I couldn't help but notice that when consider the bands mentioned in this forum, I have never in my life heard of [b]well over 90%[/b] of them. That's fine, there are numerous decent bands out there who have not made a considerable name for themselves in the US. However, what surprises me is that [i]all of you know them[/i], and talk as if they are commonly found on the internet or FYE. I've even tried to search for torrents of many of these bands, and came away clean with nothing. So fill me in, where's all this music come from?

Edit:

On the front page alone, I only recognize the Killers and Nickelback, the latter of which I can't stand.

I'm assuming quite a few people check keikaku(i don't) and whatever else music place (pitchfork? ugh). Plus there is a lot of discussion on soulseek if you're in the right places. I get most of my music recommendations from my friends on slsk. you know, those cool kids.

I don't even know what keikaku or pitchfork are. Are they websites or discussion boards?

Also, I tried slsk once, but it failed me hard. I can never get it to work right, or it takes a ridiculously long time to do things.

keikaku.net

pitchfork.............org?


soulseek is the best, if you're just exploring. find someone with bands you like, then look for bands with interesting names in their shares.

Yes, I've [i]found[/i] lots of cool things on slsk, I've just never been able to [i]download[/i] them.

I wouldn't say most of these bands are "obscure," but it is incredibly hard to dig up info on most them...at first. Being able to obtain Japanese rock / indie rock music quickly is almost like a skill I've developed over the last few years. There are so many good websites out there. Soulseek is always a reliable way to find stuff / talk to people, but the user base isn't that big. Bittorrent is really where it's at in terms of the more mainstream bands. Once I find a band that interests me I go on a rampage getting all of their PVs and lives, so let me tell you, it's not impossible.

Oh yeah, I know 29 of those bands on the first page

I found out about all of the obscure bands I listen to through Instant Music. Seriously. There's the odd exception, like fishmans, that I pick up from Keikaku, but many of the bands they listen to don't interest me. I get a fair amount of stuff from Soulseek, but Jedi has been kind enough to send a lot of music my way.

When I decided a few months ago that I wanted to get into more Japanese music than the pillows, I started a thread about it. I think it's on the last page. But anyway, most of the music I listen to now I found out about from here or Thejedipunk:

Number Girl
Zazen Boys
Vola and the Oriental Machine
Sloth Love Chunks
Sambomaster
Sparta Locals
Hoover's Ooover
toddle
Quruli
the band apart
The Chewinggum Weekend
Nino Trinca
Going Steady
Ging Nang Boyz

Check them all out.

--

Yeah. Here's what you should think about doing if you want to hear more lesser-known japanese rock:

1. Get soulseek to work. Just do it. Troubleshoot it. Something. Then find the room called 'the pillows'.
2. Browse keikaku.net for something that looks interesting.
3. Talk to people on Instant Music. We have this stuff. It doesn't cost us anything to send you albums via AIM.

Yeah, the reason I'm a super hardcore pillows fan is because a user (who posts on IM about once every 5 months), BD Monster, told me about slsk.

The reason Zazen Boys and Number Girl are my #2 and #3 spot on Last.fm is because of jedi. Hell, a lot of my japanese music is from jedi. Super Bad, a little Sloth Love Chunks, Nino Trinca, and although she isn't Japanese, she deserves to be mentioned...ASTRUD GILBERTO. jedi has been awesome.

Yeah, it's all about doing it smash and grab style. Find a band that interests you. Even if it's just their name, or some hype you've heard. Download an entire album of theirs, and see if you like it. Don't like it, trash it. Just make sure you have a good amount of time to digest all that you download.

Everyone's gonna have their own opinions on what you just MUST DOWNLOAD right now, cause it's so amazing, but just go at your own pace. Thinliine's list looks pretty solid. But it's missing Tokyo Jihen. Tokyo Jihen is amazing (especially their most recent album, "Adult").

Ah, I haven't heard them yet. One of the bands I still need to check out, I guess.

[quote="Last Dinosaur"]Me / Jedi / Tatsu / Mare / thinline feed off of each other.[/quote]

Definitely. I was introduced to many of the other Japanese groups I love through a few of the members here on the board. I've also helped to propagate the love for a few bands (Supercar <3).

Like GoldenRhino said (man, I've been agreeing with him a LOT lately), go at your own pace. It took me an inordinate amount of time to get into some bands because I d/led to much at once and forgot about some of the stuff for almost a month.

Some bands I would recommend are (in alphabetical order):

the ARROWS
Asian Kung-Fu Generation (a.k.a. AKG or AJIKAN)
the Back Horn
Boom Boom Satellites
Bump of Chicken
Ging Nang Boyz
GO!GO!7188
Nirgilis
Number Girl
Penpals
Sambomaster
Shiina Ringo
Sloth Love Chunks
Sparta Locals
Straightener
Supercar
Toddle
Tokyo Jihen
Yum!Yum! Orange
Zazen Boys

Did I hear someone say Tokyo Jihen? I think the song in my sig is a good introduction.

[quote="Thinliine"]Ah, I haven't heard them yet. One of the bands I still need to check out, I guess.[/quote]
Download [i]Kyoiku[/i]. Don't listen to anyone who says it's "annoying." They're retarded. It's amazing. [i]Adult[/i] is disappointing in comparison.

Rhino sent me Adult a little earlier. I like it. I'll have to check out the other one, too.

A few of these recommendations can be found at jpopsuki.com, like Asian Kung-fu Generation, Number Girl, The Back Horn, Sambomaster, Straightener, Zazen Boys, Supercar, Tokyo Jihen, etc. If only there were more seeds...