Hey I have too heard of the Foo Fighters! And I think they're basically OK - nice to see a band that isn't overly hyped. As for Japanese bands, well J-Pop music generally makes Brittany Spears look like Janis Joplin - I never tire of complaining of how bad the worst of it is. The most popular band in the country has had their own weekly tv show for about ten years now, and each member also appears on other shows regularly (at least one tv appearance by a band member every day) SMAP as they are known cannot sing, cannot dance, can't play instruments (one guy plays guitar on stage, and even a three chord wonder like me could do better) don't write songs, and for a band of five guys, are generally prettier than the girls I dated in high school. In North America they woul‚„ have been teen idol flavor of the month and gone is less than a calendar year (New Kids on the Block?)
That said there are still some cool musical things happening here- my favorite being a singer songwriter named Masayoshi Yamazaki, slightly affected but solid singing, a great melodic songwriter, kinda bluesy, good guitarist and great live performer.

Mike - Murakami is very cool!