Japanese Pop Is Getting Really Wild!

For some time now J-Pop (Japanese Pop) has lived in the shadows of the global phenomenon

we know as K-Pop.

But one J-Pop group that's gaining attention is White Jam, lead by it's charismatic front man

Shirose Takahito, who amazingly turned 40 this month.

He's often described as being provocative as well as being somewhat ambiguous on stage.

And being half Japanese and half Korean it has allowed him to collaborate and create songs

for various other K-Pop groups like SHINee, TVXQ, Da Ice and Deep.

Some links below for White Jam and Shirose.

SHIROSE FACEBOOK - INSTAGRAM - YOUTUBE - WHITE JAM PAGE

WHITE JAM K-POP PROFILE

  

Remembering Ryuichi

 

Remembering the extraordinary Japanese musician and occasional actor Ryuichi Sakamoto

who sadly passed away three years ago at the end of March 2023, although news of his death

didn't reach us until early April that year.

In 2014 Sakamoto was diagnosed with throat cancer, eventually gaining remission in 2021,

announcing online at the same time that he had succumbed to colon cancer which sadly took

his life two years later in 2023.

I always get a lump in my throat when I hear of colon cancer victims as I was diagnosed

with the very same thing in 2012, taking a year out from blogging while undergoing a six

year treatment and a recovery program, finally gaining remission around 2018.

Along with many of his awards for his film music compositions Sakamoto will undoubtedly

be remembered for his haunting music from the 1983 film 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' 

a film directed by Nagisa Oshima. The film was based on the wartime experiences of  Sir

Laurens van der Post, portrayed in the film by actor Tom Conti starring alongside David Bowie.

Above video cleverly put together by

Chi-Walking Young