Top Ten English Web Sites About Japanese Music

I'm not going to rank the top ten sites because people may find each site useful in their own way, as the sites sometimes focus on different things regarding Japanese music. They will be numbered, but are simply listed in alphabetical order.

01. centrigrade-j: http://www.centigrade-j.com/
Centrigrade-j offers reviews, news, and a forum on the latest in Japanese music. It is most famous for its translations, however. Most English speakers don't know what Japanese artists are singing, but this site helps to inform them.

02. circle with a dot: http://www.circlewithadot.net/
Circle with a dot offers profiles on a varied group of musicians and also has a forum. The site has a couple of features and offers samples of songs by the musicians profiled there. The site even provides some videos, ranging from live footage to music videos.

03. J-Music.com: http://www.j-music.com/
J-Music.com solely covers Japanese jazz musicians, which makes it a very interesting site. For you jazz fans out there that might be visiting Japan sometime soon, be sure to take a look at this site since it highlights many jazz clubs around Tokyo.

04. Japan Files: http://www.yesjapan.com/japanfiles/
Japan Files is unique in that it offers music samples, mp3s, videos, and albums of various independent and lesser known Japanese bands. The intent of the creators' was to make a site that directly supported the artists. The site also features some live reports and a message board dedicated to Japanese artists.

05. Japan Live: http://japanlive.blogspot.com/
Japan Live is an interesting blog written by Ken McCallum, who is a foreigner in Japan. His site mainly focuses on the live music scene in Japan, as he reports on various bands and artists through the shows he's seen live. Some information about lesser known artists is given, but his site is more dedicated to their live shows than to the artists' history.