...hi there...

1) So, what's the deal?

The deal is that, compared to the incredible amount of Japanese rock music that's been produced, there's precious little information in English. However, Julian Cope's excellent Japrocksampler and Sonore's book "Japanese Independent Music" have gotten the ball rolling, as well as a smattering of sites like Rock of Japan. This here site is trying to push that a little further.

2) What are you covering?

Basically, well, rock. Hence the title.

It should be noted, however, that this is not a site about Jpop, folk, enka, jazz, dance, hip-hop, or traditional music, etc, although since rock is constantly absorbing new styles and experiencing cross overs, there's going to be some overlap. For example, there's Puffy (Puffy AmiYumi for those of you in the States,) but no Ayumi Hamazaki.

Nothing against Ms. Hamazaki, or others that don't fall within the scope of this site...but the line has to be drawn somewhere. See #5.

3) A lot of this is old.

This site isn't about new releases, it's about offering information on Japanese rock artists, historical and otherwise. Of course, we'll have new stuff all the time, but we're covering the overall history, not just the current stuff.

4) Where are the BAD reviews?

Is there crap? Oh, yes. Lots and lots of it. 90% of everything in the world is crap. Japanese rock is no different.

But the size and time limitations of this project are such that there's not much point in spending time on said crap. This site is about the stuff that has legs, or we feel deserves to be heard.

Of course, just because it's not on the site doesn't mean it sucks. We're human, we miss stuff (see #6.) There's also point #5 to consider. But if there is something that you feel is (1) not crap, and (2) would fit in here, please tell us.

5) How do you decide what gets in?

Like Potter Stewart, we'll know it when we see it.

This site is run by a rock geek who has been collecting music for long enough to have grown up on 8-tracks. As such, it is biased towards the sort of sounds that rock geeks of the past forty years or so have generally fixated on: prog, psych, indie rock, classic rock, guitar based experimental music, shoegazer, britpop, heavy metal, punk, garage, mainstream, underground...

This site also has the philosophy that commercial appeal or success has no relevance to quality one way or the other. So, while it might make some cringe, artists with such varying degrees of commercial success and "cred" as Kimura Kaela, Fushitsusha, The Willard, Jun Togawa, Boøwy, Les Rallizes Dénudés, The Stalin, Ippu Do, Judy And Mary, The Jacks, etc, will be approached with the same degree of seriousness.

This is not to say we're gonna start recommending C.C.C.C. to Puffy fans, or vice versa. The reviews, interviews, and other information should make it clear what you're in for.

6) Wow. You're missing a lot of stuff.

Yeah, no kidding. This site started in July 2008, and will be an ongoing project for the duration. The goal is to be as definitive as reasonably possible, but (especially in the early months) there's gonna be gaps. In fact as I write, there are no entries for Kahimi Karie, Malice Mizer, or Sex Machineguns, although I'll probably have fixed that by the time you read this. (NOTE: Yup, fixed.)

We'll be updating constantly. If you see something missing, let us know.

7) Hey, the discographies...

...are occasionally incomplete. Yes. Many of these artists are insanely prolific, have releases that only have 100 copies, etc. This project is about spreading the word, not nailing down every bit of technical information. But if you feel something is egregiously lacking, let us know.

8) Wow, some of this stuff is hard to find. Would you...

No.

9) Aw, come on.

Apologies, but it's just not feasible. This project is very ambitious in scope, and time is tight as it is.

Even if we ignored copyright laws, the act of trying to fill the requests of who knows how many people would quickly (as in, immediately) become overwhelming.

Sorry :(

However, whenever possible, there are links to online stores that sell the stuff in question (often Amazon.com.)

10) I'm in a Japanese rock band. Can we get on here?

Glad you asked that. Actually, we're also doing interviews, so if you're interested contact us.

That said, there is some criteria: Your band/music must meet the following:

-It fits in with the site's focus (see #5)
-You have a commercially available recording, or have members who have had commercially available recordings in the past.
-You're not dicks.

11) I'm not from Japan, but my band is touring Japan. Can you help us out?

See #8, lines 1 and 3. Although by all means, contact us if you wanna go out for a beer.

12) Can you translate this for me?

Ditto.

13) Where are you?

Ever so slightly north of Tokyo in thrilling Saitama, Japan.

14) Guess that's it.

OK. If something else occurs to you, contact us here. Now if you'll...