Uniqlo selling Domino Records T-Shirts

Expect to see more people walking around in band T-shirts of bands they don't know as Uniqlo T-shirt (UT) has released a range of Domino Records T-shirts.

A number of Domino artist T-shirts are represented such as Mouse On Mars, Palace, Quasi, The Kills and Clinic.

They will be sold for a limited time and you can get them at the Harajuku UT store for 1500yen.
http://store.uniqlo.com/jp/store/feature/ut/dominorecords/

Funny Band Names

by craig

Over the last few years I've been keeping a list of the band names I've come across which have amused me the most.
These have been taken straight from livehouse schedules, so sometimes the random case/spelling/punctuation are mistakes of the livehouse, but more often than not they are parts the bands' real names. Some of these are good bands by the way, though I have never heard most of them!

Almond toe schooters
Amicable NIKI reservation
ANGRY PENGUIN ROBO
APPLE PANDA KICK
ASIAN BEAUTY MUDER
asphalt frustration
ASSHOLE UNITE
AWESOME DUDE
BABY SHITTER
BAD LOOKING GIRL
Balls Of The DRAGON
Bankrobber Mamma
BARBIE ATTACK DOLL(S)
BATHTUB SHITTER
BEE! BANG! BOO!
BEEF COW KARMA
Before Christ Butterfly
BEN thinks little of sneakers
The Big Machine Bazooka Rocks
Bitch Lunch Box
BITCH ON THE BEACH
the blah,blah,blah
BLAND PEPPER SAUCE
BLOODY CUNT
THE BLUEBLACK PINHEAD ROLL
BOTH CHEESE
BRASSIERE HOOK
Bulldog In Twister
Bunny Girl Piss
BURSTED BOOB
BURST HEAD LOLLIPOP
Bus Stop Mouse
THE BUTTERFLY FROM VENUS
butterfly in the stomach
Camel Vain Ballet
Camille Of The Raspberry Juice
THE CAT FANCLUB
thee catfish Paddy field
Cathy lost one's apricot yesterday
the cement pets
the chef cooks me
CLEAVAGE
contagious orgasm
continuous connoodling
CRAMP THE LADYBUG
CUTTER ACID TACKLE
DARGI SUICIDE MAD PINK
Deadman's Chorizo
DEEP FREEZE MANIA
DELETE YOU PSYCHO
die!!die!!color!!!
DIE YOU BASTARD!
The Dilemma of Hedgehog
DISEASED KIDS
DISTURD
Dizzy up the girls
DJ:Duck Soup Family Club
DJ FUCK RYU
DJ Shhhhh
DREADLOCKFELLOW
Dr.Margarine and his crazy pants
DRUNK GIRLS
dumpy Macho Wife
THE Dust Fellows
Egg Murder
ELECTRIC BAZOOKA
ELECTRIC SLIMY BABIES
enamel the evening calls
Face under cork killers
FAT or DIE
F?C large selection'
fisherman's rubber boots
FRAIL HEAD SQUEEZE
The Freddie Mercury
FREEZE HUDDLE FORMATION
Fuck'n Windows united 101
FUCK THE LOTS OF YOU
The Fuddy Duddie's
Funny-RAT
GAS BILL ASIA
Generation Sex Soda
gentlemen underwear
GODHAND of 3minutes
GOD'S GUTS
golden tampon
GOODBYE ME,HAVE A NICEDAY
Good Dog Happy Men
GO ROCK SEVERAL HATES
GREEN HERB STRAIGHT TEA TIME
GREENPEAS YOUNG
grow a fool
GUILLOTINE TERROR
THE HACKED RABBIT HOUSE
HANDS CLAP GANG
HARD CORE DUDE
HARD?GAY?POLICE
Head Job
HEMP COACHING JUICER
HIGH SCHOOL ORANGE BUS 300%
hippo's pig band
Horny Busted
HOT BITCH'S MARIE
hot hip trampoline school
Impotence Trichomonad
Independent Fuck For Girl
Intelligent minni vanilli
ILL SPAGHETTI
In197666
JACK BLOODY NO SMOKER
jerk eggplant
Jisatsushitaikedoashitashigotoda
Kicking Asshole
kill the poltergeist urban security
THE KITCHEN GIRL UNDERMINE
Large House Satisfaction
Lick a man when he is down
LIFE IS JUST LIKE A CHRISTMAS
Little fats & Swingin' hotshot Party
Little sadistic doors
THE LOONY SAGE GARGOYLE
TheLovinGRAND-DAD
Macbeth the Imprish club
Male Goat
MAY FRY PARASHUTE
melancholy kindergarten
Millions of Jesus
minimal hug
mocidade vagabunda batteria nota 1000
MONGOOSE HELL LAZER
Monky T Ace from Cool Running
monogram gain the mode age
MOP OF HEAD
mush the room
music is good
My Cobra and her heads
THE MY BABY IS A HEADFUCK
my plastic JonBenet doll
The NAF in the SweLL
NAPALM DEATH IS DEAD
Natural Ambient Psychedelic Sex
NICO Touches the Walls
NISEUO cosmic-chang mothership progress
NO FORE PLAY
no-side-whiskers
NO SPEAK ENGLISH
oh my God,you've gone
ONION HEAD CUBE
OPPAI?KIDS
the Oriental bus stop
the oriental mosh pit
PIECE OF BREAD
PINK PARTY POODLES
Poor Midnight Grandma
the powerful banana
PSYCHO FOOD EATERS
Pudding paranoia
pygmy with bitter ends
Quinka, with a Yawn
RED BACTERIA VACUUM
Rice Riot
ruin close reptile
Salmon mousse papa
S AND THE NICOLE KIDMEN(ex.PANICSMILE)
Sanitation Facilities
SATAN'S WC
Sausage Butterfly Pasta Festa
school food punishment
SCORNFUL RAT
screw that comming off
SEX INSTRUCTORS
SEX～VirginKiller～
SHEEEEPS
she might be swimmer
Shit
Shit in the park
Sibelian Hair Madness
SILLY BILLY
SLAPPIN' JAPS
slob
Solid Afro
SORRY FOR A FROG
speedy dark and frozen bitch
SPICY SOCKS
stamp one's feet
still…you turn me on
STUPID BABIES GO MAD
Subway School DISK position
SUPER BAD DUDE
SUPER BEER
SUPER GET GET TWO
Taichi ueno & THE FAMILY VEGETABLE
TANGY BURP
TASMANIAN BABY
TEDDYBEAR UNDEAD
Teenagers Bloody KillinG
that's a no no!
Thousands Birdies'Legs
three weeks old lovesick puppy
TRASH MUFF
THE UNCLE OF GREEN CAR
Uncute
UNSNAPED BRANCH
untitled smells things
up wife
VIBRATE TWO FINGERS
wash?
WET THE BED
WHITE LOSER
WHO SHIT
Who the Bitch
Willing to be CURE
THE WORLD APARTMENT HORROR
Yakisoba Eater With No Chopsticks
YOGURT-pooh
Yum!Yum!ORANGE
1000s of cats
6x9=54
767 not threeseven
←↑Zigzag→↓

