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ROCK OF ASIAN: Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Asian Kung-Fu Generation has been around for over a decade, and we’re a little late to the party (having just discovered them this year). But oh well, better late than never!
AKFG is a Japanese outfit that has, since the late nineties, pulled together their beloved alternarock/power punk/indie influences for an earnest, energy-charged, brightly commercial blend of rockage. In the States, that bio would make a band Jimmy Eat World or Weezer. But the Japanese version is somehow more novel than that–a little less intentionally aloof, perhaps. And this is why the original songs, for whatever formulas they boast, do not suffer for their earnest. Rather, they seem kind of straightforward and sturdy, yet kinda sleek–like a well-fitted puffer vest from Patagonia. This is also why AKFG can cover an Oasis song and not lose all their street cred.
But why settle for cover songs? Enjoy the video for last year’s new single, “Shinseiki No Love Song”–which has less power chords than former hits and stands out from the pack. When you’re done, find out what we fell in love with by watching my favorite track from ‘05, “Blue Train.”
Continue reading ROCK OF ASIAN: Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Filed under: Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Awesome Japanese Bands, Indie Bands, Japan, Japanese Bands, Jimmy Eat World, Veterans, Weezer
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Iraq War Veteran And Marathoner Mervin Roxas
Name: Mervin Roxas
Age: 27
Hails from: The Philippines and Orange County, CA
Occupation: Ex-Marine, Purple Heart recipient, student
LA Times writer Steve Lopez specializes in hard-luck stories–it was a series of Lopez’s columns that inspired The Soloist–and his recent profile of ex-Marine Mervin Roxas is no different in that regard. Only this hard-luck story is one in which you don’t just have to be a bystander.
Roxas, pronounced “Rojas,” was born in the Philippines but immigrated to California with his family at age 13. After the September 11th attacks, he enlisted in the Marines and served two tours in Iraq before a Humvee that he was riding in near the Syrian border was blown up by an IED, killing three of his fellow Marines and costing Roxas his entire left arm and part of his shoulder. In the six years since he suffered this devastating injury at age 21, Roxas has been rebuilding his life. On Sunday, he ran the LA Marathon in under 6 hours to raise money for U.S. VETS, an organization that takes care of homeless veterans (and incidentally, the same charity Shia LaBeouf ran for).
And that’s where you come in. Even though Roxas has completed the marathon, you can still donate to his cause. Click here to help the more than 130,000 homeless veterans in America.
[LA Times: An ex-marine can run for us]
Filed under: Charities, Filipino-Americans, Homeless Veterans, Iraq War Veterans, LA Marathon, Marathoners, Marathons, Marines, mervin roxas, Purple Heart Recipients, Steve Lopez, The Soloist, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Marines, US VETS, Veterans, vets
ROCK OF ASIAN: Nisennenmondai
Look at these adorable ladies:
They are Nisennenmondai!
Aren’t they sweet? They’re Nisenenmondai (which apparently means “Year 2000 Problem,” remember that?), a veteran Japanese trio that has been playing a sick blend of lo-fi/wall-of-sound/punk/noise/distortion rock for a decade. The music is, all at once: cerebral, playful, aggressive, daunting, methodical, modern, mathematical, organic impulsive, deliberate, visceral and new. Hunh.
In short, Nissenmondai sounds (IMHO) like this:
Continue reading ROCK OF ASIAN: Nisennenmondai
Filed under: Adorable, Asian Ladies Rock, Awesome Japanese Bands, Denim Art, Distortion Rock, Don't Be Fooled By That Cute Facade, Hokusai, Hybrids, Japanese Bands, Ladies Who Rock, Lo-Fi Sounds, Nisennenmondai, Pleasant Cacophony, Pretty Ladies, Punk, Veterans, Year 200 Problem
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! US Army Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee
Last week marked the first annual Military Rape Awareness Week, sponsored by Veterans For Peace, a non-profit and officially-recognized United Nations NGO comprised of military veterans seeking alternatives to war.
Military Rape Awareness Week was conceived as a response to a recent Veterans Administrative Study funded by the US Army Medical Corps that found 1 in 3 women in the military have been raped.
US Army Reserves Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee, who was raped twice while serving in Iraq, is one of those women. She spoke at the week’s kickoff event, at the Times Square Recruiting Station in NYC:
1 in 3 servicewomen raped in the military.
Wow.
And we’re worried about gays in the military because why?
Thanks, @erwinism!
Filed under: Amazians, Gays in the Military, Iraq War Veterans, Military Rape Awareness Week, Rape in the Military, Rape Victims, Sandra Lee, Scary Studies, U.S. Army, US Military, Veterans, Veterans' Affairs
ROCK OF ASIAN: Mike Relm
Mike Relm is one of those hot guys that makes “nerd” seem chic, diminutive seem large, and everything he touches seem cool. A veteran DJ, Relm has a new rekkid out called Spectacle (our friends at URB offer a free track off the album, “Hot To Trot” ft. Alfred Ortiz,” if you’d like to take a listen).
The fact of the matter is, we can’t resist his beats, nor anything Mike Relm deems cool. Such is the power of a hot guy.
See/hear more here. Buy Spectacle here.
Source Source Source Source
Thanks, Raymond!
Filed under: Alfred Ortiz, DJs, Free Tracks, Hot Asian Men, Hot New Rekkids, Mike Relm, Nerd Wear, So Chic, Trax On Wax, URB Magazine, Veterans
AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Senator Daniel Akaka
Name: Daniel Akaka
Hails from: Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation: U.S. Senator
Known for: Being the first senator of native Hawaiian ancestry and the only Chinese-American to currently hold that position, serving in the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII, chairing the Senate’s Veterans Affairs Committee, co-sponsoring the new bipartisan GI Bill that promises to provide college educations to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans after three or more years of service (which Bush is threatening to veto), sporting a bitchin’ silver coif.
Filed under: Afghanistan--'Memba That?, Bitchin' Hairdos, Chinese-Americans, Daniel Akaka, George Bush is a Dick, Hawaiians, Iraq, Memorial Day, The U.S. Senate, Veterans
