Young Modern - the 5th #1 album of Silverchair

Silverchair has so kindly offered to put up all the songs from their new album, Young Modern for streaming to everyone. You can check it out at their official page at chairpage.com. Silverchair is living proof that a band can actually innovate and progress from their initial style and still be themselves.

Silverchair's new album has large influences from The Dissociatives, a side project of Daniel Johns. We hear a lot of funky, electronic sounds going on in their new album that resemble the sounds of the Dissociatives. Although Silverchair has come a long way from their first few songs, which were grungier and louder, it's amazing that the songs are still quite "Silverchair". I feel that they were able to accomplish this because, although they steered away from their old styles, they still retained some of their old elements (e.g. try listening to Young Modern Station and you'll see what I'm talking about). Also listen to how Young Modern Station progresses to Straight Lines. Absolutely great.


This explains why Silverchair has made music history today with the chart topping debut of their new release Young Modern. Silverchair is the first Australian band to ever have five #1 albums. I'll stop my opinions from there. Just listen to their album online and be the judge.

British Invasion Night at American Idol, and some very Strange, Creepy moments

It was British invasion Night at American Idol and I was extremely excited about it, because I really love 60's music (I am a Zombies, Searchers, Hollies, Classics, Applejacks, etc. fan). I was absolutely thrilled that 2 Zombies songs were covered, and were covered well.

For me, Blake stole the show with his ultra cool, suave rendition of "Time of the Season":



Stephanie Edwards lost her spark and doesn't seem sincere enough with the way she sings. Haley didn't sing very well but danced very well hehehe. I don't think Gina followed Lulu's suggestion of making the pitch higher, it seemed she sang the song better during the clip with Lulu... Phil Stacey's performance was also half-baked. Lakisha's "Diamonds are Forever" was hot, I dont know why Simon and co. didnt like it so much. Melinda was spot on with the way she interpreted her lyrics. Chris Richardson's was another great performance. His vocals was close to impeccable:



The creepiest moment had to be when Sanjaya tried to rock it out with "You Really got me Now". He was really just shouting his lyrics, his outfit was sloppy with the overly large blazer, it just didnt work. What made it even creepier was how Ashley on the audience was crying while he performed! Was that creepy or what???



Based on all these comments, I have no idea why Chris wound up in the bottom 2 and why Sanjaya was smiling and laughing sitting down comfortably in his seat, having avoided elimination once again.

New Linkin Park and Silverchair album!!!

Ok, I'm being quite the prolific blogger now. For some reason, there are so many updates I can think of to write!

Linkin Park's new album is set to launch sometime May 2007. They've got a new official youtube video up here:



Speaking of new albums, Silverchair is coming up with their new album as well! Only 9 days to go! Their new single is really cool, it has a vibe like the Diorama album plus influences from Daniel's Dissociatives project. :) Love it! And Daniel looks very different. Check it out here:

Girls who really Rock

Listening to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" made me remember one thing - there are only a few girl bands who really rock. There are a lot of talented female singers, definitely. But in the rock band scene, I can find only a few.

Don't get me wrong, Avril Lavigne is okay, but she's just a little... commercial. Watching that "Girlfriend" MTV seems to reconfirm that as I saw her doing something she has publicly detested since before - dancing. Whether she was merely making a mockery out of the pop idols she has dissed over and over again or she has suddenly "made things complicated", "acting like she's somebody else" I don't know. I'll wait till the next MTV and watch out for her dance moves and deduce by then ;).

Then there's Evanescence. They're okay. I do believe that she carries her own brand of rock music to her. She's got a good haunting voice and she's got the whole gothic feel to her. But somehow I don't find myself wanting to listen to her tracks over and over again and looking for her CD like my other bands. Plus, that stint she did with Korn was somehow a little too forced.

In my opinion, only Garbage belongs to the "Girls who really Rock" list. What's good about Garbage is that her songs are very varied and unique. It's not only the heavy instruments that makes her rock. She's got songs like "It's All Over But The Crying" and "The Trick is to Keep Breathing", which are more mellow but she still manages to rock it. Then there's her sultry voice which really fits so well with the electronic-like vibe, the lyrics, everything.

I'm looking for more female rock bands out there. If anyone knows of any, let me know.

Kanye West Featuring Japanese Hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz

I just saw this on TV a few days ago. It's a Japanese TV show about some famous Japanese music icons. I think the show's called Music Station. It started out normal, with the Japanese hosts interviewing Japanese singers when I suddenly saw Kanye West there! Yes, the Kanye West - the one with all those hit records, the one you see on MTV, and yes he's the one who's not Japanese.

That really got me glued to that program (other than the fact that I love any show that has anything remotely related to Japan). Turns out, Kanye West was going to perform with a Japanese hip-hop group called Teriyaki Boyz! Now this was definitely something to watch!

I'm not much of a hip-hop fan and all, but I really had to see it. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now:



Objectively speaking, the chorus has a good beat to it, the beat to their rap was fine. The lyrics, on the other hand, was... intersting (for lack of a better term). I've been listening to JMusic for quite sometime now but never have I heard lyrics mixed with that much English on it! I think it was sang in English 3/4 the time. It was hilarious sometimes trying to tell whether they were saying an English word or a Japanese word. And I think the climax of the song was always when Kanye West would join in and sing "I still love her, Hontou E rap" which means "I still love her, True E rap". Yes, Kanye West actually sings the Japanese word "Hontou!" hehe. That's why the song title is "I Still Love H.E.R." btw. HER stands for Hontou E Rap. :p

I can't find the lyrics yet. I've been surfing for minutes now to no avail! If you guys have it, please leave a comment thanks :)

On a side note, the group is wearing BAPE shirts, another very famous part of Japanese pop culture. I'll make a post about them BAPE shirts next time :)

My First Post

Okay, I'm back to trying out this blog scene. I'm making it my resolution that this time, I will really, constantly update. I hope I'm not just saying it now. I'll be posting mainly entertainment-related topics here, from TV shows to movies, to animes, cartoons, and mangas to my favorite topic - music.

True to the name of this blog, I am quite the music junkie. I don't think there has ever been a time when I spent the late hours of the evening and the wee hours of the morning doing my homeworks, projects, thesis, and finishing some deadlines at work without a song playing in my Media Player. That would be absolutely abominable in my opinion.

I also love, love, love talking about music. I talk about music to anyone who will listen... even sometimes to those who are silently wishing I'd shut up already. If I find out you remotely like one of the bands and albums I love, you're doomed. Prepare for a long discourse about what music I recommend, yada yada yada. On the brighter side, some people seem to appreciate that and tell me that I am a walking I-Pod.

Aside from loving music, I also love anything Japanese. Hence, the other part of this blog title. I totally worship Japan and its rich culture. Some people muse that perhaps I was Japanese in my past life. Regardless of whether you believe in reincarnation or not, Japan is truly a great topic to talk about. There's their unique brand of music (yes, music again, how could I not talk about music in each paragraph?), dramas, animes, mangas, and actors. Then, of course, there is their very scrumptious cuisine. I digress from the main entertainment category but I feel that it is too tasty a topic not to include (excuse the pun).

Hope you stay tuned to all my reviews, ramblings, rants, and incoherent mumbo jumbo about music, entertainment, Japan, life, and everything in between.

Cheers!