t+pazolite - Oshama Scramble! (uncut edition)

 

 

apparently we ARE going for rhythm games. Not that I found this through a rhythm game, just related songs from songs I DID find through rhythm games but it's a pretty good guess that your average J-hardcore song is present in some rhythm game or other and apparently this is. Osu at least, though it seems like everything is in Osu.

 

t+pazolite is at the top of the game for J-hardcore, I hope you enjoy and I hope your ears stay well

 

LET'S DO THIS

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Celebremos Lo Inevitable

 

 

I've listened to Diablo Swing Orchestra over the past few weeks almost as much as Demondice. Still quite a ways off but they've significantly cut into my 'Shut Up, Get Happy' looping time (stream Shut Up, Get Happy) so very well done DSO.

 

Celebremos Lo Inevitable is DSO's first ever Spanish song, and also Séyetana's first ever Spanish song. It's centred around the Mexican 'Day of the Dead' celebration, at least the video is, and features some absolutely fantastic chords. It was tough deciding between this and the much more electro-swing oriented 'Speed Dating An Arsonist' (listen below xx) but I went for 'Celebremos' because it feels really epic and heart-pumping to listen to and I am in love with the contrast between its slow Latin lilting and its huge rock crashes. May your ears survive (again).

 

Moona Hoshinova - High Tide

 

 

a new nationality, Indonesian!

 

Moona is a proper popstar gem within Hololive, an accomplished singer with two originals, her first is a beautiful Japanese-language ballad, but this, her second, 'High Tide', is a proper pop banger.

 

and yes the theming around moons and tides is intentional

 

she also JUST hit 1 million subscribers, the first of the Indonesian branch to do so, so that's nice that I'm entering her on such a successful month for her.

VOTE FOR HIGH TIDE! Issa a good pop banger!

 

Also, Gura just released a Reflect video and I meant to post about it but now I get one more shill post:

 

remind yourself of this BJSC winner forever underrated pop banger again:

 

 

🌊

Midnight Grand Orchestra - SOS

 

 

Midnight Grand Orchestra is the name of a new supergroup consisting of rising star Japanese producer Taku Inoue, and Hoshimachi Suisei (literal star/comet) of Hololive, Hololive's most prolific and dedicated 'popstar' of the Japanese branch -also making it a long overdue first appearance in BJSC for the Japanese branch of Hololive. Also an icon. I desperately want to enter one of her solo songs too so maybe that'll also happen in the future.

 

'SOS' is the first song they've released together under this new name, though more are planned. It's a very great and energetic dance-pop song, I hope it captures your attention ^_^

This is an amazing discovery for me. It's very catchy and the instrumentation is brilliant. The SOSOSOSOS is memorable and I'm vibing!

 

I'm in total shock that this DNQed... :( Totally undeserved!

Thank you! I'm really happy this one got a few strong fans, sadly nowhere near the amount I thought it would.

yeah, shame I couldn’t have helped it out a little although my points probably wouldn’t have made the difference.

I am quite disappointed to see this one out, think this is my favourite of your VTuber/adjacent entries to date. Also would have thought this would be the most likely of the Japanese entries to qualify, a little surprised that TEARS OF TRAGEDY and Tokyo Gegegay both did better! (Although I am glad both of them are through, just wish this was joining them)

Mili - world.execute(me);

 

 

Mili are a Japanese classical/electronic indie group that I LOVE. For being cool and having weird subjects for songs and also singing in a variety of languages, including English. 'world.execute(me);' is sung from the perspective of an AI becoming human and as such, the video is a lyric video, but the lyrics are cleverly written in Java code.

 

if you like this check out this delightfully titled number from the same album, 'Painful Death For The Lactose Intolerant':

 

they also did the OP for the Goblin Slayer anime (which was by far the best thing about this show), a little out of their electronic wheelhouse though:

Goat Girl - Sad Cowboy

 

 

slight difference in sound from us, I found a couple of nice alternative bands over the last month and Goat Girl are a great post-punk band who've had a couple of mildly successful albums but they should be heard by more people! Especially 'Sad Cowboy' because it has some great guitars and build. It's also one of those songs where I am tricked into thinking it's finished way before it is (but am happy that it's not).