Which are your favourites?

hazel nuts chocolate, harco, golf at que

by craig

On Friday night I went down to Club Que in Shimokitazawa to see Hazel Nuts Chocolate, Harco and Golf.

Hazel Nuts Chocolate put on a bit of a different show than usual. The singer, Yuppa, was looking a lot more serious than usual and the band seemed to have decided they were a rock band. Still incredibly cute of course, but it seems as if cuteness is becoming less of a part of their style. Their last album, 'Cute', apart from having the most fitting title of all time, had some great silly ditties and crazy Plus-Tech Squeeze Box-like moments. One of my favourite things is how Yuppa tries to fit too many words in a line in her sped-up child-like voice. Anyway, on Friday night it seemed to be all about the guitars and funny rock poses. Definitely the band of the evening. I was grinning like an over-supportive mother throughout the whole performance.



All the young girls who were up the front worshipping Yuppa during Hazel Nuts Chocolate moved back to let the older ladies move up to grin at handsome Harco. I have one of his CDs around somewhere that I bought years ago and liked during my late-90s preppy Japanese pop phase. I've also been listing his shows on Tokyo Gig Guide since it started but had never actually seen him play live. On Friday night he sounded like Hideki Kaji if Hideki Kaji were a kinda boring keyboard-playing singer. Funnily, the best song was one that Harco co-wrote with Kaji. I know Harco is an important Tokyo indie-pop scene veteran but I wasn't really in the mood on Friday night. Not cute enough.

I had been really looking forward to seeing Golf. I really liked their mini-album 'The Gift.' Interesting, quiet, experimental pop. I wanted to see how they would be live, however since they recorded 'The Gift' it seems like they've become more.. just pop. Live, and with their latest mini-album, 'Yellow', the singer has become more confident and his great voice is what leads the band and what could actually make them popular commercially. Seriously, his voice is quite beautiful. But for me, the best thing about them are the sublime moments with trumpets and melodica, or when they incorporate electronic sounds and beats. The rest of the time it's fairly standard guitar pop/rock. They were a tight live band and a friendly-looking bunch of guys and girls. They seemed to be good friends plus a bit nervous so were always looking at each other and smiling and giggling. cute!

myspace

by craig

although myspace has a lot of obvious faults, it has become a good way to find new music.
so if you want to see some profiles and hear some samples of japanese bands, have a look at the friends of the tokyo gig guide myspace.