Grampas rock the human chair 人 間 椅 子
Entry posted by Onliest Smeg David in Music
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Throughout my meanderings amongst musical thread suggestions presented by the binary functions of logistical data there has been a common theme.
Everything includes a Japanese offering!
Japan has a sometimes bazaar and always unique take on modern culture, which of course includes music.
It's the only country that still massively supports Physical media. And in today’s world of downloads and online streaming the maligned plastic disk is nothing but a faint memory in many places, but CD purchases made up 85% of all music sales in Japan.
Though once a beacon of music industry power and prosperity, the Tower Records chain filed for liquidation 2006. With outlets dotted across the world, the red and gold megastores went the same way as many CD outlets in the late 2000s – except, that is, in Japan. In fact, in 2012, Tower Records Shibuya did the impossible and actually increased in size. Towering over the heart of Shibuya on massive 5000 square meter block, it’s still a bustling must visit destination for tourists and locals alike.
In the a country where appreciation quickly turns into full blown obsession, it’s no wonder that audiophiles have found a home in Japan.
There is still a lot of traditional music, but to the fore as many will have seen is the super sickly sweet J-Pop young boy and girl bands. But there is also a massive rock and metal scene (which I've only just stumbled upon through my recent explorations).
There's an unorthodox mix of thrash metal and pop, and a popular one at that. Babymetal are the most famous group internationally. Fronted by three teenage vocalists, Babymetal have toured internationally and brought the genre to the wider international mainstream.
A band that have really caught my ear are 人間椅子 Ningen Isu meaning The Human Chair. They have been around for over 30 years (formed in 1987) and are very accomplished with some great tracks (imo), although now visually the Grampa Bankers look does detract a bit from their current videos.
My blogs so far have had more traditional music aspects to them, but this is just a cranked up Friday thrash to blow away the stresses of the week! Just for the hell of it!
Their 30th Anniversary CD arrived earlier (Japan Import), so I'm having a beer while the cd's going on the HiFi now and being turned up to 11 while Wendy is out walking our dog 
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