There were just too many SCANDAL songs I wanted to post on Part 1 of this entry, so I decided to break them apart and created this second post. This one continues the Pre-pandemic selections, first with 2014’s Awanaitsumorino Genkidene, and then what may be my favorite song by them: 2012’s Shunkan Sentimental! And the oldest track of all included in tonight’s collection: Shojo S, from their high school collection!
SCANDAL got their start in 2008 with the release of their first single DOLL, when they were all in high school together, and they have created a bunch of killer tracks since then. What they have been doing since is nothing short of amazing, and every year they are better than the year before. For those of you who don’t already know them, I wanted to share a few tracks.
The first song in this set is Eternal, their 27th or so Single (they have so many, and my Nihongo is so shady, that I can’t be sure if what I think I read was even close to correct), which was posted on March 2nd of 2021. The reason I intend to pick up this two track single rather than waiting for it to come out on an EP or album? Simple: While the 2nd track is also Eternal, it is the TOWA TEI REMIX (of Yellow Magic Orchestra and METAFIVE fame), which has to be world class! The next track is Tonight from February of 2020; While I would love to say these two songs are the bookends around the Japanese pandemic, I would be lying. Being closer to China than the US is, their pandemic started earlier than ours did, so by Feb2020 it was already in full swing; and it is still going strong today, with the Olympic Committee declaring no fans can attend just a few weeks ago or so because of the risk of contagion. A
Pre-pandemic selection is next, 2018’s Departure. Enjoy!
I thought it was time I posted again about TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA, since they continue to release song after amazing song. All of these were uploaded to You Tube in 2021, in celebration of this year’s Together Again tour and their new album SKA=ALMIGHTY. The first track is Mede Tashi Song feat. Muro Tsuyoshi, posted on June 11th and currently sitting at just shy of 160K views. That’s followed by I want to meet you Feat. Hasegawa blank paper uploaded in March, and we finish up with a live version of Paradise Has No Border recorded at the Great Conjunction 2020 event. If the crowd looks a little less dense than you were expecting it’s because the show happened on December 3rd of 2020, so it is set with Social Distancing seating (not that anyone is actually sitting down), and the audience are all wearing masks.
Wagakki Band continue to create amazing music using their blend of traditional Japanese instruments (the literal translation of the word Wagakki) and modern rock tools. The first track is Aria of Life, their theme song for the Anime series Mars Red, while the second, Starlight, is the theme for the Japanese TV drama “Ichikei no Karasu”. Their music certainly lends itself to TV and Movie production with its unique sound, so they have been getting a lot of work in between recording albums and doing world tours.
Man With A Mission‘s latest tune Into The Deep was posted on June 1st, and is just shy of 300,000 views as I write this. It is the starting track on their new EP Perfect Clarity, and was the theme song for the Godzilla Vs Kong movie. The second track was posted in March to celebrate their 10th anniversary.
NECRY TALKIE is an interesting band, sprawling across Art Rock and J-Pop, with a few J-Rock tracks in their collection. The live video from their new album (their second album, they are still just beginning!) has been released on April 28th, the album itself is coming out on May 19th. Tonight I figured I would share a few of their more recent songs, Frog Quest Ⅱ posted on April 9th, Orenitoccha zenbu ga KUSO ni omoeruyo (AKA Mikagi Wants To Go Home) posted on April 30th, and Kininatteiku from May 3rd, all from this year. Enjoy!