Flight Master/Pony Canyon
Was it like this in the 1940s with Sinatra and all the screaming bobby-soxers? Or in the late 1960s when four mop-haired Liverpudlians laid waste to the American pop charts? This time it began across the Pacific with a novelty act and a guilty-pleasure song. But in the ensuing eight months, the J-pop boy band Shuchishin has repeatedly recaptured that lightening in its bottle. Maybe its marginal talent is comparable to the Spice Girls at best, but Shuchishin has miraculously churned out one classic after another in such a short time span that it unequivocally qualifies as one of the best pop vocal acts ever, maybe the very best.
Continue reading “‘Yowamushi Santa’ Is Coming to Town” »
Hollywood Records
Once upon a time, Amelie Gillette of The Onion A.V. Club dismissed her intern’s gentle suggestion to include Miley Cyrus in The Tolerability Index. Everything associated with the Disney Channel seemed way below the radar of The Onion’s target demographics, despite the fact that stargazers have spotted The Sopranos cast members James Gandolfini and Steve Schirripa escorting their children to a New York Times talk featuring Ms. Cyrus and her achy breaky one-hit wonder father, Billy Ray. But things probably have changed at The Onion after the 15-year-old superstar stirred up controversy by baring her backside for Vanity Fair’s noted fashion photographer Annie Leibowitz, and the fact that Ms. Cyrus’s standalone debut album “Breakout” just debuted at No. 1 on Billboard.
Continue reading “Maturity No Substitute for Clearasil” »
Yoshimoto R and C
“Preserve Japan!” “Soldier on, Japanese businessmen!” Slogans from post-war era Japan are hip again thanks to pop group Aladdin’s debut single “Hi wa, Mata Noboru,” released on July 30.
Aladdin is the latest musical act spawned from Fuji Television’s popular celebrity game show, “Quiz! Hexagon II.” In fact, it’s a super group that consists of two pop acts put together by “Hexagon”: female trio Pabo (Mai Satoda, Suzanne and Yukina Kinoshita) and boy band Shuchishin (Takeshi Tsuruno, Naoki Nokubo and Yusuke Kamiji). “Hexagon” host Shinsuke Shimada writes lyrics while regular guest Kei Takahara composes for the groups. The game show prominently features both acts as well as viewer-submitted home videos of children haphazardly mimicking their choreography routines.
Continue reading “Pop Genie Explodes from Aladdin’s Lamp” »
