!

So, a friend took up my offer to use up one of my domains to create his own site. You may know him as Max on this site, but over there he’s Spartakips. His site is totally unlike mine in the aspect that it covers his own Adobe Flash games. Yes, an aspiring developer in the world of online Flash gaming. I wish I took the time to learn Flash like him, then I could be powerful awesome as well. I’m currently sharing this hosting plan with him, although I’m the one paying. It’s cool though because I can SP@M his side of the FTP!

There isn’t much there because he just started working on it. This is his first time with the WordPress platform, so he is still learning how to work with it. I’m of course there to guide him with my limited knowledge as well. If you’d like to keep track of his games and sites’ progress, check it out at http://www.productionkips.com.

It’s been a rough year for everybody around the world, but I hope people are finding the New Year’s spirit within them. I wish you guys a very happy new year and the best of luck. Jpopular.com is proud to be going into it’s third year of existence soon, and we hope you will be there to help us grow some more.

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We’ve officially launched our new layout! It’s our 3rd version on the WordPress platform and I still am loving every aspect of it. This is also a great time because it’s Christmas. (continue reading…)

Did you guys miss my reviews of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION? Wait, there aren’t any for some reason. I was sure I reviewed them at least one or two times. Anyway, there are some songs that I seem to like from this band, but there are others that keep me away at a distance. I found that much of their work consists of the same old stuff that mirrors from one song to the other. One other band that is subject to this is UVERworld. Let’s see if this album does anything different from what we’ve heard before. (continue reading…)

Someday is a Korean album released by Younha on September 9, 2008. I finally get more music from Younha. It’s a great album with tons of different sounds and styles. I was excited to get this in the mail, and now I’m very excited in reviewing this and perhaps letting you have some samples. Of course, like with all of my other album reviews, they are only streaming samples. I have always thought Younha had a great voice and I still do. It was a little discouraging not seeing much new activity from this artist for quite some time, but when I found out this album was released, I was ecstatic.

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Welcome to our fairly new segment, Occasional Ecchi 003 for the growing young man. Since it’s the holidays I think Santa-san is needed here. If you’re a young lady, perhaps you want to look at something else if you don’t enjoy these things. (continue reading…)