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)

continue

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.

Here’s a little something for you all to enjoy.

source: I believe gelbooru.com. Search for Fujiko.

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. As a little gift, I provided some reviews of various things for your reading enjoyment. I also plan on reviewing more things and possibly posting up the music samples for the album reviews sometime soon after the initial post. This has been a bit of a difficult time for me to get these things done, but this is one thing under the belt. I can now rest without worrying about this one thing now.

The site has gone too far into the music area and I am trying to bring in other elements of Japan and perhaps other parts of Asia that I enjoy. I am also working on my own projects that I may put up on this site. I will try to post things that everyone can enjoy. Thank you my readers for supporting this site for a while now even though posts have been sparse and a bit outdated.

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.

Surf Bungaku Kamakura was released November 5, 2008 as their sixth album release. You could say its a blend of old with some experimental exploration into disjunct guitar rhythms. There are definitely differences in blending and what instruments stand out when and where. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION has kept with their punk rock style. There isn’t really much for fast-paced songs in this album, but good overall. The quality of the audio is nice. I didn’t hear any crackling in the sound, which I always find distracting. A decent pair of speakers can often drown out if not eliminate the crackling from most music though.

Instrumentals: 9.4

Typical rock instrumentation and AKFG styling in the guitar parts. It’s clear and strong with some solid arrangements. The volume of the instruments are at a good level where it does not disrupt the singing. What I do like is how AKFG implements a somewhat raw sound into their music. It’s makes for more of a unique listening experience from other Japanese rock bands out there.

Vocals: 9.2

Strong and clear with some good backup vocals to compliment. The melodies are rather simple and a bit of the same from older projects. Masafumi Gotō has a very unique singing voice that puts a level of charm to this type of music. He does not really explore many different ranges, but Masafumi rather sticks with his comfort zone much of the time in the whole album.

01 Fujisawa Loser

Good beginning that has something of the pillows touch to the intro. When the first verse comes in, the typical AKFG guitar effects come in. The melody is interesting with plenty of intricacies in the guitar parts. I like lead guitar part as if plays a prominent part in the whole song. “Fujisawa Loser” is a laid back song with plenty of style and is probably my one of my favorite songs on this album.

02 Kugenuma Surf

This song is pretty much a follow up to the first song. It is also laid back and very much the same in tempo. The guitar is more unrestrained and is much louder than in “Fujisawa Loser”. There isn’t anything much new here.

03 Enoshima Escar

Another laid back song with nothing much exciting going on. I think it would have been better at this point that a faster paced song was placed here rather than another moderate tempo piece. It’s a decent song, but more of the same short ensembles with basically the same rhythms.

04 Koshigoe Cry Baby

I bet you can guess, another slow song. This one is a bit slower than the first three songs. I guess you could say it’s a punk rock ballad. The arrangement for this song is well done with some moments such as the chorus part. At this point, I feel a bit tired of the monotone elements of this album. You may feel a bit differently.

05 Shichirigahama Skywalk

Fairly unique opening to this song. I like when the vocals come in a fairly monotone style. The song has a cool style to it. The instrumentation is at appropriate levels compared to the vocals. The melody is soothing and takes a different route from the prototypical AKFG song.

06 Inamuragasaki Jane

The tempo for this song is much faster than many of the songs on this album. I would not say that the song is catchy, but it has a unique choppy style to it that makes it entertaining. The guitar part goes into a rather impressive guitar solo that makes this song a boost from the other music.

07 Gokurakuji Heartbreak

The beginning of this song sounds like a Monoral song. After the intro, it goes into the same ol’ Asian Kung-Fu Generation style. This song is also a faster paced song as the previous track on this album. It doesn’t have many newer elements to the style besides the Monoral -like reoccuring rhythmic part that comes in a couple of times.

08 Hase Suns

This song is moderate in tempo with a choppy rhythm in the instrumentals. I do like how this song is assembled with the short, staccato notes in the beginning and then into the chorus where there are longer notes. Good song and worth a listen. The instrumental break is a nice touch and implemented well.

09 Yuigahama Kite

The intro hurt my ears. Decent song, but a bit boring.

10 Kamakura Goodbye

Nice deep acoustic guitar accompaniment to the vocalist. This song is at a nice tempo with a good, gentle melody in the vocals. By this time, I’m asleep.

Overall:

I honestly say that this must be one of the most boring albums I’ve listened to for a while. Nothing much is going on. The first two songs were interesting because the lead guitar part observed some interesting rhythms and notes. It was totally disjunct from the rest of the song. For the rest of the album, there was little differences between each song with the same tempo and drowned out mellow sound. Though you could say you could sit back and just listen to the music and relax, I’d be half tempted to sleep rather than listen to the whole album. Sorry ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, but please interdisperse some more interesting and faster tempo songs in between your many ballads.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 9.4
Vocals: 9.2
Replay Value: 6.8
Quality: 8.8
Overall: 8.6 (Great)

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.

Younha comes back with a new style and new music. From the cover and booklet, it looks like she took on a bit of the current trend. She looks really good, too. At first I thought perhaps her music would mirror her look on the cover, but I was wrong. Her music is a bit different from her past work, but there are some splendid ballads as well as some catchy songs with great beats. Her singing voice is still very good.

You can find the lyrics here. You can find the romanized Korean lyrics as well as the English translation when you scroll down the page.

Instrumentals: 9.8

Some good choices of instruments and also the arrangements are nice. There are some nice points where certain instruments do a good job in joining in the rest of the song and then cut out. There is some crackling if you are wearing ear buds, but on normal speakers you will not hear any at all. The cause is most likely to the level of bass where the ear buds cannot reach. Good balance between instruments and vocals. Some songs have some odd choices in effects and electronically synthesized additions.

