Really, you should be listening to music every day, but thanks to Twitter, Monday has become the best day of the week to discover new songs, show some love to the tune currently dominating your iPod playlist and quietly judge the listening habits of your closest friends. Yes, it's #MusicMonday, one of Twitter's most enduring trending topics. Hence "MTV News' #MusicMonday," a weekly look at the songs your favorite stars are currently crushing on.
This week, say "Konichiwa" to Dir En Grey.
Dir En Grey have been one of the best kept secrets of international metal for the past decade. The band — commonly know as Diru — have been grinding out dynamic, punishing, slightly glammy metal anthems in Japan and are superstars there, but they have yet to penetrate the market in the United States in any major way (though their cult status here is certainly set in stone). It's a shame, because even though they sing in Japanese, they speak the universal language of hard rock extremely fluently, and their albums (especially their U.S. debut Withering to Death) are all exquisitely crafted blasts of violence and grace.
Their fortunes could change with their association with the upcoming horror fiasco "Saw 3D." Their song "Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami" (which roughly translates to "The Violence and the Darkness Coiled Around My Body") appears on the soundtrack to the upcoming film (the last in the hit horror franchise). They share soundtrack real estate with the likes of Lordi, Krokus and My Darkest Day, making it one of the heavier collections of the year. As a bonus, the band put out a video for "Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami," which is phenomenally dark and strangely beautiful.
What's your #MusicMonday jam? Let us know in the comments!