Maki Ohguro is one of those artists that you never really hear about, and yet left a huge impact on Japanese music in the 90s. Undoubetedly you’ve heard one of her songs before, even if you don’t really remember it. Indeed, she used to be a pretty big thing in the mid-90s with her heavy…
I consider myself somewhat of an expert on Japanese pop ‘n rock (colloquially referred to over there and abroad as “J-pop”) and writing an extensive series that takes place through the decades in Japan and NOT expecting me to insert Japanese pop songs into every scene is next to impossible. At the REN’AI RENSAI website…
I speak from way too much experience when I say that finding lesbian representation in Japan is like looking for lesbian representation on the moon. Finding lesbian music artists is even more impossible. That’s why you pretty much take what you can get and just run with it. Nanase Aikawa is one of those artists…
Last time I mentioned that the biggest lesbian representation in Asia seems to come from the Chinese related nations.However, the artist I featured then was not a known lesbian. This week is different. Denise Ho, one of the biggest musical celebrities in Cantopop (Hong Kong) is not only the first out lesbian celebrity in Hong…
When it comes to lesbian music in Asia, China and its territories such as Taiwan and Hong Kong seem to be the greatest places to find it. At the very least, C-pop artists are more open about lesbian themes than their K-pop and J-pop counterparts. Why this is, I can only speculate, and would be…
Reon Yuzuki and Nene Yumesaki Almost everyone knows about Japanese anime – you know, that East Asian medium that has been blasting through the West’s youth for the past few decades. You’ve probably also heard your share of Japanese pop and rock, including the visual kei that depicts heavy rocking men in long hair, heavy…
With the release of “KATAOMOI.” only three days away, it’s time to jump into a post about one of my favorite things related to it – Japanese media! 1997 was a great year for Japanese media. In fact, it was a part of the great music and movie “boom,” when records were broken to new…
(Images used for promo purposes only.) As both a queer woman and a die-hard music lover, I’m always looking for great music that primarily features lesbian band members. While twin group Tegan and Sara are probably the most famous, my favorites have always been Uh Huh Her. Comprised of Leisha Hailey (who played Alice from…
Changing up the promotions a little bit. Originally I intended to post the first preview of “DAISUKI.” today, but it’s not quite ready yet. So, instead, have the song I consider to be the “theme song” of the story, a lovely mid-tempo ballad called “I Love You” (get it?) by Miwako Okuda. I don’t even…
It just wouldn’t be a HW without me posting something about Japan, eh. Well, if you haven’t noticed by now, I tend to blab on and on about my other love outside of writing, which is Japanese pop music (or, J-pop). This week’s artist is one of the best (as always!) and a huge name…