i realized recently that there's never been a thread about the awesome band that is japan. so i'm going to change that.
japan formed in 1974. they broke up in 1983. they inspired many a band, and really, i think without them the new wave movement may not have had the same impact it did. i only say this because so many of the huge 80s artists were so inspired by japan, the music they would've made had it not been for japan may have sounded different.
anyway, japan can really be summed up into two eras: there's their glam rock phase in 1978, and then there disco/new wave phase from 1979 on. they released five studio albums, a live album, then called it a day.
as for my personal favourites, my favourite album would have to be gentlemen take polaroids. my favourite song is swing.
for those of you not so familiar with them, here's their entry in wikipedia.
and, here's some choice songs for your listening pleasure. i tried to pick their hits as well as some personal favourites. oh btw, a lot of these are in m4a format so if you don't have itunes they may not work. sux 2 b u omg!
adolescent sex, 1978:
the unconventional
performance
obscure alternatives, 1978:
...rhodesia (omg bonus it's reggae!!)
deviation
the tenant (an excellent song that sounds nothing like anything they'd done up until that point)
quiet life, 1979:
quiet life
alien
the other side of life
gentlemen take polaroids, 1980:
gentlemen take polaroids
swing
my new career
tin drum, 1981:
the art of parties
ghosts
canton (a very chinese sounding song. this album is very eastern, but you can really hear it in this song.)
japan formed in 1974. they broke up in 1983. they inspired many a band, and really, i think without them the new wave movement may not have had the same impact it did. i only say this because so many of the huge 80s artists were so inspired by japan, the music they would've made had it not been for japan may have sounded different.
anyway, japan can really be summed up into two eras: there's their glam rock phase in 1978, and then there disco/new wave phase from 1979 on. they released five studio albums, a live album, then called it a day.
as for my personal favourites, my favourite album would have to be gentlemen take polaroids. my favourite song is swing.
for those of you not so familiar with them, here's their entry in wikipedia.
and, here's some choice songs for your listening pleasure. i tried to pick their hits as well as some personal favourites. oh btw, a lot of these are in m4a format so if you don't have itunes they may not work. sux 2 b u omg!
adolescent sex, 1978:
the unconventional
performance
obscure alternatives, 1978:
...rhodesia (omg bonus it's reggae!!)
deviation
the tenant (an excellent song that sounds nothing like anything they'd done up until that point)
quiet life, 1979:
quiet life
alien
the other side of life
gentlemen take polaroids, 1980:
gentlemen take polaroids
swing
my new career
tin drum, 1981:
the art of parties
ghosts
canton (a very chinese sounding song. this album is very eastern, but you can really hear it in this song.)
And spin and spin and spin 
for starters david has aged terribly 
here's a fun fact: a couple years ago when i had platinum blonde hair, my stylist fried my hair and i ended up with bangs. given the length my hair, it kinda resembled david sylvian's. i did not do this intentionally. 
