Published by Richie December 13th, 2006
in Music, Software and Web.
Okay, so I’m perusing the virtual aisles of the iTunes Store and I run a Power Search under the ‘J-Pop’ genre and surprise! We got pop (girl pop to be exact). You’ll find the artists who are no-brainers like Ayumi Hamasaki, m-flo, BoA, Ai Ootsuka and (here’s where the Okinawan-connection hits) Namie Amuro! Yup, they pretty much have Amuro covered and that is in itself really great but the thing that led me to actually blog about it is the availability of the out-of-print 3-inch (8cm) singles like “Can You Celebrate?” among others. Needless to say, owners of music from the iTunes Store already know that the albums and singles come with the cover art which should be a big plus to those (like yours truly) who are seriously into their digital audio collections. Looks like an update to my “List of Artists Available at the US iTMS” is in order. 
(Tip: Artists from Japan/Okinawa are strewn all about the iTunes Store under several genres so your best bet is to do a search under the artist name to find what you’re looking for.)
Published by Richie December 13th, 2006
in Music and Web.
If you have a Japan iTunes Store account, head on over there (or rather, click on over) to download the latest free single of the week: Okinawan Hip-Hop artist AWICH (the names means “Asia WIsh CHild”). The normally ¥150 song that’s being offered is called “Dedicate to you” and you can also pickup another freebie of hers called “Saruu (Virgin Mix)” at mF247 (no account necessary).
So you’re out-of-luck if you live outside of Japan and are without a Japan iTunes Store account because you won’t be able to grab the free download. But, luckily (well, depending on how you look at things), the single as well as an EP is available at the US iTunes Store! Jumping for joy? I thought so.
Published by Richie December 13th, 2006
in Music and Entertainment.
Surprised by the title? I am. Well, it being a semi-nude photo collection is kinda vague and not having seen the book (called Gekkan LINA) yet, I wonder how risque it really is gets. The photos of LINA (29) were taken by Maki Kawakita and were shot on location in New York. MAX celebrated their 10th anniversary in the J-pop scene last year and with their last couple of singles have infused Shimauta into their upbeat tunes.