the pillows is an iconic Japanese rock band for many anime fans. They’ve been around since 1989 and introduced many Americans to Japanese music.
They are best known for their work with Gainax in 1999…you should know what anime I am referring to: FLCL. (That’s pronounced Fooly Cooly). FLCL is a wacked out science fiction, surreal comedy that has giant robots, the pillows constantly rocking out in the background,a Vespa scooter, and a Pirate King.
the pillows produced 2 new songs for FLCL: “Ride on the Shooting Star” and “I Think I Can.”
Their sound is varied and can loosely be called punk by American classification. They remind me of Green Day with their rhythm. Minus the angst. They sound very American; there are rarely sounds we consider Asian…although I am in danger of stereotyping Asian music. the pillows broke many of those stereotypes when FLCL hit the US shores. Many people thought Japanese music was nasal and high toned; few knew just how well the Japanese rock.
If it wasn’t for the Japanese language, few American listeners could tell the band was from the land of the rising sun.