Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (Bonus DVD)

Osaka Popstar | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B000EMSU2E
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,942 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Competent pop-punk acts are a dime a dozen these days; actually, since the genre's fall from pop chart status a few years ago, you can probably snatch them up even cheaper than that. If you yearn for something new in this vein but with more street cred than a Max's Kansas City reunion, consider Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk. Here we've got Black Flag's Dez Cadena, Ivan Julian from the Voidoids, Marky Ramone his own damn self, and Jerry Only and John Cafiero from the Misfits. If you're paying attention, these are the most interesting and least-heralded members of each of these bands, all of them punk pioneers. What do they do? Record a super fun, loud, Japanese-animation-themed album with super rowdy covers of traditional Southern and Daniel Johnston songs, of course. The whole thing is such a crazy cultural washing machine, no wonder they're pretending to be Osaka superstars on the cover. Here's hoping they all make millions. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Punk rock revolutionaries have united to form the super-group OSAKA POPSTAR!

Fronted by long-time Misfits collaborator JOHN CAFIERO and featuring the legendary MARKY RAMONE (THE RAMONES), JERRY ONLY (THE MISFITS), DEZ CADENA (BLACK FLAG) and IVAN JULIAN (RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS), OSAKA POPSTAR’s superhero line-up rips through their first disc, doing justice to the best of New York City punk rock. Says CAFIERO: "It’s great to work with your friends and who better for a band than the guys who started the scene? This is my own personal Punk Rock And Roll Hall of Fame."

The album boast tracks like "I Live Off You," "Astro Boy," "Monsters," "Love Comes In Spurts" and "Shaolin Monkeys," among others. The first single, "Wicked World" was written by renowned indie folk music icon Daniel Johnston, who also contributes vocals on a fervent cow-punk version of the traditional bluegrass lament "Man of Constant Sorrow."

The bonus DVD is highlighted by a music video for "Wicked World" animated by Japanese designer Mari-Chan. Also featured on the DVD is the exclusive music video for "Insects," directed by commercial guru Joel Veitch (known for his Quiznos "Spongemonkeys" TV ads as well as his own UK Channel 4 program "Rather Good Videos").

In addition, CAFIERO has assembled a posse of colossal visual artists to complete an over-the-top, high energy, bursting-with-color package, including original Topps bubble-gum card guru John Pound (Wacky Packs artist and creator of the Garbage Pail Kids), Space Monkeys designer and urban legend Dalek, Batman and Justice League wizard Butch Lukic. and Tragnark who is working closely with CAFIERO in developing the "Shaolin Monkeys" character designs, based on the original Osaka Popstar tune of the same name, for an animated series.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is life after Ramones!, January 11, 2007

By 

David Burd (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (Bonus DVD) (Audio CD)

Although many bands have attempted to carry on The Ramones legacy, they have mostly tried to "improve" upon what has come before by making it harder, faster or louder. What so many seem to miss, is that The Ramones sound was as much pop as punk. For every "I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement" and "I Don't Care" in the Ramones songbook there is a "Rockaway Beach" and a "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker."

Sure, you can exaggerate The Ramones sound to make it hardcore, or you can go in the other direction. Sort of a Dee Dee approach vs. a Joey approach, if you will. Osaka Popstar takes those pop elements of The Ramones and brings them to the forefront. And the result makes me grin a mile wide.

I like all the tracks but it was "Man of Constant Sorrow" that really knocked me out - I had to play it five times in a row after I heard it.

It should be pointed out that all of the members have a punk pedigree. And although his name may not be immediately familiar, John Cafiero was behind the Ramones Raw DVD a little while back. He's the biggest surprise on this CD because his vocals are really outstanding. He's punk without being desperate or mean, an excellent voice to lead the next generation of post-Ramones music.

I'm a huge fan of this band.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best 'Punk' Album in 25 Years, June 16, 2006

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (Bonus DVD) (Audio CD)

Fans of original punk rock rejoice! Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk might be the best `punk' labeled product to appear in ages. Their pedigree is infallible, featuring ex-Ramones (Marky), ex-Black Flag (Dez Cadena), ex Misfits (Jerry Only) and ex-Voidoids (Ivan Julian). They are indeed legends, but more than anything else, Osaka Popstar is a high concept project that bashes through generational barriers. They combine roots-punk style music a la the Buzzcocks, The Undertones, the Ramones, and the Misfits, and then incorporate this into Japanese Saturday morning cartoon imagery. It's sort of like the Archies on steroids, or the Fountains of Wayne on amphetamines. Pop it on and it is easy to imagine that it's 1978 all over again. I dare you not to smile when listening to this CD. The disk opens with an absolutely perfect pop song written by `outsider music' legend Daniel Johnston, called "Wicked World." John Cafiero merrily sings "We have sinned so many times before we see no reason to turn back now, cuz we're the world, the wicked world, marching to hell. We know what we're doing and we're marching to hell," while a wickedly joyous guitar riff rips its way through the rollicking rhythm. The energy never lets up, either. This isn't your teenager's second-generation variation on punk; it's the real thing. Marky Ramone is on drums and he plays with an energy that is...superhuman! The rest of the band is just as remarkable, playing with an abandon that betrays the sheer joy of playing together.

Partially due to the cartoon imagery, and partially due to the infectious nature of the band's performance, "Osaka Popstar" makes punk rock sound like pure fun. They cover two old Richard Hell songs ("Blank Generation" and "Love Comes in Spurts") and make them sound brand new. Do you remember the hullabaloo that was raised by the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack a few years ago? Remember the key track from that collection called "Man of Constant Sorrow?" I'll bet you never imagined that it would make a great punk tune. Osaka Popstar imagined it, and then they achieve it. Best of all is a track that was written by a bunch of school kids, called "Insects," which is destined to be one of the best summer songs of all time. While the band plows along at 100 MPH, Cafiero sings about the perils presented by the insect world ("Bees will try to sting you hard, all over, your body. Bugs are in the trees and they're watching you"). This track is so good that it makes bug-phobia fun.

A DVD containing two videos ("Wicked World" and a hysterically funny "Insects") accompanies the CD, and I'd suggest watching the videos ASAP, since it will help to convey the playful, artistic vibe that defines Osaka Popstar. In typical punk-rock fashion, the disk contains thirteen tracks that plow by in less than thirty minutes, but it is all meat and no filler. It ends too soon, but that's okay, because it means that you have enough time to play the entire disk again! After all these years, it is a pleasure and a surprise to hear a band that can stay true to their punk-rock roots and enjoy every second of it. Seemingly out of nowhere, Osaka Popstar have perfected a near-miraculous combination of fun and catharsis that leaves you breathless, exhausted, and completely satisfied. A Tom Ryan

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Legends of Punk? Maybe in person, but not sound..., June 13, 2008

By 

Evan L. Eckard (san francisco, ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Osaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punk (Bonus DVD) (Audio CD)

I was honestly let down by this record. Even though it's marketed as the "legends of punk", the sound is everything but. It's very bubble-gum pop and doesn't have any aggression behind it. I did get a kick out of the "Man of Constant Sorrow" cover simply because I'm a fan of the Coen brother's film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?." But other than that, "punk" is only in the musician's resumes rather than the sound.

If you really want to hear it, I'd recommend buying used. It's not up to snuff for full price.