 

also my first fully English entry since BJSC 60 :}

MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS - Just

 

 

so I have known of this band (with an amazing name) for a little while, I liked a few songs off their 2018 album and they have a few older albums that I need to go back and check. They're a Japanese post-hardcore shoegaze band, and their new album Awakening;Sleeping came out a few days ago. I listened through it and I really loved most of it. I almost went for the hardest song on it, 'Melt', but 'Just', which finishes off the album is in that nice middle with being not TOO hard and also sounding incredible with some awesome background vocals in between the guitars. Let the sound wash over you

 

short version: another time of me sending a wall of sound with vague Japanese voices behind it, which worked out well for 'Requiem' (well, that was hard dance and this is hard rock but it's a good thing when one of my entries reminds me of that)

Polkadot Stingray - Rideau

 

 

A band I've been following for a year or two because of their light indie-rock, their impeccable dress sense, and their amazing name, for the second month in a row Séyetana unquestionably wins the band name game yet again bitches.

 

'Rideau' is a very listenable indie-rock song with a bunch of great guitar bits and some lovely singing from Polkadot Stingray's lead singer Shizuku. Please support it if you like it ^_^

Ado - The World's Continuation

 

 

Ado is undisputably the world's best popstar right now, and people in the West just don't know it. Odo not finishing top 10 last year was a CRIME Following her first official album, she did a bunch of songs for the new One Piece Film, and they're all just as amazing as her string of fantastic singles before. So I decided to choose something that was the complete opposite of Odo, a very emotional ballad called 'The World's Continuation'. Probably very emotional in the film, I don't know, I haven't seen it, I chose this song because I've been awestruck by its beauty with none of the context.

 

I might be a bit of an Ado stan. Pls vote. If you want to.

 

also check out Backlight, which is also amaze but would feel more like an Odo repeat, and showing a different side of an artist is why I'm okay with sometimes self-recycling.

I don't know what it is specifically about Japanese ballads but more often than not they're just BETTER than western ones. This is a magnificent piece, a little reminiscent of Ichiban No Takaramono in parts which I was very disappointed didn't qualify back then so everything crossed this can instead!

Excellent :D Ichiban No Takaramono is still one of my favourite ever entries, and this is certainly one I've been in love with since hearing it a few months ago.

 

I also feel the same about Japanese ballads - stuff I've read on the subject has me thinking it might come down to differences in chord progression (less use of common Western chord progressions like 4 chords, instead the 'royal road' progression or larger numbers of chords that give a sense of advancement to the song) but I don't know which one is the case for 'The World's Continuation' as I'm dumb about assigning musical theory even to songs I know well.

Kanaria - QUEEN

 

 

Well, I started the year with a Japanese producer, why not end with one? Kanaria is a vocaloid producer (I think the first of those I've entered since PinocchioP, one of my best ever entries), who's very notable for their eye-catching backgrounds of a grey-coloured anime girl overlaid with red. Except that this one, Queen, is blue. And you might recognise it if you have signatures turned on. It's sort of a sequel to their most famous song, 'King', which was infamous for being covered relentlessly by vtubers.

 

'Queen' is the best though.

HARU NEMURI - Déconstruction

 

 

first track of this year is progressive pop-rap star Haru Nemuri, who has themed her latest album around the principles of déconstructing media (é for émphasis and Séyetana), and this great marching track was the highlight for me, a great rap with little filter threaded with some gorgeous production and singing.

 

 

I originally confirmed Ikiru but switched to Déconstruction after listening to the album, but Ikiru is still worth it for a brighter, cheerier track.

Mikazuki BIGWAVE - Emotional Prism

 

 

#futurefunk

 

idk what time period this sounds like it's from but it's got 90s dance beats mixed up with the 80s songs that it actually samples and definitely made me think of a dance remix of a Sailor Moon track when I first heard it

 

tracks it samples, at least Fantasy could probably itself have done duty as an entry but the extra oomph really adds a lot:

 

 

Ad Infinitum - Upside Down

 

 

It's been far too long since I sent a banging Amaranthe-esque pop metal tune. Swiss singer Melissa Bonny and some... tagalongs, it is a band but she also seems capable of running two bands at once and being in at least 5 over the course of her career - and the other band has her boyfriend, who is actually IN Amaranthe. Nice albums though for Ad Infinitum, they're labelled in chapters which gives a nice sense of progression - 'Upside Down' leads off Chapter 3 - Downfall.

 

Anyway, they provided a very energetic upbeat track for us, enjoy xx