As a child of the 80s, Japanese culture was peppered everywhere—in the cartoons that we watched, toys we played with, cars people drove and electronics everyone lusted for. Videogames and anime were my first exposure to Japanese music, and as a teenager I had some older friends that were into J-Rock who helped me indulge, and a couple of years later Napster and other file sharing came along and the floodgates just opened. Here's a selection of bangers great for jiujitsu. Grab the playlists for free on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music or YouTube, or take a look at the track listing below and add them to playlists of your own.
SONG | ARTIST | ALBUM |
|---|---|---|
Sorani Utaeba | 175R | Songs |
Tokyo Cityは風だらけ |
A.R.B. |
Bad News |
Re:fire |
Aldious |
Radiant A |
BOUND TO BREAK |
Anthem |
BOUND TO BREAK |
Thrill |
BAND-MAID |
New Beginning |
Marionette |
BOØWY |
Psychopath |
Metal Man |
Electric Eel Shock |
Sugoi Indeed |
Hard Blow |
Flatbacker |
Accident |
Battle Without Honor or Humanity |
Hotei |
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity |
Finger † |
Johnny, Louis & Char |
tricycle |
Stripper |
Kenji Sawada |
Stripper |
One Night Carnival |
Kishidan |
Boy's Color |
Amagi Goe |
Marty Friedman |
Tokyo Jukebox, Vols. 1 & 2 |
Hari No Yama |
Ningen Isu |
Ningen Shikkaku |
No Scared |
ONE OK ROCK |
Zankyō Reference |
Money |
Shogo Hamada |
DOWN BY THE MAINSTREET |
Hageshii Ame Ga |
THE MODS |
HANDS UP |
Romantist |
THE STALIN |
Stop Jap |
MONSTER ROCK |
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra |
スカパラ登場 |
Dead Leaves Rising |
Unlucky Morpheus |
Black Pentagram - Single |
Seventeen's Map |
Yukata Ozaki |
Seventeen's Map |
Gloria |
ZIGGY |
Hot Lips |
DRAGON FROM THE WEST † |
松本孝弘 |
西辺来龍 DRAGON FROM THE WEST |
SONG | ARTIST |
|---|---|
Sorani Utaeba | 175R |
Tokyo Cityは風だらけ |
A.R.B. |
Re:fire |
Aldious |
BOUND TO BREAK |
Anthem |
Thrill |
BAND-MAID |
Marionette |
BOØWY |
Metal Man |
Electric Eel Shock |
Hard Blow |
Flatbacker |
Battle Without Honor or Humanity |
Hotei |
Finger † |
Johnny, Louis & Char |
Stripper |
Kenji Sawada |
One Night Carnival |
Kishidan |
Amagi Goe |
Marty Friedman |
Hari No Yama |
Ningen Isu |
No Scared |
ONE OK ROCK |
Money |
Shogo Hamada |
Hageshii Ame Ga |
THE MODS |
Romantist |
THE STALIN |
MONSTER ROCK |
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra |
Dead Leaves Rising |
Unlucky Morpheus |
Seventeen's Map |
Yukata Ozaki |
Gloria |
ZIGGY |
DRAGON FROM THE WEST † |
松本孝弘 |
† ughhhh... Neither DRAGON FROM THE WEST by Tak Matsumoto or Stripper by Kenji Sawada are available on YouTube Music
Bonus:
A lot of Japanese music has a very particular sound. At my gym, the Professor asked why all Japanese music sounds like it belongs in anime.
If you're looking for the answer, check out the Wikipedia article on the Royal Road Progression.
If you're not a music nerd, this article does a good job explaining what's going on, with examples.
Leave a comment below and let me know what sort of J-Rock you enjoy