Jun Togawa is Japan’s most avant garde pop star, adding a unique and semi-deranged art element to the nascent japanese new wave scene of the 1980s. She spent the 80s and 90s making solo albums as well as doing vocals and songwriting for the bands Guernica and Yapoos and was still releasing new material in the 2010s.
Category: Good Music
the art of the anime opening song – part 2
Series: Oshi no Ko
Title: Test Me
Music: Chanmina
Series: Oshi no Ko
Title: Burning
Music: Hitsujibungaku
A murdered doctor and his terminally ill teenage cancer patient are reincarnated as the twin children of Japan’s biggest idol singer, thus beginning their rise to stardom and mystery solving in this drama/thriller expose/indictment of Japan’s multifaceted entertainment industry. Oshi no Ko itself is a critics and fan acclaimed media sensation with a highly successful manga (25 million copies as of 2026), anime, and live action tv drama and film series. Chanmina is a prominent Japanese/Korean rap star and music label entrepreneur. Hitsujibungaku are a grunge-inspired alt rock band from Tokyo currently rising up the pop charts.
Series: Yofukashi no Uta (Call of the Night)
Title: Mirage
Music: Creepy Nuts
A very sensitive and human story of the relationship issues of a group of vampires in suburban tokyo, Call of the Night is an award winning series with uniquely sophisticated writing and art design. Creepy Nuts are a wildly popular hip hop duo taking rap to new directions.
Series: Dandadan
Title: Otonoke
Music: Creepy Nuts
Widely considered the best anime series of the current decade, Dandadan is a supernatural sci-fi horror romantic action comedy that continues to delight and mystify. Produced by the highly innovative Science Saru animation studio. Once again Creepy Nuts provides the music.
Series: Spy x Family
Title: Kura Kura
Music: Ado
Another massively popular series and now almost iconic in japanese culture, Spy x Family blends serious cold war spy drama, war and authoritarian themes with hilarious family comedy. Ado is a mysterious vocalist (she never shows her face or image) with five top 5 albums and winner of every conceivable pop music award in Japan.
sheena is a punk rocker
I stumbled upon Sheena Ringo hearing her first album being played in a trendy Taipei record shop in the late 90s and became an instant fan. Back then she was known as the Queen of Grunge and her first two LPs really drove that home. After her pop success she expanded to psychedelic jazz with a fabulous vibe of 1960s seedy burlesque clubs and 1930s gin joints. Hands down Japan’s most high concept pop star, she never does a show or tv appearance without pulling out every stop and putting on a mixed media barrage of classy retro homage to the past century of japanese music. Her latest work in 2024 is a series of collaborations with younger pop divas which honor and respect both artists but with the expected and extravagant Ringo flair and polish. Heres a few videos, please watch them all.
The first goth band?
The Poppy Family with their darker take on late 60s pop psychedelia could very well be an inspiration for the early 80s goth flavors of post-punk such as The Cure, Siouxsie and Strawberry Switchblade. Lush, well produced radio friendly with an ominous tone. Terry Jacks would later have a #1 solo hit in 1973 with the morose Jaques Brel inspired death ballad “Seasons in the Sun”
dont ever change texas
this song came out 51 years ago and the sentiment still holds. texas is still at least 51% populated by racist sexist anti-gay fucktards who cant rock n roll to save their lives.