November 1, 2026

Japan

Japan[a] is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside 14,121 smaller islands. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, and around 75% of its terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. With a population of almost 123 million as of 2026, it is the world’s 11th most populous country. Tokyo is the country’s capital and largest city.

Shonen Knife at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (21 Oct 2009)

Flashback: Shonen Knife at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (21 Oct 2009)

vu@weheartmusic.com July 14, 2021

Just to give you a little context, Shonen Knife basically broke up in 2005 drummer Mana “China” Nishiura died in a car crash in New Jersey… You didn’t hear much from the band since then… So I was really happy to see that the group returned in 2009 with a new album Super Group and tour. As I mentioned, singer/band leader Naoko Yamano basically decided to take a backseat and let Ritsuko Taneda take charge on a few songs. Taneda did fine, as she previously cut her teeth in J-Pop group Denki Candy.

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peelannder-z4195599_10

Japanesey: Peelander-Z, Shonen Knife, and the Clover

vu@weheartmusic.com February 8, 2014

Peelander-Z just announced their full nationwide tour for Metalander-Z. We previously saw them tour last year, and I noted that they didn't play that many songs from the album. I guess that was just the preview, I'm going to expect to hear more Metalander-Z on this upcoming show, because I have to tell you: their new album is good (if you like hair metal)! I love Shonen Knife. The Osaka band announced their new album Overdrive to come out April 16th, 2014, via Good Charamel Records (for North America). The American market will get a yellow cover version, while the UK and Japan will get Green and Blue covers, respectively. The new album is said to be influenced by 70s rock.
If you have nothing going on tonight (February 8th), head over to the Cake Shop in New York at midnight to catch The Clover, an all-girl band that exclusively just cover The Beatles' music. The Japanese band recently just played Freddy's Bar in NY as part of the Beatles celebration.

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DUNCAN SHEIK

Cover Lover: Totally 80s

vu@weheartmusic.com June 30, 2011

DUNCAN SHEIK duncansheik.com You all remember Duncan Sheik, he found massive success with his single...

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Shonen Knife Super Group (2008)

Shonen Knife (少年ナイフ)

vu@weheartmusic.com July 15, 2009

I fell in love with Shonen Knife in the early 90s, with Let's Knife. And although my first (and favorite) Knife song is "Riding the Rocket", the lyrics may sound outdated due to the fact that Pluto was de-planetized: "Riding the rocket, I wanna go to Pluto.". They were further popularized when the band was asked to open up for Nirvana (who was supernova-ing with Nevermind).

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