100 greatest Japanese albums

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
OK, let the hardcore geekery begin. Here are the greatest 100 Japanese rock albums of all time, apparently.

There's a link my friend sent to me with a better synopsis than the one above - I'll try to dig it out.

So, aside from the obvious 6 or 7, how many of these can Dissensians vouch for?
 

zhao

there are no accidents
OK, let the hardcore geekery begin. Here are the greatest 100 Japanese rock albums of all time, apparently.

There's a link my friend sent to me with a better synopsis than the one above - I'll try to dig it out.

So, aside from the obvious 6 or 7, how many of these can Dissensians vouch for?

Merzbow Music for Bondage Performance

Guitar Wolf Ookami Wakusei

the obvious towa tai...

i was going to look at the whole list but all those japanese names gave me a headache :(
 

aaron_shinn

Active member
Wow, it's more like "the greatest (any kind of japanese) albums of all time". I don't know how anybody could consider Merzbow, Cornelius, YMO, Ken Ishii, Towa Tei or Kahimi Karie rock acts.. I'm sure plenty of these artists qualify - Guitar Wolf, Hideki Kaji, Shonen Knife, Boredoms, etc... But really, this list is all over the place.

I need to start downloading the punk era 70s-80s stuff here. I know so much of the 90s Shibuya-Kei stuff (FPM, P5, Cornelius etc etc) and am absolutely sick to death of it despite it's charms. I need to hear more along the lines of Hajime Tachibana's awkward and singular album "H".

I'm off to download Welcome Plastics!

I remember Hideki Kaji's Tea being kind of like a warm blanket (in a good way). Haven't heard it for years though. I remember it was recorded in Sweden and has a lovely, pastoral quality to it.

Fantasma is really one to hear, though. It's not really necessary to like it, even. :)
 

polystyle

Well-known member
List

Dunno about 'geekery' but I can vouch for many listed here ...

Esp. the #1 pick , Harry Hosono's group before YMO.
Anyway the list is just one cat's opinion, take it wid a grain of sea salt !
(Yazawa Eikichi up @ #5 ? hey, maybe someone could agree. Old fashioned Rolling Stone )

Blowing through the list, off top of the head:

9. I can rec , bit of a classic (produced by one Chris Thomas I believe, without looking) ,
10
19
21
30 Carmen has much better , her solo first one esp. Oz is her er hard rock' wail
34. Of these type bands ('visual Kei' ), Dir are ok, but no Hyde, X - Japan or Nana Sdtk on top 100 ? bah ...
47
50
52
58 Ippudou ( w/ Masami Tsuchiya, filled in for Japan for awhile, nice solo release "Rice Music")
61 Ishii. I give him credit for the superb vid ( Koji Morimoto post Akira Anime stylee) , but ...
68. Cheers Kan ! ( can find him on stray DFA remixes or DCC remix on Delic
72 .Denki G- leagues ahead for awhile bk then ... electro- techno -haus -y sometimes
76. Puffy. Dunno if the good songs are on this Album or another, some was great J pop
81. How did Sandii end up this low
99. Utada . Wouldn't make my list ,the one with Timbaland prod was er, not that good.

Hmmm, Rolling Stone Japan huh ?
 

zhao

there are no accidents
I hear you Aaron -Shin.
Apparently 'Rock' in this RS context can mean well, just about anything

it just means pop music. because none of the amazing japan improv records on there -- Otomo Yoshihide is missing. also jazz and classical not there...
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
So, aside from the obvious 6 or 7, how many of these can Dissensians vouch for?
What are the obvious ones for you then?

I can vouch for Fushitsusha, Flower Travellin' Band, The Jacks... No Rallizes, Taj Mahal Travellers, Far East Family Band or Mainliner though :(
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Boris' 'Flood' is a masterpiece, as is Boredoms 'Visioncreationnewsun' . Can't get away with Acid Mothers Temple though. Beyond this I don't know much about Japanese music unfortunately:(
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
To be honest I've only got that album that was 4 hour-long tracks in a box-set, can't remember the title now. Pretty turgid psych jams really. Maybe I've missed out on some better stuff.

Go on then, do yer list!:D:
 

muser

Well-known member
im not too up on japanese rock but they dont even have polysics, yumi yumi or the 5,6,7,8''s hmm... :confused:
 

Eric

Mr Moraigero
chocolate synthesizer is a great record imo ...

5678s are not necessary on this list for sure!!! :)

I love that Plastics record, and RC Succession also gets play aruond my house (mostly from my wife though).

Not a big fan of Yazawa Eikichi (among many others on this list). X? Boowy? One man's opinion, yes.

Yuukadan is great, also listened to the Stalin & SxOxB a lot back when but I have no idea how this would sound now.
 

msoes

Well-known member
What are the obvious ones for you then?

I can vouch for Fushitsusha, Flower Travellin' Band, The Jacks... No Rallizes, Taj Mahal Travellers, Far East Family Band or Mainliner though :(


yeah rallizes denudes, taj mahal and mainliner were the ones i didnt see that i was expecting to.

its interesting though, the difference between westerners understanding of japanese rock music and japanese understanding of japanese rock music. no keiji haino either. or morita doji.

that said there is heaps of stuff on that list ive never heard of.
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
They remind me of Frank Zappa too much. Can't bear Zappa...
That 4CD set is just about the last thing I would recommend as an introduction to AMT. It can come in handy for those occasions when you need four hours of sprawling cosmic gloop, which does happen from time to time. Obviously their catalog is huge but I would recommend these if you feel like investigating further:

1st Album (self-titled) - The first track is still probably the greatest thing they've done, 18 minutes of maniacal motorik zen noise overload with unrelenting layers of guitars, synths and space vocals.
Ivan Pskov's Wild Gals-A-Go-Go - Weird freaked out noisy faux-mondo-soundtrack for an (imaginary?) Russian sexploitation flick.
La Novia - 40 minute version of a traditional Occitanian folk melody in an Ennio Morricone meets Amon Duul II with additional throat singing style.
Troubadours From Another Heavenly World - Tender other-wordly shoegazing / stargazing psych. This one sounds like they actually mean it.
Univers Zen Ou De Zero A Zero - Proabably a good accessible entry point actually - covers most of their various styles quite nicely.
Father Moo & The Black Sheep - Ritual drone music for an imaginary 70s sex cult.

Would also recommend some of Kawabata's more ambient solo recordings and other offshoots as well as the pre-AMT Seventh Seal record with Nanjo Asahito.

no keiji haino
Fushitsusha (1st) is in there.
 
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