The First Post!

Welcome... to anyone seeing this! I guess I should start off with a little introduction. My name is Nick and I've hosted a weekly radio show at Columbia College Chicago, also called Rock of the Rising Sun. I'm a fan of music from all around the world. US, UK, Korea, France, Mexico, Sweeden, Germany, and of course Japan. A wise musician once said, "Good music knows no race, and knows no borders." That statement couldn't be anymore true. Too often, people from the English speaking parts of the Western world think for some reason those artists from North America and the UK have a monopoly on music; that since they can't understand what is being sung, they cannot enjoy it. That simply isn't the case. Aren't there many songs by English-speakers where the lyrics or so indecipherable, one must browse through a myriad of websites to find the right transcript of the lyrics? The music is still being enjoyed, isn't it? Music is about emotion. Music is about connecting to something or someone. Music is about the feeling it gives to the listener every time they put on their headphones. In short, music transcends language. One doesn't need to necessarily know what is being said to understand the point that the artist is trying to get across. The vocals themselves can set the tone... a fervid bass line... a soulful and wailing guitar solo... All that matters is that one enjoys the music, and this world is full of many different musicians of many languages and cultures.

Base Ball Bear

Now in this blog, I will specifically be discussing and reviewing music from the land to the Far East, Japan. Some of my favorite artists come from Japan, and as they were my first experience listening to foreign music (besides the occasional Spanish language crossover heard on the radio), it opened my mind up to the rest of the world, and I began listening to music from all over the world, finding diamonds hidden in the rough many Westerners haven't heard of or choose to ignore. The Japanese have a music scene every bit as diverse, if not more so, than the Western music scene. Now, you won't be finding many reviews here of visual kei bands, or more heavy sounding bands on this blog. What you will find are bands that have been a part of the alternative scene, maybe even more underground artists you could say. But you can also be sure to find some of the great musicians on here that have mastered the pop/rock format. You'll pretty much find everything on here from AnalogFish to Zazen Boys, the pillows to Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Hopefully when you read about the bands you haven't been too familiar with, you'll give them a chance to check them out. And when you find something interesting on bands you are familiar with, hopefully you'll take something new from it, and find a deeper appreciation for them. You'll find mainly album reviews on here, but don't be surprised to find the occasional concert report or artist profile.

GO!GO!7188

That all being said, I welcome you to the Rock of the Rising Sun blog. Keep looking back every so often for new posts, to get a fresh opinion on rock music from Japan. And hopefully in the process, you'll even find some new artists to delve into. So coming soon, my first review on the latest album from Sambomaster, I Want to Become Strong For You. Until next time...

the pillows