The Japan Record Awards is an award giving body linked to the Japan Composers’ Association. It’s an annual event held to honor and recognize the year’s most outstanding musical artists. Each year, a list of winners is given the Gold Prize. These Gold Prize recipients then vie for the Grand Prize. The 49th Japan Record Awards are going to be held on December 30, 2007, 6:30 pm (JST) at TBS.

The list of Gold Prize Winners and Grand Prize Nominees are as follows:

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Here are this week’s new releases and recommendations, and boy was it a good one! I’m having trouble choosing what to pick!

AAA - Otoko Dake Dato,…Kounarimashita!” [Boys Only Single-Digital Release]

01. Crash 02. Hasta la vista 03. Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu 04. BET

It seems like there has been a growing trend of digital releases lately. I remember two years ago when you would have hardly ever heard of one, and now I can count at least 10 artists who have done so! Anyway, AAA’s single is very, very good! My favorite song would probably be Crash, but they are all interesting. Akireru Kurai Wagamama na Jiyuu is the slow song of the bunch, and it is a little odd not to hear the girls in the background. I wonder if this means a Girls Only release will be coming soon?

Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: iTunes Link // Mora.jp
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FLOW - Fuyu no Amaoto / NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU

01. Fuyu no Amaoto (Watch PV@Youtube) 02. NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU (Watch PV@Youtube) 03. Image 04. Fuyu no Amaoto (Instrumental) 05. NIGHT PARADE by FLOW & HOME MADE KAZOKU (Instrumental)

This is one collaboration that is definitely a hit with me. Fuyu no Amaoto is a great song, but the real gem of the single is NIGHT PARADE. I enjoy both FLOW and HOME MADE Kazoku, and their voices/styles blend really well in this!

Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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01. i spy i spy (Watch PV@Youtube) 02. i spy i spy (Instrumental)

Wow, what a cool sounding single. Not only is this the other awesome collab of the week, it sounds a bit like Blondie’s “Call Me”, same style of instrumental/guitar for example, and is overall a really catchy song. Definitely ordering this one with my next big CD purchase!

Info: Superfly Official // JET Official // no wiki, pity…
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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On top of that, I’d like to also recommend two great “best”/compilation albums as well. I think that these are an awesome way to sample an artist, and they are awesome to buy because you get so many great songs on one album!:
The Gospellers - The Gospellers Works [Album]

01. Stand By Me 02. It Still Matters ~Ai wa Nemuranai w/Howie D. (Watch PV@Youtube) 03. Natsu no Collection 04. Guitarism 05. Utsubokazura 06. Omoikomi 07. The Longest Time 08. CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO 09. Rebirth 10. Shizumanu Yuuhi 11. Manten no Hoshi no Yoru 12. Ryuusei 13. TAXI to Yubiwa no RESTAURANT 14. Dance If You Want It 15. TSHIRT ni Kuchibeni 16. SLOW BALLAD 17. A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I’ve always enjoyed The Gospellers voices. They have the perfect acapella sound, but my favorite song on this album happens to be the collab with Howie D. Awesome.

Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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WaT - WaT Collection [Album]

	01. Ready Go! (Watch Live w/Morning Musume) 02. Natsubi 03. Boku no Kimochi 04. Jitensha 05. Bokura no Ibasho 06. reStart 07. 5Centi 08. I will get a dream 09. Hajimete Umi wo Mita Toki ni wa 10. Hadaka 11. Hava Rava 12. Sotsugyou TIME 13. Ano Hi 14. Bokura no Love Story (Watch PV@Youtube) 15. Awaking Emotion 8/5 16. Kimi ni Okuru Uta

These two are so cute. *pinches cheeks* I like the way they blend their voices, and they have the sort of innocent, feel good pop sound to them. Bokura no Love Story and Jitensha are my favs from this album!

Info: Official // wiki.theppn
Support: Global Yesasia // US Yesasia
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And per usual, the entire list of releases for this week is under the cut!
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Yep, you read that right. That’s Chipuya and not Shibuya. Media Groove, a Japanese mobile tech company has recently released a fashionista-centric keitai (Japanese mobile) RPG.
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You most probably won’t have any practical use for it. It’s not something which could save the world or anything as important. But fan girls (and boys) would die to get their hands on one. Presenting the Hello Kitty USB Aquarium. It features Hello Kitty as a mermaid and her rabbit-fish pet. Nothing like a cross-bred kitty every now and then, eh?
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If you can’t get your hands on a real Xbox 360, then check these plushies out! Even the manliest man can’t deny how cute these plushies are. Just take a look at those tinted cheeks and tell me they’re not adorable?

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He reads The Prince of Tennis and buys the most recent Shounen Jump to be updated plus the tankoubons, too. He laments when a Seigaku (the main team) regular loses a match. He sulks when he is not able to buy that certain Seigaku racket case in a store. He re-reads the The Prince of Tennis manga when he could not sleep. He names his dog Fanta, to refer to the drink Ponta was based on.

When you read his blog, you would think that 16 year-old Sakurada Doori is merely a Prince of Tennis fanboy, especially when he starts rambling about Echizen Ryoma and his teammates. Well, he is a fanboy, but he is also Echizen Ryoma in the flesh — at least for a certain time.

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No Japanese company has taken the world by storm like BAPE and its playful Hip-Hop clothes. Nigo’s company, which started in 1993, already has shops in many of the world’s major cities, including New York, London, Los Angeles, and, of course, Tokyo. But Nigo doesn’t plan to stop there. “BAPE is a lifestyle company, including music, hair, even food. Everything you need to live,” says the fashion guru. He has already started his spread of the brand with a record label, a salon, and even a cafe, but Nigo has more in store for his Planet of the Apes inspired brand.
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After seeing the vending machine disguise, I reckon this will seem a bit tame, mundane even. Ms. Tsukioka, designer of the vending machine disguise, came up with even MORE wacky ideas. The first is the fire-hydrant bag designed to camouflage children.

See the cute grade-schooler transform himself into a fire hydrant.

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I got this weird feeling the Japanese love their vending machines. Don’t believe me? Well, let me present my evidences.

Exhibit A:

Ms. Tsukioka, a Japanese experimental fashion designer, has thought of a disguise against perverts and hoodlums. One of those vending machines is a hiding human. Can you spot it? I guess good ol’ pepper spray isn’t good enough these days. Just take heed, if it’s a psycho-killer chasing you down the street, this won’t help at all. See the transformation, from a human to a vending machine, in the pictures below.
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The combination of rice and miso soup is a common Japanese breakfast menu. I could just imagine men walking into the kitchen, tousle-haired and half-awake, gobbling down their food without much thought. These, however, could produce the opposite effect.

Introducing “My Chopsticks Bra” by Triumph Japan.

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