You may remember our posting from some time back about Kali’s veiled tribute to Mega Man 3 on Big Dada, and now another indie MC named Random has made an entire album in homage to the the blue bomber. Entitled Mega Ran, Random takes loops from some of the most beloved tunes from the original Mega Man Series, and adds some pretty beefy production underneath clever and endearing rhymes. It’s clear this guy has some major love for Capcom’s classic series, and even Capcom themselves have thrown their support behind this guy! Having given him an official license to promote his work, it’s now available for sale on iTunes and CDBaby.

Random’s “Mega Ran” is Blowing Up (via Capcom Blog)

By Jesse Mann

Check out this video of robot band The Trons performing “live.” Guitar, keys, drums, and something vaguely resembling vocals are all covered by this ragtag group of modified appliances and unfinished robotic hands. They even have their very own Myspace page! I wonder if a spam bot created it for them…

Robot Rock Group Readies for Next Gig (via MAKE Magazine)

By Jesse Mann

In the age of MP3s and social networking websites, the quality of sound has dropped immensely in the past several years. With digital downloading and piracy, people are buying less and less CDs and settling for the poor quality MP3s of their favorite jams. This, of course, leads to the inevitable decline of the music industry.

However, the Japanese have done it again – they are here to save the biz. And how? By making higher quality CDs!? More after the jump.

So, you think you are the biggest Radiohead fan? Well hold on to your pants because there’s going to be a Radiohead Museum opening in Tokyo and it only lasts for 3 days!
That’s right. The Tower Records in Shibuya will exhibit all the rare vinyls, exclusive footage, and Thom Yorke’s sweaty towels on display for you to see. Along with the exhibit, there will be a serial publication of inside stories on them, along with projections of their DVDs Live in Astoria and Meeting People is Easy on the big screen. This is all coinciding with their recent release of The Best Of greatest hits collection in Japan.

There are no entry fees and it’s open to public. The exhibit schedule is the following. If you happen to be one of the lucky ones that are in the Shibuya area.

June 3rd 4pm – 10pm
June 4th 7pm – 10pm
June 5th 4pm – 9pm

If you aren’t going to be there, do not worry; I hear they are doing a World Wide Tour too…

Radiohead Museum Opens in Shibuya (via listen.jp)

by Taeko Saito

Forget your white belt and skinny jeans, indie rockers. Leave your ironic moustache, black t-shirts and bad tattoos at home. Manga is the new trend for the summer.

According to the Young Sunday Comics, the popular rock manga “Go-On!” will feature American Rock band Weezer as a guest on their comic book, along with collaboration artwork by Akisige for the Japan release for the Red Album in stores June 4th 2008. Apparently in the manga, the main character is a typical loser type who starts listening to Weezer because of his crush. Throughout the story the Weezer Blue Album is a motif and is a huge part of the main character’s life. Apparently, Weezer’s front man, Rivers Cuomo, has read the manga and is very excited about their future collaborations.

Who knows, maybe Rivers and the rest of Weezer will appear mangafied in a chapter or two?

By Taeko Saito

All photos courtesy of Avex Entertainment Inc.

Very rarely will you catch an anime fan that hasn’t seen or heard of the year 2000 series FLCL (Fooly Cooly). Aside from the healthy dose of absurdity and weird humor that production studio Gainax graced its viewers with, it’s also noted for having a killer soundtrack, featuring a number of songs from Japanese rock outfit The Pillows and garnering a huge amount of international attention for the veteran group, which formed in 1989.

The Pillows’ international success has since moved beyond the popularity of the anime, and they have already made several trips to the US to perform their albums and promote their band. Featuring catchy songs with a strong rock rhythm and foregoing the visual flair that a lot of Japanese rock bands often turn to, The Pillows are definitely an interesting group.

This year’s Delicious Bump tour was exactly that, delicious. New York - Tokyo had the opportunity to interview them during their tour this past March. More after the jump.