Vocals: 9.8

I’ve noticed that Younha has a higher pitch throughout this album. It somewhat is reminiscent of some of her earlier songs on the Go! Younha Japanese album. She still has a great voice that is both strong and lovely in ballads and in her regular songs. I do notice some points where she seems to be struggling with keeping a pitch or range, but it’s not bad at all and it actually adds more character to the song. Younha still proves to be one of my favorite artists from Asia.

01 Gossip Boy

This song takes some styles that I’ve heard in the previous album and the Go! Younha album. Great bass sound and instrumental sound. Very clear and pretty simple in arrangement. The piano adds great backup to the rest of the instrumentation as well as Younha’s voice. The vocal melody is catchy and nice, especially as it leads in and out of the key change area.

02 Memory [Rap mix]

Nice soft start. A bit of crackling through my headphones, but not through regular speakers. I like the incorporation of the rap into this song. Great start with a mellow beginning to the song. When the beat is established, this song just makes you tap your foot. “Memory” has a great beat and the melody is good as well. Younha’s voice sounds very nice in this song, but because of its short staccato notes in the vocals her range and power in her voice is not very displayed to its fullest.

03 Hero

This is one of her pop rock songs of the album. Fast paced and catchy. It’s a good song with a mix of rock instrumentation and symphonic instruments as well. The piano solo is a great addition and is blended rather well. Great bass line.

04 Someday

Someday is probably one of the most interesting songs in this album. It’s a mix of rock and jazz. The instrumentation is very good as well. The melody reminds me of some of the songs from the anime Cowboy Bebop, if you haven’t seen it I really suggest it or at least listen to the music from the show. Back to this song, great blend of strings and rock. Younha’s voice is very strong and convincing in “Someday”.

05 Telepathy

It’s another rock-type song on this album that takes some style from the Go! Younha album. It’s a good song with a catchy beat. The vocals are nice as well. The key change is well done and I like how it blends into the rest of the song.

06 Rain & The Bar

A simple introduction to the next song.

07 The Sound of Rain

A nice soft song with simple jazz elements. Slow tempo with nice piano accompaniment. Younha’s voice is very clear and nice throughout the song. This song has a nice melody and the chorus just seems to rise above the other verses. “The Sound of Rain” is a great song with simple elements that is different from the rest of the album.

08 Rainbow

Great acoustic parts in the song with wonderful deep tones. I like the melody that just seems to repeat from verse to verse and smoothly transitions into the chorus. It is a light ballad that is good to listen to while reading a book or just relaxing in your room.

09 Best Friend

I’ll probably say that this is a song to mirror Rainbow. It starts much the same, but it is essentially a different song with a faster tempo. There are aspects of this song that makes it song like something from the 80s or early 90s. It could be the synthesizers dispersed throughout the song. When the song breaks into the key change, it takes on a softer tone but does a nice crescendo into a stronger part and back into a soft part before ending with the refrain several times.

10 Strawberry Days

Great acoustic arrangement during this whole song. It’s another great ballad by Younha that I personally enjoy more than the other ballads on this album. It has a light sound with a matching bass part. Younha’s voice is clear and strong through the long notes. She handles the higher range well. I would strongly suggest that you’d listen to this song and perhaps share it with your friends.

11 For Catharina

Beautiful piano piece with many dark deeps and moving melody. The tones are all long and blend well.

12 Hating

Another ballad in this album with some nice piano accompaniment. It’s soft in the beginning, but picks up in volume later. I’m going to say that this is like many of Younha’s ballads, but very good none-the-less. I thought the guitar solo and the synthesizer was a bit over-the-top though.

13 My Song and …

The one and only song that is completely in English on this album. Great song sung by Younha. The instrumentals are awesome. The lyrics are a typical love song and somewhat cheesy, but I love it. Younha’s pronunciation is spot on with little to no errors. I guess it is an important aspect for any artist, in my opinion, that if they attempt to sing a song in a foreign language that artist needs to work at the pronunciation. Younha doesn’t sacrifice her tone and her natural singing voice to the pronunciation as well. Very, very impressive. Worth the listen.

14 Don’t Cry

This song is very 70s -like. It has a simple and smooth melody and instrumentals that mirror the symphonic sweeps and brass accompaniment from the good ol’ disco days. This isn’t a fast song, but rather a ballad. Some people might be put off by the retro sound of this song, but I find it very classy and some what refreshing from much of the music floating around these days.

15 Memory [Original Mix]

Nothing much different from the rap mix. It’s still great standing alone without the rap, but it feels like something is missing.

16 Telepathy Instrumentals

17 Hating Instrumentals

Overall:

This is a great album. There are aspects of this album that is a bit experimental, such as the retro-styled songs and the jazzy implementations in “The Sound of Rain”. I’m glad I got to get this album and give it a good listen. Although it mainly consists of ballads and I would have liked to hear more exciting songs, I enjoyed all songs equally anyway. Younha is a splendid artist and I hope to hear more from her. It’s a shame I haven’t heard anything new from her on the Japanese side of her music. With as much as I enjoy listening to Younha, maybe I should open up a fansite.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 9.8
Vocals: 9.8
Replay Value: 10
Quality: 10
Overall: 9.9 (Excellent!)

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.

Click on the above image to see full-sized image. I believe this image came from gelbooru.com.

This is a fairly attractive girl leaned over what I believe is a sack full of presents. I like the clothing and the nice amounts of pantsu to skirt ratio. The coloring is very nice and cool, which makes it appealing to the eyes. The style makes her look youthful, but not too young. The hands seem a bit small, but it’s a lot better than man-hands. If Santa looked like this, I’d probably would stay up every Christmas.

Grade: B+/A-