The 5.6.7.8's- Bomb The Rocks- Early Days Singles 1989-1996.

The 5.6.7.8's make some other so-called garage groups sound like Genesis. Plenty of vigour and urgency here. No extraneous polish.

This is a compilation of their early material.

少年ナイフ/Shonen Knife- Everybody Happy (1982)

A while back I wrote a piece about the positive aspects of file sharing (see 30th April).
Here’s an example-
Shonen Knife was formed in the December of 1981 in Osaka.
Minna Tanoshiku or Everybody Happy was their first release. It was released in Japan as cassette-format only in 1982. The first 50 copies were released by the band themselves, and the insert features the lip prints of the three members. An additional 20 copies, without the lip prints, were pressed by Zero Records before the band requested that no further copies were made.
The album was never reissued in any format and over the years it became legendary due to its rarity. mp3’s surfaced on a blog in 2007.
So, when this music is made available via blogs, who loses out?
Whilst the few originals and home copies were circulating at huge prices the band weren’t getting a yen. One could argue that having called a halt to the production of the record in ‘82 they effectively ended their commercial ambitions for the recording anyway.
It’s an important document for followers of Shonen Knife, of Japanese music in general and also a great fun record.
Now we can all enjoy it!

Naoko Yamano- vocals, guitar
Atsuko Yamano- drums, vocals
Michie Nakatan- vocals, bass

Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her - Red Talk (2002)

We did some shows, and we didn’t have our band’s name yet. I asked one of my friends, and he chose Seagull Screaming..., this name from the album called The Big Express, from XTC, and everyone liked that name, ‘cause it’s too long...
SSKHKH were formed as a two-girl band in New York City in 1992.
In 1994 Aiha Higurashi returned to Tokyo where she enlisted bassist and vocalist Nao Koyama and drummer Takaharu Karashima.
Red Talk is a 2002 compilation release. Loads of information on this great group here.

Aiha Higurashi (Guitar & Vocals)
Nao Koyama (Bass & Vocals 1994-)
Takaharu Karashima "Takape" (Drums & Vocal 1992-1999)
Sachiko Ito (Bass 1992-1994 )

The 5.6.7.8's -The 5.6.7.8's Can’t Help It (1991)

In 2002 The 5.6.7.8's enjoyed a belated 15 minutes of fame when their cover of the Rock a Teens song Woo Hoo made the UK top 30 following an appearance in Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill Vol 1.
The band was formed in Tokyo in 1986 by sisters Ronnie and Sachiko. Throughout their career the band have drawn heavily on images from American popular culture from the 1950's .
This is riotous, high octane stuff that draws on garage rock and surf music, but it has a much rougher edge than the sound it is modeled on. The lyrics, whether in Japanese, English or phonetic approximations of English are often barely discernable, but the thunderous bass, frantic drumming and psychotic riffs are top drawer stuff.
Line up:
Yoshiko "Ronnie" Fujiyama- vocals, guitar
Fujii Sachiko - drums
Eddie - guitar
Omo-bass