Meet PERFUME, our official Japanese Electro-pop group!!

[_Jersey Girl]

I know you were wanting a planet for having 30,000+ posts, oh one of her own gravitational pull. As it is on Earth, so it is in heaven...

Amen.

You're talking to a resurrected being, mister.

[_Jersey Girl]

Now I won't vote for some other random band.

Perfume
#32

[_honorentheos]

It is with heavy heart and burning ears that I report BABYMETAL continues to mock the righteousness of our angelic trio Perfume as they have gained over 300 votes since just this morning and are now 6 over all. While our heart-of-hearts Perfume remains languishing in 25th place. Truly the number 6 is a sign and mark on BABYMETAL that should not stand without remark.

[_Jersey Girl]

It is with heavy heart and burning ears that I report BABYMETAL continues to mock the righteousness of our angelic trio Perfume as they have gained over 300 votes since just this morning and are now 6 over all. While our heart-of-hearts Perfume remains languishing in 25th place. Truly the number 6 is a sign and mark on BABYMETAL that should not stand without remark.

[_moksha]

Does it seem to anyone else that the leading vote-getter, Hatsune Miku, has ripped off Perfume's signature sound?

On the other hand, Hatsune Miku seems to capture the essence of Japanese culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZQ0DYgjdE

This Hatsune Miku concert seems reminiscent of the wonderful concerts attended by Dr. Shades and Res Ipsa. I imagine she has her own international fans as well. Not sure if she has a sense of shame about appropriating the Perfume vocal sound - probably not!

[_Dr. Shades]

Now please get to voting for Perfume.

Not without being sold on the idea that I should. You've provided no reasons from the perspective that they deserve the vote. Your lawn sign is noted, but legitimate campaigning is in order.

Okay, I'll campaign for why you should: All the groups on that list who are ahead of Perfume, other than perhaps Babymetal (more on them below), are simply "flash-in-the-pan" groups who are merely the current "flavor of the month." If the voting was held half a year later the names would all be different.

Perfume, as opposed to any other act ahead of them, is "the real deal." Unlike the others, who were assembled by the production companies when some executive decided to make more money by tapping into a different genre--for example, one member of Babymetal admitted that she'd never even heard of "Metal" before joining the band--Perfume formed of their own accord, with a-chan coming up with the idea and recruiting the other members when she was only 11 years old. After one member voluntarily dropped out, a-chan recruited her replacement, too, and now they've had their current line-up for around 18 years. That's an eternity by Asian standards.

They worked, fought, and scratched their way to the top of their own accord and on their own volition. Not only that, but they've shown true staying power by continuing to get more and more popular, even overseas, where they've toured three continents.

It doesn't even stop there. Not only do they sing, but they dance simultaneously throughout the entire concert, as Res Ipsa noted, with perhaps the top choreographer in Japan being their personal choreographer. They even have their country's top-rated special effects company implementing all of its experimental visuals to ensure that concert-goers obtain the very maximum "bang for their buck." This was noted by Japan's version of PBS, who showcased them for this purpose in a special edition concert last year and is soon to do so again.

Seeing them in photos, watching them during interviews, seeing them interact with the crowd during concerts--everything about them screams out that Perfume is truly "the real deal" in all respects. . . and well worthy of your vote.

[_honorentheos]

Or you could pick the one whose music you like. Of course that will still be Perfume because our benevolent leadership and mandatory adoration has made it impossible to not like them let alone ignore they exist. So clearly even if you had heard of and listened to any other band on the list prior to the windows of our collective board soul being opened to the illuminating beauty that is Perfume it surely pales in comparison and your one vote will go to the band you like, uh, adore with your entire being. Er, which is Perfume of course. Unless you too happen to have an infidel finger that slips and votes for some one else. That would be unfortunate.

[_Some Schmo]

Okay, I'll campaign for why you should...

You talked me into it, Shades. Vote has been cast. I brought us up to 1%.

You're just lucky Flight of the Conchords wasn't on the list.

[_Dr. Shades]

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!

I have just given our introductory page a MAJOR face-lift. Part II, formerly known as "The Music," is now subtitled "The Albums" and has all the songs arranged beneath headings, with each heading being the name of the album on which the songs appeared, in order. So that section is now chronological.

But to make life even better for you, rather than clicking on each individual song in order to hear them, like you're used to doing, I have created a YouTube playlist that features ALL* of the songs in parts II - IV ("The Albums," "The Early Years," and "The Bonus Goodness") in the same order in which they appear in the thread, so you can listen to them all without (again) needing to click on them individually.

* with the exceptions of "Start-up" and "Tenku" on the "Future Pop" album, because those two simply aren't on YouTube yet.

Here's the playlist:

Perfume – COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY

Click on that, then click on the "Play all" button.

You're all very, very welcome.

[_Dr. Shades]