I've posted this in another forum, but I felt that my brothers and sistahs here can vent about this, too.

Gwen Stefani is a Tomoko Kawase wannabe. That's right, I said it.

Like Tomoko, Gwen was the lead vocalist of a successful rock band (Tomoko with the brilliant green, Gwen with No Doubt). They then both went for a more poppy solo career (with Tomoko donning the aliases Tommy february6 & Tommy heavenly6). Both had found success, but only one managed to get the job done right; and that's Tomoko.

The reason why it works better with Tomoko is because when she does her new thing, she doesn't leave her brilliant green fans in the dust. Her music mixes '80's European-styled pop with the indie rock that made her famous. And because of that mix she creates an original sound that captures the personality of her stage characters. She may not be the bad girl that she portrays on stage in real life, but at least people know it's just a character.

Gwen, on the other hand, just does pop for the sake of pop; and because of that she sounds like every other American pop singer. And whoever told her to remix "The Lonely Goatherd" into her song should never be allowed to work in the music business ever again!!! Also, notice that those Harujuku Girls that surround her are Japanese; and wearing what seems to be cloned clothes that not only Tomoko wears, but also other J-POP singers like Ayumi Hamasaki, Bonnie Pink, and Puffy. She's blatantly ripping off J-POP!!!

Gwen, I'm sorry; but you'll never be a J-POP singer. You're just a white girl from California who grew up listening to early grunge and punk. I read that you are working on a new No Doubt album. That's good. Go back to doing what you know best: rockin' out! Then we will forgive you for this little pop experiment of yours.What I'm trying to say here is leave the J-POP sound to the J-POP singers. American musicians can learn from them; but just copying their style and foregoing their own will just lead to disaster.

This is King Baby Duck saying "If it ain't made in Japan, it's usually crap!"

Finish What You Start...

Konichiwa my little Quack Pack crew! The King Baby Duck is here, making his grand debut in the world of the Electric Sistah Hood! To mark this debut we're going to look at the 2006 album "Bubblegum Viking" by Japanese punk rockers STANCE PUNKS!

Gather together the best tracks from the Clash’s “London Calling,” Dropkick Murphys’ “Sing Loud, Sing Proud,” and the Blue Hearts’ self-titled debut album. Now drop an atomic bomb on top of them. The end result still would not be as powerful as the new STANCE PUNKS album.

Their fourth album release, “BUBBLEGUM VIKING” takes in every style of punk rock known to man and gives it the 10,000-volt jolt it has desperately needed these past 13 years. From its one-two march into battle named “Waving a big flag in the wind” that follows forth into the trash-your-hotel-room-blitz called “Monkey Seventeen,” to the mosh-enthralled “Cheryl wa Blue” and the Guitar Wolf-inspired licks from Kinya’s Epiphone in “Dropping ones of star,” the album clearly has the purpose of grabbing a baseball bat and smashing every piece of furniture in your house. In other words: pure punk bliss.

Its signature track “LET IT ROCK” calls out to the people who first heard the Ramones back in 1975. It’s clear in this song that vocalist Tsuru forever wishes to be on stage with the late Joey and Johnny; despite the fact that his voice would be better off with the likes of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. There also seems to be a bit of a Sublime-inal influence in both “Night Airship” and “The party does not enter (Main part)”; and while these tracks are more ska than punk the band does a great job reminding the listener that their inspiration is more than from just one genre.

From start to finish “BUBBLEGUM VIKING” is the thrill ride that makes you want to get back in line to get on again. If you have a single ounce of love for the punk genre, this album is for you. Play it for your non-Japanese friends. If they complain that they can’t understand a single lyric, remind them that’s how punk is supposed to sound: loud and incoherent. The true spirit of punk has been brought back; and by the end of this masterpiece you, too, will be screaming, “WE ARE THE BUBBLEGUM VIKING!!” Five stars, hands down!

That's it for this corner today.

This is King Baby Duck saying "If it ain't made in Japan, it's usually crap!"

Finish What You Start...